What happens when an atheist finds faith? Reverend Corbiey Ouellette shares his powerful journey from unbelief to Christianity, and how it shaped the vision behind the Human Conservation Podcast. Discover why there’s been a steep decline in church attendance and how we can reignite spiritual conversations in a world that often feels disconnected from faith. With compelling metaphors and parables, Reverend Corbiey sets the foundation for future discussions, urging listeners to participate and share their own spiritual experiences.
Join us as we delve into themes of humility, personal responsibility, and kindness. Revisiting the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, we explore the dangers of self-righteousness and the necessity of humility in our daily lives. Reverend Corbiey also shares fun anecdotes about his love for fishing and heavy metal music, including a memorable concert with his son that taught him valuable lessons about not judging others based on appearances. Lastly, get a sneak peek into next week's discussion on rediscovering Jesus in modern times, and hear about Reverend Corbiey's new YouTube channel, the Reverend of Rock, which promises a blend of metal music and positive values.
What happens when an atheist finds faith? Reverend Corbiey Ouellette shares his powerful journey from unbelief to Christianity, and how it shaped the vision behind the Human Conservation Podcast. Discover why there’s been a steep decline in church attendance and how we can reignite spiritual conversations in a world that often feels disconnected from faith. With compelling metaphors and parables, Reverend Corbiey sets the foundation for future discussions, urging listeners to participate and share their own spiritual experiences.
Join us as we delve into themes of humility, personal responsibility, and kindness. Revisiting the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, we explore the dangers of self-righteousness and the necessity of humility in our daily lives. Reverend Corbiey also shares fun anecdotes about his love for fishing and heavy metal music, including a memorable concert with his son that taught him valuable lessons about not judging others based on appearances. Lastly, get a sneak peek into next week's discussion on rediscovering Jesus in modern times, and hear about Reverend Corbiey's new YouTube channel, the Reverend of Rock, which promises a blend of metal music and positive values.
Are you losing or lost faith in the world around you? Do you find yourself questioning why or how God could let something happen, or why things are allowed to continue the way that they are? Do you wonder about God, if he is real? Maybe you're disillusioned with church, but you still feel a calling on your heart, or maybe you realize that there has to be something more for you in this life. Pull up a chair and take a seat, because you've arrived at the right place the Human Conservation Podcast, with your host, reverend Corby Willett. Restoring faith in humanity by discussing and searching for the constant of God and Jesus Christ in an unconstant and changing world. Promoting human conservation through human conversation. Welcome back to the Human Conservation Podcast. I'm your host, reverend Corby Willett, and regardless of whether you're listening to this podcast as soon as it drops or many, many years from now, I hope the sun is shining on your face and you are blessed on this day. The fact that you hear my voice is an indication that it's most certainly shining on my face. It's been a while and it's good to be back behind the microphone Now. Before I get started, I want to have a candid moment with you all.
Speaker 1:
I was going to end the podcast. I had begun the last season in the hopes that I would go through the entire Bible, book by book, but I kept coming up empty. There were a lot of distractions that had gotten in the way. I was working on a YouTube channel with my son for a while, which was quite enjoyable, and he sort of outgrew it and that's okay. It was something that we had done for COVID to get us through. But I hit a wall and I wasn't seeing the numbers that I was hoping to see and I was kind of downtrodden and, quite frankly, it was in my mind just to bail out, accept failure and move on to something else. But the more distance I put between myself and any content, the stronger the pull became for me to keep going. Turns out I just think I needed a break. I needed to regroup, get back in tune with God and relaunch. So here I am. So this isn't going to be Season 4 or Season 5, wherever I was when I left off in November, when I stopped the podcast.
Speaker 1:
This is season one of the Human Conservation Podcast. So what's the podcast all about? Well, first let me reintroduce myself. I'm Reverend Corby Ouellette, I'm an independent minister and I'm based out of Central Jersey. I was an atheist for the first 25 years of my life before coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ, and my progression as a Christian was very, very slow. I had many doubts early on. I wrestled with God quite a bit over things that I didn't understand. Well, that's what the Human Conservation Podcast is all about.
