EP. 104: Grace that Guides with Ryan Weary

What does lasting change look like in rural Mississippi? In this episode, Ryan Weary, president of Real Christian Foundation, shares how faith, collaboration, and community investment can turn reconciliation into practical action.

Ryan reflects on carrying the legacy of his father, Dolphus Weary, while learning to lead in his own way. He also discusses the realities of rural poverty and how Real Christian Foundation supports local ministries through training, grants, and long-term guidance. This conversation offers honest encouragement for anyone seeking to serve their community, lead with humility, and build relationships across dividing lines.

Special thanks to our sponsors: 

Nissan, St. Dominic's Hospital, Atmos Energy, Regions Foundation, Mississippi College, Anderson United Methodist Church, Grace Temple Church, Mississippi State University, Real Christian Foundation, Brown Missionary Baptist Church, Christian Life Church, Ms. Doris Powell, Mr. Robert Ward, and Ms. Ann Winters.

Transcript

Welcome, Sponsors, And Key Dates

SPEAKER_04 0:12

This is Living Reconciled, a podcast dedicated to giving our communities practical evidence of the gospel message by helping Christians learn how to live in the reconciliation that Jesus has already secured for us by living with grace across racial lines. Hey, thanks so much for joining us on this episode of Living Reconcile, episode 103. My name is Brian Crawford. I'm your host, and I'm with my good friend, Nettie Winters, today. Today, before we get into our introducing our special guests, we want to give a quick shout out to friends like Nissan, St. Dominic's Hospital, Atmos Energy, Regis Foundation, Mississippi Christian University, Mississippi State University, New Horizons International Church, Crossgates, Pear, Pear Orchard, Anderson United, Pine Lake, Brown Missionary Baptist, Real Christian Foundation, Miss Doris Powell, Robert Ward, and Winner. So many people have made this work possible. And we want to say thank you to all of those people. And also, if you would like to join those people and make continuing to make this work possible, you can do so by visiting missionmississippi.org. Click on the donate link at the top right corner, and that will give you the opportunity to join this illustrious list of uh supporters and investors in the work of reconciliation. While we're at it, I also want to point you to September the 24th, Thursday night, starting at 6 o'clock on the campus of Mississippi Christian University, Anderson Hall. It is our annual Living Reconciled celebration. Our theme this year is Living Reconciled as the Family of God. We are committed to taking seriously Jesus' words when he says, Who is my mother? Who is my brother and sisters, those that do the will of God? We are not just invited into an organization, we are not just invited into a club, but as Christians, as uh believers in Christ Jesus, we are invited into a family. And what does that mean to live like family? Well, we want to talk about that and a lot more on the evening of September the 24th at Mississippi Christian University Anderson Hall at 6 p.m. So we invite you to join us at that time.

Why Ryan Weary’s Name Matters

SPEAKER_04 2:15

Ryan Weary carries a name that means something in Mississippi reconciliation circles, whether he wanted it to or not. He's born with a name that is connected to reconciliation. His father, Dolphus Weary, became a Christian under uh John Perkins' ministry in 1964, and he went on to lead Mindenhall Ministries for 27 years before becoming a part of Mission Mississippi, then ultimately Real Christian Foundation, where Ryan, who grew up under that legacy, inside that legacy, a beneficiary of that legacy, is now leading the charge at Real Christian Foundation, which you are certain to hear more about in just a moment. Ryan is the president of Real Christian Foundation. He is a husband and a father. He is a deeply committed uh Christian, um follower of Jesus, and he is a dear friend of both Nettie and I. And so we are incredibly excited to have none other than Ryan Weary join us on the Live and Reconcile Podcast. Ryan, how are you doing, brother? Man, doing wonderful. Just blessed to be here, man. Thank you for inviting me here. Excellent, man. Excellent.

Childhood Faith And Learning Grace

SPEAKER_04 3:19

We are so, so delighted to have you join us, man. Talk to us a little bit about um your your story, uh your life story, a story of faith, man. How did you um how did you end up on this journey, so to speak, where you are today?

