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Interview with Brian and Jennea Welch
Aaron Brockett with Brian and Jennea Welch
Series: Interview with Brian and Jennea Welch Message: Interview with Brian and Jennea Welch Pastor: Aaron Brockett
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Aaron
Alright, well, good morning. It’s good to see you today. So glad to have you here and I want to welcome all of our campuses right now, whether you are joining us from North, Downtown, West, anybody online—so glad that you are here at Northwest. We had a great 2019. I hope you had a great New Years.
I just want to celebrate a couple of things with you before we continue on. We had 606 baptisms in 2019. That’s something we celebrate around here. Christmas services were really amazing. We had about 20,000 people who showed up across all of our campuses. Another 40,000 engaged online. And we had about 900 Journey Bags that were put together and distributed for kids in the foster care system.
So I just want to thank you for being an amazing church and a church that is such an honor to serve as pastor. We give God all of the glory for 2019 and we’re looking ahead to 2020. We are excited for all he is going to do.
I’ve been looking forward to this particular day for months. We’ve got some special friends who I’m going to sit down with and talk to. I’m really, really glad that you are here. Before we bring them out, I want you to take a look at this quick video.
Video
[The band Korn] In the late 90s the heavy metal band Korn was headlining tours worldwide. Their third album Follow the Leader debuted at No. 1 on the billboard charts.
[David Letterman] “I just want to mention one thing before we get too much farther into this act, Korn rules.”
A group of childhood friends living out their wildest dreams.
[Brian Welch] “I had everything. I had to make people believe that I was happy when I had everything. When you’re on TV every day, when you have the checks rolling in, when you have sold out arena shows—they were like, “Oh, man. You have it all…”
“I had to play that role there and everyone thought I had everything, so I had to act like I was happy, and things were okay. My dad, I guess I wanted to show him that I could make it on my own and it would be okay. My mom, I didn’t want her to worry so I just lived a lie.
“To me, I knew something was missing because I was trying to fill an empty space with something was hurting me.”
Hey, can you give it up for Brian?
Brian
Good morning Traders Point.
Hey, man. Thanks for being here. We’ve been looking forward to doing this for a long time. We’re finally got it.
I just want to say that this guy, your pastor, made me eat octopus last night. It was nasty.
You enjoyed it more than you let on.
I forgot about what it was for a split second, but then they turned it over and you could see those sucker things, and I’m like, “Did I chew that? Ew.”
Well, you know Indiana is the best place to get fresh seafood.
Not.
Man, I really appreciate you being here, and I appreciate your friendship. And for anybody who is here today—I know a lot of people who are here today because they know who you are—but there are probably some here who may not be as familiar with you or your story. So why don’t you just kind of catch us up. Who are you?
My name is Brian Welch. I started Korn in 1993 in Huntington Beach, California. We all grew up in Bakersfield, California, home of Buck Owens and He Haw, the country music star. So we rebelled and got into heavy metal and it was everything to us.
Yeah, I met the band in elementary, junior high, and high school. We just happened to re-group and head to Los Angeles. We got a record deal around ’93. Went to the studio and then hit the road and it just kind of grew pretty fast.
Yeah, I remember. I was a senior in high school.
Really? I’m old. Yeah, it’s crazy. And you know Korn was known for just being real and raw emotionally. Our singer was just—he just opened his soul and he was like, “This is me. This is what I’ve been through, whether it was parental issues, abuse…” You know bullying was a problem for all of us. At one point we got bullied and everything.
So we took all of that aggression of the negative things in life and put them into music. People related. We had a cult following right away and it just kept growing and growing. It was just wild.
So the late ’90s they were sort of like, I mean things were crazy. So describe a little bit of what you guys were walking through then.
The ‘90s were chaotic. The music, the business, was at its height. Record sales were through the roof. We were on Sony Music and Epic Records. Michael Jackson was on the record label. It was just so huge, bigger than life.
