Preston Morrison: The Quiet Faith Resurgence No One’s Talking About... | DSH #1708

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Digital Social Hour

Episode: Preston Morrison: The Quiet Faith Resurgence No One’s Talking About... | DSH #1708

Host: Sean Kelly
Guest: Pastor Preston Morrison
Date: December 25, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Sean Kelly sits down with Pastor Preston Morrison, a seasoned pastor with over 25 years of experience, to discuss the resurgence of faith among younger generations, the role of fear and spiritual warfare, the necessity of community, and navigating faith in today’s complex world. The conversation weaves personal stories, biblical insights, and candid observations on contemporary struggles like anxiety, mental health, and the influence of social media.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Impact of COVID and the State of the Church

• COVID as a Revealer

  • Preston shares how the pandemic laid bare the fragility of both individual and communal health, exposing pre-existing issues we “pretended not to have.”
  • Quote:

    "What COVID did... it exposed where people actually were. Humanity was not nearly as healthy as everyone was pretending to be."
    — Preston Morrison (02:18)

• Church Response & Acts of Faith

  • Arizona churches, including Preston’s, worked closely with local authorities to remain open and serve their communities.
  • Tells a powerful story of an elderly church greeter—despite being oxygen-dependent and in his 80s, he insisted on serving throughout the pandemic:

    “If I’m gonna go, I’m gonna go serving the Lord and being in the midst of my family.”
    — Congregant quoted by Preston (00:05, 04:52, 05:11)

  • Preston reflects:

    "That's a measure of strength that I don't know that I've ever seen in my lifetime."
    — Preston (05:11)

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2. Wrestling with Fear & Spiritual Warfare

• Personal Battle with Fear

  • Preston vulnerably recounts his struggles with crippling fear and anxiety in his late 20s—moments so paralyzing he’d be “in the fetal position.”

    “I battled fear hardcore... days. Fetal position in the corner... I was believing a lie that if I said yes to the call of God on my life, everyone I love was going to get hurt.”
    — Preston (05:39, 07:05)

• Roots in Spiritual Warfare

  • Attributes these fears not just to mental/emotional issues, but to “spiritual warfare,” referencing biblical narratives (e.g., Jesus’s temptation).

    “There is a war being waged... it may just be full on spiritual warfare. I just felt like I took a lie from the enemy, hook, line, and sinker.”
    — Preston (07:39, 08:29)

  • Agrees the world is growing darker, but argues this heightens the need—and opportunity—for “the light” of faith.

• On Suffering and Growth

  • Suggests that adversity and darkness, while unpleasant, often drive people into deeper faith and personal transformation.

    “If everything was awesome, I’d be tempted to make myself my own God... I’m grateful for the challenges, for the stumbles, for the things that scared me.”
    — Preston (12:33, 12:39)

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3. The Resurgence of Faith Among Young People

• Signs of Revival

  • Preston notes a notable increase in young men and women returning to or discovering faith post-pandemic.

    “There is an absolute resurgence... Especially with young men your age. Of your generation coming back or coming to the Lord for the first time. It’s wild.”
    — Preston (17:51, 18:10)

• Sean’s Personal Journey

  • Shares his own path—away from church for 15 years, now reconnecting and exploring the Bible with new eyes.

• Hearing God’s Voice

  • Preston encourages believers that God speaks to each of them (“My sheep hear my voice”), though it can take time to recognize His guidance.

    “Every person who believes in Jesus hears the voice of God. They just might not know what he sounds like.”
    — Preston (19:39, 20:06)

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4. Faith in Practice: Community, Identity, and Vulnerability

• Need for Community

  • Asserts that faith thrives in community, that isolation breeds insecurity and struggle:

    "It would be like being in a canoe and trying to go upstream without a paddle... being disconnected from the local church."
    — Preston (23:07, 24:03)

  • Sean and Preston discuss how right community provides accountability, safety, and growth—contrasting it to the dangers and loneliness of going it alone (37:10).

• Identity and Insecurity

  • Points to lack of identity as a root of insecurity.

    “If you don’t know your identity... you’re always going to walk in insecurity. But the second I realize who I am, it’s a game changer.”
    — Preston (15:42)

  • Stresses God’s intentional design and affection for each individual, countering the common image of an “angry God.”

• Proving Commitment Through Action

  • Urges younger generations to move beyond aspiration to preparation and action, especially by cultivating strong, faith-driven communities.

    "Anybody who thinks they can do it alone is actually making the statement, what I'm doing is very small."
    — Preston (24:12)

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5. Social Media, Mental Health, and Demonic Influence

• Social Media as Ministry

  • Shares a personal story of withdrawing from public life (“ten years in hiding”) at God’s direction, then returning to online ministry—now seeing social media as a vital tool for reaching the hurting.

    "Now I've seen so much hurt. I just want to help, and I want to point as many people to Jesus as I possibly can all over the earth. And social media, I've learned, is a powerful tool."
    — Preston (28:46, 29:01)

  • Talks about volume of people reaching out with issues ranging from marital problems to depression (29:14).

• Mental Health and the Spiritual Dimension

  • While affirming the reality of clinical issues, Preston insists many cases are not purely psychological:

    “I think there is more of a spiritual component than we give it credit. We’re not just mental beings... we're spiritual beings.”
    — Preston (30:19)

  • Points out that demonic attack often targets God’s children, especially those with influence, as a way to hurt what God loves most (31:18, 35:18).

