Dangerous Faith
Dangerous Faith is a ministry that strives to light a fire inside of Everyday Christians to live radically for Christ so that we can glorify God by advancing His Kingdom.
Dangerous Faith
111: Have You Planned Your Funeral?
Nate Williams and the Team plan their funerals. How would you plan yours?
Welcome to the Dangerous Faith Podcast. My name is Nate Williams. With me, we have Blake, Justin, Zeke and Mariah, and we are talking about planning our own funerals. Oftentimes, if you are on the younger side, you may not have thought too much about it, but it's a good exercise really to think about. All right, one day God is going to call us home, Jesus is going to call us home, and what kind of legacy do we want to leave? And oftentimes that's what's talked about at a funeral your legacy, the impact you had on others and, obviously for us as Christians, our service to the Lord. And so we're going to open it up. We're going to talk about funerals. Mariah texted in the group chat. She said she has some. What was it? Hot takes on funerals.
Speaker 1:So we're going to get to Mariah in just a moment. But okay, quick, quickly here, we don't have to stay too long on this. Have y'all ever thought of your funerals before? Yes or no? Yes, blake and Justin say yes, zeke, have you thought about your funeral?
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Mariah.
Speaker 2:Not really.
Speaker 1:Not really Okay. You just have this zest for life. You can't imagine leaving the earth and seeing what's next. But okay, when you think about your funeral, what are some of your thoughts? Like what goes on in your mind, justin.
Speaker 4:I'm going to be honest with you personally. For me I don't think I'd do something real traditional. I'd probably do what they did for my brother and my grandmother. It's more just a celebration of life.
Speaker 1:So celebration of life and okay, With that I take the tone, We'll get to the vibes. I guess you could say vibes of your funeral. With that it's more positive.
Speaker 4:Was that correct? It's a pretty kicking vibe that we got going on Kicking vibe.
Speaker 1:Even if the person isn't kicking.
Speaker 4:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:Everyone else is kicking yeah, all right.
Speaker 4:They're kicking it.
Speaker 1:So, celebration of life, positive, encouraging and all the rest of it, what about y'all? What vibes are you going for the thing?
Speaker 3:that gets me. Whenever Justin says something and he realizes how dumb it was, was not the thing he said, but his no.
Speaker 2:He has this face of disappointment. He does do that. Yeah, why did I?
Speaker 3:say that he's like ah man. Sorry what was the?
Speaker 1:question what kind of, I guess, emotion are we going for? What was the question? What kind of, I guess emotion are we going for? Traditionally, it would be mourning and sadness and oh, you lost a loved one, so everyone is downcast. But then, more recently, you have celebration of life, where it's more positive. What are you?
Speaker 3:thinking about for yours. Well, when I'm watching it happen from heaven, I'm going to have it in my will ahead of time that only those who attend the wedding are a part of my will.
Speaker 2:The wedding.
Speaker 3:Sorry. Well, the wedding of the bride and the groom, sorry. Whoever attends the funeral will be the only ones in my will, so really they better be mourning and very upset.
Speaker 1:Zeke wants everyone mourning and upset so that they'll be in the world.
Speaker 3:Honestly though I'm, as Christians, I I mean it should be like a somewhat of a celebration. Like you're, more, I get your morning. Like I'm upset when people pass away because I don't I don't get to see them for a long time, but I mean I don't want people to just sit there and mourn the whole time. I hope that they're excited to see me again one day. So I hope there's like a a sense of you know, joy that I'm in a far better place than I was before, and then to like, hopefully I would want to work with whoever's going to be officiating. That's not the right word.
Speaker 1:I still think of weddings, a funeral. What do you?
Speaker 3:call it the person who the?
Speaker 1:the person who gives the eulogy.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that guy. Yeah Well, whenever that guy does it me and him are going to talk ahead of time I want him to make perfectly clear about the gospel and all that and how I'm not upset that I'm gone and hopefully everyone else there can have the same thing if they want it.
Speaker 1:Mariah, what vibes are we going for? I agree with some of that.
Speaker 3:What vibes are?
Speaker 1:we going for, I agree with some of that.
