Is Celebrity Christianity Real? + Fashion Fails (Summer Road Trip Series)

Summer's the time to buckle the family in for the classic road trip...and we've got all the hot topics you'll need to keep everyone happy! 

Join Mary and Steve Alessi as they take you along for a candid car ride full of laughs, real opinions, and honest reflections. The Alessis riff on everything from the evolution of dress codes and the peculiar power of fashion trends to how public figures like the Kardashians and Joe Rogan navigate Christianity under the spotlight. 

They don’t shy away from tough questions—unpacking why Christian identity isn't just about saying the right things, and calling out when church leaders miss the mark.

You’ll get practical insights on raising kids, the impact of true discipleship, and what it really means to walk out your faith in a world obsessed with image. Grab your snack of choice and buckle up—this journey is as entertaining as it is thought-provoking, and proof that family talk can make any drive fly by.

Podience Question of the Week! What should we call this summer series of episodes? We'll pick the name that describes the vibe of this episode the best!

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Transcript

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Okay, well, then you're not a Christian. So that's where this gets tough. You can't keep walking like the world, talking like the world, looking like the world and say, I'm a believer. Somebody's not teaching them that there's some somewhere they're not getting that. Discipleship class. Yeah. Hello and welcome to a new episode of the Family Business with the Alessi. I'm Steve Alessi and I'm sitting here with Mary Alessi. And we're going to talk family because family is everybody's business, but this is going to be different. Yeah. So we're going to launch something brand new today. First, I just want to say, excellent. Thank you so much for helping us get over 5,500 YouTube subscribers, 141 rating on the Apple podcast. All of that is due to our excellent family business with the Alessi Pawdience. Thanks for joining us during our podcast and sharing this. Listen, if you'd like to get more information, text updates, then text family. The word family F A M I L Y to 302-524-0800 and you'll see more of that below if you'd like to be able to text us and get some updates. But here's what we're going to do. All right now, because there's one of us that are the beauty and the other is the brain. Really? I. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. We have a new idea for a. Program, so hold on a second. One of us is a beauty and one of us is a brain. Yeah. So they're going to figure it out. They're going to figure it out. Since we're in summer. Okay. According to Danny. Go. Summer is for chill. Okay. Yeah. You can tell we're grandparents now. Yes, we are. And Alan, Alan Paul will correct us if we're wrong on any of our verbiage up in here, but what we're going to try to do is this. We want to ask our audience to come join us in our car. We're on a road trip. Okay. And we've got hours of road and. Okay, so like Georgia, when we drive to Georgia. There you go. Yeah. Six. What did we say? Eight hours, 600 miles from doorstep to doorstep, from our home in Miami to the farm in Georgia. So we get on the road, we're in the car, and we just talk, talk, talk. Or I should say, you just talk, talk, talk. I. I think we can't be disingenuous here. So. What do you mean? Well, because we don't just talk, talk, talk well, true. You're on your phone. You're on your phone. I'm zipping in and out of traffic trying to get us there. If people only knew. Yeah. If they only knew. We do talk intermittently throughout that. We do more work on the road than sometimes we do in the office. We do. But if a hot topic comes up. Yep. We have been known to beat around a few bushes. I don't know if that makes any sense. Okay. But we're going to do that. We're going to do. We're going to do that. Because you're on rep. Yes. If you're on the road, lock in. And since. Yeah. We're going to just take this journey together. Let's see how far we can take the listeners. Yeah. How far they'll stay in there with us. With us talking about. Because we're going to talk about some. Okay. Some pretty interesting. So here's usually the setup. I'm on the road, I'm driving, and I'm just looking down the road figuring out how I'm going to squeeze between this car and get to that lane and how quick I can get there. Is that what's on your mind when you're. Most of the time. But then you start a conversation. So since you're the conversation starter, go. What are we going to talk about? Well, I learned as a young wife not to ask you what you're thinking when you're driving, because what you're thinking is, how do I get in front of this guy? Yeah. And he's trying to get up on my bumper. How do I get away from him? So I've learned to stop asking that. But we do have some deep talks when we're driving. And so today we're just going to talk. And I think one of the things we should talk about, because in our podcast, we've discussed so many things and we'd like for our listeners, if you can, to help us name this Summers with Steven, Mary, or, I don't know, road tripping. Coming up with some names. Actually, we should probably post some names, Alan, that we come up with. Let's use our creative juices to help our audience out, and then you guys help us decide what you want to. What you want to call this. But we're not going to just come from the standpoint of, like our podcast, where we're giving tips and we're giving advice and we're giving resource and instruction. We. We're going to really be talking about our opinions about things, things that happen in culture, things that are happening right now. One segment we're going to do is then versus now, how times have changed. This is always good conversation stuff, talking about how the years have passed. I mean, we've lived through now how many decades we on our fifth, sixth decade that we've been on the earth. And boy, have times changed. So we're going to get deep into all that. And so you're going to want to stick around for it because it's going to be good. Yeah. Well, I've had an interesting day today. Okay. Okay. This is interesting from my perspective, what I do, right? So people usually look at pastors and they think, you know, what do pastors do? Right? What's their job? And most of them think, well, they just sit in an office and they pray all day. Pray for people. They read the Bible, right? Well, today was one of those days. Well, you did do that. Well, it's like all I've done is pray. Well, my goodness, you're finally a pastor. So, I mean, I pray, yeah. But today I woke up so I had to do the prayer call for our church family, which every

day, Monday through Friday, they pray 6: 6:17