  • Warns of the risk of addressing mental/spiritual struggles solely through medication or numbing:

    “The goal isn't to numb you. The spirit of God, the Holy Spirit has been given to every believer in Jesus… to be empowered.”
    — Preston (32:28)

• The Importance of Acknowledgment and Community

  • Both Sean and Preston share personal experiences of feeling “picked on” or attacked, overcoming by consulting their faith community and acknowledging the true source of struggle (36:04, 36:33).

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6. Personal Growth, Identity, and Authenticity

• The Value of Self-Awareness and Authenticity

  • Preston advocates for self-study, challenging listeners to know themselves better to combat negative thoughts and be effective in their callings (37:28, 39:14).

    “You should know you better than any human who walks the face of the earth… Most people are so out of touch with themselves.”
    — Preston (39:14)

  • Both men note that feeling safe and accepted—especially with family and community—was crucial for their journeys away from insecurity and people-pleasing (40:28).

• Lighter Moments

  • The episode closes with basketball banter, NFL team rivalries, and laughs about the Dallas Cowboys’ and New York Giants’ fortunes—a lighthearted moment rounding out the in-depth conversation (41:20–43:00).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Quote/Theme | Speaker | |-----------|-------------|---------| | 02:18 | “What COVID did... it exposed where people actually were. Humanity was not nearly as healthy as everyone was pretending to be.” | Preston Morrison | | 04:52 | “If I’m gonna go, I’m gonna go serving the Lord and being in the midst of my family.” | Congregant, quoted by Preston | | 05:11 | “That’s a measure of strength that I don’t know that I’ve ever seen in my lifetime.” | Preston Morrison | | 07:05 | “…I was believing a lie that if I said yes to the call of God on my life, everyone I love was going to get hurt.” | Preston Morrison | | 08:29 | “There is a war being waged... it may just be full on spiritual warfare.” | Preston Morrison | | 12:39 | “If everything was awesome, I’d be tempted to make myself my own God.” | Preston Morrison | | 15:42 | “If you don’t know your identity... you’re always going to walk in insecurity. But the second I realize who I am, it’s a game changer.” | Preston Morrison | | 17:51 | “There is an absolute resurgence... Especially with young men your age. Of your generation coming back or coming to the Lord for the first time.” | Preston Morrison | | 19:39 | “Every person who believes in Jesus hears the voice of God. They just might not know what he sounds like.” | Preston Morrison | | 23:07 | “It would be like being in a canoe and trying to go upstream without a paddle... being disconnected from the local church.” | Preston Morrison | | 24:12 | "Anybody who thinks they can do it alone is actually making the statement, what I'm doing is very small." | Preston Morrison | | 28:46 | "[Now] I've seen so much hurt. I just want to help, and I want to point as many people to Jesus as I possibly can all over the earth." | Preston Morrison | | 30:19 | “I think there is more of a spiritual component than we give it credit. We’re not just mental beings, we're spiritual beings.” | Preston Morrison | | 32:28 | “The goal isn't to numb you. The spirit of God… the Holy Spirit has been given to every believer in Jesus… to be empowered.” | Preston Morrison | | 39:14 | “You should know you better than any human who walks the face of the earth… Most people are so out of touch with themselves.” | Preston Morrison |

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Important Timestamps

• [00:00–05:31] — Opening story about the elderly church member’s courage during COVID
• [05:39–09:18] — Preston’s personal battle with fear and thoughts on spiritual warfare
• [12:33–15:42] — Why darkness and trouble can drive faith and the need for identity in God
• [17:51–19:39] — Faith resurgence among young people; Sean’s journey back to reading the Bible
• [28:35–30:10] — Social media as a tool for ministry, counseling needs
• [30:19–32:44] — Mental health, spiritual warfare, and holistic perspectives
• [36:33–39:14] — Overcoming isolation, the power of community, and self-awareness
• [41:21–43:08] — Lighthearted sports talk, closing remarks

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Conclusion

Pastor Preston Morrison’s appearance on Digital Social Hour offers a blend of vulnerability, hope, and practical wisdom. Drawing from personal hardship, biblical insight, and years of ministry, he paints a candid picture of the challenges and promise facing today’s believers. Through stories of faithful courage, frank admissions of doubt and fear, and a call for authentic community, the episode stands as both an encouragement and a sober challenge to anyone seeking meaning, healing, or a deeper faith in confusing times.

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Connect with Pastor Preston Morrison:

• Instagram: @PrestonMorrison
• Church: Pillar Church, Scottsdale, AZ

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“Don’t go through it alone. If you feel you’re up under a dark cloud, just reach out.”
— Preston Morrison (43:15)

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Transcript

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

But I asked him, I said, what are you doing at the door during a worldwide pandemic? And this guy says, if I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go serving the Lord and being in the midst of my family.

[Sean]

Wow.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

I mean that, bro. It leveled me because there was so much fear.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Back then. That here's this giant of a man that most people. If you. If most of the people listening to this saw him, they'd think he was weak. That's a measure of strength that I don't know that I've ever seen in my lifetime.

[Sean]

Okay, guys, we got Pastor Preston Morrison here, someone who's been a pastor for 25 years. Thanks for coming, man.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Thanks for having me.

[Sean]

Yeah. You've dedicated your whole life to this.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

My entire adult life. Yeah.

[Sean]

Yeah. I got to hear how it started and was it planned? Like, was this always the goal for you?

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Yeah. So I grew up in the church. My dad was a pastor, my grandfather was a pastor. My dad kind of tried to talk me out of it, you know, in a good way. Not just to do it to do it or because of family, but kind of knew at 13, this was the path that I felt God had me on. And it's been a wild ride this last 25.

