Bryce Crawford

Bryce Crawford is a 22-year-old street preacher, an evangelist, and the founder of Jesus in the Street. Known for bringing his Christian faith directly into public spaces, he travels across the U. S. sharing the gospel in cities, on college campuses, and at large gatherings. After struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts as a teenager, Crawford experienced a life-changing encounter with God on Christmas Day in 2020, a turning point that led him into full-time ministry. Through Bryce Crawford Ministries and his podcast, he shares street conversations, testimony, and Christian teaching with a new generation of believers. He is also the founder of Praise Energy, a faith-driven beverage brand aligned with his broader mission to bring Christianity into everyday culture. ------ Thank you to the sponsors that fuel our podcast and our team: Anthropic https://Claude.com/tetra ------ AGZ https://DrinkAG1.com/tetra ------ LMNT Electrolytes https://DrinkLMNT.com/tetra Use code 'TETRA' ------ Squarespace https://Squarespace.com/tetra Use code 'TETRA' ------ Lectio 365 https://Lectio365.com ------ Sign up to receive Tetragrammaton Transmissions https://www.tetragrammaton.com/join-newsletter

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:02Rick Rubin?

  Tetragrammaton.

• 0:23Speaker 01

  I grew up in church, so I kind of knew a lot about basic Christian things. I went to a Southern Baptist church, so it was like dressed fairly nicer, you know, khaki pants, button up. We sang hymns, we sang songs and they would preach at the end. We would take communion about once a month and it was a lot of people that I would see throughout the week too. It wasn't just like I would only see them on Sunday. So, yeah, I grew up there, then we kind of stopped going every Sunday about fourth or fifth grade and we were just going every now and then, holidays, that was about it.

• 1:00Rick Rubin?

  How many people in the church?

• 1:02Speaker 01

  Oh, man, a couple hundred, maybe. Then that would be like on a holiday. So I think consistently, maybe 100 people.

• 1:10Rick Rubin?

  And what would be the feeling in the room?

• 1:13Speaker 01

  I don't know, I guess for me, when I was young, it was it was just a lot, it was more routine. It was just, oh, you know, we're coming here, we're singing a few hymns, singing a few songs, we pass around the offering plate. There's a 20, 30 minute message and then we close. And then as I got older, it felt, I don't know how to say it, like weird. Weird, I guess that's the only word to describe it. It was just kind of difficult because I was starting to learn more and just kind of understanding like, okay, I'm having a hard time because like I'm seeing you at church on Sunday and you're encouraging me to live my life one way, but then I'm seeing you outside a church doing something completely different. So it felt, it felt like you're holding two north magnets together and they're like repelling against each other. And I'm like, I don't know how to feel about this right now.

• 1:54Rick Rubin?

  And you think most of the people around you felt the same way?

• 1:59Speaker 01

  I think if they were being honest, yes. I think even outside of that church in my hometown. I grew up in Georgia, so most everybody went to church.

• 2:08Rick Rubin?

  But you think people went out of the ritual, not out of the love?

• 2:13Speaker 01

  Yeah, I don't think to the core, that's like completely inherently bad. You know what I mean? Like, discipline is a good thing. And, you know, sometimes I don't feel like going to the gym, but I choose to go to the gym. So, you know, obligation may not be necessarily bad. But I think there is, in the South in particular, this, they call it the Bible Belt for a reason. Everybody goes to church and everybody does the thing. And so I definitely thought it was interesting when I met the first few Christians that I could see actually really loved God. And I'm not dogging on people. And I, you know, I don't know everybody else's faith standing, but like from an outward appearance, you could go, wow, that person really loves God. Kind of like caught me off guard because I wasn't used to that charisma and excitement about Jesus.

• 2:55Rick Rubin?

  And then when did you first feel like your own personal connection?

• 3:00Speaker 01

  So I had two encounters with Jesus. One of them was just a moment, and then the other one fueled me into being a believer. The second one is really the most important. The first one was kind of vague. I just remember feeling like an overwhelming love in my car, driving home from school and recognizing that it was the Lord. It was amazing. And then, you know, you like ride that high for two days and then you kind of forget and you're like, wow, is God even there? And then it just went back to normal.

• 3:29Rick Rubin?

  And do you know what sparked that one?

• 3:31Speaker 01

  No, nothing really sparked it. I remember just driving home. I've always been a thinker. I like to think. That can, you know, harm you and help you sometimes. But I was driving home thinking after sports practice one day. And I remember experiencing the love of God in the car. And that was like the most addicting truth I've ever felt. And I'm like, wow, this is amazing. That was the first time I've ever felt God. And so I was overwhelmed. I just began to weep in my car. That's all I remember is weeping in my car. And then I called my grandma because she was a saint, loved Jesus, and just is such a servant, still is. I was just like, I don't know what's happening. But it but it lasted that car ride and then a couple of days went by and it was

• 4:14Speaker 01

  almost like I had forgotten who Jesus was and I went back to doing whatever I wanted to do. And that left me off worse than before. Cause I had experienced truth and then you leave the truth for deception or a lie and leaves you hanging. But the second time was was more intense, more vivid, more, I can't forget.

• 4:35Rick Rubin?

  How old were you the first time?

• 4:37Speaker 01

  I was seventeen still, so I was seventeen both times.

• 4:40Rick Rubin?

  Both times?

• 4:40Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 4:40Rick Rubin?

  And then you don't know what led to the second one? It just happened?

• 4:43Speaker 01

  Well, I do know what led to the second one. So I, about the eighth grade, I developed depression and anxiety. And I'm like self diagnosing this, but it was every day I would come home and I would cry and be extremely sad in my bed, not wanna leave and complain. And I was having hardships with friends, hardships at home, and I didn't even know who Bryce was. And I I lost myself. I was drowning myself in sports and busyness and all of these things, but I would come home and just, for a lack of better terms, hate my life and hate what I was doing. And so when I was seventeen, I planned on taking my life because of the depression and anxiety. Not because I wanted to die, but it was just because I thought it was the only way to get the pain to go away. It was on December twenty fifth, twenty twenty, on Christmas.

• 5:27Speaker 01

  At nighttime, I went to Waffle House because it was like one of the only things open and it was slam packed in this Waffle House. And I was the most lustful, sinful, depressed, anxious version of myself walking into this Waffle House trying to escape one last time. And I couldn't sit down because everyone's with their families and they kept giving the booths and stuff to the family. So I grabbed this random guy and I'm like, hey, I'll pay for your meal if you'll be my partner so we can go sit down. He was like thirty something years old and we we sat down and I'm just sitting there eating and he started dumping all of his life issues on. He's, my wife's divorcing me, she's taking my kids and it's our last Christmas and I'm losing my money and I'm losing everything. And I'm sitting in there thinking.

• 6:12Speaker 01

  Yeah, I tried to escape my problems one last time. And here I am, and this random guy is just dumping his issues on me.

• 6:18Rick Rubin?

  Why do you think he felt like he could talk to you?

• 6:21Speaker 01

  You know, maybe sometimes it's easier to open up to people that you don't know. You know, maybe he was keeping it all in and then he just sees me and he's like letting it loose. And I was just letting it in one ear and out the other. Wasn't really listening to it. I don't know, I don't remember the specifics, but I just vividly remember I'm sitting there eating. And he said, I love my wife, but she doesn't feel the same about me. And then he said, there's no growth in a relationship if the love isn't mutual. And when he said that, it was like all of time had stopped. And all these Bible verses that I had learned in school or vacation Bible school or in church or whatever it may be were coming to my brain. And I always say the 18 inches between my head and my heart finally connected.

• 7:05Speaker 01

  And I get this supernatural revelation of, well, maybe I don't know that God loves me because I haven't given myself a chance to love him back. Like a relationship, you know, we're hanging out for the first time here, but we'll, we'll grow in relationship as we continue to hang and do things that you like and do things I like and eat meals together. And it was like, I had never done that with Jesus. And I let other people and things define who Jesus was, but that's not fair to Jesus. That's not fair to you. If I asked 100 people that have run into you, hey, what are your thoughts on Rick? Some people have good things to say, some people have bad things to say, but I won't know who you are unless I hang out with you. So I just began to cry and I threw money on the table for the bill and kind of ran out. And I ran to my car and I just said, Jesus, if you're real, take away my anxiety and depression.

• 7:50Speaker 01

  And even though I was the most broken, I was the most honest I'd ever been. And that crippling anxiety or depression I haven't had since that day. It's been over five years. That was my foot in the door.

• 8:02Rick Rubin?

  Before that, had you been praying regularly or was this kind of an unusual thing to do?

• 8:06Speaker 01

  This was an unusual thing to do. I had actually looked into other religions other than Christianity because. I was hurt by hypocrisy. It's like I told you about the church stuff and then I would see people in my hometown. Sometimes I would see people involved at my school doing stuff outside of school. And then when I was in the eighth grade, about that time I started depression and anxiety. My grandfather had pancreatic cancer and my family was like, you go to Christian school. You know, you need to go talk to him about Jesus so he can go to heaven kind of thing. And I understand the heart now, being older, but at the time, like, I didn't really care about Jesus. He wasn't like anything to me, other than the guy on my Bible quizzes and tests. And so I didn't make it a priority. And one day, he passed away. And so I blamed God for killing my grandfather.

• 8:51Speaker 01

  And so my perceived notion of Jesus was, well, if these people claim to love Jesus, but they're doing this, then you must be a hypocrite and you must have killed my grandfather. If pastors are cheating on their wives and stealing money from the church, you must be doing a bait and switch in some way. So I had looked into other religions three months before, because my junior year of high school, the Bible class we did was on other religions. So they were teaching you from the perspective of like, hey, here's these religions and what they believe. And here's them in comparison to Christianity and how they may contradict. But I was like intrigued, so I would look into them outside of the class with no bias of like, I'm gonna try to figure out how Christianity combats that.

• 9:34Speaker 01

  So I was looking at Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Mormonism, atheism, agnosticism, everything. And outside of, you know, atheism and agnosticism, it was all about how much I could do to get to perfection in some way. Hinduism and Buddhism, it's like, I want to build good Dharma, but don't get karma. You know, it's so hard. I make a bunch of mistakes and I'm broken. And I remember sitting there thinking, if I can't even fix my broken heart in a broken world, there's no way I could work to perfection. It's impossible. And so that left me really hopeless and sad. But that night, perfection met me when I was 17. And that's my big appeal to Jesus. That's why I love Him.

• 10:19Rick Rubin?

  How long was it between that prayer? And the feeling of depression lifting.

• 10:25Speaker 01

  Immediate, it felt like something had come off my chest.

• 10:28Rick Rubin?

  In the car?

• 10:28Speaker 01

  Yeah, and there's other things God didn't take away from me, but he took that away from me. And I'm like, wow, this is incredible. And I feel like the most broken person on the planet sometimes. So I was like, wow, if he can do it for me, he can really do it for anyone. And so that's kind of where it all started.

• 10:44Rick Rubin?

  And then when did he begin sharing the message?

• 10:47Speaker 01

  Immediately.

• 10:48Rick Rubin?

  Really?

