E01 - Travis Avila: Introduction
Travis talks about what to expect throughout this podcast, as well as a bit about his own journey getting to this point. From dinner parties to Pink Flamingos to our identity as Jesus followers - Travis' story is filled with a bunch of questions about what it means to be a Christian and how we can live into our biblical identity and partner with Jesus to bring His kingdom into our own lives.
TRANSCRIPTION:
Hello and welcome to the Catching Jesus podcast. My name is Travis Avila and I’m your host. I started this podcast because, if you’re anything like me, you struggle with the discrepancy between what the Bible says is true about you and your daily experience. the Bible says that those follow Jesus are set apart, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. But most days, i don’t feel set apart. I just feel tired and second guess myself and my relationship with Jesus. You might feel the same way. You might even think that you could never do anything significant for the kingdom of God. But I think you’re wrong. The truth is that God only made one of you, so you're the only one who can do what you can do. But sometimes we just need some encouragement…a little push.
So it thought that I’d create a podcast where you can hear from normal people like you and me who have caught a kingdom vision for their lives and are doing the Jesus stuff. I didn’t want to talk with big time CEO’s, major authors and influencers or church leaders (not that they’d even agree to come on the show), because so often, their lives don’t seem relatable to the rest of us. My hope is that by hearing stories from every day people, you might just start to believe that if God can use them in amazing ways, He can use you too. Because He can.
Four years ago, my life took a dramatic turn when I was laid off from my job in business. I had a big title and a big salary, but I was constantly away from my family and miserable. But honestly, I probably would have never left. I was stuck. Crippled by comfort and the soul sucking voice of reasonableness.
So I decided I’d use this as a pivot moment and see what God could do if I aligned my will with His. I wish I could say that it’s been easy-peasy, but honestly, it’s been VERY difficult. But there are goals greater than ease, and I don’t regret the decision. I had felt called to start conversations with the church. Not to come with answers, but hopefully, to ask the right questions and encourage people along the way in their journey with Jesus.
Last year, I wrote a book called Pink Flamingo - Regaining our Purpose in a Plastic World. I was at a dinner party years ago with a bunch of my non-christian friends who were doing all these amazing things in our community and I thought, “oh no..my non-christian friends are better christians than I am.” That thought freaked me out and has led me on a journey in discovering what actually differentiates Christians from everyone else, and how we live in light of that difference. My book Pink Flamingo is the result of that journey, and I hope it will help people understand that we are meant to be set apart...to be different.
In the book, I tell stories of normal people doing Jesus stuff, but after it was published I thought, “there are SO many more people who’s stories need to be told.” And so this podcast was born.
I want this podcast to be another resource for you in your journey of following Jesus. I want you to believe, deep down in your guts that you are loved by Jesus and that He wants to partner with you to see His kingdom become established here on earth. Because for better or for worse, we are His plan A. In Genesis 1, he initiates the plan, and by page 2, we’ve jacked it all up. But God’s grace is bigger and better than we can imagine and he’s still using flawed humans like you and me to make sure that people know they were made in the image of a God who loves them.
So throughout these episodes, You’ll hear from local business leaders, stay at home moms, people working to end trafficking and so many more. You’ll hear how they came to know that God was calling them to do what they’re doing and all the hurdles they had to deal with along the way.
In the end, these stories are meant to help you with your own. You don’t have to run a Fortune 500 company or start a massive non-profit to be impactful in God’s kingdom. You just have to be obedient to whatever God IS calling you to do. My prayer is that this podcast helps you sort that out.
If you have any questions or comments, you can send them to info@travisavila.com. Thanks for listening and be sure to subscribe so you stay updated with each episode.