Unashamed with the Robertson Family - Ep 1346 | Phil Robertson’s Sons Remember the Tender Side Most People Never Got to See

Episode Date: June 2, 2026

Jase and Al reflect on the tender side of Phil that many people never saw, especially his patience and compassion for sinners who were trying to come back to God. Jase also admits that while he had been right about Al and Lisa’s struggles for years, he underestimated what God could do through repentance and forgiveness. The guys connect those stories to everyday tests of integrity, including Jase’s $100 tip with one condition attached, and to a vacation baptism that reminded him God is often working through moments that don’t look planned. Al and Jase close by setting up their study of James, the brother of Jesus who went from unbelief to bold faith after the resurrection. In this episode: John 8; Acts 2; Proverbs 1, verses 1–33; Proverbs 7, verses 1–27; Proverbs 9, verses 1–18; James 1, verses 1–27; Mark 3, verses 21, 31; John 7, verse 5; Acts 1, verse 14; 1 Corinthians 15, verses 5–8 “Unashamed” Episode 1346 is sponsored by: https://andrewandtodd.com or call 888-888-1172 — These guys are the real deal. Get trusted mortgage guidance and expertise from someone who shares your values! https://cozyearth.com/unashamed — Get up to 20% off when you use our link and code UNASHAMED!  https://myphdweightloss.com — Find out how Al lost 80+ pounds. Visit the website or call 864-644-1900 and mention "AL" to get 2 weeks free in the program! http://unashamedforhillsdale.com/ — Sign up now for free, and join the Unashamed hosts every Friday for Unashamed Academy Powered by Hillsdale College Listen to Not Yet Now with Zach Dasher on Apple, Spotify, iHeart, or anywhere you get podcasts. Check out At Home with Phil Robertson, nearly 800 episodes of Phil's unfiltered wisdom, humor, and biblical truth, available for free for the first time! Get it on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and anywhere you listen to podcasts! https://open.spotify.com/show/3LY8eJ4ZBZHmsImGoDNK2l Chapters 00:00 Zach’s Anniversary, Madi’s Trip & Jase’s Wild Dream 10:10 The Women Who Surrounded Lisa after Her Confession 14:20 Jase Admits He Underestimated God 16:58 Phil’s Role in Al’s Healing 21:35 Jase Roasts the Duck Call Sound in the Movie 23:15 A Chauffeur Unexpected Gospel Conversation 25:35 Jase Witnesses a Beach Baptism Next Door 31:15 Breaking Generational Issues in Jesus’ Name 39:45 Jase’s $100 Tip Comes with One Condition 44:30 James, Jesus’ Brother & the Sermon on the Mount — Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I am unashamed. What about you? Welcome back to Unashamed. Sometimes, Jase, you know, it just comes down to the core. You peel away everything that's going on and you just get back to basics. And that's where we are today because it's just you and me, mono and mono, two brothers doing this podcast. Zach is in places unknown. He and Jill have 25 years of marriage they're celebrating, which we tip our hats.

That's always good. Take care of your ride. Really? But, yeah, 25 years. Twenty-five. And he married. He did the ceremony. I sent you a picture of his son, Max's wedding.

Yeah. He did that the day or two days before he left. And then we did a couple of podcasts without you, which is rare. Which is weird because I wasn't even aware. I thought we were on vacation. You were on vacation, but we did a couple of podcasts just to kind of keep the chain going. Maddie's been off to parts unknown. She's back.

I know. I had a weird dream about Maddie because she went to a foreign country. I didn't know if she wanted to get in the details. And a dream that I got a call in the middle of the night. She's like, can you get some of your Navy SEAL buddies to come? get us. And I thought, okay. And that went crazy because then I wanted to go.

But we got to the airport. Now, this is a dream. So it's not. We got to the airport. But obviously, it was vivid if you remember this many details about the dream. Yeah. And then I was like, I haven't even gone to the bathroom. I went to the bathroom.

And I came back out and they left me. Later I found out it was for my own protection. And then the dream just sort of died there, you know. And then when I walked in this morning, I'm like, well, I'm glad they got you, Maddie. You made it. I don't know why I'm like that these days. I feel like if you leave the country,

it's just, I guess the world is so volatile. Yeah. And now we have all this obsession with AIDS. aliens and so you throw that in there. Everybody's wanting to travel to space, which made me think, you know, we always talk about heaven and earth coming together. Yeah.

It's kind of weird that humans who don't even believe in God are trying to make that happen. They won't, because if you read the literal Hebrew and Greek, when you see heaven and earth, it's basically sky and land is one of the definitions. And they're trying to, get the sky and the land and the other planets to get, we want to be.

Well, even when we had the, even when we had the little, the last little astronaut run, which I was the Artemis, they went just a little further, you know, than the last crew that was out that direction. And so it's a big deal. It's like they went a little closer. They went a little further out from the moon, you know, somebody else. So you're right. It becomes this.

