Made For Monday's Podcast with @MicahRGaines and @Mr Jlester

I want to shout out a book that I wrote this year called, well, Necessary Endings. Necessary Endings is a book I wrote this year that really details my personal journey through leadership, understanding life. It's a short one day read book and what the book really entails are some leadership principles and life principles that kind of hold on to things I've held on to, things I've learned from scripture, from life, from principles, from stories and funny stories that I know will assist you to be all that God's called you to be. You can buy it on Amazon or my website, www.jrlester.com. grab a copy. Let me know what you think about it and I pray it will enrich your life. Today we have an amazing conversation with a young lady named Jabra Tankley. Jabria Tankley is a member of the church I'm able and privileged to pastor, and Jabrea is an amazing woman in who she is. One of the unique qualities about Jabrea is Jabria will tell you her story about what it means to be differently abled. But in the midst of that differently abled posture that she has, Jabre is an amazing leader of people, an amazing person who's unearthing some gifts every single day. And I believe this conversation, as we talk about awesome inclusive communities, I believe one of the communities we often forget are differently abled brothers and sisters. And Jarrea is going to assist us in grabbing a hold of how we can be present, what we can learn from, how we can be present with, how we can walk alongside and not put down or demean anybody who's different than us. The good news is that all of us are different in our own way. Some differences are expressed differently. Some. Some differences are seen and some differences are hidden. Some individuals who are differently abled, those differences are seen, but they're individuals too. And Jabre is going to assist us in that if we're going to be holistic leaders, to be the leaders to hold on to all of who we are and all of who somebody else is. Now, this conversation was recorded on Zoom. So the quality may not be perfect, but it's perfect for you. Let's jump into our conversation today. Take it away.

Well, hey everyone. Welcome to Made for Mondays with Justin here. I'm so happy you guys heard my intro earlier about brother Micah. Micah is doing amazing work in Lexington, Kentucky, and I believe you're going to be immensely blessed by him in terms of what it means to be a leader, what it means to change the world, to be transformative agents.

But he'll be able to tell you.

All that type of stuff. I ain't got to tell you, so help me. Welcome to Made for Mondays, brother. Micah Gaines. What's up, man?

Yeah, I'm doing well, man. Thank you for having me tonight. Glad to be here.

Totally, man.

This is an honor, man. If you don't mind telling our crew here at Made for Mondays, who are you? Just who are you? What do you do? Like, who's Micah Gaines?

Sure. So, Micah Gaines. I'm a church baby. I tell that I was probably born on a pew. That's my story. While my friends were going to birthday parties, I was at conventions. While they were at summer camp, I was at revival. That was me, of course. Son of a pastor. Pastor Richard Gaines, Lexus, Kentucky. I'm 25 years old. I've been in church most of my life. PK so you grew up doing everything? I was an usher. I was a sound tech. I was a media person. I was a musician. I was a choir director. Anything that occurs in a black Baptist church, I've done at some point in my life. Of course, with that, people assume because I was always around my dad that I was going to preach. I didn't want to preach, had no desire to preach. I saw what that was for him and others that were around him, and that was something I never wanted to do. I found refuge in music ministry. I was a musician. I played piano, organ, drums. I loved the musical aspect of it. So that was where I found refuge for most of my adolescent life. Started feeling the call of God to preach around 16, 17, of course, ran from it, didn't want to do it. I liked music, and I was pretty confident that I was going to go into a career in sports administration. Of course, Lexington is the college basketball capital of the world, but the University of Kentucky. I see you have Vanderbilt jerseys. You know, we were SEC rivals back then. We still are. But like I said, I was the sec. That's what kept all the world. So I wanted to go into sports administration. I worked camps. I did coaching, stuff like that. That was my aim. But God had other plans, to say the least. My little internship doors shut in my face. All the doors I thought in the inroads I had made closed in front of me. And God literally said, you know, either you can do it voluntarily, I'm going to make you do it. Through various ways of revealing himself to me, he really made it clear that's what he had me in store for me. I said yes, Announced my call to Preach on January 1, 2013. August 31, 2013. Ordained five years later, did seminary at Virginia Union. Graduated in May of 19. Currently a doctoral program at United under Dr. Philip Point and Dr. Charles Goodman, and currently serve as the pastor of worship at the Consolidated Baptist Church in Lexington under my father's leadership, where I currently give oversight to basically all things Sunday morning and digital content. So that's music, media, ushers, greeters, sound, dance, drama. All that in a global pandemic. So my role is quite, quite hefty these days with the content we're producing on a weekly basis. But God has been grateful. It's been an amazing journey. I'm just looking forward to seeing what God does next because it's been. It's been. It's been fun. I've enjoyed it.