Speaker 2:I think whoever's leading it, like he was kind of saying, should even share the gospel during this time, just so I don't know that's open for everybody and kind of clear, like he was saying. But also definitely think I want it to be also, since it is a celebration of my life, like all my favorite foods and like all my favorite music will be playing and like maybe even outside, like not even inside in a stuffy place, like outside or like at the beach or something and very like I don't know. Yeah, like happy, like as Christians it should be kind of happy. I mean, obviously, if you're younger in age, it is, I'd say, drastically different than being older in age and um, passing away, but again, as a christian it's pretty similar I'm not dead set on this, but I can't stand the smell of funeral homes.
Speaker 3:I don't know if it's because you have to smell that way for the body stuff you know.
Speaker 1:There is a funeral smell, yes, but all the funeral home.
Speaker 3:Flowers smell like that. Is it from the funeral home or is it from the flowers? There are a lot of chemicals in the bodies. Well, can we do it outside so we don't have to smell it?
Speaker 1:Zeke wants an outside funeral.
Speaker 4:So here's my problem with funeral at the beach. Okay, I would be terrified that a seagulls would come and eat my body.
Speaker 1:You're dead.
Speaker 4:I can still see it from heaven. Am I looking down at the glassy floor? I can see right through. Show me a picture where you see that?
Speaker 3:It's in Second Hesitations.
Speaker 4:Yes, there you go.
Speaker 1:Chapter five Blake, what are you going for? What would you like for your funeral in terms of mood?
Speaker 3:Probably a comedy show. Comedy show All the highlights from Blake's life and this guy's a real stiff. Pretty much. I'd probably hire a professional puppeteer stream me up like a marionette doll Wow.
Speaker 4:Reignite weekend at Bernie's dude. I talked about this last time. All right.
Speaker 1:Do we think we're going to go for some crowd surfing? Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 3:It depends on how I died. If I got absolutely obliterated by a train, I don't think there's going to be any crowd surfing, are we?
Speaker 1:going to go candy bowl in the casket to where it's like you have the body. Hold a bowl of candy Gosh.
Speaker 3:I've never heard about that.
Speaker 1:That's hilarious. All right, y'all go get you something.
Speaker 3:I would. I guess I'd also want to be kind of the funeral itself or the stuff like that. I wouldn't want to be super long. Like I said, at the end of the day I would want to be to where the funeral sessions itself doesn't last that long, but people are required to go meet up afterwards and have fun and do celebrate, you know, life and whatnot they don't just sit there and mourn the whole time.
Speaker 4:Um, so one thing it'd have to be my, my homie right here, blake, but whenever I die, I'm gonna be cremated why are you going first? Okay, let me explain. But after everybody's gone home, I just want somebody to use my phone and just send a text saying hey, thank you for coming. Man, really appreciate it.
Speaker 1:There's a lot of trippy things you could do with that.
Speaker 2:All right.
Speaker 1:So okay, so you mentioned that, let's talk about that. You said cremation. Is there any particular reason why? And then I'm going to ask y'all cremation or more natural death?
Speaker 4:I'm going to be genuinely honest with you. It's just cheaper and I don't want to leave my family or whoever's dealing with this stuff afterwards with a huge inconvenience with cost.
Speaker 3:So if I offered to pay for your funeral ahead of time, you would be okay with having a regular.
Speaker 4:Ashes.
Speaker 3:I will be ashes.
Speaker 4:But is there a reason other than money? Okay, so here's another thing as well. Blake's gonna do this as well. After I'm gone, he's gonna go to the Nesquik factory empty out one of the containers and dump my ashes in.
Speaker 3:We have talked about this before.
Speaker 4:We have talked about this before. This is real. We have talked about this before.
Speaker 3:Some kids are going to be mortally horrified or they're just going to be like wow.
Speaker 4:This is good this is good. Normally it tastes like garbage, but this tastes great. This tastes great. And why am I milk gray All?
Speaker 1:right, I'm milk gray. Anyone else plan on being cremated?
Speaker 2:No, I would be open to it because, yeah, you could spread your ashes Like me. It would probably be a national park or something Like one of my favorite places I've been to. It's biohazard.
Speaker 1:Okay, so you see more of the travel element. Maybe you go to a loved one and say I would love to be placed here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, okay.
