The Most Important Decision Any Believer Will Make

Doug:
Hey everybody, so glad you're tuning in because we're talking today about the most important decision any believer can make. If you're a a follower of Jesus Christ, it's the most important thing you'll decide in your life. I bet you can't wait to hear what it is.

I'll give you a hint. Look in Romans 10. We're talking with an amazing guy named Don Sunshine today.

Who, through one step of obedience, answering this question, has seen thousands and thousands of people hear the gospel just through his one step of obedience. So make sure you stick around and go mad with Doug and Brad. Let's do this

Brad:
Welcome everyone to Go Mad with Doug and Brad and Jesse. We are back in studio. Oh, what a summer.

All three of us, the three amigos, we are here. Sorry, I used to be like that. Oh no, it wasn't the handshake.

I would knock my mic thirteen times doing it because it was like pretty much I'd throw I think I'd throw my back out

Doug:
If I tried it.

Brad:
We are coming off of a fantastic summer. Uh folks, let's just say that real quick. Thank you for tuning in.

Thank you for we we're assuming sharing this, letting friends know because uh we keep having more and more listeners. Lot of growth. We really are grateful for that just because it keeps Getting it in front of more people how they can be ambassadors for Jesus, which is what we're all about here.

Doug:
We were gone for there are certain things sometimes we forget, you know, with the summer of hope on Eagle's wings or something. You didn't put the goats out? The strange thing was we don't have any goats, but we did when we got back.

Prime grass over there. Chowing on the grass. That's funny.

No, but it was like so it was just like get a machete, man. It was bad. Uh but you know, you get back from the summer of hope.

There is uh which is which is la the summer of hope is is on eag the on Eagles wings.

Brad:
the OEW Hope team, it all makes up the summer of hope. And yeah, we are just back from that.

Doug:
So one thing I this is definitely a first world problem. But one thing I'm reminded of every single year when we go out on the road and we visit some of the more out-of-the-way communities, and it is really something big It's something vital. Okay.

It's something invigorating. Oh, alright. It's the power.

The power of a great shower Oh if you've traveled you go what are you talking about? If you've traveled enough.

Brad:
Exactly where I thought you were going.

Doug:
If you've traveled enough, you know how difficult it can be to find a great shower. And by the way, just real quick as a side note, who thinks they can actually wash themselves Those those soaps. Oh.

Brad:
I started complaining about it and Anna my wife is like, Honey, they're for your hands. No, don't get me started on soaps and the whole switching to body wash and showers and everything. Where's my loofah? Sorry, that's what I'm saying.

Doug:
Where's my I digress. Okay. If you've traveled enough though, you know how difficult it can be to find a great shower. Like this one has good water pressure, but someone like four foot nine installed it. It's like it's like the shower from the case.

Brad:
Talk to my six foot plus son Caleb.

Doug:
He knows about those. It's like the shower from the movie Elf. Remember where he's like splashing running around trying.

And by the way, just about and not all But typically if a Hutchcraft thinks your shower head is too low, you have officially failed. You may have too small a shower head. Or the height is great, but someone like went a little too crazy with the water softener.

Oh no, no, no. At some point you just have to stop trying to rinse. And and be honest with yourself. Look, the soap is never coming off.

I just have to stop. And hope for the best.

Brad:
Doug. Yeah. I find it amusing you're mentioning showers during the summer because if you recall, I want to start with a praise.

I get to travel around with a shower, which is great. We have an RV that we get to travel in as a family every summer with the on Eagles Wings team. It's used as a mobile base of operations, nurses station, all this stuff.

And as our home. And so I want to say I am grateful we travel with that.

Doug:
Can you really call that thing in your RV a shower?

Brad:
It's like more of a look at the case. If you're watching on YouTube on your head and you've ever seen a shower in an RV, and you're you picture You know, uh just as I am right now, fully clothed, of course.

Doug:
I step into that hours are in your shower.

Brad:
How how funny and comical that is. I am A man that uh does not fit well in an R V shower and my son is really thin but is over six feet tall and he does not fit heightwise in it is just when you look at the half the time You j this summer, we don't know what happened. Half the time we're just like, was your shower warm at all? And it was like, no. Was it is it supposed to be?