Well, man, thank you for sharing that, man. I do want to piggyback on one thing you mentioned. I was that person. I was unaware. But to tell you so, like, I was a grad assistant for Marquette. I was a grad assistant for Vanderbilt. So I was in. So my goal, honestly, same way. Was to become the next, the first black athletic director at Marquette University. Oh, wow, that's serious, man. So like sports admin, Sports law.

That was me.

What you mentioned that deviation, man, LSAT like, killed me, man.

That was literally me. Like, I went in, my major was sports admin. Then I went into marketing. I interned in the men's basketball office my senior year of high school. So literally, like, I was all things basketball. That was. I was gonna be a GM for the Lakers one day. Listen, Cody posted my I'm all basketball, but God said, not quite so, you.

Know, for people like that, like you, man, or even like, I was around that age. How did you make that pivot in a healthy way? Right? So it's to go from like, just seeing the. Like for me, like seeing the dollar signs, athletic director law. And then God is like, no, you're going here. And literally, like you mentioned, shut doors. God had to literally shut the door to law school and give me a full ride to Vanderbilt. If not, I'd be trying to force it in the square. Square peg in the round hole. How did you make that pivot help in a healthy way for other people listening, man, who might be in the same predicament?

Honestly, I'm not sure I did it very healthily. Honestly, I tell for me, I was in ministry early, so I'm not really sure I really enjoyed the fullness and totality of being a college student. There are days that I lament Then I feel like I missed out on my college student days to be a staff pastor, to be a preacher. So that was difficult for me. I missed a lot of campus events. I missed a lot of social gatherings because I was leaving class, going to the office. I had choir rehearsal, I had to plan out sermon series. I was working on dad's calendar. I was entrenched in that. But for me, the best thing for me is that I had good friends, I had a solid support system. So even when I felt out of balance, they prayed for me. They made sure I had healthy outlets to make sure that I still had ways to release and ensure that I was just in safe space, even amidst the demands and the tugging of other things. Because I didn't have the luxury of matriculating through undergrad without, you know, church, church, school, class, friends. I had so many things pulling at me. I never really got to really engage the totality of just enjoying collegiate life in a balanced way. So for someone who's listening to this, I'd probably just say, just find balance. It's okay to be your age. If you're 20, be 20. If you're 18, be 18. Adulting is not going anywhere. Ministry is not going anywhere. If God gives you vision and clarity, he's going to open up the doors he wants you to walk through. But also don't be afraid to enjoy the journey. Don't try to skip steps, don't try to rush it, because I promise you, you will look back and wish that you would enjoyed it more so in the moment. Because once the moment's passed, it's gone. Pastor Corey Shull always says that every assignment has an expiration date.

Wow.

You miss it, it's just gone.

Wow. Wow. That's wonderful, man. Thank you. Thank you for sharing that. It's funny, I never. You're the first person I met that had a very similar story that way, man, sports. And I'm still entrenched in it and it's difficult to get out of it, but it's. It's amazing, too. I don't know. For you, maybe you can speak on that too. As we transition to even about this one, I'm curious, how have you meshed what you learned in the sports field, Ministry field, because, like, people don't know about the pace of sports. Very fast pace of ministry.

