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Friends And Family
Conversations from the studios of God's Way Radio in Miami, FL.
WAYG-LP | 104.7FM
Friends And Family
Faith and Family Journeys: Jason Burris of CRU
Imagine moving to a vibrant city like Miami, igniting a transformative journey for your entire family. That's exactly what happened to Jason Burris, who joins us to share his compelling story of faith, family, and athletics. As a former college athlete, Jason opens up about his life-changing experience with Crew, formerly known as Campus Crusade for Christ, and how it brought new dimensions to his spiritual and professional life. From meeting his wife, Janice, at a Crew event to raising two teenagers, Eli and Zoe, in a faith-centered household, Jason's narrative is a testament to the power of community and steadfast belief.
Through heartfelt anecdotes, Jason illustrates the balance between sports and spirituality. He recounts the challenges of intertwining his athletic pursuits with his deep-rooted Christian faith, drawing parallels to athletes like Steph Curry and Maya Moore, who are known for integrating their beliefs into their sports careers. The conversation delves into the importance of stepping out of comfort zones and the blessings that often follow such bold moves. With personal stories of triumph and lessons learned, Jason underscores the need for a supportive spiritual community, whether facing career choices or the pressures of public scrutiny.
In a reflective and inspiring discussion, Jason also shares his vision for the future, emphasizing personal growth and service to others after his wife’s victory over cancer. His dedication to cultivating meaningful connections with his family and community shines through, offering listeners a profound message about the significance of living in the present and valuing relationships. Join us for a conversation that not only celebrates the intersection of faith and athletics but also encourages using one's platform to inspire those around us.
You're tuned in to Friends and Family, a God's Way Radio exclusive where we introduce you to some amazing people. In John, chapter 15, verse 15, jesus says I have called you friends for all things that I heard from my Father I have made known to you. That's our aim that God would be made known to you. Stay with us until the end of our conversation for more information on this program and other unique offerings from God's Way Radio.
Speaker 2:One of our business sponsors, one of the supporters here at God's Way Radio, is the Christian Businessman's Connection CBMC. We're so thankful for their support and we've kind of grown in the partnership where it's not just the support, it's not just the spot that plays, but actually doing some programming together. This is the second one of these and we're very excited. This is kind of like a brought-to-you-by-CBMC interview and program, so we're very excited about that. We're glad to have Omar here again. If you guys don't know Omar, that's because you're not listening to God's Way Radio enough. But no, no, just kidding. You will get to know him, I'm sure. But we have a very special guest with us, a gentleman by the name of Jason Burris. My brother, thank you for being here today.
Speaker 3:Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2:And you know I'd love to hear. First of all, allow you to just introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your family, and just start there for sure.
Speaker 3:Jason Burris moved to Miami in 2005 to get married to my best friend, janice Burris, aka the black queen. Awesome, and yeah, we lived here, started our family here. Here we have two kids, my son Eli and my daughter Zoe, both teenagers. So I'm in that stage of life, yeah, yeah, and we have a little dog named Rocket Awesome, but we love Miami. We really have enjoyed being a part of the community.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so is she from down here and that's why you came down, or?
Speaker 3:yeah, actually she's from houston texas, okay, um, right outside of houston texas and um, she was a track and field athlete. Okay, and she got recruited and came to the university of miami. Long story short she became an all-american in and field and we started dating. She came to a camp called the Ultimate Training Camp, put on by the Athletes in Action, and that camp was at Colorado State University, where I went to school and I ran track Nice. And so yeah, we are two.
Speaker 2:Sounds like a movie man. Yeah, yeah, that's amazing.
Speaker 3:It's a little bit like a movie. That's amazing. But yeah, that's a little bit. It's a little bit like a movie. So, um, but yeah, that's that's how we connected. So she, she came here for track and I came here for her after I ran track awesome awesome, awesome.
Speaker 2:Well, we're glad you're here and um, I mean, there's so much that that we want to look at. Let me ask you this um, jason, how did you come to faith in Christ? When did Jesus get a hold of your heart?
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah. My parents were believers before they had me and I thank God for that so much. The atmosphere in our home was a God-honoring atmosphere. My parents, they were just incredible examples and they put me in spaces since I can remember, in the church and around good people since I was a kid. So I said the sinner's prayer and I became a Christian young in life, but I would say it wasn't until probably college, where I was off on my own, out from under the loving care of my parents, where I needed to learn how to own my faith and make sure I knew what it meant to be a believer. They had given me a lot of tools and resources but, man, I think it was in college where it really all made sense and came together for me. Wow.
Speaker 2:You know I have a couple kind of questions related to that. You said you ran track in college. Did that afford you a scholarship that kind of paid? You right through college.
Speaker 3:Yes, I was part of. If you get to know me well, you'll know that in my childhood one of my favorite favorite things about my childhood was the MWTC, that's, the Marcus Walker Track Club okay and man, we were uh to this day.
Speaker 3:I love those people. Um, we still. I still talk to some of those uh friends that I have, but, uh, marcus Walker was an incredible uh man track coach. Um, he actually had a track career as well and he put together a team and I started running when I was about eight or nine years old. That's what I was going to ask you.
Speaker 2:One of the first things that comes to mind is this idea of growing up in a Christian home but being an athlete as well since a little kid. What do you remember about that? Was there ever a pool between church things and track things or commitments or being busy? What was that like, growing up as an athlete and a Christian home?
Speaker 3:Yeah, For me, sports was always something. You know, my dad was an athlete, my mom was an athlete and that's kind of all I really knew is just, you know, to compete and play sports. But again, my parents, they did a really good job and there was a good balance. At least as a kid, when I look at them and think back, there was a pretty good balance on what our priorities were as a family. You do your sports, you do your thing, you stay committed, you cultivate those relationships, but you also keep God as a priority and it doesn't mean. I think sometimes the legalistic side of it is like, oh, you can't miss anything on Sundays because you got to go to church. My family wasn't like that, thank God. But yeah, where's your heart?