And we do. There's a curiosity in us about even seeing other places on our own planet. But, you know, to get there, you've got to travel, as you describe. Zach is actually in another country as well. I think he's due back to the States tomorrow. Well, I was on vacation while y'all were doing podcast. How'd the podcast go, by the way? So they went well.

We did the first one, Jill and Lisa, were joining Zach and I. So that was, you know, people love it. We have our wives on. And two things had happened. We had just done the wedding. So we obviously spent some time. I called the podcast Love and Marriage. That's what we talked about.

And then Lisa and I, our movie had just released as well, which that happened over the break, which you saw. We watched it. Yeah, you gave me a glowing report. I was very pleased because you're a tough critic. You tell it like it is. So I took your positives as a good sign. Well, for a lifetime movie, and I'm not knocking a lifetime, I'm just saying we know it's become like a verb or noun and a moment. verb but yeah and the story was the story i mean it brought back you know some difficult memories and

i'm like where you're right there at the at the heart and center i would say after lisa and i and because obviously mom and dad but then then you probably and paula were the next kind of two you know main characters in the movie in terms of being present throughout because you're you know you were right there through the process there was some details i wish they would it put in like because i remember uh you know after it all came out uh there was just a group of what they just had paula but there was a group of women that just basically lived with her for days for endless bible studies and yeah weeks and well it's like when you look at the kingdom and what you're invited into i mean mate we're going to study the book of james so we're

announce that yeah yeah there there's a passage toward the end that talks about confessing your sins and healing taking place and well but i just thought what a active service i mean this is not in the movie but it was a group of women who just stopped their lives for this one woman who you know it's a lot like john eight here she's she's coming out and so it's very very powerful it made me think of things I had forgotten. So we kept having to pause the movie, Al, because here we had my daughter-in-law, my new daughter-in-law,

because we were on vacation. And she was not aware of any of this. It's like, hey, we're going to watch a movie about our family. She was like, on TV. She didn't even know there was a movie out. She didn't even know what had happened. It's like, is this just normal, procedure and I said, yeah, I guess it is.

I was like, well, and then look, this is coming from a young woman that the first time the entire family met her, you, I'm talking about you and Missy and Reed and Brighton were there. And of course, I happen to be there. But it actually is tied to this podcast because it was in Nashville for the K-Level Awards, which we won the podcast of the year. So the very first time she comes in the family, we're at an award show. which is such an odd thing for the people, the guy you're dating and eventually would marry are featured that night as part of this thing.

So I guess it plays into the narrative that she would now be learning about me and Lisa from a lifetime. Oh, we talked about that. We actually talked about that story because I'm like, I feel terrible because that night you're so distracted and we had other responsibilities. and it's like a who's who of famous people around. And so, and here, you know, Cole was bringing his girlfriend at that time. And so you're not sure how much time to really spend here, because what if this doesn't work out? I mean, it's not like they're married at this point.

And so I remember the awkward moment when we gathered backstage to take a family picture. and I was like, because she just stood there. I mean, it put her in a weird situation. It's like, do I get in? I was like, come on. And she's like, no, go ahead, thanks. You know, and I thought, well, okay.

Which actually passes the first test. She realizes the moment as well as y'all did. So that tells you a lot about her. Well, she's just absolutely lovely. So I love her. She's fantastic. But we watched the movie, and she got to know our family better. And I was like, look, it's too late.

run now, but we laugh. But you described it so well, Jace, because it's a TV movie, so you just, you know, we're condensing a multi-year, me going away from the Lord and coming back, Lisa and all of her struggles, and then us,

you know, putting it together. But you're condensing all that down into basically an hour and 25 minutes. And so you had to tell stories and clips, you know, and so the entire part of the Paula role in the movie, if you've seen it or we'll watch it later.

Is Jason right? It was a community of women. And they showed the book, which I was so glad they did, because there was a book they were studying. And at the time, it was called Forgiven Forever. And there's a close-up of it in the movie that we had asked for when they did it because my friend, our friend, Joe Beam, wrote the book. And he also wrote Seeing the Unseen, which we talk a lot about in this podcast.

And the book now is called Getting Past Guilt. And I promoted everywhere I go because, Lisa and her little group of women went through this thing. And Jason, it was like the, it was like Acts 2, you know, with the dripping wet Christians, you know, that had just come to Christ and that first gospel sermon. And then it said they met every day because, you know, when it's brand new for you and you're just, you just found it, you want to hear it every day. I mean, it's just you can't get enough of it. Well, my kids are got one married off, another one married off. And so now they're living in a one-bedroom apartment right now.

So, Al, did yours just buy a house? They did. They did. And, you know, I wish that I had known about Andrew and Todd back when they bought it. It's actually been a couple of years for them. Well, your mortgage is the biggest bill that you're going to pay every month. So most people have never stopped to review it. And with how much the market changes, it's worth checking to see if you could be saving more money.

