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Zach
I am unashamed. What about you?
Host (possibly Jason)
So welcome back to Unashamed. We. We left a little bit of a cliffhanger on the last episode, I think, fellas, because y' all were headed. Jace was headed off to Nashville to meet Zach and his family, and Jason were meeting your family. There was a big crawfish bowl. You were. You had hesitation because Zach was involved in the process.
Jason
The story was Zach somehow got deemed the one who's going to cook the crawfish, of which I opposed. Some concerns about that. And then when I talked to Zach on the podcast, he said, because y'
Host (possibly Jason)
all had a meeting on the podcast,
Jason
I got a guy who was Ben. And so we gathered at my son's house on Friday night, the day before graduation. And Zach, to his credit, his guy pulled it off. Now I have a few pictures because Zach had to be. He had to kind of. The politician was coming out in him. Ben did all the work, but every time I looked around, Zach was like, creating a photo shoot. So I started taking pictures of a guy looking like he knew what he was doing. Here's a various assortment of those pictures that I was in, Maddie, that you can see.
Host (possibly Jason)
So while you're looking at those, in fairness to Zach Jace, he did run for Congress. And I've noticed that people that run for Congress find a way to get in every picture.
Zach
That's not how it happened.
Jason
The guy who actually did the work is not in pictures that I took because every time I went to take one, Zach moved over and, like, got in the way.
Zach
That's not true. Now it's all making sense because I never. Jace doesn't take pictures. First of all, the fact that he had his camera out. I mean, he said, let me get my camera. I'll take some pictures. That he was planning to set me up the whole time. Yeah, let me get my.
Host (possibly Jason)
Where's my phone?
Zach
I gotta get some pictures in here. I was like, that's. Oh, he's gonna give me credit on the.
Host (possibly Jason)
Zach, have you ever known Jace to be the photog at an. You ever know?
Zach
I've never seen him. I've never seen him take a picture. That's what I. That's why when he was pulled out his camera, I was like, well, maybe he's gonna actually give me credit for something I didn't know set up for just blatant lies. But.
Jason
So funny. Well, we were doing something that's not typically done. We were having a crawfish bowl with a large group of people. I mean, I didn't realize Zach's family had gotten so big. And we're doing it.
Zach
We had shrimp, too.
Jason
Where we did it in Tennessee. So it was weird because there were people coming around, like, wondering what was going on. And they're like, what are those things? And they're called crawfish or mud bugs.
Zach
Well, the funny thing about it is we get. So we get there. I drive in. Jace came late, and Missy sends me a text and says, can you or Ben pick up the crawfish? They're already paid for, which is good. That's a good sign. I'm already. I'm already in when this on board. I'm on board. So then she sends me this seafood marketplace. And so I'm. I'm thinking, well, yeah, I'll pick him up. So I drive to the seafood market, and there's no seafood market. Like, there's nothing. It's literally. It's like a. The. I'm not. When I tell you, I'm not kidding. We wound up in the back of an alley, and there's nothing around. And I'm like, what? And there's no seafood. But I'm looking on the phone, and I'm clearly at the place. Place that it says to go to. And all of a sudden, I see Ben, because Ben met me over there. I see Ben walk around the corner of a van, like a big, like, box fan. And I'm. And I'm like, I'll throw up my hands kind of like, what? Like, what? What's. What. What's going on? And he's like. And he points at the van. Unmarked. The van's completely unmarked. It's just like a box fan.
Jason
It's called smuggling.
Zach
Oh, yeah.
Jason
That's what we do. Look, when you think about crawfish, because crawfish, it's better than drugs. But what do you do if you don't live in Louisiana or, you know, south Mississippi? Well, this is what you do, Zach. You got involved in crawfish smuggling.
Zach
Well, I. I'm Cal, by the way. The guy pops out, and of the. Of the van, I had a side door, and he's like, hey, yeah. And he's like. And he's like, you got a cooler? I'm like, no, I don't have a cooler. I just told him, pick up a sack of crawfish. He said, well, you got £50. It's going to be a sack and a half. But I only got, like, where these are gonna. We're gonna have to, like, put these in something. You got a box. I'm like, I got nothing, man. I'm like, that's not how we do business, you know? And so we're, like, going back and forth. And the thing was refrigerated. The truck was. And so he basically had a half of a. He had a big sack, which is 40 pounds, I guess. And then he had another half bag that had £10 in it, and he tied. But so we worked it out. But that literally the only crawfish in there were the ones that I bought. It was. The whole experience is really weird. And so I put him in the back of the Max's truck, we got. Put some ice on top of them, and then brought him back. But it was very shady. I'll just say that. I'm not sure. I'm not sure it was legal, but
Jason
because people who are from Louisiana, you. All you had to say was, I'm from central Florida. He wouldn't. Went, oh, oh.
Zach
That's why you don't know where he was from. I mean, I don't know where they came from, how the crawfish got there. I mean, I don't. I have no clue.
Jason
Zach, Everybody that I know, who I call a friend in north Louisiana, they have a yeti ice chest in the back of their truck right now.
Zach
I didn't bring. I. I got it. Yeti.
Jason
There's no bringing.
Zach
It's. I don't bring my truck. I was in Jill's van.
Jason
You have. Look, Zach, you have wife, kids, ice. Jess, that's. You have to. We were.
Zach
We were.
Jason
We had too much.
Zach
Too much luggage, too many people.
Jason
There you go.
Zach
It was like we brought a crew. You know,
Host (possibly Jason)
Zach, I'm no lawyer, but as far as I. As far as I know, it's okay to cross state lines with car crawfish.
Jason
It is, but it just. It helps with. Because we realize how good this is. And this is. There's an underworld of.
