The Question Justin Bieber Asked Me… | Ron + Hope: Unfiltered

Hey, everybody. It's Ron and Hope Unfiltered. Real, raw, and relevant. And here's the golfer, Mr. Golfer. How you doing, Ronald?

Welcoming you back.

Just missed one week. I had to come to Greenville for a race.

I don't even think we did one last week.

Yeah, because it's not good without me. You know why?

Because our ratings go down if you're not here.

That ought to tell you something.

That's why I've been telling you that. I'm telling you, when you're not here, they don't watch me.

They don't watch me.

They don't want to see no teaching.

That's not true. Everybody loves your teaching.

They want to hear me and you make fun of each other, which we've been doing that today. I've been making fun of everybody today.

You have. You have been on another level today.

Well, I didn't get a rest day.

You're a little tired?

Yeah, Sunday and a long Monday, and then I came here, a long day yesterday.

Another long day today.

Another long day today, and ain't nowhere near through. And so, I get— what do I do when I get like that?

Silly? Hey, Shelley.

I do.

But I missed you while I was gone.

You're making up things.

Hey, we had an amazing 2 weeks of Hope Nights, one on the West Coast, one on the East Coast this past Friday. And then, this Friday night, we are doing live— we are doing rebroadcasting— not really technically live, but we are going online this Friday night.

So it hasn't been streamed at all yet.

No.

So they get to enjoy it.

So wherever you are, tune in on my Facebook page and on my YouTube channel at 8 PM Eastern.

Are you streaming both services?

No, just one.

Streaming one of them? That'll be good. Those of you that watch Redemption Online or watch any of our social media platforms, it's the— I've been to probably 10 of Hope's conferences. Sometimes I'm there, sometimes I'm not. And I've been— that's the best one I've ever seen. The package. You've had great speakers. We've always had great worship. I ain't talking about that. It's just the package.

Beginning to end.

The atmosphere.

You even liked our color scheme, Ron.

No, I don't like it, but it looked good.

Oh my goodness.

I don't like it. I didn't— the butterflies and the pink.

It wasn't a butterfly anywhere.

So, no, but the color looked— when I looked up on the screen, and we have laser projectors, it looked fantastic. All the colors and the pastels you had.

It was beautiful.

But just the worship out of the gate, there was an organic—

Hunger. Expectation.

Yeah, I think that's the word. Expectation is a good word. Because I did what you normally do. You know, I got to work on Sunday. You'll go out in the hallway and talk to people. Out in the foyer. So I did that that night. I'm like, you got to preach. I'm going to go out here and clown around with everybody. And I did. And they walked in the door. It wasn't that— Yeah, they came in. It wasn't that we cultivated it. They came in. And when the worship started, I told you, I said it started at like a 7 instead of a 2 or a 3. And it just was so easy. And then the word you brought, that was my kind of preaching. That you did right there.

You liked it because you ganked it.

I did.

You stole it from me.

Sunday I took it and—

Expounded upon it.

Said, let's talk about this further.

So good.

And did it spontaneously. I didn't have any notes. But anyway, it really was, Hope. It was good. I think it was probably some of your best attended too. I mean, you know, even—

1,200 women on the west, about 950 here.

Right at 1,000 on the west. And I don't know if that counts your people serving. I don't know if that counted them or not. But I'd say you probably had over 1,000 on both coasts, just women, just in the room ready to go. And it was fantastic. If you haven't watched it yet, stream it. Even if you're a guy and you say, you know, I don't care anything about the pastels and all, you need to hear that message.

One of the guys on our staff here on the East Coast said— because he's on staff, so we gave him a link to tune in to watch. And he said that when he and his family tuned in, To watch. He said, and it wasn't even streaming, so we weren't speaking to the online audience. He was just watching the service. And he said the presence of God just filled their house.

It was strong. There was nothing about it. I mean, even the— and then when it was over with, you know, you ministered a little bit, but after the thing, it went into like giveaways and the excitement. You know, there's a lot of single moms and there's a lot of women pulling weight. that never get really celebrated or honored. I just think everything meant a lot. It was meaningful. And then we couldn't make anybody go home. Everybody was sitting around hanging out.

Free desserts.