I remember the president of the label had like his own—he had threats on his life and everything. Just weird stuff happened, you know? Michael Jackson had his own elevator to his office. And everything was really terrific. It was just surreal like, you know?
When we got a record deal, I was like 24 and when we moved up to the point where we could actually meet with the same guy who worked with Michael, I was just like, “Man, I had a Toyota Celica three years ago that had dents in it, and now I’m like eating with this dude.” So it was just a surreal life.
But the lifestyle just came with the money and the fame and the temptations, the girls, the drugs, and all of that—it just ate us away. We wanted to be fathers and parents, but we wanted to be these freaks and rock stars and drug addicts too. So it was like a tug of war, like, what’s our identity in this world. Just kind of young kids who didn’t know what the heck we were doing.
Yeah. So you sort of went through a crisis during that time. What was the thing that sort of tripped it for you?
Um, it was a lot of things. But it was just like I lost who I was. My daughter was the main thing, Jennea Welch. She was born into this world. She was this perfect picture of purity, you know? Just this little baby and she was just like, “Mommy, Daddy.” Here I was just this crazy rock star, living in debauchery and you think your hidden life is not going to affect you but it really affects the deepest part of who you are and then it starts to manifest and corrupt your family, your friends, your inner life, your mind, your emotions and everything.
So that’s what happened. But I kept wanting to be the best person of myself that I could. So I tried to get sober a couple of times and I just couldn’t. And when I hit the road again, it was like Yeagermisters, Nora Smith, you know the roadies having drugs all of the time.
Doritos and beer—that’s all we had back stage. It was just like cases and cases of beer. So all of your friends are just drinking. I tried not to drink, and it was just like I couldn’t, it was too hard.
So you got an invitation to church. Tell us about that. Were you eager to go? Did you want to go? What was going on then?
It was me trying to get sober so many times and I couldn’t do it on my own. I wanted to be the best dad for my daughter, but like I said, I kept falling back. And I was like… Man, I tried to go to out patient rehabs to get clean and just nothing worked. So the last resort was God, actually. And that’s how kind he is. He’ll take you in even if you’ve been rejecting him your whole life.
You know, my dad, who is watching with my mom.
Yeah, give them a shout out.
A shout out to the Welches. You know, my dad found God…
Your parents are the sweetest people.
Yeah, you met them at my daughter’s graduation. They are totally opposite of this picture [Brian pointing to himself].
Yeah, I don’t see how they produced you.
My God. So my dad found the Lord just later in life, you know? And—I don’t know where I was going. I’m sorry.
Um, who invited you to church? What motivated you to go?
So it was a thing where, if you’re at the last resort, and all I thought was… Growing up in the ‘80s you saw those weird Christian channels doing the weird things and the weird outfits and weird stages. And then you saw the Simpsons with Ned Flanders, and that’s what I thought Christians were, just those people who are so happy, they’re not real, and they’re just like, “Hey, God bless you brother—yeah.” They were so nice, you know? You want to choke them.
So, I ended up being invited to go to church with a real estate partner. I was an alcoholic. I was a drug addict and a meth head, and I was successful in real estate—go figure. I was a functioning drug addict. These guys were Christians. God set me up, because I loved to make my money grow back in the old days. I was just like… I didn’t like to waste it.
And these guys were Christians and they invited me to their church. They could see, man. I was ready. And the real estate agent, one morning—I was up all night on meth and I got this email—bling. And I opened it and he said, “Hey, Brian. This is Eric. I’m going through my Bible this morning and I don’t mean to sound weird, but I felt like this Scripture might mean something to you. Jesus says, ‘Come to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.’”
And he said, “I just thought it would mean something to you. Let’s get together and talk if you want to talk about something. Again, I don’t mean to be weird. I don’t do this often.” And I got together with him and that set it in motion. They took me to church. It’s amazing.
So you had this little girl. She’s 21 now and we’re going to bring her out in a minute.
Twenty-one.
Jennea, and tell us a little bit about the documentary Loud Crazy Love.