[Sean]

Yeah, that's super young to. To really know what you want to do. I feel like.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Yeah, it's a little bit rare. You know, I don't put that on my kids. I've got four kids. It's. It's not for everybody, but I felt like the path that God had for me, it. It needed to be laid out pretty early because I'm a stubborn donkey, so.

[Sean]

Yeah, you're stubborn.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

I am a bit of a stubborn.

[Sean]

At least you could imagine you got some fighter. Yeah. There's levels to stubbornness.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

There is for sure, but I think it comes in handy, especially in the day in which we live.

[Sean]

You think stubbornness comes in handy?

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Well, I mean, a little bit of fighter. I mean, since COVID this is. It's a. It's a difficult and complicated time to live, and I think everybody needs a little bit of fighter just to. To navigate the day to day experiences of this life.

[Sean]

Agreed. Did Covid affect your trust levels with. With the government?

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

I. I wouldn't say I get into as much of that as I think it helped me to see some things that were there.

[Sean]

Right.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

And I think as it relates to the church, we had a season where the government stepped in and said, you can or can't meet. Some churches chose to abide by that some went a different path.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

And I. I think we saw as pastors and as the church, capital C, we saw that there were a lot of people pre Covid. Everybody was saying, I'm doing awesome. I'm in a healthy place. And what Covid did, it's less about what happened, government, all that stuff. For me, it's. Personally, it exposed where people actually were. And I think what we learned during COVID was humanity was not nearly as healthy as everyone was pretending to be.

[Sean]

Right.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

It just exposed the problems that were already there.

[Sean]

Agreed. Yeah. I think it made me open up about my own health because I got coveted four times.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Did you really?

[Sean]

And the first time almost wiped me out. I feel like that was one of the worst batches. The first batch before it was, like, mainstream. Right. I don't know if you caught that.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

One, but, yeah, I did. Oh, my God. I think I got it. So we had somebody in our church actually pass away in February before, you know, kind of March was beginning of March was when everything started to become known. But all the symptoms she had. And I went to the hospital to visit her and be with her husband. She was in a coma. And I ended up getting it. Had no idea what I had. I just thought it was a really bad flu.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

But, I mean, it was. It was wild.

[Sean]

That's how I felt. I still have damage from it today. I had pneumonia, bronchitis. My lungs still had some issues. Yeah, man, that first wave was.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

It was wicked.

[Sean]

But, yeah, it caught me to reevaluate my health, if we're being honest, because even though I was young, I wasn't active.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Yeah.

[Sean]

I was just sitting in my house all day, working 18 hours a day, trying to make a name for myself, doing that for years straight, you know, it's not healthy.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Yeah. You know, got to be moving.

[Sean]

Yeah. So did you guys keep the church open during those years?

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Yeah, we met the. Every municipality had different boundaries and different rules. Arizona, which is where I'm from, did a fairly good job, in my opinion. Many of the pastors in our area were on a weekly call with the governor's office, and so we, you know, we kind of had a heads up on everything that was going on, and we saw what the quote, unquote rules were, and we did everything we could to continue to minister to our people.

[Sean]

Nice.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

But I mean, in our church, for instance, we had a. A guy in his early 80s who literally wheeled around an oxygen tank. And you would think during COVID because of many. And I'm not, I'm not coming at anybody. But many kind of went into hiding. Here's this 82, 83 year old man wheeling an oxygen cart, greeting at the front door of our church all throughout Covid.

[Sean]

Wow.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Ended up passing away a little bit later on. But I asked him, I said, what are you doing at the door during a worldwide pandemic? And this guy says, if I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go serving the Lord and being in the midst of my family.

[Sean]

Wow.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

I mean that bro, that it leveled me because there was so much fear back then, that here's this giant of a man that most people, if you, if most of the people listening to this saw him, they think he was weak. That's a measure of strength that I don't know that I've ever seen in my lifetime.

[Sean]

Wow. Respect.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Sean]

That's a powerful story. Speaking of fear, like, what's your approach with fear? Like, do you have any fears?

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Yeah. So part of my story, I mean, I, I battled fear hardcore probably in my, my late 20s. I'm talking hardcore debilitating days.

[Sean]

Wow.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

I mean, fetal position in the corner type stuff where I was scared and didn't tell anybody about it. Just tried to navigate it on my own, which obviously makes it exponentially worse. And then finally involved some friends and mentors and got to the other side of it. But one of the things we believe as believers, the Bible says, talks about fear, that God is not about fear. He actually expels fear. And it was something that I learned. It was a door I'd open. It was a lie. I'd believed that for me personally, kind of where it started was if I say yes to the call of God on my life, then I'm going to be picked on spiritually for the rest of my life in a very frightening way. And I believed it. I took it. I took the lie, hook, line and sinker. And I mean it, it was bad, bad, bad. Where my three year old daughter, four year old daughter got her arms stuck. You know the handle on the oven.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

She got her arm stuck in between the glass and the handle oven's not even on.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

And I was so battling fear. My daughter screaming, help me, help me. I run in and I'm screaming, screaming five times louder than her because I, I was believing a lie that if I said yes to the call of God on my life, everyone I love was going to get hurt.

[Sean]

Whoa.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

And so it was just a bro. It was, it was a dark time. But I'm grateful That I got to navigate it because I learned a lot about me. I learned a lot about God, and I learned a lot about fear.

[Sean]

Thanks for being so open with that. Where did that lie come from? Was it just something you saw on social media or something?

