Not Perfection, Just A Constant Pursuit!

Hey, and welcome to Journey with Jesus. I'm your host and author, Johnny Singh, and this is a platform that is dedicated to your spiritual uplift and Christian encouragement. In today's episode, we've got a good guest with us, TJ Kirk, and I'm excited for him to share his journey with Jesus with you and with me, and ultimately, we get some relatability, some connectivity and some spiritual uplift. Hey, and welcome back to Journey with Jesus. I'm so grateful that you've taken some time to join us in today's episode. I'm excited to talk to our guest today, TJ Kirk, and I hope that you're going to be enthused about joining us today with today's episode, and maybe we get to learn a little bit more about each other, and hopefully you find some good Christian encouragement as a result of this. Hey, TJ. Hey, how are you, sir? I'm doing pretty good. How about yourself? Do you prefer people calling you TJ, or do you prefer your entire name like TJ Kirk? It's funny. When I went through school, coming through, I thought, okay, I can't be TJ anymore. TJ's high school. Now I'm in college. I'm Tommy now. But I had Facebook, and I wanted to make sure my friends from back home were able to find me, so I went by TJ on Facebook. As people started looking for me, they found TJ, and they just started putting TJ on things, and so it was kind of something that I was out of control of, and it just kind of took over. So TJ's here to stay. Yeah, yeah. It's a strong name. You're right. You know, TJ, I've got a friend here that I call him TJ as well, but he's a T-Junior, Terrence Junior. But when you say his entire name, Terrence, it just sounds like a stronger name. And my real name is Jonathan, but everybody calls me Johnny, and I just sort of wanted those nicknames I grew up with back home. But who's TJ Kirk? Tell the folks a little bit about yourself. Who are we talking with today? I am a proud husband of the most amazing woman in the world, Dr. Sheridan Kirk. She has blessed me with so many things, but especially two beautiful women. I'm so proud of her. She's beautiful girls, Chloe and Kennedy, whom I get the joy of laughing with and just being amazed by every single day. I get the privilege of working at Freed Hardeman University and serving in the Office of Student Services, where I get to mentor and speak with and help and encourage 17 through 21-year-olds as they try to navigate life. And I also get the privilege of working with the Campbell Street Church of Christ in Jackson, Tennessee. And so that's me. In a nutshell, I consider myself the most blessed man in the history of the world because of the great things that I get to do and the great people around me. Yes, sir. Now, I've got to meet you just in passing a little bit in varying places, but one of the things that sticks out the most with our interactions with each other is when I was able to visit a congregation that you're a minister in at the time, or I suppose you were there that Sunday. But I'm thinking it's the same congregation I visited at the time. And I came for the Freed Hardeman Lecture because it's right there. There in Jackson. And we wanted a place to worship. And some of the students at the time, I'm good friends with them. And they said to me, hey, you know, you should just come worship here with us this Sunday. And I said, yeah, let's go. And there was just something that stuck out about the congregation, just the welcoming atmosphere and just how cool everybody was. And almost there was intentionality and organization, but it also looked like there wasn't the traditional format of organization. So it was just a refreshing dynamic. And I brought that home with me. And I told a lot of the folks here about it. And I told a lot about it. And, you know, I'm ministering at the Lake Placid Church of Christ in Florida. And we've been trying to, you know, revamp and reorganize and create an atmosphere that's similar. And I suppose that was something that, you know, the elders and yourself and others might have intentionally, the congregation worked towards. But that's what always stuck out with me, just how refreshed I feel when I get to talk to you in person or see you. You're just a real cool person, man. And I appreciate it just getting to meet you. And I hope we get to get closer as a this brother's beard is on point. Wow. No matter what I do, but I've been able to follow you online on Facebook and I'm very impressed, brother. I mean, your heart, your mission, it's clear what it is and it's 24-7. Though we don't get to converse often and maybe sit down and talk like this, I do get to learn about you and learn from you through the various media that you take advantage of. So I appreciate that. And thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you, man. Thank you so much. I'm 24, man. And I came from Guyana, South America, and I was trying to get involved and enrolled with Freed Hardman. And that was something that was in the works actually, but then I got married in 2023. So I'm happy I took the direction I took, but I'm sure there's going to be some promising things. And if you're interested in that, I'd love to hear from you. regardless of it. But there's a lot of things when I migrated here to the U.S., there's just a lot of things that culturally, the conditioning of those within the Christian environment, it was different. And usually people ask