• 10:48Speaker 01

  So I was on Christmas break and I had locked myself totally unhealthy, maybe, I don't know. Locked myself in my room with my Bible. And then I had this book called, it's a big, thick textbook called Systematic Theology. It was just like doctrine about Christianity because I wanted to know what I understood. And I made a video online that was like, hey, I had this encounter with Jesus and I don't know what to make of it. But I'm gonna tell everyone about him. I'll give me a couple of weeks. I'll come back and I'll start sharing what I know. And so online, offline, at the restaurant, in front of the iPhone camera, whatever it may be. I was talking about Jesus, talking about Jesus, talking about Jesus because he had saved my life. And that has been a consistent rhythm for over five years.

• 11:28Rick Rubin?

  And then how did people react to this?

• 11:31Speaker 01

  The first year of my life, I lost a lot of friends and I went to private Christian school. Being a Christian at private Christian school, you would think that's like.

• 11:38Rick Rubin?

  That'd be fine.

• 11:39Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah. And, you know, and I don't blame people. I think, you know, most people my age back then would, you know, get caught in the rhythm of you go to school five days a week, football game on Friday, practice after school. A parent makes you a meal at dinnertime or whatever. You get meal at lunch and it's, you know, you're caught in your own world. But I think people thought I was the righteous police. I think people thought I might have thought I was better than them. Because I had, I was giving up things I wasn't doing or giving up things that most people were doing. And stopped hanging out with certain people and was careful what I said and was spending my time other places. And so I can, I can understand maybe why people felt that way, but I lost a lot of friends and got bullied. I remember my senior year had started in August of 2021.

• 12:22Speaker 01

  And first football game, I got food thrown at me in the student section. Students didn't want to sit with me. Sometimes people would ignore me at school or wouldn't want to be my partner for a project.

• 12:33Rick Rubin?

  This is at a Christian school for preaching gospel, essentially.

• 12:38Speaker 01

  Yeah. And well, at the end, second semester of my junior year, after that Christmas break, people were just kind of confused. I think people thought it might have been like a high. No one really gave me a hard time for it during that like back few months after that that encounter at Christmas. But then summer came and I had gone to a few states and met up with some Christian friends I had met on social media and just outside of social media. And we'd go to Kentucky or San Antonio and we'd talk about Jesus and in the street. So I'd come back and I was, people were like, oh, this is real. I remember like the, we would do a retreat at the beginning of every, every year, the first week of school, the whole high school would go on a retreat. We went to this like campground and we're there and

• 13:20Speaker 01

  I remember in my free time, everyone's playing sports, I'm reading my Bible and kids would come up and slam my Bible shut in front of me, like while I was reading it. I had been out reading my Bible on this bench and I came back to my room and my bunk in the bunk bedroom was a disaster. People had like smeared food all over my pillow and stuff like that. And I'm just like, what the heck has happened? And so it would just be like stuff like that. People would kind of like poke fun at me for it. And I would go get ice cream in my hometown and people would make fun of me for talking about Jesus online or saying something here. And someone drove by one time to the ice cream shop and like threatened to beat me up. And I'm just like so confused and discouraged. But I had peace. And that, that was really

• 14:05Speaker 01

  what I was after. And that's really what other people were after.

• 14:07Rick Rubin?

  You were really sharing what was working for you. You were suffering and you're sharing what gave you peace?

• 14:14Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, because I had tried everything. And deep down, like as a Christian, like I believe that Jesus is the way. I'm like, man, I want everyone to follow Jesus because I think he's the truth. And, and I mean, he said it, I'm the way, the truth and the life. But essentially, yeah, I'm like, I've tried everything. This is what has worked for me. And I think he's the truth. Like, check him out. And everyone's like, dude, I don't want that.

• 14:32Rick Rubin?

  It's so funny to hear in a Christian school that that would be the case.

• 14:35Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's kind of ironic.

• 14:38Rick Rubin?

  Tell me about the world of Christianity on social media.

• 14:43Speaker 01

  I think it's it's grown into a lot of different things. Two months after I became a Christian, I met a hundred people that talked about Jesus online in some form or fashion from the iPhone that, you know, whether they made funny skits about Jesus or preached or whatever they did.

• 14:57Rick Rubin?

  Typically on Instagram or where would it be?

• 14:59Speaker 01

  TikTok and sometimes Instagram, YouTube, kind of not really. It was just more like the short form.

• 15:07Rick Rubin?

  Mostly TikTok.

• 15:08Speaker 01

  Yeah, mostly TikTok. It was because it was like booming in in 2022 and 2021, especially during COVID too. COVID, it really boomed and then after COVID, it was like super popular. I think now maybe half of those people aren't Christian anymore. And, you know, that's hard. That's like, that breaks my heart.

• 15:28Rick Rubin?

  Do you think it had something to do with COVID in particular?

• 15:31Speaker 01

  No, because we, this was kind of after COVID. So I, we all met in 2021 and 2022 and stuff like that. And it was kind of sad. I don't think it had to do with COVID. I think it had to do with quite a few things.

• 15:43Rick Rubin?

  Was everyone your age or approximately your age?

• 15:45Speaker 01

  Around there. I was the youngest at the time. So I was like 17. I was the youngest. And I think outside of me, it'd be like 18 to 25.

• 15:53Rick Rubin?

  Okay.

• 15:53Speaker 01

  People would be, and I'm still friends with most of them today.

• 15:56Rick Rubin?

  And they're people from all over the country?

• 15:58Speaker 01

  All over the country. I'm, I moved in with one of them when I moved to LA. Met some more friends out here, but these guys in particular, I think half of them aren't even Christian anymore. And I don't care if you post on social media or not, that's what I care. I'm just like, man, like it breaks my heart. We started and it was awesome. And then, you know, you're gone. I think that's the hard part.

• 16:16Rick Rubin?

  Are their stories similar to yours?

• 16:19Speaker 01

  Some can be, some might not be. Some people were raised in the church and then love the truth and you follow it. Like, that's, that's so beautiful. I'm glad that you didn't have to make a lot of crazy, crazy mistakes. But I had friends that had dabbled in atheism, that had encounters with Jesus. One of my friends had an encounter with Jesus watching the movie, The Passion of the Christ, like a really intense encounter with Jesus in the room. And he's been following Jesus and he's one of my close friends and. Everything in between. I mean, so many different testimonies of how people have come to know the Lord. But that was really like 2021. It was like Christianity on TikTok was like a thing.

• 16:58Rick Rubin?

  Do you think people were copying each other? How did it happen?

• 17:01Speaker 01

  Well, my buddy David, that one that had that encounter with the Passion of Christ, he was reaching people like I had never seen before. It was like millions and millions of views every video he posted, and he was posting multiple times a day, preaching about Jesus and talking about Jesus and teaching the Bible. I mean, the natural thing is a lot of people see, oh, someone preaching to the camera. So like, that's what worked. I didn't preach like David, but I had been preaching to the camera in general. So we had that in common. And there were other people that had been doing it, but David really paved the way of like, wow, people want to know about the Bible and about Jesus. He ended up getting banned on TikTok.

• 17:38Rick Rubin?

  For what?

• 17:39Speaker 01

  I actually can't remember what he got banned for. I think he was talking about like other religions and they had like mass reported him or something. But he had like 2 million followers and millions of people every day.

• 17:52Rick Rubin?

  What's so interesting about all of this is that for probably the last 80 years, church attendance had been going down, especially with young people. The only people going to church 15 years ago were people in their 60s and 70s, people in their 80s.

• 18:08Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 18:09Rick Rubin?

  And something is changing where all of a sudden now, young people are embracing Christianity, wanting to go to church, feeling the energy. What do you think's happening?

• 18:22Speaker 01

  You have access to everything you want in such a quick amount of time through the phone. So if you want to sleep with someone outside of marriage, for example, you can do it.

• 18:34Rick Rubin?

  There's an app for that.

• 18:35Speaker 01

  There's an app for that. There probably is. There definitely is. Multiple. There's options. I think 50 or 60 years ago, most people were dating and married in a five mile radius. And now it's like you have options everywhere, adultery's through the roof. You have so many options online. And I'm just using that as one example. You can find people that sell substances online. You can find ways to have sex online. You can consume sexual content online at your fingertips. I don't think human beings were designed to have access to every human being on the planet. And so that has created it. People to get access to sin very quickly. And they realize it's letting them down very quickly because they get access to it very quickly.

• 19:15Rick Rubin?

  So maybe through abundance, they realize the emptiness of it.

• 19:19Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 19:20Rick Rubin?

  Before, they may have wanted it, but it was hard to get. So they didn't get to feel the abundance and then recognize ultimately this is empty.

• 19:28Speaker 01

  Yes, I think so too. And I think that's, that's what's killing people. And now too, news spreads so fast online and stuff gets past the algorithm. That is really, really intense, really intense. And so I think it's just a combination of people experiencing the real world through online stuff and stuff like that. Just what is the truth? If I can't find the truth here, here, here. I really, deep down, think everyone's on a quest for love. So they say, oh, well, sex might be love because maybe the movie I watched, the couple was having sex all the time. And that's what love looks like. So I need to just have a bunch of sex. And then it's like, well, if sex would have satisfied you, it would only take one time having sex. But it didn't. And that's why you keep falling down the rabbit hole.

• 20:12Speaker 01

  And so then the question is like, well, what, what does work? And I don't think it's tangible things sometimes. I think it's, I think it's Jesus, a supernatural being. We believe was God in the flesh, who lived the perfect life, died on the cross, died a death he didn't deserve. That blows my mind. And I think that's why people are attracted to Christianity.

• 20:33Rick Rubin?

  I think the idea of this mystical experience, bigger than we can really, truly understand. There's some real pull in that because so much of the worldly stuff, we see how empty it all is.

• 20:48Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah. As, as over the years, a lot of the hungriest people I've met for truth and for Jesus are people that have had everything. And I think there's a lot of truth to that.

• 21:02Speaker 02

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• 22:55Rick Rubin?

  Tell me about some of the things that you've learned or experienced along the way that have really hit home with you and deepened your experience.

• 23:05Speaker 01

  So I talked about how I haven't had crippling anxiety and depression since that day. It's been over five years. And last year in the fall, I had heard of someone that I used to be friends with. You know, we just hadn't hung out a long time. I don't know why. Had spread a rumor about me in front of some friends and it had really hurt me. It was just something completely out of character. Then I had seen them the next day after I'd heard about it. They came up to me and talked to me like nothing was going on because they had no idea that I knew. And I treated them like normal and loved on them. And I remember leaving having so much anxiety on my chest. And I remember going home and laying in bed. I couldn't get out of bed for a full day.

• 23:47Speaker 01

  And I remember that whole time I'm laying there struggling with anxiety, can't get out of my head. I just keep hearing Satan go, well, God never set you free from anxiety because you're battling with it now. And you're just a big hypocrite and you can't talk about Jesus anymore. And you can't tell people that Jesus saved you from your anxiety and all this other stuff. And I'm getting in my head and I can't get out of bed. And I literally am sitting there thinking, I can't remember last time I felt like this. And I felt defeated and I remember finally getting myself out of the bed to go on a run. And I'm going on a run and I start praying, going, Jesus, I don't know what's happening to me. And I, I try to be cautious by saying, oh, I heard the Lord say, but I very heard clearly, Jesus say, you're not a hypocrite, you're just human.