30am which is great group of people that started back when Covid hit, because we wanted to pray our people through all the shutdowns, the lockdowns and everything else. And since we couldn't be in church, we had to shut down for about four months. We pulled together this team and they just started praying every day. So we've kept that going because it's been so powerful. It's really been a blessing. So today was my day. And on this particular day, we pray for specifically the needs of the church family. So if you come to our church on a Sunday and we open up the service to a time of prayer, people will come down and there's people to pray for you, or you can write down your prayer requests. Today is the day, once a week that we pray over those prayer requests. So I woke up today, early. I've said today about 30 times. And I started by praying with the team. At that point, I had an appointment at 10 o' clock at the city of Doral. And I was there because they had their, their meeting with their council members and they asked me to open up in prayer there. So I prayed. And then I was asked to this lunch, impromptu lunch, where the mayor happened to take the men of her staff in the different departments at the city of Doral, from building and zoning to the legal department to the, the, the. The city mayor and manager's Office and then her immediate office, plus the police chief and a couple of his lieutenants and sergeants. So I was there from an outsider's perspective. It was very sweet that I would be invited to that because me and the mayor were. Excuse me. Me and the chief of police were supposed to go to lunch today, but he texted me yesterday, hey, the mayor has invited us to this lunch. Come join us. So I'm like, all right, might as well go. Well, I was the only outsider that was very nice that the rest of them were staff members, and I'm the outsider that's there. And the mayor is so cordial, honoring and respectful. She considers this her church. I'm her pastor. Chief of police refers to me as his pastor. It's very sweet. So I'm there as an outsider, and she makes her opening comments, and then she throws it to me to, of all things, pray again. You get paid to pray. I got paid to pray today. So my comments were to all the fathers, which was very nice about us being able to share that beautiful title. God honored us with that title of father, the same title that he holds, and he shared it with us as men, as fathers. And of course, this is getting ready for Father's Day. So then after that, I did open up in prayer and prayed for the church or for the men that were around the table. So that was very sweet. So today was one of those days where I guess as a pastor, I. My job was to just pray. And tonight we're going to have a graduation. Graduation. And we're probably going to pray. You know what I did today? What'd you do today? I got my hair done. Oh, okay. I'm just saying, I'm not much of a pastor today. Nope. You. You. You got paid for your role. And I got my hair done. Would say, you're so vain, but I. Had to get my hair done for this podcast. Oh, there you go. Okay, well, you know what? Which is why I sure wish people would watch us on YouTube so they can see what your hair looks. How good my hair looks. Yeah. Listening to it is not enough. You gotta tune in and watch how great we look. I think we both look really good today because you've been on this kick recently with the staff and with all of us about dress appropriate, dress for the office, summertime dress recently. Continuously. Meaning. But you've. You've really put a lot of emphasis on it in the last week, couple weeks, making sure your clothes represent you. And we had a dress etiquette meeting yesterday. Okay. So, yes, Yesterday. What did you think about that? I thought it was great. Yeah, I thought it was great. Good. I think it's good for us to be mindful. Not everybody looks at what they wear as a representation of themselves. So, like today, when you went to where you were going to meet the mayor and you went to go be with the chief of police, you thought about what you were gonna wear, because you don't wanna walk into that environment and not be dressed appropriately. They're all dressed in uniform. Well, I'm sure the mayor wasn't, but the rest of them are dressed in uniform. So you don't have a uniform as a pastor, per se, but you're mindful of how you dress? I don't think. Why? Because it represents the church and it represents. Metro. Represents who I am. You. And it represents who you are. And it's just. Do you know when they were two teaching about it in the audience? I'm getting my words wrong. When they were teaching about it in the office this week about dress, I was, you know, chat. GPT. Everything is amazing. And there's actually a thing called power dressing that when you dress, you think about how you want to feel when you walk in a room and how you want to be presented, and you dress accordingly based on wanting to feel some kind of power when you walk in that room. So it absolutely is the psychology of clothing and the psychology of dressing. Well, I think what we sometimes forget on our end is that everybody that's on staff represents the church, the organization. And you have to realize that, okay, my presentation of who I am, what I'm wearing, speaks louder than the presentation that I make with my voice. So I. I know before I even open my mouth to pray, people are already judging me in those events in those places because they're looking at how I present myself. Right. And the Bible does talk about presenting yourself, presenting your body as a living sacrifice. So there's always a presentation of your physical form before you ever make a presentation with your words. We weren't always of that belief. And most of the time, when you don't, you. If that's not a high standard, it's really either because you can't afford it or no one's ever taught you. But over the. Over the years, times have changed. Fashion's changed, looks have changed. There's so many different trends. And that's something we do talk about a lot, raising kids and in ministry, how there was a then and then, there's a now. How have things changed? Well, for you and me, Things have changed multiple times and they're going to continue to change. But the core values stay the same. The, the essential things stay. The thing stay the same. What do you think has changed in this generation? We can talk about it with fashion. That, that drives you crazy right now. Well, before this generation, okay, there was the generation before them that. And some of them still do it today, they, they, they just don't know how to pull up their pants. Oh, my goodness, their trousers drives me bananas. You know, there's names for that. We just don't know what they are. I don't know what it is, but it, it drives me nuts. Yeah. That they would run, walk around and their pants be so down low, showing their underwear in their back and, you know, the crotch is way down. If they ever had to run, forget if they're in trouble. So that was a certain generation, this generation, I gotta tell you, maybe this is the plus of social media influencers. They do present a