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

No, my. My opinion and. And people probably have their own take on this, but I believe in spiritual warfare.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

You know, so do I. It's. It's very clear in the Bible that there is a war being waged. We believe it's already been won because of what Jesus did on the cross. Nonetheless, there is a battle. And Jesus, after he was baptized, goes out into the wilderness. And that battle, Satan, tempted him for 40 days. And many of us, I think all of us, experience a measure of spiritual warfare. It's just most of us don't even know that's what we're experiencing. We call it emotional, we call it mental. It may just be full on spiritual warfare. And so I just felt like I took a lie from the enemy hook, line, and sinker.

[Sean]

Yeah. So when you say spiritual warfare, are you talking like demonic stuff?

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Absolutely.

[Sean]

Yeah, I believe in that too. I think there's a lot of demonic influences in the world.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Absolutely. You better believe it. It's. It's dark and it's getting darker.

[Sean]

You think so?

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Yeah, but I also think as a pastor that that's not a bad thing. I think the darker a room is, the more of a necessity the light becomes. And my hope as a pastor is the worse things get on the earth, the more people will look in the direction of Jesus. He is the light of life, the light of the world. And so I'm not intimidated as a pastor that things are getting worse. You know, people will say, man, you're looking at what's going on in the world. This is. This is just so depressing to me, man. There's opportunity everywhere. The darker it gets, the more people need to see the light.

[Sean]

Is that just natural balance? Like, how do you view that relationship, dark and light?

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Well, I mean, the two have been at war. I mean, ever since the fall of Satan, there has been a battle between darkness and light. Yet light has already overcome. Scripture is very clear that Jesus has already won the battle. When. When he was crucified, buried for three days, and resurrected on the third day, the victory was established for eternity. Yet until his return, which the Bible talks about Jesus coming again. And when you see what's going on all around the earth, my personal opinion, we are closer than we can wrap our minds around to the return of Jesus. Wow. And some people, you know, in my evangelical context, many people talk about the tribulation before Jesus returns and how bad everything's going to be and how bad it is. Right now. My approach is I want to look in the direction of Jesus. Jesus said, this is recorded in scripture. He said, in this life, you will have trouble. I personally think one of the problems we have as humans and as believers in Jesus, I'll speak specifically, is we don't expect trouble yet. Jesus said this life is going to have a lot of garbage. Why? It's a fallen world. Ever since Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, it opened the door for Satan and all of his little minions to run rampant on the earth even though we can't see is absolutely happening. So I think if we don't have an understanding of the balance between the two and as Christians, I'm a full fledged believer in Jesus, follower of Jesus Christ. I believe we've got to hold on to our king is coming again. And no matter how bad things get, the king is returning and he's going to make right all that is wrong for eternity.

[Sean]

I love that.

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[Sean]

Would you say with trouble and with with darkness, those are actually needed because through those a lot of growth happens afterwards, right?

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Well, think about this. If everything was awesome, I'd be tempted to make myself my own God, right? I'd have no need for God if everything was awesome. Some of the hardest things I've ever walked through in my life were the moments I cried out to God the loudest and the strongest. And now I look back on them and I'm grateful, I'm absolutely grateful for the challenges, for the stumbles, for the things that scared me. Because one of my favorite lines in the Bible, Jesus looks at his disciples and this, this is often overlooked. He says to his disciples, they're on one side of the lake. And he says, let's go to the other side. And, and the implication is he was saying to the people with him, I want to go somewhere with you. I don't want you just to go. I want to go with you. I have learned when we navigate the valleys of a fallen world, that is the perfect time for Jesus to do what only he can do. The King of the Universe. So in my early 20s, man, I, I would, I hated tough stuff. At 47, man, I, I, to me, the tough stuff in your life and mine is the part of the movie that is a divine setup for God to do something only he could do.

[Sean]

Wow. I love that because you're right. A lot of people will avoid or put to the side tough things, tough issues, tough conversations. Right, Right.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

We run from it all.

[Sean]

I used to, I still do, from certain conversations, I think all of us.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

But this is why. Think about how amazing it is that the King of the universe would ever have his eye on you. David records in Psalm 139, he says, and when I awaken, you are there. I want you to think about the implications of this. King David, the greatest king of Israel that has ever lived, not named Jesus, gets a revelation that the King of the universe, my paraphrase was obsessed with him, just like he is with you. His eye has been on you since before the day of your birth. Think about that. Think about Sean. All the people on the planet right now looking for something, trying everything, and they can't find what they're looking for. Is it possible they've been looking in the wrong direction the entire time? What if what they were looking for wasn't a thing but a one capital O? The King of the universe wants to be best friends with you. Think about insecurity. It's one of the problems I see most as a pastor. Insecurity just is running rampant. My opinion, if you don't know your identity, if I don't know my identity, I'm always going to walk in insecurity.

[Sean]

Yep.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

But the second I realize who I am, it's a game changer. Well, who am I? I am a human who was fashioned by the God of the universe in my mother's womb. Every part of me. I'm not just talking physically, I'm talking emotionally, mentally. My giftings, my talents, every part of me. He took his time handcrafting me. Handcrafting you. I used to struggle with unbridled insecurity in my teenage years and early twenties. Why? I didn't know who I was. I didn't know how the God of the universe saw me. Can you imagine the one who created everything having an obsession and it being you? Most people, when they think about God, what I found, people who don't believe in Jesus. One of the things when I ask, hey, how do you see God? One of the words I hear the most, angry. Angry.

[Sean]

Really?