Yeah, Loud Crazy Love was an idea that I had, actually, in 2005 after I had my spiritual awakening. And I started filming my life just because it was so dramatic. You know the change… And especially back then, it was a shock. You know, this guy in this dark band comes to Jesus and now he quits the band and wants to follow Jesus. It was just like: What? Kanye West has been known for doing that lately. But back then it was just like—it was a shock.
So I started filming these things and I tried to make a documentary a few times and put my own money into it. It would just crash and burn. And I just put the stuff in a storage room. I was like, “I’m not going to mess with it.”
So I got I Am Second, you know they have iamsecond.com, they do a bunch of different short testimonials, they do videos of athletes, musicians, or normal people—a mixture, and so they got together with Norm Miller from Interstate Batteries and he donated the money to get this project going. And we finished it in about five years. Showtime picked it up. It’s on Showtime right now. It’s also out for sale on DVD and everything. It’s about Jennea being born to the chaotic rock and roll world and what it has done to me, her, her mom and the restoration that is happening.
So, we want to bring Jennea out. But before we do that, I want you to take a look at this short video clip.
[Jennea at a swim meet] Go, Jennea. Go, go, go. Ok, she’s in second. She’s in second.
[Jenna sitting on a bunk bed] “Well, my dad was gone, and I didn’t think that was great. I knew something was missing there.”
[Back to the swim meet] Go, go. She just got first place. Yeah, she just got first place. You should see it. Ugh, I’m a wreck.
[Jennea sitting a sofa, teary] Sorry, I’m just…”
[After the swim meet when she was little] “Daddy, I got two medals.”
[Brian] “Great, blow your daddy a kiss.”
Hey, can we give it up for Jennea? Making everybody cry.
Jennea
Thank you. Thanks for having me.
Yeah, Jennea it’s so good to have you. So good to see you again. Tell us a little bit about what it was like to grow up in this crazy guy’s house.
Um, oh my gosh. I mean, I think people think of a girl growing up as a rock star’s kid, they think it’s all glamorous and whatever. And there are some really good times. You know, like going on the road and I guess going to Europe and stuff. I went to Europe when I was four or five months old or something?
Four months old—Australia. She petted dolphins. We took her hand and put it on the dolphins. She had some perks, you know? There were some good times.
There were some really, really good times. Um, but I think the misunderstanding is that behind the curtains, I grew up in a broken home—a single parent home. And so that was hard. Um, not having my mom around really affected my self-esteem. It really affected my trust with people
Yeah, so do you remember when your dad came home and said, “Jennea, were going to church and that whole season of life.” Do you remember that?
Yes, I remember it literally like it was yesterday because it was so monumental in my life and his. I felt like Korn was his job. And so I felt like he was quitting his job. And so it felt like, “That’s not supposed to happen. Parents go to work.” You know? But I was happy because my dad was going to be home. So that was fun.
Yeah, so what was it like? Brian, you give your life to Christ. You quit Korn. You stay home to be Jennea’s dad. So is everything just like puppies and rainbows after that? I would imagine it’s just like up and to the right.
Yeah, once I got baptized it was like all of the old me went down and I was raised up perfect. I’m just joking. I’ve had a lot of heaven on earth. I’ve had a lot of hell on earth. I’ve got a lot of issues that I have faced, and I still am facing issues, but that doesn’t mean that God isn’t real. He is so very real in the midst of our brokenness and our failures.
So, you know, I’ve heard you talk a little bit about this, Jennea. It’s almost as if your dad went from one extreme to another. So talk a little bit about that. Like, from rock star to religion and how was that for you?
Well, I mean, I think the things to consider with that—he was coming off of meth, he was having withdrawal and stuff, learning how to do this normal life stuff, I guess. And so it’s funny because there was—I get it now, but as a kid I couldn’t watch That’s so Raven because she’s a psychic and that was not…
That was on Disney. I was a little bit legalistic. Sorry.
It’s okay.
Did I apologize ever for that?