cleaner image that I like. Yeah, it's true. I see, especially with young men, they present something clean. Maybe it's just because that's what I see on my feed because, you know. You like that style. I like that style. So it comes up, the algorithm picks up. Let's not give them some of the other stuff that's out there. But I do like the way that I love the white T shirt look with some of these guys. That's clean and yeah, putting it with a nice trouser or a nice set of jeans. And of course, I like white shoes. Yeah, Stevie, white shoes. Alessi. I like the white shoes. So I think it's a clean look and they got to be clean. I think that's cool. Then when they put a man. What was it? I learned that I forgot the name of a shirt and jacket combination. Jack jacket shirt combo. Looks like one. It's called a shacket. I don't know. Oh, you stepped out yesterday. Yes. It's a shirt that could be worn also as a jacket over. Over your T shirts and such. Okay. So they called it a shack. So what, what look do you hate? I know you said the baggy trousers, but that, you know, the jeans, they don't. We don't really see that in our as much. I did hear this look is going out, though. But you always hated it. You always hated it when you saw guys wear it. You don't remember? No, help me. The ripped jeans. Oh, yes. Where the, you know, your skin is showing. Stupid you. Oh, my God. If anybody ever wants to hear Steve Alessi go off on a tangent. Walk around him with ripped jeans. But. But I'm figuring out why they, especially young ladies, are wearing ripped jeans these days. Why? Because they have tattoos on them. That's true. Their thighs and they want to show them. But I will tell you. You're gonna. But what came first, the ripped gene or the tattoo? It's a good question. They're both huge trends. Now. I will tell you that the. That the ripped jeans is out. Ripped jeans is out. You're not going to be seeing ripped jeans anymore. And if anybody that's listening did not know that and you have ripped jeans, go throw them away. They are out. Well, I will tell you, there is a style of jean that's coming out now. That's coming in now, I guess, because in is out. Out is in. Right. And I want to be very sensitive as I say this, because my wife is wearing them and she. I love these jeans. Don't even. But I'm talking about. Stop. Yeah. No, I love these jeans. Yes. What are they, Mary? They are bell bottom. They're not bell bottom. They're baggy. They're baggy jeans. Big time baggy. But they're cute. Okay. These are cheap ones because they're from Old Navy, so they're not. They're not the best. I have the other pair, they're a little bit more high quality. And you like those? The same thing? Yes. Let me tell you how I like them, though. I like them with a heel. Yeah. I like them well, a nice. I don't care for them with tennis shoes because they make you look kind of plump and short. Plump. And you're not. Yeah. Did you just use that word? It's like plump. Plump. You just said plump. Yeah. Is that. Who even uses that word? Plump? Evidently, the fashionista came here. The plump expert. I've been plump pretty much my entire life. No, no, you were husky. Okay. Husky. Plump. Husky and plump. Yes. That's the name of our podcast. Husky and Plump. Oh, man. Oh, that's it. That's the title, Alan, we found it. We found it. Husky and plump. But I. But you haven't asked me any questions. I want you to know I have asked you all the questions. I'm responding to all of yours. But you really like these jeans? I like this look. I don't necessarily like these jeans. I hear you there. They shrunk. So that's the thing about the style. I like the style. Really? I like the style. Okay. I could tell you something else. I'm having a problem with, with ladies fashion. What, the oversized coats. Oh, I love that. I'm sure I'll grow into it. You will. My daughter had one on Sunday on the platform. Everything was oversized. So cute. With a cool, nice set of tinnies, sneakers. So cute. But I, I have a problem with it, and I really have a problem, and this is going to give me in trouble. I'm sure with women that wear ties. There'S plenty of people that agree with you. There are plenty that don't. And I think that's a look that's going to blow in and blow out. But, you know, one of the things. I, I think it's the masculine. You don't like that? Masculine. I don't. On a, On a beautiful woman. On a woman. They. I'm just of the, the, the, you know, mindset of. I, I want the woman to look feminine. More feminine. I know. And she has so much to offer in her physique and her body. That's just beautiful. It's just a fashion look. It's a statement. It's just a look. It's a statement that says, I want to be a man. No, it doesn't. Okay. It comes across that way, but that's not the intention. So all the listeners that are female are taking off their ties right now. Only. Only five are wearing them. You know, the truth is, that does go back to the importance of presenting ourselves. You know, on our podcast, we talk a lot about kids, raising your kids. And sometimes the last thing parents will get to in teaching their children is etiquette and dress. Yeah. And they really need to talk about it. It is something that we have talked about. We've not always agreed on, but we go. We have rules. Yeah. Part of the reason of having that dress etiquette talk yesterday was because we all, as staff and family, we went to a wedding not too long ago. Right. And our son Chris was actually performing the wedding. It was an outdoor wedding. It was getting a bit toasty, and he showed up without a tie. The. The invitation I think said semi formal, so. Oh, yeah, tie was an option, more or less. But we got there, I was wearing a tie. I know everybody was wearing it. You know, all the men were wearing. And some women. No, they weren't. And our son, who's getting ready to perform the ceremony, was not wearing a tie. Right. So we had to go over and borrow a tie from somebody else. And it hits me, you know what? I can't blame him. He just doesn't. Doesn't know what is formal, what is Black tie. What is semi formal? What's dress? You know, so we, that's why I went ahead and asked the office to put together a little presentation. Right. It was cool for etiquette, so that you know exactly what that looks like. And if you don't know because you, you didn't have the opportunity growing up. Nobody ever taught me, right. We, we weren't that, you know, what's the word for it? We, we just weren't that taught. Well versed, classy. We weren't that cultured in that we went to a lot of black tie events. No, it's true. You don't know how. So how do you dress? And now because we represent our church, this people, we, our staff needs to show up, you know, being the rule, not the exception to the rule. And there's a lot of people that don't think dress is important, but it is and it makes a big difference. Just look at, even look at fashion today and how it speaks and it drives and it creates, you know, the trends that are out there. There was