Speaker 1:And that's true, that is a cremation option.
Speaker 3:Do people who get cremated still have a tombstone somewhere?
Speaker 1:I think you can.
Speaker 4:I can answer that. So my grandfather and my step-grandmother. While not a tombstone, there's kind of this thing you can buy. It's a little mausoleum, you put their stuff in a wall together and it's got this kind of granite plaque in front of it Interesting.
Speaker 1:And a short answer as well If you're willing to pay, you can get more out. I mean, there's that.
Speaker 3:Chloe's answer to all this is going to be she's going to donate her body of science so that she can be in an anatomy lab whenever. Me no, not happening, Not doing it. That's weird.
Speaker 1:Now that is something, justin, you brought up Funerals are expensive, so just be aware of that. When it comes down to the latter days of our life, to help your family out. That is a cost. You can go to a funeral home and set up all those details and help your family out with that. Roll Tide, Roll Tide as Blake says.
Speaker 3:So what's your answer to all this? How do you want to be? What's the vibes? Are you getting cremated Traditionally?
Speaker 1:Christians have been against cremation. I don't hold there to be any theological significance to that. You know, oh, if you're cremated you can't come back from the dead in the last days or for eternity. I think that's silly, but traditionally Christians have been against cremation. I don't plan on being cremated. I think more of a natural funeral, I guess you could say natural burial but, again if you go cremation, totally fine you know, uh, let's see.
Speaker 1:So that's spoken, that's for me, the, the vibes I would go for is a balance. Living people need to think often about death. It's healthy as long as you do it the right way. Teach us to number our days. We are mortal people and sometimes we forget that we think we're going to live forever. It's good to consider and think about death, but then the celebration comes in. This is the balance. The celebration comes in. As Christians, we don't fear death. So, yes, there is mourning we lose someone we love but also it's celebrating because we will see that person again. So the vibe I would go for is balanced. Some mourning is healthy and good. It's grieving, there's a healing process, but then also gospel presentation, hope and joy and the coming of Christ. I'm all about it.
Speaker 3:Assuming that you don't't die suddenly, like unexpectedly, if you know you're getting to your later years of life, would you consider writing a message for those who attend the funeral to be read?
Speaker 1:I don't think so for me.
Speaker 3:Okay, is there a reason?
Speaker 1:No, because ultimately, for individuals that say my children or my friends or my whoever in my life I hope I've said what I've needed to say to them while I was living Okay, to where like y'all know I love you and I care about you and you know my family knows I love them. To where ultimately it's like okay, y'all know those things, I'm okay with it. But next up, song selection. Now Zeke was looking up some songs for funerals. It's up to him whether he wants to share. Are there any songs that come to mind that you were like? I would love for this to be sung at my funeral.
Speaker 1:Justin, justin was about to answer Go ahead, homie, I got one.
Speaker 4:Blake, You're going to make fun of me if I say what I say.
Speaker 3:Go ahead.
Speaker 4:Okay, there's a finale song in Les Mis. That's where they sing, as all the soldiers are kind of welcoming him into heaven.
Speaker 1:Yes, is that that song?
Speaker 4:But it takes that song that they sang earlier and flips it from a more heavenly perspective like come be with the angels come be with God. That is fast. I love that song.
Speaker 1:I cannot hear that song at the end, Blake can't knock it until he actually comes up with a good answer himself. So, Justin, good for you you.
Speaker 4:Yeah, he's giving this smirk, is giving this smirk like, but do we actually have a better answer?
Speaker 1:are we okay? What, what is?
Speaker 3:it one last breath by creed, one last breath by creed uh zeke.
Speaker 1:You were looking up good funeral songs. Do you remember any of them?
Speaker 3:somebody that I used to know highway to hell, but that one might not be appropriate for mine. Well, maybe it could be, because it's like, hey, he said, if you don't listen to the gospel message, this is going to be your funeral song.
Speaker 1:So there, you go Highway to Hell. All right, mariah, any songs pop out to you that you're like, I would love for this one.
Speaker 2:I don't know, I was trying to think of a specific song. I think I would just make a favorites playlist and all my favorite songs throughout my life would play. So it would just be a lot of different genres and things and just like songs that oh, that's samurai, like yeah I think for me, I love the old fighting, the old rugged Hopping a Gila is another great one After.
