Pastor Plek's Podcast
Pastor Plek's Podcast
Growing Up as a Preacher's Kid
307: What happens when your father's a preacher, and you grow up under the microscope of the congregation? That's the question we tackle in this episode featuring Cody Sparks from the Cody Sparks Band and Pastor Plek's oldest son, Austin Plekenpol. Cody recounts his experiences from Victory Family Church in Perryton, Texas, including the strict moral expectations and a particularly memorable incident of cussing during junior high football. Austin shares his early realization that his upbringing was different from his peers, particularly in terms of language and behavior, and the role parental guidance played in shaping his moral compass. Join us for a heartfelt and candid look at the blessings and burdens of being a preacher's kid.
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and welcome back to passion plex podcast. So glad all of you are joining us. It was recording live here in austin, texas and I'm joined none other than uh from the cody sparks band. Mr cody sparks, how you doing, cody still? Here, still here uh, how's that foot? It's getting better. You know he uh had a slight achilles tear, had to have surgery, then had to have a root canal, then had an abscess then. So you're finally back sort of in one piece. Nope.
Speaker 2:No, not yet. We're working on it Slowly, but surely Slowly, but surely All right.
Speaker 1:And then also, this is a long-time listener, first-time guest, austin Plekampol. This is my oldest son and Austin. We're here to talk about what it's like to be a preacher's kid, a PK. And if you didn't know that, cody here is also a PK.
Speaker 2:Still a PK.
Speaker 1:Still a PK. His dad is pastoring in Perryton Texas. Tell us what church that is.
Speaker 3:Victory Family Church Still there Been there 41, 42 years.
Speaker 1:Tell us what church that is.
Speaker 2:Victory Family Church Still there.
Speaker 1:Been there 41, 42 years, so did he plant that church 40 years ago?
Speaker 2:It started off? No Well, initially it was a little church called Calvary Temple. My grandpa actually preached there for a little bit, but then later on my dad took over, and then eventually they moved to where they are now built there and changed the name to Victory Family Church. Wow, and been there since.
Speaker 1:There you go, very long time, very long time. Okay, so talk to me, then let's talk about the dynamics. So, austin, you're probably just figuring out that you're different than every other kid. Yes, so, austin, you're probably just figuring out that you're different than every other kid. Yes, when did you realize that? And I'd love to hear when, cody, when you figured out that not every kid has to go everywhere with their dad and be pastor things? But, austin, when did you figure out that not everyone's dad was a pastor or had a weird sort of job?
Speaker 3:It was probably in second grade.
Speaker 1:What was the thing that?
Speaker 3:I don't know when everybody started cursing and I just didn't know that was normal.
Speaker 1:So at school, everyone was cursing yeah. It was normal then, and so, like, when we say cursing, we're talking like S words and F words, we're talking about the full gamut.
Speaker 3:No, nobody knew the F word yet.
Speaker 1:Oh, nobody knew that. Okay, so it was just the S word, yes, okay, so when did the F word come into it?
Speaker 3:Fourth grade.
Speaker 1:Fourth grade. So second grade the S word, Fourth grade, the F word, and so all the other kids in second grade were cussing and did you sort of like how did you know not to start cussing?
Speaker 3:Well, probably it was from you. You kept telling me not. It was like against the bible and like to you know. So when I when okay, so it's.
Speaker 1:It's one of those things like when your dad tells you something is there any part of that sort of eye rolls and like okay? My dad would say that, uh, and how did you overcome the eye roll to go like okay.
Speaker 3:I guess this is important because my dad's making a big deal about it a lot of kids got in trouble for it, and then, when you kept saying not to do it, I kind of saw the point of what you meant.
Speaker 1:Okay, so other kids getting in trouble, me sort of reinforcing that? Did I ever say like, hey, when you hear these words, don't say them. Or how did I know that you knew those words?
Speaker 3:Well, I came home, probably in the middle of the school year, and I told you oh, I remember one time.
Speaker 1:I remember one time I think you said this to mom all right, you were like uh, hey, can you get that s from down from the the bed? It was like. It was like you use it in normal vernacular and that's when, uh, mommy came over to me, adrian, my wife, she came over to me and she goes um, austin used this word. I don't think he knows that he should use this word. I think that's when we had our initial talk about that specific word.
Speaker 2:Cody was was cussing a thing in perryton well, my story is a little different because I went to my parents had a christ academy.
Speaker 2:So, you got extra preacher kid, yeah, extra. Up until sixth grade I didn't go to public school. I played sports and stuff, but I wasn't around enough to hear a lot of those words, right, right, right. And then eventually I mean, obviously I did, I'll never forget, in seventh grade, junior high football it was, I think, like think like first, second, third day and obviously for me, character and integrity and things were like huge.