a day where guys didn't wear T shirts that were low cut. You know, there were, there was a. Time where that went in and out. It did go out, didn't it? He sure did. It has gone out. You don't see it anymore. Thank God some of those goofy young pastors were wearing those. Long neck. Come on. Yeah, that's like why you got to wear a wife beater like that? No, there's no, there's no reason for that. You really want to know what we think? We will tell you what we think. I'm going to close my life. So let me ask you a question. Tell you what I think because you said, and I have, I have a very juicy conversation I want to say. Tell me about fashions that you like with young women and middle aged women. Well, honestly, I like form fitting but not tight. I like when the outfit fits the woman's body well when she dresses for her body type, no matter how large or how thin she might be. I think that is one of the most important things you can ever learn. If you have to pay for it, pay for it. But dress right for your body type. And now with AI, I don't know if you've seen that on social media. I keep getting the ad for it. Maybe it thinks I need it. Fine. Maybe it's these pants. Maybe, maybe my phone is going, your husband's right, don't wear those pants. But you can actually just like scan your body and AI tells you exactly what you should wear all the time. Really? Yes. Isn't that cool? That's a great tool. Is that an app? I think so. Okay. I didn't want to tell you this yesterday before you. Because I knew it'd be a tangent and it would get crazy. But it's something to. To look at. And that's the, that's the beauty of. Because back in the day before there was AI you'd have to go to the Mary Kay color lady or makeup lady, and they would bring the colors to your house and show you how to dress you. You would need a stylist to show you. So it was expensive, but now you don't have to do that. So you can always look good. But I honestly. One of the pet peeves I have right now are the leggings. I. I'm over it with the leggings. Really. I am over it. Women think. And I get it. Running around on the weekend, running errands. I wear them and I usually I'll wear something around my waist, but they are comfortable and I. I get that. But the. I see women with tight leggings with blazers over it or tight leggings with tops tucked in, and it is not as attractive as they think they are. They're. They're not. And so many women think if I wear them, I'm going to look skinnier. They don't. They just look pressed in. And it's for the Kardashian women. They invented those because the emphasis, dare I say it, I'm gonna tell the truth, is on your rear end. It's to emphasize and show off your bottom. So again, I'm not fully against them. I think they're great to work out in. I will say this too. There's been a lot of lawsuits lately saying that those leggings have caused cancer in women. I'm just. I'm not on a soapbox. Really? Yes. All I'm saying is that you need to be mindful of that. They're just, they're not a classy look for every day to try to elevate because eventually it looks like you're just trying to be sexy. So that's the truth. When you're looking and wearing something so form fitting and so tight that leaves nothing to the imagination. That's a pet peeve of mine. I don't understand it. I don't. I don't understand moms who let their girls wear. Wear them and at least not wrap a jacket or something around their waist because you're just There you're out there. Everything shows cool. At the gym. Just. I think it's fine at the gym. You're working out. It's an exercise outfit. It's for exercise and that makes total sense. But to just wear it to look good or to wear it in a mixed environment. I think they've been around too long and they're getting on my nerves because I go through them all and all these girls, that's all everybody's wearing. You can't buy another pair of pants. Like really in every color anyway. That's my pet peeve. Drives me batty. It's not even about the sexual part of it. It's just buy something else. What do I like? I like. You know what one of my favorite looks is right now? I don't know if you're gonna like it, but I like the loose slacks. Like the loose, more high waisted slack for a woman that's square. Like the, like. I can't think of my words. Anyway, they're not tapered, they're straight down, more like a boot cut. But they're loose with like the vests, the cute little sleeveless vests. And then you can elevate that with shoes, like tennis shoes or heels. I don't know. I think that is the cutest look, but you got to have their arms for it. So not everybody can wear it, but it's cute. You know what I like? But I do like that look. What I like on you is that that shirt, it's like a button down, but it's. But it's a little large. It's larger on you and it'll sometimes fall back on your shoulders just a little bit so it shows more of your neck. You know, it's. I like that look. And you roll up your sleeve a. Little bit like an oversized shirt. Like an, like an oversized man shirt. Yeah, but like a masculine oversized man shirt. No, because usually it's going to be a sweet, cute color. Can I wear a tie with it? You're such a smart person. You know what? Do you know this? So I like that look. But anyhow, it was supposed to ask you. Well, you can feel free to go to the store and buy me that anytime you want to. Okay, so in the Hot Topics, I don't know if you know this, but you know who the Kardashians are. Do you know who they are? Do you really know who they are or are you just saying that? Yes, Mary, my daughters, y' all used to just watch their show. Oh. Because we would Watch their show. Oh, gosh. Okay. So, you know, there's Kris Jenner. She's the mom. You know her story. And then she's had, like, six kids. She said Chloe, Kim, Kourtney. And then she's. No, she said five daughters. Right? Five daughters. Chloe, Kim, Kourtney, 5, and then the two daughters. And I think three of the five are billionaires. If I'm not. Maybe two of the five, they have said they're billionaires from makeup and all that. So they set a standard right now for fashion and image. And. What's the mother's name? Chris. Chris. So she's the one who turned a man to a woman. Basically, her husband. Go ahead. Yeah. Bruce Jenner. Turned. Turned into a woman. Woman. There you go. Because powerful. What. What an influencer. She's very. Okay, genius. Oversight, observation. Thank you. So she made fashion and her daughters, the look of fashion and makeup and hair looks so good that her husband said, if you can't beat them, join. Okay. So anyway, that's a. That's a whole crazy part of the story that none of us want to even go down that rabbit trail. But we have heard for so many years, through pastors that are the Kardashian adjacent, that they're Christians and they're believers and they have a strong faith in the Lord. And even recently, I told you this, that the two sisters. I think it's Chloe. I never can get them right. I think it's Chloe and Courtney have a