Zach
But how do you have a. Yeah, but. But the question is, how do you have a. A Google, like, business? It's on Google. It's got an address and everything. Like, got a phone number and Then you drive there, and it's literally a van parked on the side of a road.
Jason
I'll give you the answer. It's the power of the crawfish.
Zach
Well, what I. I got. Well, we have more closure, by the way, than just that. I did, because a previous episode, too, whenever, if you guys remember, a while back, I. I wanted Jace to see if he could negotiate. Well, this is when I came down for the duck hunt, the epic duck hunt where we got iced in. I wanted Missy to make me a crawfish pie, which never happened because Jace never told her. But she did make three crawfish pies at this thing, and they were excellent.
Jason
And I.
Zach
And I had my fair share of that, too.
Jason
I need to get that picture from my wife, because usually she puts a cross. She just makes one. So then you. You feel kind of weird because this is so good, but you're like, you don't want to cut into that cross. She makes a little cross out of the dough. But she had three of them because there were three graduates, two of Zach's kids, and then my daughter. And so I think it was Mia's idea, because she's like, well, I don't know what to put, you know, because she was thinking about putting the cross on one, the tomb on one, and an arrow on the other. And Mia said, why don't you put yay? And that's what she did. So that was funny.
Host (possibly Jason)
That was on the crawfish bath.
Jason
Yeah, well, like, the three. You know, a. Yeah, I'll get her to send that.
Zach
But we had it. But it was a good. It really was a good time. And I look over there after the meal was over, and we all kind of migrate to the living room, and I see Bear and Jace over there cornered up. And I was hoping that you were speaking some truth into my son. And I did find out later, y' all got into a whole thing on Acts 17, which I was thankful for.
Jason
That was just one aspect. You know, I don't know how old he is. 17, 18, 16.
Zach
He's 18. Just turned 18.
Jason
Just turned 18. That that conversation started in a duck blind, which shows you the power of a duck blind. Speaking of the power of the crawfish, where you're out there in a perfect setting for an older guy in the faith to talk to a younger guy of the faith. And that's where that conversation started. And it just picked up right where it left off. And he was asking the right questions about walking with Jesus and going to a public high school. What's funny about the conversation, because we would go through these nuggets that the Bible offers and I would say, he would say, man, that is so powerful, that's in the Bible. And so I was like, your dad hasn't taught you about this? And he said, well, I'm sure he has, but he's so theological. I didn't get it. And I thought, welcome to the club.
Host (possibly Jason)
No, no.
Zach
Man is a prophet in his own town. That's in the Bible, number one.
Host (possibly Jason)
Or his own house.
Zach
Yeah, or his own house for sure. And number two, you know, you lay those seeds and sometimes like what you pray for is someone else to come along. But isn't that true though?
Jason
It's funny, I mean, we're making fun of this, but I had those same interactions with various members of my family. You just, you're hearing the same thing from a different point of view. And you know, you reach a. I said, maybe somebody told me this, but you know, as a parent you're great until the kid turns about 13 and then you know, nothing. I mean, so they have to get it from somebody else. You know, you have to live it, which that's part of my speech because they then just watch you, but they don't listen to you. But they, they have to get the information from someone else, which is weird in our, in our world of family and trying to teach our kids.
Zach
You don't need the news to tell you that inflation is real. Everything costs more, food, housing, just everyday living. The dollar does not stretch as far as it used to. So it raises a real question, which is this the money that you've worked decades to save, the retirement you guys have been planning for, what you've been building, even the legacy that you want to leave to your family, what's that actually going to buy in 20 years from now? And that's one of the reasons why a lot of folks are looking at ways to diversify their savings with real assets like gold and silver. I'm a big proponent of having gold and silver as a part of your retirement portfolio. And that's where Freedom Gold USA comes in. For generations, people have actually looked at physical silver and gold as a way to help preserve value, particularly in times of inflation or currency changes or economic uncertainty. Freedom Gold USA helps people understand how physical precious metals might fit into your long term retirement strategy. Their motto is extremely simple. Just this, get more metal for your money. Competitive pricing, no gimmicks, and specialists who focus on education, not pressure. So be wise and start diversifying right now they're offering a free 2026 gold and silver guide and a no obligation consultation. All you have to do is call 884-11-1845, or you can visit unashamedgold.com that's triple 841-1845 or visit unashamedgold.com learn how diversification may help protect your retirement savings.
Host (possibly Jason)
I wanted John to speak into something because we talk a lot on here about compound and, you know, forever family and yet being inside of a family unit. And I just found it sort of ironic, but a godly irony that Zach, two of your kids and. And then Jace's daughter wound up in the same town, in the same college, but came there by very different means. But I thought about that in relation, and I wanted y' all to speak to this, like, because they're your kids, but that a lot of people think, you know, you send your kids off to college and you're hoping they'll figure out what they want to do or be. But in the case, really, of all three of your children that graduated college. But to me, it feels like they pretty much already know who they are and what they want to be and what they want to do, because they're already doing it. The college education, I'm sure, is nice, and, you know, that helps open some doors for jobs and they've learned some things. But, I mean, you know, there's a great involvement already in terms of their abilities, because we talked about that. They can sing. They. They lead worship. And Layla, Max's case, they're opening for Larry Fleet, you know, and they're already doing all these things and married and about to get married. So, I mean, just talk about that in terms of the college didn't really prepare them for that. God prepared him and you guys and your families. But the college education was just a part of the process as they're going through life. I mean, that's kind of how it looks from my perspective, just looking at.
Zach
Yeah, I mean, for us, well, the school is great. I mean, they got into a program there. They really helped foster kind of their. Their creative abilities, and it really, I think, helped them get going on everything. But were you at.