Speaker 2:Then, yeah, and I was a yes sir, yeah, sharp, trying to keep it together and, as luck would have it, we were getting dressed and one of my friends pushed me and I fell back over the bench in the locker room and on my way down I said oh, yes, oh man, I wasn't a cusser, yeah. And of course my coach was in there walking by and heard me, right and lost his mind. Well, he didn't lose my mind, he just looked at me and I knew. And then I looked at him and I was like oh geez. And I looked at him and I was like oh geez. And we all got in the huddle outside to get ready to stretch and stuff and he said, sparks, take off to the fence and back, which was far, yeah, and I had to go run and everybody's kind of like what, and Coach was just like he knows why, and then I went to the fence and came back. But pure embarrassment. That was horrible.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, so for you talk to me about and this is also Preacher's Kid in the 90s Different, oh so different. Different time. Talk to me about I don't know. You got to see Austin a little bit, so what's?
Speaker 2:the difference for you on the PK side. I think that one thing is that back this goes for like all Christian families for some reason in the 90s felt like what happens at home or in our personal life stays in our personal life, oh yeah and we don't talk about it in public and we it doesn't leave our house right, doesn't go anywhere.
Speaker 2:Um, I don't know if that was a shame thing or we didn't really quite understand grace at the time right or you know, there's a lot of different things that come into play there, but at the time that, you know, we just thought because they thought that was the best thing for people to do then and keep it in, and so then you then, in turn, you don't like talk about things, you're just like, oh, I guess we don't ever talk about that. You hold it in and then eventually it'll work itself out.
Speaker 2:I guess 100 yeah or blow up and you got to let it out in a different way. Oh man, so it was. That part was kind of interesting. So I would say, uh, that's tough. The difference is for sure. Communication, like how you talk to your kids and you say, hey, this is why we do this and this is why we don't do this. Um, it's big, it's big, it's important.
Speaker 2:Now we were taught right from wrong sure and I think that's why, when I get in trouble or do something wrong, I have such guilt and shame about it, just because I know that it's wrong, but I still did it, but I still feel, or I feel horrible.
Speaker 1:Yeah, austin. So whenever you do anything wrong and like, I get on to you about it, like how, how does I still think you feel some of that right?
Speaker 3:I probably haven't done that perfectly um, yeah, it changes from I don't. I handle it differently when I do at school like what do you mean like I feel way more guilty at school than I do here?
Speaker 1:to explain that I don't know. What do you mean?
Speaker 3:oh, because at school everybody doesn't know me yet, because I'm like, like, do you? Each year you go to a different grade, so it's a new teacher, right? So it's like they don't know you. So you got to be kind of nice and kind and stuff. But you know me.
Speaker 1:So you don't have to be nice.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:All right, I guess that's fair. All right, yeah, yeah, that's fair.
Speaker 2:Let's see, I have a three-year-old and he had his first S the other day. Oh, really Funniest thing. So not to knock on how much I've been going through, but minus my AC going out and now the hot water heater going out.
Speaker 1:You have a lot of house issues. You know home ownership.
Speaker 2:It's ridiculous, especially when you have a six-year-old house.
Speaker 1:That should not be having issues like this Should not have any of these problems.
Speaker 2:So you know it is what it is, but we had a guy over that was doing some work and Aaron and Conway were in the bedroom just watching a movie. Right, and recently he really loved Little Giants, yeah, big Green and the Sandlot, yeah. So I was in the kitchen on my computer doing some work and they were watching the movie and I could hear it and I know exactly what parts I was listening and I was laughing, and right when Benny the Jet Rodriguez goes over with his PF flyers guaranteed to make you run faster, jump higher, jumps over, gets the ball and jumps back over and they think we're safe, home, free.
Speaker 2:we got the ball Right. And then, all of a sudden, the beast jumps over the fence and Benny the Jet Rodriguez says oh yeah.
Speaker 2:And I heard it and then all of a sudden Conway just goes oh, oh, and I'm in the other room and I'm just waiting to hear how this plays out and I'm kind of laughing because it's such pure innocence, right, that he has no idea what he's saying. I mean, he doesn't know, he doesn't think anything's wrong with it. Right just off the movie and I'm waiting for aaron to see how this plays out. And then she's like, hey, um, we don't really say that word. It's just not really nice and kind of we don't make a huge deal about it, because I feel like if you do, then they're going to keep doing it, right. And so we kind of moved on. But I kind of walked in there, walked around the corner and looked at her and I was kind of laughing and she started laughing and I just said, hey, maybe don't say that.
Speaker 3:There you go.
Speaker 2:It's let's not do that again. And then we moved on and he hasn't done that before, all right.
Speaker 1:So, austin, one of the things that can be, and I'm sure you had to deal with this too. Cody, when you come to church, everybody knows you. Do you know I talk about you when I do sermons.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, Most of the time.