podcast, and one was introducing the sister. Was interviewing the sister, not Kim, because Kim's, like, out there. But they were talking about their faith in Jesus and how they read the Bible every day and how much they love God. It was really interesting. And they pushed that one sound bite out there really big. So I listened to it. I didn't go back and listen to the whole podcast, but I. We've heard this throughout the last several years. Oh, the Kardashians, man. They're Christians, they're believers, they love Jesus. They have the most beautiful relationship with Jesus. And the confusing part is it doesn't look like that. So in this generational culture that we are in, they are spanning the 20s and the 30s. They're even still influencing some of the littler girls, but not as much anymore, but they're spanning these pretty wide generations for trends and fashion. And you talk about leggings, like, they have a whole line of the tightest tops and pants that you have ever seen in your life. Billboards with nothing but their rear end in tight leg oh, I'm not kidding you. I can't say that I've seen that. Glad to hear it. Good. But my point is, this is a conversation that we have all the time. Yeah. Just because you say you're a Christian doesn't mean you're a Christian. Yeah. But you don't want to judge people that get on their podcast and talk about that they have a relationship with the Lord. Yeah. So it is. It's one of those things that when we sit around with our kids and, you know, even our staff or church family and we talk about this, we do get in the weeds a little bit. What do you think about that whole topic? Yeah. Well, let's bring in somebody else who recently we have heard Joe Rogan is going to church. Yeah, him too. He had with Wes Huff, dynamic young man who just has an understanding of theology and just study. Yeah. That he was put on Rogan's podcast because Rogan was pretty impressed by his knowledge. And Rogan, who's had a number of different spiritual encounters and different things. He's tried everything. Yeah. Was so influenced that it stirred up something in him to now evidently pursue a little bit of Christianity. So he's going to church, which we're not sure what kind of church he's going to, but the word is it's a Christian church. So that is on both of these celebrities, these massive influencers in our society and culture today. That's phenomenal. Let's just call that like it is. I mean, thank God for it. For somebody who may have been praying for these people, prayers have been answered. Right. So. Wow. And if it took all the stuff that they've had to go through for good and bad, for them to taste that that stuff is not fulfilling. And now at this level of influence, at the highest of high, they're saying, all my success is great, but there's still something lacking. Yeah. That's causing them to go search for God. Yeah. Through Christianity. They're searching. Yes. Then that is a tremendous blessing. Right. So we love that, you and I. We think it's great. Now, we're not going to get up and say much about it because the verdict is still out as to where they will be six months to a year from now in their faith journey. Exactly. So as people that have been in this our entire life, it's us saying, let's get them in that faith encounter. Let them have that faith encounter. But now let's see them walk this out, because we know just from a Christian's perspective, there is only One way and that to the Father. And we know what that way is, and you've got to stay on that way. It's not many paths. Not many ways, not many leaders. It's one through to God, through Jesus. Right, so let me finish. Because you're dying to jump. No, because I have a question to ask you. So in that right there, they are going to have to get through that very narrow path. Right. Following one to the Father. Can they do that? Or is this just the newest thing in their religious arsenal that. That they are buying into at this point? So we don't say, hey, this is like heaven's opened up and we're seeing these people have this relationship or grateful they are. We want to see it walked out. Right. Which I think is what we ultimately believe. We're not looking at any of these famous people as role models for Christianity or to embolden our faith. Not right now. So we just. Or maybe ever. I will say this. Kanye west came out strong, that God had transformed him. He was married to Kim Kardashian, and he did an entire Christian album with. A choir at Lakeside and all things. You mean Lakewood. Lakewood. Lakewood. So the thing. You flew out there, I went to see the concert. You wouldn't go. So this is really where I was trying to go with this. It's more of, how should we as Christians even teach our younger kids that see that and go, oh, my gosh, you know, the Kardashians, they're Christians. They're Christians, but yet they're not emulating a life that says, I'm walking like Jesus. I'm talking like Jesus. Right. So they're still putting their tight spandex butt up on big billboards. Yeah. Okay, so now our kids are going, but they're Christians. And Rogan's still dropping a ton of. F bombs, and he's a. So what? My bigger issue is, just because you call yourself a Christian, I am grateful that. That they're going to church, but they're still working out their journey with the Lord. So back to what you said. We champion that. But more than anything, because they've got such a big platform, we better pray for them. Because what's happened with Kanye, he's actually gone worse. He has gotten worse than he was before he came to into a salvation relationship with Jesus. At least he's not P. Diddy. No, he's right there. He might be. You don't know. We hope not. Okay, so my point. Let's hit this. No, I love your point. I think we're on a same page here. How far do we follow them? Well, here's what we know, all right? This is the church world is a world that you and I have known our entire life. Right. We can see things that are going to happen, most likely because we've been there. We've watched other people like them. It's the equivalent of them in their. For Rogan, his podcast, okay, we're sitting in a podcast booth, but our podcast isn't what his podcast is. He can teach us some things on podcasting. On podcasting, because that's his world. Right. So just because we're podcasters, we can't think. Okay, we're up to speed with Rogan. Just because he's a Christian doesn't mean that he's up to speed with what the Christian church is able, you know, to raise and, and exemplify. So we understand. Let's let them grow in their relationship with God. Yeah, it will take time. It will take a lot of work. Right. They are being scrutinized all the time. Everything they say, everything they do is being scrutinized. Do they have a Sunday church environment to go to regularly? Do they have a pastor that they're willing to say, he's my pastor that I'm working with. I'm. I'm going to get behind the Kingdom of God vision and I'm going to do it with a pastor. Or will they have