Announcer: Today, on Family Talk:
Dr. Dobson: Well, hello everyone. I'm James Dobson, and this is Family Talk. I'm here in Irvine, California today in the offices and the studio of one of my very best friends, Barry Meguiar. Known him for 50 years, I love this man, and our families have known each other for a long time too. Barry is the president of Meguiar's Car Wax, which is the nation's largest wax and polish company. It was started in 1901 by Barry's grandfather. I knew his father very well, and his mother, and this is a great family.
Barry's not only president of a Meguiar Incorporated. He is the ultimate car guy. I know they're 20,000 of them in the country, but this is the premier man as far as I'm concerned.
Barry Meguiar: I'm just a car guy.
Dr. Dobson: He has been the host of Car Crazy. You've undoubtedly seen that television program.
Barry Meguiar: It's been a great ride for 18 years.
Dr. Dobson: I've seen it many times. It's really interesting. You interview people, owners of these wonderful cars. Well, more recently, Barry is founder of Revival Outside the Walls. We're going to talk a little bit about that today because that's where his heart is today.
Barry Meguiar: That's where we are today, our studio is here at Revival Outside the Walls.
Dr. Dobson: We are. He loves cars, but I tell you he loves the Lord even more.
Barry Meguiar: Amen to that.
Dr. Dobson: You're going to see that. He's been my guest many times and on one occasion he told us about a near death experience that occurred just several years ago that led to Revival Outside the Walls. Barry, thanks for inviting us to join you here.
Barry Meguiar: It's fun turning the tables and you being in our studio, in our humble abode here. We have a soundstage and everything for media here.
Dr. Dobson: Hey, we had an event here recently at Revival Outside the Walls where people who are supporters of Family Talk came. There were more than a hundred people here, and it was really a very special event.
Barry Meguiar: It was great. Oftentimes, the closer you get to somebody, you get some disappointments. After breaking bread with them, I don't have quite the same respect. I've known this man for over 60 years and the closer you get to him, the better he shines. I mean, this is a man- I have nobody in my life I respect like Dr. James Dobson, and Shirley, you guys are true. You're absolutely steadfast in a world where the world is influencing the church and Christians to be less than they should be. You have risen and stood in the gap for us, Jim. Thank you.
Dr. Dobson: The church seems to be changing, doesn't it Barry?
Barry Meguiar: Well, yeah. We talk about being salt and light. The one characteristic that salt and light both share, we've all heard sermons on each one of those factors, but the one characteristic they both share is, they both changed their environment. Okay?
Dr. Dobson: Yeah.
Barry Meguiar: So the question is for each of you listening to us right now, are you changing your environment, or is your environment changing you? Certainly, for the church, I think it's pretty obvious: the environment is changing the church today. That's unfortunate, and we should be changing our environment. We should be that light on the hill, and we need to do that more and that's what we're talking about here.
Dr. Dobson: That's really what Revival Outside the Walls is all about, isn't it?
Barry Meguiar: It really is part of the driving force.
Dr. Dobson: Now that again, this organization where you're trying to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ and to bring revival to this country and everywhere you possibly can, came out of that sickness that you had. Give us about a four or five-minute version of what happened there.
Barry Meguiar: To go back, and probably like a lot of our listeners today, I was serving the Lord. I was volunteering for everything at the church. I was giving my money. I was doing everything I was supposed to do, but I didn't have purpose. What's God's purpose for my life? I didn't have a bounce in my step. I wanted something more. I tried earning my way into heaven by shining up and doing everything in the church. I heard this phrase, "actions speak louder than words," so I thought I'll just be this overachiever and that brought glory to me but not to God.
This thing of "some send, some go." I thought, "Okay, I'll just make a lot of money. I'd be generous by giving," and I get as many brownie points as the people I'm supporting out there, but none of those things brought joy. The church is full of people who love God. They're on their way to heaven, but they don't have a bounce in their step.
Barry Meguiar: I met this guy, Herb Ellingwood. He had more joy than any Christian I'd ever seen. I started probing him, and he just starts telling me, every day he lived- he had a very important position. He worked for Ronald Reagan- but he didn't ...
Dr. Dobson: Yeah. You know what? I know him. He called me and asked me to serve on the Pornography Commission.
Barry Meguiar: Way back when. That's right, exactly right.
Dr. Dobson: Until you mentioned his name right, I didn't connect it.
Barry Meguiar: Herb Ellingwood. I walked away. I thought, "I want to have what he has." That's the joy I've never been able to find in all my life. I'm multi-generations of Christians. I've tried to be the churchman, love my pastor, but I've never had that joy. I started doing it. Wow! Then I found this verse in John 15:11. "When you share your faith, when you bear fruit, my joy remain with you and your joy remain full." Wow!
