Welcome to the ride home!

Interviewing Chris Schwab

Happy g’day out there in listener land!

Today we have the joy of interviewing Mr. Chris Schwab, if I could learn to pronunciate. Say “howdie” to everybody, Chris.

Chris: Hello!

Interviewer: There he is! He doesn’t have a face for radio, I mean a voice for radio. It’s kind of amazing! Alright, Chris. So, what’s the single most important thing people should know about you?

Chris: I never give up.

Interviewer: Never gives up. That’s awesome. So, I don’t have many spiritual gifts, uhh..maybe a little bit of sarcasm. But, I do love putting people on the spot, just impromptu interviews. It’s like free versing. It’s a challenge, it’s exciting. You have to depend on the Spirit. You have to be in the moment. You have to be fully present so there’s no uhmms and ahhs and it’s super fun to embarrass people. Have you ever found that to be true?

Chris: No, I have not.

Interviewer: No you don’t enjoy it, right? ‘Cos it’s really humiliating, right?

Chris: Exactly. Yeah!

Interviewer: Have you ever maybe put some of your kids on the spot?

Chris: Yes, I have.

Interviewer: Was it fun for you, but not for them?

Chris: Yes, absolutely!

Interviewer: That’s exactly how I feel! Alright so. But today’s subject matter is the gospel as always. We’re just coming at it from a fresh angle. How familiar would you say that you are with the gospel of Jesus?

Chris: I… probably… More than I can articulate.

Interviewer: More than you can arti… That’s an awesome answer! More than I can articulate, which means there’s more that should come out of me than..than..but you’re very familiar with it to the point of overflowing. I think John said it this way, “If all the books that should be written, were written, even the world itself could not contain...all the books that should be written about Him.

Chris: Right.

Interviewer: So that’s great! Alright so. Here we are... do you feel like and do you believe that it is our personal responsibility to get this message out?

Chris: Yes, absolutely! A hundred percent.

Interviewer: And upon what are you basing that belief?

Chris: Scripture says that we are to go into all the world and preach the gospel.

Interviewer: To how many creatures?

Chris: Every creature.

Interviewer: Every creature. And where should we start?

Chris: In our sphere of influence, people around us.

Interviewer: I love it! Did you have any sphere today?

Chris: I did have a sphere.

Interviewer: Tell us about your sphere sphere?

Chris: Okay, well. I was at work. Uhh, there’s a few people that came in to the store and then I did two deliveries and was into two different homes with some folks there.

Interviewer: And were you.. your joyful-jubilant, communicative self, just free-flowing in the Spirit, and did you have any kind of conversational opportunities?

Chris: I did. I did. But I didn’t utilize it as much as I should. But, I did kind of... the basic. One was a Hispanic family so when I left I said, “Jesucristo te ama” as I shook their hands and then I didn’t know if they understood what I said, so I said, “God loves you, Jesus loves you,” and walked out. And so they were very receptive of that.

Interviewer: You know every drop of the gospel, every drop of joy is watering the seed. Did you know most people already know the gospel, but they just haven’t responded yet?

Chris: Right.

Interviewer: They know the truth that there is a God that, because there’s a God, I’m a sinner. Because I’m a sinner, there’s a penalty. Because there’s a penalty, there must be a Saviour. And because there’s a Saviour, I must make a decision to accept Him. But, I’m gunna think about it a little longer. So our pastor says the two things that are blocking people from heaven are pride and procrastination. But we cannot dismiss the daily drops of joy along life’s way. Do you feel like people can kind of smell and tell that there’s something different about your spirit as you interact with them?

Chris: Yeah, I do. One of the biggest things that happens to me that’s really weird is that when I’m around people, and most of the people I am around are like you know... they kind of speak their mind... and foul.. you know they curse... and so, what’s weird is when I’m around them or I walk by, it’s like they see me and then they correct themselves. Like if they say the sh* word, they’ll go, “I mean shoot” or you know it’s like… I feel like that they feel the Spirit of God in me and so they want to act better or speak better. It’s really weird!

Interviewer: And it’s not.. It must not be you. It must be you plus Who?

Chris: Me plus the Holy Spirit. Me plus God.

Interviewer: So they catch and correct. They feel a sense of an obligation to elevate their behavior because of who’s around, and they can just tell that you represent Someone besides just yourself.

Chris: Right.

Interviewer: This is not a common man. This is someone I should uhmm… maybe are you reminding people of the presence of God; not yourself, but you are reminding them that there is a God. Yeah, that’s kind of amazing! Right?

Chris: Yeah. I heard a preacher say one time, he said, “We should go out and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ everyday and when ... only when absolutely necessary, speak.” So, it’s a way you carry yourself. It’s a way that you act...it’s your kindness, it’s your smile…and you know and of course reading your Bible, having your Bible around, amening during church, not crazy amening, but they know that you’re into it. You’re not sleeping during service. When people start to catch on to that kind of stuff, they kind of feel like, “Wow, maybe this guy is the real deal!”

Interviewer: Amen! A little bit of craziness is acceptable!

Chris: Oh, absolutely!

Interviewer: I mean if we could just add some enthusiasm to Christianity, I think more people would be at least slightly curious. We certainly get excited on a ball game. It’s okay to be emotional because … anyway, we can go down that pathway. Alright, so. God opens doors. We are required to be prepared for when those doors open. I like this little phrase, I heard it in 1996. “Little drops of water, little grains of sand fill the mighty oceans and the pleasant land.” And that’s it. That’s the whole poem. I don’t know the rest of it. But, I’m gonna say it one more time because it’ll impact people’s lives. There are no minuscule actions for God. Right? Every little drip drop, every little sound. Here it is: “Little drops of water 💦 “ … and you can say it with your best poetic voice. “Little drops of water, little grains of sand, fill the mighty oceans and the pleasant land.” I should Google that to find out what the rest of it says, right?

Chris: Right. Yes.

Interviewer: Think something about a bee, carrying pollen, the miles, the little wings. They carry the pollen that makes all the food happen. Right? If the bees are gone, we’re gone. Alright, so. Gospel daily. Drip drop. Drip drop. Now, Jesus talked a lot!

Chris: Yes, He did!

Interviewer: He didn’t just smile. Although I’m sure He had a beautiful smile.

Chris: Sure.

Interviewer: So, words ... He is the Word. So I like the sentence. It’s cute. It’s fun. It’s sweet. People can smell; they can tell, but we do have to tell.

Chris: Yes. Right.

Interviewer: Anyway, that’s today’s ride home! That’s 8 minutes.