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Yeah, he's angry. I get that perspective and I make space for it. And if people could get a revelation of the love of God, they would understand the anger of God. So I think one of the beautiful things about getting to live this life in a fallen world, God created you with needs. You are needy by design. And he is the fulfillment of all of my needs. Now I need food. I need all of those things. I'm not just being literal. I'm saying the deepest parts of me were created to need something nothing on this earth could provide, only God. And I think the worst things get in the earth, the more we're going to see people looking in the direction of the king of the universe.

[Sean]

Are you seeing that with your church?

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

100%. Especially with your generation?

[Sean]

Oh, really, bro?

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

It's. It's all over the earth. I was at a private group gathering of pastors, especially all over the globe, and they were all sharing the same thing. Especially with young men your age. There is an absolute resurgence.

[Sean]

Wow.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Of your generation coming back or coming to the Lord for the first time. It's wild. And I think part of it was Covid. It was the beginning. And I think all of what we're seeing is a divine setup.

[Sean]

I could see it. I took 15 years off. I went to church until about 10, and then took a long time off. Now I just started reading the Bible again.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Really?

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

So what are your thoughts on it now? As 28?

[Sean]

28 now I believe in God. I'd say yeah.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Yeah. When you read scripture, what do you feel like? God speaks to you when you read it, or is it more right now in the season? A book of history.

[Sean]

Yeah. I'm taking it more literally now, I think, if that makes sense. Just trying to incorporate ways to learn in my life, like from the Bible, what I can Take away and apply.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Do you believe God speaks to you?

[Sean]

Oh, I've never been asked that. God speaks to me, I guess through the Bible, right? I don't know.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Yeah, certainly he wrote it, right? Absolutely. That's one of the ways God speaks to us. Do you believe he.

[Sean]

I've never heard his voice, if that's what you're asking.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

One of the fascinating things that Jesus says, and I agree with what you said a lot of in my context, I have a lot of friends in a little different wing of the evangelical world who are careful to say that God speaks. Because there are a lot of people who say, well, God told me.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

And they elevated above the Bible, which I don't believe at all.

[Sean]

Right.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Scripture is above anything that I believe I could ever hear. And Jesus said, my sheep hear my voice. Every person who believes in Jesus hears the voice of God. They just might not know what he sounds like. So there's a story in scripture of a young boy named Samuel, and he's growing up in the temple and in the middle of the night he hears this voice calling his name. And he runs into the high priest's room in the middle of the night, wakes him up and he says, eli, did you, did you call my name? And the priest says, no, go back to bed. Happens again. No, go back to bed. Third time. Finally, Eli is like, I get what's happening right now. God's speaking to you. And he tells them to go back to his room. See the point, part of the point of that story is Samuel was hearing God's voice. He just didn't know what God sounded like. So for Jesus to say, my sheep. And that is every follower of Jesus, my sheep hear my voice. If you believe in Jesus, I believe Scripture says, and Jesus said and says, sean can hear me. He can hear my voice. And part of the fun things about life is to hone in and learn what that voice sounds like. Yeah, because I believe God wants to speak into every area of your life and mine.

[Sean]

That is interesting. So you believe he speaks to everyone. What if they're atheist or non believer?

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

No, believers in Jesus. So that's part of the distinction Jesus makes. Right. He says, my sheep. So that's speaking to his followers. Not just anyone, but I believe anyone can hear God's voice if they choose to believe. That's right. That's right.

[Sean]

And is it as simple as just a belief? Like saying I believe in it or what's the process?

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Well, the Bible talks about confessing my sins. Another way to say that that's kind of a complicated. Sounds complicated. Theologically, a more simple way to say it is there has to be an acknowledgement of my fallenness on my own. I'm an idiot apart from God. One of the things I've learned, not only am I stubborn, I am an absolute moron. I'm not capable of good on my own.

[Sean]

Really, I don't.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Buddy, you strip away any of God's help in my life, I am. There is nothing beautiful to behold. Wow. Nothing. Confessing God, I need you. And then the other part. I believe that you sent your son, your one and only begotten son, to live a perfect life on this earth for 33 years, to die in my place, and on the third day was raised from the dead. This is what the Bible says. If I can establish those two things right there, my utter need for God because of my fallenness, my sin, all my trash, and acknowledge what Jesus did for me, Jesus would say, welcome, welcome. Now, that's the beginning. I'm not saying that's the end.

[Sean]

Right.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

That is just the beginning. And there is so much more beauty in following Jesus than just believing.

[Sean]

That's deep, man. I'm learning a lot. I appreciate you educating me, you know, I really do. I might have to start going to church again. Honestly.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Well, I do think it's important. God sets us in family, and it's important, you know, when people hear the word church, you can go in a million different directions. But where I go, it's a community of believers in Jesus. When things get rough for me, where do I want to turn? The people I can count to count on the most. For me, that's a community of believers. I love the local church, not just because I'm a pastor, because I've seen the power of it and the strength of it, the benefits of it. And I think that there's not a better way. I think everybody needs to be. Every follower of Jesus needs to be set in a local church because it would be like being in a canoe and trying to go upstream without a paddle. That, to me, is what it's like being disconnected from the local church.

[Sean]

The community is probably my favorite part of it, too. I'm big on community.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Love it.

[Sean]

Being around the right people, like, very important to me. Something I think about all the time.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Love it.

