HeavenEarth Conversations: Rural Roots and Real Faith: Joey Ott’s Journey to Finding Community at Heaven Earth Church

Dr. Brad Miller

Brad Miller, the co host of the podcast along with our pastor, Ross Stackhouse. But in this, what we like to do here on this podcast is to talk to people. We're part of the church as we share the mission of the church, which is to have a lasting impact in our community and to get to know the folks part of the church and to share a little bit of what got them to Heaven Earth Church, what keeps them here, and then what are some great opportunities for people to check it out, the church. So our guest today, we're glad to have him with us, is Joey Ott. So, Joey, welcome to our conversation.

Joey Ott:

Thank you.

Dr. Brad Miller:

Well, awesome. Well, Joey, let's, hey, let's just find a little bit about you. What's, what's hometown for you. Where are you from?

Joey Ott:

Grew up in Cordon, Indiana. It's the first state capital of Indiana. It is very south. Some people call Columbus, Indiana south. I don't think Columbus is south. Cordon is about 20 minutes outside of Louisville, Kentucky.

Dr. Brad Miller:

Yeah. Well, tell me something cool about Cordon. You mentioned first state capital, but I mean about your experience here either growing up there, were you at the school, church life, anything along the line that was kind of special to you?

Joey Ott:

It's, I mean, really, I see myself as a farm boy because it is a rural county. Cordon isn't a big town at all. I actually didn't go to Cordon High School. I went to the North Harrison High School. It's the northern part of the county. And again, it's pretty rural and I really had to drive about 10 to 15 minutes anywhere I wanted to go. But really, I think it's just special to me because, like, I just still feel like I'm not a, a city guy or even a suburbs guy, even though I live in the suburbs. But, you know, where exactly we live, we still have a little space around us.

Joey Ott:

It doesn't feel so suburb suburban, I guess. But No, I just feel like that really shaped of like how I see myself as just kind of more of a rural kind of farm boy. Even though I'm not. I don't have a.

Dr. Brad Miller:

So. Well, that. That's awesome. And one. One quick fun fact about me is I went to the North Harrison prom when I was in high school. I'll have to. That's a story for another day, my friend.

Joey Ott:

We probably didn't go the same one.

Dr. Brad Miller:

No, no, no. I'm way ahead of you, my friend. Way ahead of you. But I familiar with. With that area. My parents lived in that area for a while. But we're getting to know you. Tell me a little bit about and growing up and maybe about going to school or career.

Dr. Brad Miller:

How did all that happen for you?

Joey Ott:

e and graduate high school in: 1996

Joey Ott:

So then I'm just like, okay, pre med sounded cool. So I was on a pre med track. They don't have a pre med major. But then I started looking around and some of my fellow friends that were also on the pre med track and they're maybe putting a little bit extra work in that I might not have been. I didn't make bad grades, but they're putting in a lot of work and. And so. But played football at Hanover and got a chemistry degree and had no idea what a chemist did. Hanover is not a research institution.

Joey Ott:

Didn't get a lot of guidance of like, hey, this is what you can do with a chemistry degree. So, so I went to graduate school because I'm like, what else am I going to do? And went to the University of Louisville. Go Cards. Big win against Miami on Friday.

Dr. Brad Miller:

Yeah. Yeah.

Joey Ott:

got on at Eli Lillian Co. In: 2004

Dr. Brad Miller:

Awesome. Awesome. And then several along the line. You, your wife's Amanda. Tell us a little bit how that came about.

Joey Ott:

Yep. So she's a couple years younger than I am. She was actually a friend of my brothers. And then I think my junior year we had some. She and I had some friends who were dating and whatever. And so we kind of met through, through them and. And I think one day someone just asked like, hey, do you want to like, go out with her? And I'm like, sure, you want to go with him? She's like, sure enough. That's how it started.

Joey Ott:

So we were high school sweethearts and then she followed me to Hanover and then followed me again to Louisville. But no, we've been together for a really long time and we've had our ups and downs, but we've really kind of grown together. And no, it's just, she's like, she's my best friend, so.

Dr. Brad Miller:

And then you tell a little bit about your family. You got some kids?