• 24:32Speaker 01

  And that rocked me to the core and I started crying on this run. I'm like, you're so right. Like it caught me in a moment where I had hidden pride, maybe where I was like, oh, I've with my chest out, I've defeated anxiety and depression through Jesus. I don't struggle with it anymore. And then I get hit and it's like, are you a hypocrite? No, you're just human. And being honest about it, like, yeah, I had a moment of anxiety. That's a moment, doesn't make me a hypocrite, it just makes you human. You know, and that's life. That's what it looks like to be human. What does it mean? We're all broken and that's what it looks like being a Christian is you're leaning on Jesus. You're trusting that his way is better, that his wisdom is better, that what he has in store for your life is better than what you think is best for your life and everything in between.

• 25:17Speaker 01

  And that was a big testing moment to go, wow, am I really trusting Jesus right now? Cause I'm hurting. And that was something I had learned. It's like, wow, you're just a human. And that's not an excuse to make mistakes on purpose, but that's just the truth of going, you're not perfect, you're broken. And that's even more of a reason to lean on someone who was perfect and knows everything about you and had intentionality in making you that I think that's been the biggest thing.

• 25:48Rick Rubin?

  And I guess progress is when something hits you like that, the faster you can get back to that relationship, the recovery, that's what it's about.

• 25:59Speaker 01

  Yeah, I like that.

• 26:00Rick Rubin?

  And so much happens that's out of our control. That's another part of it. It's hard.

• 26:03Speaker 01

  Yeah, it is hard. Life, life is hard and it can be.

• 26:08Rick Rubin?

  Tell me about talking to people about Jesus in the street, strangers.

• 26:11Speaker 01

  I love it. It's one of my favorite things ever.

• 26:14Rick Rubin?

  When did you start doing that? Right away?

• 26:16Speaker 01

  Right away. I would run up to people and be like, Jesus loves you. And then I'd run away before they could respond if I didn't have the answers to their questions. And then I would finally start standing there and people would ask me difficult questions and it honestly challenged me to go deeper into my faith. Like, oh, what do I, do I really love Jesus? Do I, not even just do I really love Jesus? Like, do I really believe he's the truth? I need to, I need to research. So I was grateful for that. I've faced everything in between. I've seen people cry and fall into my arms and want Jesus. And I've seen people go, I don't want anything to do with it. Stop talking to me and leave middle of conversation. But I can tell you one thing is that we, we do not purposefully cause anger. And that's something that breaks

• 26:56Speaker 01

  my heart that I see a lot of, for lack of a better term, street preachers. There's truth in their message, but they think they're getting persecuted when they make someone angry. It's like, you're not getting persecuted. You're just provoking anger out of someone. And a lot of times we'll go into similar environments that street preachers are at and we'll stand 50 feet from the street preacher and someone will be pulling the middle finger and cussing them out. And then they'll walk by and he'll go, what do you think about that? Like, oh, that is so crazy. And I'm like, what do you think about Jesus? I don't know. I mean, grew up in church and we, we have the conversation that they're trying to have.

• 27:32Rick Rubin?

  The real conversation.

• 27:33Speaker 01

  Yeah. So I think that's, that's just been the most fun part is.

• 27:39Speaker 01

  Getting to talk to people from all walks of life to have all different belief systems and get to have a gentle conversation and attempt to plant the seed. You know, it's not my job to save someone, but it's my job to plant a seed.

• 27:53Rick Rubin?

  Do you spend more time talking one on one to people or do you get to talk to big groups of people?

• 27:58Speaker 01

  I think now we've been getting invited in more group settings, but I love more one on one or more intimate settings. I just love talking to people one on one because it's so intentional. And if you're not a Christian and you're hurting, you don't feel seen. And to stop and see someone as a human being and not for their mistakes or not for the clothes that they wear or not for the person that they're trying to be, but just as who they are. I think it's powerful and I think more people need it. I think we need to do it with more people.

• 28:27Rick Rubin?

  What's the first time you spoke in front of a big group?

• 28:30Speaker 01

  I preached in front of a big group within the first year I had become a Christian. But I would definitely say after we started our ministry and talking to people online and posting the videos of us talking to people online.

• 28:41Rick Rubin?

  What's it like to talk to a large group of people?

• 28:44Speaker 01

  It's an honor. I don't feel like I have to prove anything to anyone.

• 28:47Rick Rubin?

  And it's not really about you. You're not there to talk about yourself.

• 28:51Speaker 01

  Yeah, I can just feel like brag on God for 30 minutes and be like, all right, yeah. Have a good day. You know, I think that's been, that's like the coolest part about it is you don't, it's not about you. In fact, I like to tell on myself a lot about how many mistakes I've made because I think that's even more relatable. I think one of my favorite things about getting to talk in front of a group is one of the hardest things I had growing up is I felt like I had heard a lot of preaching where a lot of preachers and pastors, I felt like they had it all together. And I don't have it all together and I want to be vulnerable about that and be like, I'm broken. I hurt, I suffer, I make mistakes and I try as best as I can to, to model that.

• 29:32Speaker 01

  I also don't wear nice clothes when I talk to a big crowd or whatever that may be. Whatever you mean, nice clothes, like I'll wear Crocs and a T-shirt.

• 29:41Rick Rubin?

  You dress like yourself.

• 29:42Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 29:43Rick Rubin?

  Give me some examples of talking to people and memorable connections.

• 29:47Speaker 01

  One of my favorite ones was at Venice Beach. I was doing an interview with a Christian ministry from South Korea. And they were like filming this interview and we had set up somewhere, but this live band was playing. It was super loud. So they were like, we have to move locations. And so we were moving locations and off camera, I didn't realize the guy was recording, but the guy had kept the camera recorded. But he was like walking by his side. So it wasn't like a real shot. And the guy that was interviewing me was just asking me, he was like, how do you guys fund all this? And I was talking about how like people just give to our ministry and there's no requirement, but if people have been impacted, they can give. And so believers send us out. That's like how it works.

• 30:26Speaker 01

  And this homeless guy was pointing at me from really far away and just kept yelling, you're gonna die. You're gonna die. You're gonna die. Yelling at me. And everyone was walking past this guy, avoiding him like, yo, this guy's crazy. What is this guy doing? Whatever. And I remember like the camera guy and the guy interviewing me, they're like seeing this guy and they're totally trying to avoid him. But he's pointing at me and he's, you're gonna die. And I walked right up to him and I said, hey, hey, man, how's it going? He said something like, oh, it's going good or it's going fine. Or I was like, when's the last time someone told you that they loved you? He's like, it's been a long time. And I was like, well, I love you, man. And he starts crying and he just goes pray for me, falls on my arms.

• 31:11Speaker 01

  Started praying for him and that moment marked me because I'm like, we walk past so many people. Because we go, oh, that guy looks crazy because he's just yelling something right now. Is he crazy or is he just hurting? Cause do we not do crazy stuff when we hurt sometimes? I know I do. I make a lot of mistakes and I say sometimes hurtful things when I'm hurting that I don't mean. And you know, whatever it may be, you don't know what that guy's going through. You don't know if he got sleep last night. You don't know what he's doing. So why are we going to walk past him? And that is literally the heart of Jesus is constantly throughout scripture. Jesus is looking at the one. He goes to the pool of Bethsaida and there's a bunch of physically sick people there with physical ailments

• 31:54Speaker 01

  that think if they can be the first one in the pool, that the pool water will heal them. And he's, he walks over people just to get the one guy. It's not because he's neglecting other people. He's just on mission for the one guy. And I'm like, why do we? We see Jesus do that, but we can't do that. Another similar experience, it was like we were, I was out eating, kind of something similar. I was just out eating in an outdoor venue. And this homeless guy comes up and he's yelling at me. And he walks up to the railing that's separating the table from the sidewalk. And he starts screaming and he's screaming and yelling at me. And I'm like, hey, bro, are you okay? And he kind of like shakes his head and sobers up. And he's like, bro, I don't know what's going on. I'm like ODing right now on substances and I need help. And I was like, let me pray for you.

• 32:39Speaker 01

  And he falls in my arms, right there at the table. And my friends is, I had a non-believing friend with me who wasn't a Christian. He's kind of like afraid. He's like, this guy just came, he came out of nowhere. I have no idea where this guy came from. And we pray for him and he gets done. He's like, I feel completely fine. I don't feel anything, like I don't feel anything wrong with my body. I don't feel overwhelmed. I don't feel anxiety. And I was like, shared Jesus with him and gave him a big hug and he walks away. And so many times we turn those people away. And like, why do we turn people away? I don't understand that. Yeah, those moments really have marked me.

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• 35:15Rick Rubin?

  Can you remember the first time that you went up to somebody where it felt like it could have been confrontational?

• 35:21Speaker 01

  So I had a friend, went to Christian school with me when I moved there in the 4th grade. And this guy had given me a hard time. 4th grade, 5th grade, 6th grade, 7th grade. And then he kind of mellowed out a little bit. But then he left our school after freshman year and moved to another school. Then he dropped out and started selling drugs and getting involved with gang stuff. And I remember a few months after I became a Christian, he was posting on Snapchat talking about how he had become Muslim. My Muslim friends, they respect Jesus as a prophet. They don't worship Jesus as God. And so I just hit him on Snapchat. And I said, "Hey dude, have you ever looked into Jesus?" It's like being God. Starts cussing me out over the phone. He kept saying he was gonna kill me. He's like, "I'm gonna kill you." I don't know, when you follow Jesus,

• 36:06Speaker 01

  especially at the beginning, God gives you this weird boldness that's like you just feel like you can run through a brick wall and you're gonna come out with no scuffs. And so I told him, I was like, "Look, man, I would love to meet up with you for lunch and just hear how you're doing and talk to you about Jesus if you're down." And I sent him my favorite spot, favorite Mexican restaurant. And he said, "If you show up here this time, I'm gonna kill you." I said, "Okay." And I pulled up, he pulled up right next to me in his car and I got out. And he got out. He came up to me and gave me a big hug and started crying. Yeah, that might've been confrontational. He was like, yeah, I'm gonna hurt you. And it was really intense. But oftentimes, those people are the ones that really wanna be seen.

• 36:47Speaker 01

  You know, they really wanna, they really wanna experience the love from people, love of God. Yeah, there's been, there's been a lot of instances, stuff like that.

• 36:57Rick Rubin?

  How does God speak to you and through you?

• 37:03Speaker 01

  God speaks to me a lot through His Word. So when I read the Bible, I, I get a lot of revelation. The Bible says that the Holy Spirit is sent to teach us things and bring conviction in our lives. So when I read the Bible, I ask the Holy Spirit to teach me and bring convictions. John 14. So every time I read, I like to do it. God typically speaks to me when I'm in the shower. I don't think that's a coincidence. I think for two reasons. Number one, everything's on the table in the shower, fully vulnerable. But God's voice is compared to being still and calm as the water. And so obviously, that can be in a metaphorical sense, but I love being by water. I love the beach. I, God speaks to me in the shower. God typically speaks to me intrusively. And I believe God can speak to everyone intrusively.

