I have been commenting for a while how I have selfishly been using our podcast for my own personal growth. I used to feel bad about it. The podcast is supposed to be about the audience. It is supposed to be about providing value to the listeners and if there is some benefit for us, then that’s an added bonus. I’m not doing that anymore.
Sorry, not sorry.
Our podcast started a long time ago, on a Taco Tuesday. AJ and I used to meet so we could hash through things we were thinking about…That’s actually not true, it’s just what we say. We started on a Taco Tuesday so I could work though things I was working through. Very rarely did AJ bring something to me to work through. We have grown into that a little, but the reality is that AJ is far more versed in theology and faith than I am. If we look back through our podcast, it is probably more than 80% topics that I needed to work though.
This podcast has, from the start, been about me wrestling with tough ideas. I don’t say that to say “this is all about me.” I say that because I am removing the guilt of taking opportunities to learn.
In my recent interview with Robby Lashua, I asked him some questions about things I wanted answers on. I had the attention of an Apologist so I took it. I felt guilty. I was the host and the conversation was supposed to be “highlighting” him, not me. So often we think that highlighting someone means letting them talk about themselves, but I think a better was achieved by my own selfishness. Instead of letting Robby talk about his journey as an apologist, we got to see him operate as an apologist. We got to see him, through his answering my genuine/personal questions, actually do what he does, which is bring truth.
In all honesty, this blog post is me working through my own thoughts as well. I’m taking the opportunity of this platform to do this. I’m not going to apologize for my pursuit, for taking every opportunity to gain truth. I think documenting my genuine pursuit will produce more fruit then trying to manufacture scenarios that I think will benefit people. That has never been our mission. Our mission is meaningful conversations. That means I’m going to ask the questions that are important to me, as well as what I think is important to others. My hope is that my pursuit, my wrestling with different ideas will help someone who is working through similar ideas. We all like to think we are so unique and no one else is going through exactly what we are, but that simply isn’t true. Through all my interviews with people and their faith journeys, I have found that most people go through very similar experiences.
I hope you join me on my journey. I hope that one day we can sit down with a delicious beverage and have a meaningful conversation. I hope that both of us will take that opportunity to grow in faith, to seek truth, because I promise you that I will.
Working for my life’s vision of writing stories in a beverage shop that I own.