Joey Ott:

Yep. So I've got three kids. Adam is a second year college student. He's 19. Ava is a senior in high school, is a tough quiz. She is still 17. And then my youngest is a freshman, Julianne, she's 15 and freshman.

Dr. Brad Miller:

And I know you're quite an active family in athletics and other endeavors and that you're involved with. So you're. Yep.

Joey Ott:

So I mean, sports taught me a lot as a kid. And I mean, I. You don't really realize it as a kid until you get older. You're like. Sports really taught me a lot. Working with difficult people, difficult teammates, difficult coaches, people who have that authority over you. Like sometimes you just gotta like, figure it out or just deal with it. And so I'm really happy to see my kids compete.

Joey Ott:

It's one of our fun things to do is just watch your kids do your thing. Do their thing. None of them did anything, any sport that I played, but that's okay. I learned a lot about soccer, cross country and track. And then Julian is a pretty good diver. So there you go.

Dr. Brad Miller:

That's awesome. That's awesome. Tell me a little bit about joy, about your church life or religious life of anything along that line. And growing up in any formation, either in church, out of church. Just give me a Little background that way. Sure.

Joey Ott:

So my parents were Catholic. We went to church every Sunday. My mom was pretty active in youth group while me and my two brothers were growing up. You know, did all the. The church picnic, annual church picnic, any kind of dinners. Mom was always there helping out. Excuse me. My.

Joey Ott:

My grandparents were also very involved. That'd be. Dad's parents went to that same church and. But really nothing really clicked until about high school. I went on this retreat and it just made me. It wasn't like the coolest thing ever, but like, it just made me start thinking about God and Jesus in a different way. And so that. I think that's kind of when I opened my eyes a little bit.

Joey Ott:

But then, you know, just through college and grad school and then, you know, adult life, I think just, I just philosophically I thought more about it and like, what does it all mean? And then, I mean, I don't know. It's just. There's no real one big aha moment.

Dr. Brad Miller:

You didn't have the lightning bolt moment. It was more of an emerging kind of a thing. Is that a fair way to put it?

Joey Ott:

Emerging is a good word.

Dr. Brad Miller:

Yeah. And a lot of people when they're growing up have different experiences both outside of the church and inside the church or different. Different being exposed to different religious backgrounds. That's kind of thing.

Joey Ott:

Yeah.

Dr. Brad Miller:

Anything along that line just stand out to you?

Joey Ott:

Yeah, I think. And so no big lightning bolt moments. But there are several things that, you know, that I did. Now my memory's kicking in. But even, even as a. In high school I went to. We didn't really have a big youth group at my church, but when Amanda and I got more serious, I started hanging around a little bit more. They had a youth group at their church, United Methodist Church.

Joey Ott:

And a lot of my friends were there because it was a church close to the high school. So I knew a lot of people. So just, you know, up there, there's one person there that had. Did a little tenure there as a youth minister that also talked about like praying and, and more like, like just how to pray. And also just like actions and behaviors, like his parents UK and like his parents would welcome anyone into their house. Like if anyone needed a bed, like, no questions asked, like, just so. Just again, like more of a service and action kind of thing. Like, so that's one thing.

Joey Ott:

And then a couple mission trips. They'd always go on a, an annual mission trip. I went on a couple of those. It's all parts of the country are just like I have it pretty good. Like, yeah, I didn't have it real good as a kid but like, like I had it, I still have it pretty good.

Dr. Brad Miller:

Gave you something to contrast your experience.

Joey Ott:

With a nice, you know, stable family, a bed to sleep in every night. So it just gave me appreciation of like how, you know, how good I actually have it. And so. And then this is a long answer to your short question.

Dr. Brad Miller:

That's all right.

Joey Ott:

It's a journey, right?

Dr. Brad Miller:

It is a journey, yes.

Joey Ott:

So then we moved up to Franklin and then met. I'm so bad with names. Tom from Mission Guatemala. Tom.

Dr. Brad Miller:

Oh, Tom Heaton. Yes, yes. So good friend of mine. Yes.

Joey Ott:

Yep. So we knew a lot of same people and then went to Mission Guatemala once.