• 37:47Speaker 01

  So not every thought you get is from God, right? Like if I'm like, oh, I'm gonna punch Rick in the face right now. We would both be like, I don't think God's telling us to punch Rick in the face. That's why the Bible says, take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. Is this something that God's speaking or is this something that is not from God? You know, would this align with God's character and draw you towards God? Or is this not what God's character is like and draw you further? So He speaks to me intrusively. And so sometimes like God speaks to me, I think primarily God speaks through me through, through action. And I think He speaks through everyone through action, you know? It's, we like to talk a lot, but not a lot of people like to live it out. And I make mistakes, but I wanna try to live it out to the best of my ability. I think secondly, through, through the way of communication.

• 38:30Speaker 01

  I've always had a heart to make complex ideas simpler to understand. Cause I'm not a smart guy. I have a hard time reading Shakespeare and complex literature. So I like doing that. But sometimes I'll be sitting and talking with someone and I feel like God tells me something about the person. They're struggling with something or if they've got a physical ailment and I'll ask. And sometimes it's true, sometimes it's not. I'm not discouraged if it's right or wrong, but if it's right, sometimes God speaks through that way. Those are a few ways God speaks through me, but, but the intrusive thing is so. Beautiful, because I think he can speak to everyone intrusively. And it is so sweet when it happens. And it was, it was happening this morning to me in the shower, which is so sweet and beautiful, you know?

• 39:11Rick Rubin?

  Describe today in the shower.

• 39:13Speaker 01

  I struggle a lot with what people think about me, because I've always struggled with people pleasing for being a Christian. And so, you know, if I'm misunderstood, or someone takes something in the way that I didn't say it, I get hurt, because I'm like, oh, I didn't mean it that way, or, you know, whatever. So I'm kind of talking to Jesus, and I'm in the shower praying, and I'm going, man, God, I want to be more like you. I want to be how you want me to be. I want to love you, and I want to be your son, and I just want to focus on being yours. And I don't want to care what other people think, and this, this, and that. And Jesus was speaking to me about some practical things I needed to do. Like, it would help you if you, you know, stopped looking at what people say online. It would help if you deleted Instagram, and it would help if you did this.

• 39:53Speaker 01

  And, and it would help if you would just trust other people to do what they're supposed to do, so you can focus on being mine. And I'm sitting there in the shower going like, wow, this is so good, and it's so hard, but it's so good. It's like, I want to, and I don't. And I'm like, talking to God, and he pierced my heart, and it's beautiful. And I even remember the other night, I was really down and having a hard time going to sleep and getting in my head. I'm a big thinker, and I was telling you, I get in my head a lot.

• 40:18Rick Rubin?

  What would be the kind of thing at night that would be keeping you awake?

• 40:22Speaker 01

  In a good way, things that keep me awake are reaching people. I'm like, man, I want people to know Jesus so bad. But in a bad way, it can be if someone misunderstands me, or if I made a mistake, and I'm in my head about it. I have a hard time forgiving myself for mistakes I make, or worrying about things. My mind oftentimes goes to a mega extreme, because I, I've, I've had years of hurt before, leading up to being Christian. I've been hurt being a Christian, but years of hurt in different ways. And so I'm afraid that some of those things might happen in a new form or fashion now. And I remember I was worrying about a plethora of things.

• 40:58Speaker 01

  It was like 2:00 AM. I was on the East Coast and one of my mentors sent me a Bible verse from the West Coast. And was like, hey, this made me think of you. I thought of you when I was reading this, so I just wanted to send it to you.

• 41:10Rick Rubin?

  Do you remember what it was?

• 41:11Speaker 01

  Yeah, it was 1 Timothy. I could pull it up if you want me to. And I remember it rocked me to the core because I'm sitting there thinking and I'm like, I feel like, so Paul's writing to Timothy is like his prodigy is mentee and he's encouraging him in 1 Timothy. And I love Paul so much because Paul has written most of the New Testament. And if anyone has anything to brag, it's this guy. I mean, you used to kill Christians and now you don't kill Christians anymore. And you're the most radical and a cool way about Christians and you've encouraged so many people. And you have everything in rhyme or reason to brag. So, you know, if anyone's going to brag, you should brag, Paul.

• 41:52Speaker 01

  And he writes in 1 Timothy, Chapter 1, and he starts in verse 15. He says this in verse 15. "Here's a word you can take to heart and depend on. Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. I'm proof, public sinner number one." And I stopped and I'm thinking, I'm public sinner number one. That's me. "Of someone who could never have made it apart from sheer mercy. And now he shows me off, evidence of his endless patience to those who are right on the edge of trusting him forever." And gosh, that hit me to the core because I'm like, I am public sinner number one.

• 42:34Speaker 01

  And God, for some reason, when I was 17 years old, decided to stop me from taking my life. I feel like if you're the God of the universe, you've got everything on your plate, but you care about me? And he shows me off as a reason that people can be saved for the sake of other people that are on the edge of trusting Jesus. And I remember reading that verse at 2:00 a.m. and I started to cry in the bed because I'm like, man, none of this noise matters right now. It's just like, I am God's child and He has saved me. And I know, I'm like, Paul, you think you're public sinner number one? I'm public sinner number one. You wrote half the New Testament. I have a hard time remembering some of the stuff you wrote. You know, you stopped killing Christians and I still wound people with my words sometimes.

• 43:18Speaker 01

  But God, you have chosen to love me and choose me despite my mistakes. And I couldn't help but cry because I'm like, this is so powerful. And so I love God's Word and I love when He speaks to me intrusively and calms me with His voice because He is the Prince of Peace and it is beautiful and I love it.

• 43:37Rick Rubin?

  Tell me about the Trinity.

• 43:40Speaker 01

  Oh, my gosh, I think it's the greatest, greatest display, most beautiful thing of love. So the Trinity, the best way that I have heard it in 1 John, 1 John writes that God is love. And universally, every religion would say, God is love. The Trinity is, we believe that God is one essence, one being, three distinct persons that are all co-equal, all 100% God. So God the Father is 100% God, God the Son is 100% God, God the Holy Spirit is 100% God. And that sounds complex, but the best way that I've heard described is if God is love,

• 44:21Speaker 01

  the purest form of love is to both give love and receive love. So if God was only one being and one person, He would not be the purest form of love because He could only receive love. Who would He give the love to? If before everything was created, God has always existed, but He's one being and one person, who does He have that love to give to? No one. So He wouldn't be the purest form of love. But if the God of Christianity is true and the Trinity is true and the three persons of the Godhead have existed always, they have all both given love to each other and received love from each other.

• 45:02Rick Rubin?

  Like a family.

• 45:03Speaker 01

  I think it's so beautiful. God the Father has such a unique role. I mean, how cool is it that we can look at God as a father and not a dictator? Jesus says, I no longer call you servants, I call you friends. That is such a beautiful comparison. And then it costed God something to ransom us from hell? His own son, his only son. He didn't have like a hundred sheep and he chose one. He's like, alright, I'm counting the cost. I've got ninety-nine. You know, he's like, oh, I've got one son and I'm giving him for you. And the Holy Spirit. I love the Bible because it goes, you know, we're made, we were always designed for relationship from the garden. That's what the garden is. We're designed for relationship and then sin separated us from that. But God's like, you know what?

• 45:45Speaker 01

  You're not done yet, so I'm gonna give you the law. Six hundred and thirteen laws and ten commandments through Moses. Bam, here you go. Gives it to him. And then they go, well, this is great. But then God goes, let's create the Ark of the Covenant, which was this beautiful structure that was intently made that only the Levites could carry it. They would carry it from city to city that housed the presence of God. The presence of God is in this box. And then they go, well, we're gonna do one a better. And the Holy Spirit would only go on one person at a time. It would choose one prophet. And then Jesus comes, it's like, no, God is going to enter into time and space where he always receives glory into a space where he will be spit on, mocked, beaten,

• 46:27Speaker 01

  backstabbed by friends, gossiped about, everything in between that we experienced, he experienced. So he'll be as close to you like a friend, like us talking. And then he ascends into heaven. And I think all the time, like the disciples are like, wait, Jesus, you can't leave us. I'd be doing the same thing. Like, no, no way you're leaving us, Jesus. We have you right here. He's like, no, it's better for me to go because now I'm not just gonna be next to you. The Holy Spirit will live inside of you. I will send the Holy Spirit to anyone who puts faith and trust in me to be the seal on your heart so that you know that you know that you know. You have confidence in your salvation, but to teach you things and bring conviction. And he can live inside of you. God has always desired to become as close to us as possible.

• 47:10Speaker 01

  And that's the beauty of the Godhead is they all work together so beautifully and magnificently, and it's the purest form of love on display.

• 47:20Rick Rubin?

  Tell me more about the Holy Spirit.

• 47:21Speaker 01

  Oh, I love the Holy Spirit. I don't think we talk about Him enough. I think we should pray to Him because He's God. I think we should talk to Him daily. I talk to Him like a friend, you know. I love when Jesus is like, you know, the Pharisees like to use lofty fancy words as if those words helped them get their prayer faster. Sometimes I'm talking to God like, man, I am pissed right now. I'm so frustrated. And that honesty, I think God loves the honesty. The Holy Spirit's unique because you can grieve or quench the Holy Spirit. Sin grieves the Holy Spirit because He's like, why do you choose that over me? You have me. And you can quench the Holy Spirit when the Holy Spirit's moving and you decide to stop what God's doing for the sake of the program

• 48:06Speaker 01

  or for the sake of, oh, keeping the day going on. You know, you don't want to move past that moment until the Holy Spirit goes. John 14 is the teacher that teaches you things and brings conviction in your life. And so oftentimes I pray to the Holy Spirit. I go, Holy Spirit, give me conviction. Teach me your word. Speak to me daily. Don't let me lose your voice. Don't let me lose sight of you. Would you let your word be a lamp to my feet and a light to my path? Like, as I read the Bible, please teach me so I can let this guide my feet. Because they have different roles. The persons have different roles. And it's beautiful. We need the Holy Spirit. And I think we, sometimes Christians get scared to talk about the Holy Spirit

• 48:46Speaker 01

  because it's easy to talk about Jesus. We have His words and we have His life and things like that. And I think it's careful. You know, you always want to be careful and don't want to say the wrong thing. But Holy Spirit is beautiful and we need to talk to Him more.

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• 50:39Rick Rubin?

  Which Bible app do you use?

• 50:41Speaker 01

  Well, I use a couple of different ones. I use the Basic Bible app because it has all the translations on it. But I love the Hallow app. This is just like a personal thing I like to do. The guy that plays Jesus from the Chosen series, he reads audio of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the Gospels.

• 50:58Rick Rubin?

  Great.

• 50:59Speaker 01

  I love listening to that guy. I don't like the robot voice. I like it somewhat, a real person reading it. And it just, the Bible says faith comes by hearing and hearing of the Word of God. And I just like to take that into practicality sometimes and listen.

• 51:13Rick Rubin?

  Tell me about the difference between reading the Bible and listening to the Bible.

• 51:17Speaker 01

  Our eyes and our ears are the windows to our soul. And what we consume is what we become. And I think we can get legalistic. Sometimes I don't want to get legalistic, but I remember for the first two weeks after becoming a Christian, I could feel depression creeping up on me. And I remembered one of the reasons was because I loved listening to sad music. And I was still listening to it, mainly because I liked the instruments. It wasn't because I was trying to be sad, I just liked the instruments. But then I moved to jazz because I'm like, wow, they have great instruments too. Nothing against sad music. I was just like, this is, I'm having conflict in my heart with it. And so I stopped listening to it. And so I love listening to the Word because sometimes I catch things that I didn't catch when reading it, or vice versa, I catch something reading that I didn't hear.

