¶ Pastor's Fun Q&A Session
What's going on , youth ? We are here with our lead pastor . Let's go answer Michael Ritchison . My name is Josh . This is a special episode because we are asking our lead pastor fun questions , weird questions , serious questions , and you're gonna answer literally all of them . You have to give an answer for all these questions .
I'm not scared , I listen , listen , can we just talk ? I finally made it on you . I said one . You've seen one , a lot , yep , every , every single one . Cory McKenzie made it before me . Derek , derek , come on bro . All right , just excited You're here . It's just an honor . Okay , I'm honored .
I'm glad we were able to make it happen . Let's go . So we're just gonna we're just gonna jump into some easy , fun questions .
Okay , these are for our students , by the way , so they asked them what they came up with them .
So this one is suited for you . Somebody asks what criteria makes a pair of shoes worth purchasing . Mmm , what makes it worth purchasing ? Why do you do it ?
I think it's got to be a unique colorway , and this is just me talking , so I've got it . I don't love to go . I don't have a lot of the same color shoots . Yeah so I needed , like a that's down , one brown Mm-hmm . I only got one pair of round .
I got my mochas , so I think it's something that I can just Stand out in the crowd a little , a little pop of color , pop of color pop of color . Sorry that difference up to this different than not . Everybody has right and it's something that I can incorporate Into my wardrobe , into your wardrobe . This is not part of this question .
Okay , and we got how many ? How many shoes ?
Okay , this is a really I get this asked a lot if you think I have a lot more than I do . Okay , where we live right now , the closet I have only has capacity for 25 pairs Twenty so people think I have like 200 . I don't have to one .
I could only fit 25 and so when I get a new one listen , because generosity is my privilege when I get a new one , I find the one that I paired that I haven't worn very often or I've had in a while . I'm kind of done with it and I donate those . You just so , if you got , if you got size 13 feet , put your name .
So you're gonna try to sell them ?
I know I just give a why I'm just so generous , generous and thank you so much .
I know we , I know I'm there . I go Okay , what's the issue game ? Okay , all right , this one is kind of interesting . Yeah , I'm kind of curious . No , this is okay . So this is from one of our leaders are used these , you'll know that . Okay , watch this . If you can have five liquids , my liquids come from your fingers .
Five , which five would you choose , and why ?
Liquids , meaning like something you value , drinks . Okay , yeah , I'm gonna repeat oh . Liquid I love Pastor Michael . I love his fingers because they just shoot out urine .
Okay , so I guess .
I would go my favorite , my favorite drinks , I'll just go ahead , that's probably fine . I love . I love a nice Coca-Cola classic . Okay , my Betty , he loves Pepsi . We fight over this all the time , so coke all the way I'm gonna go . I love a hot coffee .
Hot coffee , not cold , it's fine , I'll drink it , but I love me a hot coffee , especially this summer year . I love vitamin D milk . What the fray Like ? I like thick , creamy .
Milk . Yeah , that's gonna be a big People are gonna hate that .
Let me . Let me see what else I love . I Love in the the summer Cold glass of original Hawaiian punch . Okay , the red wine I like . It takes me back to my childhood , I'm , I love it . I love it so so much and then probably number five , and if I felt feeling , really Feel of myself like a 83 year old man , yeah , probably a nice cup of tea .
I mean I kept it cream and sugar and you could just kind of hold it , maybe with like a biscuit or cookie . I'd shoot the medicine in order . Is that order ?
I don't know that . That's order . I know they're just like .
Stream of consciousness by me with five liquids that I love , five liquid Preaching a series called liquid . I love that's .
That's never get in by like , but yeah , we're now . This is the toy , just like you saw . That's our having me All right . Well , let's this one I'm curious about too . So what is your proudest moment ? That's one , and then two . Also , what is your biggest pet pee ? The modest moment and then biggest pet pee .
Yeah , I think I think proudest moment for me and this is I mean in all sincerity , I'm just so proud of my kids . Yeah , I really am , and I know they're never cool watch this .
They don't , they don't know you don't know it , um 1816 , 13 , and you know , teenager to be a teenager today junior high and high school is it for the faint of heart , and we all make mistakes , we all make poor choices . But I'm so , so proud of Just who they become .
Yeah , the way they , they love people , the , the way the God has just grown them into really incredible . A young woman , young man , I think that's yeah , what I it's nothing about , not about me , anything . I have a cop there's . I'm super proud and just In anticipation , we're guys gonna take that so that that would be mine .