Speaker 1:And does that bother you?
Speaker 3:No.
Speaker 1:Okay. So, cody, the whole church knew who you were, because you were your dad's son oldest son. And so what was that like, having to constantly sort of perform?
Speaker 2:Everybody always comes and says hello, says hi and was that awkward?
Speaker 1:Was that easy? How was that?
Speaker 2:Oh, I think it was all right. I was a pretty shy kid. I'm still shy, weirdly. People probably don't understand that, but I'm a little bit shy. I was a pretty shy kid.
Speaker 1:I'm still shy.
Speaker 2:weirdly, People probably don't understand that, but I'm a little bit shy. Yeah, you are shy, it's great. I think I would just kind of smile and just be like, hey, how you doing.
Speaker 3:What's up it's awkward.
Speaker 2:But there also is the cool part about being a PK is people give you stuff. Being a PK is people give you stuff. There's one guy, there was one minister that every time he came to speak at our church guaranteed would walk up. He was like I love preacher's kids and I care for them and I think they go through it Always would hand me $100 bill.
Speaker 1:No way Always $100.
Speaker 2:Shake my hand and just be like and give me a little wink Every time. Even we went and did a thing in LA at this church I think I was 19, maybe 18, 19. And I went with my dad there and I wasn't playing music or anything really yet, and I was just there and this guy was there speaking too, and he saw him and he came up and gave me a hug a hundred bucks Just hand. He was like just want to bless you, man, just tell you that I appreciate you and I think're great and you're going to do great things. And there you go. That's wild, it's great. So there's pros and cons to it.
Speaker 2:Now, in your hometown of a little town, the difference you got as well is I grew up in a town of 8,000 people, so everybody knew, everybody knew everybody's business and it's rumor central, right. So something would always be popping up, that such and such did this or somebody slept with somebody or somebody's doing whatever, right? So it was always something going on. And then, like these preacher's kids, you do something that the normal kids are doing, yeah, all of a sudden it's like I cannot believe that the Sparks kid yeah, he could ever do that Went toilet papering with the other kids. It's unbelievable. It's okay for the other kids, but the preacher's kid that is unbelievable.
Speaker 1:Unbelievable. You can't believe it. Oh my God, so that?
Speaker 2:to me was a little bit ridiculous Holding kids that are learning and growing, holding them to a level of accountability that the adults that are making issues of that kid don't even hold themselves to is a little bit ridiculous.
Speaker 1:Yeah, austin, have you felt that at all?
Speaker 3:Not really, but like sort of.
Speaker 1:So what's when you talk about like at school? I'm sure you don't. I don't think anyone's like oh, austin's a. Do people know you're a preacher's kid at school?
Speaker 3:Most people do yes.
Speaker 1:All right. So what is like something that they talk to you about? Or do they bring up like hey preacher's kid, or they make fun of you, or there's some kids.
Speaker 3:it's both really Some kids know me and they're like down the street down the street, my friends yeah. And then there's some that just like hate Jesus and they're like Jesus means yes, and there's, there's, they're there.
Speaker 1:So how do you react to the Jesus schmeezes people. What is like your? Do they like? Mock you Like oh, where's your Jesus now? How do they come across?
Speaker 3:They say you're the pastor's kid right, and I'm yes. And they're like well, jesus is so stupid, like, why do you even believe that?
Speaker 1:Wow, so they come right at you.
Speaker 3:Is this at like a?
Speaker 1:lunch table, or is this like in the middle of class?
Speaker 3:It's really anywhere, like in the hallway or something.
Speaker 1:Yes. So how do you respond to that? What's your? I mean, let's say, if someone goes like why do you believe that? What do you do? What do you say?
Speaker 3:I say well, I usually just walk away from that, yeah.
Speaker 1:That's okay. Yeah, because it's challenging, right when someone sort of challenged your faith and you're like and they're just probably doing a drive-by like that's dumb. Why do you believe that? And they're still walking. Yes, so they're not wanting to engage in a conversation, they're just wanting to sort of like stick it to you.
Speaker 3:Yeah, conversation there's one to sort of like stick it to you.
Speaker 1:yeah, usually yeah that's usually what happens, so, um, but there are some kids ask you questions like like they're kind of interested in your answer, like what kind of questions you get it's like some of them are like about the trinity, about like how do you understand that?
Speaker 3:and like I don't even understand that.
Speaker 1:I need to do a better job of that. All right, so yeah, so the Trinity. What about the Bible? They ever ask, like why is the Bible true?
Speaker 3:Yeah, the Bible is the Bible, true, and I'm like, well, I don't know that, I'm still learning about that too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, all right. So talk to me about, like when did you become a Christian? Do you remember this?
Speaker 3:Mm-hmm. I remember when I was three years old, yep years old walking down our old house stairs. And then it said I heard this loud voice. It said Austin, black and Blue, it's time.