Speaker 1:
The story of Jesus is probably the greatest story ever told. Well, it's not. Probably it is, but it's also the most misunderstood story ever told. The podcast is designed to increase a better understanding of the story of Jesus Christ and how he works into our day-to-day lives. You know, we have a lot of different ways of coping with situations that we don't understand. Sometimes, if we don't understand something, we just call it stupid. If things are hard to understand or intimidating, we'll just walk away from it. We'll declare that, oh, it must be incorrect, it doesn't make any sense, and we'll just cast it aside as being false. Perhaps, when something is said or we read something that we don't like, we'll bail on it before we hear the whole message, because it convicts us or it challenges our current belief systems.
Speaker 1:
Whether church heads and church leaders want to admit it or not, christianity is on a sharp decline. People are falling away from churches in droves, and not just one denomination, it's not just the Catholics, it's not the Methodists, even the born-agains, it's all denominations. The waters of society have become so muddied, there is so much garbage and junk that litters the ground of our society that the message of Jesus no longer penetrates into the hearts of people. But it's not the people leaving the church that the notion of human conservation targets. It's the people that are leaving God that are losing faith. That's who this podcast is trying to reach. It's not the lack of faith but the loss of faith that's destroying our society, and hopefully this podcast can aid in reversing that trend.
Speaker 1:
One other thing I want to say really quick. This podcast is not intended to be instructional. I'm not telling you that. I have it all figured out and I'm passing some sort of wisdom on to you. My vision is for this to be a conversation, wisdom onto you. My vision is for this to be a conversation. In the show notes there's an email and my socials so you, the listener, can participate.
Speaker 1:
If you've listened to earlier seasons of the podcast, then you've always heard me say if you feel at any time that I say anything that's in conflict with your interpretation of the Word of God, then always side with the Word. I don't mind my statements being challenged. I don't get offended if you disagree with me or have a different perspective on something that I do. I ask that you share it with me. If someone thinks that they have divinity all figured out, then they're declaring that they are as smart as God, and I assure you that none of us are that smart.
Speaker 1:
So what's the solution? How do we get started here? I love using metaphors when illustrating points, and since Jesus used the ancient cousin to the metaphor, the parable, I think I'm in pretty good shape. So we're going to get started by igniting a spiritual forest fire. Far more good comes out of a wait for it, a naturally occurring forest fire, than bad In nature. There are a lot of plants and animals that rely on forest fires to survive. Believe it or not, dead or decaying plants build up on the ground, preventing new growth from popping up, and it also prevents animals from having the ability to access the soil. It also helps to evict an invasive species. You see, native plants have adapted to the conditions, uh. Where fires occur regularly over time, uh, and they're able to thrive where the invasive plants haven't developed those protections yet, and it makes it very difficult for the intruders to recover. So forest fires can actually benefit quite a great bit. So that's what we're going to do. We're going to start a spiritual wildfire. Humanity is the native species and we're going to clear away all the dead and decaying ground cover to expose that good soil, and that good soil is a clear and open mind.
Speaker 1:
But before we begin to change anything for the better, there's a couple of important things that we have to realize. One God doesn't owe us a thing. We are not entitled to any of the blessings that we receive. Who's got kids? Who's ever done something for their kids that they didn't deserve? I know I have. Well, god kind of loves us the same way, but then some we often lose sight of it when we go through hardships. But God loves us so much that he gives us grace for the things that we do wrong. People make this so complicated, but it really is that simple, a simple notion of we are not entitled to any of the good things that we get. We're not entitled to go to heaven, that it is given to us out of grace, because he loves us and looks past the things that we do wrong. As much as we think that we love our children, our mothers, our spouses, he loves us that way, but tenfold. The other thing that we have to realize is our mothers, our spouses, he loves us that way, but tenfold.