many spiritual advisors or leaders, which doesn't help them grow as much as a pastor will in their life. So those are things, I mean, realistically speaking, when they are that influential, that big, that are traveling all the time, on the road all the time, they don't have the opportunity to say, all right, every Sunday I'm going to church, right? Every Sunday I'm going to, you know, talk to my pastor, go over, shake his hands, or I'm going to text him. I'm going to call him if I need something and need prayer that they don't have that because of everything. That success is pulling on them and pulling away from them. Right. So they need our prayers more than ever, and we champion their faith walk. Yeah, we're just not going to sit back and make. Yeah, they've done it. So now Christianity is popular. It's not easy to get on a podcast that millions and millions of people listen to, and there are atheists and God haters, and you as the, the famous person that is that podcast and has built that audience and you've make a decision to say I'm a believer, and I'm entertaining Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior. And now I'm going to church. I mean, that's putting your. Your whole career on the line. So I think it goes back to judge not lest that same judgment come upon you. Whether they're famous or whether they live in a trailer. Don't judge anybody we don't know. However, we don't follow them in the area for our faith to get faith advice, like you said, because they're still working it out. And, you know, I heard somewhere recently from this psychologist, and I'd never heard this before, but that power and fame actually rewires your brain. Did you ever hear that, that when people get powerful or famous, either through, you know, they're famous, they're musicians, singers, actors, whatever, or through money, and they gain fortune and power, that their brains get rewired. And when you think about having to be rich and be wealthy, that's one thing. But to be famous, rich, and wealthy, that is the epitome that we all think. Oh, I can't imagine. But we also know it's the loneliest position in the whole world. So when they're saying they're seeking the Lord, we just say, thank God they are. That that's in their mouth, too. That that's something they're considering. But we now pray that they work out their salvation. And we're not. We're not. It's not a slam dunk. Because I go back to the Kanye situation. Yeah, that was so sad to me. Yeah. That somebody who built that choir, sang those songs, was traveling on tour with it. It looked like he had really transformed his life. Their relationship with Jesus Christ went on having got married to Kim, had kids, and now it's like he is cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. He has lost it. Yeah. It's so, so sad that, I mean, who. Who got disillusioned that started to follow him down his road and then saw how much worse he got. I don't know. I think it definitely stirs up a lot of controversy, stirs up a lot of talk, but it can also really hurt the body of Christ, because people that see that they don't have a relationship with Jesus can say, man, you're worse after. Yeah, don't even bother. Well, here's the good thing. The good news is guys like them, Russell Brand. Yeah. There's something that's being stirred up in them. Yeah. For Rogan to be seen in a church to invite a Wes Huff onto his podcast, this other comedian that's vulgar as all get out. He's hilarious. Vulgar as all get out. He also had Wes Huff on his podcast to see how there's this searching. I know that, you know, I want to say we weren't real crazy about the political landscape that we've had to navigate through, which then created a cultural. What we felt like was a cultural demise. Yeah. Where now you've got young men that want to be women that are competing in women's sports. Like, people are still fighting for that. Like it's something that should be allowed. Common sense tells you it's not. Come on. But as bad as those days were, you got to go back to this scripture verse. It says where sin abounds, grace much more. Yeah. Abounds. What we have seen is. And that just means as dark as it could get. Right. The light gets even brighter. That's right. So as dark as things were, look what it is now produced. Because some of these people that were more carnal minded saw how dark the carnal mind was taking people. Yeah. And it's caused them to say, wait, that's not enough. Right. That doesn't satisfy. That doesn't fill me. That doesn't give me what I'm looking for. There's got to be more. And then these voices that are being used to cause them to look towards God. Yeah. Wow. What a beautiful day. We could say we live in. I agree. As dark as it was, sin was so rampant and still is. Now we're seeing man. The grace is being poured out and people are saying, I want to have faith. So. Well, that's a beautiful thing. I think that's. That is what we want to see God do. But it doesn't always end there, because what we have is a lot of very judgmental Christians that will sit in judgment of people that have come out about their faith that are in famous positions saying, see, see, it wasn't genuine. They weren't really living for God. Well, the truth is, that was a process for them, that they're still in that process. And maybe they do come into a relationship with Christ that's short term and they can't carry it out. Yeah. So they're human beings. Maybe they do fall away. Yep. We got to pray for them. No doubt. I'll tell you, though, there is a resurgence because. I don't know. Resurgence. There is a surge. Yeah. College sports. You're seeing young stars, studs that are in college sports, basketball, football, baseball, that profess their Christian faith. Yeah. The Ohio State Buckeyes won the Championship, national championship for college football last year on this year 2025 started the year they won. For the 2024 year, the majority of the team will tell you about their faith they have in God, their baptism water baptism experience, some of them even speaking in tongues. That's awesome. The national champions are, are celebrating their faith in God. They want to talk more about their faith in God. And some of those studs were just drafted in the NFL at the NFL draft. They want to talk more about their faith than they do about their fame in football. Yeah. And they talk about how their lives were in the gutter and God did something on that campus that those coaches were allowing those kids putting Bible studies, praying over them it. To see this surge of faith amongst these leaders that are influential. It's, it's a good day for, for us in the sense that this is really happening. So, yeah, we keep our eye on them and we pray for all of these people because we want them to experience the real. That's right. And if Mary, that brain has been rewired because of a certain influence and power that they have. I mean, come on, we need to ask for a miracle. We do for them to stay on point. We want them to have this. The