10 More Minutes with Eric Peoples

[00:00:11] Speaker A: Hello and welcome to another episode of 10 More Minutes. I'm your host, Kevin Neville and I'm here with the reverend doctor. Or is it Dr. Reverend Eric Peoples. [00:00:21] Speaker B: Eric's great. As long as you don't call me any other crazy names. [00:00:24] Speaker A: Well, Eric, why don't you tell us a little. Tell us all a little bit about what are you up to these days. Where you at? What's going on at Legacy? [00:00:32] Speaker B: Ooh. Okay. Well, I have the honor to be the lead pastor of Legacy Church. We planted. We're in our 12th year now. It's amazing with my wife and just incredible team of people and I don't say it lightly. I really think over the reality of being able to do something together and make it be a part of the kingdom is such an honor. And with my doing it with my wife, 35 years with a great group of people, it's just been. It's been pretty incredible. And yeah, we, we have been on the gas for these 12 years. Nine years portable. So I get the pain of portable. And God bless. [00:01:14] Speaker A: And then you're not in the south either. You still have to deal with that had to do with the winters. [00:01:18] Speaker B: Oh yeah. And. But it was just. It's just the, the story was just amazing. Is. And so we, we moved into our building. We did a. Bought a building, did a design build. Did that in. In record time. Is amazing. Again with a great building committee team. I got the coffee and the pizza and they helped, they. They helped make this thing happen. [00:01:41] Speaker A: But I gotta say, I actually got this walkthrough as you are getting close to the finish. And I'm passionate about layouts in a church because I think that really says a lot about what your importance and, and I loved your layout. You know, it's just. [00:01:54] Speaker B: Thanks. It was, it was just, it was a. It was a co labor of love and we was just. It was just. It's been amazing. Now we're, you know, we. There's acceleration, we're growing. And so now all of a sudden this, this big spacious building's feeling a little, little small. But it's okay. It's all good. It's all good. It's all God. It's like. Yeah, it's again, it's a. It's an honor to be, to just be a part in this now season of what God's doing at Legacy Church. And yeah, we're looking to days ahead to another campus. So things are moving okay. [00:02:27] Speaker A: There's always, always something next on the calling, right? [00:02:31] Speaker B: Yes. [00:02:31] Speaker A: I think that's a Paul Johansson thing. What are you building next? What are you building next? Design it. Well, thanks for. You're one of the main speakers here at Oasis 2025. Your worship team is here leading us. You got. [00:02:45] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. It could have made it any easier for me. It's like when you have your worship team, they're leading before you preach. You're like, oh, this feels normal. This is cool. This feels great. And, and again, they. But folks, parents, teachers, different people, they're together serving. And so it was a, you know, just a trip coming together and it was really fun. They had a great time. And, and the Lord moved and, you know, and the feedback from people about what's been happening, it's just good. And, and it's. It's always fun to be able to encourage, inspire family. You know, I've been around Elam since, oh, man, a long time. 37 years. [00:03:25] Speaker A: My goodness. [00:03:26] Speaker B: So, yeah, I, I remember. I remember being in. Being in this space. And this space wasn't a building, this was a cornfield. [00:03:34] Speaker A: I've walked through it many times and. [00:03:36] Speaker B: Moments and places and spaces where the Lord made. Met me in Elam. And so it's, It's a. It's an honor also to be a part. To be able to speak to, you know, the constituencies serving. As an elder, his is also. It's a privilege and honor to try and help fulfill the. The purpose of God for Elam fellowship. So. [00:03:57] Speaker A: Amen. And I love this, this next phase that, that you're leading with your message, you know, leaders that finish well, you know, but that takes you all the way from when you start the calling to, you know, the end of the calling. Give us a. I mean, I've got some notes here, but from your point of view, give us a summary of that sermon. [00:04:19] Speaker B: Really, it's a call, a clarifying call to intergenerational leadership. You know, those familiar with the story of. With Joshua and Caleb and the tension of going to the promised land, going in and the spies, the 12 spies and two coming out and having. Having a word that was actually what God said. And then the attitudes of the others that were so contradictory. You know, there's lessons from the wilderness that we can learn that we can, you know, really, I think it's just come to grips with because no matter where you find yourself in the journey of faith, there are people that you look to and say, man, these people are like, wow, you know, sister so and so, brother so and so or whoever. They seem like they're really after it and we began to look and reference their lives and you know, the journey that Joshua and Caleb went where they saw the deliverance of God, they crossed the Red Sea, they saw all these amazing things. And then inside of you know, the crossing, the provision, all the other pieces they're now seeing, people say well where is God? And I just, it's amazing where there's times I think in our lives where we go well where's God? There's situations that go on and we have reference points of those people who are say well this is, you know, this is, this is what God, this is where God is. This is his faithfulness. This is how he's, you know, how he's showing up in the moment when we can't see it. And then there's times that you hear people say well this isn't God. And you're like, well I know in my knower it is