Speaker 1:
The other thing that we have to realize is that life is not fair. It never was, it never is and it never will be. It wasn't designed by God to be that way, and this is a theme throughout the entire Bible, and it's a big reason why people become disillusioned. God never declared that he was fair. He did declare that he was just, and he is. Life's not fair. Let's be honest. Who really wants to hear that? Everywhere you look, people are looking for society to be fair, to be equal. The pushing and the pulling will never end, because that is not what God designed life to be equal, the pushing and the pulling will never end because that is not what God designed life to be.
Speaker 1:
Now I want to be clear. I'm not talking about overt racism, straight-up oppression, bullying or abuse. There are always exceptions and extenuating circumstances, but when faced with challenges and hardships, instead of looking to God for guidance, we look to the government, we look to the church, we look to our rich Uncle Billy to make things right, when many of our problems in today's world should be solved at the individual level. We've become lazy and our values have declined to a point that we've become suspicious of one another. We can't even hold a door for one another anymore. That's not God's fault. That's our fault. If you're drinking and smoking pot with your teenage kids on a Friday night and they end up face down in a ditch years later with a needle sticking out of their arm, that's not God's fault. If you enable your child his whole life and he's still living at home at 40, playing video games and working part-time at Walmart, that's not God's fault.
Speaker 1:
Next week we're going to be discussing the Bible at length, but I wanted to point out, for the sake of being consistent, when I use scripture in the podcast, it's going to come from the NIV translation of the Bible. I find it easier to read and a little more clear for those people that aren't well-versed in the Bible. I hope nobody takes that the wrong way. I've been reading the Bible for years and I still read the NIV because I feel like it shouldn't have to be a struggle reading all the thou is this of cometh, and a lot gets left unsaid because we just sort of skip over the stuff that's hard to understand. Now that I've given you a rickshaw explanation as to why I use the niv translation, uh, we're going to read from the gospel of luke in just a second, but I kind of wanted to paint a picture, uh, for you. That was going on At the time that Jesus spoke the parable that I'm about to read, he was surrounded by the Jewish people, who he saw as very arrogant and know-it-alls, if you will.
Speaker 1:
They could recite the Bible backwards and forwards, or at least they could recite the Torah. They were Jews, backwards and forwards and kind of had the impression that that was enough to get them by if they just simply followed the rules. So here's what Jesus said out loud, knowing that they were in earshot and in a sense he was kind of calling them out. And starting at verse 9, it reads to some who are confident of their own righteousness and look down on everyone else, jesus told this parable.
Speaker 1:
Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed God. I thank you that I am not like other people robbers, evildoers and adulterers or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and I give a tenth of all I get, but the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven but beat his breast and said God, have mercy on me, a sinner. I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home, justified before God For all those who exalt themselves.
Speaker 1:
We have to become the tax collector in this story. This is where we have to get to. No matter how good we think we are, no matter how many times we go to church or how much we put in the collection plate, it's not good enough. But humanity has one great character flaw, and it's illustrated perfectly in this parable. We love to point fingers. We tend to point out other shortcomings to cover up our own. Very rarely do we come across the tax collector in the story in life, but we always come across the Pharisee. Ultimately, what it means is that we are in a perpetual state of pointing fingers and bragging about ourselves. We are great at identifying where others need to change. This way, we don't feel so bad about the things that we know we need to change Humility. Humility is almost non-existent nowadays. Before we can make any changes outside of ourselves, first we have to make changes within ourselves. Humility has to be the first step in the right direction. How many of us in our day-to-day lives have ever blown somebody off because we thought we already knew what someone was talking about, only to have egg in our face later because we didn't?
Speaker 1:
I have two great passions aside from Jesus Christ fishing and heavy metal music. Not just any metal either. I love the female fronted vocal, like the female metal bands. I really like the Hailstorms and Eva Under Fire Forever. May Fall Eternal Frequency. The list keeps going. I love the sound of a female voice in rock music.