me, did you ever have a culture shock coming to the U.S.? And yes and no. Societally, contextually, not really, because we've been exposed to some things via televisions and the internet and family and friends that would travel back and forth. And I was raised in a preacher's home, so we were constantly entertaining missionaries from the U.S. and elsewhere. So there's some somewhat of a sense of an understanding of the culture and the society. But when I got involved with the varying congregations, that's where I got a little bit of the cultural shock, you know, without doing a disservice to anyone that's, you know, honestly putting their best effort forward. It felt like I stepped into the 60s and the 50s. It just felt that way. And for better or worse, you know, there's a lot of good products that's come out of that in whatever areas it might. But there's this flavor, I want to say, of Christianity or dynamic or discernment of Christianity in the Caribbean that is so authentically organic, where everyone is very conversational, event-orientated as opposed to like, you know, wound up in the time and just the way we interact with each other. And when I got here, I almost felt like I needed to be put in this rigid box of get things done via a checklist or a timestamp. Again, not trying to do a disservice to anyone or make anything sound in a condescending way. But that was a cultural shock. But when I visited the congregation there and when I got to talk with you and just see the way that the Christians were, you know, in this small town, Tennessee, that's not what I anticipated. And that was very refreshing. And that sticks out to me. It just really sticks out to me. So I'm really grateful for the work that you've been doing there and the other Christians that's been alongside you, man. That's exciting. That's exciting. Well, I do want to point this out. So that was the Jack's Creek congregation that I was part of. And I've moved since then, but I do want to high five that congregation and shout them out because you are right. They are a breath of fresh air as far as the intentionality of why we do what we do and the comfort with stepping out of the box of two songs, a scripture, a prayer, you know, the order, the Church of Christ order, right? That has been established. In the Southeast. And so they are very comfortable with blowing that up and saying, you know what? Let's spend 20 minutes praying. What's going on in everybody's life? It's prayer time. And it's not everybody's flavor. Some people are used to that structure and it's what makes them feel comfortable. But others have come and said, similar to you, this is just different and refreshing and thoughtful. And that congregation is one of the best at it. And I'm proud to also say that Campbell Street, where I am now, is basically that same flavor in a bigger city. And so I hope you're able to come visit us in Jackson sometime and see what we've got going on out there. But you're right about some of the things that have just been hard to let go of and stepping back in time. But hopefully with brothers like you continuing to be on the forefront and on the front lines, we'll get that stuff taken care of and moved forward. Absolutely. Absolutely. Brother, you made mention of your family. And, you know, when I got mad married, I've started recognizing the importance and value that's within a marriage and within growing family in that regards. I'm sure you found a whole lot of blessings in respect to that as well. Why don't you tell us a little bit about your wife and your kids and the dynamics and maybe you transitioning from husband to father or maybe even becoming a husband altogether and how that's grown over time. Tell us a little bit about it. Yes. So I, like I said, I married an amazing woman who is brilliant. She is, you know, sometimes we get in a disagreement and in the back of my mind, I'm knowing, okay, I gotta, I gotta be wrong. I don't feel wrong. I think I'm right. But if she's saying I'm wrong, I'm probably wrong because she's just, she's so smart, but at the same time, so supportive and encouraging and is able to just be all things to me that, that are needed. And I try my best to do that for her as well. She is a special education teacher. She helps her high school students find employment after school. And so she teaches them things. They're able to get a training certificate. Like they've received training in whether it's making beds or, or washing dishes or sweeping floor. Like they leave with a portfolio that they can take to an employer and say, I know how to do these things are able to find employment. And it's a beautiful thing. And she helped establish that program from the ground up. And she doesn't like to tell a lot of people about it, but I'll tell everybody that my baby did that. Right. Yeah. And so it's really cool to watch her grow and, and help people. Girls, Chloe age eight and Kennedy age five, who are very much active and opposite. And it is so wild to see my oldest who is about sunshine and rainbows and flowers and butterflies and daddy let's look at clouds and let's watch documentary and just those type of things and then my youngest who's like daddy let's fight and she's just rough and wants to play and climb and throw and dig and all of those things and so it's beautiful to see their personalities develop and grow and what is challenging is trying to navigate