So, I started doing it, having all kinds of fun, and a gentleman came to me in the year 2000 and sat with me and he said, "I have a word for you from the Lord." And I wanted to get up and run. That kind of stuff kind of bothers me, but he said, "Have you heard of this book, The Prayer of Jabez?" It'd just come out, I had not heard of it yet. Three months later, everybody in the world, I think, in the Christian world, had read The Prayer of Jabez. He said, "As I was reading it, God told me to come and tell you he's going to enlarge your territory, and he's going to give you a ministry separate, apart from your business." That was in year 2000.
Year 2010, I still hadn't started the ministry. God had greatly blessed my business. It doubled in size in seven years after a hundred years of history. So he was doing all that, but still I hadn't started this ministry. He didn't say when. He didn't put a time limit on it. He put me in a hospital. I was dying. You and I were talking while I was in the hospital. You guys, you and Shirley were praying for me. God really spoke to me and said, "Barry, I'm running out of patience with you. Start this ministry and start it now." That was 2010.
Dr. Dobson: Well, you know, I called to see how you were and talked to a mutual friend, and he told me you were dying.
Barry Meguiar: Yeah, the doctors gave up on me, but it wasn't a life or death experience. It was just a moment in time to get my attention. He had my attention. When you're in the ICU room and all the bells and whistles and the night nurse is on, you don't know her, and the family's gone. It's a come to Jesus moment, and I got to tell you, it's precious. It's precious being in those moments because it's just you and God. And to be there and not be worried, to know we can face death literally and not worry. I had the privilege of experiencing that, but why? Because I live for his purpose.
Romans 8:28 is such a powerful scripture. "I promise you, I'll make everything in your life work together for good, if you love me and live your life for my purpose not yours," not selling car wax, not even building ministries yet. [crosstalk 00:07:19].
Dr. Dobson: So, you were not in a state of panic even though you were dying?
Barry Meguiar: No, no, no. I sat there. I said, "I live for your purpose." God's purpose, one purpose: to seek and save the lost, that not one would be lost. When we have that in our minds every moment of every day, it gets to be like sport. Everywhere I go, I'm looking. How do I get to share my faith? When you do that, every moment of every day, every day is an adventure. Every day there's miracles, and every day you have a bounce in your step and I made it-
People say, "Why are you smiling all day?" "You want to know why? I can tell you why. How you can smile all day." Folks, if you're fretting, and worrying, and most Christians are today, you can't have faith. You can't trust and worry at the same time. They do not co-exist. They do not- you can't do that. How do you trust? How do you know God's really going to save your bacon? You can do that by his promise of: if you live for My purpose, moving people closer to Jesus every moment of every day, I'll make everything work for good.
So, when things go south on you, and they do for all of us. I'm in one right now, quite frankly. It hasn't robbed me my joy. I have a little pain right now, but my joy is I know God's going to take me through to the other side and he's never failed in all the years. The key is, when things go wrong, you just know God's going to be there. You don't have to worry about it. No worries. He says, "Have faith."
Dr. Dobson: Now Barry, when you have made that commitment to Christ, and you are aware that what he wants you to do is to go into all the world and preach the Gospel.
Barry Meguiar: That's right.
Dr. Dobson: Almost everybody in that position at that moment thinks if they do that, their friends are going to say, "Oh no, here comes Barry again." He's going to bore us with this again, but they don't. Do they?
Barry Meguiar: No, it's just the opposite. That's why God wanted me to create this ministry, to help people understand. I went through the early stages of sweaty palms and scratchy throat. "Oh God, I've got to share my faith," and "Hope nobody sits next to me in the airplane," Or whatever. It's not that at all. We're real good at telling people they're going to hell. We can tell all these people, "You're going to hell, and this is bad." That's how we're seen.
We're seen as angry, mean, narrow-minded people. That's how the church is perceived today. The studies tell us that, but Jesus said they'll know you're my disciple by your love. Nobody has to be trained to love on people.
Dr. Dobson: The truth of the matter, Barry, is that I don't think people tell them they're going to hell. They just keep their faith to themselves.
Barry Meguiar: Yeah, but they won't have anything to do with them because they're better than them. If it's not spoken, it's implied. If you Google, why are Christians so. It's terrible. Why are Christians so, Google it? It says, why are they so mean? Why are they so angry? Why are they so stupid? That's how the church is perceived. There's never mentioned love. It's no wonder nobody wants to be a Christian anymore.