effectual fervent prayer of the righteous availeth much. And if we would pray more than we judge and sit around and talk about them like they don't. They're not real people, but really pray for them, their souls too. There are people that they will reach for the kingdom that pastors won't ever reach. But it is a, it's a difficult thing to navigate because we're not trying to follow them as influencers, like you said. Podcasts, yes. In my faith, no. So not yet. Not yet. Not yet. But they have to do the work. In their lives, you know, for the Kardashians, maybe they really think, because we know they've, they've had some Christian friends over the years. We've known one of them got married by a pastor in town here. They, you know, we, we know that they've had those faith experiences in the past. Their lifestyle, their, their, their belief in their behavior has never really been on the same page. So the part that we're just hoping for is that the behavior will catch up to their belief. But thankfully they're saying, hey, the right things. Hey, my faith, I'm on this faith journey. Well, I think those of us who are real true believers and we don't just talk it, we walk it. What we know the essence of our Faith is. Is that what Jesus has done for us on the inside shows on the outside? So I'm not living a double life where I'm telling you I love Jesus. I live for him. I love having faith in him. I go to church, but my life doesn't line up with that. That is not what the difference between what God sees and the world sees. According to God, it's all the same. But in that kind of Christianity, it's. I have these two. What does Beyonce call herself? She has a alter ego. Alter egos, Right. So the good side of me, that's mine, that I don't put out on social media, that's not on billboards, that's just me at home, loves Jesus. But the side of me that the world sees and the world loves, she's. She gets jiggy with it. I don't know. That's a 90s term, but I thought I'd throw that out there. That doesn't matter because that's my career. That's my, my alter ego. That's how I make money. Okay, well then. Then you're not a Christian. So that's where this gets tough. You can't keep walking like the world, talking like the world, looking like the world, and say, I'm a believer. Somebody's not teaching them that there's some somewhere they're not getting that discipleship class that when you come out of the world, when you say, I'm a Christ follower, you come out from the world, you turn from the world so that you reflect and emulate Christ. Well, what brand are you promoting? Right. Because as a Christian, if you call yourself a Christian, that's become your brand. That's right. So if you're. Yeah, but people don't want to make their brand. Christianity doesn't make any money. No, it doesn't, but the benefits are great, I'll tell you that. Oh, it's. It's the greatest life policy that goes. Along with that side of this world. Y eternal. So. Oh, that was good. Mike drop. Here's my issue for that I, I struggle with. I, I have a lot of grace for what you just mentioned, the Kardashians and, and Rogan and Russell Brand. I, I have a lot of grace for them because they're growing in their walk. Right. And they got a long way to go. And what I say, great. What I mean by having grace for them is if their behavior isn't lining up with their beliefs just yet, that that's okay. Let's just pray them into it. Here's what I really struggle with. I have people that are on platforms, too, that are pastors. Right. That preach hate. Okay. They're not preaching love. They're not preaching unity. They preach hate. And they promote these boycotts. Right. They want to jump on it and they want to make it really a race thing. Yeah. And they get out there and here, they're supposed to be a voice of hope, a voice of unity, a voice of love. But they. They create divide. Yeah. I have a problem with that because to me, that person knows better because they are in the Word because they have a calling on their life. Yeah. They know better, but they're not doing better. And they're in a position of influence. For godly authority, and they're causing people to fall. Mary. Turn from the church, turn from God. Yeah. Because they preached and spew this hate. It's true. That's the one that's worse that I struggle with. And I actually have to pray harder for that person than I do for the Rogans. I agree. When we hear there's hellfire is real. It's real. And things come on your life when you play one thing that it's. We've been in this long enough to know what happens as pastors and spiritual leaders when you get up and you mess with that platform of God's people. Joe Rogan isn't preaching to God's people. He never said he was. The Kardashians, they know. They, their audience, their congregation is the world. The worldlier, the better, because the world buys your worldly things. But when pastors get in pulpits and we see it all over the country, and they are representing Christ to Christians and they pervert that and they lose righteousness. And now they're into really a worldly mindset, but it's masked with the gospel. It's just with Christian terms and Christianese, great is their fall. And I don't mean that as a judgment. That's a fact. That is an observation. We have watched it over and over again, and we heard somebody recently make a statement and I showed it to you, and we just looked at each other like, okay, calamity's coming, because you don't do that to God's people. Yeah. So there's more grace for somebody like a Joe Rogan. And hey, maybe. Maybe this people won't like this comment, but we know it's true for somebody like a Joe Rogan who embraces the faith but then goes back to the world because he can't walk the walk over the long haul. Kind of like Kanye versus a pastor who is in a position of authority and really abuses and misuses his own power and his own influence with that microphone and hurts God's people. The Bible's very clear about that. There's a lot more judgment, godly judgment that's going to come on you. Grace gets removed because you don't mess with God's people as a leader and as a spiritual. A person of spiritual authority. You don't play with that well. You don't lead them down the wrong path. No, you don't. And that's what. And stir them up. Some of these people are doing. Stir up their flesh. They lead them to hate. They lead them to divide. That's right. Not love, not Trinity. Let's figure this thing out. Okay. I don't understand it all, but, guys, we got grace for this organization or this person? We got grace. Let's figure this out. So, yeah, it's. It's a. An interesting dichotomy. Yeah. That we are looking at with some of these big players in the world today. And they all have their unique platforms, and so we're going to do our best to encourage them at all levels. But for the follower of them and our kids, we just put them on pause. Wait, just don't make a judgment about it yet. Let's see how they work this salvation out. Well, don't idolize their