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mortgage and your goals. I know Andrew and Todd personally and it is important for me to work with people that I know that I trust. These guys are the real deal and you can trust them as well. So take control with your numbers today. Go to Andrew and Todd.com. That's Andrew and Todd dot com or call AAA, triple eight, triple eight 1172. Visit Andrew and Todd.com or call triple eight, triple eight, 1172. Get the clarity that you need to move forward with confidence. I shared my, you know, story to our young daughter-in-law. I was like, what's crazy about this is when Al even started dating her, which y'all were outside of Christ and was part of the reason why you ultimately, you know, forgave her,

because you were like, well, I contributed to this detrimental fall from grace. But I was like the voice. I never changed before, during and after, I was like, Al, wrong woman. I mean, you probably met, that went on for years. Even when this all happened, I was like,

I tried to tell you, you will not listen, you know, and so then, you know, it was a powerful thing. I didn't realize how powerful until we were having a family discussion about it.

But I was like, you know, it became kind of like my dad where it was beyond my earthly, capacity to make sense of it, this change when she ultimately did, you know, give her life to the Lord fully. Because here I was for years. Because I was right for years.

I was like, ow, this is going to be back. It wasn't working. Wrong, wrong, cut her loose, you know. And to the audience, when he's talking about years, we're talking about 17 years. So this is not like it was a minute. Yeah. Before you even got married, remember I was like, no, I'm against this. You know, it's like if they say if there's anybody here who has just calls, I said, I told Missy, I'm like, I'm saying it.

And that's how strongly I felt, which, you know, I mean, when you're young and you're just kind of looking at everything in the moment, I was right, but I underestimated. Yeah, I underestimated the power of God, which then became a supernatural evidence that there is a God. And thankfully I was convicted by that, Al, and basically did this speech, you know, toward her when I got up and spoke. Now, and I want to mention it. So we've mentioned it before, but since we're in the context, now I want to say it again, because now a lot of you have seen the movie. So there's a bit of an Easter egg. And I would have to say it wasn't planned because I don't even remember it in the script. So they probably just did it on the fly because so the day that Lisa responds at our church and confesses the affair and everything has been going on.

In reality, she comes forward and she gives, I think we think it was Mack Owen who's been on the podcast for a letter and then he reads the letter. But in the movie, you know, Mac's not even a character. So she actually does it herself. but in the movie they have Jace as kind of being in charge of the assembly that day, which would, which, you know, he would have been a young staffer early on. The timing wasn't quite right, but there were times when Jays has been in charge. In fact, the Sunday Phyllis came, Jay's was in charge. But in the movie, that's what happens.

But to me and Lisa, and I told Jay's this the night after they watched it, that that was kind of a nod to the sermon he was mentioned that actually happened like a year after everything, you know, blew up and we came back together. But for Lisa and I, it was just a fitting thing that they had him in that in the movie. And it was just, it was great. It was an underlying storyline because, Al, I probably had a thousand, a thousand conversations with you through the years. And I was always like, what are you doing? Because you really had changed your life, you know, and we're doing great.

I was like, look, this is not going to work. This is a poor decision here. This woman is not godly, you know. But you would, you'd always take up for. And, you know, and that's just kind of how it went for years. And so, and back then I was not as, what is, compassionate, I guess is a good one. I was real blunt. I got that from my dad.

Well, let me mention one more thing before we move on from the movie, because you and I talked about this. And several of you have told me this, but I thought kind of. of the weakest link was the dad character. And the actor, Paul, is a very great gentleman and was very honored to play dad. But dad is so larger than life. How would you ever really play him in a movie, especially when he wasn't the star of the movie? Like The Blind.

Well, that would be a problem. So he did a good job because it became funny that it was like, you look down and you're like, oh, be this guy. Well, if you really were, the movie wouldn't have been about your story. That's how a little bit about him. I always said this every time he walked into a room, which was usually people walking into his room where he was in, because he didn't go anywhere. He just became this figure. It always made me think of the way they described Jesus, which this is a compliment to my dad.

but they say in multiple times in the Gospels, he spoke as one who had authority. And my dad, whether he was talking about Jesus or not, when he started talking, he just talked as if he had authority on whatever he was talking about. Yeah. And people gathered. The good thing about the movie did depict it beautifully,

there was a tenderness about dad towards sinners. And you wouldn't think, that. Like a lot of people that just view dad from like watching him on a, do a sermon or a video clip or, you know, even if you wouldn't hurt him speak, you would think he was just this bombastic person who didn't love people. But it's not true. He was very straightforward and prophetic in the way he presented the word. But he had a tenderness and a love for sinners because of his own past. And so I love that the movie portrayed the tenderness he had toward me because he was very patient with me when I first came back.