God. [00:06:00] Speaker A: Right? Right. [00:06:02] Speaker B: So I just love that the, this portion of scripture is so real. It's so, it's so, you know, it's, it's our lived experiences as we grow up and shorten the things of God where we want to be on the right side of the story. Right where here are a bunch of, at the end of the day, a bunch of basically two 40 year olds. God says you two 40 year olds are going to go into the promised land and be a part of the leadership team, Joshua even leading the team. But you 20 year olds and up, you're not going. That's wild. It's wild to me. And so the key part of this, of sharing these things means that a 20 something is sitting listening to this message, can't say oh yeah, these 60 year old people, it's intergenerational call to recognize. Wait a second, how are we aligning our hearts? I remember as 20 something year old, I mean I was very, you know, I knew everything. I was and I thought I was the most transparent person in the world. So you start realizing, wait a second dude, I'm actually kind of messed up. I need, I need God to work through some stuff in me. And so this, this, this message presses on. The comes, comes against the arrogance of ignorance of God being able to move God being of saying somehow his promises aren't yes and amen after we've actually seen successes. And I just, it just, it grips my heart to, to be able to say young leader, old leader, there's some lessons for us to learn here and. [00:07:34] Speaker A: That'S one of the things I love the most. What's My passion about is that looking at the generations and seeing that there's none that are put out to pasture, you know, that we really need to learn the lesson of how each generation acts, you know, and your sermon divided into two parts, you know, the first, the lessons that they had to learn in the wilderness, you know, and then at the end is how did they take those lessons to lead strong and lead, you know, finish well? [00:08:00] Speaker B: Yeah. I mean, if you're thinking about this, how about the fact that God makes us decree, right? He says, no. He goes, I am Joshua. I'm calling Joshua. You know, he's. God speaks to Moses, says, hey, listen, Joshua, he's the guy. And then he says, and Caleb is also going to be. Is going to be make it into this, this the elimination round, because he is. He's been faithful in all his ways. Wow. [00:08:29] Speaker A: Wow. [00:08:29] Speaker B: Faithful in all his ways. I mean, just a mere fact of these, of the running for their lives, being pursued by Pharaoh, seeing all these challenges, being around millions of people. [00:08:40] Speaker A: Wow. [00:08:40] Speaker B: Right? And it's like, here's this. I'm like, lord, I want to be counted among those who just is able to stand and who isn't disqualified because I let my insecurity or maturity get in the way. And I think that one of the big keys about, you know, finishing well is it's all. If we're not careful, sometimes we can get so discouraged we're finished. But we didn't finish well. And so how do we avoid those things? I think it's recognizing, well, what, wait, what have we been through? Where are we going? How are we seeing God's so faithfulness? What are we even saying? Are we. Are we, you know, are we guarding our mouths and our hearts? Because out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. How are we walking and moving in a level of integrity and humility that not only gets God's attention, but protects us from being disqualified from what God has for us. [00:09:33] Speaker A: Right? And, and, and we could say, oh, well, what about the circumstances? But you know, with Caleb and, you know, he went through everything. He went back into the desert for 40 years. He went through everything. But it's still that, you know, when it was time for him to take the mountain, it didn't come from nowhere. No, it came from a whole life. [00:09:53] Speaker B: Yeah. He's attending funerals for 40 years. That's just like what, like. And 40 years. And I mean, God basically says, yeah, that's what's happening. 40 years. This is what your attitude was. So 40 years of this. And, you know, for all those who love to change their clothes on different outfits, don't forget, they weren't changing a lot of their outfits. [00:10:15] Speaker A: The shoes didn't wear out, but you didn't get new shoes. Right. [00:10:18] Speaker B: The never ending story. Like, wow, it's like Groundhog Day all over again. Like, man, you know, and so what do you do with that? How do you. And I think there's the power of consistency, which I was just really, my heart to encourage leaders is don't, don't give up. It's. Even for the older leader. It's, it's a, it's a. It might be a new season, but it's the same reason we're. We're living our lives. We're seeking to serve God, to be a people who rightly represents God for the sake of the gospel, to win the lost. [00:10:52] Speaker A: I love that I have that right here, you know, that new season, same reason. [00:10:57] Speaker B: Yeah. Because I just. Let's not lose that. [00:11:01] Speaker A: Well, let me combine the last two questions so you can kind of answer it as the story. You know, how did this sermon come about in your life? And if you had 10 more minutes to add onto it, what would you have added? [00:11:17] Speaker B: I think the sermons is a part of just my, you know, the life story. You know, we're called Legacy Church. I believe in the powerful Legacy. I had the joy. And maybe people think I'm crazy. I was a youth pastor for 19 years. I served in different roles. Assistant, associate, senior associate, you know, and now as a lead pastor, the fact is, I just saw the power, the influence of generations. I, I had the privilege of, of being around people like Paul Johansson, even my, My, my dad, my grandfather. Knowing where you came from, it empowers you in such a major way to know where you're going, you know, and so it's the