Cap Chatfield (9:18)
Thank you. And so it's funny because the first chapter in the book, it's like the introduction, it says the book I didn't want to write. And so I. I. The story of even how this came about. I got connected with my publisher, Charisma House, and they had seen my content. They'd seen just the consistency of what I've been doing online. And I told them that in 2025, I was interested in writing my first book. So we put together a contract. I didn't even really have a plan of what the book was going to be. It's probably similar to you. Like, you got 20 books still in you that are still needing to come out. That's how I felt. There's, like. There's so much content I'd love to put out there, but the more that I prayed about it, the more the Lord was just stirring in my heart. I want you to talk about financial prosperity. And I was almost like, no, not that, because, I mean, it's almost like I've only been a believer for about 13 years now, I think. 13 years. So I was an atheist in high school. I'm not. I don't have, like, the. I don't have a connection to the evangelical church ever since my upbringing. But even in the short period of time that I've been walking with the Lord, I've seen that being marked with the label of prosperity gospel, prosperity, preacher. It's almost like a stain on your reputation, and it puts you in a certain category. And it's really amazing, John, because you could talk about every. You could talk about the full counsel of God's word. You could talk about hell, Heaven. You could talk about LGBT stuff. You could talk about the Rapture. And then as soon as you talk about prosperity, it's like, boom, none of that stuff matters. You're now in this category. And I was kind of afraid for my own reputation, right. As somebody who's actually built a brand, talking about some of the most culturally controversial things, even making a documentary that could have. Who knows what could have happened with that documentary that I made? I was really hesitant about this one. But there's. There's A, there's this thing that I'm learning to really trust the Lord with. And if you're feeling that hesitation and you're feeling like you know that the pushback is going to be there, it's probably because you're over the target. And it's probably because God actually has a really big assignment there. And so the book chronicles a little bit of my own personal testimony. And in my testimony, I have been called by God to be a minister ever since I got saved. It's probably before I was even born. But I was hesitant on that calling because I was literally asking the question, God, I want to do it, but do you pay well enough? I know that's pretty blunt. It's great. But the thing is that all I've ever seen was this mindset that pursuing God's call in your life, especially for ministry, is a pathway to poverty. And for me, it's not that I need nice things. I don't need an extravagant lifestyle. I'm not against it, but for me it was. I just didn't want to have to worry about money. I wanted to be able to buy my kids braces without thinking about it. I wanted to be able to take my wife on vacation. I didn't want. I have a story, actually. I was in the midst of me kicking against the goads and not stepping into my. My true calling of being a preacher. I was building a business on the side, hoping that God would bless it. I was trying to do it the right way, do it in an honorable way. But it wasn't what God was inviting me into, wasn't the thing he was calling me to focus on. And while the business was failing, I remember a few really distinct moments. One of the moments that really frustrated me. My son Brave was 3 at the time and he, he was interested in playing T ball. So we joined this, this little like rec T ball team. I couldn't even afford a used T ball bat or a T ball helmet from like Facebook Marketplace. And to avoid him feeling the embarrassment of me having him ask his friends at 3 years old to borrow their baseball bat or their helmet because all these kids are decked out. They got the helmet, they got the visors, they got the pit viper glasses and he doesn't have any of that stuff. So I'm having these conversations with the dads privately if I could borrow their helmet and their glove and their kids bat that they provided for their kids. And I'm thinking like, okay, first of all, as a dad, this is just like, it's such a gut punch. I'm supposed to be the one providing for my kids. Can't at the level that I want to. And then as a minister, someone who's like a bold preacher of the gospel, because I was serving in as a lay pastor of the church at the time, I'm thinking, who on earth would want to follow my God if I'm like, God's going to take care of these areas of your life? And for me, like, the fruit of my life was looking like everything but that. So none of these things were adding up. And then in 2022, when everything came to a head, my business was a dumpster fire. My wife went through a really horrific health situation that I wasn't able. I didn't have health insurance. I was paying for literally all of her insulin, all of her treatments. She had four or five autoimmune diseases like that. And I had no idea what to do. So I'm paying for all of her stuff on a credit card while my business is taking on debt to keep my employees employed. And I cry out. I'm on my face in my office, and I cry out to God. You talk about being bold. I've learned that the best place to be raw about how you feel is in the presence of God.