There's only a couple of scenes in the movie that depicted, but I'm telling you, that went on for months. I mean, when I came back home, he took time with me, and as we worked together doing duck calls, and I started back to college. I mean, he was very patient with me as he was with people who

had come back to Christ. And so, I was glad the movie got that. Also, there's a scene in there where the elders try to kind of come up with an idea for Lisa and I, you know, and again, and what they thought was right. But I didn't necessarily agree. And dad was, again, the one who took up for me. And he was just like, no, this is Al's call. He's, you know, we got to stick with him, whatever he does. So I love that part

about it. They had a terrible time with his beard because, you know, how do you recreate dad's beard? And so they finally, I think they, Jay's, that was a CGI computer generated beard in the end of the day. Well, Zach and them contributed in the production. And they did the same thing that everybody else does. When you said the worst moment of the movie, I'm going to give it to you. Phil and I think you, maybe I was sitting there, film duck calls. And Phil, the Phil character blew the duck call, which I would describe as a screeching owl.

It was terrible. And everybody looked around like, yeah, I'm like, I mean, in the world of AI now, you can go find an actual duck sound. The biggest mistake they make in movies is they'll show a green head and then they'll dub a quack in there. Mallard Drake's don't quack.

They make a buzzing sound, a lower-pitched tree frog sound. I've blown the duck call before. But they always miss it. Or they have mallards getting up off the water and then you hear Canadian honker sounds in the background that they've dropped in there. I'm like, those are not geese.

I just don't understand it. Well, you actually guided them on the blind to actually dove in. Well, they listen. Yeah, they listen to me on that. But anyway. But they never did it on that. It was terrible. So while you were on vacation, Jay's what, tell me about that.

I'm down here in Gulf Shores now. I got some guests here this week, but I missed you by a week. You were here. Well, I came and raided your house for fishing equipment while you weren't there, which was excited. I heard it was all rusted. Oh, yeah. I was surprised. The only rod and reel that was functional was one that I bought about three years ago

because, you know, I bought a little better rod and reel than Jay. But the rest of them was just a big mess. But I had something, a couple things happened when I got there. Missy's like, okay, I mean, we get to vacation. It was just a small group of my family, my immediate family. and she's like, well, you got a, you know, the car's going to be here at five in the morning for you. And I was like, what car? And for what?

She's like, well, you have an event. I was like, well, I thought we were on vacation. She's like, well, yeah, but you have an event within the vacation. So I got there a day. We called that a working vacation. Got up at 5 o'clock and a car picked me up and took me to Pensacola Airport. and I made it to the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina region. And that night, I had over 2,600 men gathered up.

I mean, we filled the place up. And it was absolutely fantastic. And this old boy that drove me, you know, he drove me an hour and a half there. You know, I got back to the hotel probably 1030. and then got up at three to go to the airport, come back to Pensacola. And I was back at the little house where we vacationed at 10.30 in the morning.

But I had a really good Jesus conversation coming and going with the man that took me. So that was awesome. Was it a really older gentleman? Yeah. It's always that, oh, no, what do you do? I mean, you know, when you look at somebody like me, because he realizes, you know, there's a car service an hour and a half,

but most people are not doing that kind of thing. So he was asking probing questions, you know. You aroused his curiosity. It's led to a deep dive in the book of John as we continue. I thought this guy has no idea what's fixing to happen here. But it's really good way to pass an hour and a half, though. It was special. The longer I live, especially in the kingdom of the Lord,

the less I believe in random encounters. So I was gone, you guys know for a little bit. The places I stayed out, very comfortable beds, but I did miss my cozy earth sheets. I'm telling you, we are addicted to cozy earth. Oh, they're so cool and comfortable. That's what I love about them. And my favorite product for me personally is the pajamas and the loungewear stuff they have.

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and not just the moment you get home. Head to cozyearth.com and use our code Unashamed for an exclusive 20% off. And if you see a post-purchasease survey mentioned that you heard about Cozy Earth right here on Unashamed, that's CozyEarth.com code Unashamed. Comfort lives here. So I get back, you know, I'm kind of rum dumb that day because I hadn't any sleep. But I thought, well, I've been at the beach for a couple days even though I haven't been. And so when I walked outside, because I was, when I left, I was nervous because we, since it was a small crew of us, we rented a house, but we didn't, we only had one side. So I was nervous about who was staying beside us because we fixed to be here a week.

Yeah. And it's all missing. She's like, no, they're okay. We met them. Not weird. And so I thought, well, okay, great. So I walked out just to take a look at the beach. And there's our neighbor, a woman, probably our age, she's coming up.

And she just looked at me and tears were coming down her face. And I thought, oh, no, what's happened, you know? And she's like, we're fixed to baptize my niece. Now look, I don't know these people. It was so weird for somebody that I was worried about up until this point. Yeah. She comes up. I haven't even met her.

But obviously she knows who I am, I guess. And she says that. Well, I turned around and looked at Missy. I was like, well, what's happening? I thought, have you done this? You know? And come to find out, not there was a member of their family who was on fire for the Lord. And she had shared with one of the young teenagers there.