Dr. Brad Miller:

Oh you did, you went, you went to Mission Guatemala yourself?

Joey Ott:

Yes, Loved it. Went, went again and maybe more even one more time, I think.

Dr. Brad Miller:

Yeah.

Joey Ott:

But just getting away from the US like not that doesn't mean anything but just getting out of the country, I.

Dr. Brad Miller:

Think it means a lot when you get your get. See a third world situation.

Joey Ott:

Well, it just, it's, it was very unfamiliar. Right. So like wherever you are in the US it's going to feel kind of familiar but like if you put yourself in a place that's you're, you're the one that's different. Right. On, on many levels then you just kind of see again just kind of appreciate a lot of different things. And, and there to me it was like they don't, they have a really good approach I think. And it's just like we're just going to show up and we're just going to do things and love them.

Dr. Brad Miller:

Right? Yeah.

Joey Ott:

And not just do things because we think they need it. It's do. Let's like establish a relationship. Yeah. See what they need or what they think they need and then provide that.

Dr. Brad Miller:

Yeah. And therefore the. Just for a little bit of context for people maybe checking this out. Mission Guatemala is a faith based mission project and the person we're talking about here is the person who founded that and Tom Heaton. And it has not only do with faith based stuff but you know, they do agricultural stuff and, and medical and dental and other things as well. And a lot of people had great experiences doing that and so really glad to hear that, Joy. But you're part of that experience. Let's kind of then transition now to your connections that you made here and your faith based community here.

Dr. Brad Miller:

You live in Franklin as you mentioned. And so how did you first kind of become of aware at all of heaven Earth Church or how did this get on your radar at all?

Joey Ott:

Yeah, so we went to United Methodist Church in Franklin for a long time, and then Ross, I'm not sure what the right term was, was he started showing up because I think he was like an apprentice maybe. I don't know. You know, I don't know the right word. But so then he actually, you know.

Dr. Brad Miller:

Franklin, I guess, was one of the sponsoring churches of this church plant. And so there was a relationship with the staff.

Joey Ott:

So. So we just met Ross there and, you know, he. He kind of conjured up some of those, like, not the big lightning bolt, aha moments, but some of those kind of pivotal points that I just described. Just kind of like, this is his message, and his messages are very simple. And it all just like, it all has to line up to Jesus and. Right. So it's so simple, but it's so complex. And so we kind of like hung around and then really Covid hit, and so no one went anywhere.

Joey Ott:

Heaven Earth Church had. So we knew it existed. We've heard about it a little bit, and then maybe even knew a couple people who were coming. But then they were one of the first few that were actually like streaming service. And so that's what we did. And then we just kind of got hooked when. When people came out of their homes after Covid, we'd started coming here.

Dr. Brad Miller:

Well, give me some sense of your first impressions. You gave first impressions kind of Pastor Ross Stackhouse and the online version during COVID which was a crazy time for all of us. At that time, I was still active in ministry, and that was a crazy period of time for me as a pastor. But give me some first impressions. When you actually came, you know, into an in person experience about, you know, you and your wife and kids and others, what were some of your impressions that you had?

Joey Ott:

I mean, for me, I'll speak for myself. For me, it's just. It seemed very familiar. I don't know why. It's a much different kind of church than what I've usually accustomed to. But. But familiar is probably not the best word. It's more like welcoming.

Joey Ott:

You know, I didn't feel. I feel like I can show up just as myself. And there are a lot of other people who appeared to be the same way. And like today I'm in gym shorts and a pullover, and I can wear that if I want to. I barely did anything to my hair.

Dr. Brad Miller:

You mean nobody stops you at the door for your. For your.

Joey Ott:

No. Or sometimes I might dress a little bit. And like, you know, so just kind of come as you are. So that's. That was the first thing. But then everyone just seems just very genuine. Right. So what I just described kind of falls under that genuine umbrella, you know, and then all.

Joey Ott:

A lot of the messages that come every Sunday just kind of like, everything just ladders up to that.

Dr. Brad Miller:

Right.

Joey Ott:

Like, it's okay to, you know, just don't be a fake. You know, a fake Christian. You know, if someone asks, how's it going? Oh, pretty good. Well, sometimes it's okay to say, you know, I'm not doing very good.