And then was the second part of Pete . Oh , okay , what's that ? That piece ? I , I , I think anything . That's A lack of kindness . Okay , I don't like people that are unkind . I don't love people that are self . I do love them , I just don't love me . Those people particular .
Last time this right , like even this is so stupid , and I'm gonna admit this to you , I was . I was getting a drink at Panera not my favorite place , you know .
I like to go there .
Shout out sip club 399 a month , all you can drink . And I was there yesterday and as I was coming out there was a man coming in and I held the door for my , not proud of this , and a gentleman , 60 , 65 years old , came in , did say one thing , lack of kindness , and and I turned I was like you're welcome . I Was hoping he didn't recognize me .
I felt bad about , but I think anything that I think those are my things like it as you grow , let's , let's be kinder , let's be more respectful . I mean this is the preacher . This is the preacher , yeah , but I mean serious special . Oh my gosh , I but like Colossians , chapter 3 . I've been in this a lot this week .
Just this whole idea of clothing yourselves in kindness yeah , clothing ourselves and forgiveness in mercy . I think the older I get on that old mayhem city are this youth podcast , that's more I want to be , and and so when people Jump display those characteristics .
Yeah , okay , this is not a part of the question but like that's stupid . Yeah , but like what's a pet pee ? You have that like people do . That's just like annoying . But then eating weird , clicking their teeth by the nails , like something like that is do you have one like that ? Uh , I think your kids maybe do .
They're just like , oh , you keep doing that , I'm gonna kick you .
Anything that's like weird noises , yeah , loud noises , like annoying noises . Anything like that like drives me crazy . Like our bedroom shares a wall with Ben's bedroom and like the dude will like move in his bed and his bed will like knock against our wall and and not just like one or two times , like I don't know , I don't know what , like what's happening .
Like he's wrestling with the Holy Ghost or something in there . I don't know what he's doing and and just like noisy . Yeah , I just like yeah , and like you , you're sometimes knowing to me , you may go sorry .
I could write this as I mean when I like scrape my teeth on the fork .
Oh , I don't even need to do it , like she'll yell at you know how to eat ? Yes , I'm already .
I would have hacks of it , okay .
No , don't do that . That's annoying . That's what that's . That's annoying .
Okay , so this one is gonna be interesting . I think other kids wrote this one .
Oh , I already know the answer , Okay maybe the typical dad ?
Okay , and you know what call it . What do you ? Okay ? Who's your care ?
kid , it depends on the day . Yeah , so as we're filming this , it may be different than when it gets uploaded . Right now , in this moment , ben makes some really annoying noises this morning , so probably not him . Liam tempted to hop top with his phone just a couple days ago . I need to replace his phone . He's out . So today , in this moment , elegrace .
I love Grace when .
I like today it changes ?
I don't know .
It's a jail , okay . Okay , I'm just actually giving me so much . Yeah , I'm not scared . I'm not scared , it's your own experience . See , john , I'm just gonna say I love it . All right , here's . This is gonna be like rapid-fire , okay , because they're easy . So what's your middle name ? Stephen , stephen , okay , I love the beat , this one .
What's your favorite meal ? I Love tacos taco .
So do you hear a type of place ? I love anything like a hole in the wall anybody knows me , I love the wall kind of restaurants , like about that chains now Like a place where you could get salmander love . Those are my favorite kind of places where you eat .
Yeah , okay , yeah . And then this one was from your son , okay , which one you can get . And he told somebody right , he did right . Do you have a six toe ? No , okay .
Well , there's that . You can guess what's wrong .
He asked me if I knew he had .
That's not every detail doing right . Okay , we had that all right .
So now we're gonna get into . So there's three students that asked just some serious questions .
Just about life .
Yeah , so we're . Just I'm still like we have the show and see you and got a couple of 20 minutes left and see where you go with this . This one is how do you gain the courage to do something God is calling you to do , especially when it's spur of the moment ? They said an example praying for something .
Yeah , I think that all comes back to a reliance on the Holy Spirit . I think every single day , my prayer as I wake up is Lord , I wanna hear your voice .
I want you to direct my steps , I want you to give me opportunities to just showcase you to people , and I think I spent so many years of my life running from that and so often I thought , well , I don't know that the Lord wants me to pray for that person or to buy them a meal or to sit with them at the lunch table .