And they were fixed to baptize in the pool. So we kind of watch from afar. And so we found out later, because we were there a week, we found out later that a lot of members of their family, and this was like the first time they had all gotten together. And it was, I mean, the grandparents, the kids of the grandparents, and then their kids, and, I mean, it was a pretty big crew. So this is multi-generational.

Multi-generational. And so the more, you know, that we had conversations with the followers of Jesus within the family, they were like a lot of our family, you know, don't believe. and so this was just special and there were tears because I thought something because when I looked at the crowd when they got together their family and some of them had you know kind of shocking looks like what is going on here and I saw one of the women had a hat on that's I won't say it because it's a four-letter word but well I'll use the biblical word dung it really is not as funny it's meant to be funny and you'll for those of you because i know there may be kids watching so i don't want to

you know spread the four-letter word but we'll use dung show coordinator so you can figure that out and i thought you know i've never seen that at a baptism but but i thought now in this man i could i've spent many times of my light chase where i could have used that hat though i've definitely felt the way that's what I thought when you're with your family, because I've never been a cusser, it's just one thing I always thought that was, like, of all the sins or the things you can do, I just thought that was the most correctable, juvenile, yeah, it's like my dad used to say, he's like, just stop saying them. Because people are like, well, I, you know, I have a cussing problem.

And he's like, well, that's easy. And they're like, oh, what, what? And he's like, stop saying them. But really what that is is just it's our culture. You know, people, and I really think, and the reason I wanted to share this story, because when we get in the book of James, you know, there's not a lot out there. I mean, doing the research, I don't know how you did your research, but I just kept reading it for myself over and over.

I'm like, it's really just a practical book about how you're imaging God. there's these little subtle phrases like when he says we're the first fruits born again the first fruits of creation this new image of humanity that's projected remember he has a little story in there but when you look in a mirror and you forget who you are and you walk out

and I thought isn't that like just the reason people use profanity you're just wanting to be in with the world because that's what the world does. I remember sharing Jesus with a person, and that came up, and he's like, y'all are so weird because you never, like he was using me individually.

He's like, you never use four other words. And I'm like, why is that weird? He's like, because everybody else does. And I thought, there's some kind of weird imaging issue about you don't want to stand out in the world. Well, you may be, Jay, that one of the sound guys for one of the earlier projects, we did. I can't remember which one it was.

Maybe the Benelli stuff. But he was actually led to Christ by listening to us, you know, because when you do a television show or videos, the sound man hears everything. So like, yeah, it's not the unedited version. And that's what actually piqued his curiosity because he said they don't curse. And he said he'd never been on any kind of set where he's listening to all these voices at the same time that where people are cursing, like behind the scenes,

even if they didn't do it out loud, you know, our own camera. Well, that's what I thought about this picture I got to see. I mean, one, it made me think, you know, the kingdom is bigger than you. And here we are going on vacation, and this happens. And I love that that woman had on, you know what I mean? I'm like, we're not in a church building.

I don't know these people, but somebody in here loves Jesus. And they're doing this. And it's like the two youngest ones of the whole family are, which doesn't matter who the baptizer is, but here's this young person baptizing a younger person on the beach at this family gathering. And I thought,

now you're talking about we're going to break some generational issues here. Yeah, so good. In the name of the Lord. I was really moved by and excited. I thought, okay, yeah, now. So we got to our last night, which all our kids left the day before, and Missy's like, why don't we just, because we had it booked for whatever, you know. Because I was thinking, well, everybody's leaving.

Oh, time to go, you know. And Miss is like, well, what are you in a hurry for? I was like, well, good point. And so Missy made a crawfish pie, and as much as I can eat, I can't eat a whole pie. So we ate a couple pieces, and then we offered a bit of Cajun cuisine. I'm not sure where this family was from. They told me, I just can't remember. It was not Louisiana.

But so we brought them the remains of the crawfish pie just to give them some Louisiana flavor. And there's really good. It's had around talk and just, I just could really tell their whole dynamic of their family had changed. You know, good and bad, because when something like that happens, happens, it brings up a lot of questions in your family from other people like, what is going on here? And so all good stuff, though, and good questions. So that made the whole vacation memorable. So I remember it well, Jace. I was probably about 45 and all of a sudden it felt like overnight. I'm sure it wasn't. But I started having to deal with weight issues. And so you look for things out there that you can do fast or cheap.

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Well, we kind of did something similar. Well, you guys were down here. We were, Lisa had gotten an event in Black Mountain, which is where is Zach and Jellar from. It's so weird. I mean, it's just one exit up from where they live. So it's a mile and a half from or two from their house. And it was at a retreat center.

And it's a women's event. And they had about, I think they had about six or seven hundred women there. The Salvation Army actually hosts the retreat. But these women were so excited about the Lord. And I mean, it was great worship. And Lisa did her thing. And she was amazing. So we had that.

And that was the day our movie release, but also the day before Max was getting married. So we were going to be able to go to the wedding, which was great. It was just like the Lord worked it out. We could be at the wedding. Well, so Lisa gets a note from the people that book our appearances. And it was a group of cancer survivors that do a yearly banquet. And this was a hospital.