Speaker 2:right, the posture of your heart was the priority in that I bet, as you got into the higher levels, maybe even before high school, you're probably traveling a lot for sports.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I did get a chance to travel with track and field and a little bit with. Basketball was my other, my other sport and actually it's for that love the most, but height challenge. So but yeah, I got a chance to travel and and play sports and go around and there were commitments. As a kid, you, just you, you love it, you do it. If you can compete at a high level, you, you go for it.
Speaker 3:Um, but man, my mom and dad made a lot of sacrifices and a lot of financial and just time and energy sacrifices that, um, I won't ever be able to pay them back for so that I understand that now, as a parent having two kids of my own, I'm like yikes are they interested in athletics as well?
Speaker 2:they?
Speaker 3:are, they're, they're, uh, they're really good athletes. They're high performing athletes. My daughter is in competitive cheer after trying pretty much oh man, every sport there is yeah she loves it man she loves the environment too.
Speaker 3:She's a great athlete. And my son, uh, just just this year this is his second year he's playing his playing four sports and in school and doing well in school. I'll say that they both are good students and doing well, but they love sports and um, it's a. It's a fun part of our life. We've been around it a lot so.
Speaker 2:So let me ask you this and we'll probably move on after this, and and omar, if something comes to mind that you wanted to ask as well but, um, remembering what it was like as a kid, what your parents did or what they had you do, and now as a father to athletes as well, if there's someone listening, you know what I like thinking of who might be listening, and I'm I'm asking a little bit for myself too, because I have a boy. One of my boys is, I mean, he's athletic, he's just I, I gotta get that kid signed up, uh, for something. I mean he's, he's three years old and he can dribble a soccer ball. He runs down the field dribbling a soccer ball, he, he, anyways.
Speaker 2:So I'm maybe I'm just asking for myself, but that's okay, they gave me a microphone, so no, I'm just kidding for anybody that would want to know, seriously, what are some principles, some wisdom that you've learned with raising kids that are they're going to excel in their academics, they're going to excel in athletics, they're going to be on track with the Lord. You know, man, the marriage is stable. You know you're able to do it all in a sense. What are some principles, some things that you've learned some things that God has shown you. For the parents listening.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we're blessed and I'm really grateful God gave me an MVP. I married a champion, ingenise, who is just an incredible young lady and you know, I think the combination of us being together and even our backgrounds going to the way we grew up was one we're gifted. I think we live in a time and a culture right now where it's like push your kids into sports and everybody's going hard and going 1,000 miles per hour. But Janice was a gifted athlete which allowed her to do four sports in high school and get a scholarship to the University of Miami and be a high level competitor. Everybody can't do that.
Speaker 3:You know, I had the chance to do a very similar thing coming from Colorado State, so growing up it was different. Like our parents put us in stuff, we did it and that's kind of how it was. What we've learned as parents now on this now we're on the other side is everybody has a plan and everybody wants your kids to be everywhere else all the time except for where you want them to be, and that just can't. It can't happen. And I can't stress without making this longer than it needs to be. As a parent like you, got to know your priorities and you got to live in the now. Live in the reality. If my, if our kids get a chance to play college sports like we did, it's because God wanted them to.
Speaker 3:There's not enough practices we can put them in. Not enough team travel teams. They can go on to like guarantee or secure that. In fact, I might create anxiety and tension. It's just an opportunity for us to be a part of the sport, be a part of other people's lives and to see them grow and develop. So sometimes it seems like our kids are doing a lot of things but, um, they have the capacity, yeah, and when and when they don't. It's time for us to pull out, because what's our priority? God? Family and you growing up to be the best version of yourself. So we just try to have balance and harmony and what's good for us.
Speaker 2:Well, I I love what you said, it's, it's so. I mean that's it. I mean lessons learned, you know, from your childhood and now raising your own kids. And you know, we kind of skipped over it or I may have interrupted. You mentioned oh, now she's in cheer, or something like that. It sounded like she's probably tried different sports and found one that she really enjoys, and so, again, that's the key, right there. Right, how you mentioned not putting that pressure on them. You got to get a scholarship. You, how you mentioned not putting that pressure on them. You got to get a scholarship. You got to play this. Well, I didn't play basketball, so now you got to play basketball.
Speaker 4:None of that I want to say something. You speak very highly of Denise and I think that's a wonderful thing. It's really something very touching that he speaks so highly of his wife. But let me say this to you, because we're in the sports kind of show. I don't know Denise and I don't know you that well, but I think Denise got a number one draft choice when she got you and I think that the Lord has put you together for a reason.
Speaker 4:It's his marriage and not his. And as I look at sports as a whole and what you do in the sports world, one of the things as Christians that we should do is that we should strive to win all the time and be number one. One thing that drives me crazy is kids getting a trophy for finishing in eighth place. That makes no sense to me. Paul was very clear Okay, we strive to do what To win the race? Okay, and the trophy is Jesus. And the last thing I want to mention about that is that, yes, we have to run the race and be number one, but we have to abide by the rules, and the rules are written in the Bible. If we end up number one without following God's rules, we're going to be disqualified.
Speaker 2:Yeah, amen, amen. And you know a lot of that was kind of assumed, you know, in you being believers, and you know we'll get to it here in a moment. You know, I like the way that you described yourself or your calling or your job stateside missionary. You know we're going to get into that, but you know, living out the Christian faith and then, okay, now, how does that look like when your kids are in sports? You know, but, man, so important for folks listening, you know that we were faithful to the Lord, we're obedient to His Word, because if we don't have that, everything else is out the window, you know. So, guys, I do want to encourage you, folks listening, this is our regular live program, so that means the phone lines are open if you have a particular question.