Speaker 1:Really Okay. So then that was like it's time for you to become a believer and follower in Jesus. All right, and then, from that point forward, what really? How have you like you've learned the Bible pretty well? Do you know the Bible pretty well? Do you feel like yes, how do you know it?
Speaker 3:Well, when I go to bed, I turn on this audio book, the Action Bible, and I listen to it every night, every single night.
Speaker 1:Yes, so essentially does it play the entire Bible every single night?
Speaker 3:Yes, it does.
Speaker 1:So do you know who Job is?
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 1:Who's Job?
Speaker 3:He's the guy in the Old Testament who had a rich, perfect. And then Satan wanted to say to God if you didn't give him all these blessings, then he wouldn't believe in you.
Speaker 1:Okay, good, so you know who Job is. Do you know who Gideon is?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so he was the guy with like he was like small tribe stuff he needed to go to war and like to prove that Jesus was talking to him, he put the rag in the wool.
Speaker 1:The fleece.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and the water on the floor, and if the rag is wet, then the and the ground is dry. Yeah, I believe you. And then you did the opposite.
Speaker 1:The next step wow, okay, what about? Um man, this is pretty fun. I didn't realize you knew all these things. Okay, how about? Uh, elijah?
Speaker 3:yeah, uh, he's probably one of my favorite characters.
Speaker 1:What? Why Elijah?
Speaker 3:I don't know, he just like stands up for what he believes in and like he fights and already believes in and they like he fights and um jezebel and king air.
Speaker 1:Wow, you know actually all the characters. All right, that's wild, okay, uh so, and what did he do on mount carmel? What did he do?
Speaker 3:so we let the, he let the babble the bail bail, yeah, bail, worship church go first, and then he says maybe they're in the bathroom. He's in the bathroom or something.
Speaker 1:Like for a sacrifice. They were going to start a fire and their God was supposed to answer by.
Speaker 3:Yeah, by launching fire on his thing. And then he's like no, it's after a while Like the whole day. It's like now it's my turn. So he gets all these rocks, puts it in a form, he dumps like a water moat around it.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And then he prays to God and then fire.
Speaker 1:Wow, Okay, so you know a lot of stories. Okay, what about? Is there any? I don't know, I'll put you on the spot, but like, what about? Jonah seems like an easy one. Okay, what about? How about? Do you know the difference between Elijah and Elisha?
Speaker 3:Elisha was, I guess, elijah's like follower.
Speaker 1:Yeah yeah, that's right, he came after him and do you? Remember any of the miracles that he did.
Speaker 3:Yeah, he turned. No, he the 42, he, yeah, the mauling 42 kids because he made fun of them so he made fun of them because he was bald so he killed them all with a bear that's a good one to remember don't do that don't make fun of prophets did you learn all these in church? Treehouse no. We learn about catechism, questions Well.
Speaker 2:I'm not treehouse, but like growing up in kids' church and doing all that, or is it just from? Listening to.
Speaker 3:The Action Bible. Yeah.
Speaker 2:The Bible app or Bible, whatever.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because it was a comic book Bible, so like a graphic novel, and so we read it all the way through together. And then, after we read it through, I through together. And then, um, yeah, and then after we read it through, I was like, hey, if you want to listen to this and read along and it came from you didn't actually read along, you, that's what you go to sleep to now. Yes, in fact, all your brothers and I didn't make you do that, right uh, no, you just said it and I was like okay, cool.
Speaker 3:And then my all my brothers went to just kept my jet followed along yeah, and then I went to titus, yeah and paxton, so they all listen.
Speaker 1:So when we walk through the halls and I, do you ever go to the bathroom night and hear all the different action bibles going on?
Speaker 3:I love it when it me and jets like go and are in sync yeah, yeah, because it does, it's, it's.
Speaker 1:I'm not even sure how we do that with audible, but somehow, like you guys, can pick up wherever you last left off.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we could say I don't know what it is, but sometimes at night it just pauses. I think that's what mom does she doesn't want to hear the voice.
Speaker 1:Yeah, mommy always turns it off.
Speaker 2:One time we were over there and it was later and I was like man, are the kids asleep? What is that?
Speaker 3:noise. It was like man, I think the kid's asleep.
Speaker 2:What is that noise? It was like multiple different sounds and people talking conversations. And I'm going what are they doing up there?
Speaker 1:And then it's like, oh no, they're just doing a Bible. Yeah, because it's like the girl will say oh no, my son is dead.
Speaker 3:I will raise him from the dead.
Speaker 2:It's conversational and so it's sort of fun. We've since moved on from listening to Cody Sparks Band CD.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it used to be that we'd listen to Cody Sparks.
Speaker 2:Band which I was like stop listening to that. That was T-Rex. He would listen to Cody Sparks Band to go to bed. That was pretty awesome.