Speaker 1:
About a year and a half ago, my son and I were on our way to a show for a band called Paralandra, a solid female fronted act. We were really looking forward to the show, but I didn't know a lot about them. They were a newer band for me. I'd heard a couple of songs. It was at a local venue. It only cost a few bucks, bucks. So we found ourselves at this show and Paralandra takes the stage and immediately the first thing I noticed was that you had a 20-something year old bass player, a 20-something year old drummer, a 20-something year old singer and then a guy that looked like he was 50 now I'm 51, so I don't know why that stood out as a shock to me but he had the long, like flowing hair and he looked like he belonged in like Warrant or you know one of the glam rock bands of the late 80s, and he kind of had a likeness to Fabio if you know who Fabio is, the guy from the romance novel covers. So I snapped off a picture and I sent it to my buddy and I said hey, check it out. We're in support of Fabio's new project. He, he ha ha.
Speaker 1:
The band was great and about I don't know three quarters of the way through the show the singer Cassandra Carson, is her name. The singer starts talking about how hard it was to break into the business and how discouraged that she had become because she had been throwing herself at the wall that is the music business for years and couldn't get anybody to take a chance on her. And she really believed in her music and she was passionate about her music. And then she was talking about how record labels would turn them down for various reasons, including her weight, and she was not overweight by any means, not that that's even important. But in the music business, let's be honest, we can pretend that it's wrong all we want, but it is what it is. But many. She was going over the many reasons why record companies had passed on them. Then she mentioned that one of the reasons why record companies had passed on them is because her father was in the band.
Speaker 1:
And then it hit me like a ton of bricks, like my god, the 50 year old guy is the singer's father, that he is actually touring the country with his daughter. And then it was such a beautiful thing. And then here I am, you know the schmuck, uh, you know giving the guy to business and texting my buddy and and and breaking the guy's balls. And the biggest problem isn't even that I took the picture and sent it to my buddy. The biggest problem is the fact the thought never even crossed my mind that he could be her father. I chatted with him. His name's Paul Carson. I chatted with him after the show and it turns out that Paul's a devout Christian man and I was really, really humbled in that moment. Humility is at the very core of all things good. Paul, if you ever listen to the Human Conservation Podcast, I am a jerk and I humbly apologize. I can't wait till you guys come around again, which is in December in the New Jersey area. But I will leave their website If you like rock music they're an incredible band. I will leave their information in the show notes, all right, but I don't want to digress too much.
Speaker 1:
Once we humble ourselves, you're going to see immediate changes take place. You're going to realize that this thing that we call life, it's way bigger than just you and me. There are many other people in this world too. When we aren't solely thinking about ourselves, it's natural for us to begin to think about others, and that is the genesis of something beautiful kindness. If we all assume the role of the tax collector in that parable we just heard, and not the Pharisee, then we all end up in the same boat Sinful people that need God's mercy to get by. And when we're all in the same boat, we begin to work together. We accept each other's shortcomings and we lend our strengths against others' weaknesses without judgment, because we begin to realize that someone else's strength is covering our weaknesses and, believe me, we all have them.
Speaker 1:
I don't care what your political affiliation is, I don't care what race you are, what your sexual orientation is or what you identify, as I don't even care what religion you are. No one can stand on firm ground and tell me that they like what they see going on in the world around them today. There are problems in every corner of society that keep us separated, but instead of taking accountability for ourselves, we point the fingers at one another. We blame the institutions that we created. It's the government's fault, it's the church's fault, it's our fault. We think that we can solve issues like racism and abortion when we can't even hold a door for one another or let someone merge onto the highway. It's time to stop pointing fingers and screaming about the problems in this world and start to lead society back to a good place.
