Jesse Pruett Audio

[00:00:00]

The Missional Life Podcast, inspiring Kingdom-minded believers around the world to live the mission of God in their lives.

Dan: All right. Welcome back to the Mission Life podcast. Today we're joined by Jesse Pruitt. He's a worship pastor, songwriter, actor, and producer whose journey has taken him from Hollywood Steps to the heart of the church. Jesse directs CCG worship at Calvary Baptist in Lake Havasu City, one of the fastest growing churches in America.

He's worked with names like The Rock Switchfoot and Robert De Niro, and now he's helping lead a creative revival through CCG Worship's debut album Faithful, A powerful project born in the Arizona Desert. That testifies to God's grace and transformation. Jesse, welcome to the show. Thank you for having me.

It's a joy to be with both of you. Or feel the same way.

Amanda: Thank you.

Dan: Hey, Jesse, we've been listening to the Faithful album here and it's such a awesome album, at [00:01:00] the same time, it feels a little bit more than just music. It feels a little bit more like a testimony. How did this project come to life and what was God doing in you and in your community that really inspired this album?

Jesse: Yeah, that's a great question. So been putting out music and writing music for most of my life. After high school, really I started, so it was really my desire is, was to have a record come out of our church. I've been at our church for 13 years, and the time just felt right, the stories felt right, the way that God was just moving in, in our lives and in our team and in our church.

We really wanted to share those stories and they were just coming out. Naturally. And so then we got intentional about let's, let's make an album. And a lot of these songs are personal and what we have seen God doing and, and the healing and the hope and our desired and hunger for him and, and need for him.

So the song just really came [00:02:00] out of our heart of what God's doing and just the love that we have for him.

Dan: I was just listening and we wanted to do something and then we became intentional in something there's such depth to that, right? Yeah. We can want to do things all our lives and then Yeah.

It's when we really set an intention and we set some goals, we set some deadlines, and then it starts to happen, right? Yeah. That in itself is insightful. So this album Faithful, was actually in a sense, forged in the wilderness, so to speak. Can you explain to us what does that fully mean?

And you can tell us about the season of growth and healing for you personally and the CCG worship community that really brought us to pass.

Jesse: Yeah, so Lake Havasu is an interesting place. It's in the desert, but we have this lake and not only myself and my family, but other friends that I've had come out and work with me here.

Or people that live here that, that have come out from California or different places feel like this would not, [00:03:00] it's the unexpected place where God brings that healing. And you would never think coming out here in the desert, this is where God's gonna do his work. And you know, you read about that biblically and then you see it like personally in a desert and you're like, oh, okay, he's actually doing that here.

But. All joking aside, we've just seen a lot of healing even in my own family coming out here, you know, 13 years ago, as I mentioned coming out to work at Calvary. In the midst of that my wife had this addiction that I didn't know about and that she didn't realize that she had until it was at a point where it was.

Really bad. And you know, it starts with medication and then continues and in the midst of that 'cause she was carrying a lot of traumas from her childhood on that I knew we both talked about like, oh gosh, we need, she needs some counseling and healing. 'cause I, I've watched it within my own family and my mom and, so it finally came to, to [00:04:00] a place where she just fully needed help. And in that season for our family is where we, we saw God just show up in powerful ways. And that's really where like, you know, I got down to my knees of like, Lord, I, I need you, our family needs you. And that desire and that hunger for him.

Became so real at a different level. Sometimes you don't realize until you're in it, until you're in the fire and you go, oh, wow, Lord I need you more than anything. And so our family thankfully Val was able to, to go and get some help. She was in rehab for three months and that's where God just did this amazing, incredible stuff.

She had like five different therapists for all different things and, she came out just a totally different person. So I say all that. Personally, because it affected our whole family, which in turn affected our team, which ended up affecting the church. [00:05:00] So through that, through the transparency of our family, like we talked about it from stage, we made videos, we were transparent with our, you know, everyone because we wanted to, and including our kids, we wanted them to see.

God show up in the midst of it. E even in the unknown. And we just prayed. We're like, Lord, we trust you and we're just asking you to show up and, and bring that healing and that hope. And he did. And then we started seeing that within our team of like tragedy stuff, accidents other addiction all kinds of different things.

Marriage is broken. And we started, you know, people started opening up and, and getting real. And go, Hey, I, I need help. I need some accountability, or I need somebody to walk with me, or we just need people to pray with us. And because we had that, then Valerie and I were passionate about giving that back to other people.

And so that, what, that's what we've been doing for years. In fact, now Valerie went back to school to get her [00:06:00] master's to, to be able to do therapy to help other people. So we just have a huge passion for that, and I think it affected. Our church in the sense of we talk about transparency as a church, but then when it got real of the staff coming on stage and talking about the things we walked through of like, man, we, we need, we need the Lord.