SPEAKER_00 3:33

Wow, wow. Well, uh, like you mentioned earlier, man, a lot of this starts with God using people and how God used the life of Dr. John Perkins and how that rippled throughout my life was was just tremendous. And I have to give uh praise to God for um just a wonderful father in Dolphus Weary, um, who grew up without a father, uh, who who his biological father deserted the family. And so he had a stepfather that did a really good job, but he didn't have that loving, that that very overtly um what you would think of a father uh mentor, and just what he and and my mother did uh for me um really started everything. And so uh being a child that benefited from the work um that them and other great people in the Simpson County area did, I went to Genesis 1 Christian School, which was a Christian uh um private school right there in Minden Hall. I I uh went to vacation Bible school at the Minden Hall Ministries, which just taught me more and more about God. I went to Minden Hall Bible Church, where uh I came to know the Lord at the age of seven or eight. I remember saying raising my hand and sheepishly going up to the front and praying, praying and praying. And uh I remember how excited I was because I had been hearing about this Lord, this savior, for so long. And I was like, wow, how do I get to know him? But again, even in all of that, you know, there's the framing of how a young mind can accept that. And so when you're young, you think even though they were teaching, I was hearing, um, man, I don't, I don't, I don't want to go to hell. I was hearing uh I want to get closer and closer to Jesus. Yeah, yeah. But even in that, I was like, man, I think what resonated with me was that that sense of grace. And it took me a long time to wrap my head around grace. But when I look at um what I saw in my environment, and I saw how God was moving in uh the quarters part of Mindenhall, Mississippi, I just uh it just shaped my life and understanding of what can happen when people who are moved by God say yes and allow their lives to pour out into others. So I remember all of my teachers at Genesis 1 were just on fire. They loved us, they loved on us, they showed us Christ in every step of the way. All the workers, all the food workers, sanitation workers, they showed us the love of Christ. Everyone who worked at the offices of Minden Hall Ministries showed the love of Christ. Of course, all the many volunteers that I saw that came to Mendon Hall showed the love of Christ. And so that just put in me the foundation of what I would unknowingly end up doing later in life. I the pathway, uh, by the grace of God and the wisdom of my dad, he told me early on, son, you do not have to be me. I'll be proud of you no matter what you choose to do with your life. I love you if you go into any field. And because of Dr. Weary's life and the fact that early on in life he had an experience working in ditches. He had that experience as a young kid, sharecropping. He had that experience. And so there's dignity in any shape of life, but I didn't have to be him. I didn't have to be my brother. And so having all of that in in Simpson County really shaped who I would

Identity Pressure And A Father’s Freedom

SPEAKER_00 7:34

end up being.

SPEAKER_04 7:34

Hey, Ryan, did that shape it? Shaped you, obviously. Simpson County shaped you in some ways, but also I also I hear the voice of your father shaping you in some ways in terms of him giving you that affirmation that you did not have to be him. Did you feel um pressure early on to try to replicate uh your your father's story, to try to walk in that in those footsteps uh of this this giant personality, this kind of very charismatic and and and gravity-drawing personality that your father was?

SPEAKER_00 8:09

I would say, in a sense, yes, and in a sense, no. Um for for everyone who knows my family, if you don't know my family, uh my mom is very reserved, but she's a prayer warrior. That's her. But she she, even though she was that, she was very active in the community and people knew her. My brother and my father were outgoing personalities, and they had that going for them. And so when people would see me, they would either say little Dolphus or they would say uh little Reggie, Reggie's brother. And I and in my mind, I I don't know if I internalized that. And I think he saw that I was starting to internalize the fact that I was like, wow, I need to do something to break out of this shell. I didn't know how to be authentically me, but he he saw that early on, and so quelling that was such a big, big move. Also, um he he did amazing things. God used my father in so many amazing ways. But it, you know, just like with anything, it never comes out all the way perfect. So, but the the thing that I do lean on and I I do recognize is he he would talk about things and say, son, this is a principle. And so he he talked about that so much. The and and those principles that he laid out for me became a thing that helped help me catch up to who I can be. Who who are you, Ryan? Are you are you working these principles out in your life? As long as you're doing that, you don't have to be outgoing, bombastic. You don't have to do these things. You can do it in your way, and God has created you uniquely to do things in a certain way. And so I was happy that he affirmed that. And like I said, it wasn't I I think anyone who's a minister's kid has a some sense of they know the the stereotype of PKs, you know, you get teased a little bit, don't let Dolphins see you doing this or whatever. So you that's that's sort of built in. But it was thankfully, it was more me internally trying to, you know, say, oh, I need to do this than other people. And and by the time I was a teenager, I think I had kind of got it in my spirit. Okay, I don't have to do that, so what is my path? And so I was very thankful for those building blocks. Yeah, that's really cool.

