A Journey of Faith and Resilience with Albert Porterfield

0:00 Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to an episode of The Kickback. I am your host, The Dude, and we'd like to welcome you to Topic Tuesday. Today, if you did not see, we have a fantastic brother in the room by the name of Albert Porterfield. He is a renowned author, and he's got a few books under his belt. Again, we'd like to welcome you to the kickback. I am your host, the dude. Today, of course, with me, my roadie, my sidekick, my homie, my dog, David Van Cleaves is in the builders. He is always here with us. What's going on today?

0:43 Blessings, my brother. Blessings on blessings. Blessings on blessings on blessings. That is wonderful. And I'm always glad to hear about blessings on blessings. But today we have renowned author Albert Porterfield. He is called the dude from the pew. He's written a couple of books along the years. He has a great catalog, you know, a view from the dude in the pew. The unexpected happen, and his latest release in the book world is in the midst of it all. It's a journey on life and how God takes us and navigates us through life and how he crafts things for us and shows us where we need to be and where we need to go.

1:30 If you don't know, we are from Nashville, Tennessee, the big city with a small town feel, and Albert Porterfield has graced us with his presence here in Nashville. So let's welcome to the show Mr. Albert Porterfield. Hello, sir. How are you doing, sir? Yeah, I'm doing good. Doing good, dude. And Mr. David Ang Lee. All righty. Praise the Lord, my brother. Good to hear your voice. Good to hear your voice. And how are you doing today, sir? Oh, you know, it's like 100 degrees out here today, so. Just a little Just a little hot Just a little Hey but that's wonderful Though you know at least you're here To be able to enjoy it, Exactly. All right. So like I said today, we're here to talk about your catalog and how you got to the place of writing these books.

2:33 First, let's introduce let's give our audience a bit of background on you, where you're from, where you grow up and things of that nature. Just give us a brief summary of who Albert Porterfield is. Well, I actually, I grew up in Montgomery, Alabama, and that's about 50, 50-some years. And how I got to Nashville is I actually married a woman that actually is from Nashville. I was attending my niece's wedding, and she was the wedding coordinator. Started talking. It was just a regular old conversation. And one thing led to another. Next thing I know, I love my life.

3:16 I come to Nashville now. That's basically how that happened. I got to Nashville. But talking about the books itself, back in 2010, I had a regular job, you know, nine to five. I was also a referee. It was football, basketball, baseball. Yeah, I just decided, you know, I said, Lord, I want to know more about you. What does it take to be? What do I have to do? I hear his voice say, It's up to you to find out about me If you really want to know about me So I started reading about me More and more and more But I noticed A few weeks went by, a few months went by And there was really no change, And all of a sudden Came on one day and I turned the TV on Started watching the TV All of a sudden I heard this little nudge say So who did you say You wanted to get to know Me or your TV, you know I had actually made the TV by God because I put that TV before God I watched TV and then just about the end of that end of the day I didn't flood my Bible if you didn't fall asleep of course I realized you know something I really want to know who God is and moves things out of the way so I can pay attention to, What I said I wanted to do. I said I wanted to know God.

4:43 All of a sudden, I started reading more. And I started sending me things in my head. I'm like, there's a lot of stuff you're sending. Basically, he was saying, well, write it down because you know you can't remember it all. I said, okay. I got to thinking, I'm like, Lord, I really don't like writing. So there's a silence. But he kept pouring. So my curiosity got the best of me. If I really want to know this stuff, I need to start writing them down. All of a sudden, I start writing down things and writing down things. All of a sudden, I go to work and I feel poor and I'm like, hold on now. I'm driving. I'm a delivery guy. I can't write down this stuff.

5:24 Basically, you've got to find a way. So I had to pull to the side of the road and start writing down. Every time there was a stop sign or a red light, I'd start writing down what was coming to my head. I have a few stacks of of pads here, of stuff I just wrote down. Let me put this stuff on the computer. Make it look neater. As I was putting it on the computer, I noticed, I said, you know something? All this stuff I wrote down, all these pads here, it was just for that one occasion, but as I started putting it on the computer, I noticed that this stuff on this pad, this goes with what I wrote back here. This goes with that. next P&L, it's like, man, it looks like a story.

6:06 That's when I realized, you know what I'm saying? I need to start putting this down here. I didn't really think about books because I've never written a book. I didn't know anybody that wrote a book. But what do you do? God basically said, the same way you found out about me, you found out. You thought I asked a question. That's basically what the, I didn't know what the name of the book was going to be until I went to church that day. And I looked back and I noticed, I said, man, we did some dudes in the period. That's how the first book came about. A dude in the period. Well, that is wonderful. You know what I'm saying? Man, so at the church you were going to, so what you're saying is there were not a lot of men at the church at the time, and that's how you came up with the name Dude in a Pew?