Speaker 1:All right. So how do you feel about like at church when people say hi to you? Is that hard for you?
Speaker 3:No, it used to be, but now I know them now, yeah, it used to be, but now it's.
Speaker 1:I know them now, yeah, so tell me about that Is it is it? Does church feel like home for you? Yes, so you feel just as comfortable here as you do at home. And talk to me about, like what people, what people have said to you over the years. Like when they say hi, what do they say?
Speaker 3:Um, they'll just say hi. Sometimes they'll say how are you doing? And I'll answer like good, and then I walk away as fast as I can.
Speaker 1:All right yeah, kind of the goal is try and stay engaged just a little longer, it'd be great. All right, let's talk about one of the things that I would love to hear, like one of the things that you're about to go into middle school yes, all right, and uh, we've had a whole bunch of talks about like, and you had to go through, like, the sex ed class at school. Was that so embarrassing? Yes why was that embarrassing, tell me?
Speaker 3:it wasn't really embarrassing, it was more like weird. It was like nobody expects the principal to be in there and like have this all these words about? Like all your private parts that may actually say the words, and there's like diagrams of this, the your private parts going longer and like fatter I guess, and you grow hair in different places right, that's right.
Speaker 1:Wow, and, and was that? Just what was it? Were you like in a? Was it like all the boys went in one class?
Speaker 3:yes, yeah, they even had a diagram of the girls.
Speaker 1:Oh wow, was that crazy. Yes, was that embarrassing.
Speaker 3:Well, no, because it was like a five-second thing.
Speaker 2:Did you laugh at all in there?
Speaker 3:Yes, because I already saw the video.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, we previewed it beforehand. We prepped ahead. Yeah, we prepped. This is fifth grade.
Speaker 2:Yes, that, yeah, baby being born. That was the last thing that we had to do in that class was watch a baby, and I will never in my mind I could see it clear as day and that is the worst thing that I've ever seen in my life all right.
Speaker 1:So they, so they told you all that and so what else? Like as a as a kid, like you know, pornography is sort of a big deal that you know we're all trying to prevent that from happening, okay. So when was your all trying to prevent that from happening? Yes, okay. So when was your first exposure to knowing that somebody was looking at porn at school? What grade?
Speaker 3:I think it was fourth grade.
Speaker 1:It was just on somebody's phone.
Speaker 3:No, it was at baseball. Oh, it was just this kid he was talking about like this song and he was watching the song video video. And he stops at this point where he says don't watch the video.
Speaker 1:there's girls naked in the shower and there's boys with them in the shower yeah they take the video if they're like filming them dancing in the shower wow, and so when you so at that point, have we talked about that? At that point, yes we did yeah, and so like what? When you? When he said, hey, don't watch the video, what'd did you do?
Speaker 3:I said good to know. I guess You're like I'm not going to look at it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Okay. And then at school sometimes people have their phone out.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 1:And they're just.
Speaker 3:They're just oh well. Yeah, I caught one when I was going to get my computer for my backpack.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:I caught a person looking at boys and naked.
Speaker 1:Yeah, from my backpack.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I got a person looking at boys and naked yeah, and naked ladies think of boys, yeah, and I was like what you doing?
Speaker 1:that's the craziest thing to what you doing.
Speaker 3:And then they were like nothing nothing, I was just playing a game on my phone oh, and you're like okay, nice yeah, so that was what fourth grade no, uh no, I caught them doing fifth grade, Fifth grade?
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, and were they at school?
Speaker 2:Yeah, they were at school. Does that not blow your mind too, though, like the access that kids have at fourth and fifth grade, that you're already doing that Now I can say that like a Playboy, like a magazine, like kids would talk about it and you would be like, oh you know, and you could go, like at the whenever, into the grocery store yeah, and then like see, you know, but the access, I guess how in depth you could get on a phone and how deep that could get right isn't your normal.
Speaker 2:I mean, playboy, that was pictures and now it's not right but holy smokes.
Speaker 1:It's gotten so much way darker.
Speaker 3:Now I see your point. Now I'm starting to see your point on why I won't have a phone until I'm like 17, 18. Right, I love that.
Speaker 1:I think we can do flip phone. Maybe, maybe next year we'll look into a flip phone. I took you last night to the boot camp thing at Hill Country Bible Church. They had about 200 and something kids there. What was that like for you? Because you've never seen anything with that many kids in one spot worshiping God. What was that like?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I didn't see it. Yeah, when you were speaking to them. I have never seen so many kids be so interested into a sermon before.
Speaker 2:Do a sermon or do one of his sermons. What would they?
Speaker 1:say when you talked to them or whenever you heard them.
Speaker 3:They were just like locked in and like I had to get past this kid and he was like excuse me.
Speaker 1:He was just totally like watching.