So there wasn't even a religious setting or a group that was putting it on. But, you know, a lot of times people get much more spiritual days when they hear the word cancer. You know, so like this thing every year is very, very spiritual. And the woman that puts it on, her name is Kimberly. I know she's a listener. So hey, Kimberly, I'm glad you had us up. But she, Lisa thought whenever they approached her that it was Hendersonville, North Carolina, which is right next to the airport that you fly into for Asheville, which is where we were going to go. So she says yes, that she'll do it. It was just basically a kind of, we call them pro bono event where we just kind of do it, you know, just for them.

And so she agreed to do it. Well, Lisa, it's not the best on geography. So when she's telling me about, you know, we start planning the trip. And so I look on the sheet and I said, babe, did you realize that this is not Hendersonville? This is Henderson, North Carolina. And she's like, they're not the same. I was like, no. Henderson is four hours away from Black Mountain.

And she's speaking the night before. And she's speaking the next morning at 8 a.m. I was like, we've got to fly into a whole other place to do this event and then drive. And we're not going to get into after midnight. You got to speak the next morning. You said, are you sure you still want to? She said, well, I told them we do it. I said, okay, I'm telling you, it's going to be rough, but we'll do it.

So that's what happened. And we did it. Unfortunately, we had to leave quickly so we didn't get a chance to hang around and see some folks. But it was so touching and moving. It's the first time Lisa has ever done a speech just specifically about going through her breast cancer. And some of the things she learned from God in the process. But just being around those other folks who had varying degrees of cancer survival was very touching for us. So it was kind of like you, Jay said, just to put yourself in positions where you see God working, whatever the circumstance may be.

Yeah. whether somebody becoming a Christian, somebody going through a tough trial, which we're about to, we get into James I, the whole first chapter is about going through difficulty and how that makes you stronger and gives you perseverance. And so we had some of those same experiences as you on our little travel. It was just kind of like we're doing all these things. Then I stopped by Madison, Georgia on my way home just outside of Atlanta. And I had a great men's event there. So we've all been doing a lot of kingdom where. And look, Every time, everywhere I go, Jay's, unashamed. I mean, like, I'm amazed at how many people are loving our, a lot of those Georgians from Madison, which is about an hour and 20 minutes outside of Atlanta, huge podcast listeners. And they just told me a lot of life. What was funny about that, after the baptism, I bumped into the grandpa.

And he was just said, he said, oh, wasn't familiar. Him and his wife, I guess they were living in a. cave during Duck Dynasty, you know, but they didn't, they had no idea who we were. But, uh, so I was trying to explain it. And he said, I said something about, we do a podcast now. And he said, yeah, I listened to one today. I mean, it didn't, it didn't take him long to do the Google search. Oh, they do a Bible study. Of course, I guess this baptism, it just happened. So he's like, yeah, let's see, let's, let's see what's going on here. So that was exciting. But we had a, we had a good vacation.

I miss you. We played at our, the course we always play, which is Peninsula. They rolled out the red carpet. They're so good to us there. Yeah. And because I get up there going to pay, you know, and they're like, no, no, just keep sharing, you know, sharing the word. I think he meant the word about this golf course, you know, but I was like, oh. But no, he meant the word too, because our guy there is a big time believer, Anthony's great.

So it's always cool because, you know, when they've done that in the past, I just become a huge tipper, you know, because I'm like, they're rolling out the red carpet for us here. So on the last day, I've done this about three years in a row on vacation, I'll tip a $100 bill for the little caddies. You know, when they come up and they act like they're cleaning your clubs, you know, because they want you to give them $5. You know. Exactly. And so I was kind of surprised because the last, we weren't there last year, obviously, because of my dad. But the year before, you know, three or four, they knew that I had done that. So toward the later in the week, they're all gathering up because they know he has a tradition.

There's a $100 bill coming here. So I was kind of surprised that there was. wasn't as much buzz because the guy who happened to come up on our last round, because me and we only played three rounds, but he came up there and I said, well, you're the man. And he was like, and he wasn't saying much. And he was kind of, you know, doing the acting like he was cleaning the clubs, but not with passion, you know.

And I said, well, my last trip, the caddy gets a $100 bill. When I pulled that $100 bill out, that guy, guy's whole personality changed. He started telling stories. And believe it or not, I couldn't get a word in edgewise. I know that's hard for you to believe. And I said, I'm giving you a, you know, a condition here. There's a, there's a condition for the hundred dollars. He said, I need to stop talking. I was like, yep, that's what I would do when a man's trying to hand you a $100 bill. I said, the condition is, I said, if they ask you, he asked, you. I said, if they ask you, What about this Jace, you know, from Duck Dynasty?