6:55 Exactly. I think there were one or two guys. As I turned back, there were one or two guys sitting in the back, and I was like, man, there's some dudes in there. And it just kept coming back, Dudes in a Pew. And I thought about it. It was a Pew by Dudes in a Pew. Wow. And I'm not, wasn't really a writer. I see myself as a writer. But God says, yes, you are. And you wrote down what I gave to you. Okay. So basically what he was saying was, you just follow my dad. Yeah, you're going to ask questions, but just follow my dad. Do not complain.

7:36 Do not do all that murmuring. And as I read, I'm like, you know, a lot of these stories, like the one I was just saying, following this guy, it's just like Moses in the Red Seas. He just followed. I didn't give him any details telling him, you know, this is what's going to happen because God's not the kind of person that's going to give you details. He's going to say, just Just go here, go there. And just take out to the Red Feet. What I do not do, that's what he want us all to do. Ask the question. Come to him. He wants us to come to him first instead of just complaining and murmuring. Hey, that is that's amazing. And a lot of people don't get that particular message when they're seeking God.

8:24 You know, there's always murmuring. There's always questioning. There's always those things. So what you're saying is when you ask God to show you, you just kind of you went along with it. Now, what is your what is your background when it comes to church? When you were younger? Was your parents very religious? How did we get to dude in a pew before? I understand that from a writer's sense, but were you always a guy in the church? I'd say that because my mom, she was always in church. She knew the Bible real well, but she was a real quiet.

9:06 She didn't say much, but when she did, Everybody would listen. My dad, he's from the street. So he's got that street knowledge. And street knowledge comes with watching other people. One thing my dad said, one thing about people, is that people, they'll do the same things over and over and over. Still, something is said or something really hurts them, that's when they'll make a change. So I took that as observing people they'll do the same things over and over what he said was people are creatures of habit that's what he said yeah people are always creatures of habit, but once they do it again they'll do it one time they'll do it again and he retired as a correctional officer for 30 years so he had a lot of people to watch all throughout those years old.

10:01 Okay, so what did your mother, you said your mother was a very smart person, so what did she do for a living? She had a high school education, but she worked for the Medicaid department for 30 years, and she retired as a state employee. It's not like we weren't super big in the church. It's just that, you know, it's time to go to church. We went to church. It's a Baptist church. Being in a Baptist church is different from being in the apostolic church. Found that when I came here. Okay. I mean, yeah, I'm still, you know, still learning about the apostolic because I come from Baptist also. So yes, there is a difference between the two, but I don't feel like there's very much of a difference to me because I guess I'm just still trying to get there and get a better understanding of what makes the difference in different.

11:05 Places is what I'll say, different places. Dave, can you better explain the difference between apostolic and Baptist? I'm still like I said, I'm still trying to figure it out. Well, I would say some of the differences with the apostolic ministry, we baptize in the name of Jesus. Jesus, whereas some Baptist churches I've been to, they baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Also, there are some minor procedural differences, but I think that's probably some of the main, that's probably the biggest difference between the two.

11:53 Hold on, let me see if I can. Yes, sir. So Albert Dude in a pew Give us a little bit of an insight On what Because I couldn't Get a copy of dude in a pew So, The dude in a pew was you Going to church one day And you figured out that the church needed More men in the church So take us on a short Trip on the journey Dude in a pew. There are a lot of Rhyme like coins in there, and it it keeps your interest. I would pay that much it makes you It's a thoughtful thought provoked than anything else.

12:41 Okay. First of all, I didn't know anything about publishing a book or anything, so I found someone else to publish the book and sort of put it together. Okay. All right. I was thinking, man, this is a process. Yeah. But my next book, I published it. And your next book would be The Unexpected Happened. The Unexpected, yeah. Okay. Give us a little insight On the unexpected happened You know I wrote that book Right during Right During the pandemic I was on time And it was cancelled So I had a lot of time on my hands So I had to do something like You know something A story I've been working on Here and there I need to go ahead and start putting this together Because what happened was, One day as I was coming back to my mom's folks house, and the strangest thing happened. I was about 11 o'clock at night.

13:47 I was coming up the street, and a car came flying around the corner. And it barely missed me. But it missed me. It went around the corner, and it hit the curb, and it ended up hitting the pole. All of a sudden, it started smoking. So I got out. I had my little truck in. I got out of the truck, and I'm like, man, let's make sure everybody's all right. All of a sudden, guys start giving out. They stumble out. One on the left side, one on the right side. First thing comes to my mouth, man. Those guys. And down the passenger side, I ran over, he stumbled over to me and said, he said, man, can you take us around the corner? I was right on. I said, man, I can't take you around the corner. I mean, this is basically an accident because you ran over the mailbox, and now your car is stuck here.