Free desserts and food trucks and just everything that you would want a night to be. Me and you have done many special events. Sometimes we leave feeling like crap. But then every once in a while, we get that— God showed out. And that's one where we felt like God showed out on both coasts.

So tune in Friday night, 8 PM. So today, something that Ron and I were talking about this morning during our coffee time.

Now, I'm going to warn you before you go here because you told me what you want to talk about. This is theologically very controversial.

It is. I know that.

Having— you know, you were a music major, then you were an education major, and you've got more degrees than I do. But I was just a Bible school major. And so, I know through the years, the theological hot buttons.

Mm-hmm.

And I have a theory. I do like to lay out new doctrines. I do like to deconstruct what I think are faulty ones. And when I do that, I do it with great methodology. When you deconstruct something, you got to do it piece by piece. And when you're rebuilding something, you got to do it piece by piece. And I've done a lot of that with like things like sanctification. Things like the kingdom. I've done that. I've never done that with this topic. So, I'm admitting to people, I'm gonna throw it out there, but it's not something I've gone from Genesis to Revelation.

And there's really no ABC, 1, 2, 3 to answer it. There really isn't. And so, I'm gonna start out with this question that, believe it or not, Justin Bieber Ask you, when we were in Rome on a vacation, he was filming a movie. He was— Justin Bieber was filming a movie. And he happened to be in the spa. Ron was in the steam room.

You gotta let me tell that. I didn't know you was gonna tell that part.

Well, I'm telling it. He was in the steam— Ron was in the steam room. And he said, this kid came in—

He went to take a nap 'cause we had jet lag and I went to work out.

Yep. So, he said, this kid was jumping in and out of the pool.

Like an 8-year-old kid.

Running from thing to thing. And he could barely even see him.

The steam.

Steam. He said, but then, when he came into the steam room and he got— he came and sat down right beside—

And it was a big steam room and he came and sat right here.

Right beside him. And he looked at Ron. He said, hey, my name's Justin. He said, what's your name?

By that time, I thought I knew who he was. And I didn't— I didn't do like a little schoolgirl.

'Cause you're not a fan girl.

I said, Justin, I thought that was you. I knelt, I said, just knelt, I said, my name's Ron.

Yep. And he asked you what you did.

And I told him, I said, I'm a pastor. I said, I'm over here speaking at some special engagements. When I said that—

This is— listen, this is what he asked him. He got right up in Ron's face and he said, how did you know that you were called? So, that's what we're gonna talk about today because we have so many people ask us that.

Well, what we were asked— what we were being asked last night by my daughter, by my daughter, you know, how do you go through church-related disappointments and still love people and still love what you do?

And your answer was, because you're called.

And I told her, I said, Chandler, I said, I said, baby doll, I said, it's not that we're immune to being disappointed. Pain.

It's not that we just don't feel the pain.

Yeah. I said, I have been profoundly—

Hurt.

Deeply hurt. Don't wanna go through all that. Don't wanna sound like a martyr. Everybody's been hurt. But I mean, I just— I've gone through some stuff that would probably make people rethink their career. Having said that, the way to overcome it is parallel to your calling, there is a parallel grace. You don't ever want to get what the Bible called— Paul said, pressed beyond measure.

Yeah.

So sometimes we pray for levels. That we're not graced for.

Right.

And so that's why I've really never chased anybody else's life. I used to think about what it'd be like to be Bishop Jakes and stand in a stadium and move a stadium at a MegaFest. Well, God has never taken me there. So unless he does, evidently I don't have the grace for it because I don't want to try to function at a place that would crush me.

Right.

Okay? And so I was telling my daughter, I said, Chandler, there's something that— here again, I'm not bashing a generation, just whenever it started, they don't do— they don't talk about it more. They don't talk about a sense of calling. And they used to have altar calls, baby, when I was growing up for people who felt called to ministry. And then They had a process, a very rigorous process, a process of oversight, a process of examining committees. And I've always said, out of the problems that I have with denominations, that's one thing I thought they did right. They just didn't hand you no piece of paper and say, go be a preacher.

Go start a church.

Yeah. You had to read books.

You had to take tests.