Very fast paced. Like I said, I was an intern my senior of high school. I interned in the UK men's basketball office. If those who are not privy to college sports, UK is one of the. Is One of the blue blood programs in college basketball. So it's a very fast paced environment. NBA scouts on a daily basis, a lot of media coverage. I didn't have the luxury of a very long learning curve. Even as an intern, I kind of got thrown in to the pace of that. And it was very obvious that the culture there was that of excellence. It was excellence was the standard, not the goal. And that was very obvious in the way that things were run. So that's translated for me in ministry because everybody at UK it was understood that we give our best, we're going to be excellent on a daily basis. We can't be perfect, but we will be excellent. And that's translated me in ministry because I really believe that whatever we do for the Lord should be done at a high level. I served in 2015. I served at Wheeler Avenue as a summer intern. And one of the things that we learned, like our first day of work, Pastor Cosby, excellence is our standard, not our goal. We do everything in an excellent way. Anyone who knows me knows I'm a very mild mannered person. I'm very patient, very chill. But one thing that never fails to make me itch is when people do something for God at a haphazard level, they do it halfway. I don't, I don't like that. That literally makes me physically ill. I just feel like if we're going to do something for the Lord or administrator, led him has the Lord's name on it.

True.

On a high level, at an excellent level. That's something I definitely take with me in this on a daily basis, even as a staff pastor, just leading people that I work with on a weekly basis. I really try to strive, you know, excellence. Of course, you know, we make mistakes. We're not perfect, we're human. But we definitely strive to be excellent in everything we do. And that's definitely taken us a long way. And I'm grateful for it.

Well, that's powerful, man. I think sometimes too, it's being excellent is the admission of failure. Yeah, right. And because the strength of your weakness is still your strength. And so that's very powerful with that. You mentioned it and you mentioned a little earlier about how you are. So your father's the pastor. You're serving under your father. You've been serving in ministry for years. But they also mentioned the people you're leading. So you're leading people as well. How were you balancing? Because we spend so much time in the world. Lead, lead, lead, lead, lead. Be a leader, be a leader, be A leader. But there's no conferences for, like. And this is the second seat. Right. There's like, maybe a class that nobody wants to go to, because I want to see them go to it. But how are you, man? Like. And even, like, I'm sharing this. Those of you who don't know Micah, Micah has one written all over him, and wherever God takes him, Micah has that first seat written all over him, wherever God takes him. But right now, you're in the second seat. How are you navigating the knowledge that you know the gifting and calling God has on your life while also being a really good follower to lead other people to trust the leader you're under? If that makes sense.

Sure. So a couple things. So I'll say, first of all, the culture that I'm under. So my father has served one church for almost 25 years, and he has. We've had 13 senior pastors to come out and consolidate under his leadership. So I've seen all my life a culture of, before you can lead, you have to follow. That was always instilled in me, just in ministry. I think we've done ourselves a disservice because nowadays we've almost glamorized first chair ministry, as if that's the only relevant way that somebody can be cutting edge in ministry. I think we see the lights and the glamour and the stage of the one chair, but we don't understand that, yes, it may be a bigger stage, but it's also brighter lights, and that's difficult. So for me, I've tried to channel that balance by understanding that, yes, I do feel called to one share ministry, but I'm relishing this season of being poured into. So I've lived in three states. Three states. Four states. Excuse me, four states. And everywhere I've been, I've been pastored by amazing people. So people that nurtured my gift, that saw something in me, took time to affirm me, critique me, correct me, give me opportunities. So everything that I've been a part of, I've just been soaking in. So even though I lead people in my ministry that report to me on a weekly basis, I still understand that before I can lead them effectively, I had to be led effectively myself. So I believe in accountability, I believe in mentors. I believe in being poured into yourself. Because if you can take the time and relish that time of being nurturing, being poured into it just makes you that much more effective when you're sent out to lead other people. I question those who want to Tell me who they're over before telling me who they're under. Wow, I question that. One hit wonders make me cringe. People who just start preaching on Monday and they're over something by Wednesday, take the time to enjoy being poured into because those are moments. Number one, you can't get back in their moments that if you sit still and listen long enough, they pay off so well in the end. Like I said, I've had phenomenal pastors from my father to Pastor Thomas Beavers in Birmingham. I was in Beeson to Dr. Cosby, who I still speak with pretty regularly now. I was intern at Wheeler Avenue to Pastor Kenri Olin when I was in Virginia Union. Just, I've had amazing pastors that have really poured into my life for a very long time. And for me, that has just made all the difference in my own disability. And because I have people who pour into me before I pour into other people, and that's made the difference.

