Contend or Compromise | Street Preachers

Summary

Street Preachers Podcast – Episode 4 Summary

Episode Title: Contend or Compromise
Hosts: Philip Anthony Mitchell & Tim Timberlake
Date: September 2, 2025

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Overview

This episode of the Street Preachers podcast, hosted by Philip Anthony Mitchell and Tim Timberlake, focuses on the vital question: Will you contend for the faith or compromise? The hosts reflect on their journey launching the podcast, dig deep into the necessity of standing firm in biblical Christianity amidst cultural pressures, share personal stories of faith and obedience, and discuss spiritual warfare in today’s world. The episode is also packed with announcements—a ministry tour and Tim Timberlake’s new book launch.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Reflecting on the Podcast’s Impact and Origin

Timestamps: 00:00–06:00

• The hosts express overwhelming gratitude for the podcast’s surprising early success (nearly 3 million downloads).
  • “I’m really just blown away by just some of the comments we’ve seen on social media and some of the stories we’ve heard.” – Philip (01:09)
• They share a powerful story of spiritual affirmation: before launching the podcast, a white dove hovered over their tent during prayer, which they took as a sign of God’s blessing and affirmation (03:15–08:26).
  • “It was almost like God was affirming—y’all have heard me. And now the only thing you need to do is to take this step of faith.” – Philip (05:07)
• Both hosts stress stepping out on faith—even in fear—rather than waiting for perfect circumstances.
  • “Sometimes we just have to do it afraid. You just have to step out on faith and trust God to catch you when you jump…” – Philip (07:18)
• They encourage listeners who feel “pregnant with vision” from God not to rush, but also not to wait forever out of fear.
  • “We were pregnant for two years…Don’t rush the process. If we rush it and it arrives prematurely, it always arrives too small.” – Tim (09:11–09:28)

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2. The Process and God’s Timing

Timestamps: 09:47–14:54

• The hosts discuss the biblical importance of not skipping God’s process—even when tempted by instant success or big opportunities.
  • “If you rush the process, it produces a manufacturing in us to make something happen, and it really pulls away from our ability to trust…” – Tim (11:09)
• Using the analogy of wine, they illustrate spiritual maturity comes through time, pruning, and “fermentation.”
  • “The longer it ferments, the more power it punches.” – Tim (11:22)
• Philip shares Tim’s personal story of turning down a $37 million opportunity twice because it wasn’t God’s timing or will.
  • “Twice…because he felt like it wasn’t God’s will. And my brother walked away from a $37 million opportunity.” – Philip (13:20)

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3. Contending for the Faith in Today’s Culture

Timestamps: 14:54–23:44

• The episode pivots to a study of Jude 3: the mandate to “contend for the faith.”
  • “There is a threat against Christianity…We do need to contend for the faith—both externally in culture, but also inwardly.” – Philip (15:15–16:25)
• The growing attack on biblical Christianity is highlighted, especially the rise of “Christianity” without roots in Scripture.
  • “There is a major attack of the enemy on Christendom…and on biblical Christianity and on the Scriptures. We’ve seen it everywhere…spirituality disconnected from God.” – Philip (17:33)
• The danger of cultural compromise is discussed using the metaphor of boxing.
  • “If we don’t guard our faith, every jab of compromise lands.” – Tim (19:42–19:54)
• The hosts stress generational legacy, referencing Eastern vs. Western mindsets: in the Kingdom, children contend for and protect the parent’s legacy (God’s Kingdom).
  • “When God is sending his son, it is sustaining the legacy of the kingdom of God…we have a mandate given to us by God to defend, to contend, to protect the faith…” – Tim (20:34, 20:48)

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4. Call to Action: Be Lights, Not Just Church Attenders

Timestamps: 23:44–25:54

• Urgent encouragement not to “run or cower,” but to live out bold Christian witness in every sphere of life.
  • “If the only place our light could shine is in Sunday morning gatherings, then really, is it a light at all?” – Philip (23:44)
• Warns of “a tsunami of false doctrine, false prophets, demonic attacks” threatening the church.
  • “If the brothers and sisters of this hour do not rise up and take a stand, God help the world that our children are going to live in.” – Philip (24:16)

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5. Major Announcements

Timestamps: 25:54–32:07

Street Preachers Podcast Ministry Tour

• The hosts announce their first-ever live ministry tour, visiting 10 cities along the East Coast.
  • “We just feel led to…come visit some of you in person…minister to you in person…Tour, impartation—we just feel led.” – Philip (25:55–26:42)
• The goal: gospel conversations, prayer, impartation, and connection with listeners in physical spaces.
  • “These won’t just be me and Phil just talking. These will be ministry nights. These will be revival nights. These will feel like all-out crusades…” – Tim (29:28)
• Details and tickets at streetpreachers.tv.