Dr. Brad Miller:

Yeah.

Joey Ott:

Right. So just that vulnerability.

Dr. Brad Miller:

So you've mentioned ladder up and vulnerability and genuine, authentic. Some of the words you've used here. But was there any kind of moment? Joy was kind of an aha moment or kind of, you know, they used the V8. You know, V8 moment. Do they. To that commercial kind of an aha moment. You kind of said, okay, this is not only something I'm checking out, this is kind of the place where I want to be or I want to invest a little more of my life here.

Joey Ott:

Yeah. I mean, people experience God, Jesus in different ways. Sometimes I just get a feeling, like a fuzzy feeling or something. It doesn't happen all the time, but usually if I feel the Holy Spirit, I just get this feeling. And I think, like, I felt that a lot early on here, and I still do, but it just, like, this is. This is the right place. And, you know, the kids seem to, like, enjoy the messages more. It's very interactive.

Joey Ott:

I do like that. It's not a talking to. It's a talking with.

Dr. Brad Miller:

Yeah.

Joey Ott:

So I like that approach, and I think the kids have responded to that as well. Just makes them think. And even though they might not speak and that's okay, but, you know, it's just that back and forth that it's unique, and it's just like, it's just right. You feel it.

Dr. Brad Miller:

So you had a certain level of comfort with that, a certain level of relating to that in your experience. And one of the things that is said about Heaven Earth Church is that this is one of the models of the church. If you feel like you don't fit in church, you fit here. You think that's true? And if so, how have you maybe observed or experienced that?

Joey Ott:

I think it is definitely true. I think it's. We talk about that, right? And, you know, different sermons, we bring that in. Not. Not all the time, but, like, it's hard. It's funny using the word sermon, because it's not. It doesn't feel like a sermon.

Dr. Brad Miller:

Right, right.

Joey Ott:

It's a. It's a conversation that's. I think that's the word Ross uses.

Dr. Brad Miller:

Generally, the lingo we use around here is not sermon. It's more of a message or conversation.

Joey Ott:

Right. And so now I forgot the question. Sorry.

Dr. Brad Miller:

Well, the. One of the models of church, if you feel like you don't fit in church, you will fit in here. And so I'm always curious to see if people really feel like that's true and if so, how have you experienced that?

Joey Ott:

So, yes, I mean, we do talk about that in our conversations every Sunday. And really, you know, I think it is. Right. Like, even any denomination across the spectrum, even in the United Methodist Church, people can get, like, you know, scarred as a strong word, but, like, just kind of get not a right. Not the right kind of feeling.

Dr. Brad Miller:

Yeah.

Joey Ott:

And so they get jaded with Christianity and. And again, like, just the openness and the genuineness of the conversations. Like. Like it's okay to talk about that and acknowledge it and not. And not pretend that everything's okay. And so, so, I mean, we. We. We have.

Joey Ott:

I mean, like, we just talk about it. And so it's just like, it is welcoming. And no matter where you come from, you don't have to be at church at all.

Dr. Brad Miller:

Yeah.

Joey Ott:

And then, I mean, from the people I've talked to or talked with in the church, like, we. We do come very eclectic backgrounds.

Dr. Brad Miller:

Yeah, it's quite a pretty. Pretty good diversity among the congregation, among people from different religious backgrounds. No religious background. Age diversity is pretty across the spectrum. And then we have people who, you know, people have had some challenges in their life. You know, we, you know, for instance, we have the Wednesday night church. The Wednesday night group that meets. That has to do with abuse and so substance abuse and so on.

Dr. Brad Miller:

Other things that are happening here. And that kind of leads me to. To the next. Part of what I would ask you about is this welcoming you've experienced and that you're part of that. And I see that as well. You and your family are basically a big part of the welcoming of others to heaven or church. One of the things we all say here, it's right, the mission statement of the church says something effective. We exist to make a lasting impact in our community.

Dr. Brad Miller:

So I guess I ask you that one, Joey. How do you think is that happening? Is heaven, our church, making an impact in our community? And if so, how have you seen that playing out?