how to aim them in the right direction not change their personality but smooth out just smooth polish out the bumps without changing who they are and letting them be that and that is a everyday struggle i'm trying not to do that but i imagine we'll continue to try and hopefully it works out yeah yeah you know paul in the letter of ephesians in the conclusive chapters and he's addressing the uh lifestyle and parenthood and different areas about which christians should take their life and he made mention of father is not provoking your children to wrath but then he says bring them up in the way of the lord and instruct them bring them up in the right in the way i recently learned a little bit or about the time i was going through this that in in the greek and societally paul would be making reference to some agricultural type concepts with the bringing up and the idea is to nourish that which already grows so it's you know you've got kids that's going to be growing regardless you don't have to make them grow but it's your right you talked about aiming them or nourishing them it's bringing out what's already there and hopefully allow christ to help color some of that along the way so that's that's amazing man i'm prayerful for when that time arrives for my wife and i as well so i'm sure that's going to be exciting brother i'm sure you did not become these things overnight but neither did you become a christian overnight i was raised in a christian environment my dad's been a christian on my siblings were you raised in a christian environment as well or were you raised somewhat understanding some concepts about christ and uh about when did you obey the gospel like what was that transition like for you in your life so my grandfather was a minister um because my mother was in the navy we didn't spend a lot of time anywhere like we were always moving and so my mother was converted and was baptized i think it maybe 17 or 18 and then maybe a few months later joined the navy and so all she really knew about the church of christ was women don't preach and there's no instruments right and she had a she had a maybe maybe a little bit more understanding but she was a babe when she left home and so when my mother and father married my mother wanted to continue going to church and do things but my father was not a christian and so i was in a household that was somewhat divided my father respected god and made sure i respected god but was not someone that was modeling things or was someone who had a deep knowledge of scripture at that time and so as far as coming to know the lord we would we would go to church when we were in a place where we could but we spent some time in egypt and there was not a local church there or at least one that we knew of and so we spent a lot of time singing and and my mother would would do the best she could with teaching and showing me scripture and things like that but i would say all the way up to my my days in college my understanding was very shallow i remember sitting in ax which is a class at freed and everyone calls it ax for short and i remember sitting there and realizing ax is not spelled axe i just always thought ax okay axis and realize oh oh this acts okay that's short for acts of the apostles so so that's just just a little bit of an illustration of just how shallow my knowledge of scripture was yeah freed hardeman was the fork in the road and i mean it is it is a pinpoint time in my life that i can look back on and say that's where things changed i knew what i wanted college to be and it wasn't freed i wanted to taste alcohol for the first time i wanted to enjoy everything that i saw on tv about the the the friendships with young ladies i wanted all the friendships with young ladies i wanted all the friendships with young ladies i wanted all of that and ended up at freed and found that that was not what what this university was all about and i'm eternally grateful that i ended up here where there were some some guardrails and there were some people who were encouraging and the peer pressure was to do the right thing and there were classes that i could take that built me spiritually and not only that professors and teachers and um administrators who were all christians that i could talk to any of them and not only could they teach me but they modeled um christ-like behavior and um that was that was the awakening for me something that i hated as a student here were the memory verses i hated those bad boys and i'll tell you dr terry edwards would make us write out the memory verse and we he would count off for punctuation punctuation but what i found after leaving the university how many of those came back you know how many of those were in there and i didn't realize they were in there until a situation made itself visible and i was able to reflect and use the scripture that i had and it guided me in a lot of ways and even when i was asked to speak for the first time people assumed that i was a bible major and i was not but those classes were great with helping me gain a foundational solid understanding of who god is and what god wants from me yeah man that is awesome that is so cool you know you think about the relationship that jesus had with his disciples and the way that they allowed their lives to conform to the varying new identities they took up it sort of sounds like that's what happened there was a re-coining of who you