And we need to be dependent on him and we need to be obedient and we need to be faithful. That's when things started getting real. And we started seeing a change. Started seeing a change, like I said, in the team and the people in the church of like, Hey, yeah, I, I don't wanna hide anything. I wanna be real and honest.

I want to be a place where I can be repentant and also a place where I can get hope and healing and, and be surrounded by people who will love and walk with me through the, with truth, you know?

Amanda: Wow. Thank you so much for sharing that. It's so encouraging to hear about the transparency and just the powerful healing that did take place, [00:07:00] and then people who are blessed by it.

I just wanna highlight that for listeners . It's not easy to be transparent No. For anyone, but let alone when you're in leadership mm-hmm. Yeah. Being transparent, at a larger scale with more people being involved in knowing what's going on. How would you encourage leadership, pastors, ministry leaders, whoever who may be struggling with something.

To be transparent and walk through that process in a healthy way that will be God honoring and, healing for the person who's being affected as well as helpful for those who are being part of that process.

Jesse: Yeah, that's good. So one, one of the things that I'll never forget, and it was a huge takeaway from my team, my church staff here, is when, because I'm on the senior team leadership too, and I was like, yeah, what does that look like now that it's real, you know, for my family and to see them surround us.

And love us and go, Hey, what do you need? What counseling do you need? What [00:08:00] counseling do I and the kids need as well? So we were surrounded by that and. The fruit that we saw from that is so powerful. So my encouragement would be, be courageous. Don't be afraid, because when we step out as the leaders and show people what it looks like and show our families what it looks like to be obedient in that way of like, look, I've, I may have a failure in this area, or I'm struggling and I need to step down for a moment just to work on myself or my family.

There is something in that that affects the entire church. 'cause they go, oh, I get it now. That's, that's for all of us. And when we are real and honest and open, I, I believe that's where we see God move in just these powerful ways. That's what we saw. And I would just be my encouragement. If you have a staff member surround and encourage and love them and give them the opportunity, only they get to choose.

And that's the other thing I've learned. [00:09:00] Only we get to choose. We can't choose it for anyone else. When you give somebody the opportunity to go, Hey, we will walk with you, we'll give you the resources we'll give you the time needed to heal. You probably have somebody coming back in a lot stronger, more powerful, more hungry ways than even before.

And so that's, that's the fruit. And then, the other cool thing is when it's, when nothing's hidden, you get to use that to help other people. And I love God's redemption in that.

Amanda: Wow, that's so good when nothing is hidden that God uses that. We heard somebody share recently that you're best equipped to help people who are in a place that you once were yourself.

That is incredible that God is using that to that experience. Though I'm through all the hardships and, you know, the good, the bad, the ugly, all of it to help so many people also be set free from that bondage.

Jesse: Yes. And it's amazing when you start walking in that freedom, like you, you're a different person 'cause you're walking in the freedom of [00:10:00] Christ and freedom of the things that.

Weigh us down the poison, that's the lies that come in from the enemy. All the things that we carry. And then when you're free, you're just like, whoa. That weight is lifted and it's, it's a joy. It doesn't mean everything's perfect, but it means that you're walking in that freedom in Christ and you have so much more healing now.

You get to use that and I, I grew up. In a Christian home my whole life gave my my life to Jesus at a young age. But I had a party stage as well. I walked away from Christ when I was in a band, got signed and started partying. Thankfully it wasn't a long stint, and then came back, came back to Christ and I was like, Lord, you have been what's missing my life.

And just change and heal me and take all these desires and fill them with your desires. And, and he did that. So it was cool to be able to. Use that, you know, for my family and for others to go, Hey, there's always hope and God can heal. [00:11:00] He can bring us through all these things, you know? So it's a joy to get to share that part.

So thank you for letting me go deep into that, you know? But really that's where this record birthed out of is just these real honest stories of what God's been doing in our church.

Amanda: Wow.

Jesse: Wow.

Dan: I just was thinking here, something that we always say is that transparency brings transparency.

When one person is transparent, it invites everyone else to kind of be a little more transparent or let their guard down. And it's always hard to be the first one right. And there are some guardrails for that. You just don't go in it takes that one person that's has courage to step out and then. You can allow the wisdom of other people, the experiences of other people, the insight of other people to speak into your situation and invites that dialogue and invites the relationship.

That's so important. So it's just amazing that you have so many people that was brought out as you kind of were open and transparent, then it brought into, Hey, I'm struggling with this, or We're going through this in our [00:12:00] marriage, or we're going through this as well. And yet.

Just how this record actually came to a situation or came to a point where, man, you were able to look at this and call this album Faithful. And yet even on this album, there's a, song called I Choose Your Faithfulness. And so I'm just wondering like, how did that song come together?

I imagine it came from some of these experiences. I just wondered if you could go a little bit deeper on that.

Jesse: Yeah. So, we had a couple tragedies within our circle of our team and their family. We lost somebody within our, our circle and family. And it really just hit us sideways.