You had to be watched. I went through a 3-year waiting period to be ordained. Just waiting. Why? So they could watch, and they would bring us back in every year and interview us. And they would grill your marriage, grill your personal finances. In other words, they tried on some level as much as they could to qualify you. And those things to my—

Why would they want to qualify you? Are there any scriptures that say—

Because you live a life worthy of the calling that you've received. And mainly they would ask about personal life because those who seek to lead In the Bible, whether it be pastor, overseer, bishop, said, must rule his own house well. Ruling your own house well, I think, is the highest bar God's ever set.

Yeah. Ooh, 'cause you cannot control other people.

Yeah, I don't know that I've ever, you know— once everybody was of a certain age and I don't control all the decisions, I don't know that I've ever ruled my house well. I sought to. I endeavored to.

You can teach and not make people line up.

Yeah, but I don't have— control over everything my house does any longer. And so that when God set that bar, all other ministry comes under that because I believe if you can lead your family, you can lead anybody.

Yeah.

And so the short answer was there is a sense of calling to what you do that allows you to have a grace to endure the price tag that comes with it. With every great calling, Hope, me and you know this, there's a price tag hanging on it.

Yeah, always.

And that price tag, you've gotta have a grace for that. So, you have a grace that measures the size of your gift, and they should parallel one another.

And that's not just in church. I mean, there's people who are called to be school teachers. There's a price tag attached to that.

Oh, there's people that are called to raise that kid.

There's people who are called to be in the healthcare system. There's a huge price tag. It's always a give and take.

My sister's an oncology nurse. I don't know how in the world she does that. I can't imagine. Because going to that depresses me. Being in the hallway depresses me.

Being around families who are going through it and trying to be honest with them, but encouraging to them.

And there's some people that slide right through it, you know?

Because they're called.

They're called to do it. There's some people you look at and they have a special needs kid. And you're like, man, that would tear my emotions and my nerves all to pieces. And they do it with ease. It's because they have a grace to raise that child.

Not that they don't get tired. Not that they don't get frustrated, but they do have a grace.

Like the apostolic gift that I believe— here again, this is theologically debatable, but I believe me and you both operate in. not just me, I believe me and you both operate in, has a huge price tag on it. And people were talking to us the other day that are 10 years younger than us. I don't know how y'all do it. I don't know how y'all do this California, South Carolina. We don't sit around and talk about how do we do it.

How hard it is. Yeah. You just do it.

But, you know, but I see other people doing what they doing. I'm like, I don't know how I remember Bishop Tony. You remember Bishop Tony Miller? Rest his soul. The way he would travel intercontinental. And Bishop Tony was a big man. And he would travel in these time zones. And I remember like, I was like, oh man, I wouldn't want to do that. But people look at us and say, oh, I wouldn't want to do that.

But then we look at other people and say, oh, I wouldn't want to do that.

So, all that to prove this point. There's a measure of grace that comes with the calling. Now the controversial part.

How do you know you're called?

That's kind of different than the tithe thing. You want me to talk about how I know I'm called or the tithe thing? How I know?

How? How did you know? That's what he asked you.

I don't know that it's the same. For everybody. For Ron Carpenter, Hope, I always knew. I knew that I was different.

I did too.

Okay. I didn't know what I was called to, but I'm gonna tell you what I did know. I knew what I wasn't called to.

Yeah.

And I would look at those people and say, This ain't my people.

I remember thinking, I'm gonna do this, but I'm not gonna go all the way in. I'm gonna do this.

To write here.

But I know that I'm not gonna be here long. I knew. Listen, when I was 15 years old, my mama would take me— before 15, she would take me to all these women's conferences. I think that's one reason I love 'em so much, and I encourage people to come and bring their children. I went to these Christian businessmen and businesswomen conferences. And I remember when I was 15, sitting there listening to that lady preacher, and the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, that's gonna be you one day.

I don't know that I had one of those.

I knew.

I didn't have one of those. Now, I had people say that over me, and that pushed me almost further away.

I never had people say it.

Mine was, I just never fit, Hope. And I wasn't a mis—

here's the thing.

Because of my athletics and stuff, I was actually somewhat—

Popular.

On the popular side. That's what's odd. But even when I was with—

But internally, you felt like a misfit. Yes.

When I was with my crowd, I wasn't with my crowd.

Right, exactly.

And everybody was best friends. And I didn't feel like everybody was my best friend. And so, I had a very difficult time fitting in. I remember Even when I wasn't trying to serve God, being around sin and being miserable. You know what I'm talking about?