were into who you are and i suppose that's almost what we do constantly we always sort of revamp our apartment internally and see who we can now become in the future based on our circumstances and surrounding yeah friedhardman university is a great place like i said i've been getting so many questions about it and some things lined up to pursue some things there in the future but um it was neat for me when i got to visit there just a time or two for the lectureships and what you're saying from a student perspective even as an outsider that the student body sort of helped to show around and talk to you and take me to different places it was definitely that sort of environment that made you think wow at least for me at that time this is worth pursuing because the distractions are so minimal and if they're there they're probably not sinful they're probably not sinful they're there i mean this is this is not heaven right where people are sin is as well and and so i don't want to portray that but i do want to say that i consider this place sort of like a greenhouse and we hear in scripture where we're told about the soil right and the sower and the seed the stone which is the gospel and all of those different heart conditions that are described by the soil and i think of this place as the greenhouse to where we can take a heart that is any one of those soil types and with the nurture and with the watering and with the weeding and with the what do you call it not i want to say manure but i don't mean manure i mean the fertilizer that's what i mean fertilizer fertilizer like someone actively working those soils we can take a stony soil and make it good right we can take a thorny soil and make it better wherever you are wherever your heart is when you come if you allow the system the administrators the teachers the coursework the scripture to work on you this is a greenhouse that can can turn that seed into a lot of fruit yeah tell us a little bit about the kind of relationships that you've been able to explore not only from your upbringing but now as you continue to minister in different places and you're working there at the university are there people that sort of stick out to you in your mind when you think of individuals that have helped to shape the kind of person you are continue to become and you've made mention of your wife a couple of times in your life that might come to mind for sure that starts right at home my mother was was awesome she's a strong woman and as she continued to grow in her knowledge right it was evident so i had a front row seat to watching her grow and learn and as she knew better did better and as she knew better you know expected better for me and and so watching her has been great and knowing who she is and another one is my father who i grew up with my entire life at home was not a christian but around my 18th birthday became one and has been so encouraging and it's kind of funny sometimes of watching him and i don't know if you've ever recognized the zeal that new christians have like i was lost and now i'm found and i can't believe it and this is the greatest gift that i've ever received let me go tell everybody like that zeal that you can't find in a kid who grew up in a and there was times i was like dad chill like no not right now but he was like no i gotta go tell him and so it's neat to see that fire burning and it reminds you of the gift that you have as well and so those two have been been great examples for me obviously my grandfather was a gospel preacher for 30 years i've been blessed to have several of his suits that i can fit in and i get to wear and when i preach in those suits it's it's really special but he has been great and then people that i've met along the journey here at the university people that i've met in high school um alan is someone that i met here at freed hardman he was the very first person in my life to call me a leader and gave me an opportunity to lead and it changed absolutely everything. But there's so many others. Dr. Belinda Anderson, who is a great encouragement to me. Karen and Sharon Cypress. I mean, we can go on and on with people that I will never, ever be able to thank enough for their influence and encouragement and patience with this knucklehead that you're talking to right now. But yeah, those are just a few of the many. Yeah. You know, brother, there's a lot of young people that are going to be listening to this at some point in time. I've made mention before to some other folks that about 75 to 80 percent of those that ever interact with whatever content I put out there are actually non-Christians and are non-Christian affiliated. And about 50 to 60 percent of them are young people about my age and younger. And that's the kind of age bracket that you've been blessed to help in a lot of ways and to shape and mold. What would you say is a few nuggets of encouragement to those that are out there, to those that might be thinking about the deeper questions of life, thinking about their journey with Jesus or maybe considering whether or not there is a God that they should or could pursue? What would you say to that young girl or young guy out there that might need a few words of encouragement? I'd want to say that it is possible to struggle in the light. And I don't know if that makes sense right off, but when I was a young man and I would read about walking in the light, I assumed