SPEAKER_04 10:56

That's really cool.

SPEAKER_02 10:57

So Yeah, jump jump in, Nettie. Oh um, you know, I was gonna ask Ryan about I know he now is the president of the Real Christian Foundation. When when did you make that that that turn that that know that you needed to be where you are now as as it relates to your previous conversation to answer? How did you make that turn? Because now originally that just wasn't, you know, what where you were going and and uh you recognized that, Dolphins recognized that, but now that shift has changed and so what brought about that shift?

SPEAKER_00 12:16

Great, great question. Um I would have to say uh it was a little bit of a lot of things. It was for me personally, the biggest thing that got me to that point was having people, the staff, and having board members that would talk to me and and uh just affirm, hey, you can do this. And that encouragement helped me to get there because my whole, I think I talked about this uh um at the Perkins Center. I really didn't have that mindset that I'm a leader. I had the mindset, hey, I'm more than happy to be a foot soldier.

From Behind The Scenes To President

SPEAKER_00 13:03

Appointment and direction, say, Ryan, do this and I'll do it. Lead me, tell or give me a game plan, let me execute it. But being a late leader was never really in my plan. I wanted to be a person that helped build the mission and keep it going. And so when I was thrown in sort of in sort of a my hat was thrown in the ring for me. And in talk having those conversations with those encouraging voices in my life and having that conversation with God, to it, it was almost like to your point, what I went through earlier in life, which is I don't have to be dolphis weary, I don't have to be my father. I can lead in a unique way that God has equipped me to lead. And I could learn from voices and from uh the people that have been around the mission and take that mission and keep it moving in a in a uh wonderful and fantastic way. So great question. Uh it it took, I would say, the encouragement of others, and I would also say the conversations with God got me there. Because again, that was not in my wheelhouse. I was I was trying to be the technical administrator, which I held that title for years, which was a catch-all. When you work at nonprofit, the name might say one thing, but it's gonna mean eight different things. I and the website, social media, I would be the strongest person in the office. So if a box needs to be lifted, if I need to go deliver something to the ministry, I was fine with that. But tell Ryan to put together a campaign and and and lead it and pick people and say, do this, and I'd be like, oh, hold on. Let's let's have a now I'm here and now I feel a lot more comfortable comfortable, and I feel like the people around me and the positioning that God has put me in is just the right time. You know, this is just the right time.

SPEAKER_04 15:15

You're gonna run. I've heard a million, I've heard a couple of ways, man, that the Lord is doing a million things uh oftentimes, and we're aware of three of them. Um and so what what do you perceive now that you're in the seat of president? What do you perceive uh were all the other things God was preparing you for when you were just behind the scenes? How did how what lessons did you take away behind the scenes that you think served you now that you're at, you know, you're the face and you're the front of real Christian?

SPEAKER_00 15:51

I think seeing, observing, observing how others led, um, really helped me. And then I was pushed under up, you know, everybody's leadership. So I was pushed and I grew and I grew. And uh I think that uncomfortability of being pushed in certain areas helps, you know, refine you. So I was refined over time here at Real Christian Foundation. Uh when I first joined staff, I joined part-time for a financial campaign because of my communications background from Bellhaven University. And it was a campaign, it went successful, but it was in the beginning, it took a while for the ball to get rolling, but it was very successful. And so I only saw a three-year window working here at Reel. And the Lord, you know, God touched my father's heart and he said, Hey, we think you can come on staff and really help us beyond those three years. It was really during the time where I was on the on a break. Um, for those that don't know, uh, before Real, I worked for a small um construction company called U.S. Codings in Jackson. And uh during that time, they were doing government contracts where supposedly a larger contractor was supposed to be helping a minority contractor learn how to uh do the ropes with gaining government contracts. Well, my job was dependent on the contract. Um, but um I won't get into too many details, but racism definitely reared its head and they wanted to take that um contract from this was a large, large contractor, and it it really was peanuts to them, but they didn't want um black uh they didn't want to open that door to uh smaller, black, smaller um contractors coming in and taking other contracts in the future. So they shut it down. And so I was in a point where I was just unemployed for a while, like it full stop for me. And Dr. Weary asked me to come on, and it was just a blessing. Never would I have foreseen this. And so all that being said, that refining that took place during those times really brought me to the point where I felt comfortable enough, even though I was still kind of thrown out there to say, hey, I'm very comfortable with being mentored as vice president, and I'm very comfortable with taking the lead. And so um, yeah, those things kind of prepared me.