Doug:
Is that supposed to be and

Brad:
You have to watch the amount of water you use, so you're like, turn it off, turn it on, turn it on, turn it on, turn it off. And you're just like, I'm pretty sure that I still have shampoo all in my hair. I was just gonna mention that to you. My my so this is so funny.

Doug:
I told Anna we were gonna be talking about this today and she goes, Oh the R V shower she said, Is Brad gonna mention it being a man of his carriage? I w I almost did right there.

Brad:
I will say we did get this funny image this summer of uh if we're like really in a rush. I has anyone ever attempted to take an RV shower while driving down the road? Like someone's driving and you just get in there and you're pretty sure that's illegal.

We haven't it no, I'm sure it is. You're rolling up and down. For whatever reason, my family was cracking up at the mental images of someone just like slamming into the walls and everything else.

Doug:
So I get it. Oh man, you really did. The worst defender is the barely barely there shower.

Is this thing even on? Yes. You know, like sadly, yes.

The water pressure is like so minimal. You may like fall asleep halfway through the shower. First world problems, but man, it did feel good getting home to our shower.

Are you ready for me to turn a corner, Brad? People are tuning in like I'm so excited we listened to this.

Brad:
One of the things that I love is that attached to this little the I I don't know if this is exactly the corner you're gonna turn, but attached to that shower is also a living room. Uh that I I you go outside and there's our living room And that is w my favorite spot to be, uh, because we get to see outside the window of that RV. We get to see the on Eagles Wings team every summer do some amazing things. God worked through them in some incredible ways. Some of the bravest, boldest rescuers.

Doug:
that I know the front row seats. So I'm very grateful.

Brad:
Absolutely. It is such an amazing thing to see. It's not always the same. God doesn't work the same, but he always works through this team and I love that.

Doug:
You're right, man. It's I uh Brad is there for the whole summer. Anna and I are around for um about half of it this year.

And miracles everywhere. Starting with the the these young warriors themselves that are sharing their hope stories. So it's all worth it to be part of seeing so many Native American friends become first time believers in Christ.

As the On Eagles Wings team goes from community to community and shares what we call their hope stories, their testimonies, telling folks with a lot of the same life experiences that they've had the difference Jesus has made in their lives. And I want to be clear.

Brad:
These are because w w as as you heard in the intro part there, we're going to be talking about the importance of this, but the I not just for native young people, but for all of us. But I want to be clear that these are young people who have never done this before in a lot of cases. They come be part of the OEW Hope team and it's not like they're not professional evangelists.

They're not getting paid to do this. They're not going to school for it. To be able to make a difference for our people.

And so they're like, the way we're gonna do that is we know we've got these hope stories that can make a difference.

Doug:
There's really nothing more important than these native warriors for Christ could be doing with their time and and they prove that, that they believe that. In uh they they could be spending their life uh their summer Sitting on a couch playing video games. But um really if you think about it, there's nothing more important any of us can be doing with our time.

Representing, sharing the hope of Jesus, specifically the gospel with the people In kind of you know, so so Native Americans or Native American friends have tribes and so do we in a way. Uh these are the people in our sphere of life, of influence that God has trusted us with. Um Maybe, maybe um you're a coach or maybe you're in the PTA or um maybe you're a student, but we've all a golf player, but we've all got our tribes.

Um, I mean let's let's be clear here. And we're we're excited today because we're gonna be sharing a conversation Brad had that is amazing here. But let's be clear.

You live where you live on purpose, you work where you work on purpose. In Acts 17, it says, From one man God made all the nations that they should inhabit the whole earth, and get this be marked out their appointed times in history. So your whole life is on purpose God has surrounded you with the people he has on purpose and with purpose that you might be their lifeline to eternal life.

I think the first time I read those scriptures in Romans 10, you know, about sharing your faith, otherwise known as the Great Commission, it's one of those verses where like, does this really have to be in there? How will people know about Jesus if no one tells them. Well yeah.

Uh hello. Isn't that obvious? But apparently not obvious enough because the New Testament is full of Reminders.

If someone is going to come to know Jesus, it's going to be through us, God's people. And there it is The title of this episode, The Most Important Decision All Believers Will Make, and there it is. Will I join Jesus on this great rescue mission he has invited me on?