[Sean]

Because it can destroy your life.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Absolutely. The community of people you have around you can take you in two directions, the right direction or the wrong direction. And if you actually believe. So I hear a lot of younger people your age and I mean that respectfully. Who will come up and be like, man, I feel like I'm supposed to do something big. Part of what I'll say is prove it to me. Don't just say it. Anybody can say it. Prove it. How are you preparing? How are you establishing a strong community of people around you to help you carry the weight that God created you to carry in your life? Anybody who thinks they can do it alone is actually making the statement, what I'm doing is very small.

[Sean]

I love that. Prove it through action. Right?

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Right.

[Sean]

A lot of people talk big game.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

It's easy to talk.

[Sean]

Yeah. Very easy. That's cool to see that younger people are going to church more. I didn't know that, man.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

It's an awesome. I've not seen anything like it in my lifetime and I personally. So I know you have a lot of hot takes on your pod. I personally believe that the next two generations, it's very likely we could see the return of Jesus in the next two generations. Now, I know for some people the Bible says no man knows the day, the hour, the time. So I'm not making some claim that it's happening on this day, but I am pastoring our church. I am living my life. I'm preparing the next two generations as though Jesus were returning sometime in their lifetime. I think your generation is going to see the last great move of God in the earth. And I believe it's going to be breathtaking.

[Sean]

Wow.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

It's going to render us speechless when we see the spirit of God moving on the earth, possibly in a way we never have before. And so part of my responsibility as a pastor is not to enjoy my time on the platform. And you know, at my peak, my responsibility is to get your generation ready and my grandchildren's generation ready.

[Sean]

Respect. I wonder what that would look like if he actually does return.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Buddy, I don't think we have a vocabulary to describe it.

[Sean]

Wow, that's beautiful, man. Do you ever get caught up with balancing social media and the pastorship? Because I know that's sort of a hard dynamic to balance, right?

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Yeah, it is tough. And to be honest, so part of my story and when I started our church In Scottsdale almost 14 years ago, I felt the Lord say, I want you to go into hiding. And essentially I don't, I don't want anyone to know you exist. I'd been a young adults pastor for about seven years. I, I had been on Instagram back in the day, about 1400 followers. And then when we started the church, it's kind of opposite to feel like God was saying, hey, go hide. Because a lot of people, it's like, hey, I gotta. I gotta get this thing off the ground. I gotta shout it from the rooftops, you know? But part of my life as a Christ follower is if he goes that way, I go that way. I've learned when he goes that way and I go that way, it spells trouble for me every single time. And in my early 20s, oftentimes, I went in the opposite direction. And I learned the hard way what. What that gets you. And so, you know, I hid for 10 years. And then about two and a half years ago, I felt the Lord say, now I want you to come out of fighting, and I want you like a John the Baptist, to shout from the rooftops the message of the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And so I got on social media again, and it kind of moved fast for us. Didn't really expect it. And it was difficult for some of the people in our church to process. They liked me better when I was in hiding. And I personally believe if Jesus is coming again, let's just say the next 40, 50, 60 years, I want to shout, why did I come do this? If there's one person, Sean, who is searching for something, they've been searching for some time, but they can't find it if there is one. This whole experience for me was more than worth it. Wow. They'll hit me up. Hit me up on Instagram. I'd love to talk to them. It's worth it to me. I used to see social media as an annoyance, and now I see it as a tool to steward and to leverage, but more to steward. And I get hit up all of the time with counseling, dms, hundreds every day.

[Sean]

Really?

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

There's so much hurt.

[Sean]

Wow.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

There's so much hurt. And so rather than just say, oh, social media is bad, which honestly is what I used to say when I.

[Sean]

Was hiding, same with me.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

And now I've seen so much hurt. I just want to help, and I want to point as many people to Jesus as I possibly can all over the earth. And social media, I've learned, is a powerful tool. To use it is to do that brave thing.

[Sean]

Crazy timing. I started two and a half years ago, too.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Did you really?

[Sean]

Yeah. That's when I started the pod. Wow. So we got similar messaging around the same time.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Yeah.

[Sean]

To get on it. What are the most common DMs you get? What problems are they coming to you for?

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

See a lot of marriage stuff infidelity or. Yeah, some. Yeah, people leaving, you know, just up and leaving. 25, 30 year marriage and just one day waking up and going, I'm out. And, you know, helping people in pain is a hard thing, but a beautiful thing. And so that's one of the big things I think depression is. You can call it whatever you want. Darkness, cloud of confusion. See that a lot. See a lot of. I don't know what I'm supposed to do with my life. The younger generation, I just think it's fun. I try. I respond to as many of the DMs that I get personally. And I ask the Lord if there's anything he wants to say through me to them. And I just love to encourage anybody who's navigating brokenness or darkness.

[Sean]

I'll attest to that because you answered my dm. So that is you with the mental health stuff. How much of that do you think is like a demonic influence or like they're being negatively.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

A great question. I am not a doctor, so I won't pretend to be one, but I will say I think there is more of a spiritual component than we give it credit. Of course, there is some physiological stuff that can go on in our bodies, in our minds. Totally acknowledge that. And we are not just mental beings, we're not just emotional beings, we're spiritual beings. And so I think in the midst of this war, think about it. Remember I said at the beginning of this episode, the God of the universe is obsessed with you. So think, if his number one enemy is trying to hit him where it hurts, where's he going to try and hit the God of the universe that can't get hit? There is no beating the one who has all power in heaven and on Earth. There's no beating him.