Book Launch: The Bumpy Road to Better by Tim Timberlake

• Celebration of the release of Tim’s new book.
  • “Dropping this brand new book, The Bumpy Road to Better…This man is a great author.” – Philip (32:06–32:13)

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6. Tim’s New Book: The Bumpy Road to Better

Timestamps: 32:07–41:02

• Book Inspiration: Rooted in the story of Hagar (Genesis), focusing on God as “El Roi—the God who sees.”
  • “She calls God something so unique, so significant, she calls God Elroi, which means the God that sees us.” – Tim (34:07)
• Key Themes:
  • God sees and provides for us in our hardest journeys.
  • Life’s hardest seasons are often where transformation happens.
  • The difference between carrying our burdens and casting them on God.
    • “We have two options. We can either cast our cares or we can carry them. But we can’t do both.” – Tim (36:42)
  • Vulnerable sharing by Tim about pastoring through pain and experiencing God’s restoration after divorce.
    • “It positioned me in a place where I had nothing left but Jesus…God restore my heart and prepare me for love again.” – Tim (38:35)
  • The idea of “destination addiction”—always seeking joy in the next thing instead of present contentment.
    • “If we don’t find joy where we are right now, we won’t experience the joy over there.” – Tim (40:33)
• Intended Takeaway: God may not immediately change circumstances, but changes us through them.
  • “My prayer is that when people close this book, they know my circumstance may not change, but God is changing me in the circumstance.” – Tim (39:52)
• Where to find it: thebumpyroadtobetter.com or Amazon.

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7. Final Encouragement and Call to Prayer

Timestamps: 41:38–End

• Call for listeners to pray for the podcast, the ministry, and for guidance as they step out in faith.
  • “This entire journey is a work of faith…pray for us. We’re asking for prayer—that God will not only continue to guide us here in our studio in New York, but guide us when we get out there on the road.” – Philip (31:23)
• Reiteration: streetpreachers.tv for tour details and support.
• Encouragement for listeners to subscribe, share, and leave comments to help spread the Gospel message.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Taking Risks:
  “Sometimes we just have to do it afraid. You just have to step out on faith and trust God to catch you when you jump…” – Philip (07:18)
• On Spiritual Impatience:
  “If we rush it and it arrives prematurely, it always arrives too small.” – Tim (09:26)
• On Cultural Compromise:
  “If we don’t guard our faith, every jab of compromise lands.” – Tim (19:54)
• On Ministry and Legacy:
  “We have a mandate given to us by God to defend, to contend, to protect the faith and to push back, develop darkness. To sustain the legacy of the kingdom of God.” – Tim (20:48)
• On Revival:
  “These will be ministry nights. These will be revival nights. These will feel like all-out crusades where we call on heaven to invade the spaces that we will be in.” – Tim (29:37)
• On the Book’s Heart:
  “My prayer is that…they know my circumstance may not change, but God is changing me in the circumstance.” – Tim (39:52)
• On Purpose:
  “We’re not going to just be cooped up in a studio…we’re going to be out there on the road and try to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ both virtually and in person, as much as we can.” – Philip (31:23)

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• Podcast Reflection, Origin, and the Dove Story: 00:00–08:26
• Encouragement for Listeners (Don’t Rush, Don’t Fear): 08:26–14:54
• Contending for the Faith (Book of Jude): 14:54–23:44
• Living Out the Faith Practically: 23:44–25:54
• Tour Announcement: 25:54–32:07
• Book Release Discussion: 32:07–41:02
• Farewell and Closing Encouragement: 41:38–end

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Conclusion

The episode combines deep spiritual exhortation with practical testimony and tangible next steps for listeners. The central charge: contend for the faith—don’t compromise. Whether through the new ministry tour or Tim Timberlake’s book, the Street Preachers podcast is calling believers to bolder faith and deeper community, anchored in God’s timing and word.

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For details on the live tour: streetpreachers.tv
To get Tim’s new book: thebumpyroadtobetter.com or Amazon

Don’t forget to subscribe and share this episode to help spread the message!

Transcript

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

You're listening to the Street Preachers Podcast with Tim Timberlake and Philip Anthony Mitchell.

[Tim Timberlake]

We pray you're blessed by the content you're about to receive. What's up, family? We are back for another incredible episode. You are listening and watching the Street Preachers Podcast. I'm your host, Tim Timberlake.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

It's your boy, Philip Anthony Mitchell.

[Tim Timberlake]

And what an honor and a privilege it is to be on this journey with you, Phil. What a ride it's been, man, over the last three or four weeks.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Yeah, man, I think I'm shocked.

[Drew]

Right? Yeah.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

I think I'm a little overwhelmed, and I think I'm full of gratitude.

[Drew]

Right.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Obviously, you know, this is not a 2019 lift or celebration church lift.

[Drew]

Right.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

This is a lift that you and I jumped into together.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And I think it's important we just take a moment to just thank everybody who's watching and just honor them and celebrate them and appreciate them, at least from the bottom of my heart. I've been very overwhelmed by the response to the podcast. I know we're only. This is what, our fourth episode.

[Tim Timberlake]

Fourth episode, yeah.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And I'm really just blown away by just some of the comments we've seen on social media and some of the stories we've heard. And I've been humbled, you know, because I'm not afraid to confess that I had a little bit of, you know, trepidation going into this. Both of us did. I'm not afraid to confess I had a little bit of trepidation going into this. I talked to you about this.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

I think. I think we could be honest. I did have some trepidation going into this, you know, and maybe some minor anxiety. Some minor anxiety. And. But these. These last couple weeks have been very encouraging. And for everybody who has commented, everyone who has DMed us, everyone who has written us, stopped us in the streets, man, at least for me personally, I could speak that. And, man, we are deeply appreciative of just the love and support you have shown us in these first three weeks of the Street Preachers podcast, man. It's been incredible, man.

[Tim Timberlake]

It has been.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

How do you feel?

[Tim Timberlake]

I feel humble. You know, as it stands right now, the podcast has been downloaded almost 3 million times.

[Drew]

Wow.

[Tim Timberlake]

Across all platforms.

[Drew]

Wow. I don't think I knew that.