SPEAKER_02 18:46

Is that word comfortable, interchangeable with confidence?

SPEAKER_00 18:52

Mmm, mmm. In in in ways, yes. In some ways, yes. I want I you know what comfortable, comfortability, like I said, what I learned was being uncomfortable is actually the best place you want to be in. Because when you're comfortable, you get complacent. Confidence, my confidence is in a few things. Number one, the Lord, because real Christian foundation wouldn't be here without the Lord and without the Lord using people to get to this, like open, like utilizing them in a wonderful, fantastic way to get to this point. But then two, my confidence is in the people I've been working with who have been committed to this mission, who have that knowledge base that I can continue to draw from and refine. Because again, like everything, seasons kind of change, and organizations, although their mission should stay the same, the way that they attack that mission changes. The way that you engage with your donors changes, the way that you oh goodness, we see how AI is changing the game and how technology is changing things. So there's many different ways. And so the word you said about confidence, my confidence is in who God has placed around me and in God Himself. But yeah, comfortable and confidence can sometimes be interchangeable, but I'm learning that I need to feel a little uncomfortable because it helps me, uh, it helps guide me. And I'm just reminded of uh the verse in in Romans, I think it's let me see, Romans 5, um uh 5, 3. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and character hope. And I'm although I'm not necessarily suffering, when you feel uncomfortable, it's like when you don't know where the donation is coming, you you're trying to plan and it's not coming together, and then boom, something God shows himself in a certain way. And that's been exciting, especially this first two quarters has been exciting to see how how a haphazard phone call can yield results. How putting something that you've shown a hundred people and then that hundred first person's face, and God just opens doors. So that's been exciting. And I think I'm building more and more confidence in God as I see that happen.

SPEAKER_02 21:38

That's great, man. That's really cool. I just think about what you said haphazard. It's God's providence that that does that. And from our perspective, many times I've been in your shoes, and many times it it may look haphazard or or or something else, but you know, God's got it. Uh, I would have liked to have had uh a flower beard of flower on the wall when you and God was having those conversations. Would it sound something like him, Moses had me at the burning bush?

SPEAKER_01 22:07

You don't you don't have to answer that, man. I thought I would just tap that in, you know.

SPEAKER_02 22:13

I mean, that was I just I just think in my mind that must have been an interesting conversation between you and God, even though all these people are giving you confidence or whatever else. But yeah, move on to the next question, Brian.

SPEAKER_04 22:25

Yeah, yeah. No, here's something that really, really intrigues me, Ryan, about um, about you, about your family, and your commitments. You know, you guys are deeply committed to rural, to the rural uh region of Mississippi. Mississippi, right? And it's interesting because when you're when you're outside of Mississippi, everybody says, well, Mississippi's rule, period. But there's Mississippi, and then there's there's rural Mississippi. And rural Mississippi is a different type of rule from the other places within Mississippi, right? And so here's my question about just your work and your commitment. What have you learned about rural rule, Mississippi? Um, and rural rule ministry

Rural Mississippi Need You Don’t See

SPEAKER_04 23:13

that you that you didn't understand as a kid growing up? And and that, and that maybe people that are outside of that rule context don't understand, even though they're a part of Mississippi, but they might not necessarily understand that particular context of Mississippi.