Jason
Were you at the graduation? Yeah. Yeah, there was thousands of people there. We were there, but we didn't come in together. I didn't know. Did you know I was there? Did you ever see me?
Zach
No, I never saw you. I was wondering where you were at.
Jason
Did you ever hear me?
Zach
Never heard you. Did you hear us yelling when. When Mia went Across. Did you hear some other people yelling in the. In the.
Jason
Oh, I did. You didn't hear what I did. You must have been far away from me. There were thousands of people. So, look, I will. I will play the video. We won't. We won't show it to you because the first 12 seconds is a shot of Bonnie, Aunt Bonnie's right hand. But you can hear it. You can hear what I did. And this was Mia's idea. Well, it was my idea. And I was joking because she said, y' all better cheer for me when y' all went. When they announced my name, because she said, it's really awkward. Which. This was the first college graduation that I ever been to. There was. How many people graduated, Zach?
Zach
Gotta be 500.
Jason
Oh, no, it's more than that. Maybe six to 700, I think. So. I had no idea because I thought when the program. I thought it was wrapping up. And then I thought, well, why didn't Mia say this was going to be two hours? And Aunt Bonnie said, oh, they're fixed to read off every name I said that's sitting there. And now I know why it took two hours. So what happens is they usually announce, hold your applause to the end. But they didn't even announce that. So every time someone's name is announced, the three or four people that came to support them, they halt. It's just like a you know who. But then you move on to the next name. So Mia was saying that, and I said, well, you know what I ought to do? Maybe I shouldn't tell a duck call. Yep, that's what I said. And I was kidding. And she said, dad, you must do that. So I smuggled in a duck call because I was thinking, I gotta go through security.
Host (possibly Jason)
This should be called the smuggle graduation with the crawfish. Now the duck.
Jason
So, look, I'm gonna play this for you. You can hear it. So you'll hear the name and then you'll. Here we go. Which I thought sounded pretty good. That was my triple threat. But all. So when I blew that, we're up above. And Zach didn't hear it, which I'm surprised. I'm not sure what section you were sitting in, this big arena, but all the students that hadn't got in line, all their heads simultaneously just whipped around and looked at the section where that duck call came from, and they were stunned. And then they all grinned. It was like I orchestrated.
Zach
So weird.
Jason
But I thought that may have never happened in the history of graduations where student was announced and Then you just hear this sound of goodness.
Host (possibly Jason)
What did Mia do? Could you see her expression?
Jason
She said she heard it. That's why I was wondering. Heard it not.
Zach
Well, we were. Well, I think because we were all screaming, so I probably couldn't hear because
Jason
that's probably what happened. Yeah. Which I have to admit there was a lot of people screaming for, which kind of made me tear up because I thought, well, she's really made a lot of relationships because, well, usually.
Host (possibly Jason)
And she was on the national show, national television. It's not like they don't heard of her.
Jason
But I hijacked your story, Zach. Go ahead and finish.
Zach
What was my story?
Jason
Well, you were just going through the graduation process, but I'll say this. I guess we're doing this together. I was really impressed at the spiritual focus of the whole presentation. And I thought, man, I probably should have got this vibe before I sent my daughter there. I was kind of shocked. I mean, they, they put, they made a point to say, yes, they've learned a lot of things, but hopefully the transforming power of the Lord will be the highlight. I mean, that was definitely the focus of the whole ceremony. Would you agree, though?
Zach
Yeah, I think so. They. I, I really think they turned the corner at that school. I mean, I was so impressed by the kids experience there. And, you know, your, your question, Al, was like how they, they have their, you know, they can, they do have a direction in life, I think a little earlier than a lot of people, which, yeah, I was proud of all three of them. And they, they really, they do know what they want. You know, I would say probably some of that is a result or for us. And I think Jason, Missy did the same thing. We, We've, we've helped our kids, but we've also not enabled them. So we've really kind of pushed them to, you know, acquire more responsibility earlier on rather than later. I think that has helped a lot. But I do think that you talk about that family compound, which is one of the things Ben Sass said, and that when, you know, he'd look back at his life and yeah, with our kids, we sat. So we sat up, I guess it would have been Friday night. We all got back to the, to our Airbnb after our crawfish bowl where I cooked crawfish for everybody and did a great job at it. And it was me, my wife Jill, all of our kids. It was Layla's husband, Dawson, Max's fiance, which they get married in two weeks. Annabelle and then Ben and Melissa were there, which Ben is my brother in law. Melissa's my sister. And then we had Paisley, their cousin. And we all sat in a room and for probably two hours, up until about midnight, we just like spoke truth over the graduates. And a lot of it was like, us talking about, like, how do you organize your life? You guys are going on the road and like, one thing you got. If you got to fight for your marriage, you got to fight for time together, you got to fight for rhythms, you got to. It was just. But what I loved about it and I thought, man, like, what our kids have received over the course of their lifetime is they have lots of aunts and uncles, cousins. I mean, Jason's my first cousin. I guess he would be Bear's first cousin once removed. But he's over on the couch earlier that. Earlier that night speaking the truth of Acts 17 into him. To me, like, the biggest thing that you can do is get your kids in community with lots of other people speaking into them, because you can speak. I mean, I'm so glad Jace brought that up. You can speak the truth into your kids over and again. And it matters.
Jason
And they.
Zach
And they. And it's. It's resonating, but not on the same level. And so to where literally the fact that he's never heard Act 7 or like, not put together the Act 17, when that's like, I had literally probably preached Acts 17 in his lifetime a hundred times.
Host (possibly Jason)
Like, it's your go to, Zach.
Zach
It's your go to. So it's kind of like for him to say, yeah, never heard. Never heard dad talk about that. I'm sure he said it.