It was unexpected. Wow. And, it was, it was a really tough season for them. It was a family me and Valerie really, really close to, and our church is really close to, he is one of our pastor's son. And another tragedy had happened within our team and we're like, man, this is where it gets real.

Like, are we gonna choose to continue to go? Lord, I, I'm still gonna praise you through it. [00:13:00] I'm still gonna trust you through it. I know you're faithful no matter what you, you have a plan, an eternal plan. There's things we don't understand. There's things we don't know, but we were really, when we were writing that song at a place of like.

This is where it gets real with our relationship with God, and we want to choose to be faithful to him. We want to choose to praise him through it because we know that he's faithful. And, and really that's where that song came out of, out of that, that tragedy within our families and. Seeing and knowing that God's gonna do something like he always does.

Even in the, the unknown sometimes we don't know what that looks like. We still have to go, Lord, we're going to, we're gonna choose to praise you through it in gratitude. 'cause there's always hope. Sometimes it's not what we see here. Sometimes it's the eternal and sometimes it's, we get to see that here.

So that's kind of where that song birthed out of.

Dan: It's so powerful [00:14:00] that, when we praise, and not only that, God says bring the sacrifice of praise because sometimes we don't really feel it. Right. Yes. Oftentimes we don't really feel it. Right. Yeah. Not all the time.

And I just think it's so important that we hear those sorts of stories, that some of these things. Calm as anthems out of great tragedy, great, great challenges. And yet we overcome when we keep God at the center of those things and that God does keep his promises he does promise that he'll work things for the good.

He doesn't cause all things, but he will work those things out for the good, for love Him, and a called according his purpose. And so we don't always understand the workings of that here on this side, but he does do that. And we know that he's a faithful God and that he's true to his word.

The return void. It's amazing to see, a physical manifestation of the fruit from that in this song, in this album of you guys saying, Hey, we're not stopping here. We're gonna keep going. We're gonna see this through. Honestly, we talked about that right at the beginning. The idea of going from, Hey, I want to do this to the intention of doing something. And often when we step

Jesse: the

Dan: intention of doing something, man, [00:15:00] that's when challenges come. That's when the enemy begins to push back because it's when we step into those missions, when we step into those callings, when we step into those anointings, those things that God has wants to do, just like we begin to hit that resistance and that's when our faith becomes real as you were kind of saying. We have to gather people. We can't just do it alone. We need that community yeah. To come beside us and to move us forward into those things. So I just was wondering if you could speak a little bit more, even, personally and as your group, what did that look like?

Because it's one thing to physically worship and praise in a physical desert in Arizona, but. At the same time, I was wondering if you could go deeper, what is that in a spiritual sense? To praise and to worship in those sorts of deserts.

how have you seen that in your own life? Bring freedom and that breakthrough joy.

Jesse: Yeah. I like that you talked about community. 'cause I agree with you. It's like so important. You are like, you don't understand it. The way that God designed it until you understand it and you're like, oh, I get it now.

Like, we can't do this alone. We need each other. [00:16:00] And that community support, like I said, I for my story, for my wife's story, for other people that we've walked with, it's the community coming together. It's the body coming together to lift each other up, to pray for each other, to bring a meal, to just show up when somebody's hurting to bring that hope.

God's truth, getting in his word and speaking truth over people. And then that praise, you know. For me, realizing and you know, as a worship pastor, yeah, it's amazing to sing songs. I love worshiping God on the weekend in the community. But the most powerful, sometimes most powerful moments are just me and the Lord, and I'm driving, just worshiping, or when I'm going, Lord, I'm gonna live out my life every single day.

For you, every day is that living sacrifice. And that's what it takes. It's not just a song as we know, it's not just a Sunday or. A Wednesday or a Saturday. It's every day. And I think that's what it takes, is [00:17:00] that that desire and that hunger to get in his word every day. And to take that truth in to, to truly live that out to worship him with our life and everything, whether if it's song or, or serving him.

It's the community of us being together and. Serving together. Gosh, serving is such an amazing thing. I love what serving does. It's such a joy and it fulfills us. You know, you gotta serve other people and in return, we get so filled up by that. I don't know about you guys, but there's times where I'm like, man, I'm so tired.

Okay, I, I really don't want to go do this thing that you get this call for. And then you go and do it and you're like, oh my gosh, Lord, I'm so sorry. I would've missed out on this. This, this amazing thing that you let me be a part of. And I was like, ready to go take a nap or something, you know, or just, you know, sometimes our day gets really [00:18:00] busy and, and it can feel like another thing, except it's not, it's people.

And people matter more than anything else, than the stuff. None of this stuff lasts and so we get the incredible. Joy of being and the honor to get to serve people in that way that God's allowed us to, to, to shepherd and to, to help others and to encourage others and tell people about Jesus. So I love that serving aspect too.