Speaker 3:And then Kayla next to me um, she says you're dead when you pause the story on the gifts. Yeah, she said your dad's a menace because I paused the story, yeah, um oh, that's fun.
Speaker 1:Uh, oh, that's fun, okay, so yeah, so you've never seen anything like that. What was it like just worshiping with you, remember? Everyone's hands lifted high and you're sort of like.
Speaker 3:Okay, I always thought that when you worship God, I always thought that was just like a grown up stupid. Now that I see kids do it, it's normal.
Speaker 1:It's kind of normal right, yeah. And that if we could, kind of, not that we need to change the culture of our church so we have a perfect church just as it is. But if there's one thing we could kind of get people more excited about is like getting into worship with excitement. We do tell people to worship however they feel led, because we don't want to force someone to, like you know, worship harder, you know, but rather we want people to experience God.
Speaker 3:And so did you feel the holy spirit or was that like yeah, tell me what that was like for you? It was just like this feeling that everybody knew and there knew who jesus was, and that was a new feeling because, well, obviously in church, but that was a new feeling outside of church that I've never experienced before.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. So when I told you about it, so we're going to go to this thing it started at like 9.15 at night. What was your original thought?
Speaker 3:I was like there's probably going to be like a million adults there, because that's when usually I go to bed at 9. I usually go, yeah, at 9 or 10. And then they're staying up till 11.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they went to bed. I think their their curfew was 11 30 yeah, and so that's sort of like that's gonna you know that's you in two years. Yeah, isn't that crazy okay, so cody for you growing up did you have?
Speaker 2:I mean you did lots of youth experiences, I'm sure, yeah, growing up at even so, I went from as young as I can remember going on trips with my dad to speak at youth camps. Yeah, even me going to like kids camp, probably starting in first, second, third grade. Yeah, yeah. So my favorite I have some of the best memories with my dad was driving from. You had to drive what like 20 minutes down yeah yeah.
Speaker 2:We would drive like five hours and those are some of the best memories for me of going to places like that. Um, I mean, I can think back of just funny stuff that happened and just talking and just being there. And I had that too, where there was a point where I was like man. Everybody thinks like, oh, you're spark's kid, oh, oh, spark's kid, and they were talking about my dad, yeah, and I point where I was like man. Everybody thinks like, oh, you're a spark, just kid. Oh, spark, just kid.
Speaker 3:And they were talking about my dad.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And then I was like, oh, I guess my dad might be kind of cool. I was like I don't know, it's just neat.
Speaker 3:It's the same feeling I felt there. Everybody was adoring him there.
Speaker 2:This is kind of neat.
Speaker 3:They were taking notes on his. They're like 13 years old, what.
Speaker 2:This is interesting. Who?
Speaker 1:is this guy? Yeah, and you've gone with me in a couple places. I think you went with me to St Louis once, yeah. I did, and what was that like?
Speaker 3:We went to a carnival, didn't we?
Speaker 1:It wasn't a carnival, that was actually. We went to the St Louis. It had this massive Ferris wheel. It was like 250 feet high or something crazy.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it was pretty wild.
Speaker 1:And then that was just like a normal church service. That's really the kind of thing you really experience, like typical church services, and maybe me speaking at uh family camp stuff, but that's really it.
Speaker 2:But usually you haven't really seen me speak to kids, teenagers, before yeah, because if they're like, if you ever were going back and doing some of that I am second conferences and I Am Second things and stuff like that, and he was this age and you did that that would be another just like, what are we doing here? That?
Speaker 1:was wild used to do is we would just go to different cities and we go to a college campus, just start like, hey, cody, start playing some music right here on this campus, and then people would come hang out. We talk to them, tell them about jesus, and then we mobilize them to start groups on a random campus.
Speaker 3:It was kind of wild. It was pretty wild. Yeah, wow, wait, did you get any in trouble at any times?
Speaker 1:yeah, we got a little bit of trouble when one time okay we, we went to Lubbock, which is at Texas Tech. And so we brought like 50 kids out there college age kids and they decorated the campus with I Am Second stuff, which you know, no big deal. But then the crew people which is a ministry on Texas Tech, they got all upset because they didn't have permission and we were.
Speaker 2:I Am Seconding the crap. Welcome to the bible bill. Yeah, it was like why?
Speaker 1:why are you doing that? And I was like you know that was my days of. It's better to ask for forgiveness and permission and uh, it was awesome. So yeah, there were some times there were some wild times back there in the past of like just doing some fun things and so that's, you know, as you get a little older and as you get into high school and in college age years, you're gonna to probably do some wild stuff or we do adventures. That'll be really fun. I'm looking forward to that.
Speaker 1:Cody for you when it came to sexual stuff. What prep did you have In the 90s? I feel like it was just a different era, did not talk about it.
Speaker 2:It was a different era.
