Hey readers! I had the opportunity to interview two American brothers with a big heart for Canada and standing for the truth! I hope that you enjoy this written interview with Carpe Fide.
Alot of my readers probably are aware of who you are. But for those who don't, can you share a bit about who you are, where you're from and what your passions are in life? We are two brothers- Justin (37) and Jesse (30) that have huge hearts for ministry. We grew up in a Christian household that was radically transformed by the gospel in the early 2000s when our Mom was diagnosed with clinical depression and our Dad sacrificed his lucrative business for the sake of his marriage and his family. We are blessed with faithful parents in a world full of broken homes. We grew up in the same church and both served extensively there. In 2012 we planted Missio Dei Church in Glassboro, NJ. Both of us, along with our father and one other friend serve as elders there. We started Carpe Fide last year as a podcast for our friends, but when Pastor Coates was jailed earlier this year, we scraped some money together to get some shirts printed and started donating proceeds to Gracelife. We now have 3 shirts that donate to Canadian pastors, 1 that donates to a men’s ministry stateside, and several other designs as well. Justin has been married to Becca for 15 years and has 3 children, Kaileigh (12), Mason (10), and Logan (6). Justin works full time at UPS. Jesse has been married to Hannah for 10 years and has 5 children- Evelyn (8), Jameson (6), Teddy (4), Waverly (2), and Maverick (3 months). Jesse works full time as an Emergency Department Nurse. I like reading, writing, heavy metal, cigars, and ministry. I have recently been introduced to your podcast and I'm hooked! The content and style is relevant, engaging and biblically sound. What led you to start your podcast? We started recording in the middle of the pandemic. We saw many Christians caving as our culture spiraled out of control. Initially we started a podcast just for our friends and to strengthen Christians in our area. We’re local church guys. We didn’t have any idea Carpe Fide would eventually have almost 50% listenership in Canada! Ha! But it truly started seeing a huge lack of vocal Christians in our area, and someone needed to step up and be that voice. Can you share with me a bit about how you came up with the name of your podcast and what it means for the church to seize the faith? Hmm, Well the church we pastor at is Missio Dei... so apparently we only deal in Latin. Justin kicked the idea out, tying it to the Carpe Diem phrase to Seize the Day but redeeming it under the faith. It stuck, but for your advanced/homeshool crowd, we admittedly messed up the declension, it should have been Carpe Fidem. We Like to say “Wrong Declension, Right Theology”. We really think it combines so many things we have been saying the Church needs to realize in this season. The Lord is sifting His people, He’s Sanctifying His bride. We need to hold the line and that will only happen if we Know His Word and encourage each other in the fight. Typically I interview Canadians that are engaging in moral and political issues in their nation. But your love and support for Canada, as Americans, really grabbed my attention. It's pretty awesome that you desire to support Canadian churches through prayer and giving some of the proceeds of your shirt sales to selected pastors that are being arrested or getting heavily fined. What led you to care, understand, and learn about what is happening in Canada? I think that many Christians were disturbed when we heard about what was going on with the Albertan government and GraceLife. We were at a spot where the Spirit took the lead and really spurred us on to go beyond “Someone’s got to do something,” to “We’ve got to do something.” We had been toying with the idea of a “Come take it” design for a while. But when they imprisoned Pastor James, we knew what we had to do. There was zero hesitation. It just...happened. We want your readers to know how absolutely ordinary we are. We’re just two bivocational small church pastors. We’ll gladly die as such. But God laid that mission clearly on both our hearts, and we had but only to be faithful. Through that shirt, the word was spread. Hundreds of orders going all across the US was a huge encouragement to us. It can feel pretty isolating here in South Jersey. We often wonder what the state of the Church is like in other places. But there is a remnant left here, and it is strong and healthy. Very early on a dear sister from Ontario, Kristin, really worked hard with us to get the shirts up in Canada, and now we work with Wool & Flax to supply them to you guys. The Lord has blown us away with what He’s done thus far. Every Canadian we talk to has only grown our love for the Church in Canada, and many of you are as close to us as family. We wouldn’t have it any other way! You have interviewed a few Canadian pastors. From what you have learned from them, what do you see is the greatest threat to the Canadian church? How can we change this? Jesse- It’s hard to bring a thorough critique. However, with our limited exposure through articles written by TGC Canada and other publications, it seems to be a deadly combination of biblical illiteracy and apathy. When a Christian doesn’t know how to wield their sword, they end up chopping off their own arm. I think this is a Western Church problem. We were not adequately equipped in the Word of God, the Lordship of Christ, the stakes of the war we are in, and because of that, many choose to roll over rather than gird up their loins and prepare for battle. It’s lamentable that large “evangelical” organizations are paving the way and creating excuses for pastors and congregations to blatantly disregard God’s Word. Justin- As far as learning… a lot. There's mostly just gratefulness for them standing when so many are falling. Their perspective is straightforward, if Jesus is Sovereign over His church and God’s Word is True then the only thing to do is honor Him through faithful obedience. I would have to echo Jesse with the Biblical Illiteracy and apathy. We have become fat sheep and fat shepherds without the ability to even be bothered fending off the wolves. We have become snacks for the Principalities of Darkness in High Places. I wish it were only localized to Canada but it’s really the entire Western church. The hope is that we can actively see the change because it is happening in real time. Getting in community In the Word and seizing this season of difficulty for God’s Glory. We change by remaining faithful to God. It sounds simple because it is. It is most definitely not easy but that is why we aren’t meant to be alone, but rather present in the Body of Christ. It is my hope that these interviews will help encourage Christian Canadians to speak up about our faith even as censorship laws are a potential for the future. As we come to the end of the interview what advice do you give as an American Christian to the church in Canada? Open the Bible. Read it and know it because it’s how we know God. Get into a Faithful Body of Christ that leads with the Word open (and is also physically open). Not just “Get into” but commit, be a living member of a local family of God. Just as God has always existed as a Community in the Trinity so he expressly made us to be in Community, and in Community we find encouragement and accountability. Live and Lead in your actual families because the home is the foundation of society and we have forgotten that God calls us to deeply engage in the home. Pray also that we will stand with you and when the time comes we will have the faith to hold the line as faithfully as the many Christians that we have had the fortune to meet from the Great white North. Love God. Know the Word. Love His Church. Seize the Faith! Do you want to be equipped and encouraged to hold the line? Then follow Carpe Fide on Instagram, Facebook, and Online.
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