In The Middle Of It
We’re all living stories that aren’t finished yet, and this podcast picks up right in the middle of some really interesting journeys. Whether it’s navigating adulthood, the Christian life, marriage, a music career, grief, healing, or parenting, this podcast hosts conversations for everyone to find themselves a part of. Tune in every other week to find new episodes full of great conversation, laughter, vulnerability, and more!
In The Middle Of It
Mike Weaver of Big Daddy Weave
Host Hannah Kerr sits down with her friend Mike Weaver, lead vocalist of Big Daddy Weave, and shares lots of laughs while also having a raw and honest discussion about navigating grief while maintaining faith, and how to find purpose when your prayers aren't answered the way you hoped.
I don't think I was mad at God. I tried that before, I think, and I just found out that it doesn't really get you anywhere, and so we changed the question that we were asking as a family not so much about like why God, as much as like you know well, god, what is it that you're doing now?
Hannah Kerr:Hey guys, welcome to In the Middle of it. I'm your host, hannah Kerr. Today we have a super special guest. He is one of my heroes and they say not to meet your heroes, but I'm so glad that I not only met Mike Weaver, but I know him. We've been on tour together for two years and he's just a dear, dear friend to me and to Jason. So please welcome. The living legend from Big Daddy Weave, mike Weaver.
Mike Weaver:That's incredible. Hey, that's like the best intro I ever got. I think that's like I don't know if I can live up to that through the.
Hannah Kerr:You already have lived up to it. It's amazing. That's unbelievable.
Mike Weaver:When somebody says you're a legend, that really just means you're getting old. No, that's not true. That's awesome.
Hannah Kerr:No, I think we do need to settle once and for all know what I mean? That's awesome. No, I think we do need to settle once and for all, though, that your name is Mike and it's not Big Daddy, because I feel like being out on the road with you. It's just like everyone's like hey, big Daddy, and you're like, you're so sweet.
Mike Weaver:For the last better than 20 years we have tried to convince people of that. You know, Big Daddy was not really a person, it was the group or whatever, but they're just kind of like nope Darlene, that's Big Daddy right there, and so we just whatever you know, at some point we just changed our mind. We said well, you know if I?
Hannah Kerr:they're like are you Big Daddy Weave? And I'm like well, that depends. Does that make you want to buy a CD more? If I am, it's like well then, nice to meet you, bd, we get your name Big Daddy. Weave. You're like okay, here we go again. Yeah, we're just like a picture's worth a thousand words, oh it's so funny, though, that it was Big Daddy Weave and the institution. I love that, but then you dropped the institution.
Mike Weaver:Yeah, we scrambled at the end because the label wasn't liking any of it really, and so we're like well, you come up with a better name. And the list of names they gave us I won't even repeat here. You know what. I mean it's like, and so we were like well, it is kind of confusing the institution or whatever. All right, we'll just be big daddy weave, and so ladies and gentlemen, the moral of the story is be careful. What you call your group, that's it.
Hannah Kerr:Say a prayer before you name it.
Mike Weaver:Say a prayer.
Hannah Kerr:No, it's perfect because you've had the name for 25 years now. You guys have been a band.
Mike Weaver:We just last week celebrated 26 years 26 years. I can't even believe that.
Hannah Kerr:Your band is like a full-grown adult that has a mortgage. You know what I mean. It's crazy.
Mike Weaver:You definitely understand the mortgage part. It's coming every month.
Hannah Kerr:I love it. It's amazing, okay, well, thank you for being on this podcast. I'm so excited.
Mike Weaver:Listen, it is my honor and as much as I mean. Gosh, you just honored me, but we love you so much, me and the rest of Big Daddy Weave Thank you. And I'm telling you so. We have been on the road together five different tours. Crazy I'm telling you, I've just seen the kindness of the Lord in you. I've just seen the man you grow in the Lord so much. You and Jason, both we just love you like you're our family. And so when you were like I'm starting a podcast and I was kind of like dude, I want to be on it.
Mike Weaver:That was so sweet.