And I loved, even as a teenager, a young girl, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, loved the presence of God. I don't know if you did, but I loved going to church. And I used to go to the Friday night Church of God singings. We had all the Church of God churches on Friday night. And I had a piano player. And me and her would go and I would sing and she would play the piano. I loved church.

Well, I wasn't a singer. And number 2, my dad kept me in church all the time because he was the pastor. So I didn't try to go extra. I wasn't serving God. I just had— I tell people I had lines I couldn't cross and I didn't know why. I didn't feel like I really knew anybody and I didn't feel like anybody really knew me and I didn't know why. I never really found a people or a place where I fit in. Even when I would be like working somewhere, I'd be like, man, I'm just buying my time. And I didn't even know what I was buying my time for. I just knew something. And I was on my way to University of South Carolina, my favorite school that I pulled for forever since I was a child. And 2 weeks before that, there was a Christian school, Emmanuel College, that was our denominational school that I did not want to go to.

Because it was little.

And the guy, the coach there wanted to see me play basketball. And I loved ball. And when he came out that day, when I went to try out and said, I got a spot. This is a quote, I got a spot for you if you want it.

So, you were going to University of South Carolina with no ball, no ball, just— you were just going.

But I will be honest with you, that might have been the thing that let me cross the line. If I would have got in that atmosphere, There might have been some points of no return.

So, basketball saved you.

It did. And that was probably the only thing that could have got me to go to Immanuel. I just don't think there's anything else that could have got me to go. And now, it was the greatest decision I ever made. My life was revolutionized. Now, so, I couldn't do this, couldn't do that, couldn't go here. I didn't feel like I fit. So, I knew I was different. Then, I got to Immanuel. And I got in a different environment and the call, okay, I'm not here for ball. I'm not here for girls.

So it was a process. Kind of God had to ease you in.

Yeah. Okay. And then a revival happened and I was deeply impacted by the revival. And I came back and it was a suggestion. I came back on Thanksgiving holiday, baby. I think I've I told you this. And my dad was sitting there reading newspaper. And I suggested it. I didn't like have a word, you know, like the Holy Spirit spoke to you. I don't even know if I knew what that sounded like. But I told my dad at Thanksgiving holiday, I said, I think I'm called to ministry. And my dad—

You said he didn't even look up.

And my dad had never seen any inkling of anything like that from me. I was his kid that came in and sat on the back row, and when he said amen, I got in my car and left. And yet, that was back in the newspaper days. He was in a recliner. I mean, he had his sock feet up, and he never even dropped his newspaper because I think my dad by that time was like, I want to see— I'll believe it when I see it.

Show me some fruit.

Yeah, show me something. And I did. But my— I didn't have that Heaven opened up or, you know, Oral Roberts prophesied. I didn't have that. I just arrived.

You did have a knowing, some kind of knowing.

I always did. I did that as a child. I did that as a child.

So, so—

I don't know that it's the same way.

No, I don't think it is for everybody, but I do think everybody does have a knowing. That internal thing. How you get there is different.

And it won't stop.

It will not stop. It will not stop. And that's what we're gonna talk about next week on our podcast. We're gonna talk about, what if you try to run from the call? So, you don't wanna miss it. You don't wanna miss it. So, don't forget. Don't forget, we have Hope Nights. We have Hope Nights on Friday night. Log in with us. So— How do you know you're called? Isn't that cool that Justin Bieber, you met him in a steam room in London?

I didn't know you was gonna tell that story. I forgot.

Pretty cool.

Yep, that was one of the first times. I think that was our first trip over there preaching. I had to preach in London. And we visited some other places while we were there. And I'm like— and I remember seeing him from down— I'm like, is that Justin Bieber? And then remember, we went to get ready to eat dinner and went downstairs and there was Penélope Cruz. Remember that?

She was buying earrings 'cause they were in the same movie together.

They were in the same movie, so—

Anyway. We love you guys. Ron and Hope, Unfiltered, Real, Raw, Relevant. Next time, don't miss next week, 'cause we're gonna talk about that person. Maybe it's you, maybe it's your kid, who knows they're called, but they run from God. We love you. Till next time, see you later.

Bye.