Jason
I'm like, no, he actually said, zach, that's in the Bible. That was his response. I read it and I said, what are you talking about that's in the Bible? Because
Zach
I'm offend. One level, I'm offended, but then I'm also thankful. And I'm also, you know, it is what it is.
Jason
But.
Zach
But isn't that true? That's like. But you want that and like, you want. I want my kids to have mentors and people they look up to. And. And of course, Bear just thinks Jay's hung the moon. It's like, I want him to sit under Jace's teaching. I want. When I saw that on the couch, I'm like, I'm not going to even interrupt that because I was just wanting whatever was going on there. I'm like, I want more of that in my son's life. I'm a big believer in term life insurance. Policies.
Host (possibly Jason)
When I got into the school of preaching to start my career in ministry, a very kind gentleman who sold insurance had me into his office and, and told me about term life insurance, but also had the generosity to say, you know, I'm going to pay your premiums while you're in school. To get you started is my way to support your ministries.
Zach
For me, when we found out we were pregnant with our first child, I was like, gotta have insurance in case something happens to me. I was start. I started thinking about, how would Jill take care of this kid? Who's going to pay the mortgage? Who's going to pay the electrical bill? Who's going to pay all that? So we got a term life insurance policy early on. I think I probably have three to four of them now. Well, I'm proud to tell you, our partner fabric by Gerber Life, it's a. It's a term life insurance policy that you can get done today super easy. It's made for busy parents just like you. It's all online, all on your schedule, right from your couch. You can be covered in under 10 minutes, often with no health exam required. If you've got kids, and especially if you're young and healthy, now is the time to lock in those low rates. And that's why I like Fabric because they have policies that fit your life and your budget, like a million dollars in coverage for less than a dollar a day. So join the thousands of parents who trust Fabric to help protect their family. Apply today in just minutes@meatfabric.com unashamed that's meatfabric.com unashamed and please use our link so they know we sent you. It's at M e e t fabric.com Unashamed policies are issued by Western Southern Life Assurance Company, not available in certain states. Prices are subject to underwriting and health questions.
Jason
Maybe I should just share a little bit of the questions. I mean, the first question he asked, he's like, it's so difficult, you know, in high school, because God seems so far away in that moment. And it just made me think about, first John, what we've been studying about. We're in this world within a world. And his perspective, he's looking around like, man, this is just overwhelming. The captivity by the evil one in this world that you're up against, it's just overwhelming. And so it led to more of a God is way nearer than you think through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. And he was like, well, how does that work? I was like, what do you Mean, how does it work? He's like, well, the Holy Spirit. I mean, where was it at before Jesus? Which was a really good question when you think about it. I was like, well, if you go back to page one of the Bible, I said, there was something hovering over the waters. What do you immediately think about when you hear the phrase hovering over the waters? Because I had taken him duck hunting. I thought he was going to say a duck. He's like, clouds, the smoke. And I was like, what about a duck? And he said, oh, yeah, that's funny. I was like, no, it's more than funny. Because then God spoke. When you speak, what do you use? And he went, words. I was like, who infamously became the Word in human form? He's like, jesus. I was like, there's the Holy Spirit. There's this creation power. I was like, then this one who became a human, he gets in line like everybody else to be baptized. And what happens? And he's like, I don't know what happened. I thought he would just answer the question. I was like, the Holy Spirit descended on him like a dove. And he went, oh, my goodness. Have you told anybody about this? I was like, what are you talking about? Have I told him this is in the Bible? It's like it hovered down. It's like, if you've any hunting experience, this is the Holy Spirit. How close is this that he's using an illustration from the hunting world? Like a dove. Because anybody who's ever seen a dog dove hovering, you know exactly what that looks like. And he's so into hunting. And I am, too. These. These same verses that I know he's heard a hundred times, it was just lighting a fire under him, you know? And I was like, you. That same experience happened to you. Remember when you said, jesus is Lord and you went down in the water? I was like, even though you didn't see that hovering and that new creation being launched, that's what happened. And it's in there. Just. It's a matter of that becoming a reality in your life. You have the Holy Spirit in you. And so, I mean, that was just one kind of avenue. That's where it started. And so by the time we got to Acts 17, he said, well, what kind of questions should I ask to get into these conversations? I was like, well, there's nothing. There's only a few basic humanity questions, which is why I went to Acts 17, which is, well, how did you get on the Earth? And I went through the story about Paul. He came up on these People that were had an image that said to an unknown God. I was like, that's what you're describing. These people, God is unknown to them. How do you make it known? And then he starts in these three little categories where he's like, God gave all men life, breath, everything else. And this is the part that he said, this is in the Bible. I said, he determines the places for them, the exact times for them. He gave them life, breath, everything else. He did this so that men would seek him, reach out for him and find Him. I was like, well, that answered two basic questions. How did you get here? God had a plan and a purpose and it was exact the moment. And he did it so you could find him, reach out for him, and then you would then represent him. And he's not far that verse, because that's where that all started. When he's like, how far? He seems like he's far off. And it says, though he is not far from each one of us, in him we live and move and have our being. I said, and then the last question is, what happens next? What happens after you die? And then I read the verse at the end where he said he set a day when he'll judge the world. He's given proof to this by all men by raising Jesus from the dead. Dead. He, he literally, he looked like he was ready to run through a wall. He's like, oh, I, I, I gotta, I, I gotta write this down. I was like, what are you gonna do with it? He said, oh, I'm fix sharing this. This is it. This is it.