I meant being perfect. And the second I sinned, that meant I was in the darkness again and I'm not in fellowship. But if you read that text, right, he talks about being in the light and then immediately afterwards talks about folks who say they don't have sin and calls them liars. I need young people to understand. I'm not telling you that you can be in the light and just go do everything that you want to do. I'm not saying that. But what I'm saying is that you wrestle with your sin and as you are trying every day to conquer it and you win some and you lose some, but you are battling it, you are still in the light. You are continually renewed as the scripture says. The Lord has not left you and will not leave you because of the struggles that you're going through. And when I figured that out, that was a weight that lifted off of me. It was like a big exhale of, all right, the expectation isn't perfection. The expectation is pursuit, continual pursuit of righteousness and striving to be more and more like Jesus, better than I was the day before. And so if you're out there and you are beating yourself up every day, because every day you lie your head down and you just count the ways that you're not perfect, or you're thinking about if I die in my sleep and I have one sin, and what does that mean? That means Jesus loves you. That's what it means. And that means you're human. And it means, it means the fact that you're worried about it shows that your heart is in the right place of striving to be like him. And you don't have to worry. And remember this yoke that he has put on us is easy and light. And sometimes with the best of intentions, we can make it burdensome or the people around us who are trying to teach us and again, have great intentions can make it burdensome, but it was never intended to be that way. And he wants us to live a life where we are able to be a billboard to those who don't know for them to say, I want that. And if we're, walking around depressed and sad and stressed out because we're trying to count the sins and did I repent for each one? And that's not appealing at all. That's not, that's not what, what it's about. So as you strive to navigate that early Christian life, understand mistakes happen, repent, confess, move on and strive to be better and leave the perfection of Jesus. And you strive to be the best you can possibly be. That's awesome. And I appreciate you saying those words when I was younger, I am, I, like many other people, I struggle with those realities as well. And, you know, being raised in a somewhat a Christian environment, my dad being a minister, there was those expectations that were placed on you, not necessarily internally all the time, but externally, everybody knows your dad, he's the preacher. And it's like, oh, well, you should be acting a bit differently. Well, yeah, that's true. But I'm my own person as well. And, you know, it's, it's beautiful. You mentioned Matthew chapter 11, verse 28 through 30, come to me, all you who labor. Beautiful, because the way Jesus words, those come to me, that call right there indicates there's those that are in need of a call. That's what it indicates. He can't call if they're Lazarus come forward. Well, he wouldn't say that if there wasn't a Lazarus to come forth. So come to me, there's, there's people out there like ourselves and others that are in need of Jesus. And then he says, especially if you labor and are heavy laden. So if we need rest, which we all do, if we need to be unburdened, which we all do, there's somebody there who's willing to take it up. And there's that almost paradox of the yoke that he's talking about a burden being light. You don't think of a burden being light, you know, and then a yoke being easy. Well, if you got two strong bulls, well, yeah, the job might be easy, but the yoke certainly is not. So it's one of those things where what he's saying is really my burden is a non-burden and my yoke is a non-yoke. So it's a matter of if you're willing to come hang out with me and let's pursue this journey together, man. I'm sure there's a lot of people that are going to be blessed just hearing those kind words from you, because like I said, when I was younger, that hit home for me. My eldest brother is a preacher as well. His name is Matthew and he's a graduate of the Trinidad School of Preaching. He migrated to the country of Trinidad and studied there. And there's a lot of other great brethren. And there's some good people that were lecturers of his that are preachers and teachers here in the U.S. and work with other colleges like Harding and different places. But when he came back from Trinidad, and he was the youth minister for a congregation, it was just such a breath of fresh air, such a breath of fresh air. We almost, not necessarily told, but almost assumed that, hey, if we ever made a mistake, if we ever sinned, if we ever messed up, we couldn't lead songs. We couldn't pray. We're not allowed to sit up front. We had to really get things pinned down. And when he came back, that breath of fresh air, that's some of the things he said, you know, it was like, well, if Peter was cut off at every sin, then there wouldn't be a Peter in Acts chapter two. You know, if the disciples were turned away at every moment that they committed something that was lawless or the breaking of law, there wouldn't have been the stories that we see that are colorful