Yes, you did. It’s all good. And I understand it because you were so in the darkness that you wanted everything to be pure and clean—whatever it was. So that was stereotyped as bad and, “No, none of that.”
Well, we would watch Urkel.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
On Family Matters. So it’s not like she didn’t have any fun.
It’s valid. It’s valid.
I like how you described that before. It’s like a spiritual birth, like babies are pure and clean and innocent, you were kind of like reacclimating in many ways.
What a season, man, I had to go through. Just like natural babies are in a sterile environment for a certain amount of time when they are introduced into the world, I needed that spiritually. I put all of my Korn awards in the garage—it’s in the movie. She walks by them and she’s like five years old or six. And she said, “My dad loves me more than these,” or something like that, something to that effect. So it was just a period where I had to get rid of the idols, everything that I worshipped out of my life.
But, slowly, once you get your heart right, and everything, he starts to give you stuff back that doesn’t consume you anymore, you know? It’s just like Korn awards are a blessing, something I achieved in this life. But it was a season that I had to walk through things and face things. I just hated the old me, you know? But now I’ve come to grips with—I was just broken, you know? And I love myself now, even my flaws, and all of that.
Absolutely. Now in 1 Corinthians Paul says that everything is permissible, not everything is beneficial. That just comes to my mind. I think all of us have to draw that line somewhere. It’s like those matters of conscience, what do we consume, where do we put ourselves, we’re all growing spiritually. So I think that describes that.
Jennea, what was life like for you in adolescence, like your middle school years. I know that you traveled through some really dark times. You got really vulnerable in the documentary. So, what was going on with you during those years?
Um, well, I think when I hit 12 or 13 I started experiencing the pain and I realized that it hurt, because when you’re a kid, you’re experiencing everything for the first time. So when I turned 1 or 13, I was like, “Oh, when that happened, that hurt me and I’m hurting right now because of it.”
So, yeah, just got in a group of friends who were going through similar things, broken homes and whatever. And with social media self-harm was a big thing and a reliever. So, I guess I just fell into that and I didn’t know how to use, I didn’t know how to articulate that I was hurting. So that’s why self-harm was how I did it. I had so much pain in my heart that I didn’t know how to express it, or I didn’t have anyone I could trust enough to tell how much I was hurting.
Yeah, for sure. So all of that sort of comes to the head at the end of 2012, beginning of 2013. So describe for us what happened in January of 2013.
Well, when I was 14 I kind of hit rock bottom, just like having suicidal thoughts, just ‘cause it felt like, suicide felt like an unplug from life. I felt like I couldn’t escape my pain. I felt like it was too much to bear.
So, in January of 2013 I went to a boarding school, actually in Lafayette, Indiana. It’s called Awakening Youth. Yeah, I mean, it changed my life. And when you hear boarding school, you either thing military school or like program. And it was neither of those. It was a therapeutic experience and it was like nothing I had ever had before.
So, Brian, what was it like to drop Jennea off at boarding school?
It was the hardest day of my life. One of the hardest days emotionally, because I’d been walking with God and the number one thing was like: Keep her close to you. And here I was living the opposite. So, it looked like God had failed me. But I had nowhere to go, because I knew he was real, and knew that I felt his love and I developed this relationship with him. So I just had to trust that this was a good move for her.
And I had some good counsel and some advice from friends; and she needed the feminine touch in her life, right? She was with dad, and I’m just—look at me, you know? So she needed that feminine touch. So when I took her to the school…
It’s crazy. We were in California during Christmas and at that time she had really damaged her arms with self-harm from shoulders to wrists. So it was like in the danger zone. And I had to trick her and tell her that we were just going to visit someone and just stop by and see the facility, or whatever I said, because she threatened to run away.
So we walked in there, looked at it and she was voicing to me with her mouth, “Let’s go. Let’s get out of here.” And so the founder, Tiffany, looked at me and said, “Tell her.” And I said, “Jennea, we’re not just visiting. I’m enrolling you here.”