power of understanding. Well, this was my history, but that doesn't mean it's necessarily my destiny. This can. That gives me the power to even know, to understand. Like, well, not where have I come? Where am I coming from? But whose am I? [00:12:13] Speaker C: And how do I have to think differently? [00:12:15] Speaker B: You know, the older we get, the bigger the excuses are. Well, this is how I am. God knows my heart. He knows where to find me. And we're like, well, that doesn't. That's not an excuse that he's. Yes, he does. He knows our heart. It's desperately wicked. Okay. [00:12:31] Speaker C: That's right. [00:12:32] Speaker A: Okay. [00:12:32] Speaker B: Because he knew. [00:12:33] Speaker A: Aha. [00:12:33] Speaker B: He knows where I am. Yes, that's right. Draw near to Me and I'll draw near you. That's what God says. Okay, so there's these moments that we have of maturity, whether we like it or not, right? We decide our responsibility. God's given me the grace. Now how am I going to respond to move in a way that my life makes a difference, you know? And so I look at that and I say, wait, how can I. How can I live a life that takes every excuse off the table for a young leader to say, I'm out. No, this stuff that we go through, challenge that we have, the things we've been through, how do we live our lives so powerfully that it's difficult for people to ignore us? And here's the other, a wild statistic, just one of the drivers, the undertow of what, you know, stirs my heart is, you know, if we don't decide to live powerfully and to make a difference, I mean, so I'm talking about intentional living. Within 50 years of your death, no one remembers you. [00:13:31] Speaker A: Wow. [00:13:32] Speaker B: How about that? And I've heard it said that the. That the, you know, the. Where the. Not. Not the funeral home, but literally the cemetery is the. Is the wealthiest place in the world because in it are books that never written, patents that were never created, words that were never shared. You know, all these different creative things that just die with us. So my attitude is, die empty. [00:13:58] Speaker A: Wow. [00:13:58] Speaker B: Spend yourself. [00:13:59] Speaker C: And, you know, I can find. That's the power of saying to people. I think the people encourage you. Listen, this is going to be. This journey is going to be painful. It's going to change you. You're going to look differently. You're not going to look the same. [00:14:12] Speaker B: Something is going to change, but it says changing the. Changing the way you think. Come on. [00:14:17] Speaker C: And when we change the way you think, then. [00:14:19] Speaker B: Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. My. [00:14:25] Speaker C: The last 10 minutes of my. [00:14:27] Speaker B: What I want. [00:14:28] Speaker C: If I could just sum that up, it's like, listen, let's present ourselves before God, holy as a living sacrifice, being. [00:14:37] Speaker B: Willing to change, be transformed in our. In just as a person. [00:14:42] Speaker C: You know, where you see somebody maybe 20 years ago, like, man, that guy's so different. Like, I have guys before I came to Christ, and they're sharing stories. Remember back in the day, I went to my high school reunion not too long ago, and I was actually a. [00:14:55] Speaker B: Keynote speaker, which was hilarious. I'm like, me, I was such a crazy person. [00:15:01] Speaker C: And the funny part was, though, they were telling me stories and it's like they were talking about a different person. It's like I don't even remember that. Like, that's weird. [00:15:07] Speaker B: That's weird. Like, I must have been a real idiot. [00:15:09] Speaker C: But it talks about. But the idea of changing how you think and then realize coming to grace with it's good. God's purposes for us is good and pleasing and perfect. And so here they are. They do what God says. They go into the promised land. It doesn't mean there weren't any battles or any challenges, but what it did mean was because they said yes to God, like we're called to do, it qualifies. It pre qualifies us for experiences and encounters. And I believe a legacy that far outlives us, outlasts us. [00:15:40] Speaker B: I mean, look at Caleb. [00:15:41] Speaker C: Caleb, Caleb had to wait for another 45 years. Basically where I'm going to say, God, I am, you know, I'm as strong as I ever was. [00:15:49] Speaker B: What? [00:15:50] Speaker C: It wasn't physical strength. It was a passion and a deep knowing in his knower that what God promised, he was able to do and the same for us. [00:15:58] Speaker A: And it wasn't like he was, you know, this old guy that they gave sympathy. Oh, yeah, yeah, sure you are. He went and took the mountain. [00:16:04] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:16:05] Speaker A: You know, and yeah, everything that came up to it was, it wasn't. He didn't just sit around and decide. It was the transformation of his mind. So when it came to that time, it wasn't a deep thought, I imagine it was just that was the natural thing to do. [00:16:18] Speaker B: And I just, I think that the capstone on this, the lid on this is this, is that the sacrifice, the challenges, they're worth it. They're worth it because I can look those ahead of me, you know, Paul Johansson, to other people near almost 90 years old and their lives have been their lives proclaim trumpet. It's worth it. [00:16:41] Speaker A: And if you do it right, all will be well. [00:16:44] Speaker B: That's it. Finishing well is where out of 800 leaders and we see in the scripture moments 20%. [00:16:53] Speaker A: Wow. Well, thank you again. We could go on forever, but this was only supposed to be 10 minutes, but that's okay. This is God. This is Kevin Neville again. This has been another episode of ten More minutes and we'll see you on the next episode. Thanks again. God bless. [00:17:10] Speaker B: Awesome. Awesome.