Zach
Well, on the way home, he called his buddy up. We were driving back yesterday and he called. He has a, one of his friends that leads this Bible study they've been doing for, I guess, I don't know, probably six months now. They have a lot of kids coming and it's completely student led. And so he called his partner up here. All right, here's the new, here's the new thing we're going to be talking about. He said, go read Acts 17. I'm gonna feel you. That's what I knew. That's what I was like. So then I was listening to him talk, I was like, I said, what made you think about Act 17? Oh, it's just something me and Jace were talking about. Yeah, which, which I've told you a thousand times, but that's, that's fine. I didn't say that part, but I was like. But it was funny, Zach.
Host (possibly Jason)
It makes such a that. And I love your humility. In that, just to say, you know, you've taught a lot of people, but even, you know, your kids or somebody else sometimes can hear things in a different way from a different person. And so to an audience as big as ours, we talk all the time about just having Jesus conversations. And this is why. Because you never know when you're going to resonate with somebody. I mean, you felt those connections before when you had conversations with people, and it just instantly feels like you're both on the same page. And whether it's just mutual encouragement or you're sharing something new or they're sharing something new with you from either a life story or something from the Bible, it's why we have these conversations and it's why we all must be engaged in the conversation. Everybody learns in different ways and some people will hear you teach or hear you share, and they just completely connect and resonate. I've had people say that before. I could listen to you all day. If you're teaching that, that just means that you're resonating, connecting. Other people are yawning, you know, like, like Zach during a break, you know, of unashamed. And so, you know, and why. Because, you know, it's just, it doesn't hit them the same way. And so I take this as like the ultimate charge while we have to share, because you never know when you're, you know, whatever that God's given you is going to connect with somebody else. And trust me, it always will. I mean, it never comes back void, you know, when you share Jesus, it comes back to somebody. It pays a dividend.
Zach
Yeah.
Host (possibly Jason)
Which is powerful. So I love that story and how it impacts the story here. Here's what's ironic. So this weekend when you guys were doing all this back home at wfr, they, and I didn't really realize this. It was this Sunday. I tuned in from down here in the Southern lair to our live stream. And then I realized as soon as I tuned in, I thought, oh, man, this is my favorite day. It's senior Sunday. And so every year it's been a tradition we've done since back when I was there. I can't remember exactly when we started it, but it's been a long time, Many, many years. I mean, my kids went had senior Sunday and we recognize the senior class that graduates because, you know, they're about to go to college. Kind of like what you guys just described. Both part of the family finishing. And here's Bear preparing to do whatever he's going to do. And so the reason why it's always one of my favorite Sundays, from a. From a standpoint, usually of just present, which I was involved in for many years, it's not always the best because it's a bunch of kids up, you know, nobody knows really what they're doing. It's not very smooth. The youth guy is usually in charge, and he's the least experienced out of all your staff people. And so they may go off the rail with the message, you know, you never know what's going to happen. And. But the reason I love it, in spite of all that, and part of it is because of that, to be honest with you, doesn't have to always have to be so polished, is that I missed my teenage years. You know, I was. I was on the wrong team. And so I gave those to the evil one for 14 to 18. So when I see a bunch of kids that have committed their lives in the moment and are participating and a part of the church and, you know, just a lot of times they share and they're the ones that teach or share their testimony or lead worship that day, I mean, it is so powerful to me. I don't care what happens. I'm already engaged and excited even when it starts. And so it was this Sunday, so I was in tears just watching it. There was a bunch of kids, I know one of them was Gimber's son, was helping lead worship. And so there's these kids up here. Another one was a kid that really had a hard time. His parents went through a divorce, and yet he's doing so great. He was up there playing the guitar, you know, being a part of the worship. And so, you know, I was already in tears just watching it and experiencing it and worshiping with them. And then our youth guy gets up and he starts into his text. Well, what's funny is I'm preaching next Sunday, Jays. And so when he starts into the text, because I'd had an outline for what we're going to be doing, and I thought, well, he's teaching my text. I'd already started preparing this text.
Jason
And it's First John, ironically, because, you know, you probably contributed to that. I don't know.
Host (possibly Jason)
I did.
Jason
Since we had studied First John through this podcast, it's a lot easier for you to preach on it and to submit an outline, because one thing, we
Host (possibly Jason)
just went through it.
Zach
Yeah.
Jason
For all our listeners, we went into First John in depth. But I was telling you before this podcast started that I listened to that sermon and not to say that the times before, because they do this every year. But it's like, okay, it's. It's the high school. And look, I.
Host (possibly Jason)
Kids are in charge.
Jason
I was one of the teenagers in my senior year that got up and spoke. It was one of the top five times I spoke at that stage of my life.
Host (possibly Jason)
And I was, well, that tells you how far back it goes, Jason. I didn't. I didn't even realize that.
Jason
So, yeah, I was one of the guys didn't want to do it, but. Oh, oh, Mike Kellett talked me into it. And so. So when I turned it on because I was traveling back from Nashville, I thought, oh, here we go. I thought, Al may be preaching. And. And I was tempted to turn it off, but. But he said, we're here in First John. And I thought, oh, is. Is this youth pastor fixed to preach in First John? Well, I got to listen to this, Al. It was fantastic. Out of the park by far, I thought. And it just made me think, this old boy has really grown just in his confidence and just his Bible study. It was. It was very, very, very good. I. I'd encourage people to listen to it. It was fantastic. It was a little long, but I didn't care because it was so good. I thought man had something to say, and it was. It was done. Well,
Zach
all right. So I just got back from Nashville, and I'm telling you, gas prices, diesel prices, groceries, I mean, everything is skyrocketing and your budget wants a break. I'm proud to tell you about one of our sponsors, Upside. Upside's an app. It's free, and it helps you get cash back on gas, groceries, and dining.
Host (possibly Jason)
We do a lot of travel back and forth, especially from Southern Lair to here. So gas is a big thing with us. So Lisa and I are earning a lot of cash back.