But the more I've grown in my relationship with Jesus , I realize that the Holy Spirit wasn't gonna spoil that long . It's not just something . I send up a prayer in the morning and that's the only time I'm being led
¶ Living Out Christianity
by the Spirit . And so if the Lord puts something on your heart and it's a positive thing can I ? tell you , the Holy Spirit is never gonna tell you to go rob a bane , go have sex with a girl . Or that's sometimes fun to somebody , cause pain to somebody . That's never the Holy Spirit .
Anything where it's gonna add to somebody , it's gonna put a deposit into them rather than withdrawing from them . I think that's the Lord and now you lean into that . And the hardest part of that isn't always listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit but then being obedient to what he's calling me to do and I said this just a few weeks ago .
So often in my life it's been defied my disobedience and then moving forward .
I always wanna be obedient to the voice of the Holy Spirit and it's stepping into that and just knowing God has called you to that he's gonna give you the right words , he's gonna empower you , he's gonna allow you to really possibly change the trajectory of that person's day and their life as well , and when you finally do it , you feel so much better .
Oh , it's incredible . You feel better than if you didn't do it .
I've done it so many times . When I don't do it , I'm just like oh , I should have done that .
Yeah , you regret it . You regret it and even like for me , the Lord would put somebody on my heart just to reach out to you and a friend or somebody that I know from the church , and I'll reach out and just a quick one or two lines I'm praying for you . Hey , I love you so , so much . I know you're getting ready to walk into this tomorrow .
God's given you that opening , that gift . Now walk it and go use it . And the number of times that people will write back and say that was just the word , that was just the encouragement to keep going that I needed in the moment . And then , when you get a few of those under your belt , you're like okay , lord , I see it .
Now I'm gonna be obedient in every time you're telling me .
But there's a reason why , absolutely , I do it , and that's the reason why it's the same month that you need it . Absolutely , absolutely . You do what you can . Okay , so how do I show my Christianity in my life ?
I think we could . That's a great question . I think we could preach an entire series on that . I think what does Christianity look like ? I will tell you that people don't like when I say this . Christianity doesn't have to be weird . And what do I mean by that ? I think we , as Christians , as followers of Jesus , we should look different .
But different isn't weird . I brought out a culture where we use lots of Christianity terms . You know we have this conversation . We form people like ah , the wash in the blood , yeah .
That sounds weird . It sounds weird to people that don't know .
If you're not familiar with church , you can't spell Tom in God's word and you hear a phrase washed in the blood . I am running in the opposite direction . No , it's like your shower , exactly it's like scary . And I think so . What does that look like to live my Christianity every single day ?
It is all those things that I read about Jesus in the New Testament in the Gospels . It's loving people that are sitting at a lunch table by themselves , going up to the person that you see is having a rough day . It's showcasing love .
The thing I love about Jesus is that I often say we pass by people that Jesus stopped in his tracks , for Jesus wasn't always with the hyper spiritual Christians . He wasn't always with the people who are always doing the right things , saying the right things . Jesus went out of his way to love all he says .
The least of these and that should always be our charge is every single day , whether I'm going to school in my neighborhood , maybe having my first job and working with a whole wide swath of people . I remember my very first job I had when I was 15 , we're going to Papa John's Pizza Come on , shout out Papa John's . And I walked into that .
I was a kid who grew up in the church , christian school , and I was thrown into an environment that was crazy , like they were saying things I didn't even understand what they were talking about , things I cannot repeat on a youth march today and I remember after a few weeks , one of the delivery drivers . He's like why are you so like ?
What's different about you ? Why don't you engage in these conversations ? And it wasn't I would stand back , like , acting like I was all holier than that . It wasn't , it was just I had boundaries , I had things that I wasn't going to cross and that took me a long time to get there . And what didn't mean I was perfect , right ?
Because I think still sometimes you and I , we can , we can fall in this in , and we can say the wrong things , we can think the wrong thoughts , we can feel something towards somebody and I think in that moment me not engaging in those conversations just there was something different and that gave me an opportunity
¶ Intimacy With Jesus, Overcoming Peer Pressure
. I didn't come into Papa John's with my Bible Like hey , the early church and acts , here's what they say . It wasn't anything like that , but it opened up doors for me to share . Well , here's why and I'm a follower of Jesus and here's what I'm trying to model my life after and here's what I won't do and here's what I will do , and I love you .