Speaker 2:For jason burris or for omar, uh, again, we have cbmc represented. We have we haven't gotten to it yet, but let me throw out the, the big names here. We have miami heat represented. We have crew represented. We have, you know, and and not in an represented. We haven't gotten to it yet, but let me throw out the big names here. We have Miami Heat represented. We have Crew represented, and not in an official capacity, but just to say that we're going to hear about a wonderful ministry that Jason's involved with. So all that to say, hey, if you hear anything, you want to ask a question, you want to send a word of encouragement, you want to text your question, whatever it is. Remember, the studio phone line is open to call or text 786-313-3115, 786-313-3115. So, jason, you got involved with crew in college while you were still in college. Yep, okay, tell us about that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, man, great story here. I remember going to. I was in track practice. I was a track and field athlete, as we said, and this guy came out, a little bit older white guy with glasses. And I tell this story openly because everybody knows. If you know me, you kind of know this guy Jeff Pryor Preezy we call him. He came out to track practice. It was probably one of the hardest days of practice and he did a spill. He was a Campus Crusade Athletes in Action guy and he just basically said in a nutshell I'm here for you. If you want to grow in your spiritual walk and your convictions and figure out how life and God and sport go together, I'd love to meet with you. And I looked around and most people weren't listening. A lot of us were tired after the hard workout we had just had and I was like at least I could fill out the card and I'm not sure if I was going to meet with him but, at least I would do that out of respect.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and sure it is. Jeff followed me up a couple times, um, and we met for lunch eventually, um, after I said no a few times, and uh, he was exactly as authentic as he, as he said at that meeting and that started a journey, him and his wife Nancy. He shared his family with the student athletes at Colorado State Kind of opened up their home.
Speaker 1:Yeah, man had.
Speaker 3:Bible studies and barbecues and he would do anything for you. Yeah, Jeff was a big part of just inviting me into what I would call a greenhouse community, a spiritual community, where you learn what does it really mean to live out your faith?
Speaker 2:in college amongst your peers Because you're away from home right, you're away from home.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so it wasn't far from me Colorado State. I grew up in Denver, okay, but still you're in a different place. So, it was great. That was the start of, as I said earlier, me owning my faith in me. It wasn't about going to church. It was great that was the start of, as I said earlier, me owning my faith in me. It wasn't about going to church. It was about reading the Bible, growing and developing, trusting the Lord, praying and seeing things happen. And yeah, that was where it started.
Speaker 2:I like that one praying and seeing things happen, praying and actually seeing those prayers answered, Praying in faith, I like that one. I'm going to add that Read pray. I don't know, I'll figure it out later. We're in the middle of an interview, but, um, I want to ask you this uh, what happened next? So you, you graduate from college? Um, did you get married pretty soon after graduating, or what happened after college?
Speaker 3:yeah, so, uh, actually I was having a meeting um with jeff and he asked me what am I gonna do after college?
Speaker 1:and I said I've been meeting with you, for he asked me what am I going to do after college?
Speaker 3:And I said I've been meeting with you for a long time. Yeah, what do you think? I had a great time in college. I was a communications major and most people say, well, what is that? I had a good time communicating and enjoying college.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:So but yeah. So Jeff told me about crew and he told me just about everything and I don't remember I'll say it this way but I don't remember Jeff telling me about raising support. So it was really clear to me, when he explained kind of what Crew was, that I could spend the next few years of my life, which now has been over 20 years, but I could spend that time, uh, cultivating relationships with people so that they would know and walk with god, like in any context, you know, in athletics, as a student, a college student, uh, using music, um, whatever. In the business community. There was just so much opportunity, um with crew, to do that and, um, I was like man, that sounds like a really good job a really good plan yeah without knowing you got the right support, but it was great.
Speaker 3:So that's what I did, man. Um. I graduated in in may, um, and I came on staff with campus crusade which was using the campus that summer in july um for their staff conference and I came on staff that same summer. So in mobi arena I graduated and two months later I was coming on staff with crew that's amazing and that's kind of what started my journey in 2000 when did you get?
Speaker 3:married 2005 okay, so yeah, so I met Janice at ultimate training camp, which is a crew event, which is a yep crew. Athletes in action camp for athletes and crew stands for. It's just, that's the name of it crew. To have a name, a kind of a name change okay, it used to be campus crusade for christ, okay, and now it's just crew, cool, okay, okay, so uh which is what we most of us called it anyway, okay by that time.
Speaker 3:But um, yeah, so janice and I met. She was competing in college, I was competing in college and, uh, we ended up getting married in 2005, which started my Miami chapter my move to Miami.
Speaker 2:The reason I ask is because that's an interesting season to get married. You know raising support, you're a missionary, you know you're fully dedicated to the ministry. What was that like for her? For you Do? You remember any of those conversations.
Speaker 3:Yeah, she was a year ahead of me, so a little bit down the road. So she graduated college and started working and at first she interned and worked for the ministry. She worked with Athletes in Action here in Miami, with Stephen Arlene de Barter-Laban legends heroes of the faith here in miami, and, uh, she did that. And then she went on to have a job and what she loved was retail. She was the manager, one of the leading um, uh, influencers or whatever you call them, at bloomingddale's. So when I was coming on staff and raising support, she was kind of doing that and we had talked a lot about like what do we want our life to look, like, what do we want it to be, and it wasn't hard conversations. Raising support is difficult.
Speaker 3:And raising support as a minority is more difficult and raising support as a minority in Miami more difficult can be sometimes so. Um, oh yeah, we did have those type of hard conversations. But the question for anybody raising support, regardless of where you come from, right, Is are you trusting the Lord and is he faithful to provide? And 21 years later, here we are. Low times, hard times, short checks all the realities, really incredible stories of people's generosity, blessing us, blessing our kids, God has been faithful.