[Tim Timberlake]

And 3 million times, just to see where God has taken it. And as you mentioned, you know, we. We read the comments, we read the direct messages, we read the interactions and the engagement, and to see how far God has taken it has been super humbling. Yeah, I think something that we missed first episode, which we kind of talked and laughed about later, that we. We should bring before this incredible family. When we were praying through this and seeking God's face, we were in this little bitty tent on the beach, and we're praying, and we look up and we see this dove, you know, hovering right in front of us. For how long would you say that?

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Yeah, we forgot to mention that. Right? That was. We forgot to mention that dove just came out of nowhere. Yeah, but some people might forgot. They might have forgotten. And I think it's important for us to remind them that. In our first episode, Tim and I, we was telling the story of how when God revealed to us that we were to do this podcast together. You know, how I had created a studio, had an empty chair. You create a studio, had an empty chair. And those chairs sat empty for two years until we came together. And when we was on that beach in Florida, in Jacksonville, kind of discussing the launch of this podcast, right before we left, right after we prayed, a white dove just descended because we was in a tent. I don't know if you mentioned that, but remember, we was in a little blue tent that you had on your truck.

[Tim Timberlake]

Tent of meeting.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Right, the tent of meeting. Like, yo, so Tim and I. Tim and I was in a little blue tent. We was in a little blue tent, and it was cold out there. It was freezing.

[Tim Timberlake]

It was freezing.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

But we sit in the beach in that little blue tent. We just discussed what we felt like was God's will for our lives, this podcast. And we prayed, we cried, and right before we left, that white dove came down and just kind of hovered in front of the tent. And I was shocked, you know, I was shocked, you know, And I didn't know if this thing was going to try to attack us.

[Drew]

Yo, it was close.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

It's crazy. Like, is this thing going to try to attack us? I'm like, yo, he knows that. I felt the New York in me.

[Tim Timberlake]

Rising up like this bird.

[Drew]

But.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

But that bird didn't leave. No, right. That bird didn't leave. And then immediately. Immediately, Tim, I was reminded of when our Lord was baptized.

[Drew]

Yeah, right, man.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And, you know, this is trinitarian language right here, How Lord was baptized. The Godhead comes into play now in Matthew's Gospel, how the Lord is baptized, the Father is speaking from heaven, saying, this is my beloved son, who I'm. Well, please.

[Tim Timberlake]

Yeah.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And then the spirit of God is descending in the form of a dove, right. To show the affirmation of Our Lord Jesus Christ. And in the same way I thought about that, we had dove descended, and it was almost like God was affirming. That's right. That y' all have heard me. That's right. And now the only thing you need to do is to take this step of faith towards what I've called y' all to do, because, like I said, I had some trepidation. I didn't know you had some tribulation, but, I mean, you're more like Captain Cool Dory, you know what I'm saying? Like, you got ice in your blood. I had some trepidation. I think people who follow my ministry know I'm a little emotional, Right. And spoke. You know, I'm a little emotional. I cry a lot. And. But that moment was very. Was very special for me, Right. Because after two years of sitting with an empty chair, it was like God was affirming us in this moment, like, y' all have heard me, y' all have heard my word clearly, and now there's nothing else to do except step out on faith. That's right.

[Drew]

Right.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And I think that might even be a word for somebody watching.

[Drew]

Right.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

I think there are people watching us right now who feel impregnated by something God has placed inside of them.

[Drew]

Right.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And it is dead. Has not come from selfish ambition. It has not come from, you know, worldly lust.

[Drew]

But.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

But it's. It has been impregnated by the spirit of God.

[Drew]

And.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And you'll know when that season comes to g. Birth to that thing.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And. And I want to say to somebody, I didn't know why we going down this road, but maybe we just need. Yeah, okay. I want to say to somebody watching who is carrying what I would call spiritual babies, things that God has placed inside of them. And it did not come from the world. Did not come from worldly ambition. It came from heaven. That's right.

[Tim Timberlake]

And it's in there.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And I think about even some of my own children who I know God has called them to do certain things. And, you know, you know, we have this tendency as human beings to try to wait for everything to be perfect.

[Tim Timberlake]

Right.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

You know, we're going to wait for everything to align, for the finances to align, for the certain doors to align. And sometimes if we just wait too long, it won't happen.

[Tim Timberlake]

Right.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And I think sometimes I hope this ministers to somebody, Tim. Like, sometimes we just got to do.

[Tim Timberlake]

It afraid, got to do it scared.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

You know what I'm saying? I think sometimes. Sometimes we just have to do it afraid. You just have to step out on faith and trust God to catch you when you jump there, you know? And I think that's what has happened for us. You know, just reflecting these last three weeks. We just stepped out of faith.

[Drew]

Right.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And. And right now we are trusting God to put ground on our feet. And maybe this is a word for somebody watching when, you know, the time has and things may not look perfect, you may not know how it's gonna work out. Just step out of faith and do it and just jump. And that's what we did. Absolutely. I felt like that dove hovering over our tent was just assigned to me. It was almost like in that moment, I don't know if I told you this in that moment, I thought to myself, I don't know where Tim and I are gonna get the money to be able to pull this off. I don't know what these episodes are gonna look like. I don't even know where we're gonna record at that time. The studio. New York wasn't even playing.

[Drew]

Right.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

I didn't know. We didn't know. We didn't know any of this. We just knew we had a word. That's right. And we left that beach saying, God, we're going to obey you.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And we're going to trust you to put all the pieces. You.