We need to start loving on people, and the most powerful thing you do and you'll never be repressed for this. You'll never be pushed away in this. I do it with almost every person I talked to. It starts into conversation. "Do you know God loves you?" "No, not me." Some of them, I mean the worst, the more scoundrels are, "No, there's no way." "Yeah, God loves you." "What?" "God loves you. In fact, He loves you as much as-"
Dr. Dobson: You bring that out of nowhere and lay that on people?
Barry Meguiar: Yeah because you know God loves you. "In fact, He loves you as much as He's ever loved anybody ever. In fact, He loves you as much as He loves His own son, Jesus Christ. That's how much He loves you, and He has one desire for you. That you spend eternity with him in heaven, okay?" You walk away, "Oh wait a minute, wait a minute." They draw it out of you.
87% of the unchurched today, because everything's going crazy. The latest statistic, 87% of the unchurched would like to believe there's a God. They may be foul. They may be obscene. They may be womanizers, but they know it's out of control. They would like to believe there's a God, but they don't know where to go. 83% of the unchurched have at least one person in their life right now that they trust who goes to church on a regular basis.
Jim, we already have the influence. We have influence on 83% of the unchurched. We don't need to spend any money. We just need to be salt and light. Isn't that amazing? 73% say they would accept an invitation to church if they're asked by somebody they trust, but less than 2% of us invited one person to church in the last 12 months.
Dr. Dobson: I called you in the hospital to see how you were, and you had come out of a coma and you were on your way to recovery. You were so excited about this that you could hardly tell me about it. We're sitting here today in this beautiful building in Irvine, and this is the headquarters for Revival Outside the Wall.
Barry Meguiar: Yes. Look what God has done for us. We're on radio every day and all, but I've always had the joy. When I smile, people see me. "Oh yeah, why would you not smile? You're president of Meguiar's. You got this TV show or whatever." When my smile had power, maximum power, is when I was dying in the hospital and people came in. They saw the same joy then as I have had at other times.
If you're hurting today, two things happen. You're in a moment in time where that will force you to grow closer to God. Our growth spurts, spiritually, are in the bad times. It's our human nature. So when people come to, I had one last night, they're in a cancer situation. They were in tears as I said, "Do not waste this moment. Enjoy the ride." They're saying, "What?" "Don't waste the moment. I bet you're praying more right now than you prayed a long time." "Oh yeah."
Plus, your testimony. Our light at the same intensity is a lot brighter in the darkness. They expect us to smile in the good times, but when you're smiling in the bad times, it's like, "That's powerful." If you're in struggles right now, first off, it's God's allowing you to realize that you can't depend on yourself. You have to be dependent on him. More importantly, when you're there, you have that confidence, and you have it when you're sharing Him because when you're sharing Him with others every moment of every day, even from that hospital bed, you know that you're living God's purpose, and then God's promise clicks in. He says, "I'm going to make everything work together for good." [crosstalk 00:13:37]
Dr. Dobson: Well, we've got a little time left, and I want to make sure we make the most of it because there are people who are saying, "You guys, you have to understand. I'm an introvert. I don't relate easily with strangers, and I wouldn't have the first idea how I talk to them about Jesus Christ." Revival Outside the Walls is set up to help you do that.
Barry Meguiar: That was me. I was an introvert. I'm not so much of an introvert anymore because of sharing my faith. You know what? You don't need training, and you don't need overwhelming personality to love on people. When you love other people-
Dr. Dobson: You don't have a theological degree?
Barry Meguiar: No, no.
Dr. Dobson: You graduated in college with a degree in business, I assume.
Barry Meguiar: Business, I'm a businessman. I'm a marketer.
Dr. Dobson: All right. Where in the world did this come from?
Barry Meguiar: If you just love on people, it's not hard. Everybody around you, even Christians, they're all hurting. Everybody's hurting today. So we're surrounded by people that need the love and peace of God. When you love on them, we become that peculiar people. I didn't want to be a peculiar person, but today you're peculiar when you stop and actually show interest.
And people say, "Why are you so interested? Why are you helping me so?" You don't show interest and love just to lift up yourself. That's self-righteousness. Always tie it in the name of Jesus. "A cup of cold water in Jesus' name." When you love on you, always connect it to God. "You know God loves you. God's going to be with you." "Wait a minute. What? Why are you loving on me?" "Because God loves you." "What?" "God loves you, and he loves to love people through me and that's all I'm doing. Just know that God's love is with you."