• 52:00Speaker 01

  We don't realize how much the outward world affects our soul, just from what we see and what we hear. And so even if I'm not paying attention, like a lot of times in the gym, I listen to that audio Bible and I'll ponder what I'm listening to, or I'll just let it enter into my heart. Just ask God to write it on the tablet of my heart. God, write your word on my heart so that I can live this thing out and let me remember it and dwell on it and sit on it. And so Jonathan Rumi has blessed me on the Hallow app by being able to listen to the Gospels. And it's been amazing.

• 52:32Rick Rubin?

  How would you compare the different translations?

• 52:34Speaker 01

  Well, it depends, you know? It's like, I like to read out of the ESV. So it's a typical, it's more like word for word translation. That translation I read out of that first Timothy was Message Translation. And I typically don't read the Message Translation, but it's more of like a personified version of the Word. So it's just like, sometimes the phrasing on certain things sounds great. I love the NLT. It's interesting because like in the Greek language, which the Bible was written in Greek, Hebrew, and a little bit of Aramaic, the Greek language has like five different words for love. One word for God's love, one word for like, I love pizza, one word for like, I love your friends. But like in the English language, we just have love. And that can mean a plethora of different things.

• 53:16Speaker 01

  And so the different translations, they preserve the message, the transmission of what's going on across the 66 books. But the translation, it's, it's beautiful in a way that we, we have different words that can be able to understand what is, what is being shared here, you know? You're trying to conceptualize the unconditional love of God. Well, Greek word is agape, but in English, it's just love, love, love for everything. So. I like to read different ones, but I've always grown up reading the ESV. A lot of the stuff I've memorized is ESV, so I just stick to it. But CSB is great, NLT I love, NIV is great. My grandma grew up on KJV, NKJV, so she reads that.

• 53:58Rick Rubin?

  Tell me about building a ministry. What's entailed? I know very little about that.

• 54:02Speaker 01

  I don't know, it can be, it can be a lot of different things. It can be fun, exciting, it can be scary. Ministry can become a monster. It can be hard, I think practically, it's hard. I have a hard time raising money. Because I'm great at casting vision, but I always get weird about asking people for money. Because I'm like, I feel so weird, like, you know, this is, it's just interesting to me. But you know, that's, that's the reality of like having a nonprofit and trying to start. It's like, hey, you know, because people have different gifts, you know? I'm not, I'm not a good businessman, you know? I'm not a good mathematician or professor. So if God's called you to be a professor, go be a professor. Like, you know, not everyone has to become a pastor if you become a Christian. Go be an incredible producer for music, you know, the amazing stuff. But God has called me to go be in the street.

• 54:47Speaker 01

  And if you want to be a part of that, you don't have to leave your job. You know, you can partner with us. And that's always been hard for me because I always want to. I've also seen money corrupt a lot of people. And I've seen some dirty stuff in ministry, people that I love and people that many people would know, big ministries, that just breaks my heart and how they've treated money and treated people. So I always want to be cautious and careful. But I love vision casting with God because it's, it's not my ministry, it's his. And I'm not doing God a favor for preaching the gospel. God doesn't need Bryce to start a ministry. You can use somebody else. God has allowed us to do it and I don't understand why. So it's fun and building a team is fun and it's hard. And I'm 22, so I'm like, I don't even know what I'm doing. You know, but it's uncharted territory and it's fun.

• 55:31Speaker 01

  And I always like talking to other people because they've made a lot better decisions than I have. And I want to be able to learn from other people.

• 55:40Rick Rubin?

  Tell me about your daily practice of faith.

• 55:43Speaker 01

  My daily practice of faith is in the morning, I don't start anything until 10 a.m.

• 55:47Rick Rubin?

  What time do you wake up?

• 55:48Speaker 01

  I wake up about seven.

• 55:50Rick Rubin?

  So what happens from seven to 10?

• 55:51Speaker 01

  So seven, I immediately walk my dog. I have a dog. His name's Moses, coincidentally. So, you know, that's cool. But we go on a prayer walk. So I take Moses on his walk and I pray. Thank God for waking me up. Thank God for having me alive. I don't try to get on my phone during that time period. The first time I really try to get on my phone is when I start walking on the treadmill, but I'll get to that. I wake up and I walk the dog and I come back. And after I come back, I've got to go to the gym. I just love trying to keep my body healthy. My body's a temple. And so I want to take care of it. So I go work out and I go sweat. And when I get on the treadmill, that's when I begin to first check my phone and see what's going on. And as I'm in the gym, I either listen to worship music or listen to the word.

• 56:36Speaker 01

  After that, I come back and I go into the shower and I pray more in the shower. I talk to God. And that's where he speaks to me a lot. It's where I get a lot of vision and stuff like that. And that's always fun. And I get ready in the morning. And as I'm in the shower, I have a waterproof Bible. And I read a proverb of the day in the shower. I love that practical wisdom. And then after the shower, I get out and I read the Bible a little bit more on whatever I want to read. Then it's about 10 a.m. and it's time to go. If it's not 10 a.m., I'll check on my wife and see, you know, see if she wants coffee or something and get that for her. But once 10 a.m. hits, it's whatever's on the agenda. If it's, we're going to teach the Bible on a podcast, we're going to go talk to this person, we're going to go to the street,

• 57:19Speaker 01

  we're going to go do whatever, you know, have a call, whatever it may be. But that crucial moment from seven to 10 is so important for me because if I don't get that, I'm the most selfish, prideful, you know, not godly version of myself. But if I get that time, it's like that time is fuels the rest of my day.

• 57:37Rick Rubin?

  What happens at the end of the day?

• 57:39Speaker 01

  So after about five o'clock, I really try to stop. I love doing what I do. So, you know, I don't try not to bind myself to time, but towards the end of the day, I like to wind down, spend time with my wife. I walk my dog multiple times a day, so I love, love those breaks. But towards the end of the day, I like to reflect on the day in my brain and think about things I could do better and things that were wins. I will call oftentimes Deveig, my manager, towards the end of the day, or something like that. I love to spend time with friends and have conversations, get meals, get meals with my wife, get meals with our friends. But towards nighttime, that's when I really start winding down and I've tried to get back into reading, just in general. So I've bought a couple of C.S. Lewis books.

• 58:22Speaker 01

  I think he's incredible. I just started The Great Divorce and I'm excited about that. And then at nighttime, this is always so sweet, but at nighttime, I like having little conversations with my wife, like when we're laying in bed, getting ready to go to sleep. And I love just encouraging her at night, talking about how I love connecting with her. I love talking with her. I love spending time with her and just encourage her and leave us on a high note, going to bed and things like that.

• 58:51Rick Rubin?

  Pray before sleep?

• 58:51Speaker 01

  Yes, absolutely. Pray before sleep, pray before meals. And the prayer time is oftentimes on my walks. When I go on walks with Moses, that sounds like so holy. It's like I'm going on a walk with Moses. I love to pray when I go on walks, especially at nighttime. And last night, I was actually cherishing with God on that walk, going like, wow, it feels so good outside. You're amazing. And it's interesting, we have a balcony at our apartment. I've been sitting out there lately at night and I'll think and talk to God. And I really try to guard my heart at night, because I think at nighttime, again, you know, that's when you can get in your brain and you're, just in general, scientifically, your willpower is the weakest, the longer the day goes on. And so I think that's sometimes why I get in my head too, naturally.

• 59:33Speaker 01

  My morning routine is the most important and that typically fuels me throughout my day. And if I get that Proverbs, that proverb time in the shower and that little Bible time before 10, I find more moments throughout my day to sprinkle in more prayer and Bible time.

• 59:48Rick Rubin?

  Do you have a favorite proverb?

• 59:50Speaker 01

  I really like Proverbs 8, 9, and 10. They're all about wisdom. I read Proverbs 10 yesterday and it was talking about storing up wisdom, treasuring wisdom. I would love to.

• 1:00:02Rick Rubin?

  I'd love to hear it.

• 1:00:03Speaker 01

  Proverbs 10 starts off by saying, "A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother. Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit, but righteousness delivers from death. The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked." A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. And I love that verse, because it's like we ask God to do things that we can practically do. Like, sometimes we gotta take action steps. He who gathers in the summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps in a harvest is a son who brings shame. Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

• 1:00:45Speaker 01

  The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot. The wise of heart will receive commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin. Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out. Whoever winks the eye causes trouble, and a babbling fool will come to ruin. The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses. So powerful. On the lips of him who has understanding, wisdom is found, but a rod is for the back of him who lacks sense.

• 1:01:28Speaker 01

  The wise lay up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near. A rich man's wealth is his strong city, the poverty of the poor is their ruin. The wage of the righteous leads to life, the gain of the wicked to sin. Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life, but he who rejects reproof leads others astray. The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever utters slander is a fool. When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent. The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, the heart of the wicked is of little worth. The lips of the righteous feed many, but the fools die for lack of sense.

• 1:02:12Speaker 01

  The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it. Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool, but wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding. What the wicked dreads will come upon him, but the desire of the righteous will be granted. When the tempest passes, the wicked is no more, but the righteous is established forever. Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who send him. The fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short. The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish. The way of the Lord is a stronghold to the blameless, but destruction to evil doers.

• 1:02:54Speaker 01

  The righteous will never be removed, but the wicked will not dwell in the land. The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off. The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse.

• 1:03:09Rick Rubin?

  How important is gratitude in prayer?

• 1:03:13Speaker 01

  Oh, if we lose gratitude, we lose everything. The Bible says in the book of Psalms, we enter his courts with praise and thanksgiving. Thanksgiving shouldn't just be a holiday, it is a weapon against sin. You know, scientifically, the same receptor in your brain for anxiety is gratitude. So a lot of people say, you know.

• 1:03:34Rick Rubin?

  I didn't know that.

• 1:03:35Speaker 01

  Yeah, so if you be, if you become grateful, oftentimes you can practically combat anxiety. But gratitude is a weapon. And that's what I love about Old Testament Israel, is they would get in a bind. You know, the cycle is like they worship a golden image and then it's something bad happens to them and they go, "God, we're sorry, save us." And then God saves us and then they like worship another golden image. And you're like, how did that just happen? But every time, they had circular thinking. We think linear. So we think the past is the past, now is the now, the future's to come. Whereas Israel would go, okay, we're in a bind, but God has helped us out before. So if he's done it before, he'll do it again, if not with more power. And I think that's how we need to think. That's a sense of gratitude. So I try to be grateful for the small things and the big things.