[Drew]

You.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Absolutely.

[Tim Timberlake]

Absolutely.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

What did that moment feel like for you when that dove came down?

[Tim Timberlake]

Confirmation confir, you know, for. For me it was like, okay, this is not just God inspiring, it's God breathe upon.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

God breathe upon you.

[Tim Timberlake]

And I really felt a confidence to step out into the unknown knowing that he was right there with us. You know, we. We knew we had a word from God, a mandate from God that to me was like, ok, know for a fact that this is God breathed upon and he is with us. That he is for us. This is not an idea that we have. I like that part.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

It's not just an idea that we have.

[Tim Timberlake]

This is. This is a mandate that we have. And I think something you said was so powerful. There are some of our viewers and listeners that are pregnant with the vision, that are pregnant with the dream. Yeah, but don't rush that process.

[Drew]

Come on.

[Tim Timberlake]

We were pregnant for two years.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Two years. I think that's a good point. Stay right there, Tim.

[Tim Timberlake]

We were pregnant for two years.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Don't rush the process.

[Tim Timberlake]

Don't rush the process. And something that we have to remember is even if we're pregnant with the vision and a dream that God has given us, if we rush it and it arrives prematurely. It always arrives too small.

[Drew]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

And so stay in the process of the pruning. Stay in the process of God producing. And the reality is, if it has not happened the way God showed you, it's because he's still developing you for what it is that he's already created and made. And so I think what's special about this is we're stepping into this in.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

God's timing, in God's time. It's been two years.

[Tim Timberlake]

Two years.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

I like what you're talking about right here. I think we can work this for a little bit.

[Drew]

Right.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

When talked about not skipping process. That's right.

[Drew]

Right.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

I feel like there's a, there is a rush in our generation for platform process.

[Drew]

Right.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And we've seen what happened to Abraham.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

You know, when God spoke a word to him and he couldn't wait on God's timing, you know, he went ahead and had Ishmael through Hagar. And although God did speak a type of a word over Ishmael, those two brothers are still fighting this day. I mean, that's a whole another episode we don't have to get into right now. But, but Ishmael and Isaac are still fighting to this day. You know, you have two people groups that are still in war to this day. And so there's a lot of us, we don't want to give birth to Ishmael. That's right.

[Drew]

Right.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

We don't want to do things before God's timing. But I, I, I, we probably need to come back to that. Another podcast. I think that's a whole podcast, you know, itself. I got a lot of revelation there, but we waited two years. And, and so I think what you're saying is really good, not to skip the process and trust God's timing. We feel like this is God's timing.

[Tim Timberlake]

And, and, and God ordained. I, I think, you know, and we can transition here in a second. But rushing that process, it produces a manufacturing in us to make something happen.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Yeah, that's good, bro.

[Tim Timberlake]

And, and it really pulls away from our ability to trust.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

And believe and anchor our hope and faith in Jesus. And so something I think this generation doesn't do, it's ferment. Allow the revelation of God, the knowledge of God, the understanding God allowed it to firm it. The longer it ferments, the more power it punches to ferment. Allow it to ferment, allow it to linger, allow it to, to, to, to, to mature with time, you know, and, and I think that's why God is blessing this the way that he is.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And I love that you use that word like ferment, because, you know, Lena and I just celebrated 21 years of marriage, you know.

[Tim Timberlake]

Congratulations, man.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

I appreciate it. Yeah, I always celebrate 20 marriage in the beginning of August. And our team, our staff had bought us a trip to Chateau Ilan, right? It's this, like, this beautiful spot, maybe about an hour outside of Atlanta, and where you can go, it's like a small resort. It's really a winery, a vineyard, right? And Lyn and I have never been at a winery or vineyard. And we went there, and they taught us about the vine and taught us about how wine ages. And a lot of that. I'm listening to them getting all this revelation. You know, how the scripture talks about how God is divine, got to be connected. So I'm getting all this revelation about the vine and about wine and how it ferments. And some of those barrels there had been there for four years, aging in barrels. Right. Not rushing the process.

[Tim Timberlake]

Not rushing the process, Right.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And so I think, you know, if you. If you're watching this right now and you're listening to Tim and I right now, we just want to encourage those of you who do feel pregnant with vision not to rush the process, Especially when we have windows into everybody's social media. You see everybody doing this, that, and the third. Just trust God's timing for your life. I think one of. One of the things we was talking about last night at dinner when we was here in the city was we don't want anything that God does not want for us. Remember, we was talking about last night, we were saying at the table, if it's not God's will, we don't want it. You know, a lot of people don't know this about you. I'm about to put some of your business in the street. Can I do that?

[Tim Timberlake]

You can, but you can't get the.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

D. No, no, no. I won't get no details. I know a lot of y'.

[Drew]

All.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

A lot of. A lot of. I don't know how much of y' all follow story, but Tim was approached with a $37 million opportunity a number of years ago and felt like it was not God's will. And my brother walked away from a $37 million opportunity twice. Twice. Because he felt like it wasn't God's will, you know, And I remember when you first told me that, like, I knew, like, we was kindred spirits. Like, this is the character of a man I Want to rock with, do business with, do this kind of ministry with. Because you wasn't led astray by the glamour of that $37 million offer. You knew it wasn't God's will, knew it wasn't timing to step into that kind of arena, and you backed away from it, right? And I think it says something about your character, right? Because it's so easy for us to see what everybody's doing and just try to jump into everything. So, I mean, we don't want to belabor this because we do have some things we want to address on this episode. But for just those of y' all watching, don't rush the process. But huge shout out, right? Yeah, shout out to everybody. Downloading, watching, commenting, getting in these dms, getting these comments. Tim and I, we read them. It means everything to us. So we just thank you for the love and support that you have shown us. It means everything to us. And one of the things that happened in our last episode, we kind of landed the plane very quickly on Jude and Tim was like, bro, we should have kept that.