I see a lot of change. It, I'm speaking from the church. When somebody starts serving, something changes in them because they're starting to do something that God's called them to do.

Dan: Wow. I know that's been a huge blessing in our lives. Anytime that we've stepped into serving in whatever capacity, any of the churches that we've attended in Michigan or Ohio or Colorado even here in Belize when we've served, it's brought things into our own lives.

We've gone with an intention of being a blessing, and yet brought a lot of blessings, brought friendships, it's brought opportunities. We don't do that to bring those things about. But it's just a natural turnabout of when you go to serve.

And I love how you [00:19:00] brought up serving because that's really a big thing for you. It's that you said that your purpose is to live in life, is to serve other than bring hope to the world through Jesus Christ. And I'm just wanna word that sense of calling, really begin in your own life, you said.

Mm-hmm. You kind of became a Christian and you gave your life to Jesus at a young age. But was there a moment where you really. Kind of felt that, hey, serving and bringing hope to the world through Jesus and through your creative expressions that became what your mission was.

Jesse: Yeah.

I've had different phases in my life of that. Like one, the first one started when I was a teenager. I actually started playing music in the youth group. That's where it all started, and I started writing songs immediately. Not realizing that was not a normal thing to just start writing songs all day, you know, right away.

But it, it was that in that moment. Also we would start serving at the church in multiple ways. My, my family, that's where I started learning about it. Then later in life when I was a young adult in college group, things like that, we started feeding the homeless. Really started [00:20:00] becoming passionate about serving in, in those kind of areas.

And then as I've gotten older in, outside of the church, I've realized. How important that part is as well. So like when I've been a part of movies or other music things that are outside of the church, I'm like, oh God, now I get it. That's the mission outside of the church too. Like I need to be praying before I go and show up and just showing up and allowing God to use us in whatever way.

He desires. And that started shifting me in the, in the film world, in the areas I was going. 'cause people would go, Hey man, can you pray for me? Or I'd start getting those phone calls after you build relationship. 'cause relationship is so huge, as you guys know, when you build relationship people start trusting.

They're able to open up. There's just a lot more depth in that. And so relationship is just really important to me. And so. In the, in the film world and in the music [00:21:00] world, through relationship, I've been able to open up like way more. But now that I understand it and get it and see it, it's become a huge part of serve has become a huge part of my life and a joy.

I, I've shared this story. I shared this story with my team and my, and with my family before about. The a, a moment that I remember during C-O-V-I-D-I went to LA and LA a lot of stuff was shut down, like restaurants, all kinds of things. Havasu was a little bit different. Like Havasu was like a little more open.

And, and so I went back to LA and me and my daughter, she was on the trip with me. And, and I remember, gosh, the Holy Spirit going, Hey, go pray for this girl. And I, I saw her sitting, this lady sitting at a table by herself. You know, when you just know that you're supposed to go do something that God's asking you and, and she just looked so hurting and broken and I didn't do it.

Like I didn't go and pray for her in that moment and go, Hey, are you [00:22:00] okay? Can I pray for you? What do you need? I, as I walked by her, I prayed for her, but I didn't do what I knew what God was calling me, and that moment taught me so much. I was like, Lord, I don't want to miss those moments anymore. I still remember that moment.

Mm-hmm. That one moment. And so it taught me a lot of like. Lord help me to listen and to be more courageous, to be more obedient in, in the things so I don't miss the blessing that he has in that, or the blessing of being able to share something that God wants you to. So serving such an incredible, joyful thing and I don't wanna miss those moments.

None of us do, right? But I think we have to be intentional, like we talked about. Of listening and then acting that out and being courageous in that where, and that, that took me some time in the, the film industry. 'cause, in the film world, it's like turning down roles and parts was like not a thing.

Like nobody does that. They're like, okay, I guess I'll do that. I'll cross the [00:23:00] boundaries. So, you know, I had to find my boundaries in, in those areas and stand and be courageous for Christ in those places and knowing that, hey, I'll lose some stuff. But I don't care. 'cause I want God's way. I, that's my prayers now.

Lord, shut the doors where you don't want me. I only want to be where he wants me and I want to follow his will and, and his way. And so yeah, it's really just affected my life. Sorry I went way deeper on that. No,

Dan: we love it. that's so important. As you were talking about walking by that girl there in la it brought back the memory of we were driving the church one time here in Belize and there was the person that we passed and I felt like, man, I'm supposed to stop and pray for this person.

I didn't because we were late for church. That's a godly thing, right? Yeah. And maybe it's not godly to be late for church, but we had a good purpose. Right. That's right. And it's funny 'cause those moments. When you hear those, they come back to you, man.

know I missed it on those. That's not to shame us, or anything like that. No. It does help us become a better person. So we're more sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit guiding us, in those different situations. I [00:24:00] know you're skirting it a little bit and that's okay.