Joey Ott:

Yeah, I think there's a couple Things one is just having the recovery church, I think, is. I mean, it's. I mean, just welcoming anybody and, you know, and actually taking steps and taking steps to reach out to community and especially the people in need.

Dr. Brad Miller:

Right.

Joey Ott:

You know, so that's definitely. For one. I know we've also done just a lot of community outreaches. Know, there's a lot of work being done for housing in general. And so I'm not the expert on that, but I know there's a lot going on.

Dr. Brad Miller:

You're aware about partnerships, that the church.

Joey Ott:

Has partnerships, you know, even with.

Dr. Brad Miller:

Serve the needs of the community.

Joey Ott:

Right. Like, even just with, you know, our, you know, legislators, local legislators. Right. So even within the town of Franklin and the county, I know there's a lot of, you know, a lot of work being done in trying to make these partnerships and relationships and getting people to work together and acknowledge that we do have a housing challenge in the county and broader. So, yeah, I mean, I think, you know, we're. There's bound to be a lot more that I'm not aware of, but those two big things are pretty. Make it pretty obvious that we're. We're.

Joey Ott:

We're trying.

Dr. Brad Miller:

So in that. In that line of thinking here, Joey, how. How have you observed, you know, you've been around here for a few years now, five years or so, and I know you've seen the church kind of evolve and. And things of that nature. Tell me how you may have seen that. Tell me of observation you may have made about someone else where you. You have to give me names or that kind of stuff, but just any observations you've made about it. Have you seen people that you think have been really welcomed here, that have been made? You mentioned people being hurt or being, you know, in a bad place.

Dr. Brad Miller:

Have you seen that happening? And can you kind of.

Joey Ott:

Yeah.

Dr. Brad Miller:

Share anything about that line?

Joey Ott:

I mean, people often share, like, you know, we do the recovery church. And I think. I mean, I believe we have people who've had addiction, you know, challenges, and they. They talk about it pretty openly. And, you know, it just seems like, you know, if we can, you know, not that we help them, but, like, we help each other. Right. Some people chime in and, like, I learn from them as much as they learn from me. And like, I do think we.

Joey Ott:

This church, by including everybody, like, the fundamental thing is, like, we all shared, like, the belief in Christ or the pursuit of Christ. Right.

Dr. Brad Miller:

And that line of thing. Have you seen any kind of what we might call a God moment or kind of A moment that is kind of maybe put a little lump in your throat or just a good feeling. You thought, this is just awesome. This is cool.

Joey Ott:

Yeah, I mean, actually I get that probably at least once a month and I get that fuzzy feeling like, this is just right. I mean, when, when Ross, like, Ross is pretty passionate. Right?

Dr. Brad Miller:

Right.

Joey Ott:

A lot of times, like today he got passionate and you can see it like he's on fire. And like, it's hard to not feel it when, when somebody. Not. It's not always Ross, but somebody is just like. Like, this is. This is real, y'. All.

Dr. Brad Miller:

Right.

Joey Ott:

Like, and so I'm getting a feeling right now. But I mean, just today I felt it.

Dr. Brad Miller:

Yeah.

Joey Ott:

Like, I thought he was gonna cry. Like, he was so intense. It might have been, I don't know, but. But just sometimes, sometimes he's just like, listen here. And. And like, you can tell it's. I mean, it's him speaking, but I wonder if it's not really him speaking. It's somebody speaking through.

Dr. Brad Miller:

Yeah, but some cool God. I. I like to call those God moments or, you know, sometimes googly googlies or just something that just wells up within you that makes you feel some emotion that, you know, God's in this thing. And I like to hear that from our Heaven Earth Church folks here because it has to do with the real life things that people go through. People go through, whether it's substance abuse or problems at work or health issues or relationship things, everybody goes through something. And so how we deal with it and how the church can be helpful in that process and to really bring God into that place where maybe the people have not had a good experience of God, either in their family or in a church experience, something like that, maybe there could be something to be done for healing and hope to take place over hurtfulness and things of that nature that people may have experienced. And so that kind of goes to my next question for you, Joey. And that is in your world, in your life, what I mean by that may be coworkers or people you hang around with, with your kids, sports teams, or things that you're involved with.