14:33 And as I said that, I looked at the other guy. He was just reaching in the back of his car. and I could see the silhouette as he put a like a, some like a blanket over a shotgun I could see that I was like okay he starts pulling it out and the first thing that came to my mind was I'm going to change what I'm saying I'll tell you what, I'm going to go ahead and this is your lucky day I'm going to go ahead and take you guys on so, the guy here hey man come on come on take control of the corner so he pulls the gun around with him and the guy that was close to me jumped in the passenger side and the other guy jumped in the back of the truck.

15:17 So I took them basically around the street to another neighborhood and dropped them off and the guy with the gun got out. He got out and he said, hey man, you didn't see nothing. I said, see what? Okay, alright, I'll see you later. And. Think about out there. You know, as all this was going on, my neighbors that I've lived with, I used to stay with them for the longest, they started gathering outside. But they saw all this happening. And I got to think, man, I got to go back to the scene of the crime because I'm sure the policeman would show up and my neighbors are going to say, yeah, we know one of the guys.

15:59 So I had to go back to the scene and as I drove back, there was a police there. You know, the scene, a lot of people, I woke up, it got quiet. I said, is there a police officer there? There was a plainclothes police officer. And she walked over and said, yeah. You know, I just left the scene. And I'm going to tell you what happened. I told them the same scenario. And it seemed like everybody that was there was like, oh, man. I thought you were part of them, man. You're giving them a ride away. Like, no, I just thought I'd be in the wrong place at the right time. But it was going to another scenario of why I actually had the gun. So I'm like, man.

16:39 Yeah. That is wild. You're right. The unexpected happens. So with that scenario and all the things that happened, how did that affect or change your life? Well, I knew one thing. If I ever have an accident, I'm going to go and roll away. Like when you're asking me questions, I'm going to go on and just call the police up. I thought, please, I better go. So that's about the whole thing. but 9 times out of 10 I'd probably do the exact same thing all over again so of course of course basically it was all that was the smoke coming up and everything I'm like you can't just leave like this right right being a good Samaritan you just can't you can't leave them there just you know you don't know if someone's hurt you don't know what's going on so you just can't leave them there so being a good Samaritan yeah you I'm going to help them out. I'm going to see if everyone's okay.

17:39 I'm going to make sure everybody's alright. Never expected all of that. Right. Never expected that to happen. So, I mean, that's a pretty good story to hear about. It goes on. Okay, well, give us a little bit more. It goes on. Actually, I didn't have to tell them who it was, the driver, because he left his driver's license in the car, So I can go ahead and tell who it was. So, yeah, so she showed me this driver's license. But, yeah, that was him. He was the driver. And I told him exactly what happened. He said, who are you telling? So they were, they thought I was in the booth with them.

18:25 I didn't go exactly that way. So I started telling them. We started getting that look like, okay, now we're more relieved about hearing what actually happened. And I did, I made sure when I was telling them, telling the author that, that I spoke up loudly so the people around me could actually hear because they are my neighbors. So you didn't want anyone to think that you were involved in whatever criminal activities were happening at the moment. Yep. All they saw was a guy with a gun get out and he said, hey, what's the point of you doing? And he's driving away?

19:05 That's why I had to go back. land. Totally understand. Totally understand the reason why you had to go back because you didn't want to be implicated in any crimes or any things of that nature and didn't want to be seen as some sort of criminal element. Now, that is from The Unexpected Happens. So after publishing that book, How did God speak to you? Because you said in the first book, Dude from a Pew, God was pouring all of these things into you and you were having to write them down and you had all these, you know, notes and you had all these different notepads and all these things around you.

19:50 When the unexpected happened, what did God pour into you from that particular situation? Situation well, that would say or they I, What could have happened? I could have done this. I could have done that. I got the thing. Yeah, I could have done that. Well, let me write this stuff down. What could have happened? Well, that's basically what that one is. It could have gone this way. These things here could have happened. You never know what you're going to get into and how you're going to react. Right. Just driving down the street through your neighborhood. You know, you're just doing whatever it is that you're doing and then this is placed up on your lap and now it's like uh what do i do with this what do i do with this what do i what do i go with this and i i totally get it and i understand so in in life we all deal with the unexpected happening in certain situations so with your book the the unexpected happening, what lessons are you teaching to the people so that they won't particularly get themselves in it? Because most books have lessons to them.