Wow, man, that's powerful. That's powerful. So as you're in this position you're in, man. You mentioned too about being a worship pastor, all things digital, which at this point I joke with my own staff. I said, I hired a part time digital person. I said, she became the most perfect person.

Absolutely.

How have you professionally navigated this moment? I don't even put, I'm not going to call Covid, like pivot. How have you personally professionally navigated this moment of COVID when you went from being like, oh, that's the digital person to we don't have church without the digital person.

So I'll do professionally first. I remember the week that everything shut down. We were actually in St. Louis that Friday and my father was debating on whether he's gonna shut down. I think we look at the news and he finally made the call. And after he talked to our administrator, he literally asked me, he's like, worship pastor, so what's next? So I think that Sunday school was so quick. We played some old tapes, but literally it was a classic case of what does digital ministry look like? And we did not have the luxury of a learning curve. We were literally in Church on March 8 and shut down indefinitely on March 15. So for me professionally, I had to make some phone calls. People that I knew that were doing this before me, people that miss other places and say, look, what are my options? And what we ended up doing, we evaluate our equipment, saw we did not have what we needed. We didn't have the personnel, didn't have the manpower, didn't have the technology, the infrastructure to do that at a high level. What we actually do now, we actually outsource. So if you watch our broadcast every week, it's called CBC Unplugged at 8, 10:30 on Sunday mornings, Checkmarks plugged. You watch that and we actually outsource. We actually have a company who comes in every week. Their cameras, their people, they film, they produce, they edit, they give it back to us Saturday morning, we play it twice on Sunday. Because for us, once we realized this was going to be a long time thing, we wanted to have the highest quality products we could have. And you know, people don't like to use this term for church, but literally it's a production every single week. It's a full fledged production from media tapings to music. So our praise team, we bring them in twice a month, they'll cut blocks of music. So four or five songs at a time, they're good for two or three weeks. So literally all the logistical ends for us, it happened very quickly because we had to do it at a rapid rate. But luckily people kind of caught on to the vision quickly and kind of say, whatever you do, we'll make it happen. And they've been phenomenal. I work with some phenomenal people. Even as the leader. It's a very collaborative team approach. It's been a blessing. That was, that's been a good transition transit for us professionally, personally, I struggled, I absolutely struggled because Covid was unforeseen. And anyone who knows me knows that a large chunk of my life is on the road. I'm on the road quite a bit, both ministry and personal. So the fact that that shifted for me was difficult. The fact that it was unknown, we didn't know what it was, how long was going to last. I'm dating long distance. That was a difficult adjustment. And for me, I had to really get to a point where I was okay with not being okay. Because there were several moments that I lamented. Not just the loss of lives, but the loss of patterns, the loss of what I had grown accustomed to. There was no more itinerant preaching. There was no more getting on a plane for a weekend. Just because you want to go somewhere. All that changed. And that really affected me emotionally, mentally, psychologically. And it really took me probably almost 90 days to come to grips with the fact, you know what? I don't have to be Superman. I can sit in the tension of my emotions and deal with what this is and feel bad and not feel bad for feeling bad about it. So if the personal Side is really still evolving. Shift. I'm in a much better space now. We're, we're in, I think like week number 29 or 30 of pre taping service. I'm looking. I miss live church so badly. I miss it and you know, they're saying 20, 21, whatever that looks like. But it's, it's been an adjustment, but I think for anyone who's dealt with it, especially in ministry, we've, we've dealt with grief process, we've dealt with the various stages that, and what that looks like because like I said, we were in Church on March 8th talking about don't hug nobody, all we call the coronavirus. Nobody thought anything about it. Then a week later, we were all shut down. So the blessing for us is that we had the resources and infrastructure to pivot quickly. But there were several churches that did not have that privilege. So even in my lament, I still had to thank God for the vision and the clarity and the infrastructure to move like we moved. It's one of those things that as bad as it was, it could have been a whole lot worse. So that was really my silver lining and trying to, you know, unpack my feelings and understand that, you know, it's not, it's not what it should be, but, you know, it could have been a lot, a lot worse than it actually was.