That's the most important decision.

Brad:
Yeah, to be clear, the our most important decision is following Jesus, but as you just said, Doug, for a follow of Christ, the most important decision. Am I going to then share this with others? And and I think that's it it's so challenging at times because we uh it's something we're fearful of.

It's something we feel we can't do. It's something it all the reasons uh let me just summarize it this way. All the reasons to not do it are roadblocks that the devil throws in our way to try to get us uh keep us from doing it because he knows the power of a changed life.

He knows the power of someone saying, I've been where you're at I was hopeless. I needed help. And the only rescuer that came that could help me is Jesus.

He's terrified.

Doug:
He's terrified of a believer that really gets The power of Jesus in a life and that person tapping into that resurrection power and saying, I've got the courage I need when I ask the Lord for it. Like you said, brother, it's that second part. Um will I uh not only live the gospel but open my mouth to share it.

It's that second part that can be the hardest. But at the right time we've gotta actually open our mouths and explain the gospel. I love the way Dad puts it.

You know that there was there was there's a saying that I get what they mean, but it sometimes bothers me in the wrong context. Where it says, preach the gospel at all times, if necessary, use words. But you gotta use words.

Uh dad the way dad or they r uh our uh dad Ron puts it, he said i i about eventually having to open your mouth. Joe is such a great guy. Jesus must have died on the cross for my sins.

People don't jump to that. And you you have to tell 'em why you have the difference in your life. So we're gonna get to in just a moment here, we're gonna get to this Wonderful conversation Brad has with a gentleman named Don Sunshine.

This has be he makes one Initial decision of obedience and wait till you hear all that God has done. But yeah, go ahead.

Brad:
Yeah, the I think um one of the uh things that you'll hear in uh this interview and we'll will uh include a a resource we have as well that um you can get a hold of uh directly as well. But is related to uh first of all the power of someone willing to just invest some time in someone else. So in this case, you'll hear it's our dad who was just spending time with uh Don Sunshine through a unique circumstance.

And it wasn't a long time they had together, but it was an impactful time because as we pray, we we talk to people about the three open prayer. Lord Open a door, right, open my heart. No, open their heart and open my mouth.

Yeah, that's it. And and so uh we There was this opportunity for my dad just to share, not I Don knew the Lord and loved the Lord at this time, but you'll hear kind of the where this led. Because someone's willing to take the time to invest in someone else.

For me, I can tell you from personal experience, I can't remember if I've shared this on the podcast before a while back, but I the one of the things that's so important is for people to know that they can say the right things, that they're prepared in advance with some of the things to share. I know the importance of that back from when I was about seven years old. And I had my friend Charlie, won't go into the last name.

I Charlie um who uh had come over to play at our house and uh we were playing with the Dukes of Hazard cars of course. Um You wouldn't have been a good friend otherwise. Oh of course.

And uh and so I had uh I gave my heart to the Lord when I was six, and obviously I was a very trained evangelist by the time I was seven. Most seven year olds are. And I We're playing there and I just said, Charlie, before you head home today, I just had something that I wanted to share with you.

I said there's um there's heaven with Jesus and there's hell. And I would love to see you in heaven and right now I think you're going to hell. Oh no. It's it's just awful.

And you still remember it. I've try to look Charlie up.

Doug:
I really have.

Brad:
Oh man. To just be like, man, I so sorry. And and I didn't know what I should say in that way.

Yeah. It's such a great example. I will say he didn't come over again.

Doug:
And I was so his parents are like, what did you and Brad talk about?

Brad:
I mean so so it is That's important. So you're gonna hear in this interview, uh, we're ready to go to it, right?

Doug:
So you're gonna hear in this interview here just um some of

Brad:
Some tips and ways you can find out even about uh how you can share more about your story in a practical way.

Doug:
I'm excited about this conversation. Uh real quick, looking at some recent Barna research here. Pretty terrifying trends, especially if you're a lost person searching for hope that only Jesus can bring.

Get this. Thirty-one percent of evangelical Christians, only thirty-one percent, one in three. believe sharing the gospel is essential to the Christian faith.