And she lost it. Broke right in front of me, and just started crying. And I just looked at her and I said, “I’ll never abandon you. I’m not giving you to somebody because I’m done with you and I don’t love you.”
I just… I cried for a couple of days, drove to the airport, flew straight home to Nashville, just sat in my house for a couple of days. I was so bummed. I felt like a failure as a parent and why did it have to come to this? But it was a new beginning and it set a new chapter in her life and in my life that would get us to the point where we are at right now.
Absolutely.
Thank you.
You did not want to be there. So what changed?
Oh my goodness. Well, I think what is important to recognize is that, um, because I was tossed around from family to family to nanny to nanny, my dad’s here, my dad’s not here, you know—I didn’t learn proper bonding as a kid, especially with my mom being gone too. So when he dropped me off, it triggered abandonment issues, you know, inside of me.
I guess when… It took years for me to really trust that this was going to be good for me and that I was not being punished, being in the school wasn’t a punishment, it was sincerely something that would change my life, you know?
So, all I wanted was friends who loved me for me and not just because I’m his daughter. And I wanted just consistency and wanted to go to school and do sports and do like the normal thing. And that’s what Awakening provided. So, it changed my life. It gave me self-esteem. It helped me learn who I was without all of the noise of social media and what not. So, yeah, it was amazing.
And it’s been amazing, because I think I first met you when you were like 14 or 15 and so it’s been amazing just to watch you grow and mature. You’d always sit right behind me on the second row, as you come to church here. And Brian would show up every now and then and I’d be like—I’d do a double take, is that Jesus?
No, he’s got tattoos, that’s not Jesus.
Yeah, we’ve been coming here off and on for a long time. I just had to sell my house. I had a little condo. Because she’s been here so long, I got a condo so we could have our own space. I also live in Nashville so five years I was here, and I just sold it. My realtor, Jason, sold it for me in like 27 hours or something crazy. So, I’m sad to go but she’s still here so I come back a lot and I love Indy, it’s got a special place in my heart.
Yeah, for sure. For sure.
Um, Jennea, what would you say to other young people? There are probably a lot of young people here that can’t relate to everything in your story, but they can relate to a lot of it. So what would you say to young people right here who are being bullied, maybe they are hurting themselves, just feeling that there’s no hope? How would you encourage them today?
Oh my gosh. Well, I would just take their little hand, because I think that personal connection is so important. That’s what changed my life. And so, just tell them that they are not alone and that their circumstance isn’t untouchable. “If I can get through suicidal thoughts and be happy to wake up in the morning and enjoy life, you can too.” And I would just say, “You are worth fighting for.”
For sure. Yeah. It’s so true and, honestly, you can’t see it now, but all of that is fuel to give you fire for a passion that you can use to make such a huge difference. You see it time and time again where people have hard times in their lives, and it becomes a strength later on in life. So you just hang on and work through it now and it’s going to turn around and create something really magical in your life later, in the future.
Seriously, pain has a purpose. It’s true. You know it as a pastor. God doesn’t waste any pain.
It refines you and it’s part of your story. It’s a great way to put it.
So, Brian, you quit the band, walked away. But then a few years ago you reunited… I mean these guys were like your brothers. You grew up with them. You run into them at some kind of a festival and we want to show a video clip of you playing with the band for the first time after you quit. Take a look at this video.
Does he know? Yeah.
Did you hear that? Brian “Head” Welch is getting ready to play blind with us with over 30,000 peeps in North Carolina.
[Member of the band] I want to bring out one of my fewest and oldest and most beloved friends—my boy. You guys want to see him play a thing? Let’s see that people [band jamming].
See… When he was up there it felt really good, it felt really right, it felt like the band again and everything was right. And, uh, all I could really do was cry, man.
Wow, Korn never sounded so good in church.
Yeah, wow! That’s a killer system that they’ve got here, right?
So, man, those concerts are crazy. I mean you invited me to a concert a couple of years ago and I got to stand up on stage. I forgot my ear plugs, so it was like so loud.