• 1:04:20Speaker 01

  Like, man, Matty, I love connecting with you. God, I love connecting with you. I love connecting with you in prayer and small things like talking to my wife and big things with, with God. Like, man, God, I'm just grateful that you woke me up. Thank you that the weather is nice. Thank you that it's not too hot, it's not too cold. Thank you that I have clean water. Thank you that I have shoes. Thank you that I have these things. And a lot of people, we neglect the small things until we go and see someone without something we've taken for granted. And then we go, wow, I didn't realize how important that is. You know, like, when's the last time we thanked God for the dentist? You know, we don't, we don't think that until we have a toothache. Or we, we haven't thanked God today that we don't have a sore throat. But we don't start praying for that sore throat to go away until the soreness comes,

• 1:05:05Speaker 01

  instead of thanking God for not having the soreness. And so gratitude has been one of the biggest weapons against the devil. Because the devil will try to discourage you. The devil is seductive. He's not just a, a red guy with horns and a pitchfork. He's in a tuxedo with slicked back hair. He knows what you like, he knows what you don't like. But we're oftentimes choosing between a good door and a God door. And that's difficult. And so being grateful for the good decisions, being grateful for God helping us through the bad decisions, being grateful that God is always with us. You know, we can't just rejoice with God at the top of the mountain. We have to learn to suffer with Him as well, because Christ suffered. So He's experienced suffering and glory. And we need to be able to learn to be grateful in all circumstances.

• 1:05:48Rick Rubin?

  Would you say any hardships you've had in life have always led to something good?

• 1:05:54Speaker 01

  Yes, and it may not always be something big, or, you know, financial, or something grand, but it's led to friendships, it's led to connection, it's led to peace, it's led to whatever it may be. Suffering produces good character. And the Bible says, "God works all things together for the good for those who are in Christ Jesus." God didn't inflict depression and anxiety on me, but if I had never gone through that, I wouldn't be able to connect with a generation that really struggles with anxiety and depression so much. And so I'm grateful for that. What do you mean, you're grateful for depression and anxiety? I'm just grateful that I went through it, God brought me out of it, and I'm able to connect and understand.

• 1:06:37Speaker 01

  I've, I've personally never done drugs or alcohol, so like, I can't connect with someone who's had substance abuse. I can deliver the same message, because the same message is for everyone, no matter what you struggle with. But, you know, whether as someone who was an addict, who isn't an addict, can connect better with that person. And so, yeah. Jesus always tends to work things together for the good, for those who are in Him and for His purpose, for His glory. And I always thought that like following Jesus would be like, I'd get a girlfriend, get a big fat bank account, I'd get this. And it was like, no, I actually lost friends. I actually had a hard time. And it was all these things, but it led to finding good friends. I have a wife, you know, all of these things. And so, yeah, it's, God is so good.

• 1:07:24Speaker 05

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• 1:08:53Rick Rubin?

  How is praying with others different than praying by yourself?

• 1:08:58Speaker 01

  So people get the Matthew chapter 6 passage wrong when it says, "I don't pray in public." It talks about public prayer.

• 1:09:06Speaker 01

  It's like, well, is Jesus condemning public prayer? No. He talks about public prayer if you want to be seen by other people. If your whole reason for praying in public is to be seen by other people. He's like, "You already got your reward. You've got eyeballs on you." Public prayer is a beautiful thing. I think we should come together and pray more, actually. It shows our dependence on Jesus. It shows our connection to Jesus. It says, "Hey, we actually want you to do something about it, God." James 5, 16 through 17 says, "The fervent prayers of the righteous person conquers much." Prayers move God's heart because it shows that we want to talk to Him and it shows that we want Him to do something about it. But praying in public is beautiful because we're inviting people into communication with God, whether or not they believe in Jesus.

• 1:09:52Speaker 01

  And prayer can be so practical and tangible because then if you pray with someone that's never prayed before and they go through something hard, they might go, "Well, I remember praying with Bryce to Jesus one time, so I'm going to pray to Jesus." Praying with families, coming together. Because when you also pray with people, even if it's a room of believers, you're all agreeing in the room. Amen. We're all agreeing on what was prayed. "God, thank you for this. Would you bless this food for the nourishment of our bodies?" And "God, thank you for friendship." And "Thank you." Amen. Collectively, we are agreeing together. But then going home in private, that's the difficult one. That's the difficult one because now, let's say, this is happening countless times. We share Jesus with someone on the street. They don't want to believe in Jesus. We pray for them.

• 1:10:36Speaker 01

  Now, the real test is going home and praying for them when no one else sees.

• 1:10:41Speaker 01

  It goes, "God, would you move in their heart? Even though we can't be there, even if we never see them again, God, would you send other people to them?" And so that is always the challenge is our public prayer life should fuel us to pray more in private. Or else we've missed the point. Prayer now becomes a performative thing and not a personal thing. And so I think that's the caution.

• 1:10:59Rick Rubin?

  Tell me about the appearance of faith versus true connection in faith.

• 1:11:04Speaker 01

  Wow, that's a beautiful one because cultural Christianity is the killer. A lot of people believe that they are Christians because they go to church or because they pray or because they read a devotional. They read a devotional a month, whatever it may be. Jesus says in Matthew, chapter seven, "Many will come to me on that day and say, "Lord, look, I prophesied in your name, I cast the demons out in your name, I healed the sick, "or I went to church every Sunday, or I read a devotional every month," and he's gonna say, "Depart from me, I never knew you." And that sounds intimidating, and we go, "Whoa." Well, because those people put their trust in the things that they did for Jesus, rather than their trust in what Jesus has done for them. They put all their poker chips in on their works and not on what he did on the cross. So there's a big difference there, but following afterwards, we take like verses out and we wrestle with them,

• 1:11:49Speaker 01

  and we forget that the verse numbers and the chapter numbers are there to help us navigate the text. It's one big letter.

• 1:11:57Speaker 01

  And then immediately after that passage, it goes, "Yeah, so build your foundation on the rock, which is Christ." Wow, that's pretty practical. "Let me build my foundation on him, so that that doesn't happen. "Don't let me build my foundation on my stuff." And people want authenticity. God wants authenticity. That's why it says, "God doesn't look at the outward appearance, he looks at the heart." And that was Jesus's criticism to the Pharisees. He's like, "The outside of your cup looks clean, but the inside of your heart is deceitful." No one is going to look at a cup on a shelf. I just did this yesterday. We went in our podcast studio, I was filling up a mug, and I look inside the mug, I'm like, "The mug's dirty, I'm not filling this up." No one's gonna drink out of a dirty mug on the inside, you know? And it's like, "We don't want that. The heart is deceitful, we need God to change our heart. That's what matters."

• 1:12:40Speaker 01

  And so I think we need to be cautious about what it looks like being a Christian. And I think that's like the pros and the cons of like Christian social media. The pros is, wow, you can display your boldness of faith publicly, and it encourages other people, whether publicly or privately, whether they post on social media or not, to be private with Jesus. On the contrary, faith can now become a corporate thing than a personal thing. And Paul writes to the church of Ephesus in the book of Ephesians, and sometimes Paul's letters are criticisms to the church. Like, "Hey, church of Corinth, you guys keep doing a bunch of crazy stuff, you guys need to chill out." At church of Ephesus, he's like, "Hey, I love what you guys are doing. You guys are doing great ministry, you're having great impact for God." But look, he's like, "If there were two choices, and I could only choose one,

• 1:13:24Speaker 01

  and choice A is, you guys keep growing a great big ministry and you keep doing your thing, or choice B is that you actually cut the ministry out, but your heart remains pure for the Lord and your personal relationship for Jesus, without the shadow of a doubt, I would kill the ministry for the sake of your own soul." And even Paul is like, if I could lay my salvation on the line for other people so that I would go to hell for them, I would. So how important is it that actually the corporate stuff doesn't matter? The private life matters, but corporate worship in church, local church is so important because when we go through bad times, the community comes around us. When we go through good times, we celebrate together and we come into agreement in the room, worshiping God. God's in the business of building soldiers who love Him, building children who love Him personally,

• 1:14:08Speaker 01

  rather than people that want to publicly say, hey, I'm a Christian. I do all these things, but privately, they're wicked.

• 1:14:16Rick Rubin?

  Several times he's said, since I've become Christian, did you not think of yourself as a Christian prior to that?

• 1:14:23Speaker 01

  No, I did not.

• 1:14:25Rick Rubin?

  And that's when you were growing up, going to church and in a family that probably thought of themselves as Christian?

• 1:14:30Speaker 01

  Yes, and, and the practical things, reading your Bible, prayer, going to church, I think those things are important. And I think those things are why people leave the faith. Structure and order is a beautiful thing. But my hope wasn't in Jesus. My trust wasn't in Jesus. And so I wasn't a Christian. I didn't believe it. You know, if I looked at you and I said, man, I love God. I love Jesus, but I'm cheating on my wife and I'm getting drunk every night. I'm doing all these things. You go, wow, Bryce probably doesn't really mean what he's talking about. But fruit is evidence of the seed that you've planted in your heart. And so like an apple tree doesn't have to try hard to grow apples. A Christian doesn't have to try hard to bear fruit. It just naturally bears fruit because you love God. I don't do things because I have to. For God, I do things because I want to, because I love Him.

• 1:15:16Speaker 01

  And so my question for anyone and for myself is, does your life look different before you claimed to have met Jesus? Until after you claimed to have met Jesus. And if it doesn't look different, then I would argue we might be worshiping a different Jesus, because the Jesus that I believe in and according to the scriptures, the one that shows grace, John chapter eight to the woman called adultery. And says, you, your sins are forgiven, but then also says, go and sin no more. So your life does look different. Hey, I've forgiven your sin. I've canceled the debt, but hey, don't do that again. So, you know, that's the big question is, does your life look different before you've claimed to meet Jesus until after you've claimed to meet Jesus?

• 1:15:54Rick Rubin?

  Tell me about the amen.

• 1:15:55Speaker 01

  It's a beautiful word. It's a powerful word. I also love the word, saila. It's in Psalms. You'll see it in the bridge of saila.

• 1:16:03Rick Rubin?

  What is saila? What does it mean?

• 1:16:04Speaker 01

  It just means rest, like rest or a break, rest. I have a tattoo on my chest because I'm like, man, we forget to rest. But amen, it's so powerful. I don't think we realize how powerful it is because we'll sometimes say amen, not verbally, but in our heart, to things that are wicked. We'll agree that this thing is good for our life, or we'll say, oh yeah, I'm agreeing that this thing is okay. But amen is let it be so. And so when you're trusting Jesus, your, your life is one big amen to whatever God has in store for you. Let it be so, whatever you say, wherever you call me, whatever you may have me do. And I, I was so encouraged by that is just the amen lifestyle is I met a homeless guy. I'm friends with him. He's in Woodland Hills

• 1:16:47Speaker 01

  and he reads his Bible every day, every day out there, super sharp, loves Jesus. And we were talking the other day and he was like, yeah, you know, I save everything that people give me. I save all the money that people give me because if God asked me to give all the way, all my money away to another homeless person, I would. And if God asked me to give it away here, or if God asked me to spend it on this thing, I would. And I'm like, wow, that is a big let it be so. God, whatever you have, let it be so. I just love that.

• 1:17:12Rick Rubin?

  Have you had any mystical experiences?