21:08 Most books have some sort of theme on where, you know, you should go or what you should do. So what's the what is the what do you want people to take from the book once they've read it? But on this one, it wasn't really a lesson. It was just the thing happened. And it was, what do you do? Because in life, things are going to happen. And how do you react to it? Do you just get up and leave or do you get involved? And it takes you on a different journey than you ever expected.

21:50 And in life, God is the same way. He's going to put you in different scenarios. And it's like, okay, you said you wanted to know, like I said, I wanted to know more about God. Well, let me put you in a situation. We'll find out. And my take on that was, no, God doesn't trust you until he tests you. Same way with Moses. He didn't really trust him until he tested. And in life, we're going to have to, we're going to be tested all of our lives to go to that next stage. It says, okay. Many times when we get scared, do we do, do we call on God or do we get scared and run?

22:33 Or do we just, you know, I'm getting out of this here. I've got a lot better. I'm getting out of it. I'm going to find a way to get out of this. I'm not going to stay in this here. I'm going to get, Lord, we'll get with you later on. I got to get out of this. Or do we call on God and say, God, what do you want me to do on this? But there's different scenarios that will come about that will test us. How are we going to react? In other words, we're seeing the real person, not the person that we want to portray in front of everyone else. We get to see where we are in life. And then we look back and examine and say, man, I could have done that better. I should have did what I always talk about.

23:14 Talk about God. You should depend on him. What did I do? I did. I used my own understanding. Now I find myself wondering. Very true. You're very true, because I tell people all the time, testimony is a two part word. And God puts all of us through tests in order for us to give our testimonies. And a lot of people feel like they don't want to have to go through the test in order to give a testimony. But you're right. As you said, God puts us through tests before he knows that we are true about what we're saying. because you're right.

23:56 Most people, when they get into sticky situations, the first name they holler is not, they'll holler, oh Lord, help me. But then on the backside of that is, okay, how can I get out of this? And they start trying to figure out how they can maneuver their ways out of it instead of praying and asking God for a outlet or a resolve to the situation. So you're right. You're you're totally right about that. And that's great that you had a situation where you were at that fork in the road and you decided, okay, God, where do you want me to go?

24:38 Because majority of the people don't come to that conclusion once they get in a situation. And I applaud you, my brother, for being the man that you are to go back and let the authorities know that you were not a part of the situation. You were almost a hostage in the situation because you are honorable man and you were trying to do the right thing by giving these gentlemen a ride because of whatever the circumstances may be. But it could have gotten you in a lot more trouble than what it was worth sometimes trying to be the gentleman and be a good person.

25:19 So you were saying when you were introducing yourself that you are a delivery driver. How long have you been a delivery driver? I worked for this company in, I don't know, which company. Back then, it was like 2008. No, no, 2005. 2005. I worked for this company like 17 years. Then I started working for a company up here called Ships. So I know my way around. Oh, yeah. I'm pretty sure working with a delivery service, Now you know your way around town.

25:59 And you also mentioned that you were a referee. How long were you a referee? And give the audience some insights on being a referee, the goods, the bads, and the uglies. I'm a referee for almost 20 years, until like 19 years to be specific. Actually, as you say that, about being a referee, that's one of the things that I reference in my most recent book, The Midst of It All. the good, the bad, and the ugly. It teaches you many and many lessons. By the way, doing this part here says, one of the first lessons I learned as an official was the importance of listening and remaining impartial.

26:42 Officiating requires me to observe the game and make fair decisions objectively. This skill has translated into my personal life, enabling me to be a better listener and approach situations Open mind. Every time you learn something in officiating, you can also take it into your regular life. Being an official really makes you become strong because you cannot sit up and react to everything that happens. You can't react to one of the coaches getting upset. He's getting all mad. I'm going to tell you it takes a lot of restraints to do that and many people ask the question, how do you put up with those coaches always yelling at you back and forth and you can't say you don't say anything to them well it's like good practice for when I get home my wife just goes yeah yeah yeah and I just go yes dear wait Mike, that's there are other things that I've also lifted in here too too, as a professional.

27:51 It is pushed to balance being fair and rational. I've learned to assert myself authority while maintaining composure and fairness. This balance has been instrumental in my personal and professional relationships, allowing me to assert my opinions confidently without astounding the oppression. Just take what you've learned and apply it to your life. Right. It's like this. God gives us all gifts, but he doesn't give us all the gifts at one time. At age eight, you get a gift. At 10, you'll get a gift.

28:35 At 12, you get a gift. But at age eight, you ought to develop that gift because you're going to need it when you're at 10. You're going to go to that next level, and then you're going to need that gift. Develop that. You're always having to develop what God is already giving. It's already in you already. And the more you get to know God, He'll show you more and more ways To use your gift That he has given to you And the only way to really get to know What your gift is You gotta ask the gift giver That means you gotta know him, Very true Very true Very well spoken and very well said, We as people Don't acknowledge Every time we.