Did it traumatize you?
Traumatize me? You were throwing guitar picks at me after every song.
But I invited you last summer and you didn’t come, so I didn’t know if I…
I was in Idaho. No, I was in Idaho.
I’m just joking.
So, you and I have talked about this before. The decision to go back to Korn—why did you do that? Especially like you walked away before. You were like, “I can’t have anything to do with that world.” I know you got a lot of criticism from Christians, probably still do. Why did you go back to the band?
Because it’s God’s fault. He’s sneaky, man. It’s like my whole story was, “Oh, he left everything. He left millions of dollars. He left a 23-million-dollar deal, didn’t get any part of it. Followed Jesus,” and that was like my story.
And then, next thing you know, he starts… Honestly, I didn’t really care about anything because it’s an upside-down kingdom with God, you know? And I didn’t care about the riches. I loved living by faith. So I wanted to just live this thing for real.
But when he led me back into the band… I played that show and I’m like, “That was cool. I got closure,” because we left in a really dysfunctional way. I finally got closure with the band. And you know the guy cries, and he looked at me after the show and he said, “If we never do anything together again, thank you for giving me this one last memory.” That’s what he told me. He was genuine.
So, months pass—like two months pass. And the other guitar player, James, who was one of my best friends of my whole life, he asked me if I would come and write on the new record. And I was like, “You know, I’m doing my own thing.” And he said, “The door is open.” And we kept in contact and I couldn’t put it down. The thought was just like, reconciliation. That was the word of that year. Every where I went, everybody was saying reconciliation, reconciliation. And I knew that God was reconciling.
So I got counsel. I got advice from people. And next thing you know, I’m meeting with them. I talked to the management and I said, “This is what I need to come back,” as far as like, “this is who I am now.” And they said, “Whatever you want. Anything you want.”
“Okay, well, I’ve got a band. I just put a record together. And I need to work for the label. I need to tour.”
“Okay, bring your band on tour with Korn.” It was like: Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. So, here I am, and it’s been six years and now everywhere I go I do things like this, in different countries and everything. And it’s just—God’s all over it.
Yeah. One of the things that… Yeah, give it up.
One of the things that I really appreciate about you is just your heart. You’re just the real deal. And I’ve seen you on stage like that. I’ve seen you on stage like this. I’ve been with you one on one and what you see is what you get with you. And you’re taking the platform and the influence that you have and you’re using it to point people to Jesus and I really appreciate that about you.
Right on. Thank you. That means a lot.
One Scripture that I really try to live, and I know there is someone out there who has probably seen the opposite, but it says to consider others better than yourself. So I try to give people like that kindness and everything, whether it’s at airports, anywhere you know? I just try to give people… I like to listen to stories from people, because I tell my story so much and I love to hear people and their life journey. So, yeah, that’s it. Just trying to be Christlike, you know?
For sure. Jennea, tell us what you’re doing now. What are you passionate about? What are you excited about? How’s God working in your life?
Oh my goodness. Um, well honestly, my main passion right now and I think until I die is, I want kids in single parent homes or who are in the foster care system to experience the same care that I did.
So, me and the founder of Awakening Youth, Tiffany Claywell, we started a campaign and it’s called Catch the Vision. And you can get these bookmarks out on the merchandise table. But there are so many kids who need help like I did, who need the type of care that changed my life. We need resources. So our goal is to have 2,000 donors by February 22, 2020, whether that’s a donation of $500 for 2020, or $41 dollars per month.
So, if you feel led to give, there is a bookmark on the merchandise table. It will help finance—it will help two facilities for boys and girls—it will help license Awakening for a group home, it will help give scholarships to kids who don’t have the money to come. And so, it’s just an incredible thing. I believe in it so much.
And I have supported them over the years too. And Korn is now getting involved. Yeah, so the Cast the Vision thing, you’d just be partnering with all of us. We’re hoping to put on an Indiana show to raise money for them.