• 1:17:16Speaker 01

  Yeah, I've seen, I've seen healing, not only in my physical healing, not only my life, but in other people. I've prayed for physical healing for other people. I've seen broken bones and ACLs healed. The craziest one was I was at Saddle Ranch, the restaurant on Sunset Boulevard. When I first moved to LA, I'd been here for like two weeks and I'm talking to this guy who had a torn ACL. He was having surgery the next day, but he was an atheist and he was just yelling at me in the Saddle Ranch. And I was like, all right, dude, I'm going to pray that God heals your ACL. And if he does, you got to give your life to Jesus. And he's like, whatever. And I prayed for him and nothing happens. He's like, I told you, walks out and I'm like, all right, that's whatever. You know, I'm not discouraged. The next day, he messages

• 1:17:59Speaker 01

  me on Instagram. Don't know how he found my Instagram. We hadn't been posting any videos or anything like that. And he's like, dude, I'm freaking out right now because I woke up and I walked downstairs and I realized I'd walked downstairs. And I don't feel any pain, I'm freaking out. And so he went to the doctor. And he was like, the day of the surgery, he's like, I need to get an MRI scan because I'm not in pain anymore. And they scanned his knee and his ACL was completely healed. They had no idea what had happened. Met another man in West Hollywood outside of all that, that strip of bars. And this man came up to me and we were talking about Jesus and he was talking about homosexuality and all this other stuff. And he wanted to talk about some Bible and he had seen our videos online. I prayed for him and then I felt like God had spoken to me about his lower back.

• 1:18:43Speaker 01

  And I was like, do you have pain in your lower back? And he started to cry. He's like, I have this weird muscle disease that eats at the muscle on your bones and I've had pain in my lower back for over seven years. Never goes away. We prayed for his back. We have this on video. And he bends over and he started crying. He's like, I haven't had relief like this in the first time. Couple of days go by, he comes to church with me, he's like, yeah, my back feels great. I was like, it's still not in pain. I'm like, okay. The following week, but he didn't give his life to Jesus. Following week, he goes to the doctor. They give him an MRI scan. On the doctor's report, they go, I don't know how this is possible. The disease is completely gone from your body. There was no cure for it. Nothing. We have no idea he gave his life to Jesus that day because God did something in his life that was physically impossible, but supernaturally not impossible.

• 1:19:28Speaker 01

  What's impossible for man is not impossible for God. And those things are beautiful and God likes to soften hard hearts in that way. You know, people that like reject the message, but then God does something supernatural. They're like, whoa, maybe Jesus is real. But I had gotten convicted because I was going after that stuff a lot in the early years of our ministry. And then I'd walk away and we would see tons of people get healed physically, but then they would leave with a sick heart still. So we still pray for stuff like that, but, but I'm really want to focus on like your heart. I would rather you be struggling with a broken bone or migraines or be a paraplegic, but love Jesus.

• 1:20:10Rick Rubin?

  Why do you think people are afraid to talk about their faith?

• 1:20:14Speaker 01

  Think they're afraid of backlash. I think they're afraid of opinions. Proverbs says that the fear of man is like a snare. That thing will keep you immobile, fear of man, like a bear trap. It keep you from moving forward in your faith, keep you from telling other people. People are so afraid of what people think, of what people have to say. Am I gonna lose this friend? And you know, Jesus speaks so clearly to this. He says, "Yeah, it costs something to follow me. You've got to deny yourself, pick a river, cross and follow me. It costs something." Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. He says many different things. He talks about, if you even look at the narrative of Scripture, Palm Sunday. People are laying palm leaves at your feet.

• 1:20:58Speaker 01

  You're the Messiah, Hosanna, Hosanna, you're the best, Jesus, you're the goat. Five days later, "Yeah, kill that guy." Same people, you're like, "How does that even happen? How did you just get there? Like, I don't even know." So there's all of that in the Scriptures, and it costs something to follow Him. And that's why Jesus is, in my opinion, the best option out of everything, because He's experienced everything that we will face in some way, shape, or form. But people are afraid of what people will have to say. They're afraid of what they'll lose. And ultimately, I think people want control, because deep down, people think they know what's best for their life. And so they go, "Well, I know what's best for my life. I can't do this thing unless I, you know, smoke this joint every time. So I need to smoke this joint, because that's what's best for my life." Or, "Well, I have to do this thing, and I have to have this job,

• 1:21:43Speaker 01

  because I have to have this amount of money, because that's what's best for my life." And it's like, we just need to take a second and go, "Thank God, what do you have in store for me?" The guy that knows the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega, he can see our birth and our death at the same time. He exists outside of time and space. Maybe that guy knows what's best for our life.

• 1:22:08Speaker 01

  There's a long tradition of reading sacred texts slowly.

• 1:22:13Speaker 06

  Allowing each word to settle, echo, and reveal meaning over time. Rather than rushing to conclusions, this practice invites reflection, listening, and attention. For centuries, this repetition has been used to stay close to wisdom. Not by studying words as information, but by receiving them as something lived and experienced over and over again.

• 1:22:47Speaker 06

  This tradition is known as lectio divina.

• 1:22:52Speaker 06

  Emerging in early monastic life, it engages Scripture through four gentle movements: reading, reflection, repetition, and rest.

• 1:23:05Speaker 06

  A short passage is read, a single phrase is held. Silence becomes part of the practice, creating space for insight to surface naturally. Lectio 365 brings that ancient rhythm into the present moment. Designed for modern life, it offers brief, guided scriptural reflections throughout the day, to begin with intention, pause at midday, and wind down at night. The readings are less about information gathering and more for returning to wisdom again and again, letting familiar words meet new moments.

• 1:23:51Speaker 06

  A modern way to keep biblical wisdom close, quietly present, steady, and alive within everyday life. Lectio 365 is a free resource. Find inspiration there, now and always.

• 1:24:11Speaker 06

  Learn more at lectio365.com.

• 1:24:23Rick Rubin?

  When did you first begin to pray out loud?

• 1:24:28Speaker 01

  When I was very young, four, five, six years old. Sometimes I would catch myself praying even growing up because that was just like second nature. That's why I think childlike faith, being a child, the innocence of a child, how easy it is for a child to believe something. You tell a child to pray, they pray. You know, you tell a child about Santa, they grip onto Santa. You tell a child about anything, you actually have to fight them and convince them that that thing is wrong, you know, once they believe it and grab on to it.

• 1:24:57Speaker 01

  That's what Jesus says, you gotta have faith like a child. Don't be childish, but be childlike. So I think about four, five, six years old.

• 1:25:04Rick Rubin?

  Tell me about the different denominations of Christianity.

• 1:25:09Speaker 01

  I have a lot of friends that are Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian. I'm non-denominational or inter-denominational, whatever you may call it. You know, Christians like to preach against mental health, but I believe the body of Christ cuts itself a lot when the different denominations argue over secondary issues that don't matter. And we act like one is better than the other, or we hate each other because of this, this and that. Like, we have to check the core beliefs of Christianity. If we believe the core, then yeah, let's have respectful conversation about what's going on, or what's this about, or, you know, what do you think about communion? What do you think about this? And I know Catholics and Orthodox may have a little bit more of a, you know, a necessary

• 1:25:54Speaker 01

  approach to those topics, but there's other things that we disagree on, like once saved, always saved. Like, who gives a rip if you believe once saved, always saved? Like, let's just see people know Jesus. It doesn't matter at the end of the day if we die, if once saved, always saved was true. It's like, do you love Jesus and put trust in him? That's what matters. But, you know, I think it's beautiful. There's aspects of Catholicism that I love, and there's some things that I still wrestle with. There's aspects of orthodoxy that I love, and there's things that I wrestle with. There's aspects of all of it that I love and wrestle with, and so... I think denominations are also a sign, and I love this about it, is people are trying to understand the truth about everything in between about Jesus and Christianity.

• 1:26:32Rick Rubin?

  Have you been to an Orthodox church?

• 1:26:34Speaker 01

  I've been to, yeah, I've been to a Coptic Orthodox church.

• 1:26:37Rick Rubin?

  What's that like?

• 1:26:38Speaker 01

  You know, it's interesting because there's no light package or smoke machines in there, but it's so holy. And they have this beautiful reference for Jesus, Father Lazarus, he's based in Long Beach, he's a Coptic Orthodox priest. He's one of the holiest men I've ever met.

• 1:26:54Rick Rubin?

  Beautiful.

• 1:26:55Speaker 01

  And one of the sweetest men I've ever met. And he has the coolest beard I've ever seen. And he has a pure devotion for Jesus. He actually texted me this morning. And it was just beautiful, like, I love the tradition and the art, especially in Catholicism too, the churches and all of that is beautiful and magnificent. And the devotion, you know, something beautiful about Catholicism is they really try to make sure that you really believe what you say you believe before you get baptized and all this other stuff. And that's such a beautiful thing, I think. And yeah, I love the deep respect for tradition and early church history that these guys have too.

• 1:27:35Rick Rubin?

  Were you baptized?

• 1:27:36Speaker 01

  Yeah, I've been baptized.

• 1:27:38Rick Rubin?

  When was that?

• 1:27:39Speaker 01

  Well, so I got baptized when I was in the fourth grade, but that was like a, it was like a popular thing. And also, I had to do this school assignment where I had to write about what it meant to be baptized, and I'd never been baptized. So I just, you know, willy-nilly went and got baptized. But when I became a believer, I got baptized about a month after. And it was powerful. It was holy.

• 1:27:58Rick Rubin?

  Tell me about that experience.

• 1:27:59Speaker 01

  I got baptized in a bathtub a month after I became a believer at a house where I said I met about 100 Christians that were talking about Jesus in some way, shape, or form. I met them all there and I got baptized in that house. And that was so fun, just being surrounded by people that loved God and that loved me. And they wanted to see people know Jesus. Baptism is such a holy thing. And it says that we get united with Christ. We're buried into death and brought up into resurrection with new life with Him. And I don't know what all that means, but it's got to be holy and powerful and magnificent in a way that we connect with God in no other way we can but baptism.

• 1:28:42Rick Rubin?

  Tell me about your relationship with your parents.

• 1:28:45Speaker 01

  I have phenomenal parents. They raised me in a right way. I remember from about seventeen to twenty, we had a few rough years, a hard time. Just some things going on in our family and things that were brought to life. And I was having a hard time wrestling with a few things that happened growing up. And no family's perfect. Every family has their hardships. And my parents have great morals and great people. But I remember that those few years seventeen to twenty were hard. Yeah, our family was falling apart. And I remember thinking like, I love everything else that's going on in life. But for some reason, when I think about my family and God doing something to my family, it seems so farfetched.

• 1:29:26Speaker 01

  Because it's like, those are the people closest to you. And they also knew all my junk growing up. So, you know, I always wondered if you guys think I really love Jesus because you guys know all my mistakes and the darkest parts of me. But we started our ministry in twenty twenty four. And I remember Christmas in the twenty three, I gave my mom her first personal Bible and a Bible plan to read the Bible in a year. She read the Bible in that year, all of twenty twenty four. My mom has become an incredible woman of faith and is loving Jesus through the past couple of years. And then I remember we started our ministry and we started this podcast where we were teaching the Bible and we were putting it on YouTube and Spotify and Apple. And I remember going like, well, no one's really listening to it on Spotify. So we're going to take it off.

• 1:30:11Speaker 01

  The day we were going to take it off, my dad randomly called me, which at the time, he would call me once every now and then. He was like, hey, I switched from Pandora to Spotify and you got recommended to me on Spotify. So I'm gonna start listening. And I'm like, okay, Spotify is priority number one. And God used our podcast in my dad's life to ignite this faith in him and this honesty and this integrity in him that I admire. And I am closer to my family than I've ever been before. And God's done miraculous work in my family and I love my family and my parents are incredibly supportive.