I said, I don't care what you say, but at some point you need to say, I know one thing, he loves Jesus. I was like, that's the condition. And I said, now, and he's grinning. He's, oh, that's what I'll say, you know. I was like, now, this brings up another issue that you're going to have to work out, because I know for a fact that you caddy share this tip. y'all share it.

Then all of a sudden, his face fell. I said, so you're in an interesting position because there ain't, but you out here, and I'm handing you a $100 bill. So it'll be up to you to say, is this going to be a story that we can all enjoy in? Or are you going to slip out a $100 bill in your pocket? I'm going to let your conscience be your guide. And this guy's older than me, and he went, yes, sir. But it made me think about what we're fixed to study in James, oh, wow.

Yeah. Because this was just a moment of integrity that stopped him in his tracks. Because he's excited. And now all of a sudden, I've made this come to the forefront of his content on what he should do. It's so funny. It's so funny you mention that because when I go to one of our local grocery stores that still bags your groceries and takes it out. Especially, you know, now they get the self-checkout if you just got a handful of items.

But if I'm doing a full buy, you know, I go through the lane because I know all the checkers at this store. And it's been our main store there in West 101 for a long time. So I know everybody in there. They know all of us because all the Roberts of men do most of the grocery shopping. And but they know I tip well. And their main reason, I mean, I tip well anyway, just because I always think people that are doing, you know, things like that for people, you know, and not making a lot on their,

you know, hourly. It's nice to get a nice tip. And so when I, my first, one of my first jobs was sacking groceries. And I just remember how much when somebody was slit me a nice tip, what that meant, you know, when you were 16, 17, 18 years old, because usually as teenage or college age boys. But at our, our little grocery store there, there's a couple of older black guys that have worked there for many years. And so, like, the young ones will be there. But I've noticed when those one or two of those guys see me, especially one of them, he just comes over there and, like, tells the young buck to move on.

It's like, no, I got this one. I got this. And so it's like he plays the Trump card because he knows. Now, I don't know what they're doing on the tip sharing, but I noticed that gentleman always seems to make his way to my buggy. So I think it's for the same reason you described it. Are you one of those media strategy people clicking through slides, scrolling spreadsheets? Yes? Good. This is for you. Because on Spotify, there's an audience that's different. Locked in. Loyal, invested. They're called fans.

Fans don't just listen to music. They feel seen by it, like it belongs to them. So when your brand shows up on Spotify, that's who you're talking to. And you're right next to artists like me, Lizzo. So, are you ready to talk to fans? Spotify advertising. You're among fans. Yeah, it was a funny moment. But anyway, that was the catching up we've caught up and basically are ready to get into the book of James. But I think some of the stories we told, it really made them come to light just in a practical way. I mean, I don't know what your thoughts are overall because I know you've been studying. How did you study to get ready for this? Yeah, I think it's – you described it well.

James is just to give you a little bit of background for the book, which we'll do the rest of today to kind of set it up for the next podcast. But most people, you know, there's only three, well, there's like four, potentially five Jameses that you read about in the Gospels. And obviously most of the people that wrote the New Testament epistles were people that had interaction with Jesus. I mean, it's kind of the way at work to tell the story or to be a leader or to be a teacher. Yeah, I mean, even Paul was struck down while he was Saul and had a conversation with the Lord, which led to the books. But I did want to say, James is one of the most common names from that era. So us zeroing in, I mean, we, I guess we can just say, I think most people think it's Jesus' brother or half-brother.

Most scholars agree. and mainly because the early writers contribute that thought going forward. In other words, this guy became such a leader that most people think it was him. But you always got to have a caveat when you're studying these ancient books and letters that it could be somebody different than we think it always was. Well, yeah, and in the Greek language, when you translate this, what I found interesting, because some people think, in the scholarly world, that his name could be Jacob.

So the first time I heard that, I was like, no, wait a minute. Is it James or Jacob? But it's spelled the same. And so there's that. I don't think any of this should make you think, I mean, well, what's the big deal? I mean, to me, I read it a number of times. and the reason that I think people think it is Jesus' brother is because you just sense what I did

was it kept taking me back to the sermon on the Mount. There is so many references to the sermon on the Mount here, which is Matthew 5, 6, and 7. And so what I would encourage you to do since we're just kind of getting ready to get into this book is read the sermon on the Mount a few times. And I would like to kind of go through some of that. I know we did Matthew, but how long ago was that?

A couple of years. It's been a minute. Yeah. But it really made the book of James made more sense. Because I went to the sermon on the Mount, which then kind of led me to read the whole book of Matthew. And the other thing it made me do, because wisdom is a theme in this,

which you see these things. hints of wisdom in some of the things Jesus said in the book of Matthew, but it's like he gives a picture of wisdom, although it's not, wisdom is not mentioned in Matthew

5, 6, or 7, he concludes the sermon with these two houses being built. Remember the song? Don't build your house upon the sandy land. Well, you know, it comes from that last paragraph on the sermon on the Mount. Well, what

is that a picture of? Well, when you read Proverbs, 1 through 9, which is another recommended reading to understand James, it's all about wisdom, and it's basically a picture of two houses. You know, Lady Wisdom and this woman of folly, which is the famous ACDC song, you know, the highway to hell in Proverbs, what is that, seven. And so, but then later, in, Matthew, there's a few passages where Jesus, remember when he famously said, wisdom is proved right by her actions. Yeah. Well, that could be the title of the book of James.