[Sean]

Right.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

So if you wanted to go at the God of the universe and you were his number one enemy, how would you do it? Here's how I would do it.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

I would go at the number one thing he loves. And so he comes at you? He comes at me. He studies us. You know, a lot of people believe that Satan knows everything. He is not all knowing. Here's my take. He just studies very well. Every demon to me, takes notes, just watches us. Oh, that's how Preston responds to stress. We'll just sit with that information until that moment, and then we're going to hit him where it hurts. And it's not just about me. They couldn't care less about me other than the God of the universe loves me, has his eye on me. I'm his child. And so I think the mental health conversation, we can't just let it be mental or emotional. We've got to make room for the spiritual component.

[Sean]

Agreed. A lot of people don't even acknowledge that.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

They don't. And I think that's why there can be a continuous butt kicking that goes on. Of course you can take too many pills and feel like it numbs you and quote, makes things better. But that's not the goal.

[Sean]

Right.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

The goal isn't to numb you. The spirit of God, the Holy Spirit has been given to every believer in Jesus. And one of the reasons why is the empowerment to be empowered. So the whole numbing thing actually goes in the opposite direction of what God wants.

[Sean]

Yep.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Think about it. Have you ever been drunk before?

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Okay. Are you as smart as you can possibly be when you're drunk?

[Sean]

Definitely not.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Do you make the best decisions when you're drunk? No, we don't. Right. We're numbed. We, we don't have full grasp of all of our mental capacity.

[Sean]

Right.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

And our strengths. I think sometimes we can overindulge on the medicine side. Now I'm. Our six year old son, takes medication. I'm not anti medication. I'm just pro. Let's take a holistic perspective of what's going on.

[Sean]

Yeah, I mean, I agree. I had on Brian yesterday who cast out demons and he does people like in mental psych wards and stuff with schizophrenia. He said a lot of the times, man, there's some demons involved with that stuff.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Yeah.

[Sean]

It's not just like a physical illness, there's like some, some negative influence.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

No. Which, which can sound one of two ways to me. It can sound like, oh my Lord, demons are picking on me. The other side of it is, oh, someone's picking on me. I actually feel relief when it's like when I went through the fear thing and I learned there was a measure of demonic attack for those two years, it was a relief to me. It's like having an intruder in your life. Having a front door. You have robbers, thieves outside your front door. You're going to open the door and just let them in. No. Many people have security systems. Well, spiritually, most, most people have every door and window wide open. Once I learned, oh, I'm being picked on, it gets a lot easier to know what to do next.

[Sean]

Right.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

I'm just kicking them out of my house.

[Sean]

I've met a lot of people in social media that seem to be picked on. Is that a pretty common thing from Your experience.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Absolutely. And I think the closer we get to the return of Jesus, the more we're going to see it ramp up.

[Sean]

Damn.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

But I actually think it's going to bite Satan in the butt. That's what I think. I think it's going to bite him in the butt. Scripture says God turns everything the enemy does. He can take it, turn it for good. I believe a lot of that picking on is going to cause people to call on the name of the Lord and they're going to see victory. Because when you're getting your butt handed to you, you're willing to do anything for relief. I think we're gonna see a massive wave of people coming to Jesus. The worst things get.

[Sean]

I hope so, man. Yeah. I notice a lot of people with social media influence get targeted.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Including myself.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Right. But think about it again, going back to if you were God's number one enemy, I would go after God's children. I'd go after the believers. I'd go after the ones Jesus died for. Every human on the earth. And I would go after the ones that have a measure of influence who with a sentence or paragraph or syllable could draw attention to the name of Jesus. I'd come at them.

[Sean]

Yep.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

And that's. But if you don't know you're in a fight, what's going to happen? You're just going to keep getting your butt kicked. So part of it is just understanding. Oh my word, I'm just under attack.

[Sean]

Yep. Took me a while to realize it. I won't lie.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Sure.

[Sean]

But once I was like, why am I having nightmares every single night for two months straight? I'm like, wow, this is an attack. You know?

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

So how'd you handle it?

[Sean]

Had to like consult with the right people. Had to protect my energy better and just first of all acknowledge it. Because people are like, that's. Some people didn't believe me like when I told them. But no, something was going on.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

You know, you, you knew one day it wasn't there and then the next day you didn't change anything. And then there was this incredible attack that it felt like you probably had no control of.

[Sean]

Yeah. Talked with some other people. They were dealing with similar things and it really helped me. Goes back to community, right?

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Yep.

[Sean]

Having someone to talk to about these issues that will open. Be open minded about it.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

One of the easiest ways to feel crazy is to do life all by yourself. Yeah.

[Sean]

I've been there. Yeah. I went through college. I was very lonely. Didn't have any friends, any family to Talk to. And it was the worst my health has ever been, physical, mental and spiritual.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Was it by choice? Were you isolating or.

[Sean]

Yeah, it was by choice. I was just trying to. I was failing out of college and I needed to make some money to like escape. So I was just focused on my business at the time. 18 hours a day, working really hard, grinding, grinding.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Solo.

[Sean]

Solo. Yeah, solo. Dolo. But then I joined a mastermind. I joined a community. And that got me out of that.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

That's great.

[Sean]

Yeah. So it goes back to community.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

It does.

[Sean]

You made a video on your YouTube about battling negative thoughts. Yeah, that's something I think everyone goes through. So where are you at now with that journey?