• 1:30:49Speaker 01

  And they are kind and fun and involved and everything in between. And I'm, I'm so blessed for what God has done in, in my family's life.

• 1:31:01Rick Rubin?

  When you were 17 and just getting started, what did your parents think about what you were doing?

• 1:31:06Speaker 01

  I remember the first couple of years, they were kind of like, oh, this is just like a, you know, he's become, he's following Jesus and it's a passion. But then when I started talking about how I wanted to do it full time, talk about Jesus full time. They were kind of like, what? And scared. And it's like social media and it's like, you know, Christianity and social media. It's like a combo for like, what are you, what are you doing? My dad's a big entrepreneurial guy. So he was like business guy. So he was like, how are you gonna live? And then I felt like God called me to LA when I was 18. And I was like, I'm gonna move to LA and talk about Jesus. And they were like, what? Like, that doesn't make sense. And they were just confused. But I was like, I gotta do it. Like, you just gotta.

• 1:31:46Rick Rubin?

  And you didn't do it for commercial reasons. You just knew it's what you had to do.

• 1:31:49Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:31:49Rick Rubin?

  You had a calling.

• 1:31:50Speaker 01

  I had a, I was at a conference September 22, praying. I was actually supposed to speak. So I graduated high school in May of 2022, three days later, running from problems and running from hurt. I moved to Florida and was working on boats and I love the beach. So I thought the rest of my life I was gonna, you know, work on boats and, you know, be some Christian, you know, beach rat that worked on boats. And I still love the beach. I'd fallen into some old bad, bad habits when I was there as well. I was working seven days a week, about 11, 12, 13 hours a day, literally didn't take a break, but maybe once the whole time. It was like a three day break. I was literally working every day and had. Run from problems and my problems followed me and was trying to chase money and be successful

• 1:32:34Speaker 01

  and all these things. I was like, well, that didn't work. So I went to this conference and I was supposed to speak and I'm like, God, I just want to do whatever you want me to do. I can't live there. I just, where do you want me to go? What do you want me to do? I'll do anything you want. And I'm about to speak and I walk on stage, I was gonna do like a 30 second prayer at the stadium and I get hit by the presence of God. I didn't even say anything. I just passed the microphone and all in my mind, just Los Angeles, Los Angeles, Los Angeles. And where I'm from, small country town, you don't go to LA. It's like LA is gonna fall in the ocean, you know? So I was like, well, I know this isn't selfish because I've never even been to LA. I've never

• 1:33:16Speaker 01

  had a desire, but I was like, no, no way. And throughout my day that day, random people would come up to me and go, I think you should move to LA. I think God really wouldn't use you in LA. And I'm like, what the heck? And so that night, I'm like, no way. I had like five people come up to me. No way. And that night, one of two friends I had in LA calls me, says, pray for me. My roommate moved out and so I have an empty room at our house. I need someone to come stay in. And I'm like, okay, don't give that room to anyone. I'm coming. A week later, I moved out there and they were confused. And I told them I was only gonna stay from, you know, the end of September until January. And I've been out here for three years, coming up on four years.

• 1:33:59Rick Rubin?

  And how much culture shock was there coming to LA for the first time?

• 1:34:03Speaker 01

  My first day in LA, I remember I was in Santa Monica Pier and I was inside the McDonald's, just getting a quick bite. And this lady in front of me had her dog and I just reached down to pet her dog. She pet everyone's dog in the South and she yanked her dog out of the way and I fell, fell on the ground. And she was like, look at me. We're like, I tried to pet her dog. And I was like, oh, okay, I'm sorry. I'm not used to the city. I'm not, I wasn't used to the traffic. I wasn't used to the gas prices. I wasn't used to a whole lot of stuff, but you can't beat the weather. And it has really grown on me. And I actually, I really, I really do love this place. I love the people and.

• 1:34:41Speaker 01

  You know, I think, I think LA is a special place and there's so much rich Christian history in California, particularly Southern California with Christian revival history. You got Azusa Street that happened in like the late teens, early 1920s, the Jesus Revolution in the 60s and 70s. Now we have more revival happening now. I don't think it's a coincidence.

• 1:35:06Rick Rubin?

  Tell me about the music in the church.

• 1:35:09Speaker 01

  Oh, I love it. I think there's so much beautiful music. I mean, there's this purity in Christian music right now that I think is so holy and powerful and magnificent. Like one of my favorite, favorite worship leaders is Abi Gamboa. I don't know if you've ever listened to her.

• 1:35:24Rick Rubin?

  I met her. She's incredible.

• 1:35:26Speaker 01

  Isn't she? She's the sweetest soul and she's so pure. There's another worship artist that leads worship at the same church she does sometimes. His name's Aaron Tedeschi and he is, it's called Extravagant by Upper Room. There's an eight-minute section and then there's an hour-long worship set called Son of God by Upper Room. And he's got a thick black mustache and a striped shirt on in the picture on the YouTube video. And I just love how he leads a worship because he just lets the Holy Spirit flow. He lets the Holy Spirit lead him wherever he goes and he starts singing this bridge. And I would listen to it every day for a year. Every morning I would listen to this thing and my roommates

• 1:36:10Speaker 01

  at this day would always poke fun of me being like, yep, you know Bryce is up and moving when you hear Extravagant playing in the shower and you know he's in there worshiping. But I love the Christian music and I think it's powerful.

• 1:36:22Rick Rubin?

  Have you ever practiced Sabbath on a regular basis?

• 1:36:25Speaker 01

  That's something I'm getting in a more of a consistent rhythm on.

• 1:36:27Rick Rubin?

  What does it look like?

• 1:36:28Speaker 01

  So I, I, I got convicted of it because when I looked at people moving from the east to the west, when they started exploring the western part of America, the people that survived and didn't get sick and die on that sojourn were Jews in Seventh Day Adventist because they were resting. And so many people are in a rush now. How often do you hear, how are you doing? I'm good. I'm busy. Like, is it really a good thing to be busy? And I really believe if the devil can't make you sin, he'll make you busy because he wants to keep you distracted from what you really need. And so Jesus makes a very good point. He said that the Sabbath is for man, not man for the Sabbath. And so like the Sabbath is designed for us as human beings. We're designed to

• 1:37:11Speaker 01

  conceptualize the Sabbath as into the system. Like, yeah, there's systems that you can put into place, but like, but like the Sabbath is for us. Like God cared about us. And that one Sabbath day can look like, can fuel the whole six days of your week. So for me, it looks like local church. It looks like being around life-giving people. It looks like sweat. I like to work out. It looks like doing life-giving hobbies. I'm not good at surfing. I try. I get pummeled by the waves, but I, it was fun. It's fun when I do it. And it's honestly intimidating. Pickleball, going on a walk, spending time with my wife, spending time with your friends, spending time in the Word, spending time in prayer and worship.

• 1:37:51Speaker 01

  Doing things that honor God and that give life to you are beautiful. And I'm not talking about, you know, work. I'm like, go have fun and play pickleball. Go, go to the beach, lay out in the sun, take time and chill out, cut your phone off, and exist with people and the Lord, and let that fuel your day. And for me, I just love doing what I do. I bet you love doing what you do. So for me, it can be hard to be like, what do you mean? I need to take a break? You need to take a break? But even in the awkward tension of like stopping and standing still, I'm so grateful the day later going, wow, I feel sharp, ready, and ready to run. And it's important.

• 1:38:34Rick Rubin?

  Tell me about the best way to read the Bible.

• 1:38:39Speaker 01

  Number one, inviting the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, teach me. Bring me conviction. Tell me what this is saying, not only in the context of what's happening, but practically. So the Bible was written to Jews, but for believers. So sometimes we need to understand historical context of what's going on, you know, like when.

• 1:38:57Speaker 01

  Jesus in Matthew 25 gives the example of the 10 virgins, five with oil in the lamb, five without. Like, that wasn't just a random number he thought of. Like, that was the amount of women in a bridal party in a Galilean wedding. And when he uses certain language, he's appealing to language that they would hear and understand. When he calls himself the Son of Man, that's a prophecy from the book of Daniel that the Messiah would call himself. You know, so there's things that we need to learn there. But I think the biggest thing I would say is, I mentioned this earlier. We pull three verses out, we wrestle with these verses. Or Jesus will explain a parable and we wrestle with the parable. But if you read the passage afterwards, he oftentimes explains what he just said. Or you get the full context when you read it in one flow. And so I would be like, man,

• 1:39:39Speaker 01

  read the whole chapter, or read the passages around it, the few verses before, the few verses afterwards. And I think Bible plans are great. I think we should read, you know, create some sort of rhythm of Scripture. But also, at the same time, like, we shouldn't have to put a legalistic pressure on ourselves. Like, oh, you have to read 10 chapters a day. And if you don't, then you're doing something wrong. And it's like, sometimes if I read 10 chapters, like, I don't really digest, yeah, what is going on? And it's like, I would rather you digest eight verses and let that sit in your heart. And you dwell and meditate on the Scriptures. Then read 10 chapters and go, yeah, I've read through the Bible five times, but I can't tell you what's happened. So I think that, don't just cherry pick the verses. Like, read the surrounding context.

• 1:40:22Speaker 01

  And our Bibles are so unique, because even at the bottom of most, if not all Bibles, it'll be like, yo, this verse from the Old Testament in this here is a cross-reference, and it hints to here, and follow the rabbit hole. Jesus just wants us to love Him. That's why He summarizes all 613 laws. The Pharisees are, which law is the greatest? Because if He could say one was better than all 612, they could arrest Him. That's what they wanted. But He summarizes them all, from the book of Deuteronomy, by saying, "Love the Lord your God with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength." Because that's how you naturally obey the law, in quotations. It's like, you just focus on loving God, and you are naturally loving your neighbor. Because when you see yourself the way that God sees you,

• 1:41:06Speaker 01

  you realize that He sees everyone else with the same price tag He put on your life. So when you love God, you love people, and you love His commandments, and you love His Word, and you love His statutes, and you love prayer. And so that would be the last thing I would want someone to do is like just to try so hard to be a Christian. Like, don't try hard to be a Christian. What does that even mean, to try hard to be a Christian? Just love Jesus.

• 1:41:56Speaker 07

  Tetragrammatin is a podcast. Tetragrammatin is a website. Tetragrammatin is a whole world of knowledge.

• 1:42:11Speaker 06

  What may fall within the sphere of Tetragrammatin? Counter culture? Tetragrammatin. Sacred geometry? Tetragrammatin. The avant-garde? Tetragrammatin. Generative art? Tetragrammatin. The tarot? Tetragrammatin. Out-of-print music? Tetragrammatin. Biodynamic? Tetragrammatin. Graphic design? Tetragrammatin. Mythology and magic? Tetragrammatin. Obscure film? Tetragrammatin. Beach culture? Tetragrammatin. Esoteric lectures? Tetragrammatin. Off-the-grid living? Tetragrammatin. Alt spirituality? Tetragrammatin. The canon of fine objects? Tetragrammatin. Muscle cars? Tetragrammatin. Ancient wisdom for a new age.

• 1:42:58Speaker 06

  Upon entering, experience the artwork of the day.

• 1:43:03Speaker 06

  Take a breath, and see where you are drawn.