Yeah. Would you agree? I agree. So we'll get into that, but I was just going to say, and if you want to go along with us and study in James, I really recommend Proverbs and the book of Matthew, specifically the sermon on the Mount, and specifically in Proverbs, the first nine chapters, which is going to lead you back to the garden in God's words being the wisdom for humanity, all the way up to Jesus, which is then Jesus becomes our wisdom.

He fulfills all these things. Which is why you already mentioned him bringing up the first fruits. There's just some of really good points in there. That's why I asked you how you studied it. Because that's, I didn't plan on doing that. That's just what happened. It's like the more I studied, I kept going back to Sarmine on Mount. I kept going back to Proverbs.

I kept going back to the first creation in the garden. And the reason why that, and the Holy Spirit guides us even now in our study, by the way, but the reason you were prompted to do that is the very first verse that says to the 12 tribes scattered among the nation. So James is letting you know right off the bat, this is going to be. be a very Jewish letter. It is. And it is. And part of the reason why is because it was very early in the canon.

I mean, most scholars think it was written around 45 to 50 AD, which if you think about that, that's only, you know, less than 15 years after Christ was here, like a dozen years. So it's very fresh in the first century, as opposed to what we just studied, which we were talking about first, first and third John, which is very late. in the first century. So you're seeing this kind of return back to some of the basics that Jesus taught, which is what he was mentioning. And I do want to mention something specifically about James. You know, if indeed it is the brother, which we think it is, remember, and we've commented on this several times, and you get this from Mark 3, 21, and 31, but also John 7 is even better,

that Jesus' brothers, which also, by the way, include if this is really James the brother, would be Jude, who was Judas, who was the brother of James. That's how he described in the book of Jew. So this is two brothers that would be writing some of the New Testament letters. But they weren't believers when Jesus was here, which is fascinating, right? I mean, in John 7, they did not believe. John said his brothers didn't believe in it. That's John 7, 5.

But then they're gathered up in the room in Acts 1. Acts 11. So you're like, well, what happened? What happened? How did they go from not believing to in the upper room in Acts chapter 1 praying? Well, there was something in between there. The death, burial, and resurrection of said brother. Exactly.

I mean, Al, as a family, You know, we have a family. Whatever you were talking about, whatever you claimed, especially among brothers, you're not taking real seriously the first 18 years of your life. That's right. But if you died and came back to life, whatever you're saying from that point on, I'm going with. That's exactly right. And that's what's interesting is the same thing that changes us today.

I want to mention this before we sign off, because James is mentioned in 1st Corinthians 15, which is Paul's, I would say, his ode to the resurrection, one of the greatest chapters in the entire Bible. And he begins it with the gospel. Remember, I want to remind you of the gospel. And when he gets down to the part about Jesus being resurrected, he says that in verse 5, he appeared to Peter, then to the 12. after that he appeared to more than 500 of the brothers at the same time. Most of them who are, most of whom are still living when Paul wrote this, though some have fallen asleep. And then he gets this, James gets this mentioned.

Then he appeared to James. Then to all the apostles, and last of all, to me also as to one abnormally born, talking about the time that he struck him down the road. But James is mentioned there specifically as having some sort of convoy with the Holy Spirit. And the only way Paul would know that is either Jesus told him that or James told him that. And I know we're going to talk about this in the next podcast,

but they definitely have some crossover in the church in Jerusalem. So James is telling the story about what you just described, Jay's, about his conversation with his now resurrected brother. And so not only was he in the upper room, the Holy Spirit, but even before that, he had a personal conversation is what it looks like. with his brother. And whatever he told him, it lit a fire in the man that led him right up to 62 AD, which is when he was martyred.

And he was called out in front of, in the temple, to either denounce Christ or die. And he decided he would rather die than denounce his brother. Yeah, I'm glad you. They killed him. I'm glad you brought that verse up because that's why we, or most people or scholars, believe that it's James because when you just

kind of look at the way Paul wrote that it's like okay he appeared to Peter then to the 12 then there was 500 and then

he just singled out James yeah yeah so you just would think when when and

the way James starts the letter which sounds like something his brother would say he didn't he didn't give some elaborate

title he just said What was the exact words? A servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yeah, he didn't say my brother. Yeah, yeah. He just, look, I'm just glad to be here. I love it. All right, we're out of time.

James, we passed our first test, mono and mono. So we'll try it again next time. I'm unashamed. Thanks for listening to the Unashamed podcast. Help us out by leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcast. And don't miss an episode by subscribing on YouTube. And be sure to click the little bell and choose all notifications to watch every episode.