So that is, that's powerful, man. Like the question I was gonna ask you what you learned about yourself, but that's. That, that's, I think, what you learned. I guess my other question for you with all of that based upon what you said is then how would you describe or define the way that you lead? Because I know you're not leading everybody who's younger than you, so you're leading folk who are older. And as someone, the one thing I wish I knew before I got into this seat as a pastor, a senior pastor, was, oh my God. Leading folk who are 40 years my older, but spiritually may not be 40 years my older. Right. And so how are you leading up and leading down age wise in this season to like, as you mentioned, even shutting church down? Everybody's not happy. And that's. I know, like for us, I thought it was gonna be older folk. It was my young adults that were pissed off. Right. So I can only imagine that. So how were, how would you describe your leadership style to be. To manage this season well and be honest with yourself in the process?

Sure. So the way our team is structured, I'm the youngest person on our clergy staff and probably the youngest person that I'm actually leading. Like, I'm the youngest person on the team, so everybody's older than me. So I think for me, the first thing for me was establishing a culture of we're all on the same team. It's not about a title. It's not about who's higher on the org chart. We're here for the same reason. I'm just. I'm helping to facilitate. Catch the vision. Let's move together. Because when I win, you win. When you win, I win. Collaboration. So I've always been a very collaborative leader. I got that from watching my father. He's historically been a person who seeks consensus as best he can. He's not gonna leave the dock until everybody's on board, good, bad or indifferent. He's gonna make sure that as many people are on this ship before we leave the dock. So for me, that's how I. That's how I lead. I try to lead. I try to build collaboration, establish a common goal, build a culture where everyone feels valued, feels cared for. And that's really paid dividend. Especially now, because a lot of people, our staff, you know, aren't being utilized. You know, we don't have ushers on pretend broadcast. We don't have greeters because everybody's at home, but still staying in touch with people, making sure they still feel cared about, valued, wanted, desired. Even when we get back, people. People don't know. People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. So for me, coming into a new role, for me, I had to establish the fact that I care about you all, that I'm not just little Micah to watch grow up. I'm not just a kid that played the drums. Even though I'm in leadership, I'm still mature enough for you to understand that I care about you and I want us all to win. And once I was able to establish that culture of value and collaboration and love, that really helped me in the long run because it really cleared some tensions that I walked into by understanding that, you know what, whatever happened before me has nothing to do with me. We're here, we're on the same team, we're serving the same God. He deserves our absolute best. So let's make this happen at a high level and let God get the glory. And God has thankfully blessed our efforts, and it's really shown up in a major way. It's so funny because I've been in this role. It'll be a year. A year this week, actually. And it's just literally the fact that most of my tenure in this role has been a global pandemic. So nothing that I really envisioned for 2021 really took place, honestly, because we had to pivot. But thankfully, the culture was already established by the time the pandemic hit, so it allowed us to still move as one united front. And that's just something that God's really blessed. And that's something I just saw from my dad.

He's.

He's a collaborative person, so he's going to make sure that everybody's together. And that's one thing that I've really.

Tried to kind of, you know, I love Ronald Heifetz. Ronald Heifetz and his adaptive leadership model. My church makes fun of me. They're like, all you do is quote Heifets. I love Heifetz the way that he looks at adaptive leadership and collaborative leadership. And that you, too often, we're trying, like you mentioned, we're trying to turn ships by ourselves because we're by ourselves. And it's not until you make sure that you have more folk on the ship that can tell you there's an iceberg. Let's go further out. You know, do we really need to turn this ship? And then that's amazing how many ships we keep turning that we don't need to turn. That's powerful, man. I guess the last question I want to ask you, because you've answered most of the ones I had, but I guess the last question I asked you, man, is what would you tell your peers if you knew they would listen to you, right? So if you knew your peers, like.

Someone in your seat where you are.