Hannah Kerr:And I don't want to be on any podcast. That's so kind.
Mike Weaver:But this is so awesome, man. I love the look of it, I love the feel of it, I love the theme, I love in the middle, I love all of that, thank you.
Hannah Kerr:That's really kind. Okay, well, I want to start us with a game, a little icebreaker. I'm sure everyone watching this probably knows you, knows who you are, but I want them to know you even better. Okay, okay, we're going to play love it, hate it, or if you feel kind of neutral in the middle of it. You see what we did there.
Mike Weaver:Okay, yeah, okay.
Hannah Kerr:And no explanation necessary, but if you feel led to give one feel free to explain yourself, okay. We're starting off easy, Mike Chick-fil-A waffle fries Love it. Love it. Yes, do you have a preference versus like the, the crunchy waffley ones, or like the end of the potato potato?
Mike Weaver:Well, I will say this my daughter Naomi actually so she eats all has a diet based almost exclusively on chick-fil-A waffle fries, and so she. But when she comes to the end of them, you know, um, then she's like daddy, this one's for you. You know, and so I give you I get those the most, but I love all of them. I'm an equal opportunity waffle fry eater.
Hannah Kerr:I love it. That's great. Jason likes the end of the waffle fry, I like the crunchy ones, so we're like a perfect pair you know what I mean?
Mike Weaver:It is that's perfect. You guys were made for each other.
Hannah Kerr:We were made for each other, and that's just another reason to add to the list Star Wars. Oh, love it. I knew that about you. I was just throwing that in there for you when I was one year old, star Wars came out right. Wow.
Mike Weaver:And so my dad. So this is back in drive-in movie theater days or whatever, and my dad said that literally he pulled up to the drive-in movie theater, the movie starts, my mom instantly falls asleep and I'm standing in between them on the front seat and he said my one year old hand was on his shoulder and I watched unflinchingly the entire movie and I've been a lifelong fan, ever since.
Hannah Kerr:It just had you from that first moment it did you had me from like this.
Mike Weaver:Yeah, that was, that was excellent, thank you I feel like we both just did our best work. So good.
Hannah Kerr:OK, next heavy metal music.
Mike Weaver:Love it. You do, I do. I didn't know that about you, I mean as a singer of a Christian AC group or whatever.
Hannah Kerr:I know I'm like Big Daddy Weave is so similar to that.
Mike Weaver:Yeah, not very much but I love it. But I actually love all kinds of music, a really good version of whatever that genre is yep, I love.
Hannah Kerr:It okay, good to know. Pineapple on pizza pineapple.
Mike Weaver:Pineapple on pizza. It's in. I'm in the middle in the okay, because I don't know that I would order it, but I've also like, I really love sushi also and so I would I've ordered pineapple in sushi, okay. So like I think that you know I I'm okay with that. I've wound up in some places where it's like all they have is the pineapple kind and I ate it and I was like that that's not too bad.
Hannah Kerr:It's not too bad. We just had pizza together recently with our, with our families and we didn't have pineapple on any of those pizzas None of those pizzas. So that's what made me think of it. I was like maybe he's a hater.
Mike Weaver:Yeah, and I was not. I was not hating, it's great. What do you think about pineapple?
Hannah Kerr:I love it. It's one of my favorite toppings.
Mike Weaver:I should have ordered. That was my bad. No, that was my bad.
Hannah Kerr:I do not discriminate on toppings. In general I like all of them.
Mike Weaver:We would have had pineapple on a gluten-free crust pizza. Yeah, on a gluten-free crust.
Hannah Kerr:I love it. Okay, good to know. Okay, next pickleball, pickleball, love it yeah. Not very good at it, me either it is not a strength of mine in the lord, but I do enjoy it. I do like it. Dude jason rules at pickleball.
Mike Weaver:He rules at it, it's he and my son elok could kind of have a good match, I think.
Hannah Kerr:So it's like yeah, we, we can watch and drink our route 44 sonic drinks and just watch. That's exactly right. That's right. That's an important thing to have while you're playing pickleball.