And there are kids right now knocking on the door, but they can’t get in. So, yeah, they want to get to this spot in their ministry that the door is just going to open and flourish. And these kids need it, man. The kids in America are so… With the opioids, with the depression, with the comments on Instagram, the shatter of young life just with words—there is so much help needed.
And it breaks my heart when people can’t get the help because of lack of resources or whatever. They’re going to find a way to get to the point where they are licensed by the State. So we’ve just got to get them over the hump until they are licensed and then it will all flow naturally.
Yeah, and we’re big fans of Awakening Youth, love how God has used that ministry to impact your life.
Hopefully you guys will check that out and be supportive.
Hey, can I just ask the two of you, either one, however you guys want to do this—I’d love for you to look out at all of these people or look into the camera, there are a lot of people on the other side of that camera watching, and speak to anybody today who maybe is here or tuned in because somebody invited them. They were a big fan of Korn and that’s the only reason why they showed up or tuned in, but they’re not really into church, they don’t know that they believe in God, and they are hanging on by a thread looking for hope—what would you say to them.
I would say that’s just like I was. So, you are just like I was just a few years ago. And I’m going to tell it to you straight. One of the definitions of insanity is doing the same things in life and expecting different results. So you have to dig deep inside and say, “Everything changes now. Everything changes here. All of the steps that I’m going to take are going to work for my good and my life is going to see different results.”
So, you’re here for a reason. You’ve got to reach deep inside of you and just be bold, man. I promise you—it’s been 15 years. There are so many other musicians in metal community, there are sports figures—it’s not the Ned Flanders days anymore. God is coming and he is working with people and he’s making Christianity authentic, because it is authentic. And the religious stuff is going to die.
Don’t get discouraged by the politicians and everything that brings confusion to it, Jesus is a relational God. Who wants a god that doesn’t understand suffering? He understands suffering. That’s why he came.
So, you know, everything he went through is because he can look at you as God and be like: I understand.
“Well, I went through this…
I understand. So, he’s here for you. All you’ve got to do is say: Yes. That’s it.
Love it. Love it.
Anything you want to add at all. You don’t have too.
I guess, ditto. I would just want to encourage anyone who is an addict or a child-lived addict or knows someone who is an addict, I just want to encourage you to know that you’re not alone and I feel like kids who grew up with addict parents or in a single parent homes, they feel like they can’t talk about it. I just want you to know that if you’re hurt, I’m fighting for you. I’m doing this thing so we can talk about it and create a discussion and you’re not alone.
That’s great. That’s great.
Yeah, and I just want to say one last thing. Your kids deserve the best version of daddy, the best version of mommy that they can have in this life. Life is too short. Do it for them today. Someone needed to hear that I think.
For sure. For sure.
Well, what we want to do is, Brian, I’m going to give you an opportunity to pray over everyone. But I want to pray over the two of you as well. And, Jennea, we’re going to pray just for… I just think that you are at the beginning of your story. It’s amazing to see how God is using you and your voice and the platform, that you’re just going to help a ton of, not just young people, I think it will be young people, I think it will be people of multiple generations and I’m just really praying for you and what God is going to do through your story.
And Brian, just continued strength. I pray regularly for you anyway, brother. And I know that you’re getting ready to go back on tour later this month.
I’ve asked him if I can share this. He’s just wrestling with some back pain and he was just sort of crying out to God yesterday on his drive in, just asking him to do something about that. So we’re going to pray over your back pain, pray for you while you’re going to be on the road and the influence that you’re going to have over the thousands of people who you are going to come in contact with.
I appreciate that very much.
Yeah, so why don’t you pray and then I’ll pray over the two of you and then we’ll wrap it up.
Alright. Well, Lord, like I said… I mean we come to you, we just communicate. That’s it. You want a relationship. This is not something where we have to go through a priest or anything. We come directly to you, boldly. That’s what your word says. Come boldly to the throne of grace.