Right now, and you're in a great place of success doing amazing work, I wouldn't have you my podcast if you weren't.

But if you're doing great places of.

Success, doing amazing work, if you knew a peer that you saw a gift on would listen, what would you tell that individual?

So, a couple of things, if you'll allow me. The first thing. Embrace the seasons of solitude. Embrace the in between seasons. Embrace the discomfort. Embrace the spaces where it's just you and God. Because oftentimes those of us who are in ministry, especially people who are, who are gifted uniquely, oftentimes we're thrust into the spotlight prematurely and we wonder why people peak too soon or they're burnt out by 30 because we threw them in underdeveloped. We threw them in their wings weren't fully functional. So even though you may fly high, you Won't fly long because you just. You weren't ready. So I would legit just say embrace the prep seasons. I think there were moments early on I was telling my father I got a lot of opportunities early just off my father's name. People, they were kind to him, they were kind to me. So I got to see a lot of ministry opportunities in the first three, four years. But I found myself almost becoming intoxicated by my own press clippings because I thought that was the norm, that that was expected. I was supposed to get certain doors open to me because either my father, because I just thought I was just that gifted. But it really helped me realize that that's God. Like, what we're blessed to do is not because we're gifted. It's not because we're so talented. It's because God's hand is literally on our lives. So literally. Embrace the moments of solitude. Embrace the time of preparation. Embrace the time where you're being nurtured. Because once you're in that first seat, I'm not saying all the prep stops, but when you're over other people, it's that much hard to find the time in the balance to take time for yourself. I would literally just say embrace that in the words of also my dear friend, Dr. Joshua Mitchell. Be careful who you covet. Be careful what you covet. Wow. Because oftentimes we see people. We see the pro and con of social media is that everybody has a spotlight. That's the pro. The con is everybody's spotlight. So now this age of COVID we're seeing content on overload. So we're seeing people that we admire, that we enjoy, but we have no idea what their lives are like when the cameras go off, when the lights are turned off, when the stream is over. So be careful who you covet. Like, you may see one thing, but not understand what they dealt with to get there and what they deal with on a regular basis. So be comfortable the gift that God gave you. Be confident in just knowing who you are, understanding that the God who created you is God enough to support you and sustain you, and understand that you're enough as you are and be okay with that. We all have mentors. We all have people that we admire and pull from. But also understand that at the end of the day, nobody can be a better Micah Gaines than Micah Gaines. Nobody can be a better Justin Lester than Justin Lester. Nobody can be a better you than you. So embrace the you ness that God gifted. And understand that where God guides, he provides And God always takes joy in ensuring that your efforts will never be in vain. If you just make sure that you embrace your yousse and trust him for the results.

That's so real, man. Thank you so much for this, man. And I really hope those of you who are listening to this take heed to that. Those are hard lessons. And I can look back on my life.

I remember.

I just tell the sick story. You remember Dr. Buchanan from 15th Avenue, man? I preached. Yeah, I preached for him one time, and I was smelling myself. I was his 15th Avenue, and I was smelling myself like I preached at 15th Ave Baptist Church, Man. Dr. Buchanan, he said, justin, let's talk about this sermon. Remember, I did everything you could think of. He said, let's talk about it. So I'm thinking, like, he gonna tell me it's the best sermon he ever heard.

Absolutely. I killed. I got the house today, Raymond. I don't. I never will forget.

I got into his office the next week. He sat in his desk, crossed his legs, and he said, justin, if I wanted E. Dewey Smith, I would have called Easy Dewey Smith. If I wanted William Curtis, I would have called William Curtis. If I wanted Marcus Cosby, I would call Marcus Cosby. He said, I didn't pay them. I paid you. And he said, but I didn't hear you. So I'm gonna give you another shot because I want to hear you. And that was a pivotal moment for me, man. So what you just shared, when you guys are listening to this, engaging with this, that those lessons are not easy lessons to hold on to, and it takes some blood. So we. I really hope y' all take hold of that so you don't have to bleed where those lessons came from.