Speaker 1:Kung Fu Fighting. Yes, that would be first. After that, I like the old rugged cross. I like Amazing Grace is phenomenal, but I know also it's common. But it's common because it's great Amazing Grace, old rugged cross, and probably, how Great Thou Art.
Speaker 4:Love those songs.
Speaker 1:Those are so basic, Blake again until you're ready to offer us something of substance we can hate on others. But okay, now what about scripture passage? So oftentimes a eulogy for a Christian is based around some passage in the Bible. Does anything come to mind that you're like? I really like this passage. Maybe it's a favorite verse or a favorite story, anything that we would like to be part of our eulogy.
Speaker 3:I know for a fact mine's probably going to be completely different whenever it actually happens, but since it's in case, it's on the record because I need it now, this is all on the record, y'all. That way in the record, because I need it now, the record y'all that way, in case it happens soon and I don't have time to change it.
Speaker 1:You can have some, but I mean, to live is christ, uh, and to die is gain. So that's pretty good one, um, philippians, one that's awesome, okay. To live is christ, to die is gain. Phenomenal passage, uh. Anyone else? Stories, parables, verses we like.
Speaker 3:I see your he's reading the whole Bible real quick to see which one he likes the most.
Speaker 4:We're way past it, so it doesn't matter.
Speaker 1:Okay, what.
Speaker 3:He was probably going to read music lyrics to his song.
Speaker 4:Yes for that song.
Speaker 3:So I can show you what it is All right, Blake, what's your Bible?
Speaker 1:verse.
Speaker 4:Any Bible verses. I really haven't thought about this part of it.
Speaker 1:The thing that was in our text to prepare for today.
Speaker 3:I thought about the song, the song I spent a lot of time on.
Speaker 1:I can tell I'm so busy with everything else.
Speaker 3:I've got like a million scriptures in my head.
Speaker 1:Wow, I got like a million scriptures in my head. Just one will do.
Speaker 3:Aren't there a million Dude? In all honesty, probably.
Speaker 2:Now that I'm thinking about it.
Speaker 3:I would probably do something out of Ecclesiastes.
Speaker 1:Ecclesiastes. The classic for funerals is chapter three. You know a time for this and a time for that and phenomenal for funerals. Mariah anything come to mind that jumps out to you.
Speaker 2:I mean I was going to say maybe like some sort of like okay, the prodigal son story, because you're returning home, to your home, like you're coming home.
Speaker 4:Prodigal son. Yeah, I do like that, that's a good suggestion.
Speaker 1:Let's see, Justin, before I go. Anything on your end Are you about to cry?
Speaker 4:Well, reading that stuff, it tears me up.
Speaker 1:That's an important topic.
Speaker 4:I don't know, Obviously you've got like. Psalm 23 is a good one. It's basic. I don't know.
Speaker 1:Until, we offer substantive things After that.
Speaker 3:It's going to be followed by John 3.16. And then we're going to listen to. Sorry, go ahead Go off it might.
Speaker 2:Justin, I think you're offering substance.
Speaker 1:I wish the people around you would offer substance.
Speaker 4:I don't know if it necessarily fits. It would just be for me because it really was a verse that really touched me would just be for me because it really was a verse that really touched me, and Ezekiel talking about the valley of the dead dry bones, yes Valley of dry bones.
Speaker 3:Thanks, zeke, appreciate that. Great job writing that.
Speaker 1:I know, let's see On my end I'm trying to run through different verses, different passages. I love when Jesus talks about how come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, I will give you rest For us, ultimately, our rest is in Christ, and so just beautiful resting in Him and what he's done for us, and so I love that from Matthew 11. But yeah, I think, until I have something else, that would probably be my go-to Maybe like one of the verses on New Heaven, new Earth, of like looking forward to.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, that'd be good, Because it's really easy to think of funerals as like the end of someone's life. But, as Christians. It's really just the beginning of true life.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 4:What's that, Blake? Would you not get somebody to read the Dragon Scroll?
Speaker 1:When they opened the Dragon Scroll, it was just a mirror image that showed you.