They'll always come back, "Wait a minute." When they start asking you questions, always be ready to give a clear presentation. If you asked a tough question, people are afraid. "I don't know what to say." That's the fun part, folks. That's the fun part. When they ask you a question you can't answer, tell them, "I don't know the answer to that question. It's a really great question. How about give me a few days. How about on Thursday, we get back together? Would you allow me to pray for you over the next four days?"
They'll always say, "Yes," of course. Over those next four days, guess what happens to your prayer life and your Bible study? Now, nobody's having to tell you, "Get on your knees and be in the word."
Dr. Dobson: Let me role play with you.
Barry Meguiar: You can't get enough. Your Bible study and prayer life gets on steroids. God will always give you the answer. You've grown immensely, and then you get to share it. When you share it, you see the tears in their eyes. You're praying when you walk away, I think, "I peddle car wax, and I just moved that person closer to Jesus." [crosstalk 00:16:13].
Dr. Dobson: Suppose we go to a restaurant at lunch, and the waitress comes up and says, "Hi, my name's Cindy. I'm going to be serving you today." You say what?
Barry Meguiar: Oh well, we engage and be friendly, and ask a little bit about her. "I bet you didn't want go to work on Sunday, right? You would rather be home with the kids?" "Yeah, my kid's at home," and as she finishes taking the order. "Cindy, by the way, we're getting ready to pray for a meal. Is there anything we could pray for you about?" Well, about half the time they'll say no, but about half the time they say yes. At about half of that time, about 25%-
Dr. Dobson: I find more than half the time they say yes. Everybody's got something that needs praying though.
Barry Meguiar: Well, rough numbers but when they say yes, "Okay, what can we pray for you about." "You know, I have a son at home. He's really sick. I should be there right now, and he's running a temperature. I'm already concerned." "What's his name?" "Jimmy." "Okay. We'll pray for Jimmy." So, then we'll turn and a lot of time they'll stay with us while we pray. That's really basic. Even if they don't, they're watching us. We pray, and then when she comes back the next time, "Hey, we prayed for Jimmy. Oh boy, did we touch God for Jimmy. Jimmy is going to be just fine. You don't have to worry. Okay, God bless you."
Then, don't preach to them. Leave it alone. Do not ever bring it up again. They don't want over- where you're pushing people back. Just give them some crumbs. I call it chumming. When you go fishing, you throw off the chum. That's the bait, and you let them come and get it.
Dr. Dobson: Now, this is really important Barry, because I find that some people who are trying to do the work of the Lord, trying to bring people to Christ are like farmers who plant the seed and then dig it up. You let the seed stay there.
Barry Meguiar: Let the Holy Spirit do His work. It's not our responsibility to save 'em. My early frustrations were, I didn't get the person saved on the spot. And that quite frankly, I went through several years of that frustration, thought I just can't do it. It's really about just leading everybody closer to Jesus. Everybody comes in your life today, you influence them closer or move them further away from God by your countenance, by your body language, by your kindness, and always in the name of Jesus.
At the very least you can say to somebody, "God bless you." Don't just say, "God bless you," and walk away. Just touch them lightly in the arm and look at them in the eyes and say God bless you.
Dr. Dobson: Is this really what the Lord said to you in the hospital?
Barry Meguiar: Well, I'd been doing it for a lot of years. See, this didn't all come to me in the hospital. I've been doing it for 40 years. What he said to me in the hospital was, "I want you to start this ministry, and I want you to share with other people how much fun it is, how easy it is, and how non-optional it is. How mandatory it is. It is the great commission."
The great commission wasn't for our pastors. They don't go into the world. They go into the churches. The role of the pastor in Ephesians 4:11 is to equip the saints for ministry and to send us. That's their role. Our job is to go into the world. We're to take the message we get from our pastors, while we're falling asleep. Don't do that. Take out a pad of paper and take down notes and listen to your pastor on Sunday, and take that particular notes that you could really use and earnestly pray.
Talk about it over lunch. Have it scheduled. It will fill your whole lunch conversation. It's the most amazing thing with your kids and what they heard in the sermon. It gets them to listen to the sermon too. Then that week, look how many times, what's your pastor said on Sunday morning, you have opportunity to use during the week. Now your co-partners, your partners with your pastor, you're extending his ministry.
We can ignite America. We can do that, but we're not doing it now and the church is caught up in doing good stuff, and giving money, and being sacrificial, and doing all those things, but dead in the water. We've allowed the enemy to come in and take our land, Jim. You and I have talked about this, and we're hunkered down in the bunkers of our churches and saying, "What's going on here? God help us to take care of those horrible people."