I love you and so I think when you spend time , I mean I'm preaching to the choir . I mean I know I've heard you preach this so often . Is that intimate time with Jesus every single day ? For me it's in the morning because I get up super early , but I need that time in God's word .
I need a lot to do , a devotional to help me guide through what that looks like , always spending time in prayer , because that sets me up for the rest of the day . Without that quiet time , I'm a mess . I said it not too long ago . You know , we have a generation of Christians that have an appreciation of the Bible but not an application of the Bible .
And so every single day when I'm in God's word , lord , what do you want to speak to me and how can I use what you've given me to impact others , to change my life , to change other people's life , to point people closer and closer to Jesus ?
And I think just today there was something that God spoke to me in his word that I was able to , two hours later , put to practice and give somebody some encouragement and give somebody some hope in the midst of what they were walking through .
And it's not me preaching , I don't stand up on the corner and with a boom body yeah , with this microphone , like , yeah , you're going to hell , but in just the way that I live my life and there's something different and I think if you could be once again led by the spirit , continue to grow in your walk , in your relationship with Jesus .
God's gonna use you in a really , really powerful way , wherever your Jordan size 13's take you from .
With your job at Papa John's . I'm sure that was amazing . I loved it . I'm sure it was amazing . You talked about how you didn't engage in those conversations and one of the biggest things with our youth we've been talking about is peer pressure , and I think that is a definition of peer pressure right there .
And basically what I tell them not to do is what you did . And so in that moment I don't even remember how many years ago when that was sorry , if you can remember that moment how was it hard for you to do that ? Did you want to engage ?
I know you said you didn't know what they were talking about , but even if you did , would you have engaged to fit in ? Would you have not engaged ? What can you encourage students in those situations ? How to handle those situations ?
I think for me , I , always , growing up , never felt like I fit in anywhere , and I think so many people could relate to that . I said so often , especially my adolescents , my high school , college years was just this lack of secured feeling , like I didn't belong anywhere , I didn't fit in , I was just different .
I wasn't the athlete , I wasn't the kid that played sports , I wasn't the kid on the deans . I just didn't really fit in anywhere . And so for so long I would try to find what's my angle , and so sometimes it was well , I'm going to say bad words just so I fit in with that crowd . I know you've talked about this before .
Or when I got older , I'm going to go to this party and act like I like drinking , even though I didn't really like drinking . I'm going to pretend this way and I think we take on this disguise and it's almost like Halloween .
Every single day We'll put the mask on , the other costume on , and so I'd love to tell you that when I was at Papa John's , oh , I was strong , right , but there were times that I would fall into the same kind of conversation . I would take them up and say , hey , we're going to this place after work . Do you want to come ?
And yeah , I'll go with you , just because I wanted to feel something , I wanted to be a part of something . And the thing I often said to my kids and we have this conversation in real time be a leader , not a follower . Be a leader , not a follower . It's easy to follow , it's easy to go with what everybody else is doing .
It's much harder to be a leader . But , man , when God has given you leadership abilities , whatever that looks like in terms of your personality or what you know about God's word , or your great helper , your great teacher , whatever that is , use those giftings to the best of your ability .
And I know that's hard as junior , high and high school students , but I think you and your leaders do such a great job of always pointing people back to Jesus , sharing transparently what you guys have walked through . My kids say all the time well , I've heard Dad's story . Wow , dad tells you his story , so you don't make the same mistakes that I do .
I think even having a podcast like this .
It is a way to just share insight and , man , don't go down the same path that you and I went , and I learned from our mistakes so you can avoid some of those legs . Learn to say no , as hard as that is at sometimes . Don't put yourself in environments where it's going to be really , really difficult to stand up .
And so there are certain places , boundaries , where I just don't go , things I just don't engage in , and I think it's . It's one of the hardest things Back at my day 80 years ago , but I think it's Even triple hard today .
I worry what students are walking through . They're walking through so much , and so I think we kind of hit this one bottom down the ass to . Maybe it's something else . How can you actually know we really did it ? How can you study the Bible and remember what you read ?
Yeah , I think it's one of the hardest things . And and people look at me and you're like , you're a pastor , you're , you're studying God's word all the time , you're memorizing scripture , you're meditating on scripture and that's all true . But I struggled just as much as anybody else .
For me , I get so Distracted so easily because you know me , I'm very tight bagged . I like things just so . So when I sit down , even in the morning , if there's crumbs left out from somebody's midnight snack they had easy Mac and they leave all this stuff all over the counter . That just drives me crazy .