Mike Weaver:Yeah, route 44, route 44 size.
Hannah Kerr:Oh, you say route. Is that the right way to say?
Mike Weaver:it. You're probably saying it right.
Hannah Kerr:Oh, I have no idea what's in your route 44? Like, what do you get from Sonic?
Mike Weaver:Man, I would get something zero. You know what I mean. So either water or Coke zero or some kind of you know it's got zero.
Hannah Kerr:I love it. That's great Okay. Next is Crocs.
Mike Weaver:Crocs.
Hannah Kerr:Yes, I love them actually, me too.
Mike Weaver:They. I don't. I don't love how they look, but I love how they feel.
Hannah Kerr:I feel like they understand me. You know what I mean.
Mike Weaver:It's like big daddies have a certain you know, kind of a level of comfort that we are accustomed to, and Crocs are kind of like walking on little clouds or something.
Hannah Kerr:That's right. Do you have any? Do you have Crocs?
Mike Weaver:I have. I have one current pair of Crocs. I usually wear Crocs until they like there's no tread of any kind on the bottom, and then you like go out on a rainy day and do like the Scooby-Doo like thing and like injure yourself and then say to myself, I'm never going to wear Crocs again until I go oh, those look really comfy.
Hannah Kerr:And then do the whole thing again. Do you have any of the little what are they called Gibbets that you put in? Put inside the little holes.
Mike Weaver:I don't, I didn't, I don't have any of that I have a Christmas present for you?
Hannah Kerr:Oh, just get you some gib. Okay, all right, board games, is it really?
Mike Weaver:called gibbets.
Hannah Kerr:I don't know. I said that yesterday. I was like, is it giblets? And then I was like I don't think it's giblets.
Mike Weaver:I don't think so. I think it's gibbets. All right, sorry Board games, board games.
Hannah Kerr:Do you like games?
Mike Weaver:Not so much.
Hannah Kerr:Okay, it's a about that for you. With this game I was like Mike Weaver is going to have a hard time saying he hates anything, because you're just so kind.
Mike Weaver:Because the greatest of these is love. The greatest of these is love.
Hannah Kerr:But you're not hurting the game of life's feelings, so it's okay, that's true.
Mike Weaver:My wife Candice lives to play games Does she. And she's the nicest person ever, until we play games.
Hannah Kerr:You know what I'm saying?
Mike Weaver:She's competitive, she is so competitive, and if she plays games with her sisters she has three other sisters. That is like I have to go to another room, you know what I mean, and so so I don't know, man, I can be coaxed into playing a game, but I'm doing it because I love somebody else.
Hannah Kerr:Okay, it's not a love that comes from you, I got it. Okay, three snow.
Mike Weaver:Yes, well, I love the cold. Okay, snow is problem. I love looking at snow, love it, yes, being in snow. You love being in the middle of snow trapped in snow, not that is not so much.
Hannah Kerr:Yes, okay, okay, yes, yes, yes, I love it and you're you're not from the snowy place, so no, yes, no, no, no love it. Love it Okay, sleeping on a tour bus.
Mike Weaver:Sleeping on a tour bus Love it.
Hannah Kerr:Do you, do you, sleep well on the bus?
Mike Weaver:I sleep like I sleep at home, on the tour bus, oh, that's amazing. I don't know what it is, but if we stop then I don't sleep as well. I sleep when we're moving. The keyboard player for Big Daddy Weave drives the bus for us and he is potentially the greatest driver that we've ever had because he knows what it feels like to be thrown about back there. So he drives amazingly, and so when I get in there I catch up on my sleep on the road it's really good.
Hannah Kerr:That's amazing.
Mike Weaver:I'm happy for you in that way, do you have a rough time?
Hannah Kerr:Yeah, I'm a pretty light sleeper so I struggle on the bus a good bit, but I mean, I feel like I've gotten used to it over the years.
Mike Weaver:How does?
Hannah Kerr:Jason do. He's a perfect sleeper. He sleeps like a baby on the bus.