29:25 Acknowledge that we have a gift that it comes from God. I think at some point we have to, as a people, understand that nothing, and I'm not saying there aren't people out here in the world that does not understand that nothing you do or nothing that comes to you isn't from God. And like, again, I'd like to give you your flowers and give me your your your applause to understand and recognize the fact that these gifts and these scenarios that you have been in god has gotten you out of and he put you in a profession to where it was also lessons being taught by him that you can understand Understand, hey, God taught me this.

30:22 God has showed me this. And understand that. It's beautiful. So I'd like to say thank you for giving your well, we're not finished yet. So we're not going to say just thank you and end it yet because we still got a little time. But to reflect and go down the roads and you and you almost answered one of my questions. But you just kind of hit on marriage and you were saying being a ref has taught you how to communicate a little bit different with your wife because you say the refs and the people.

31:08 Yada yada, the nagging, the emotions that people tend to put into sporting events, you've learned to kind of curve in your resolve with God. So with your books being written, how has God played a role? I know you said you met your wife at a wedding, but how has God played a role in your marriage and the lessons that you've learned from the books that you've written? How does that coincide and play lay together.

31:48 Well, in my most recent book, In the Newest of It All, there's a story I wrote in here about a marriage when I was about 30. I married a lady that she, how do you say, whenever she wanted something, she was used to. Fighting, physically fighting, corny. When she met me, I'm not the type that, I'm not going to fight. The main thing I told her was, hey, look, you're going to have to find a new way to fight. That way right there does not work. But that did not stop her from continuously trying to do things the way she's always done them.

32:33 So one day she decided to provoke She backed me in the corner and she decided, hey, I'm going to get what I want. This is the way I get it. I'm going to get it because she used to get it. Well, it was one of those situations where she swung and swung and swung and I blocked and blocked as much as I could. She swung until she got tired. When it was all over, I had a lot of scratches. scratches, a neck, back, whatever it is. He realized that he could not get me to get out of my stance of, I don't fight that way.

33:16 You don't have to find a new way to fight. Well, it gave me the feeling that he was looking at it as arrogant. arrogant, arrogant. She said she apologized, but she didn't have the look of remorse on her face. It was more of a, I'm going to get you. Sooner or later, I'm going to get you to respond where I want you to respond. You know something? I did something that I was pretty good at then, listening to God. And I'm still good at it now. God says, day is, you're not done so what you're going to have to do you're going to do something you have never done, you can't you can't do like all other men that's not what i put you here for but to stop this problem here you're going to go to the police department wow they complained about this, your first thing came to my mind before it don't do that and don't go to police department fail my wife beat me up well you got to do that.

34:27 So I closed my mouth and I did what God told me to do. And I went through the scenario of having to go to the police department, get in line, say, I'd like to follow the method of abuse against my wife. You know, the craziest thing is that the guy couldn't hear me behind the wall of the glass window. So he said, you're going to have to speak up. I can't hear you. I had to say that. But there were all those other people there. So I had to say it again. I'd like to file a domestic abuse charge. It got really quiet in that room. In fact, that was kind of a bustle. I'm still in a bustle, but anyway.

35:10 The guy told me to go wait in this room over here. I went in there and he said an officer would come by there with a camera. About five minutes later, one of the officers he came in there with the camera. He looked and he left. And I was late he came back in there He looked he said Is that a lady in here or was she ever in here I said nah but I don't think you're looking For a lady He looked for someone to Domestic abuse charge he said yeah I said yeah that's me, He walked up and he looked at it and said I gotta take pictures of it As he took the pictures man I took The shirt off as he took the pictures He said you know something These are some really deep.

35:53 Need to be upgraded to a song charger then okay they're going up to a song charge man, every time i think about that i had to go through this yep and i actually have to do that, doesn't matter that you can't do like other men he said he didn't make me like other men he said it may be this way. And he said, I want you to write it like I said, write it. Because I had never written that. This happened, I think it was back in the 30s. I'm 59 now. If I had told me, write it, I'm going to give you the details. And they don't come back to you or remember. It's like it was yesterday.

36:37 It goes on to some other scenarios that he's like, man, only God could have guided me this way. And that's what it all comes down to god he's going to show you he's going to guide you you just have to follow the day i close my mouth and open my ears man that was one of the best things ever so i wrote uh yeah thank god hopefully what what i write and what i wrote i want to be passed along like a farm to someone else to say you know something this is the way i could out it because this brother he handled it this way because we don't need to take abuse just like Like a woman, she doesn't have to take care of the poor.