It is part of your humility, but I'm just wondering, I know that you're incredibly creative and you've been in different spaces I wanna make sure that we don't miss this. Sure. Because how God, brought you to record, the album faithful.

Like it didn't just happen this year. God was working this. Even when you were first writing those songs that In our Worship for Youth Group. And it's been a kind of progressional thing. And so in our lives, God gives us different seasons and he grows and he builds it and he expands us.

And as we faithful he entrusts us with more. And so you're talking about some things that not everybody can talk about. If you turn down, film roles potentially worth, large amounts of money or different contracts that were. At some of the highest levels. And so I'm just wondering, could you go a little bit deeper as some of your experiences with scoring films and being in film and sharing the stage with, people like Switchboard or Bruce Willis?

Robert, can you go a little bit more? standpoint, but it's so important that people hear that somebody at such a high level is sensitive the Lord and [00:25:00] turning things away because of they wanna be perfectly positioned to where God has done.

Jesse: Yeah, that's good. Well, I've made a lot of mistakes.

Through, through that. But that's where he grows and shapes us and teaches us. So yeah, music, music is after high school is really. Something, a desire that was put in me. And so while I was going to college, we were touring and putting out records and got signed to record labels and playing with bands like so after high school, you know, I told you I walked away from the Lord for a little while and I was in a band and we were, playing with bands like Blink 180 2. And then when I started another band called Parker Theory, that's the one I did for a long time. When I moved back to San Diego, we were playing with like Switchfoot and went on tour with Smash Mouth and, and a bunch worked with POD and we were actually in the singer and his family's life group.

Bible groups. That was kind of fun. So I started getting surrounded again as I was following Jesus again, I was being surrounded by great people like John Foreman [00:26:00] and Sonny from POD and, and many others. But it was in that creative world. Seeing those guys like truly live it out was inspiring to me.

I was like, oh, they're, they're for real. You know? I remember watching John Foreman drive his truck in San Diego and I, and he's on MTV and you're like. This dude's just driving an old truck, you know, and just going to surf and we'd go get a coffee. And I'm like, I love that. Like it didn't impact him. And so for me, just learning along the way and having great people pour in and invest in my life even my parents, you know, of, of not clinging to the stuff and, and reminding that people are, are more important in that stuff.

So yeah, through that the music opened the doors into the film world. A pre a president of a, of a division at Lionsgate started working with me and then I started acting in movies and doing some score doing some soundtrack stuff, started licensing music a lot more, learning that world.

And then yeah, I got to do multiple roles with. People like Bruce [00:27:00] Willis and many others, which was great to, to be a part of. It was really fun. But then it got real in moments too, where I had to go, oh wait, I don't want to cross that line. So I had to found, find that line and, and that boundary so that my testimony stayed true.

And the interesting thing is like, you know, being around music and film, I've been around a lot of successful people not following the Lord and. You would look at them and go, oh, they have everything that you would think the world says that you want, like money and fame and all the, the stuff. But they were so empty.

So empty. And that taught me a lot too, of like, oh man, I don't want to chase that stuff. Lord, I wanna chase you. I want to be a part of the things of the kingdom, the stuff that lasts forever. And so. In the midst of that I started realizing the importance of the role that God had placed me in there, and that I needed to stand faithful and obedient and, [00:28:00] and courageous and love on people and show them what that looks like.

And so, yeah, it's, it's a joy. I love being a part of film, that creative world still a part of it. And, i'm really grateful that God's allowed me in that space as well. And yeah, it's, it's a lot of fun to get to, to be a part of music and, and film in that creative world, but especially I love pointing people to Jesus,

Dan: Thank you for sharing you probably don't always share that or maybe you do, I don't know, but it's so important because that was a season and God worked in you and through you and you held the ground you know, held your positions and you were able to be salt and light in a situation in an area like in Hollywood that doesn't always.

Get salt and light in it. There's a lot of, challenging situations that people come up against. And so I just love how you were in that. And yet at the same time, over the years, God has exited you from that situation from Hollywood and moved you and used those skills that you developed, music and films and just, being around those things.

And now you're using that [00:29:00] in the church and now you're leading the creative ministry team, like the CCG worship, right? You're balancing artistry and community and discipleship, and you're doing all those things, but you're adding the spiritual element too.

And so I'm just wondering what was it like to transition from Hollywood, where you had those things going on for you, in a successful way, but at the same time they lacked the purpose that you desired in some ways. And yet now you're able to do all of that and, tell people about Jesus in a even a bigger way.

Yes. Tell me about that.

Jesse: Yeah, that was, you know, that took some time to figure out what that looked like. 'cause I was at the church, even when I took the job at the church, I was like, oh man, Lord, am I gonna have to give up doing music now? And now the film had entered into, my life. I was like, well, I am I gonna have to give all that up?