I dealt with that bleeding. I have the scars to prove it. I've dealt with it. I still deal with it. Because like I said, in this age of. This age of social media and clips and live streams, it's innate to become who we heard last week. It's innate to become who we listen to. If you're a preacher, I question preachers who don't like listening to preaching. But the danger of preaching overload is it's really easy to slip into a microcosm of who you listen to.

That's it.

And that's the tension for preachers, for me even to still find the meanness in the art of what I've been gifted to do that. God called me. If God wanted so and so, he would have called so and so. But God gives you an assignment. God knows what he made. He knows what you're capable of and he still trusts you. So be confident in the fact that if God can trust me, then trust myself. I can trust myself if God trusts me.

That's it, man. And that's so real, man. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. If. If somebody wanted to get in contact with you, to follow up with you or questions for you, man, how can they find you on socials or anything like that?

Sure. So I am on all platforms. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. I am Micahrgaines. So Facebook, it's Micah. Middle initials are Gaines Face. Twitter, Instagram. Excuse me. Twitter, Instagram. I'm Icar Gaines. Email. I am Micah Gainesonsolidatedbaptist.org. my website is www.micahrgaines.com. it's being revitalized. Don't judge me. But like I said, I'm pretty accessible. I would love to connect. This is a very digital age, and I've had a fun time just meeting people online, making friends in ministry. So I'm more than willing to share anything I possibly can to help your journey become brighter as we seek to do ministry and excellence.

So, man, Micah, thank you so much, man. Now, where's your TikTok? Where's your TikTok, man?

I don't have one. The videos, but I haven't made one. Like I said, I thought it was gonna be banned because you're crazy president. But yes, I guess. I guess it's live to see another day. But I'm on everything else but TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat.

I just got on. I started this trend called I put this video up and accidentally went viral last week. Dead serious.

Oh, my.

Yeah, I went from 126 followers on Friday to. I think I'm at like 1200 now. Yeah, man. I went viral on the stupid video I put out there. It was. It was dumb, but it went viral. And so now I'm on this thing called Pastor Talk, and it's just dumb stuff. I literally just taped a video today where I. I was like, after preaching virtually and having to prepare to preach in person, and I just fell face first into my pool. Like, it's.

Oh, my.

Yeah. And so it's. It's funny. I was like. And I put. And I put. I'll put this on Instagram. I' where are all the black pastors on Pastor Talk? Because there's nobody. There's not a lot. There's a lot. There's a lot of, like, this side, but not this side on TikTok. So yeah, man, thank Micah. Thank you so much. And Made for Mondays, please be sure you follow up with Micah. Engage with Micah. Micah's a gift to the body of Christ and really just a gift to the world. And the leadership that's necessary to lead volunteers and lead paid ministry individuals is a weight that goes beyond just the four walls of a church but really goes into the four walls of just a larger marketplace. So please be sure to follow up, engage. Know this, you were made for this week. You were made for Monday. Monday doesn't own you. You own Mondays. And so we'll go ahead and say our affirmations in a second. Be sure to follow up with Micah and we'll see you guys next week as we continue our series with Lynn Legrant, who's I think the director of people at Miller Coors. And you're going to be blessed by Lynn's insight as you guys are continuing to on Mondays before Mondays on you. So let's jump into our affirmations.

Well, thank you so much for joining us today for Made for Mondays. I pray today blessed you to be all that God has called you to be, all that you know you can be. I mentioned this a couple of weeks ago and I want to mention again, first of all, if you the month of November, I want to dedicate to you, the listener. If there are questions that you have about leadership, about life, about anything at all, do me a favor. Here's all you have to do. Go to www.jrlester.com and click on Made for Mondays. And on Made for Mondays is a contact form and simply submit your question for me. What you're able to do is let me know.

Hey.

Hey, Justin. This is what I'm curious about. This is what I want to know. This is what I want to learn. And my responsibility on Made for Mondays is to ensure that you are the best leader you possibly can be. So go ahead, go to jrlester. Com, click that link. Let your boy know. I'll holler back at you. Now let's say our affirmation and go.

On about our week.

Repeat after me if you will say I am me. I can be me. No one will stop me from being me. You were made for this. Now go win your Mondays. Mondays won't be.