37:17 But that's all we hear about is women. We don't hear about the man. But that's just one of the stories that I wrote in the midst of it all. Hey, listen, man, that is amazing and beautiful. That is amazing and beautiful to hear a man. And I can hear the emotions in your voice when you tell that story because it's there. the wounds, even though it's 20 or 30 years later, those wounds still hurt. And the fact of the matter is, you're right, a lot of men don't get the opportunity or the chance to tell their stories in that aspect. And I want everybody in the audience, whoever's hearing this, I want you to understand that domestic violence is not okay.

38:03 Whether it's a man or a woman, we bleed and we We breathe just like you do. So domestic violence is never okay. My brother, my brother, that is so touching and so moving to hear a man be able to articulate and tell that story with the amount of emotions and not anger towards women and to understand the path that you've been on and where you've been at. And God has brought you through those trials and tribulations. And as we talked about a few minutes ago, your testimony and to hear you talk about that and understand.

38:51 Mindset that you have to be in in order to make it through the other side of that, because it was not only abuse, then it also became sort of embarrassing because like you said, they had a glass window and you had to speak up and speak through the window and there were other gentleman behind you, but that was just God moving you out of the way and him working through you, and through all the bravado and all the male testosterone that you had in you, because I'm pretty sure in your mind, your mind was like, don't do it.

39:33 Don't do it. You're going to look like a sucker. Don't do it. Don't do it. You're going to look like a punk. Don't do it. Don't do And you followed God. You followed what God was telling you. That is so amazing, my brother, and amazing to hear. Man, so that is a great story. So now you're here in Nashville, Tennessee. What's life like in Nashville, Tennessee versus Alabama? It's a lot of more well i know it's a lot of work and it's a lot of it's a lot bigger in that field than it is in montgomery so i've learned the landscape still learning landscape because it's like my six times as big as montgomery so it's just familiarity at the same time finding time to write these stories, said i wanted to i want to know god god said start writing right as i look back and i stand and think man all these things i've had to go through were like all the trials whatever you want to call it but i was actually being tested god said okay i'm gonna make sure this i trust you is that's why he put me through all these texts and then this book in the midst of it all and there are a lot of tests and trials that i would

41:05 put in a lot of about you know officiating too, so many times yeah you really have to be as i like to say you have to be calm. Calm because a lot of people will say things that really get under your skin but you can't let it bother you. You can't show it. As an umpire, you're going to hear a lot of things, but they'll never hit you until you turn around and look at the person that said it, and all of a sudden you realize they were turning around.

41:46 Let them know that what they're saying is really bothering them. Now, they're going to get louder, and the person next to them is going to get louder, And the person next to them is going to get loud. The lesson there is, hey, as long as you keep your mouth shut, just finish up the game. It's having that, I guess, fifth-year outlet. Come into the game and talk about the referee or the umpire. And I realize that once they decide, hey, to come on and be an official themselves, then they'll realize it's not easy. They'll say, look, it's just like someone from the stands. They can see every play. But once you get on that field and you can't see no further than five yards away, what happens? Man, he's got to move a whole lot faster.

42:32 You start, you know, refereeing, you get that concept of, you know, something. I don't have to see everywhere. All I have to do is see in a certain spot. Spot. That's it. You learn that. Mm-hmm. It's just like, I'd say is just like Moses, just follow his guide. Doesn't matter how bad it looks or how crazy it looks. Life is always going to look crazier because you're not used to seeing it like no one else is used to seeing it. But it's God's way of showing you, hey, this is the way I want it done. It's ordinary to him. What he does. Right. Just follow. That's it. Right.

43:16 And we don't know what the other side of it looks like, but he knows what the other side of it looks like. And like you said, just follow. Just follow. But sometimes I think people make it a lot harder than what it actually is. When you say just follow, just follow sounds, it sounds easy. It sounds easy. It sounds wonderful. It sounds great until the trials and the tribulations come along. And then all of a sudden following doesn't sound so beautiful anymore. more. So then what do you suggest for someone on their spiritual journey as you've been on in the midst of writing your book and doing the things that God has told you to do?

44:04 What do you suggest for the next person out here that may be headed down the same path that you're headed down, but they hadn't got it completely all the way in their heart that they're ready to follow Follow what God is telling you. The best thing I can tell you is that have faith in God. I'm going to say it's not going to be easy. It is going to be hard. It is designed to be hard. Because the distractions and the obstacles, they're going to do what they're supposed to do. And that is to stop you from doing what God told you to do. They're going to do what they're supposed to do. Now, our job is to do what God says, hey, now we're going to have faith in God.