faith, because that's what happens. They're already idols to you in the world because they're people of influence. So they're on a pedestal. They are worshiped in a lot of ways. Whatever gets a lot of your time and your energy and your interest can easily take the place of God in your life. But what we can easily do is get so disappointed in them because we've idolized them and now, oh, my God. Justin Bieber's a Christian. He's a Christian. Yeah. No, he's struggling to find Christ. He's not on a new platform now. He's not going to help you get your friend saved. That's not what's happening in his life. He is struggling to get out of the pits of hell and he might not make it if he doesn't turn to Christ and say, lord, you are my everything. And here's the thing, you can turn to Christ, but you've also got to turn from the world. So we have to pray that they will have the ability to hear from God that they've got the right people in their life. I don't know if you Followed this. But tmz, which I hate, Devil Network, they're coming hard after Justin right now. Who's going through it? Justin. Timber. Justin. There's too many. Justin's Justin Bieber. Thank you. Because he's either fallen off the wagon or he's using it again. Something's happening with him. He just had a little baby with his wife. And, you know, people are painting it like he's competing with her, he's jealous of her. I mean, the world is as mean and nasty as it's ever been, if not worse. And TMZ is actually coming after him. And his pastor, who is in Seattle, can't think of his name right now, saying they're a cult. Because Justin is coming, trying to get out of a secular environment, leave his secular friends, because he is really leaning into this pastor to help him. And so now what TMZ has done is because he's really trying to get healing. Not sure he can, but that's between. We know God could do anything, but they are so evil, they won't let him out. They're coming after his pastor and after that church in Seattle saying they are a cult and that pastor's a cult leader to the point that the pastor had to address it in his church. No way. Yes. He goes, well, if we're a cult, we're a terrible cult because we only come here once a week. So I don't know what kind of a cult we could be. But the point of it is we as Christians, we need to spend more time praying for people in notoriety that are trying to say, I want to know more about Christ because the devil's coming after them. We don't even know the weight of that success, the weight of that influence. It's so heavy. I mean, we cannot understand. We can't comprehend it. We can't. They don't have a home to go to at the end of the day. That's just them and their spouse, their kid. They're constantly surrounded by. They'll never know normal people getting pictures. They can't live a normal life. Even if they go to a church, they're going to be ushered to the front row. They just can't kind of. No, it's true. Be alone and secluded to their. Their experience. While they're there in church, the spotlight is so bright. It is in every room. Yeah. They walk in. I mean, they just can't drive up to a church parking lot. Somebody's going to give them special parking, and they, you know, it's like, wait, I just want to park. They can't be a regular human being. Never. That's hard. No. I don't know if I wish that on anybody. And that's just one aspect of what they go through. But I think the. The. The tricky thing for us throughout the years, I mean, Elvis, they tried to say Elvis was a Christian, and I think he was. He loved quartet music. I mean, that's never changed. I think there's a dream of us as Christians. I think there's a dream we have that somebody really, really famous is going to pick our team because we've dealt with so much scrutiny, and we battle with feeling like, man, we're Christians, we're peculiar people. Nobody likes us. We're not cool. In high school, when we're Christians, we try to hide our Christianity. And I think what happens to us, I'm only being honest, that when somebody famous comes out, really famous and starts talking about Jesus, somehow that boosts my ego, that, yes, we were right all along. So it makes you feel like we're the cool guys now. We're the cool team. Being a Christian's cool. Well, Christianity was never meant to be cool. It's never going to be cool. No, it's not. So we are going to go through persecution, and guess what? That person that is uber famous, uber influential in ways we'll never even understand or comprehend. The devil's coming for that. He's going to come for that. Not just because he doesn't want Christianity to be cool. He understands the power of influence and how somebody like Adjustin, somebody like Kanye, the people that are out in the world today, that are household names, right? You don't wear makeup, but you knew who the Kardashians were, right? You're not into makeup and hair, but that's basically what they're all about. But you knew who they are. They're household names. The enemy knows that, and he's worked to position them in those places. So when they start talking about longing and journeying in their faith, more than ever, Christians need to just not share their opinion and hit their knees and start praying for them. Just pray for them. Oh, all right, Mary. It's going to be tough. We talked an hour. A long wow road. We still got seven hours. If we were going to Georgia. I gotta go to the bathroom. I gotta take a potty break. Good. All right. I'm gonna get a Slurpee. You're gonna get a Slurpee? Give me some Reese's Pieces while you're at it. Yeah, it's Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. You don't like Reese's Peanut Butter? You don't like Reese's Pieces. Okay, Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Peanut butter with a Diet Coke. With a Diet Coke. I'll be glad. Yeah, because one cancels out the other. I need some caffeine to keep me awake on this. This road trip. You got it. You got it. We're pulling over. This is fun. All right, well, this was a long play version. Yep. This is road tripping. This is vacation time. This is you needing something to occupy your brain space. Give us a name. And we've just gone about 50 to 60, maybe 70 miles on this road together and it seemed like a minute ago we started. Yep. So you see how we help you waste time. I hope you've enjoyed this podcast with the Family Business with the Alessi. We enjoyed just talking and share it. With somebody and subscribe. Don't forget to hit the subscribe button. Please do share it with somebody and we'll see you at our next journey together. Take care of. You've just enjoyed another episode of the Family Business podcast with the Alessis and we can't thank you enough for being a part of our podience today. Now that you've learned more about us, here's how you can join in in the Family business. First, make sure you're following our podcast right now and download this episode so you can hear it at any time. 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