SPEAKER_02 23:32

Uh uh, Brian, before you answer, let me let me help Brian for a moment. Brian, uh, there's rural Mississippi, but then there's country. So the distinction between rural, rural, Mississippi is that uh you have uh you know people say, well, everywhere in Mississippi rule. Yeah, that's right. But then you got the country. So we like to help the country folks.

SPEAKER_00 23:57

Oh wow, wow. Truly, truly. Wow, that's uh that's profound. I think I think the biggest thing um personally, I'm gonna start personally, yeah, is when you're on it okay, honestly, this is true of anyone. When you're in any given situation and you're focused in on one situation, you don't really see the outside working. If you grew up poor, you don't really know that you're poor until you until you encounter something different. You know what I mean? And so I think my perspective really shifted both growing up in in Mindenhall and then working with other ministries outside of Mindenhall is just seeing the sheer need and how certain things that I took for granted really are a larger issue in most of other uh the country, most of the other country rural places. Uh for instance, growing up, I'm I'm a a skip and a hop away from Genesis 1 Christian school. Well, both buildings. If if I you know, I I don't think I ever went to the original one. Uh I went to the one that they built back in the 80s, the the larger one, the one that you probably see on, you know, whenever they do documentaries about it, that was right there by my house. And going to a school where I saw how passionate everybody was and the materials that we had were nice and everything like that. I didn't, I think I took it for granted because I was in that. But when you peel the onion back and you go visit other places and you see what the kids have available to them, and and you question what's going on in the the city, the towns that they're in, that there can be affluence in those towns. And then somehow you you try to wrap your mind around, but yet the community doesn't have what it needs, basic needs for the kids, basic books. Books are outdated, schools are not kept up, parks are not kept up. And I took, I took that for granted in Minden Hall. And now, you know, even even though Minden Hall is is is still recovering at this moment, Minden Hall Ministries, it's still not as rough as it could be, absent what the ministries have done for those 30, 40, 50 years. And so when you visit other places and you see, oh my goodness, we're but they might not realize that they're missing out until organization or someone goes out and they say, Wow, our kids deserve this. They deserve A, B, and C. And so I think just the sheer need, you don't really get it until you kind of zoom out. And I think to miss to Nettie's point is that when people come from out of state, they just cover the blanket up. They cover the whole state and say it's all rule. No, there's very affluent places in Mississippi. Yeah, there's very affluent places in the city of Kenton. And then there's very there's a lot of need in other parts of Kenton. Yeah, there's very affluent people in Mindenhall, and then there's areas where you see the need. And so um people can wrap their head around urban um poverty, because urban poverty kind of looks different, but rural poverty is a very extreme amount of poverty. And so one of the things that I have a heart for is for kids to grow up at least with what I had. And so I feel like the work of real, you know, it can be kind of distilled into we offer technical training and small grants. But what we do is we alleviate some of the financial burden on an annual basis for at least 11 ministries every year. We give them, we connect them to resources every month, really every week, but every month with a one-on-one consultant that can help answer their questions about things. And that in turn produces so much for who they're helping already. The work that they're doing gets charged up. And so, in a in a way, even though I'm not doing direct ministry, I'm helping other kids get at least a piece of what I got growing up. And so that's the biggest thing for me is when you're in it, you you can, whether you're poor, when you're in it, you don't understand how the severity until you zoom out.

SPEAKER_04 29:23

And and and Ryan, what I hear, what I hear you saying is we often don't understand the amount of work, the amount of support, the amount of investment it takes to provide an experience like you had, right, in Mendon Hall Ministries and Genesis 1 School, that there was so much effort and labor and prayers and commitments being made from people that were outside of your space and outside of your region, pouring back into that space, pouring back into that region to make just that tiny ripple of mid-and-home ministries, man. You know, and so oftentimes I oftentimes, you know, we can look at these problems and we can look at these challenges and we can we can minimize the amount of effort that it's gonna take and that and and the amount of energy and the amount of resources it's gonna take. It's uh it's an all hands on deck type of challenge that we're faced with. It's not a challenge that we can, you know, that one or two people can really take on. It's a challenge that that we have to collectively take on. Is that some of your sentiment, I guess?