Speaker 4:Let me ask you a question. When you guys get married and it's tough for a young man to say to a young woman we're going to get married let's tough for a young man to say to a young woman we're going to get married let's go into the mission field and the whole idea of the mission field. Lots of people that may be listening don't equate the mission field to miami, although I equate the mission field to miami trust me that's part of cbmc's kind of mindset.
Speaker 2:right, that's correct your work, your business.
Speaker 4:So the whole idea of okay, it's not really a mission field, you're in Miami, it's a mission field. And I'd like for you to tell us a little bit about that because it's real mission work. Yeah, thank you Good question.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think I learned actually just in my time being around crew and athletes in action was like what is the mission field? Right, like like what's the real mission field? And you know, since Cruz beginnings, dr Bill Bright, you know incredible vision and spiritual leader in the country. Just, the vision was to get on the college campus and because the mission field is the leaders that are going to be coming from the college campus, that's that's. I forgot how he said it, but that's what it was, it's like you know, these are tomorrow's leaders.
Speaker 3:In fact, they're today's leaders because they're going to be on campus. I mean looking for a job next year. So, yeah, the fact that Campus Crusade already kind of redefined, I would say, what a mission field looks like, which was primarily the college campus at that time, was really important to me. And then, as an athlete, I learned in college like it wasn't just about winning or becoming the best. I had aspirations to be a pro athlete, but winning really meant could I have relationships that I would love and that the people would benefit from?
Speaker 3:Could, I add value to people's life, like real value when a friend is going through something really hard, like not that I have an answer, but that I know where to point him so he can get an answer, you know, or he can be comforted and have peace. So the mission field for us became the context in which god gifted us in and put us in, and that was in athletics yeah and uh, and then you know long story short.
Speaker 3:Obviously we get here in miami. Yeah, my miami is an incredible mission field because it's a melting pot of the world.
Speaker 2:There's people here from all over, and even in athletics I mean.
Speaker 3:There's a lot of great programs in my great programs in miami and uh, so it was, yeah it. For us it's easily been a mission field with the different neighborhoods to work in. You can walk outside your door right now and say, man, I can help someone, I can show someone like what it means to do whatever right People are in need here in our city. So it's easy. It's easy to see the need if we are aware and sensitive to what God is putting in front of us, amen, amen.
Speaker 2:I wanted to ask you to elaborate a little bit on your experience that you alluded to right Raising support as a minority in Miami. What were some of the difficulties that you faced?
Speaker 3:Yeah, man, they're still difficult Okay okay yeah, it's just, um, I'm I'm not a salesman. Me and my wife never wanted to be, uh, that person. That's like you know what? Let's ask everybody we see and know to join our support team, like that. That. That that feels weird, you know like. It's like oh, here comes jb man, man, he's going to ask me for money. We never wanted to be that guy, yet it's important, right? Because they're not asking people for money for us. We're asking people for money to support God's work and help us impact the community.
Speaker 3:So, yeah, I just think it's been hard because I mean, look at some of the things we do. We live in Miami. It's expensive here. Um, there's been a lot of team members come and go because of how hard it is to live here in Miami. Um, if you have kids, where are you going to put them in school? Um, like you know, house, car, all that kind of stuff. And then it's just like, who do you know? I think one of the challenges with crew is like there's never been a lot of minorities on campus or on staff and you have to ask why. And one of the reasons, at least what was real church communities that want to, or have the means to support missionaries ongoing, so that's just been very difficult. Now I am grateful I talked about my parents. They put me in some spaces that allowed me to be a little bit more comfortable, that were not just my ethnic background spaces.
Speaker 2:You got used to being around a lot of different people.
Speaker 3:I got used to being around and this is a funny conversation, especially in spiritual life because I got used to being around what people say they're conservative or Presbyterians or Lutherans. I got used to being around a lot of different people. That's awesome and I needed that. It taught me so much so that I could used to being around a lot of different people. That's awesome and I needed that. It taught me so much so that I could relate to people and I could share with people and people could share with me. So it hasn't been easy, because we've had to step outside of our comfort zone to raise support.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 3:But it's been really cool. We wouldn't trade our experiences the last 21 years because we've seen God do incredible things and I'll share just really quick one story. We had a season in our life where we were just we had to move every two years and part of moving one because the rent was going up or like different things were happening the person was going to sell the home or they were raising the price. Whatever Part of that time this was about a 12-year period we moved every two years.
Speaker 2:Here in South Florida, here in South Florida Wow.
Speaker 3:And we wanted to be close to the campus because we did ministry, we invited students over our house. We went to Stephen Arlene's house.
Speaker 2:Those are all expensive neighborhoods. Those are really expensive neighborhoods.
Speaker 3:And it's hard to be like in the ministry of presence. It's hard to be there when you got to go. You know 45 minutes home and we all love Miami traffic.
Speaker 3:Anyways, there was a young man that came to school here was a track and field athlete. There was a young man that came to school here was a track and field athlete. We connected, I was able to to just be a guide in his life. He was an incredible young man already, um, and he asked me when he graduated to officiate his wedding. So me and my wife did some pre-marriage counseling with him and his uh, his um, soon-to-be wife, and when that wedding was over, his dad said hey, you were incredible with my son for the last four years. What would be helpful? How could I bless you?
Speaker 3:And I was like we may have to stop being on staff and we may need to leave Miami because we can't afford to stay here. We've moved around for the last 10 to 12 years, around for the last 10 to 12 years and, um, that that individual um, was the beginning of what would turn into an over a seventy thousand dollar gift that helped us put a down payment on a home in south miami, where we live today, so that we could be present for students, for people in the community, we could raise our family. It totally changed the trajectory of our life. So it's hard, it is amazing. That's God's story.