And actually I got more work and more things that came. But in the midst of that, I had to like learn to be obedient. So there was, there was times when I said, Hey, I'm, I was on set. And I'm like, Hey, I'm, I'm not gonna say that. And they got really, the [00:30:00] director got, I remember one time the director got really upset.

And he is like, well, then you're losing all your lines. And I said, okay, I'm, I'm totally okay with that. And that was probably the first time I stood my ground. But yeah, learning through all of that, what I loved was I came back to the church and then I had all of us start praying over it. I like, man, if God's gonna open these doors for me and others, or my team or other people that I bring into that stuff.

Like, let's go in with a mission, you know, God's mission. And so we started shifting and I started shifting my thinking of all of that and, and even my desires, like I told you, I was asking God to change those desires and, and make 'em his desires. So I think. For all of us, whatever space we're in, we have to trust God in all the areas no matter what.

Even sometimes if like we may benefit financially or other ways. None of that stuff matters at the end of the day. And, and we need to lay that stuff down and, and make sure [00:31:00] that God is the most important thing. And he'll ble, he's the ones that's, that's gonna bless that. And I love that his blessings are sometimes in ways that we don't think, like getting phone calls to get to show up in somebody's life.

Oh my gosh. After Val went all through that because of, being in the film world, I got a phone call of like, Hey, my son is going through addiction about lost his life, and then we got to go drive to LA and show up and pray Jesus over them and go, there's hope. There's hope through God. Like I love how God uses our stories even in that stuff, so it all intertwines in our whole life.

So it's not like. We have these separate areas of our lives. It, it should all be one wherever we go. And I and I talk about that even with my kids of like, if dad's not the same person on stage as he is at home, or if I go to do a film, or if I'm just doing anything, then that's a problem. I need to be that same person.

[00:32:00] Following Jesus. Doesn't mean I'm not gonna make, make mistakes, doesn't mean that I'm, I'm far from perfect, but. It's really important that our character stands, you know, our character matters. People are watching, and so that's become really important to me. And again, the relationship. And if I do make a mistake, it's important for me to go.

I messed up, like even with my kids, I tell 'em like, Hey, it's okay. You can call dad out. And they have before they're like, dad, you're like, you're right. You guys, I totally need to change my view. Or that wasn't right. You know, I got frustrated in the moment and I love that. I love that we can have that.

And we need that in our life. You know, it's really important.

Amanda: That's so good. I have used the line with my daughter and now son who just turned six. That's why mom needs Jesus too. That's right. I'm not exempt we make a joke. We're not always the most patient of drivers that is a weak area in our lives.

And so we joke with our kids. This is reverse [00:33:00] discipleship right now.

Dan: What daddy doesn't mean what he is saying right now.

Amanda: We need to work on our patients, so

Dan: yeah. That's true. We talk about being vulnerable. We talk about being transparent, being authentic, cause our kids, those close of us see us in, all the different scenarios, sometimes we energize when we're around different people and things like that.

And that brings a different element or anointing or whatever. But at the same time, we should be, the same person, so to speak. And it's just cool that when our kids can see those things they become aware of what it is like to follow Jesus and they can, Hey, like, did you notice you were a little short or did you notice this?

Or, you know, they can kind of call it in a respectful way. Call you account. And challenge. Things. That helps us become better.

That's amazing. I'm looking at this and I'm thinking about the listener and for somebody who's got a desire, in that stage of, Hey, I want to do this.

They haven't fully set the intention, but, they're a creative person, but they don't feel like they're gifting or their anointing fits into a ministry. They haven't fully identified that one. Could you speak to that situation, in them, where they have [00:34:00] something to give, but they're a little afraid to use it.

They're a little afraid that maybe it's gonna come up short coming from somebody who's very, very creative, speak to the person who's a little timid.

Jesse: Yeah, that's good. I wanna encourage anyone who's creative or has something that God's built inside of them to do, not let the fear overcome the way that God has designed us and the things that he has for us.

When I came to this church creative, even in this town, there's, there's not much of it. And within the church that it was kind of hard for. Them to understand first, like this whole creative thing. I kind of get it, but I don't. And I was so grateful that they gave me a little space to figure that out within our church.

And I would say to start small, like start with something. And what's beautiful about that is other creative people will be like, Ooh, I wanna be a part of that. 'Cause that's what we do. We, we encourage each other. That, and [00:35:00] it bursts out other things that come when we come together in that. So I'd encourage it to start, start with something.

It's in steps. Make goals. Like for me, it helps to like calendar stuff to set goals. I, I've done that so many times with all the records I've written or they probably would've never happened. I'm just like, I'm in a book studio time. So that in three months I gotta have these songs ready and it, it really helps me meet those goals and I can be praying over them.

So I just encourage, start with something, make a goal, set it, and see what happens in that time, and then keep going from there. And also look for other people that may encourage you in that. Ask for help. I love learning from people. It's one of my, one of the things I love to do within the church and just outside of the church, other believers who are creative, like, I just wanna learn like, Hey, what did you, what did you learn through your mistakes?