SPEAKER_00 30:30

Oh yeah, definitely. I I do want to also, because you brought that up, thank you so much. It passionate, there are passionate people in all of these areas that want more for their area and that are doing some doing groundwork to do something about it. We just want to come beside them and offer them some help and some connected connectivity. Absolutely. The need I I'm pushing, but it but you're right, it's also those ministry-minded people and the ministry-minded donors to to to forget the pull back the fluff that you hear about Mississippi, pull back your own mentality about throwing money at the problem. Who is committed to seeing change and meeting the needs and putting putting the time and effort into praying for and are serving? And and that's what's really needed. The the scale is one thing, but the mission-minded people who say, we can do something about this, um, we can do something about this, and not just we need to make it out of here and leave. We can do something about this. Even if we leave, we can give back, we can serve back, we can move back. That's that's basically part of the three R's that Dr. Perkins was talking about. But we want to, we we say it like that because we, you know, with the kids that we're reaching through the programs, uh, through the kids that receive um our scholarships, we want them to be mint ministry-minded or mission-minded, to say, hey, I'm not just leaving, I'm not getting this to get an education and then to never come back to Lexington or never come back to Marks or never come back. I'm doing this because I understand that this is an opportunity for me to get out here, make something of myself, but to either serve back, give back, or move back. Um, to make a difference, to not forget about it.

SPEAKER_04 32:54

Say that one more time, Ryan. Serve back.

SPEAKER_00 32:56

Serve back. That's either serving on a board or serving in some capacity uh advisory, giving back that's financial, or moving back, actually coming and planning back. But whether you're in California or in New York, you can do something to help impact where you're from. And that should always be on your mind. It's not getting out, moving somewhere, and forgetting about where you come came from because that helps shape you who to be who God called you to be. That's good.

SPEAKER_04 33:30

That's good. And and it's gonna help somebody else. And it's gonna help somebody else. You know, that's the thing. We're all the products of some form of investment of another. And and oftentimes, I oftentimes I don't think we quite capture the the impact that those investments um have on us. But I but man, I'm so grateful for the the commitment that Real has to to the rural context and and the commitment that they that you have, like you said, to be a connector um to help help rural communities connect to uh resources that it may exist within their community, may exist outside of their community, but helping them connect to other resources that will help uh tackle the challenges that exist in rural context. So thank you so much, man. Thank you so much. Um, Nettie, I know you got something very wise and profound to say to all that Ryan has shared. I'm gonna open the floor and leave you, uh leave you some room to share it.

SPEAKER_02 34:22

You know, Ryan has done a great job of uh talking about his uh growth and maturity and how he's gotten to the point he is in. So uh I'm excited for him. I'm excited uh that he is at real. And uh I just want to encourage him that Moses and a few other people had them same uh kind of conversation with God that you had. And so uh uh some of the greatest leaders I know was hesitant and reluctant. Always wanted to be either a number two man or a back room man, but God brought him out front, screaming and hollering and scratching and kicking all the way. And so keep up the good work, brother.

SPEAKER_03 35:05

Thank you so much. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_04 35:08

Yeah, I knew if we gave Nettie the Mike, he was gonna share something very wise and profound. So that's why that's why we call him Nettie the Great. Ryan, talk to us a little bit, man, as we as we as we part ways, man. Talk to us a little bit about how you feel like the work of real is really um on the front lines of the work of reconciliation. In what ways do you feel like real is is bringing people together, um, across class, color, ethnicity, et cetera?

SPEAKER_00 35:40

Well, um one of the main uh tenets that Dr. Weary and and uh Dr. Rosie uh uh wanted to put out there when they craft it real was outside of just the technical training, outside of just the the financial, they