Speaker 1:
How many people have sat in a church and heard the term the good news of Jesus Christ and ever wonder what they meant by that? Well, the good news is that there is only one solution to all of these problems, to every single one. There's one solution, and that solution is Jesus Christ. I'm going to give you a few seconds to react to what I just said. Some of you may have pumped your fist or given me an amen, some of you may have laughed or chuckled, some may have gotten angry and probably more than a few people just clicked off the podcast when I said that. But Jesus is the solution to every problem we face. Now I'm not going to make the mistake that 90% of ministers and pastors and evangelists make and I'm not going to throw all kinds of Bible quotes at you in support of some idea that I think sounds good. I don't need to.
Speaker 1:
The reality of why Christianity works is simple. It's based on sacrifice for the sake of others. The entire thing is based on the sacrifice for us, the sacrifice for us. There is no other religion in the world that leads by example of sacrificing for one another. If we look to Jesus to make things right instead of people meaning the government, churches etc. That's when things are going to start to fall into place. But Jesus can only put things right if we are willing participants.
Speaker 1:
When asked what the greatest commandment was, jesus said love thy God with all your heart. Then he added the second is like it Love thy neighbor as I have loved you. Jesus wasn't asked what the two greatest commandments were. He added the second one because it was just as important. And he didn't say love those who love you. He didn't say anyone was excluded from this commandment. He didn't say not to love someone because they were a non-believer. He simply said love thy neighbor as I have loved you.
Speaker 1:
If we are picking and choosing, it doesn't work. It really is as simple as just being kind to everybody that crosses your path, kind to anyone and everyone that you meet, and be willing to help those that you can and how you can. Maybe you don't have the money to spare that's not what I'm talking about. But if you're a good mason, well, maybe you could help your neighbor fix his broken stairs. Maybe you can coach youth sports. Even though you don't have any kids or grandkids, there's always something that somebody could do. That's the whole reason we were created uniquely. I mean honestly, is there anything that makes more sense than that that we all have individual skill sets that work together for the greater good of all? To me, that makes perfect sense. So this is our starting point for the Human Conservation Project Humble people willing to help each other. Forget all about the technical things that you heard about God and Jesus, what it means to be a follower and all that jazz.
Speaker 1:
I want you to think about two things privately this week before the next episode. One are you content with where you are right now? Are you happy with how things are in your life? And the other thing I want you to think about is how do you feel about God? There is no right or wrong answer. Everybody has their own individual ideals and beliefs, and I'm not trying to impress mine on you. I just want you to ask yourself what do you think about God?
Speaker 1:
Before I end with a closing prayer, I want to say this think about God. Before I end with a closing prayer, I want to say this Whether you have a doctorate in theological studies or you have never read a single verse in the Bible, god can still use you where you're at. Let us pray, lord. Many of us are tired and weary, but we aren't worn completely out. We have all shown up on the doorstep with the desire to be better people. Help us to first find the way and then help others to find it, with your help. In Jesus' name, I pray Amen, all right, that's it for this week. It's been an absolute pleasure getting back at it.
Speaker 1:
Next week, we're going to have a fresh discussion about Jesus himself who he was, what he did and how and what he can still do for us each and every day. We're going to touch on some of the misconceptions about him and why he's falling out of fashion in today's world. You're not going to want to miss it. As always, thank you for stopping by to give me a listen. If you like what you heard and you want to help out the show, please give us a like and subscribe to the podcast. If you feel compelled, please leave a review. This will help others find the podcast and help to get the word out.
Speaker 1:
If you're a fan of hard rock or heavy metal music, don't forget to check out my other project, the Reverend of Rock YouTube channel airing later this summer. We take a look at the lighter side of metal music and we get up to some other antics like product reviews, concert reviews, small adventures all in the name of God and good values. All of this can be found at wwwcorbycom, spelled C-O-R-B-I-E-Y. You can also find information on booking me for weddings and other public speaking events. That's the episode for this week. Remember to be kind to one another, look out for one another and check in with one another. Often it can make a difference. If you're the one hurting, please dial 988 for support. I hope everyone has a blessed week and remember that human conservation can only come about through human conversation.