[00:36:00] What are the things that worked? You know, what are the things that didn't? And it's amazing what we can learn from each other.

Dan: I'm thinking back. I know that I've not done quite where you are, but I've recorded albums too. I have like eight piano albums. That's awesome.

I know that giving myself a deadline, like, Hey, we've got time booked at the studio, and we gotta make this happen. You feel that time encroaching and it can kinda light a fire. Right. And sometimes we need to do those things for ourselves.

I know that process that you go from, again, going back to wanting something and then setting the intention of doing something, actually doing something and then, now you are with what's fateful. 'cause this was a desire for you to put this project together. Yes. Now you're looking back, it's released.

And so I'm just wondering, can you share maybe a story or a testimony what have you look back at here? You're not no longer looking forward to the desire of recording faithful, but now you've recorded it, you're looking back. What are some of the things that as you look back, what are some of the testimonies or experiences or the biggest things that you've seen come out of it so far?

Jesse: Yeah, I, I love that you talked about you know, when [00:37:00] we do something just real quick, I, I don't wanna lose this. When we do something creative. The joy that it brings, it like refreshes us. Mm-hmm. So whatever that is in your life, we all need that. And, and we've been talking about that as a staff because I was telling them this last week that my cup was so full.

'cause we did a worship night with CCG Worship. It was our Celebrate Recoveries 20th year anniversary. And we brought Tommy from the skit guys out and he was our guest speaker and my whole team got to be together 'cause we're a multi. Campus. We have four campuses, but everyone got to come together. And then we did some writing that week for CCG.

And now to see, like my team, some of my team hungry for it. My cup was so full. 'cause I was like, because of, we did that record and we did something that. Fills us up, it just brings so much joy. But now what it's doing within the church and the team is it's building this more creative space of people going, Hey, we, we wanna be [00:38:00] a part of that.

We actually you know, love that space. Or we didn't even know that was a thing. So it's really impacted our whole team and church. Like, can I get an amen? Become an anthem for our celebrate recovery in our church. Really like people just singing that all the time, can I get an amen? We're like, yeah, yes you can.

Because of what God's done in our life and we're walking in that freedom. And so I think that this album that we were hoping would bring people closer to God to allow people to worship him where they're at, whether if they're in the high or in they're in the lows. For me in our team, it's been such a joy to see.

So some of the stories come out of that, of like, Hey, I, I had no hope in this moment, but I listened to, I choose your faithfulness and I want to choose that too. Or, Hey, I was walking, sin, but now God's redeemed my life and I'm walking in that [00:39:00] freedom and I love that song. Can I get an Amen? It's a part of my life now.

Or, we praise you like Lord, we're gonna praise you through it all. As a church, as a, as a team, as a person like God, we're gonna, we're gonna praise you through everything, all the things that this life has, because we know you're good. We know that you're, for us, we know that you love us. We know that you have a plan and you're faithful.

And so that that album and those songs have come alive in our hearts and in our church. And we keep hearing many stories of what God's doing through those songs. And it's just a joy that it continues of not just us being creative, you know.

Dan: It's such an important thing we're not just creative to be creative, right?

We have a purpose with our creativity. And I love how you took your giftings, your anointings, and you helped bring a team together to collectively bring what they had to offer. And you created this album that speaks of God's faithfulness death. And you even [00:40:00] entitled it faithful because he is a faithful God and he is.

Faithful to us, and he will bring us through whatever situation we're in, whether we're in the desert or whether we're, in just a wide open pasture. We go through each of those areas in life, and yet, we see God's faithfulness in each season.

So that's amazing that you. I've brought this to project together, you've seen it through, and God is just blessing it and using it in so many different ways, man. That's awesome. We wanna be honoring of your time too today Jesse. We have a few more questions, some kind of fun questions we'd like to ask.

Yeah. Just kind of to wrap. We love diving deep, but we also love to, as we kind of come up, we wanna ask a few fun things. So we've been talking about an album, we've been talking about writing songs, we've been talking about writing worship songs and things. As a guy who's incredibly creative and done a lot with music, what's one worship song you wish you had written?

Jesse: Oh gosh. That's great. Never thought of that before. I. Because I don't think in that way, I'm just more of like, that's rather that God give you that song, [00:41:00] Lord, give me a song like that. Geez. A song that really has been, gosh, it changes all the time. But Firm Foundation is one of those songs for me that's really been like just sticking in my soul.

Mm-hmm. So I guess that one

Dan: Good choice There. We have a Bible study at our house every week on Monday. We have a musician and he's actually, pretty well known here in Belize. He does a lot of the worship events and he comes to that and, and he brings his guitar every Monday.

And I just look forward to that time, and this week I said, Hey, can you play firm foundation? That was my request to him. This. That's awesome. That's the good one. Alright, so we're, sticking with worship, we're sticking with music.