Mike Weaver:That's awesome. Like a baby.
Hannah Kerr:Like a baby, which I don't know if that's a really good phrase, because babies don't sleep much.
Mike Weaver:It's true. They're waking up every few hours. He sleeps like a husband. You know what I mean. Like, just not a care in the world. So.
Hannah Kerr:I love that for him. He gets great sleep on the road.
Mike Weaver:Oh man. So what do you need to compensate for it then? Do you have to take something to try to go to sleep?
Hannah Kerr:I wear earplugs and that helps, and then I really just let myself wake up and just say it's okay to wake up right now, I'm just going to go back to sleep. So I do talk to God a lot on the bus. I'm like, hey God, it's me, hannah Again.
Mike Weaver:Uh please help me to sleep right now, God so the more I overthink it, though, the less I sleep. So yeah, anyways, okay, last one, yep, all right, coffee, coffee. I love it when it's heavily medicated.
Hannah Kerr:Okay.
Mike Weaver:Not medicated, but uh, sweetened yeah.
Hannah Kerr:I that sound bite. Mike Weaver canceled, yeah, canceled when it's heavily medicated.
Mike Weaver:Yeah, when I pour all of that alcohol in my? Yeah, not that at all. Not that at all Alcohol.
Hannah Kerr:Not a big fan. Yeah, hate it, yeah great.
Mike Weaver:Just the taste of it. Not judging anybody, but it's like I'm not the natural born coffee drinker. Yeah, I'm the natural born Kool-Aid Now that is like a natural born Kool-Aid drinker, that's great. So it's like something that tastes like candy.
Hannah Kerr:I can drink that. What's in your mug right now? What are you drinking?
Mike Weaver:This is Body Armor Zero. Okay, because diabetes is real.
Hannah Kerr:Okay, that's like you got to get it together the zero.
Mike Weaver:Yeah, so we keep it on the zero level, but I find that to be a delicious sweet drink to drink.
Hannah Kerr:Just a little treat. So it's great I have water in mine. It's not very exciting.
Mike Weaver:You do.
Hannah Kerr:I thought you would have had coffee in there, Well I actually had coffee earlier today and I did have to cut myself off Because, yeah.
Mike Weaver:What is the most amount of coffee you've ever drank in one day?
Hannah Kerr:I mean not a ton, if I have like two lattes in a day. When you think about that, that's like three shots of espresso in each latte and that is a lot of coffee. But I start to get anxious if I have too much coffee. I already struggle with anxiety. So if you add caffeine too much I start to get a little jittery.
Mike Weaver:Too much, too much yes.
Hannah Kerr:Okay, Well, that was love it hate it in the middle of it.
Mike Weaver:You did great. Thank you, that was awesome, that was so fun. Yeah, thanks for your answers, and I don't even like games. Like I told you, this is great, but it was beautiful. No, I love it.
Hannah Kerr:It's just a little segment, I love it Okay well, let's get into it. This podcast is called In the Middle of.
Mike Weaver:It.
Hannah Kerr:We talk about just being easy to say like I went through this thing and I'm over it now and God's good, and if that's your story, praise the Lord. But I just think a lot of people are in the middle of something that they don't know how it's going to turn out. And um, it's okay to live in that tension and I feel like just being on the road with you and just watching you um be in the middle of it, be in the middle of grief and loss.
Hannah Kerr:And um, and just the way that you've navigated it has been. It's just witnessed to me a lot about what it looks like to love Jesus and to deal with things that are really difficult and to still have your faith in the middle of that. So I'd love to talk about that, just what you're in the middle of right now, and we can just go wherever the Spirit leads.
Mike Weaver:Yeah, you know, my little brother Jay was the hub in the middle of the wheel leads. Yeah, you know, um, uh, my little brother Jay was uh the hub in the middle of the wheel of big daddy. He was the bass player and to watch us from stage you would not know that. It's like he had all of the things come across his plate that he would you know?
Hannah Kerr:Yeah.