Even believe it's essential. Wow. Much less are doing it.

Wow. Evangelical? The word?

Evangel I mean and and even a smaller percentage know how to share that faith when they were asked. So believers are missing one, if not the most vital parts of being a Christ follower. a lot of the time just from fear.

That's why I'm so excited about this conversation Brad had with Don Sunshine. Great name by the way. I love Don's name.

It it really fits with the kind of guy he is. You're gonna hear one decision of obedience And he's seen it snowball into something huge where many thousands have heard and received the gospel. Wait till you hear his story.

You can do it too. Let's listen.

Brad:
All right. So Don, welcome to Go Mad. How are you doing today?

I'm blessed. How about you? I'm doing really well.

I I we noticed. It's kind of funny because uh you can't see him in the uh in the shot right now, but uh Billy Graham is uh a Billy Graham bobblehead that someone gave us. Is staring over my shoulder.

So I need to make sure I behave today. Uh um I uh let's start off with this, Dod, so our listeners get to know you a little bit. What is one of your favorite things to do in your free time?

Don:
Uh I'm an avid motorcycle rider and I do motorcycle ministry as well. But uh anytime I get a nice warm day and there's less chance of rain, I'm I'm less interested in riding in the rain today than I used to be. But that's pretty cool.

Brad:
What kind do you have a favorite that you like to ride?

Don:
I have uh a two thousand eighteen Indian Chieftain Elite.

Brad:
Very nice. Fun. All right.

My wife I my wife doesn't trust me, I think, on motorcycles. I don't trust me on motorcycles. So there's I get it Well Don, I I you know, I know I've heard the story.

I know that uh you and my dad connected in kind of an interesting way, but tell us how was your first connection with Ron Hutchcraft. Where where did you guys first get connected?

Don:
Well I was in New Jersey and I was aspiring to be a police officer and I got saved a premarital counseling. And I wanted to tell everybody about my faith in Christ. And I heard about this haunted house thing that was happening down in on the Passaic River.

And I started working with teenage guys in a program called Christian Service Brigade, which is kind of like Christian Boy Scouts. I was an Eagle Scout. And I was taking van loads of kids down to the haunted house so they could go through the haunted house and then hear a gospel presentation in the back of a tractor trailer.

And so I was exposed to your dad that way. And then I ended up becoming a police officer on a SWAT team. And long story, I ended up getting hurt and left police work and ended up getting into computers in 1980.

And I uh was reconnected with your dad when he wanted to buy the very first computer for his ministry in Pompton Plains, New Jersey.

Brad:
Oh my goodness, wow.

Don:
So I sold him his very first computer uh for the ministry. and hadn't heard from him or talked to him in years since then, uh, but then reconnected in two thousand four at a place called the Family Life Network up in Bath, New York. He was being brought I was the youth action director there.

I'd been working with teens for thirty years. And he was brought in to speak at a pastor's appreciation luncheon. And he had requested an escort slash bodyguard.

And being I was the only one in the ministry with a police background, I was tapped to do it. And so after spending three days together and watching me do what I do, he said, Why aren't you teaching people to do what you're what you're doing? I see you doing this every day.

You got cool stories. And I said, Well Ron, I I said, I I can't have people follow me around every day And he says, yeah, but you have presentation skills and you need a starting point. Take my book, A Life That Matters, Build a Training, Don't Keep It To Yourself.

Brad:
And it's exploded from there Wow. It's interesting you tell the story because the uh over and over we have heard when people have been kind of the Security, bodyguard, whatever for my dad. They are i i it's just a music tune because they're directly impacted.

They uh and I love that because uh people just that's the Uh you know, you didn't mention my dad's book, A Life That Matters. That's what he's living. He is living that out, and uh it's not just a book he wrote on a topic, but it is his heartbeat.

It's uh you know, we talk about the origins of go mad a lot on uh this program. And it's when my dad used to yell that out the door to us when we were going off to school growing up. He would yell it out to all three kids, Go mad, go make a difference today.

But he has lived that and so whether it is someone that is just that is waiting tables at a restaurant If it is a well now Uber driver. I was gonna say cab driver, but I guess it's Uber driver now. Um or if it is someone that's doing security, he always wants to make sure that he is living that out, that he's living as an ambassador

Doug:
For Christ.