[Tim Timberlake]

We got to. We gotta keep on checking.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

It hit me with that gentle rebuke afterwards. Like, bro, we should keep that going, you know, and so, you know, we wanna, you know, we felt led to kind of finish our. Our walk through Jude. We're kind of going to do that over the next couple episodes. I think it's gonna be a blessing to you. In our last episode, we was. We got to Jude, Jude three.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

When we was talking about contending for the faith, right? And one of the things we was talking about is that we feel like right now in our times, there is a threat against Christianity. There's a threat against Christendom. I see it in my travels, saw it in London, just came back from London. And that we do need to contend for the faith, both externally and culture, but also inwardly. Talking about the importance of not losing faith. Inwardly, we all going through trials and tribulations as circumstance, and. And there's a tendency to drift, right? Like my brother Matt Chandler says, all the time we're prone to wander. He reminds me of this all the time, I'm prone to wander. And I think that we have to stay anchored in God's word, that we have to stay anchored in God's presence as it relates to prayer. I think we have to stay anchored in biblical community. We talking about this last night. I have to run from the temptation of isolation and wanted to be alone. I think the en is busy, right? And. And I think we have to not only content outwardly, but we got to contend inwardly right now. Absolutely.

[Drew]

Very, very important.

[Tim Timberlake]

I think that as we grow through Jude today and we read the scripture, I want us to look at it from the perspective of where we are in this climate, this culture, the society, but also looking at it from the perspective that Jude had when he's writing this text. Let's let unpack that.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Yeah, Drew said we, where we landed the plane was in verse three. And, and we, we did tell you we got an announcement for you we're about to make, so just, you know, hang in there. Yeah, big announcement we're about to make, so hang in there. We, we kind of landed the plane in Jude 3 when Jude said beloved. And obviously Jude, the biological brother of Jesus, is writing to a church that is dealing with the infiltration of false prophets and a culture that is bec towards the gospel. Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, although I was going to write to you about something that would have made you feel warm and fuzzy.

[Drew]

He.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

He surveyed the culture and he said, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. And I feel this so strongly in my spirit in our culture. I feel right now in our culture that there is a, a major attack of the enemy on Christendom and, and on biblical Christianity and on the scriptures. We've seen it everywhere and almost like there is a growing Christianity that is disconnected from the word of God. We see people going after spirituality disconnected from God. We see a rise in New Age and people blending New Age with Christianity. Like there is a blending of practices with biblical practices. And so there is a contending right now we have to do. In fact, your man right now who's in the studio with us, remember on the elevator we was talking about, you know, what would it look like if we. If we lost this battle? That's right. Remember he asked us that on the elevator. What would it look like if we lost this battle? It looks like the Middle East.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Where Christianity was founded.

[Drew]

Right. It.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

It looks like, it looks like England, where you know, there is another monotheism there, Islam. That's the fastest growing relig. It looks like some of these parts of the world where there were once Christian strongholds, there's no longer a sense of Christianity. That's what it's going to look like. And I think we have to not be so naive to think that can't happen in America, that, that your children like we think about Max.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

About my children. That they can't grow up in a world where America is dominated by another monotheism or there's no semblance of biblical Christianity. I feel like we're heading down that path if the brothers and sisters who are alive right now don't stand up and fight for the faith.

[Tim Timberlake]

Yeah. I love this word contend.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

And what Jude is unpacking, when I. When I read this text, bro, it reminds me of a boxing ring. Come on. This is like fighting language.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

And one of the things that really sticks out to me about this text is if we don't guard our faith, every jab of compromise lands.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

That's good.

[Tim Timberlake]

Every single time.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

That's good, man.

[Tim Timberlake]

And when we look at this text, it's written from an Eastern perspective. And what I mean by that so often. Let me phrase it like this. When I think about God sending his son, I used to ask the question, why didn't God himself cough? Why would God send his son? Because I'm thinking from a Westernized perspective, that's good. When in fact, kingdom culture is the children contend and fight for the parents.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

That's good.

[Tim Timberlake]

So when God is sending his son, it is sustaining the legacy of the kingdom of God.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

We have kids to protect them.

[Drew]

Them. Right, right.

[Tim Timberlake]

In Eastern cultures, they have kids so that the kids can protect their legacy.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

That's good. That's good.

[Tim Timberlake]

And so when we think about contending, when we think about guarding this faith, we have to do so from the standpoint and the perspective of we have a mandate given to us by God to defend, to contend, to protect the faith and to push back, develop darkness. To sustain the legacy of the kingdom of that language.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

I like that.

[Tim Timberlake]

To sustain the legacy of the kingdom of God. And so when.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

When.

[Tim Timberlake]

When Jude is speaking and he's talking and we'll get there, you know, either this episode or next episode about, you know, these perpetrators and these people infiltrating the church and the false teachers.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

This is why, to me, this podcast is necessary.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Yeah, it's absolutely necessary. And I think, like, for all of our listeners and our watchers, like, this is Tim and I's heart.

[Drew]

Right.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Some of you, you're probably gonna. You're coming into this journey, maybe in this episode, episode four. And I want them to hear.