Speaker 1:Nobody was worried about not that they weren't worried about porn.
Speaker 2:It just wasn't on their radar. It was not, no, especially being in a preacher's home. That stuff wasn't even there and really the internet wasn't really out until we were in high school, Right? So the only opportunity you really ever had was if some random friend had a… A porno or something. A Playboy, A Playboy yeah. Or a VHS. Right right right, right right right play and you're like, or it were a movie, like a radar movie yeah where you know exactly what point boobies are going to show yeah you just fast forward to that point right right you know, which is crazy, but that whole part was.
Speaker 2:I mean, now I'm very open and want to talk to like with Conway, like okay, let's talk about this right kind of how you are with them. I know the importance of communication and just saying look, it might seem cool to other kids it might, but at the end of the day, it's really just not. It's not going to be what you think it is. It's going to wreck you, it's going to ruin you and their other areas. Just leave it alone.
Speaker 1:So, going into middle school, Austin, when you think about sharing your faith and I think it was good that you brought up some things that you don't know that we probably need to research what were those things you said? Trinity why do you believe the Bible?
Speaker 3:What were the other ones? It was Trinity Bible and then it was like how do we know God was real?
Speaker 1:Yeah, how do you know God's real?
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And do you talk about your testimony? Because for you it was sort of strange, like hearing God's voice. Yeah, but what now? Because I think you said sometimes it's hard because other kids don't think Christianity is that cool, especially when everyone's gay affirming Talk to me about, especially in a public school atmosphere. You didn't exactly have Pride Month in elementary school because it's in June. You're already out of school, but have you experienced anything like that? Have you heard the term bigot? Is that a term you guys know yet?
Speaker 1:so bigot means like you are. You are against a certain segment of the population because of your beliefs, and so does anyone get angry. Has anyone been angry at you because you're a christian or you don't affirm gay things or trans things?
Speaker 3:yes, there has been a friend that has, like we got into an, I guess.
Speaker 1:An alternative lifestyle.
Speaker 3:No, like an argument sort of Okay an argument. He was like one of my family members is gay and I'm like, well, that's not right, but I can't stop him Right.
Speaker 1:And I think that's where it's interesting that when you just say like here's just what the Bible says, people get upset that you would say that's what the Bible says. And learning how to defend your. That's why you have to learn. Okay, how do I defend my faith in a public square? And a public square just means in public with people who don't believe in Jesus, because I think that's super hard and I never thought about apologetics being so important and apologetics is just like the reason for the hope that you have. Coe, did you ever have to have an apologetics training when you were a preacher's kid? Because people were asking you questions about stuff.
Speaker 2:So this is like pros and cons about growing up in a small town, especially in the Bible Belt.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So Bible Belt is like this. They call it the Bible Belt Up in the Panhandle Midwest, like this row where it was just church on every corner, right. So everybody up there in that area is like, oh, we believe in God, right, um. So everybody up there in that area is like, oh, we believe in god. So it was a little bit easier that everybody just was small town going to church might not have been your church, but they were at church going to some church.
Speaker 2:So I didn't really get a ton of like questions of or made fun of for that, because, and then once you get into six, seven, eight, youth group yeah, people are going to youth groups, right, and there would be more popular youth groups at a time and it would rotate to another church and that youth group was popular and it would rotate, yeah, yeah, but youth group was a cool, like people would just go.
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 2:Now, also, the failure with that is people were going just to hang out with friends and didn't really understand what Christianity really was Right, until you went to like church camp and got saved 18 times every summer, which is hilarious, until, yeah, which is a whole nother ordeal. But the big thing of it was is that people believed in that and understood and knew God was real. Yeah, so it wasn't a lot of pushback on that, which was nice. Yeah, that was really nice. So it was never like, oh, you don't believe in blah, blah, blah and no, we all believe in God, and it is great.
Speaker 1:All right. So on this last thing, we'll wrap this up A couple of things that we do as a family, tell me. I'd love to hear your perspective on it. And and then we'll wrap this up A couple things that we do as a family. Tell me. I'd love to hear your perspective on it, and I'd love to hear what you guys did Cody growing up. But we have. What do we do now, like in evening times, whenever we're going to read the Bible together?
Speaker 3:We do a devotional where it's like we do SPB, say it, play it and pray.
Speaker 1:it Is that fun silly, Do you like it? Tell everybody what we do.
Speaker 3:So we read a passage from the Bible and then we would explain what we would do.
Speaker 1:Like you'd act it out yeah act it out and that's probably the most fun part about that and then we pray it by, like a simple prayer, that's like God, help me live out whatever truth we learn from it. And then, specifically, we have specific prayers. We say every night what are we praying for right night? What are we praying for in general Right now? What are we?
Speaker 3:praying for right now To get tall, for me to get taller and also my grandpa's bank deal.