44:49 What God says, go from A to B. Our job is to go from A to B. Don't worry about what's in the middle. He's already taking care of that, but we got to go through it, though. We can't go around it. We can't go up. No, we got to go through. We got to have faith in God to say, he's made a way because he said, go from here to there. We got to keep telling ourselves the same thing over and over and over. Because if we don't, that one time when we decide, God said, man, this is so hard. Why, why is this? And you know something, that one time when we feel that weakness, or I'll tell you many times, we're going to feel that weakness, God's going to send a brother or sister to come to us in that moment or a song on the radio that says, do this.

45:39 You can do it. He put it in you. That's why he knows that you can do it and nobody else can do it. He put it in you for that reason. You just keep on doing it doesn't matter how it look or how people will always tell you man that don't make no sense man. People want to always know, want to know what the details are, and then they'll decide whether they want to do it or not. Well, God doesn't work like that. God doesn't tell you the details. He says, hey, dude, our job is to have faith in him, not, well, you give me the information. Tell me what's going to happen, God. Give me the, well, I'm going to have to go through and let me decide what I want to do.

46:20 You don't want to decide. Very true. True. You know, and what you're saying, I can attest to very well, because what we're doing right now here on the kickback, I've been wanting to do something of this nature for a while. And you're right. There are always the naysayers. There's always the people who says, well, you can't do that or that ain't going to be successful. That's full. Oh, how'd you do that? Oh, why? Why? You know, it's always the why. Why are you doing that? Oh, why are you this? Oh, why are you that? And it was this was all God's plan. It was an idea that God put in my head just as well as choosing the person that is here, you know, to be my co-host and just different things.

47:09 That was God's anointing. That wasn't my anointing at all. It was something that God had put together for me that I needed from him. And it was the steps to get here for me was I kept stepping to the side every time God was like, here's your opportunity. Here's your opportunity. Here's your opportunity. and I just kept simply stepping to the side because I thought it wasn't for me at that moment. So I get... Go ahead. No, go ahead. No, it's funny when you said the naysayers, the naysayers always seem to be there right when I want to step out of my comfort zone and start doing something.

47:56 All of a sudden, my best friends come along or something comes along and says, you know, that's that confirmation from God to say, yeah, that's what I need to do right there. Because naysayers are here. Naysayers don't bother folk when they ain't doing nothing. Think about that. You're right. I'm good. Anybody can do that. You can do something different from what you've always done. Why don't you want to do something like that? That don't make no sense. Yeah, that's what I'm supposed to be doing right there. But it doesn't make sense now. But once I keep doing it, all of a sudden they go, I don't know When he started that, God made sense The only thing he said Again We have to be persistent In following What God says To do, says, oh yeah, I was there when he started that. You know, it was...

48:53 Not everybody can see your vision. Yes. And you know, God has shown me that, but it took me a while to realize that. It took me a while to realize that everything that God has given to me is not for everybody. It's not for everybody. And it took me a while because, you know, if you think about some of the ways we were raised up, you know, it's, that's my family, that's my cousin, that's my, that's my, my sister, that's my uncle, that's my whoever.

49:36 So I got to bring them along with me. And when you try to insert instances, when you try to bring family alone because I've tried to bring some cousins along with me during my journey, and it didn't work out the way that it was supposed to. And I take it as God saying they weren't supposed to be there. This was for you, not for them. Yeah. I brought the people that were praying against me and with me and they were on my team and I didn't even know it. I want you to be where they are.

50:18 Don't do that. Right. But that's just that's how I was raised and that's how I was brought up was, you know, you bring family along with you and you try to help them be better or do better. And I've learned in some instances, some people don't want it or you show them what you have going on and they want what you got instead of trying to build their own jealousy and and it's hard sometimes to understand that it could be somebody you share that you share blood with that's the hurtful part to me is the fact that it's it it's your family the people you share blood with, the people that, you know, you all have shared a pallet together.

51:10 You all have shared a meal together on more than one occasion. And they are the ones who are there to try to sabotage or stab you in the back. But on the other side of it, so is there another book in the workings? Well, let's just say I've got a chapter of another book already. Cool, cool, cool. That's wonderful. That's wonderful. God put it in. God just write it. Hey, and that may be what he wants you to do. So keep writing, my brother, until God tells you to stop writing.

51:52 Keep writing. because only you know the relationship that you have with your God. Oh, only you know the relationship you have with your God. And I can't tell you anything different. You have to know what he's saying to you. And you have to know when it's time for you to not do what he's asking you to do anymore. born. Dave, you got anything to say here on the back end, my brother? Man, I was just enjoying this conversation and I was thinking about the Apostle John on the island of Patmos. You know, God had to take that brother to a desolate place for him to write the book of Revelation.