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Yeah, I think honestly, as long as you have a mind, you're gonna have the. A tendency to have negative thoughts at least semi consistently. I think we all have have specific battles that are unique to us. Some of the things you battle, I don't battle. Some of the things I battle, you'll never battle. I think going back to what you said, acknowledging it first. Okay, when I get into these situations, here's my tendency, I go negative. Dig around in the soil of your heart. Why? Does it go back to your childhood? Does it go back to a moment in your past that was a turning point and you went in the wrong direction but didn't even realize how far down that road you went? The negative thoughts thing. And part of that was from Dr. Amen's book. And I walk through seven different negative thoughts in various situations. I think once we have the information, I just do better. When I kind of have an understanding, when I'm flying blind, I don't do well. And so once I studied a little bit the different types of negative thoughts, it's like, oh, okay, I can see it coming. And then when I'm not surprised by it, it's easy to handle. But when it comes to it seems like it comes out of nowhere and I get run over like a freight train. I don't deal with it as well. So I think being very self aware is important. Study yourself. You should know you better than any human who walks the face of the earth because there's not another you. But most people are so out of touch with themselves that they don't even know themselves. And that's literally like driving their car down the street with their eyes closed. It's hard to get where you're going without crashing.

[Sean]

100. That was me, I'd say in high school and college, because I was just not myself. You know, I was Trying to fit in with friend groups and pretending to be someone I wasn't.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

What was the big turning point for you?

[Sean]

Once I was in a setting where I didn't feel like I was being judged? I think so. I felt like growing up, I was always being judged, even though I probably wasn't. That was just my mindset. I lacked confidence. You know, I was really shy and nervous, introverted. And now I just. I'm comfortable with myself. You know, I could talk to people and I won't have to lie or hide anything, you know?

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Yeah.

[Sean]

You know, I don't know if it was a specific event, but that's where I'm at now.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

I was the same way in my. My teenage years and early twenties. I was a liar's liar.

[Sean]

Damn.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

And the reason was, I wasn't comfortable being me. I felt like I had to be all these different things for all these different people. It's a miserable way to live. The second you feel safe with the people you love and respect the most around you, I think it's a major step in being able to be dominant on the face of the earth during your lifetime. But when you feel unsafe, what do we do? You're always striving, you're always chasing, you're always trying and may not be in the right direction more than half of the time.

[Sean]

The importance of safety and security, Right?

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Yeah. It's a gift. It's the gift we give the people we love, and hopefully it's a gift they give us.

[Sean]

Yeah. So with my family, I struggle to open up to them. Is that what you dealt with, too?

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Yeah, I mean, I. You know, with your family, they're the people oftentimes we want to impress the most. We want to be most pleased with us. And if I'm not comfortable with me and what I'm doing, I'm going to be striving. I'm going to be trying too hard. And one of the things I think we learn, and I know this isn't the case in every family, but what I learned was the people I love the most love me. Whether I failed or succeeded, I just needed to see that. And once I saw it, I feel like I went on a tear. Because when you can shoot, if life was basketball, if you can shoot without tension, bro, you. You can throw threes from anywhere in the court.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

But when you're uptight, it's hard to make a layup in life.

[Sean]

We're gonna have to play some basketball. You're tall.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

I can tell. We a little two man, let's go.

[Sean]

I might have to bring it a lifetime.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Let's go.

[Sean]

You play a lot?

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

I used to. I used to. At 47, my mind thinks I can do it, but my body doesn't move as slow, as fast as it used to.

[Sean]

Were you a center?

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

No, no. I was a shooting guard. Wow. You're six' four, six' three, six' three and a half. I was a shooting guard. Played some four in high school, but. How tall are you?

[Sean]

Six. Six?

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Yeah.

[Sean]

That used to be tall enough for center.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Now it's not.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

It isn't?

[Sean]

No. You need to be like 6 up 10, 6, 11 now, guys.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

6. 6. If you can't shoot the 3.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

You're just going to set the bench.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

It's got to be able to rain.

[Sean]

Different game these days, man.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Yeah.

[Sean]

You follow the NBA?

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Yeah. College NBA? No. I was born and raised in Dallas, so I'm. I was born into being a Cowboys fans, which means I've been a loser for the last three decades of my life.

[Sean]

Giants fan.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Are you really?

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

I grew up inside. I hate. You won.

[Sean]

We've won two in my lifetime, I think.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Yeah, well, we won three in my teenage years and I haven't won one since.

[Sean]

Dang.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

So I've been a loser my entire adult life. That's how I say it.

[Sean]

Yeah. They seem to be playing musical chairs over there.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

It takes me to a dark place.

[Sean]

Well, the Mavericks are looking a little better, right?

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Yeah. I was a little touch and go on the Luca situation. Obviously, I didn't see that one coming.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

But actually said we will know this was all rigged if we end up getting Cooper Flag. And sure enough. So my hot take is that it was rigged. There's no way the Mavs could have gotten Cooper Flag.

[Sean]

It's a Hollywood script.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

It. It's a perfect script.

[Sean]

Yeah. Flag, AD and Kyrie, man. Buddy, that's going to be tough.

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

I think there's a future with that.

[Sean]

Yeah. Let's see what happens. Well, dude, it's been. It's been great. Where can people find you, support you and DM you for advice and everything?

[Pastor Preston Morrison]

Yeah. So I. Pastor Pillar church in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Instagram @ Preston Morrison and hit me up in the DMs. I try to answer as many as I can, especially if you're going through some tough stuff. Don't go through it alone. I know I'm a stranger, quote unquote. But if you feel you're up under a dark cloud, just reach.

[Sean]

Out. Thank you for that. We'll link your Instagram below. Thanks for watching, guys. Check them out. Message him if you need anything. See you next.

[Sponsor/Host]

Time. I hope you guys are enjoying the show. Please don't forget to like and.

[Sean]

Subscribe. It helps the show a lot with the algorithm. Thank.