They're lost. They are lost. Why do we expect people who are lost to act, and they're lost because we haven't told them. How are they going to know unless we tell them? Every one of us, everybody listening to us today: folks, you have as much responsibility as anybody on the planet to share the good news, and it is the good news. We have this precious gift we carry around in the clay pots of our ordinary lives. We need to share it.
We're blessed to know Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, but we're obligated to share him with everybody we come in contact with, every moment of every day. When we do that, we're living for God's purpose, not our purpose. When we do that, we know that everything in our life, the bad news, the accident, the cancer report, the payments, the bills, whatever it is, the family problems, no matter what you keep, or you have pain.
I don't say you don't have pain, but "we sorrow not as the people who have no hope." We have the pain, but we know God's going to take us through it. Oh it is, and we always have that joy.
Dr. Dobson: I haven't lived in other generations, obviously, but it's my impression that this country and the people of this world have never needed that message more than they need it right now.
Barry Meguiar: It's crying out. Look at the headlines, look at the news every night and every morning. Look at all that happened overnight. The world is crying out for this gift that we have: the good news. We get all this bad news. We have the good news and we're not sharing it. So, that's what Revival Outside the Walls is.
Dr. Dobson: If you could just get a little more enthusiastic about it, Barry.
Barry Meguiar: You may say, if you like what we're saying, we're not a ministry: we're a ministry resource for your ministry.
Dr. Dobson: Explain how that works.
Barry Meguiar: We're not trying to build a ministry. All our resources are on our website, rotw.com. That's what it is for Revival Outside of the Walls, rotw.com. It is an amazing website. It's all about giving you information, empowerment, fun, excitement, joy, tools, how to do it, helps, the scriptures. I mean, it's unbelievable. All of this that's available to us, and we just haven't been taking advantage of what we already have, and we take it as an option.
If evangelism, if sharing our faith is an option, we'll opt out. It's not an option. I'd rather go wait on tables or sing in the choir. No matter what, I don't care. We do all those things. I've done all those things Jim, and been dead in the water. I was applauded by my pastor, my church. I was honored as I was doing it. I was honoring God, but I had no joy.
Joy doesn't come from giving money, and serving positions, and universities or whatever. Joy comes from sharing our faith. Again John 15:11, "when you do that, when you bear fruit, my joy remain with you and your joy remain full," every day no matter what because he's making everything in your life. That's the most powerful scripture that's promised. Everything, even the bad stuff, He works for good, when we live for his purpose not ours.
Dr. Dobson: This time has just gone so fast. You said it a minute ago, you start talking about this, and the hour's gone.
Barry Meguiar: Yeah. I appreciate you wanted to do the hospital part, but there's so much to talk about and getting people excited about sharing their faith.
Dr. Dobson: Barry, there's more to talk about here. Let's just sit right here and let people remember to be with us tomorrow, and we will pick up where we are now.
Barry Meguiar: Oh, that would be awesome. That would be great.
Dr. Dobson: Oh, so much fun being with you.
Barry Meguiar: Greatly honored.
Dr. Dobson: I catch your enthusiasm. I think that's what makes Revival Outside the Walls so successful, is that this is not a chore. This is not something that God's laying as a burden on your shoulders.
Barry Meguiar: Oh no.
Dr. Dobson: This is something that has rewards that you can't believe.
Barry Meguiar: I bumped into other people who are doing it too. When I get with another faith sharer and they're telling their stories, I'm telling my stories, we don't want to stop. It just goes on and on. We're encouraging each other and hearing what each other's doing, and how they're doing it.
Dr. Dobson: You know what? We're doing it right here.
Barry Meguiar: Well, we are.
Dr. Dobson: We're telling people about the Lord.
Barry Meguiar: You have your own stories. We've interviewed you on your stories, how apart from your ministry, that's what you do. You share your faith whatever you do.
Dr. Dobson: Trying the best I can.
Jim Veldhuis: Wow, Barry Meguiar's excitement is just contagious, and it's a great reminder that all believers are called to be salt and light in whatever corner of the world they live in. When we really do that, we'll see revival spreading outside the walls of the church. You've been listening to Family Talk with Dr. James Dobson.
I'm Jim Veldhuis, and if you missed even a minute of this program, I strongly urge you to download the broadcast drjamesdobson.org or get a CD copy to listen to again and again. Online, you'll also find a link to Barry Meguiar's ministry, Revival Outside the Walls. You'll find videos, and stories, and other resources to get you excited about telling others about Christ.
Thank you for joining us today and be sure to tune in next time to hear more about how easy it is to share your faith outside the walls of the church. God bless you, and we'll see you again next time for another edition of Dr. James Dobson's Family Talk.
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