Speaker 4:I was just thinking that the three of us, our three organizations, survive on assistance. This church, Calvary Chapel, Miami, survives on the assistance of others. Cbmc, we survive only on the assistance of others and you are the same, but God has assisted us greatly because this church is a very active and alive church. Cbmc is a growing organization.
Speaker 4:Very active, yeah, and what you're doing out there. Jason is growing. So, despite the fact that we don't want to go out there, quote unquote and beg for money, the Lord has been very good to the three of us because we are basically quote unquote, three beggars.
Speaker 1:We want to call it that.
Speaker 4:But God says in my economy you're not a beggar, yeah, in my economy you're my son.
Speaker 2:You know him Well. He was, on one of our most recent interviews, one of the assistant pastors here. He's a bivocational pastor, jose Casas. We were just in a meeting yesterday. He said my God's not broke. You know my God's not broke and you know it was. You know that comment was attached to a God story. How you know, he was praying about a sale and business and land and all that, and sale and business and land and all that and just how the Lord came through and man so many things.
Speaker 2:But I love that story, you know. I love that story because I think sometimes as believers, we can end up on one side of the spectrum or the other. You know, we can become those people that are always asking or always begging or acting like God is broke, oh, I don't have. Oh, poor me. Oh, I need, I need, I need. But sometimes we can end begging or or acting like god is broke, oh, I don't have. Oh, poor me. Oh, I need, I need, I need. But sometimes we can end up on the other side of the spectrum where we become too proud to ask for help, you know. Or we think, oh, I don't want to, I don't want to bother you. Hey, somebody asked a question and you made the need known. Well, now that you asked, this is where we're at and the lord did it. And the lord did it. So. So such an amazing story, such an amazing lesson.
Speaker 2:We actually got a text here with a question. You know, I'll just read it as is. I think it's a good question and we can look at it. We can elaborate on it if needed, but let me just read it as it was written. What would you say to someone who grew up thinking that pursuing sports did not have any eternal value or any value as a career? But this person is open to learning how one can use it for God's glory. So they kind of grew up with a certain idea, or they kind of grew up with a certain perspective, but they want to learn. You know they're listening to you. I guess they're listening to the conversation, saying, wow, look at what God did. What would you say to this person that that grew up with a very different perspective?
Speaker 3:yeah, I think, um, it's important to to know and realize that god is in everything. And I mean, if you take a moment just to to, to in, like you realize, like man, like God is in, he's literally in everything. And there's so many, there's so many things, you know, that come to mind for me. But there's a quote here that I have, and this is a little bit more about work, but I'll connect it here in just a minute. John Mark Comer says the way we turn our work from marking time into ministry isn't by becoming a pastor or starting a nonprofit. It's by doing whatever we do here. It is the way we imagine Jesus would do it if he were us, with skill, diligence, integrity, humility and kingdom ethics and so on.
Speaker 3:And I just I'm so grateful that I learned and really was around people I didn't come up with this myself that like I can be an athlete. In fact, that's what Athletes in Action really helps athletes do is to see like I can be an athlete and honor God. I can be an athlete and like my worship to God is the way that I practice and perform in my sport, the way that I love my teammates, the way that I respect and honor my coach, lord willing, the way that you provide for your family. It's actually a job. It becomes that. So I think I would encourage the person who asked that just to say like, god is in everything, and if you are an athlete, there's a way for you to love God and worship God as an athlete, at whatever level you are. If you're a referee, there's a way to love God and worship God and add value to culture and community. A coach does it. It's not one is higher or better than the others.
Speaker 4:You can find God and you can honor God and you can worship God in whatever you do, and I think that's important to realize you know, and I think that's important to realize yeah, um, in my case, um and that's part of the case of most people I did not achieve the dream that I wanted for myself. I was going to be a baseball player. I was born and reared in cuba. I was a very good player. I ended up playing professional ball double A ball and then my dreams were crushed. Just like we are no longer athletes, but God prepared us and give us all those skills that you use as an athlete. The skills you use as an athlete are very much alive today. The competition, the understanding, the rules all of that is part of being a Christian. So for me, it is a privilege to have been an athlete, because it taught me how to be, a better Christian.
Speaker 2:I didn't know it at the time, but I know it today. Yeah, Would you agree with that that athletics, team sports really has a lot of parallels with our faith?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think there's a lot of value, excuse me. There's a lot of value with our faith. Or, yeah, I think there's a lot of value, excuse me. There's a lot of value in in team sports. There's a lot of value in the relationships that you build with your peers and with your team.
Speaker 2:It gives you a an incredible context to uh, to learn real lessons in life you know, yeah, I would ask also um, while you're getting a, a sip of water there, um, does I mean? I guess the answer is like, yes, everybody does. But how much does the athletic community, whether it's at the school level, the college level, the professional level, need believers? You know what I'm saying? Like, like, how desperate is that need, how real is that need in this arena of life?
Speaker 3:yeah, I think it's, uh. I mean I think it's really important, uh, because what is life without God? What is life without faith? Like it's, you could argue, is nothing. There's, like there's it's you're looking for a purpose, you're looking for something. To me like something meaningful, right? I mean we read it all the time. There's athletes that win the championship and the very next day they're like now what?
Speaker 2:Or quarterbacks that are touted as the greatest of all time so many rings and then get a divorce.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean there's a lot of different things, so I think there's always. Sports presents a lot of not only growth opportunities for us and the atmosphere creates incredible spaces to learn and grow in and, like I said earlier, develop just life lessons. But I do think we have to learn how to have a healthier perspective of what sports is Like here in America. Man sports is it Like it's on TV, it's everything right, it's entertainment, it's like it's such a big thing. And while I believe God created sport and while I believe God created sport, you know we have a kind of a messed up view a lot of times of what that is.