Brad:
And that's really that's part of your heartbeat. What are some of the greatest challenges? One or two of the greatest challenges you see for Christ ambassadors in today's world?

Don:
Well, I I think everybody struggles with fear. And and I did the same thing. I remember I was working with teenage guys in Christian service brigade, leading a lot of teenage guys to faith in Christ and discipling them.

And back in 2000, a man came to my church. Don't remember his name. Don't remember what passage of scripture he spoke on, all I know is when I stood up, I was a different person because the Holy Spirit had convicted me and said, you're doing great things with teenage guys.

What about everybody else I bring into your life? And so I made a commitment to Christ before I left that church that I'd start to share my faith every day as a lifestyle, and I had no idea how to do it. I didn't know anyone who was doing it.

I didn't have anyone to disciple me. So I learned through the school of hard knocks how to do it. And I had the same fears everybody else does.

And I had to learn how to overcome those fears through reading scripture and applying that to my life. And figuring out that carrying some good accurate written literature with me to share with someone helped with probably 80% of the fear. And that's what everybody struggles with.

I mean, I you know, we I've done over 800 trainings so far. We've equipped oh Wow.

Brad:
Well and I think that's part of I I you hit the nail on the head. Fear is so huge. I remember back to when I was in elementary school and first uh had this relationship with Jesus, even then it was like, well How do I say this?

How do what are the right words? Everything else? It's one of the reasons I love that uh my dad and my brother Doug did your hope story, uh the small group curriculum.

And um it is i it helps People know that not just they can do it, but it gives them a how as well. It's it doesn't have to be that complicated. Right.

So what are you doing specifically to try to help people overcome that fear. You mentioned the training and everything. What are some of the things that you do when you've got them in the room together?

Don:
Well, basically I teach 'em how to recognize the opportunities that God gives us every day as a Christ follower Uh then secondly, how do you turn the conversation from whatever it is God connect you with that person about to what he wants you to talk about? How do you identify and deal with the fears that stop you and beat them? And lastly, what do I do and say when the door opens? It's pretty simple.

Brad:
Man, that is so good. The uh um uh when you look at W the results. What are you hearing back from people? So you you're training them on these things, but what are you hearing back as far as the practical uh impact that it's having on folks?

Don:
It's uh i it's amazing. I mean having trained so many people, uh I get lots and lots. In fact we just completed an event last weekend and got lots of emails from people how it impacts them immediately.

I mean people leave the training and even share the gospel on the way home. And it it turns a mundane go-to-church, check the box, everyday life into the greatest adventure on planet Earth. And you can't wait.

You get sometimes you lay in bed at night and think, I can't believe what God let me be a part of today. I can't wait to see what I'm gonna get to be a part of tomorrow. And that's, I think, what God designed the Christian life to be, but very, very few followers of Christ get to experience that in their own personal lives.

Brad:
Yeah, I I like that you point that out because uh as ambassadors, we should be viewing life as an adventure. Yes. We w it shouldn't just be I survived another day.

I uh I made it through. Now I get there are those days where it's just kind of a man, I survived. But most of the days we should be looking at getting out of bed and saying, Lord, what do you have for me today?

And Who do you have me to talk with? I uh uh a friend of ours, I don't know if you've read the book, uh Looking for the One, but it's uh David MacIver and I I love that perspective too because it really goes hand in hand with what you're saying there is As we go through our days, we should be looking at who is the one that God has for me to bring some hope to today. And No, not every conversation's gonna be long enough that you get to get to the complete gospel, but are you helping build a bridge so that whether you get to follow up or the next person share something with them.

I it's it should be a domino effect where we know that even if we're just getting to the tip of the iceberg as it gets to Jesus. What about that next believer? If we're all doing our part, then that next follow of Christ, the next ambassador is going to come along.

And man, that it just starts knocking this over and the dominoes start to fall for that individual.

Don:
Well, it I I I find great joy in looking back at divine appointments and seeing what God had to do to connect me with that person. I mean there I have some crazy, crazy stories of just wazy connected with people you can't even explain. And it's just it's fun.

