“The reality is, we’re all building our lives on something that somebody else has said.”
Atheism and agnosticism may have growing numbers in the Western world, but they still pale in comparison to that of Christians. As a self described, ‘I don’t know what I believe in’, it’s hard for me to understand how anyone has 100% faith in anything. Be it Christianity, atheism, the current model of space and time, I don’t really know if we have any of it right…or wrong…or whatever. I mean, I’m only human. Today’s guest is also only human, but he does have 100% faith that we’ve been shown the way to faith, spirituality, and eternal life through Jesus Christ. David is a super awesome, super kind pastor that sat down with me for over two hours to discuss our differing belief (or disbelief) systems. This is part one where we also discuss just what the heck a pastor does all day.
“It’s important to note that the things that we find unbelievable about the bible today were equally as unbelievable to the people in the culture in which they were happening...If we were to rewind to Jesus’s time, the claim that Mary was a virgin was totally ridiculous.”
“There is no line to which somebody must measure up [to go to heaven], because the reality of that is that it wouldn’t be fair. You’d have one person that lived a week longer and lived a little bit better life, and then another person that was just shy of it.”
Interview Contents - Part 1
1:48 – When did David start considering being a pastor?
4:00 – Masters of divinity.
5:15 – Apologetics.
5:50 – The different paths you can take as a pastor.
8:30 – What does a pastor do all day?
10:40 – What hours does a pastor work?
12:00 – Getting a job with a church.
13:55 – Who makes hiring and pay decisions?
16:05 – What is the pay range for pastors?
18:40 – The other staff that the church employs.
19:30 – How many hours a day do you spend on church campus?
20:30 – Getting reimbursed for going out with parishioners.
21:50 – How David’s beliefs have changed in the past 10 years.
25:50 – Having a crisis of faith.
29:00 – Filling the longing in your soul.
31:30 – The soul and proving a religion’s truth.
34:00 – Learning about other religions.
35:50 – Does David think that Christianity is right and other religions are wrong?
37:30 – Culture and geography determining your religion.
40:45 – Missionary miracle stories.
41:30 – What the heck happened to miracles? Why don’t we trust in miracles today? And why do we trust the miracles in the bible?
Interview Contents - Part 2
1:20 – Why do we believe the people that wrote the bible?
12:00 – Editing the bible.
19:00 – Does God care if you are a Christian, or religious at all?
27:15 – Old Testament God vs. New Testament God.
45:00 – Why has the church been so behind on social issues?
46:55 – Being simple, humble and poor.
49:40 – The most difficult question David gets from parishioners.
51:30 – Bad things just happen; good things are due to God.
53:15 – The most common question David gets from non-Christians.
1:05:25 – Getting ridiculed for your faith.
1:06:20 – Advice for people looking to go into ministry.
1:09:05 – To what extent can a pastor interpret the bible themselves?
1:14:20 – Age requirements.
Links
David's page on his church's website. Links to his church, social media, and e-mail on page.