Speaker 4:Maybe put it too high on a pedestal. We put it too high. It's interesting because you were a track star and you grew up as a track star. But I got news for you you are a much bigger track star today than you were in college because you're running the race for the Lord, amen, okay. So when we talk about track stars, you are a track dim star. Right now you are a bright track star for the Lord because now you're running the real race. And you know one thing about you running the race today you know you're going to win. Thanks, brother. There's no doubt in my mind that you're going to arrive at the finish line and God's going to say well, done good and faithful servant.
Speaker 2:Amen. What an encouragement. You know I can't believe how the time flies with these conversations. If you're listening, I want to encourage you again. We've gotten one text so far. Maybe you want to call, maybe you want to text with a question. A word of encouragement Again. We have an incredible resource here in Jason Burris. Got a scholarship in track and field to college, has worked with a crew now as a stateside missionary for over 20 years raising teenagers. We have more that we're still going to talk about. So if anything that we talk about, you have a question or a comment, please do not hesitate to call or text us here at the studio now, because at 4.30, your opportunity is going to be over. You don't want to miss it. 7-8-6-3-1-3, 3-1-1-5, 7-8-6-3-1-315. 786-313-315. Jason, I'm just going to jump right into it because I fear that we may run out of time and I know at least Steve was very excited about this part. You've worked with a certain organization for about we did the math about 12 plus years. Some little organization here in Miamiami.
Speaker 3:People might know it you want to tell us about it, or, yeah, I, um, when I moved here, uh, one of my first experiences actually in 2005, um, I guess it was this was that the summer. Some of you fans are gonna probably call in and get me on this one, but the Heat had just won a championship, and I don't remember if it was that, which summer it was, but I moved here in 2003. And, man, it was so cool. It was the first time I ever went to a parade like that and just celebrated with the city, went to a parade like that and, uh, just celebrated with the city. And I remember thinking and I still think about this today like, look how much joy and love and unity the miami heat brought to the city when they won a championship. You know, like, like incredible man, oh, everybody's got a jersey, everybody's got a jersey. We're hugging each other and high-fiving and just living it up, man. So I remember that when I, when I went to that parade and I gotta chime in.
Speaker 2:I gotta chime in because, talking about cultures and you were describing your interactions with different cultures and and omar may may know this from the hispanic culture, do you know you? You you might know this already being here so long. In Miami, even at La Carreta, they go crazy when the Heat win Cubans with pots and pans over a basketball game. It's amazing. I live nearby, I hear it from my house blocks away, so I just wanted to give another example right of the unity when you talk about unity.
Speaker 4:Do you realize that the heat games are broadcasted in spanish?
Speaker 2:every single game. Yes, yes, amazing.
Speaker 3:So I'm sorry so continue, so you saw the parade.
Speaker 2:You saw the. I saw the parade.
Speaker 3:I saw the unity man, it's just. I mean, it's sports. Like you know, it happens every four years, too right with the olympics we just man, we, we just man.
Speaker 3:we love to see incredible performances by God-given talent. So, anyways, I was here working. My role when I came to Miami was to be part of the Athletes in Action South Florida staff team and I mentioned before Stephen, arlene, debarter, laban just incredible people had been working already in sports ministry for years and one of the things they did was work with the Miami Heat and me and my wife. We just jumped in kind of like whatever they needed we're picking up speakers from the airport, we are buying things from the store for a little get together and gatherings and we just served alongside Steve and Arlene. And, long story short, steve eventually said hey, we'd love for you to start coming to chapel with me and just seeing what it's like.
Speaker 3:You know, we go in the arena. Our light shines bright for the Lord. We're there to encourage people and walk alongside people. And so when that started, man, that was kind of my first, my first thing. I remember my first game. Uh, I did that. I got my credential. We went and did chapel, you know, walked around, greeted people, met a few players and I called my friends and said, guess what, fellas, I made it to the league, I made it to the nba that's right, because originally that was the dream basketball man I would love.
Speaker 2:I love basketball.
Speaker 3:That's awesome that's awesome, but you know yeah, it was great and I've been doing it ever since, you know, for many years alongside Steve. Yeah, and just in the last several years with myself and a good friend of mine where you kind of took the lead role. Yeah, steve, steven Arlen kind of passed the baton to to Janice and I and a young man named Chase Scott, who's also an incredible chaplain here in Miami, and yeah, we we hold the role and we we love to to come alongside the NBA as long as also with other chaplains. We we are connected with other chaplains in the NBA as well.
Speaker 2:So a few questions about that. I mean really interesting, you know, to learn about this part of the NBA. So you mentioned chapel and game day. Is it always on game days? Yep.
Speaker 3:There are chapel and the NBA, and every sport is different, but chapel and the NBA is 60 minutes before tip-off every NBA game. Oh wow, 60 minutes before tip-off, that's what it? Is, is that all the teams, they have all the teams every game, that is so every game in the NBA. There's a chapel uh, that is available, yeah, um, and then there's some other times and other things that happen, but that's uh, yeah, pretty standard that's pretty interesting.
Speaker 2:And are there other like religions represented? Do they share time? How does that work?
Speaker 3:yeah, no, we um the space is presented for um the players and regardless of your religious background, um your religious preference it's a space for you to be able to come and, yeah, just make space for your convictions, your faith in there. So a lot of times we, yeah, we just gather and it's a word of prayer. We usually share a scripture and we just talk life. There's different things that happen in there, but that's what it boils down to, okay, because it's really small and intimate.
Speaker 3:And the pro. It's a voluntary thing, right? Think about you going to work and you know, an hour before your shift starts, the chaplain walks in and says like hey, come to chapel. Yeah, like, so some people are able to take advantage of it. They love being part of that. Sometimes it's in the middle of a guy's routine, yeah, but when you come, it's an intentional effort because you make time to do that before the game.