52:39 And I'm just thankful that my brother Albert here didn't have to get put in isolation like that to turn out his writings. Hey, I actually have to isolate my stuff to write in there Get away from the stretch Right Like the TV. The TV is your kryptonite I see The TV is powerful man It is you're right The TV is very powerful man It take over you sometimes, It is It is built for entertainment, but it's also built to down to to take us down a notch.

53:28 Now, just talking entertainment, have either one of you brothers seen the new movie that's out yet or called The Forge? I have not. And I haven't had an opportunity to get to it either. My brothers, you all need to go see that movie. Man, it is a wonderful, wonderful film. Me and the wife went to go see it this weekend. And when I say you praise God, you cry a little bit. You praise God, you cry a little bit. And you understand what God was trying to say and what he's trying to do.

54:11 And it resonated with me a whole lot because it's sort of like it's speaking on what I was saying to you, Albert, my journey to get to where I'm at right now and to build this platform. And we're still building and God God is God is leading the way. He's he is the man who is forging the path for us here at the kickback to be where we are. And I'm so thankful for the Lord for forging this path and giving us the the ability to have these conversations with wonderful gentlemen like you, because what we're trying to do is we're simply just trying to show one young man.

55:00 One, if we can save one soul, then the mission, I'm not going to say it's done, but it just means that we are forging a path in the right direction, that domestic violence isn't right, that what he may be going through right now, some other man, per se, you have already been through it, and not Not to feel like you're less than a man or you have to do these things in order to maneuver through life. Someone's been where you've been and it gets better on the other side. You got to have God in your life. You've got to have God in your life to understand that it will be better on the other side.

55:45 So, Mr. Porterfield, we appreciate you today. This was a wonderful, wonderful conversation, and I love your testimony, and I love that you shared your life experiences and your books. Where can we find in the midst of it all right now? Where is it? It's published, right? Yes, it's published on Amazon.com and I also carry books also with me. So if you would like to get a copy of Mr. Albert Porterfield's, aka my homie, The Dude in a Pew's book, check him out. Do you have any contact that people could get in touch with you if they want to get a copy from you in person?

56:35 How can people reach you? Do you have a Facebook or Instagram or Twitter? You don't have to give out your personal phone number, but email or something of that nature. So our listeners, if they would like to acquire a copy of the book other than Amazon, Amazon.com. Go check out his book But do you have any other contact information That you could give out To our listeners Just in case they want to get the book from you Yes, you can always go to Faithbook Go to Albert Quartersville Jr. And if you want to go to my email You can It's called dudeinthepew At yahoo.com.

57:20 Dude in the pew Yahoo.com alrighty and you said Facebook at Albert Porterfield Jr. Right? Yes sir alrighty Dave you got anything to say at the end of this show because we're about to close the floor. I think just put the contacts in yeah just put the contact in there And I'm just going to say, you know, it's nice when brothers can all come together and have conversation and agree and come to a level of agreeance. We might not always we might not always see it the same way or we might not all experience it the same way.

58:01 But it's nice to be able to sit down and have a conversation and get a better understanding. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I totally agree with that. And that is the mission here. The kickback is to let fellows know that we can sit down and discuss real world topics without there being any animosity of any type or any just whatever you may have going on in your life. It's on. This is a judgment free zone and we can have real conversations about marriage, life, rearing kids, domestic violence, just whatever it may be going on in your life or whatever you feel like you want to talk about.

58:49 We're always here at the kickback and we're ready to have these unadulterated conversations today. Again, we'd like to thank you, Mr. Albert Porterfield, Jr.. A.k.a. The Dude in a Pew, Mr. The Unexpected Happened, and the new title, In the Midst of It All. We'd like to thank you for coming to the show. Now, every guest, we always extend an olive branch and say you're always welcome on the show. On Friday afternoons, we have Freedom Fridays, where we do a two-hour open live show where you can come in And you can discuss anything that's on your mind and anything you want to talk about.

59:35 If you got five minutes, you got 10 minutes, you got 20 minutes, you got 30 minutes, you got an hour. Just come into the show. It'll be on Friday starting at 5 p.m. And we just talk. It's just brothers having open conversations. The last two weeks have been wonderful, wonderful, wonderful conversations. And I thank everyone that's been on the panel and had conversations with us on Freedom Fridays. days. Today was Topic Tuesday. Dave, take us out, my brother. Yes, sir. All right. Hey, I'm going to go back to what we do at Emmanuel Temple. Lord, help us to have one mind and let that mind be the mind of Christ.

1:00:19 The mind of Christ. In Jesus' name. I love it. I love it. You guys have a great afternoon. noon. Thank you again, Mr. Porterfield. Dave, I'll see you on Friday, my boy. Yes, sir. All righty.