Zach
All you have to do is open the app, claim the offer, and pay with your card like normal. Then you get paid. That's it. Super simple. And yes, it's cash back, not points that you're never going to use or credits or anything like that. That expire over 100,000 participating locations means you're going to find the offers at the places that you're already going to. Upside has given $1 billion back to its users. Find out how much you could earn, download the free Upside app, and use our promo code unashamed to get an extra 25 cents back on every gallon on your first tank of gas. That's an extra 25 cents back for every gallon on your first tank of gas. Using promo code, unashamed.
Host (possibly Jason)
And he had one of the senior had a couple of guys up at the beginning do a text and a prayer, and then he had another senior give a little mini testimony, like right in the middle of it, which extended his time. But it was really good. And I just wanted to mention it just because it was so good. And I had already, like, come up with my little outline for it. So as. As he's sharing, I'm listening to him and his points, and they were very good, while I'm also looking at my points and actually building on them, because I thought, well, this is a sermon I won't preach now because he's preached it, although this will be the intro for next week because it was so good. But here's what. Here was what I was going to call this sermon. And he got into it and it was so good. And Jason was the line from the podcast. And remember when I said, it's who you know?
Jason
Yeah.
Host (possibly Jason)
So that's. That's what I would have called this text is who you know, because ultimately, that's how we know, right? It starts in verse 3 of First John 2. We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, I know him, but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. And so he establishes right off the bat that when you choose what you choose to know, or who you choose to know is who you choose to obey. And so it's right off the bat in the who. And of course, that's Jesus right off the bat. And so you see this maturity, this love that's made complete that he talked about. And then the next section, what you choose to learn, the old commandment he mentioned determines what you choose to see. And that was interesting because he said, it's an old command, but it's actually a new command. Well, what makes an old command new? It's when you finally see what it's talking about. You know, I mean, it's just what you described with. With Bear. What. What I love about this Kyle Alderman. He has a book called Aha. It's about the prodigal son. And my mind immediately, every time we do Senior Sunday, my mind goes to prodigal son. And if you're ever a prodigal, you know why? It's because when you were away from God at a moment like this, when it could have been some of your best years, when you come to realization that you're really in a pig pen, that you're in that world from First John 2, 15, 17. You're on the wrong team. It literally is an aha moment. And the aha stands for awareness, humility and action. That's the aha for Adelman's book. And it's so good, because when you come to an awareness of something, you immediately apply it to you. And when you do that, you take action. You can't help but do it. That's why Bear had to. He had to talk to his buddy and get back and want to teach this, because it's an aha moment. When you see something for the first time, that's what makes something old. Acts 17. That was done 2000 years ago, something new. And so I love John's point in that, which is the idea of light, of truth. That's what it does. And there's nothing false about it. There's no false claims because he compares it to darkness. That's what the Evil One does. No false motives, no false direction, simply a clear pathway to truth. And then he. Then he says in the next text in 12 through 14, it's about family. And we were talking about this compound thing. What you choose to overcome is what determines who you are. And this whole book, we've talked about fellowship with the Father, Son and the Spirit. But it's us that gets to fellowship, and we don't want to keep that to ourselves. That's even our family. That's why I think when he did the little song Jay, it's the little 12 through 14 in First John 2, when he did the children, the young men and the fathers, that was why he chose that setting. He chose a family because this whole setting right, is to the family of God. It keeps calling them children the whole time. And the idea is to overcome the Evil One. And then, of course, that takes you to that last text that Spencer did in 1517, which is that clear, eternal decision that you make. And the only way you can do that is if you can see the temporary nature of the world. What the Evil One offers is only that which will pass away. What the. What the Almighty is offering is even in this life already being tapped into the eternal, which. This is what's going to set me up for next week, which I'm super excited about. And that's the idea of how you know who you know is the most important. But how you know is also very important. And guess what? That's the Holy Spirit, the anointing, which is what we get into the next time. So I. It was very Moving to me. I loved it. Spencer did amazing. Knocked out of the park. Definitely. Go to wfrchurch.org and check his whole presentation out.
Jason
Well, man, it just shows you. I think when you put people in a box, it's a mistake because it seemed just like somewhere in between the last time I heard him and now there was a spiritual awakening and he came out firing. And really the barometer. You knew why it was good. I was telling Missy, this is our good old friend Kurt, who we call Jesus because he hollers out and exclaims during sermons.
Host (possibly Jason)
Jesus boy.
Jason
You could hear him in the background, which that should tell you right there. It was good. I want to make a comment when you said about that aha. Because that phrase, I looked this up before, is used all over the Psalms when our enemies, the enemies of those who put their faith and trust in God, when they see Christians suffering. It's a frequent phrase. It's actually in the Bible way more than you would realize. And that's why when I heard you say that, I thought I'd bring this up. I'll just give you four that when I Googled Proverbs 35, 21, and 25, did I say Proverbs Psalm 35, 21, 25, Psalm 40, 15 and 70, verse three. But I was going to read one just to let you get a feel for it. In Psalm 40:15, it says, May those who say to me, aha. Aha. Be appalled at their own shame. But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. May those who love your salvation always say, the Lord be exalted. I just thought that was funny, that we have an aha Moment. But that's kind of how it works because you've, you know, I was trying to follow Jesus when you were in your prodigal years and y' all used to make fun of me mercilessly. You know, it's the same usage of the phrase, but it's one of mockery. And then when you. You're transformed, it's like, aha. A more humble, wow, look at what I have. So it's a. It's interesting phrase, but you're going to be persecuted. You go from the one doing the persecuting to the one being persecuted in that transformation.