Speaker 2:Man, that's really, really neat. Didn't know that. About the NBA, we actually got some questions here, so let me get to some of these. So these two are from the same person, so I'll read both of them as they're written and then we can tackle them one at a time. And they're pretty similar. What would you say to a young athlete about balancing, being humble but also being confident and doing your sport with excellence for Jesus? So that's the first question, right? So balancing, being humble but confident and doing your sport with excellence. The second question and I can reread this if you need to, but in case it ties together Also, what encouragement would you give a naturally gifted or a naturally talented athlete with regards to working hard? So they're a little bit different. I can reread that second one if needed. Let's tackle the first one Balancing, being humble but confident, going out there to win. I'm going to crush it. I'm going to win it, but staying humble, staying focused on Jesus. What do you got?
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's great. I'm kind of big on quotes. I'm kind of big on quotes. I'm always reading a quote. In fact, we use a quote and a scripture for every game that we play and the quote is to connect with people who may or may not have, you know, have a faith. And the scripture on the back is usually kind of talks about and supports the quote. So I'll just read this quote real quick for that young person. It says don't let what you can't do interfere with what you can do. And, um, that's by john wooden. John wooden, he's an old legend, basketball legend, and uh, I thought about that quote, for this is because, know you can have talent.
Speaker 3:A lot of us have talent in different areas. As far as balancing that with you know, having Jesus in your life and you know Him helping you be a better athlete because of your talent, I really think, kind of the power is in the walk. If God is important to you, if your faith is important to you, let it be important to you. You know, don't shy back, don't? You know, go in a closet when it's time for you to step up and to say things or to be a certain way because of what you mean Be bold.
Speaker 3:Be bold with your faith. That's going to outlast your athletic abilities any day, but realize that God gave you athletic ability for a reason you know. You look at somebody like, let's just say, steph Curry, for example. He's an incredible athlete, right, he shoots the ball, dribbles the ball ball as well as a lot of other guys, but he's a really incredible shooter. But you know, what's really cool about Steph Curry is his walk, like what he supports, what he talks about, how he, you know, is with his family and his and his kids, like like you, just, you just see that there's other things and I think that's what our faith does. When you balance that out, you see, man, there's a lot more to a person than just being an amazing athlete.
Speaker 4:That's kind of easy to be if God has gifted you that way, but what it's a little bit harder is for you to Jason is there a situation where an athlete, a star athlete, who's a Christian, doesn't want to be out there because of the pressure it puts on him and on his walk, because people are going to put the microscope on you if you are the Christian superstar?
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 4:That happened to.
Speaker 1:Tebow, have you ever?
Speaker 3:seen that yeah.
Speaker 4:Yeah, in other words, that's an interesting thing, because there's a lot of athletes there that are Christians but are kind of lukewarm in their Christianity, not because they don't love God, because they're afraid if they put their feet in that water they're going to really get wet.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I wonder if you saw that more in college ministry. You know kids that were thinking about signing or going pro or what they're going to do with their life, and they maybe you saw again, obviously don't share their name or anything but maybe you saw a kid say uh, you know what? I don't want, I don't want that, I don't want to go there. Did you ever see anything like that? You?
Speaker 3:know, um, peer pressure is tough, man. Peer pressure is tough and sometimes that pressure is, uh, coach pressure, sometimes it's parent pressure. Again, man, the most important word in this question is balancing that out with your love or your passion for Jesus, and that's why it's really important to have a spiritual community. Maybe you have a mentor. You just want to you, you want that space, you want that part of yourself to develop and grow, because you can't avoid the pressures. Guys, I, I have the privilege of walking in the nba locker room. You know, I've been around some nfl guys. I've been around some top college uh athletes um, there's pressure. You ain't getting away from the pressure and you're not getting away from all the people in the media that talk about it. But what you can have is faith and you can have stability and you can have God who can sustain you in those ways. So what I've seen is people handle themselves differently. People throw out the name Tebow. There's different people like that.
Speaker 3:I personally love the story of a. There's different people like that. I personally love the story of a close friend of mine, maya Moore, who was an incredible athlete, maybe one of the best women basketball players. She's definitely up there and God put a mission on her heart. If you don't know her story, I would encourage you to look it up. But God put a mission on her heart and you could see as great of a basketball player she was. She also had a great faith and it allowed her to pursue and do some things and there wasn't a question. Was she a good athlete? She was great, but she also loved God and really went after and made some cultural changes.
Speaker 2:You know, one of the things I take away from what you've said and I want to say it in case you know, in case I'm way off base here um, you know, one of the things I I heard from what you said is, if you look at that sport as a platform for jesus, right, that makes all the difference. Right, because then it's not just about being confident or being cocky or being proud or bragging on yourself, but you want to win, you want to get first place, you want to get the scholarship, you want to make it to the league to talk to more people about Jesus or, to use your own words, to walk it out right or to live it in front of more people. Is that something that was in there? Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 3:Again, I think, when in front of more people, is that, is that something, that that was in there, that, yeah, for sure, like I again, I think, as you're, when you're consuming sports and you're enjoying it, like like, you're like man, what do you want? You want you to be in the limelight. It looks amazing. But it doesn't look amazing when you're always in the limelight and everybody's judging your every move. That doesn't feel good, you know. It looks amazing because you know somebody's salary. Yeah, man, I mean, we all, we all say the the rap line right?
Speaker 3:uh, biggie, more money, more problems like sometimes you just you need, you want to be content, man, so like these things don't make your life better. Um, it's your character, it's the things that god has given you, the things that you're growing and developing you. So the sport is the has given you the things that you're growing and developing you. So the sport is the sport. Guys, you can play basketball when you're 10. When you're 30 and you're a pro player, the sport is very similar. It's just all the stuff around it that changes.