[Tim Timberlake]

That's right.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

That this is your heart. Yeah, this is my heart. Like you and I are out here fighting for the faith.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Like you said that the legacy of the kingdom. Let's try to keep that Going. And I think that's hard when you don't care about the kingdom, you don't care about the legacy. Like, that matters to me.

[Tim Timberlake]

Right.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

I think about my salvation. I think about how the lor oneness to himself. I think about all that God has given us in his word. I think about Christ himself. I think about his death on the cross, you know, and what that meant for me personally, what that meant for you. I would feel like we have a moral and biblical responsibility to contend for the faith, to not allow the faith to die. In our generation to fight for the Lord who has saved us from wrath and hell to come. We have a moral and biblical responsibility to take a stand for him, you know, and so for those of you who are watching, like, that's our cry. And I know we're not going to spend too much time here because we did unpack this in episode three, but we just want to just, just right here in this moment, try to just rally as many of you as possible to not cower, right? To not tuck your tails, to not run, to watch this word, care about the state of Christianity, care about what's happening in the church here in the west and around the world, to care about the fact that we're losing ground and that we have to take a stand for the Lord Jesus Christ on social media, in the job, in the marketplace, in the boardroom. Just the way we govern ourselves in terms of our Christian witness, how we're speaking. Just, can we be lights in dark places? I mean, if the only place our light could shine is in Sunday morning gatherings, then really, is it a light at all?

[Drew]

Right.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

You know, and I was just thinking about how I had this opportunity to speak at Invest Fest, you know, and I did everything I can to represent Christ in that space, you know, and I just think we have to take it serious. So if you're watching right now, I just want you to hear Timid's heart. This is serious. There is a tsunami, a false doctrine, false prophets, demonic attacks is coming against the church. And if the brothers and sisters of this hour do not rise up and take a stand, God help the world that our children are going to live in.

[Drew]

Yeah. Right?

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And so we're about to get into this announcement. Yeah, we got two big announcements, too.

[Tim Timberlake]

Big announcement.

[Drew]

Right?

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

We about to get into this announcement. And so.

[Drew]

So.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

For those of you who may not know, Tim and I, we travel a lot, and we don't do that because we seeking glory or looking for platforms. Like, I'm not like that. I'VE never known you to be like that. But by God's divine providence and by his will, Tim and I, we have assignments outside of our Sunday morning pulpits, and we do our best to steward those assignments. And so we do have opportunities to travel a lot, extensively, all around the country outside the US and one of the things that Tim and I have been seeing on the road is just there is opportunities we've had on the road to minister to people personally, to lay hands on brothers and sisters, to have conversations as we're walking off platforms, seeing people in parking lots and in lobbies, be able to look people in the eye and shed tears with people together. I don't know how many times I've knelt down on a stage and laid hands on people at the front of a stage. And there was something to be said about impartation. Yeah, right. That oftentimes we don't get a chance to do. And so. And so one of the things that we want to do, and normally people would do this after you've been podcasting for a long time. I don't even know what's about to happen, but we about to take another step of faith.

[Drew]

Yeah, right.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Big step of take another step of faith. Tim and I are announcing right here on episode four of Street Preachers Podcast that we're going to not only continue to record right here from our studio in New York, but we want to come to some of you personally. We want to come visit some of you in person, and you can call it a tour, you can call it it impartation. Whatever the case, we just feel led to not only minister to you from this couch right here in New York, but we felt led to come to some of you and minister to you in person. And so we are announcing right here on episode four, the first Street Preachers Podcast tour.

[Tim Timberlake]

Yes, sir.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

It is a ministry tour. And those cities that will be on this first tour, you can find those at Street Preachers podcast. Street Preachers TV. Yeah, Street. StreetPreaches TV. If you go to our website, StreetPreaches TV, you'll see a list of all the cities that we're gonna be coming to. We can't get to every single city in the country, but we're gonna try to.

[Tim Timberlake]

Absolutely.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Over a period of time. Absolutely.

[Tim Timberlake]

Right.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

We're gonna try to. And in this first leg, we're gonna in and around the East Coast.

[Tim Timberlake]

10 cities.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

About 10 cities in and around the East Coast. And what we want to do with this tour is we just want to be able to come. Come and minister to some of you in person, have gospel conversations in person, talk to pastors in so many cities, encourage you, speak to you, love on you, pray, lay hands, impart. We feel led of the Lord to do that.

[Drew]

Right.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And so all that information is going to be on our website, Street Preachers tv. Go ahead and get your tickets now. We encourage you not to wait. This is not like a 2819 lift or Celebration Church lift. This is a. A Philip Anthony Mitchell, Tim Timberlake lift. These venues, we got to cover venues, travel. We got to get to where you are. So go ahead and get your tickets now. Don't wait. And we look forward to seeing some of them on the road. Anything you want to say about this upcoming tour?

[Tim Timberlake]

I. I think, you know, for both me and Phil, this is us, you know, stepping out in faith. But as we're talking through Jude, chapter one, verse three, when he's encouraging us to contend for the faith, this is us dragging our sword through the country.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

Taking down the enemy.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

One city at a time. And. And so I just. We. We want to partner with what God is doing in the various cities that we're going to. Not once or not ever do we think that we are the all in, be all. We're coming in to save the city. We believe Jesus is doing that in the cities that we're going into. But to partner with what God is doing, we do want to partner with what heaven desires. We do want to partner with local pastors to see the kingdom of God in those cities reign and allow that partnership to do something special. And so these won't just be me and Phil just talking. These will be ministry nights. These will be revival nights. These will feel like allout crusades where we call on heaven to invade the spaces that we will be in. And so, you know, right now we want to mobilize, advise you as a street team to get those tickets. Spread the word. Help us spread the word of the gospel of Jesus Christ so that we can see God do something supernatural in the earth.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And I'm looking forward to it. I'm excited. I love people.