It's CCG, worship. Had to perform, one of their songs in a completely different genre. Say it like Bluegrass, what song would you choose?

Jesse: Oh man, can I get an Amen? ' cause it's so like, upbeat and fun and happy and cel celebration. It would be interesting to see what that would be like in a totally different [00:42:00] genre or different feel.

Awesome. I can

Dan: see that you got the next one.

Amanda: Right. So what's something about life as a worship pastor that people might be surprised to learn and encouraged by?

Jesse: Hmm, that's good. If you're a worship pastor, you wouldn't, you won't believe how many songs we listen to all day, every day through our life because it's just a part of, you know, we're of who we are and, and the songs.

It's also such a joy 'cause I'm constantly having the truth, being reminded. So like when I talked about in the car driving, I'm like, sometimes with those moments I get hit the most of like, Lord, I love you so much. I'm in so much gratitude that I have you in my life. But. We get more requests than, I don't even know what to do with as a worship pastor, it's funny, I'll, I'll get phone calls, text messages, notes come up to me in person, Hey, can we do this song, this one, this one?

I'm like, I have a hundred right now on the list. Yeah, but it's [00:43:00] fun. I love that people do that. It's a joy.

Amanda: That's awesome.

Dan: Two other real quick ones. If CCG Worship could perform a concert anywhere in the world.

Jesse: No

Dan: budget, no limits. Where would you go? Where would you do it? Wow.

Jesse: Oh, that's a good one.

North Korea, just because that'd be the most unexpected place to do it.

Amanda: Wow,

Dan: man. Man. Great answer. Wow. And kind of wrapping this one up here, we've been talking about performing, we've talked about doing music and all this. However, there's a flip side to a worship pastor's life and a creative's life.

And so when you're not leading worship, when you're not writing songs. What does a perfect Sabbath day look like for you?

Jesse: Hmm. Oh man, that day has been really important. Something I've been talking about a lot too, within my team and my family. So Friday is my day off. That's my Sabbath for me. Like just stepping away from ministry and, I do my daily [00:44:00] devotion, but I, I spend more, I'm able to spend a bit more time in that more time just listening, which is really hard for me as a creative. It's something I've been working on since COVID when we had to stay home. Really felt like that was really important. Like I just need to sit and listen and not be like, and Lord da and all the things and just listen to him.

So been practicing that. Doing things that refresh me, like going on walks or playing a game with a friend or like a board game. Just spending time with my family, which I love. Just us like staying home or taking my wife on a date. So it's been more, more of that kind of stuff lately of more family time and just protecting that day from all the things that can quickly fill it up.

Dan: So good. We wanna make sure we connect our listeners. How can our listeners connect with you? How can they get ahold of Faithful? Tell us a little bit more about that.

Jesse: Yeah, [00:45:00] so Faithful is on all the platforms, whether if they're on Spotify or Apple or whatever you listen to. And then you can go to calvary az.com/ccg worship, that's our, our church site.

So it's calvary az.com/ccg worship. So you go on there and if anyone needs charts or multi-tracks or anything. They can email us and reach out. We love sharing any of that stuff. And yeah, it's just a joy for us to get, to continue to, to worship God and, and praise him through the songs and through our life.

So but that's, that's some of the ways you can reach out.

Dan: Amen. Listeners, we'll have those in the show notes. Jesse, what an honor to have you on the show. We're so thankful that you have pursued and pressed through all the things that. Would've held you back to see Faithful come out and you stuck to it and you kept your hand to the plow and now it's out there and it's blessing a lot of the world.

And so thank you for being faithful of the mission and we just be blessing and faith. Over you and Faithful in the album, and we look forward to seeing more albums come out [00:46:00] in the future.

Jesse: Yeah. Thank you guys so much. You both are a blessing, love reading. I would love reading your story and just we'll end it with encouraging everyone who's listening to don't, don't give up.

Continue to stay faithful and obedient. God is for you. He loves you. Whatever you're walking through, if you're carrying anything, don't do it alone. I hope our, my story and our story is encouraged you, that God can redeem, he can bring healing. There's always hope every day. But we need each other. So I just pray that over you listening, that you would being encouraged in the Lord and know that he's a plan and a purpose for your life and allow him.

To, to use those areas to help other people. So love you guys. Thank you so much for having me. And yeah, hope to, to connect with you guys again soon.

Dan: Amen. Amen.

Jesse: Amen.

Right. Thanks for joining us today on the Mission Life Podcast. You enjoyed this episode. Be sure to subscribe so you never miss out on future [00:47:00] conversations. And don't forget to share this episode with your friends, family, or anyone you think will be blessed by it. We also wanna invite you to check out our free 31 Day Devotional Living and Mission, all life designed to help you step forward into the purpose he has for you.

Just click the link below to get your copy today. Thanks again for listening, and I'll see you next time on The Mission of Life Podcast.