and filled with relatability. So, yeah, man, to that person out there, that's right. Just struggle in the light, struggle in the light. Brother, what do you have going on with yourself right now in life? I'm sure work is always going to have you working, but what's going on with the congregation there that you're ministering for? And what are some cool things that y'all might be doing right now? I don't know, but I saw that one. They were all wearing these shirts and they said Campbell Street and maybe, you know, someone can come and be willing to hear based upon what they've seen. And so that's something really cool that we've got coming up and really excited about that. Yeah, I've enjoyed just talking, man. I got to hear a little bit about your family and the ministry there and then the kinds of people that are around you. And it's always enjoyable. I enjoy doing these. I get to talk to so many cool people and people that I've met in passing, like you said. I hope that the relationship continues to thrive as a result of this and others. But if there's any other thing that you want to say to somebody out there, brother, any final words to them? Maybe if somebody wants to know Jesus through you and through the congregation there or somewhere that they could find content online or somewhere else about Jesus, what could you say to them? Well, I said I wasn't going to do this, right? But I'm pumped. I got a book that I wrote. I'm an author. Whoa. And I never thought I would be, but it's just some sermons. I came together and they just kept growing and growing and growing. And I reached out to the Jenkins Institute and I said, Hey, I don't know. I've got something. Maybe it's nothing. What do you think? And they said, we love it. And they put it out. And so it's called Saved by Grace, Faith and Obedience. And it's aimed at the demographic that we're talking about right now, that new Christian or that person who's contemplating how this is done. Do I find salvation by grace alone, by faith alone or by obedience alone? Or is the combination of those two? I think it's the combination of the three. And throughout the book, we're able to discuss, it's all three of those things that work together that bring us to the salvation that only Jesus can provide. The grace, the faith and believing and not just believing in thought, but in action and showing it and then doing what's asked of us. All three of those things work together. And hopefully it's clear enough to where anyone can understand. And hopefully when they put it down, they have a greater understanding of how salvation can be found and all that good stuff. So, yeah. I'll sign up to get myself a copy or two of those. That sounds really cool. We've got some efforts here locally with our congregation that thought might actually become a good tool. Man, I'm so grateful there's guys like you and others that are penning down good wisdom for others. I enjoy this, brother. I really do. And I did. And I hope that we get to do this some more. Tell us a little bit quickly as we sort of wrap up our thoughts. The congregation there, just let us know where it's located. If somebody's in the neighborhood and they want to come check them, check y'all out or a website or something like that. Campbellstreet.org. You can find us there. And we're on Campbell Street in Jackson. So that's super easy to find. And again, it's a very welcoming congregation. We we we don't care who you are, where you've been, what you've done. Come let us love you. Come let us hear your story. Come let us walk with you. We have we have all sorts of people who are there. One of the most amazing things that has ever happened while I've ever been in the church is someone get up and say, I don't believe. And they're a regular attender at our congregation, and they spoke openly about about the doubts that they're having and even said, I'm requesting prayer. But it's funny because I don't believe in prayer. But but if there's a possibility that it can help me, please pray for me. And it was the most raw and honest thing that that I've ever seen. And those type of things happen at our congregation all the time. And I'm thankful to be a part of it. I'm thankful it's a safe place for people to say I'm struggling. And right now I don't believe. But I'm here and and and and, you know, I'm waiting on something to happen. A person to talk to me, Jesus to speak to me, something. And it's just a great place for those real organic moments to happen and to know that judgment is left to the Lord alone. And it's not for anybody in that congregation to hand out because we all got our issues. And so we might as well put on a billboard. Come to Camel Street. We got issues. That sounds like it. I appreciate it, brother. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much for your time. I enjoyed this. And it's always hard sort of summarizing people's journey with Jesus or summarizing their story in a small 30 minute episode. But I enjoy this and I appreciate it talking to you. Thank you for the opportunity, brother. Take care. Hey, thank you all again for joining us in today's episode. It's been a beautiful one. I've enjoyed getting to know Brother TJ a little bit more and a little bit about his family and his ministry and all the good things there. We've got more exciting episodes to come and I hope that we can see you there as well. See you next time. next time.