I mean it's fun to look back and say, okay, Lord, I see your hand in this. I saw what you did here and how it led down to this path. to meet this person.

I get to share with them, plant the gospel seed in their hearts so the Holy Spirit can use it and cause growth.

Brad:
Let me ask you this. So if someone is listening to this or watching this and saying, Man, I would love to know more. I I would love to because We hear that all the time.

When people hear the simplicity of it and realize that, man, they're not having to sign up for a six month course uh or anything. You can Do this training with them. What uh what are ways that they could find out more about w what that would look like?

Don:
Well, our website is dawnsunshine. org. It's D-O-N-S-U-N. S-h-in-e. org.

Training is called Make a Difference, which is what your dad had given me way back when when I built this. And uh there's plenty of information out there. All we ask is travel expenses and a level offering.

It's pretty painless. We've been all over the country doing this and uh it's it's just it's so exciting. I can't I never plan on retiring.

I'm 72 years old. I'm gonna keep doing this as long as it keeps me healthy because it's having such a huge impact on the kingdom. And I just want to equip people to get to experience what I get to experience every day.

Brad:
I'm sure you've heard this before, Don, but uh my dad refers to retiring as retire. You put on a new set of tires so that you can keep going faster and further until the Lord calls your home. So I like that.

Not uh not necessarily retiring, but keeping going and I love that. Um so I have to ask because uh name in and of itself, Don Sunshine, I mean that's gotta draw people in right there. They m they you must get questions Is that the real name?

But it is your real name.

Don:
Well, interesting, because that's the very first thing I talk about in my trainings, because everybody's curious. Uh it was a great name when I was in sales, but it was a terrible name when I was a police officer on the SWAT team. I mean Officer Sunshine.

Some people think cartoon character, shame on them. I'm thinking superhero, but that's okay. Uh but it's actually a German word a German word Sonnenshine translated into English to sunshine.

And my gre my grandfather's name was Heim Sonnenshein, kind of hard to say. And when he graduated from Oxford, was coming to the United States, they said, You ought to have an English sounding name. Why don't we translate Heim to Harry?

And does sun and shine mean something in English? He said, Why yeah, if you direct directly translate it, it means sunshine. They said what a cool name, call yourself Harry Sunshine So that's where it came from.

Brad:
That that is good. I the though sales to the law enforcement, that is really funny. Uh I think that's a great place for you to start with folks too.

That's really good. Don, thank you so much for your time and for sharing us some about how you You are being an effective ambassador, but also you are helping others know how they can be an effective ambassador for Christ. It's what we need to be in this world, and you definitely are someone that is seeking to Go mad.

So you guys hear just Don's story. It's filled with not just some practical things, but some hope that anyone can do these things. We it's it's about you said it right before we went into the interview, Doug It's about these steps of obedience.

Doug:
It's about just taking one step at a time, seeing where it leads.

Brad:
If you'd like to know more about Don and having him in for some of what he talked about. Please check out the show notes. You can connect with him directly and and he'll make it very doable to have him come in. Uh and I could tell you from our side of things as well, if you're like, well, I I can I look at something today? Your hope story.

Doug:
com.

Brad:
Your hope story. com. Uh Doug and my dad did a uh just six sessions small group curriculum, but you can watch it just solo on your own.

Doug:
Yeah, many people do.

Brad:
You can watch for free at your hope story dot com. You can uh check it out on right now media as well.

Doug:
Yeah, and uh it's just it's a resource

Brad:
that you can learn, hey, the importance of your story, but also how to share your story. So reach out to Don Sunshine, check out your hope story. com. And we believe those are some tools that will help you be more confident and more ready to just next time the opportunity comes, man, the door's open. There I'm gonna open up my mouth and share my story.

Doug:
That's it, man. Don Don was a uh police officer. Yeah.

And and and which is awesome. He's serving in that way. The Lord says, hey Don, let me let me Ask something to do something, he obeys.

And just to see the power of one life impacted, what if all of God's people That really love the Lord, got passionate about sharing the hope they have with their lost friends, their lost family members um your hope story. com. Go check it out.

Let us know what you think. And in the meantime, you know what we really hope you will do with your life. What is that?

Go mad. Yeah, yeah.