Collaboration As Reconciliation Work

SPEAKER_00 36:04

wanted to encourage collaboration. And uh collaborating with when it comes to nonprofits early on was a little difficult because it can be a place where it can be kind of territorial, but I think immediately uh the organization saw that there's just so much that can be done when we work together. And there's so much ground that can be covered when we work together. So, in a sense, on the rec on one part of the reconciliation, it's reconciling others that are doing similar work together, come together and do much greater works. And so that's really matriculated, especially with the partnerships that Camp Pioneer has with pretty much all of the ministries. They get um some kids from Lexington, they get some kids from from uh Marks in the equipment area, they get from from so all the way to Pearl for Kent, Christy Kent, you know, they work in those ways. So that's one way. Two is within the communities, um really color was not uh the thing for most of these organizations, it was the need to see young people led to Christ mostly to see families benefit uh to for the community to be brought together. And so um because of these rural areas uh and because of how some people perceive uh black-owned or black-led uh ministries, it was a little slow for other communities to come on online or join some of these programs. But all in all, I know Jefferson Davis uh had uh kids that were coming in, um white, black, Hispanic, and uh Mon Olive ministries that were getting a lot of kids because people wanted to benefit from the good programs that we're seeing. So the word of mouth kind of broke a little bit of that barrier. But that barrier of saying this is a black-led church something really was a standoffish thing in those communities. I don't need to go to that, but I remember growing up in Minden Hall and how we would have a little bit of everybody coming to our vacation Bible schools, how we had a little bit of everybody matriculated. And so the umbrella was always reaching the youth and reaching them through Christ, introducing them to Christ. And so that's the mantra of nearly all of our ministries. In some respect, all of our ministries do at least something with youth, at least something with uh community empowerment. And uh, in case of one ministry, uh uh they have a school that serves uh all that come. And so um, yeah, uh it's been great to see how that reconciliation really blossoms and how uh people in the same area uh dealing with the same issues can come together when it's something that they know will benefit the full community. And so we're just prayerful that that continues and that um that continues to be a thing to reach people because right now it's you know it's much needed for polarization, it's much needed for reconciliation in the body of Christ.

SPEAKER_04 39:44

So yeah, yeah. Yeah, Ryan, I have a working theory that deep community transformation cannot take place where uh communities refuse to engage one another across difference and across uh divides. Um and so, and so the the I I feel like I feel like the ability for us to really succeed, whether it be urban context, rural context, or in between, um, it all hinges on our ability to come together and to and to navigate difference, not agree on everything, but to learn how to navigate differences, recognize that that when it comes to a lot of things, we hold a lot of commonality, that we hold a lot of common goals. We want to see our communities thrive, and that, and that that desire hinges on our ability to navigate those differences. And so um, and so thank uh thank of we're so thankful for real and your commitment to to uh communities across our state. And I know just by default, because you desire to see communities thrive, and I just know by default that's causing people to come, that that's that's a driver to bring people together. So you guys are bringing people together as a result of that desire to see uh communities thrive. And so thank you so very much, man, for all that you do. How can people keep up with Ryan Weary, president of Real Christian Foundation?

SPEAKER_00 40:57

Well, yeah, well, you can follow me on Facebook. You can follow me on uh follow uh Real Christian Foundation at RealAtWork on Twitter. We we need to start back using that. On Facebook, Real at Work, and on Instagram is Real Christian Foundation. Um, you could call the office. Uh we I I'll try to pick up as much as possible. I'll call back at 601-932-1101. Um yeah, I'm I'm available. I'll reach uh Real Christian Foundation at info at Real Christian Foundation.org. Excellent.

SPEAKER_04 41:36

Excellent. Ryan, thank you so very much, man, for joining us on

How To Connect With Real And Mission Mississippi

SPEAKER_04 41:39

this pod. Um, thanks to all of our special friends and guests and listeners. If you would like to keep up with us, you can do so. Really easy. You can visit any uh you can visit Living Reconciled on any podcast app. So if you got any podcast app, search for Living Reconciled, and this should be pretty easy to find us. Or you can go to missionmississippi.org if you would like more information on this podcast or more information on the work of reconciliation that we are doing uh across the state of Mississippi and beyond, whether it be coaching, whether it be uh creating local movements, we're here to help and we want to be a part of the reconciliation work that you're doing in your context. It's been a blessing to be uh on this uh episode with my friend Ryan Reary and my good friend Nettie the Great Winters. We're all signing off saying, God bless. God bless. God bless. Thanks for joining Living Reconciled. If you would like more information on how you can be a part of the ongoing work of helping Christians learn how to live in the reconciliation that Jesus has already secured, please visit us online at missionmississippi.org or call us at 601-353-6477. Thanks again for listening.