Speaker 1:Yep.
Speaker 3:The church to be built.
Speaker 1:Yep, that's been on there for a long time.
Speaker 3:And there's a couple of families that I want to be saved.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So we kind of go through the families that we know that don't know Jesus and we just pray for them by name and ask God to intervene in their lives. And then you know other things that you know simple, like have a great day, or if there's a test, I think sometimes and other times I'll have you pray over me if I'm going to have a tough conversation with somebody as a pastor. What's that like when you know that I'm going to have a hard conversation with somebody? That's sort of challenging.
Speaker 3:Well, it's weird for the pastor's kid to pray for the pastor. It's kind of intimidating.
Speaker 1:Why is that intimidating?
Speaker 3:It's because, like it's weird.
Speaker 1:That's fair. That's fair. So the last time I asked you to pray for me, how did that feel? Was it weird?
Speaker 3:Well, last time I asked you to pray for me. How'd that feel? Was it weird? Yeah, it was interesting. I guess in that way it was like a short, simple prayer, because I really didn't know what you were walking into.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you did a great job and it went really well, so I really appreciate it.
Speaker 2:Your prayers for him are more powerful and more important than the head elder.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's so good, buddy.
Speaker 2:I mean in reality, I could tell you that are more powerful and more important than the head elder. Yeah, it's so good buddy.
Speaker 1:I mean in reality, I could tell you that there's a real sense of your prayer life if you can develop it. Now you have a real. Not that they don't and he's not saying that, but it's just it's really special when you pray for me, because there's something really unique there and all the other brothers are learning to pray as well. Yes, I think Jet gets it.
Speaker 3:Ty says, learned it. I think he accepted Christ yesterday.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think he accepted Christ yesterday as well I think it was legit too and so you're his battle buddy. So do you feel any sense of responsibility, that you need to share Christ with him more?
Speaker 3:No, not, really, Not so much.
Speaker 1:You don't feel that responsibility. You're like, nah, it's on you.
Speaker 3:Yeah, sort of.
Speaker 1:I appreciate that All right. Well, that's good. I mean, I think that ultimately, it's my job to represent Jesus to him, but it'd be really cool if you nudged him in a certain way.
Speaker 3:If you know what I mean yeah, the most responsibility is just taking care of him.
Speaker 1:Yeah, how do you take care of him?
Speaker 3:I don't know If he's crying. I play with him and then I go back to my thing. Stop crying.
Speaker 1:That's pretty much usually what we're all worried about is everyone crying.
Speaker 3:And then I give him my electronic device for like a good 10 minutes.
Speaker 2:Wow so generous.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, super generous. And then he well, now that he has his own thing, he's fighting with Jet to see what game he can play.
Speaker 1:That's fair, alright. What about talk about your devotional life that we've implemented a couple times with reading the one minute devotional. Yeah, how's that gone? It's, or is it challenging still, or how do you feel about it?
Speaker 3:I'm still understanding. It's probably. I've only done it twice with you, so I'm still learning admit and that Admit and the ABC prayer, I think.
Speaker 1:ABC is just. That's how you lead someone to Christ. Admit you're a sinner. What the admit? So the devotional, remember the one minute, the book that we have one minute devotional.
Speaker 3:It was like the A, and then there was two S's.
Speaker 1:Oh are you talking about Acts?
Speaker 3:The treehouse one oh yeah, you're talking about.
Speaker 1:So it's adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication. So in our prayer, so in our prayer time, devote. We did like a little five really.
Speaker 3:It was like how many, how many minutes we do five minutes we did like 10, maybe at most no way it was 10 minutes.
Speaker 1:It was like more like maybe five, or we just sat there and prayed, uh, adored god, confessed our sin, thanked him and then just asked god for stuff yeah, and then we went through the devotional which was like just a one minute. Yeah, Literally a one. It was like a little thing and it was Passage. If you're in treehouse kids at our church fourth, fifth grade, Adrian has that Bible available.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:For anyone that actually gets baptized in treehouse. They get one of those as their gift. It's just a one-minute devotional that you can read.
Speaker 3:Yeah, they make you read it, sometimes in treehouse oh, really, yeah, okay, well, that's awesome, all right.
Speaker 1:Hey, listen, if you got any questions, we'd love to hear from you. If you've got a pk out there that you need to help them out with, we'd love to kind of wrap around it awesome. Would you mind coming back so we talk about how to teach the trinity to, uh, fellow sixth graders or fifth graders, whatever grade you're in? Yeah, that would be cool to talk through Trinity, talk through why we believe the Bible. Maybe an apologetics course for sixth grade? That'd be kind of our thing. But hey, if you got any questions, text us in at 737-231-0605. We'd love to hear from you. We talk faith, culture and everything in between, from our house to yours. Have an awesome week of worship.