Speaker 4:You are a blessed missionary. Yeah, you truly are a blessed missionary.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's not too rough in the locker room hopefully for the missionary and again, I love it.
Speaker 2:I've heard this many times, many different ways, and I want to give some information, especially regarding CBMC and the connection here today and the lunch coming up next week. But I've heard it in many different ways but basically the point is, you know, sometimes we think missionaries or pastors or churches or Christians are only for poor, needy folk. You know, rich people have problems too. You know, and you just described them. You know, being in the limelight, being judged for everything, the pressures of that, the temptations of that man, they need the Lord. You know so many of those guys and ladies need the Lord. So so I'm glad you're there and I'm glad there's missionaries in the MBA.
Speaker 2:So, if you've been listening, if you want to sneak in one more question you got about five minutes I'll, I'll, I'll try my best If you text us or call us right now 786-313-3115. Please call or text now if you were waiting. 786-313-3115. Omar, I want to let you give some information, but let me just give the details. One of the connections here today is that Jason is going to be at the upcoming CBMC lunch, is going to be at the upcoming CBMC lunch, specifically the West Dade Luncheon that happens at 94th Arrow Squadron and is coming up this coming Tuesday. So that's the connection here with CBMC with Jason and Omar. Any information I missed on that.
Speaker 4:No, you didn't miss any information on that. But I want to say this we are doing this program from a church. We know what a church is like. That lunch will be like going to church, when brothers and sisters get together and discuss the Lord and do something that honors the Lord. That is church. So, basically, I am inviting you to a church event next Tuesday at the 94th Air Squadron, simply because what we have there is church in action. Yeah, amen and in this particular case, our pastor is going to be the Honorable Jason.
Speaker 4:The Honorable Chaplain, jason and I will be doing what you're doing today. I will be interviewing him, except I won't hog his time like you did.
Speaker 2:Oh my goodness, I have so much to learn.
Speaker 4:I'm just kidding.
Speaker 2:Jason, you're going to wear a jersey next Tuesday, you're going to do the polo.
Speaker 3:I'll probably be in polo.
Speaker 4:I'm not sure it takes a lot to get me in a jersey, you're going to have a lot of Hispanics that are going to say, oh, they love the heat.
Speaker 2:So just be ready, they should come and join and with the pots and pans like if we won a championship. Jason man, it's been such a joy speaking to you and, again, just so much running through my mind. I mean we could have talked more about crew, could have talked about music ministry. I mean we didn't even get to that. There's so many things that God has allowed you to do. Let me just ask you this what is your dream, your vision, vision, your desire for this next season, whether it's for crew, for yourself, for the heat, what, what, what? What's the vision god has given you, the hopes and dreams that god has given you for this upcoming season?
Speaker 2:I don't mean physically this nba season, but maybe the next year, next couple years, five years. I don't know what. What's god putting in your heart? I mean, yeah what are you dreaming about? What are you praying about?
Speaker 3:that's a big question, man yeah that's a really big question. I'm a. I'm one of those guys that I'm big into. Uh, you know, it's a new year, right it's a new season there's kind of some you know, what do you think?
Speaker 3:what does god put on your heart? And, to be honest, man, like the little bit that I've thought about it already is just like I want this year to be a year of transformation for myself and the people that I'm serving, and I can't in my season of life. It would be great, I guess, to have some incredible career goals. I need to make a little bit of money, obviously, to take care of my family and our needs. I do have two teenagers that I'm learning when you live in Miami. I only have two. Some people have a lot more. It's crazy expensive, but we're blessed to be in the space we are. Really what I'm wanting to do is to lean in with my family. Some of you know my wife is just coming off of a two-year breast cancer journey and that changed a lot of our life just the dynamics that we lived by and my schedule.
Speaker 2:Is she cancer-free right now? She's cancer-free right now, praise God.
Speaker 3:And it was a journey that totally caught us off guard, like most people. But one of the things that I learned is the value of the present.
Speaker 3:the things that I learned is the value of like the present and she is get having some normal, getting back to normal again with her life and and her schedule. I want to be there for my daughter she's 16 like I miss her when she was little, yeah, and the most important thing I can do as a father is to lean in with her, my son, who's 14. So I want to really be there for my family and then man people that know me I would love by the end of this year they'd be like man. Jb really cared for me. Jb really connected with me this year. So those goals don't always excite everybody, but man they excite really want to.
Speaker 2:They excite me, they excite me. So now I'm going to pull an Omar and talk about you like, if you're not here, you know what I like about what he said. All his goals are people goals, correct.
Speaker 4:Correct.
Speaker 2:He didn't talk. He mentioned money. He said, but for the family, you know, for the family, right. But man, I love that. The career five-year plan, I like those.
Speaker 4:And it's interesting, I never met JB until today, until today, yeah, and you know but what. It's very hard not to like him. Yeah, I mean he really. I'm looking forward to next Tuesday to interviewing him.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's going to be fun.
Speaker 4:Yeah, because I think it'll be something interesting. We're going to continue doing this interview next. Tuesday it's going to be great. Continue doing this interview next Tuesday. But it is a privilege for me to meet you today, because I've learned a lot, even though I'm much, much older than you. I've learned a lot, a lot of wonderful things.
Speaker 1:We hope you enjoyed Friends and Family, unique conversations recorded and produced in our studios, where you get a chance to hear what God is doing in people's lives. Jesus tells us in John 15, verse 15, I have called you friends for all things that I heard from my father I have made known to you. So that's why we love to share these exclusive interviews with you. Our hope is that through their stories God will be made known to you, but you can only find them here on God's Way Radio. Just check godswayradiocom for our full program schedule.