And grace is the power to help us in our time of need. So I ask you for everybody in here that you would give them that grace to help them in their time of need. And give them the boldness to reach out. They have a pastor who is not afraid to go to Korn shows, Lord. They can trust this place.
We thank you. Thank you that no human eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has conceived the wonderful things that you have for us. The next verse says, but you have revealed it to us by your Spirit. So your Spirit gives us glimpses of the goodness of you and what you are capable of. So give that gift from the Spirit of grace, just of that hope in people’s hearts right now. I ask you for angels to just surround them here and at home.
And, Lord, just like earlier, I just loved seeing the family—the dad had tattoos on his face and mom came up and got baptized and then three kids after them. It was so touching. That’s what it is about, Lord. Family—you’re all about family.
And we don’t have to be cookie cutters looking like everybody else. We can be true, authentic versions of ourselves. Look at me, Lord. I’m freaky looking and you love me just the way I am. And I thank you for it. I thank you for everything. Bless everybody’s brand new year, 2020. Amen.
Father, we’re so grateful for this conversation and just the fact that we can be real before you. And I thank you for Brian and Jennea and their willingness to share their story with so many people and how they are so quick to admit their own faults and how they still don’t have it all figured out, but they continue to point people to you. And I’m grateful that they would take time out of their busy schedule to come and just encourage our church family today. I just want to lift both of them up.
God, I pray for Jennea as she is launching out into this ministry, as she is finding her voice and she’s getting her footing as so many people want to listen to what she has to say—not just because she’s Brian’s daughter, but because of who she is. And, God, I just pray that you would take her story and multiply it a thousand times over to impact and save the lives of countless people who are struggling and feel like they are all alone. Thank you for the miracle you worked in her life. People who have gone through far less have walked away from you bitter, and Jennea has chosen to say sweet and connected to you.
And, God, I lift up my friend, Brian, and I’m so thankful for how you have worked in his life. It’s amazing. It’s supernatural. It’s powerful. It’s real. And, God, I ask that you would just touch his back. I know that he’s been going through back pain for a while now and I just ask that you heal him and alleviate the pain, especially before he gets ready to go back on tour. I pray for safety in his travels. I pray that you would help him to continue to chase after you like he is and stay close to you. You’re not anywhere close to being done with him yet. And I just thank you for the way that he just, so freely, uses his platform to point people to you.
And, God, I just pray for those who came today or are listening or watching today and a few hours ago almost talked themselves out of showing up because this is church and they don’t know that you’re real, they don’t know if they believe in you, they’ve had a bad experience—too many Ned Flanders in their lives. And, God, I’m so thankful that they decided to show up and I pray that right now that they would feel your presence, even if they are not sure that they believe in you. That they would feel something that they can’t fully explain. That they would feel a warmth from your Spirit. That they would know that they are loved, and they would know that they matter, because they do.
And I pray that they would come to see so clearly that this isn’t a religion, this the gospel of your grace and that you receive anybody just as they are, right where they are, and will walk them into a new season of life. I pray that would happen, not just for one individual, but for multiple people today. That this would be a new beginning. That their story is not over. That they are not too far gone. You love them wherever they are.
So, Father, we give you all of the glory for that. And we thank you for being a real God who loves real people. And we give this to you right now in Jesus’ name: Amen.
Hey, can we show Brian and Jennea how much we appreciate them? Thank you, guys.
Happy 2020! Much love Indianapolis.
Hey, I just want to ask you to go ahead and take a seat if you would, really quick. We just want to give you a couple of minutes just to sit and reflect and then we’re going to dismiss the service. But I really want to hone in on the fact that if you’re here today and, man, you feel like God is leading you toward some sort of decision, you don’t have to have all of this figured out today, you don’t need to sign anything today, you don’t need to do anything today other than just be you and just say, “God, I just want to have an encounter with you just like Brian and Jennea have.”
And he’s more than willing to meet you in that space. So, I want to encourage you to take a few minutes just to reflect on what you’ve heard and then we’ll give you time to respond in just a minute. So, go ahead and pray.
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