Speaker 4:Exactly Because you are the dragon warrior.
Speaker 3:We are all the dragon warriors, can you get up close to the microphone?
Speaker 1:Sorry, All right Now. Who would we like Now? This can change if we don't pass away for decades and decades, so this answer could change. But if you died today, is there anyone in mind that you are are like? I would love for this person to do the eulogy at my funeral.
Speaker 3:The eulogy is like just speaking on our life and stuff like that people do it different ways.
Speaker 1:Sometimes people split it up. They have the I remember zeke is, whatever the personal part is someone and then, like the sermon is someone else, other people, they'll. They'll merge those things where they'll take a passage and they'll weave parts of your life through the passage.
Speaker 4:So all right, so Justin. So I would do it a little different. I would have, let's just say, his name kind of sounds like Wathan Williams.
Speaker 1:Wathan Williams. He's in the room, do the sermon.
Speaker 4:Hey shush, hey shush, I'm talking. Okay, papa's talking. Look at papa, look at papa like look at papa yeah, look at papa, say I'm sorry, papa, sorry, sorry, good, good, okay. But I would. I would have nate sort of give, like the, the lesson that comes with the funeral I thought you said, and the eulogy would be led by take bleacher not doing, your eulogy would be led by take bleach row Not doing your eulogy.
Speaker 1:I mean, it would basically be like Like you'd have to honor his wishes.
Speaker 4:Yeah, why wouldn't you? Or when I get to heaven, I'm going to be standing right by the gate waiting for you, like hey, peter, I don't know about this guy.
Speaker 3:I don't know about this guy. I don't know about this guy. This guy's crazy. I can't do your eulogy why I won't be here to do it. What if he dies tomorrow?
Speaker 1:This is the whole thing If we died today.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 4:If we all died today, then nobody's doing our eulogy, gosh. Yeah, they just go forget about it. If you died today, Forget about it, okay.
Speaker 1:All right, justin Blake, who would you have in mind? Who would you like to probably?
Speaker 4:Steven Seagal, steven Seagal just like you said about Brandon Lee, he was a great guy. He was a good guy, yeah just for that reason, if you reach out and he's unavailable.
Speaker 1:Who else? Bill Cosby, alright.
Speaker 2:Blake with some bangers today, Mariah your thoughts on Mine are more, I don't know, serious or accurate.
Speaker 1:Probably my sister More substantive. Yes, we're going for that right now.
Speaker 2:My sister or my childhood best friend, or probably both of them. Actually. They have different viewpoints on, I think.
Speaker 1:So sister or best friend, Zeke, what about you?
Speaker 3:Jerry Root. Oh, if it was today, I wish. But no See, that's the thing you have to pick someone who knows you well. Otherwise it's just awkward. So, nate, I guess oh gross. I'm trying to think of someone else. I trust me, like if I. I don't think Chloe would be able to do it.
Speaker 4:Chloe would not be good at giving a eulogy, zeke. I could give part of your eulogy right now. I could say it.
Speaker 1:You're not gonna kill him.
Speaker 3:Yeah, why do you want to give it?
Speaker 4:so bad give it so bad, just just. I want to do it right now. I have never met a better man than zeke with his 20 pack abs and his biceps that could crush coke cans right between them when he flexed.
Speaker 3:You know, I think that's it yeah, I think I'm gonna stick with nate um, you know the best of the worst really. No, I I think for a good eulogyogy it works better if the person knows the other person really well and you know, if you weren't in the position you're in, I'd probably split up and find a pastor to do the other.
Speaker 1:But since you're already in ministry, you can do both there we go yeah, Now do you know who Chloe would want to do hers If you had to guess?
Speaker 3:She would probably pick one of her girlfriends me, you or her pastor.
Speaker 1:There we go there we go. All right, I think these are the good things. What about you, oh man?
Speaker 3:Actually, I would give my own eulogy and have it be read out by ChatGPT.
Speaker 1:I would record my voice beforehand and then play it at my funeral.
Speaker 4:That'd be kind of cool. You were so good, you were such a great pastor.
Speaker 3:You were the best guy. You were the best little guy.
Speaker 2:You're so strong.
Speaker 3:Would it be Ben Shapiro? You're just so strong, I would invite Ben Shapiro.