[Drew]

You love. Yeah.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And I love having opportunities to just look people in the eye and just love on them.

[Drew]

Right.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And although this is something again, you know, you would do generally after you've been podcasting for a long time, we just feel led to do this.

[Drew]

All right.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

This is not a. It's not a. It's not a money play. It's not a money grab. It's not any of that. It's us just being obedient to what we sense God is telling us to do and ushers taking a step of faith. And. And we just look forward to getting in rooms with some of you and loving on you and praying for you and hearing your stories and being able to gather some of that energy. Anecdotal data. So, you know, when we come back to these studios, we know what's going on out there around the country. I just want to kind of get a pulse of what's going on. And. And so go ahead and get your ticket. Street Preachers tv. We come into those cities, we look forward to be there. And. And if you're watching, you support this. This podcast, Pray for us, right? This entire journey is a work of faith. All of it is a walk of faith. Pray for us. We're asking for prayer. Prayer that God will not only continue to guide us here in our studio in New York, but guide us when we get out there on the road. We know that. At least we believe. I believe Tim and I believe that we're living in the last days. If you follow my ministry, you hear me say this a hundred times, that time is running out and we don't know how much time we have left. And so we're not going to just be cooped up in a studio. We will talk from. From our studio here in New York, but we're going to be out there on the road and try to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ both virtually and in person, as much as we.

[Drew]

Can.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And preparing the way for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. So, streetpreachers tv, get your tickets. We look forward to seeing you on the road. But before we land the plan on this episode, we have another big announcement.

[Tim Timberlake]

Big announcement.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Another big announcement. We want to take a moment to just celebrate my brother, Pastor Timberlake. Preacher, father, pastor, author. Right now, this week, this month, is dropping his brand new day bulk.

[Drew]

Today.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Today.

[Tim Timberlake]

It drops today.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Dropping this brand new book, the Bumpy Road to Better. Y' all see that right there?

[Drew]

Yes.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Brand new book from my man, Tim Timberlake. He is a beast of an author. Yo, I got next.

[Tim Timberlake]

You got next?

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

I got next.

[Drew]

Hey, hey, hey. Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

I gotta wait.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

I can't wait. Next. I just signed my first book deal with the same imprint that Timmy's on.

[Tim Timberlake]

And we family for real.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

We family for real. I just signed my first book deal with the exact same publisher and imprint that Tim is on. I'm excited. I have one of these in my head. Yes. In about very much, very soon.

[Tim Timberlake]

Maybe sooner.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Maybe sooner. Maybe 18 months. Pray for me. I set out to write my first book, but the Bumpy Road to Better is going to be available everywhere. Tim's brand new book. This man is a great author. Tim, let's talk about this, because I know the story behind this book. I feel like this book is going to be a major, major, major blessing to the reader. There's some stickiness behind the story. I know we can't get into all the details for different reasons, but the Bumpy Road to Better tell us the.

[Tim Timberlake]

Origin of this book.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

How did this come to you? And what are they going to get when they open the pages of this book?

[Tim Timberlake]

You were talking about Abraham and Hagar and I think so often we look at her and Ishmael and we remove the humanity from her.

[Drew]

That's good. Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

And she was on a journey of discovering God in the context of the situation she was put in and she felt forgotten. And there's a passage that inspired so much of this book.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

Where she's out there by herself.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

No food.

[Drew]

Yep.

[Tim Timberlake]

No water, no provision. And she prays that God would take her. And God shows up and she calls God something so unique, so significant, she calls God Elroy, which means the God that sees us.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Come on.

[Tim Timberlake]

And for those that have been on a journey, for those that have been navigating tough terrain, you know, for those that have been in seasons of pain and confusion and for some of us, chaos. And you've wondered, is this journey taking us anywhere? I just want to remind you that God sees you.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

That's good, Tim.

[Tim Timberlake]

For me, this. This journey of life has been bumpy. It's been chaotic. It's been so many ups and downs.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

But at my lowest moment, bro.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

God reminded me and he continues to remind me that he sees me.

[Drew]

He sees you.

[Tim Timberlake]

Not only does he see me, but in that text, he provides for her.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

And so it's important for us to understand and remember. He may not provide what we want, but he definitely provides what we need.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Definitely provide.

[Tim Timberlake]

Sometimes it's moments where we feel distant from God. It's moments where we feel alone. Tone that he reminds us he is closer to us than the things around us. He's even closer to us than our own breath. And so this book takes us on that journey, bro, of unlocking the power, unlocking the.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

The gold.

[Tim Timberlake]

In Hard Things. Life is hard.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

That's the subtitle, right?

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

Life is hard.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And I want hard things.

[Tim Timberlake]

Life is hard.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

And you know, we don't need more self help books works. This isn't a self help book. You know, from the very beginning, the, the preface of the book, the first chapter, it tells you this is going to be a difficult read.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

Because this is not going to cater to your emotions. It's not going to cater to your feelings.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

It is going to anchor you in the hope of Jesus Christ. But in doing so. Yeah. It's got to strip you of some things.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

It's got to strip you of some weights that you've been carrying. It's got to strip you of some burdens that you've been trying to steward that God has never called you to steward. And one of the things that this book will do at the end of it is it will remind us we have two options. We can either cast our cares.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

Or we can carry them. But we can't do both.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Cannot do both. Tell us, tell us to one story you tell in this book to just encourage somebody who's watching. Tell us something personal you've shared in the book that somebody watched right now might be able to identify with.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

So encouraged them. They need to read this.