Or I'm thinking about my schedule for the rest of the day , or what time I need it Get out of the house , whatever those things are . And I think the distraction piece of it is so is so big . And I think for me what I've learned and this is really simple .
This isn't like not to ring , but when I sit down for my quiet time to spend time with the Lord , I take about 30 seconds and I'm just praying in that moment Lord , remove any distraction , don't allow the enemy to . They help help my family sleep a little bit longer .
I'm like dog not to have to go out to the bathroom and those some really silly prayers , but it's so important for me to have that carved out time . Yeah , for the Lord . For me it's generally about 20 to 30 minutes . Yeah , I think sometimes people think , oh , pastor Michael is two hours a morning , that that's not .
Yeah , and even I think you've been saying at 20 to 30 minutes . That may seem overwhelming to people watching this today , but if you've never done it , man , start by five minutes . Start by reading Just a chapter , or you're reading a section of a devotional man . Spend 60 seconds in in prayer just building up that muscle . Yeah , and I'm nothing .
Those , those things set the tone for the rest of the day . When I don't make time for that , when I'm not Intentional about it , it's it's ugly because I'm impatient as I'm driving here to the office , I get in meetings and I Get frustrated with people .
Or I sit down With somebody and I just get tired , I just get overwhelmed really , really easily and I and I just think those times and I was telling somebody today , like I'm not good with memorizing , I can't memorize it ? Yeah , if you ever look at me on Sunday morning . Thank goodness I got my iPad because I need to have my notes .
I'm not good with that . I'm not good with memorizing scripture , so for me it's not about necessarily memorization . Yeah , it's meditation . And so what is meditation ? It's it's taking maybe two or three verses of the Lord reveals you , and now I'm just going to meditate on those . Well , what do you want to speak to me ?
How is that gonna give me almost like marching orders for the rest of this day ? And Sometimes I was saying to somebody just yesterday , sometimes I will stay on the same two , three , four verses for five or six days because there's so much gold in it . I preached a message just a couple weeks ago .
This whole idea of I've been hardened against God , yeah , and , and . That's set with me , because as a pastor , you know people think like we're on these hallelujah highs all the time . But we live real life . We have no frustrations , real setbacks , just like anybody .
And I realized at times that I was Hardened against God because he wasn't answering my prayer or I'd fallen into sin and and and that's that confession Is . Every single day I come to the Lord and I'm sorry for what I said I'm sorry for what I did , I'm sorry for what I look like , if looked at .
I'm sorry for what I said to other people and I think if you can have that vibrant relationship with Jesus from the jump , every single day , there's no telling where the Lord can lead you from there .
Yeah , wow , I Was it . Good Right , was that all right ? I mean , it's like your students , so if students don't watch this , they're missing out , they're missing out , they're missing out . We had a question . That was it . That was it . That's how we did it . Right on time too . We have a . They , you've got like minute 30 . Okay , so I got one thing .
What is one thing that you want to leave for the students watching ? Encourage them with . You've got like minute 30 to answer that . Don't go over or else they won't hear the rest of it . So what is something you can encourage
¶ God's Purpose for Your Life
them with ?
I think the thing I always want to leave with people is that every single person , regardless of your past , regardless of your home situation , regardless of the environment that you're in right now , got still as a plan , got still as a purpose , got still as a destiny for your life . And I know you hear that a lot .
It can fall on deaf ears , but I think there were times where I didn't think I was going to make it . I think I don't have time to unpack it , but my life verse is a verse that I know you probably never preached on . It's all in 1 , 18 , 17 .
I will not die yet I'll live to tell you what has done through a horrific season that I'll walk through , and there were so many times that I discounted that God had a plan for me . I knew he had it for all my other friends . I knew there was a purpose for everybody else's life , but I couldn't believe that .
And there was a shift when God spoke to me at one of my darkest moments and he brought me through that , and so not every single opportunity I have to sit out with you , anybody else . I always want you to know or forget that God loves you . God's a good plan and a purpose for every single one .
Keep trusting him , keep being intentional and he's going to show up and do incredible things in your life .
Come on , I'm encouraging you . That's great . Oh well , thank you for joining us .
I love it , I'll have it again , maybe in six months .
So but yeah , thank you for joining us and I hope you enjoy it when it comes out . I know you're going to watch it . I'm sure we're going to like that . But we love you Riverside Youth , and we'll see you later .
It's good .