Dr. Brad Miller:

You, you know, you rub shoulders with people, you have life with them. And so if in sharing life together, sometimes people share what's going on with their life, you know, problems of one sort or another or. And maybe struggling if somebody came to you, Joey, and said, joey, I'm just kind of dealing with something here. Whatever it is, it's a job related or relationship related or, you know, problems parenting, any number of those things and said, you got any good words for me? Would a part of a conversation you might have with the person, would you be open or would you see the possibility of inviting them to heaven or church as a part of a response to their need? Do you think there's ways here that the church could help respond to people's needs that you would be comfortable inviting people to?

Joey Ott:

Yeah, I mean it wouldn't be like maybe my first, wouldn't be my first offer in, in the first conversation. Right. So I mean, I think number one, and we talked a little bit today, in today's conversation is, is like how do you, what do you do in your kind of the way I took it, it's like, what do you do in your daily life to. And I'm going to use, I'm going to steal. I think it's John Maxwell. He has a, he's an inspirational leader and faith based and add, add value to people. So like look for ways to add value to people, be intentional in adding value to people and just like. So I try to do that at work or wherever, but like number one, just you know, establish that relationship with them.

Joey Ott:

Like just first just listen because a lot of times just people want just to get something off their chest and it'll actually make them feel better. So. But then, you know, hey, let's look back and I. A day or two or a week or whatever and, or I'll be intentional and loop back, say hey, how you doing? Or whatever. But yeah, I would definitely, at the right time is. There's no equation for that or algorithm. But at the right time you'd be like, hey, how about you just come, come to church with me or something on this coming Sunday.

Dr. Brad Miller:

Part of my getting. There's nothing here that would hold you back. Nothing to have to hold you back from that invitation. What you're sharing here is just the logical building, you know, a trust of a relationship first. And inviting somebody to church can be a big step.

Joey Ott:

Right. Well. And you know, with all the Christianity going on out there, it's just like, oh, you just need some God. That's all you need. So that's just a lot of stuff.

Dr. Brad Miller:

And I think what you've shared here is this has to do with authenticity, genuine relationship with Christ and with one another and, and being friendly, being good people. So I guess I'll just bring her out of this. We'll kind of close the conversation here in the next minute or two here. Joey, let's just say someone's kind of checking out Heaven, Earth Church, either through your relationship or maybe through what you're sharing here on this podcast and video. So what kind of things would you share with them about why heaven or church might be a place to at least check out? What kind of things would you share with them?

Joey Ott:

I mean, I'll circle back to the beginning is what I find here is just that level of comfort. And you should be yourself. Like, you don't have to be anybody. You don't have to wear a suit. You can wear a suit if you want. You don't have to just come as you are, and you don't even have to. There's a lot of people who will speak to you if you want to speak to them. If you just want to hide out in the back, you can hide out in the back.

Joey Ott:

There are no expectations to show up. You know, no one's gonna ask you to do something right away or anything, but it's just very welcoming. And I think that is. I mean, that's just the first step in anything. Just like I said, like, just establish a relationship. So just come check us out, see what we're about. There's no judgment. There's no, you know, just.

Joey Ott:

Just come as you are.

Dr. Brad Miller:

Come as you are. Yeah, I love the way you said that. In a way, you also, you. You mentioned a couple of themes here. Come as you are and kind of that latter experience, if you will. You. One step at a time, kind of one rung at a time. But I love that what you've shared here today, Joey.

Dr. Brad Miller:

Well, just thank you for being. Being with us, or. His name is Joey Ott, part of the Heaven Earth Church community and part of one of the great people that you can get to know here. If you're thinking. Thinking about checking out Heaven Earth Church. Indeed, Heaven Earth Church is a church that exists to make a lasting impact in our community. And I think we do believe it's a place where even if you feel like you don't fit church, you can. You can fit in here.

Dr. Brad Miller:

So this is part of what we do here at the Heaven Earth Church podcast. It's a vehicle to help people to understand more what Heaven Earth Church is all about. I'm Brad Miller, and our pastor is Ross Stackhouse. You can always check us out at our website, heavenearthchurch.org close.