[Tim Timberlake]

I've been. Been through a lot of pain. One of the pains and one of the difficulties that I've been through in leadership while pastoring. I've navigated divorce, going through divorce and you know, for certain circles and certain denominations, you know, I was an outcast because of that. I was ostracized because of that. I was made to feel like I did something wr own and I did not without going into the details, because you do got to get the book. You do got to read the book. You do got to download it. You got to download all the versions of it because I believe that the message will bless you. But. But it positioned me in a place where I had nothing left but Jesus. And my heart was torn out of my chest and I was broken and I was hopeless and I was still leading and I was still pastoring and I was still shepherding with character and integrity while I was bleeding, while I was hemorrhaging out. And one of the most beautiful things out of that season, as painful as it was, was to know, to feel, experience God, restore my heart and prepare me for love again. And so I had no expectation to get married again. I had no expectation to. To meet. Meet my wife, which is the best thing that God has ever blessed me with outside of salvation, outside of the Holy Spirit in the earth, my wife is the greatest thing. It came on the heels of my greatest pain.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

And if we're not careful, we'll stop in the middle of pain and we'll blame God. And we'll think that God left us, when in fact, God is preparing us.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Come on, man.

[Tim Timberlake]

And that's what he did. He prepared me for the blessing. Blessing that he prepared for me.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

And that was Jen. And so I talk about that in the book. I talk about how to navigate those tensions, talk about how to navigate the various losses, talk about the difference between grieving and mourning. And walking through divorce, I discovered that divorce is the only time, bro. That we mourn something in someone that is still alive is the only time. And that's why God speaks of it the way that he does in scripture.

[Drew]

Scripture. That's good, man.

[Tim Timberlake]

And so, yeah, I, I, I'm excited for our family to, to go on this journey. The bumpy road to better and discover what God is unlocking in them through hard things.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

So let me, let me also ask you this. As we, as we land in the plane on this episode, somebody picks up the bumpy road to better.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Unlocking the hidden power and hard things. They get to the last job chapter. They read the last line, they close the book. What do you hope that person walks away with when they put this book down?

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

Great question. My prayer is that when people close this book, they know my circumstance may not change, but God is changing me.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

That's good. In the circumstance.

[Tim Timberlake]

In the circumstance.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

Season may not change, but God is changing me in the crazy circumstance. And, you know, sometimes we get what I call destination addiction. And destination addiction is we would rather be anywhere than where we are right now.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Tim Timberlake]

So we think to ourselves, I'll be happier when I get married. I'll be happier when I have kids. I'll be happier when I get this job. I'll be happier when I get this promotion. I'll be happier when I do these things there. And we're not focused on where our feet are right here, right now.

[Drew]

That's good.

[Tim Timberlake]

And if we don't find joy. Joy where we are right now, we won't experience the joy over there.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And I think if I could just parenthetically insert something right there. I think sometimes we forget that the journey is really the. It is the journey. This thing is really the journey is becoming more like Christ.

[Drew]

Yes.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

It is the process of being conformed into the image of our Savior.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

It's not a rival to a place financially or place of status or any of these things.

[Tim Timberlake]

Things.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

It is the journey of becoming more like Christ and us learning to enjoy that journey.

[Drew]

Right.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

So, yeah. So they're walking away from this. That's what you hope for them to get. That's my. And where can they find the book?

[Tim Timberlake]

Tim the bumpy road to better.com and listen pro tip Order it off Amazon comes next day.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

Leave a review.

[Tim Timberlake]

It helps share the message. And so three things I want to encourage you to do. Read it, review it. You know, recommend it. Do that for your boy. It will help out a whole lot. I know the book is going to bless you, put my heart and soul into it. So thank you for taking the time to read it.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And we want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for watching the Street Preachers podcast. This is episode four.

[Drew]

Yeah.

[Philip Anthony Mitchell]

And we are on our way. By God's grace. Do us a favor. If you've enjoyed these first three episodes and in this episode right here, episode four, I'd only pick up 10. Book the bumpy Road to Better Unlocking the Hidden Power and Hard Things. Go ahead and subscribe to our YouTube channel. Share this podcast with others if it's been a blessing to you, pray for us as we're on this journey of faith together. We're not begging for money or any of those other things. If this podcast has been a blessing to you this far, just help us by praying for us, sharing this with other people and subscribing comment. Tim and I do try to read as many of those comments as possible. They encourage us. We talk about it. We get on the phone, we talk, we see it. You know, we're not always able to respond and and things of this nature, but we do read them and we do see them. We pray over people we see in the comments. So I want you to know that we, we see and we're encouraged by that. And we're looking forward to seeing, man, hundreds, maybe thousands of you on our first tour. StreetPreaches TV go and get your tickets now. Thank you so much for watching this episode of the Street Preachers Podcast. We'll see you next week. Episode number five. Bless y'.

[Drew]

All.

[Tim Timberlake]

We pray you are blessed by this content and this episode. We want to thank our street team for following us on this journey when I ask that you continue to share, like, subscribe as we endeavor to continue to bring you the word of God.