Host (possibly Jason)
Well, and it's so motivated, Jace, by what you're. What your allegiance is to. And that's why even people in your. Your own family can be so hurtful. I mean, I say to audiences all the time. I mean, like, my biggest regret is turning My back on my Lord first, but then my family second. Because like you said, I mean, I should have been your biggest encourager, you know, and instead I was one, you know, persecuting because of the goodness. It was exactly what happened when mom turned to Christ out of desperation because of her situation with dad, which is portrayed beautifully in the blind. When she's sitting in that bathroom, you know, and she just comes that realization that I can't give up. I got kids depending on me. And guess what happens? Her biggest persecutor became Dab, you know, because all of a sudden, he's projecting his bad life and his worldly living onto her faith. And so it was the exact same thing. And I went through the exact same thing, which was just. Oh, man. It's just my greatest regret. You just think if there was one thing I could go back and change, it'd be that. Because this should have been a time of uplift and Thanksgiving and even Lisa and I, you know, and our movie's coming out, by the way, this week, May 16th. So I want you guys to check it out on Lifetime. You'll have to out like I did that you even have Lifetime, But I do. It's there. I just never have watched it.
Zach
So, Jason, you've been doing a little bit of work in your Brunt boots. You got kicked up there.
Jason
You tell me. You can look at those boots and say somebody's been working and they've held up.
Zach
Well, I love my Brunt boots. They really have stood up to some pretty tough work lately with no issues. Also, just received the Torah pants.
Jason
I think they're fantastic.
Host (possibly Jason)
They're awesome.
Zach
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Host (possibly Jason)
But I would just say that in that moment, same thing. I mean, because I was in the world when I first made contact with the person who would later become my wife and then I would become her biggest cheerleader, trying to hold her up and love her and all these things. But I had been such a bad influence in the early years. And another great regret is something you can't take away when you live in the temporary. That's all you think about, about is, is, is what's in it for you and how you can degrade. And so, man, it is a light switch. It is a flip when you go from that to the true.
Jason
Aha. Well, that's kind of been the point, I guess, of everything that we've been talking about, you know, having our three kids graduate. But it, it became more of a Jesus moment for what's next. And you know, we happen to be in First John here where this, this new birth that we've all experienced has allowed us to be in fellowship with the God of the universe in very intimate ways. And even that song, I mean, I'm glad you brought that song up because I thought, isn't this what we're doing when he basically makes that truth that whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did? And it launches into this song where he's like, I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name. I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, dear children, because you have known the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you young men, because you were strong and the word of God lives in you and you have overcome the evil one. And then it's that little section about this battle. Don't love the world or anything in the world. You're going to give allegiance to something you just can't coast through. Life, Life. You have the evil one presenting this world on a daily basis. And you do seem overwhelmed, especially our kids. I mean, it's just so tough. It seems like every generation is worse. Because I'm thinking, man, I didn't have a cell phone when I was a teenager, which I'm thankful for, but even that. And those phones are just designed to disciple you now through algorithms and all that, which is in contrast to what Jesus said, Go make disciples of all nations. And so you just think, oh, I'm just sitting here hanging out with my phone. Yeah, you're being discipled by a phone because it's just catering to your desires. So I really think we're at a point here where you got to roll up your sleeves, look at the next generation and say, I need to have these conversations with them in the consistency of it all. So it seems like all our worlds are combining to that point.
Host (possibly Jason)
Yeah, there was a. I was trying to look it up. There was a guy I saw just last night, I think he. He wrote a new book. It was his. His last name was Brooks, I think, but he. It was called the meaning of your life. And he talked about just what you were talking about, Jason, how that the struggle of this generation with social media and such a outside source of trying to find meaning for one's life. And it was so interesting listening to Ty. And he wound up. Up the interviewer, which I think it was Kill me on Fox, wound up just saying, well, what, What. What's the meaning of your life? How did you find it for yourself? He said, oh, I found it in my faith in God. It's like, there's no doubt about it. It changed everything for me and then for my wife and then for our family and everything going forward. He said that. That set forward. But then before he ever got to the faith part, when he was just talking about our society and kind of what you just mentioned, the ills that are there, he was like, I mean, his family. It's meaning, it's. It's something bigger than that. It's like. It's like not paying attention to people that only want to take you down and destroy you. And it was just all the practical things we know that kind of come out of this lifestyle that we're talking about. Yeah, but isn't it amazing?
Jason
It's a process, you know, I mean, his. His whole theme of the sermon, which I thought was really good. The youth director was. He probably said it two dozen times. And he went through that cycle of knowing God, obeying his commands, abiding in him, and it produces love, which then comes full circle, and then you know him better as you're loving the end result. You're doing things with your body that are acts of love. And I Thought it was just a real simple circle of what First John is all about. Which is why the last verse, which I want to before we move on to three John is in there when it says keep yourself from idols. Because when you're creating something or you're being discipled by something that is not the Creator, that cycle is interrupted. And then you're just a restless wanderer not knowing where you came from. Even getting back to that conversation with your son, it's like all of a sudden you just see these light bulb moments come on. Like, oh, this God is knowable in an intimate way. So intimate that he will move in and you will house the creative force of God, you know, through his spirit. As you're becoming like Jesus on the earth. I mean, it's just light bulb moments that when you see in a young person, because they have the energy to go out there and be like Jesus, it's just really. I don't know how it could be any more satisfying.
Zach
Something that I just been, like, thinking about. When we're, you know, when you're, when you're trying to shape the next generation, the first thing that I think you have to do is you have to connect their. What would like, their, their desire that's beneath their desire. Like that, that thing that we're all kind of longing for. You have to connect that with, with the kingdom.
Host (possibly Jason)
Kingdom.