Speaker 1:I think for me, if it was breaking it up between someone talking about my life personally, probably go with you, and then the person to do let's say that the sermon would probably be my senior pastor. See how we all did that Senior pastor. There we go.
Speaker 2:But, okay.
Speaker 1:Next and last question question, unless y'all want to talk about something else uh, graveside service after the main funeral, yes or no?
Speaker 3:heck, no, just put me in the ground.
Speaker 1:Blake says no so main funeral then he's done. Um, then do y'all want like people go into where you're actually buried and then having the graveside Justin?
Speaker 4:Instead of a graveside service, could I have like A gravy train? Yes, that too, but also have a service in the Nesquik factory, as my ashes are being poured into the container.
Speaker 3:Well, yeah, this is irrelevant to Justin.
Speaker 1:He's getting cremated so there's no graveside for him, no graveside. There is a way. That's true. Zeke graveside for him, no graveside. There is a wake.
Speaker 3:That's true, zeke graveside after I would make it optional in the sense of, like family's probably going to be there because they want to be, but once the rest, everyone else who just showed up to support the family, they're good to go. Afterwards they can go meet them at the recession. Yes.
Speaker 2:Can you not have the funeral right there Then?
Speaker 1:some people. The other option is to only have a graveside, so that's what you're talking about, where the one service is at the graveside.
Speaker 3:Actually, I may change my mind. I like that because I said I wanted to be outside so that I don't have to smell the funeral home, so I may just choose to do that.
Speaker 1:So Zeke and Mariah just want the graveside as the funeral service, I think, for me. I like, zeke, your original answer. I think that's what I'd go with have a larger funeral. People who want to support the family, they can do that, and then the graveside will be for family and close friends, the people who actually want to be there. I like that as well. All right, y'all. Before we sign off anything funeral related, I'm going to send this to all your family members, by the way, go for it.
Speaker 1:Until you write something else. These are your wishes. Yes, Go for it. Blake, your family will probably wish you had different answers, but didn't give them much to go on today.
Speaker 2:That's okay, he does normally. I know something we didn't bring up. What's that? What are we going to wear? What are you going to be wearing?
Speaker 4:Oh naked.
Speaker 3:Justin, nothing, I will be wearing ashes.
Speaker 4:So if you could just kind of stuff my ashes in a cute top, You'll be wearing a Nesquik, oh yeah.
Speaker 1:Mariah, I can tell this matters a lot to you. What would you like to wear?
Speaker 2:I would definitely. I don't know, probably one of my favorite outfits, or maybe even something extravagant.
Speaker 3:But how do we know what that is? Yeah, you can't just say it.
Speaker 2:We're not in your head.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, that's true. Chloe could probably pick it out.
Speaker 2:Yeah, y'all should maybe know by me You'd be like, oh okay.
Speaker 3:So we're going to dress you up like a 1970s girl. Chloe, I'll go.
Speaker 1:Yes, I called you Chloe. Because you mentioned Chloe, mariah, I'm going to go to Instagram and we'll be like all right, this is what Mariah wore, this is what she wants. Would that be accurate?
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:And I guess for us like a suit. Does that typically?
Speaker 3:I don't care, I want to be dressed up as the. Burger King mascot.
Speaker 4:Dude, that would make the funeral scary. No, it wouldn't. The Burger King is scary, boo-boo.
Speaker 1:No he's not. You can't do that, he can't blink.
Speaker 4:Yes, he can.
Speaker 1:All right.
Speaker 4:Neither can I. I'm dead, your eyes are closed.
Speaker 1:Nah Tweedle the and Tweedle them. Do y'all want to finish the episode?
Speaker 2:We are finishing the episode. He really interrupted us.
Speaker 4:Yeah, excuse me. Yeah, whatever, dude, but yeah, so anyways, burger King is scary Nathan's going to be dressed up as like the Kung Fu Panda. That he's dressed up as that every day. It's every day of my life. Everybody was Kung Fu fighting and it was fast as lightning. I'm not going to keep going, bye-bye.
Speaker 3:That's a good way to end it. Could you imagine that Nate Dyson used to hear Thank you.
Speaker 2:Bye.