Zach
That, that. That's what that means when it says that God's put eternity into the hearts of men. So when you get into questions like, like, why am I here? How did I get here? Like, there's really simple questions that we're all like, asking. Like, everybody's asking these basic questions about like, existence. And if you were just to boil that down, all that really is. It's just that you have a longing. I have a longing for eternity. And I can't make sense of it outside of my faith in Christ. And that's what we're trying to get people to understand. That's what I'm trying to understand for myself and the conversations that I want to have and the things I want to study and the things I want to contemplate. For me, they have to meet that end. And I think that that's especially true for young people because sometimes you can put that off because it seems like so far out there. I think that's like, like that's way out there. But what about right now? I'm 17, 18 years old, and I just, I want to have fun. Well, yeah, but, but you got to connect the vision to that of. Of what the good life is and what do you really want? And I think you start asking this kind of question so you can get into really meaningful dialogue and provide this next generation with honestly, a vision of
Host (possibly Jason)
the kingdom, especially to introduce, you know, the idea of eternity. We're out of time. I'd found the book the Meaning of youf Life. Arthur C. C. Brooks is the guy's name Zach. Have you ever heard of him?
Zach
What's his name again?
Host (possibly Jason)
Arthur C. Brooks, the Meaning of your Life. I was very impressed with this interview. So I don't know, we may look into getting him on and talking about. It was very good. That's it for this time. Next time we're gonna get back into second John on Unashamed. We'll see you then. Thanks for listening to the Unashamed podcast. Help us out by leaving a rating and review on Apple Apple Podcast. And don't miss an episode by subscribing on YouTube. And be sure to click the little bell and choose all notifications to watch every episode.
Episode 1331 | Mia Graduates College — Then Jase Pulls a Stunt Nobody Expected
Release Date: May 12, 2026
This episode of Unashamed revolves around a major family milestone: multiple Robertson family members—including Jase's daughter Mia and two of Zach’s children—graduate college. The clan comes together in Tennessee for a crawfish boil and to celebrate, leading to both lighthearted stories and deep spiritual reflections. The episode focuses on the importance of Christian faith and family legacy, passing spiritual wisdom to the next generation, and how moments big and small can be opportunities for both celebration and gospel conversations.
[00:33–07:13]
Setting the Scene: The Robertsons gather in Tennessee for a crawfish boil to celebrate their children’s graduation.
Missy’s Crawfish Pies: Missy makes three crawfish pies for the three graduates, with custom decorations suggested by Mia.
[08:37–11:00]
Jase’s Conversation with Bear: Jase and Bear (Zach’s son) have a deep discussion on faith, sparked by earlier talks in a duck blind, focusing on living for Christ as a young person.
Parental Role and Influence: The group discusses how sometimes spiritual truths don’t resonate with your own children until another mentor shares them afresh.
[14:31–17:52]
[12:32–18:54]
Preparation Beyond College: Discussion about how their children are already solid in their faith and direction, with college being just one part of their journey.
Family Compound & Spiritual Legacy: The importance of extended family influence and spiritual community.
[24:07–29:39]
Bear’s Questions: Jase explains how Bear struggled to feel God’s nearness in high school and was awestruck by the connections between Genesis, the Holy Spirit, and New Testament baptism.
On Teaching and Resonance: Sometimes, hearing the Gospel from another voice brings the “aha” that sticks.
[31:08–41:27]
Senior Sunday at WFR Church: The hosts reflect on the annual tradition of honoring graduating seniors—especially powerful for those who once strayed and are now walking in faith.
First John Reflections: The youth minister delivers a sermon from First John 2, echoing the themes the family has been living out: knowledge of God, obedience, generational faith, and resisting the world’s temptations.
AHA and Transformation: The “aha” moments parallel key Biblical themes—in Psalms, “aha” is a term used for both mockery and realization.
[47:23–54:19]
Next Generation Challenges: The hosts emphasize the increased challenge for today’s teens—algorithm-driven social media, distraction, and the search for identity.
Connecting Deepest Longings to the Kingdom:
The Meaning of Life: Reference to Arthur C. Brooks’ book The Meaning of Your Life and the concept that ultimate satisfaction comes from faith in God and being part of a spiritual family.
On the Power of Family Community:
Jase on Parental Influence:
On the Graduation Stunt:
Bear’s ‘Lightbulb’ Moment:
On Passing the Baton:
| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | |-------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:33–07:13 | Crawfish boil logistics, “smuggling,” and family fun | | 08:37–11:00 | Jase’s spiritual conversation with Bear; parental influence versus other mentors | | 14:31–17:52 | Jase’s duck call stunt at graduation | | 18:54–21:45 | Discussing autonomy, spiritual preparation, and family spiritual “compound” | | 24:07–29:39 | Acts 17 conversation, “aha” insights, and Bear leading his own Bible study | | 31:08–41:27 | Senior Sunday reflections, First John sermon, and passing generational faith | | 43:55–54:19 | On regret, encouragement, meaning of life, and advice for shaping the next generation|
The episode is classic Robertson: humorous, down-to-earth, deeply faith-driven, conversational, and full of family warmth. The banter covers everything from playful teasing about cooking and family traditions to genuine vulnerability about regrets, spiritual legacy, and hope for the next generation. The focus is always on encouraging listeners in Christian faith and active discipleship—with a distinctive Southern, multigenerational flair.
This episode takes listeners on a journey from a raucous, “smuggled” crawfish boil and duck call antics at graduation to profound conversations about faith, family, and passing on spiritual wisdom. Through stories both funny and heartfelt, the Robertsons reinforce the value of surrounding your children with faith-filled mentors, staying engaged in their spiritual journey, and keeping conversations about Jesus central—because, as they emphatically remind us, the seeds sown today will bear fruit for generations.
Notable Call to Action:
Next episode: a dive into 2 John!