Mike Weaver:Um and, but we were best friends and we uh, and you know he's my little brother, but he always sort of functioned like the big brother in a way. Like he was always kind of the hero in a way and man. So we played music together in Big Daddy. We grew up together in on the Gulf Coast of Florida and then I went to the University of Mobile and met the rest of the guys in Big Daddy Weave.
Hannah Kerr:So cool.
Mike Weaver:He never went to school there, but he was always tagging along, you know, and um and so when, when that happened 26 years ago, I mean it was just, it was off to the races and it was the stuff that jay and I had always dreamed about. We love music, we love playing music, we're playing music together, writing music together, like all all of those of those things. Um, and then. So when that happened, that was really his passion. He was, he was a leader in that, for sure.
Mike Weaver:You know, um, man, at some uh kind of a little ways into the group. Uh, big Daddy Weave, you know, uh was just kind of at a, a low point or something, or we were just going through a weird season. We were in the middle of a weird season right, yeah, yeah. And we began to cry out to the Lord and then just sort of make ourselves available to Him in a different way. And then God began to move at the shows in just a significant way. Jay had always been like a really fun guy.
Hannah Kerr:Yeah.
Mike Weaver:But then something really happened in his life too where not just on the bus because he couldn't sleep, but the Lord began to wake him up at like three and 4am in the morning and he would just get these downloads from God and the stuff he would share.
Mike Weaver:I'm like Jay, I know you and I know you couldn't come up with that you know, and so then, man, we just started like there's a shift in the shows when we began to end the shows every night, where we're just like praying for people, and we just began to see God move in the miraculous, and it was incredible. And so for probably about seven years straight, man, we just saw, night after night, god pour out in such a special way. We saw physical sickness healed. We saw emotional you know physical sickness you know healed. We saw emotional damage, you know, be restored, you know. We saw chains of addiction break, you know, and it was on a nightly basis, it was. It became very rare that in some day of our life that we did not hear the testimony of the Lord coming in about what he had done.
Hannah Kerr:Yeah, yeah, it was amazing. When was that? When did that kind of start?
Mike Weaver:So this was, this was probably I'm looking at our manager, jim, right now probably about 2011, 2010 or 2011. Yeah, and and so, um, man, I'm telling you, and then all the things that God was doing began to like fuel the songs that we were writing and fuel the direction that we were heading in, and all of that stuff yeah.
Mike Weaver:And my brother had always had some health issues, but then in the middle of of that season of incredible miracles, those issues began to worsen and he was diabetic and it was kind of this other thing that I never really understood. But it's like when you go to a doctor and then the doctor treats this, but then, this messes this up, and so we're trying to treat this and it's this sort of like chasing your tail kind of like thing that happens or whatever.
Mike Weaver:And we watched my brother go through this and at one point, literally to save his life, doctors had to amputate both of his feet and we didn't know if he could come back from that and be in the group anymore. But he did and he came back out and it was as powerful or more afterwards and before, praying for people every night, seeing God do miracles in the lives of complete strangers, that Jay needed in his own body which. I don't understand to this day.
Hannah Kerr:Honestly, I know it's like how do we live in that tension of when we're praying for something and God does it, but then sometimes he doesn't? You know but I've heard you testify that, jay just His faith was so beautiful in that time of just praying for people, not seeing it in his own body, but seeing miracles happen for someone that he needed.
Mike Weaver:Yeah.
Hannah Kerr:And then never being bitter about it.
Mike Weaver:Yes, that was a different kind of miracle.
Hannah Kerr:Yeah.
Mike Weaver:You know, because there's I mean there's physical miracles, but then there's many other miracles. The greatest miracle of all is something that maybe you don't see on the outside at first. It's the change of our hearts. When Jesus comes to live there, you know, and so, man, when we just thought he had been through so much, we just thought we had him for a lot longer on this planet than we did.
Mike Weaver:At one point, his health got to the point where he couldn't be on the road anymore. That almost killed him by itself, because he lived to go and do that. You know, he just loved every part of it. And so, um, man, at the beginning of uh 2022, january 2nd 2022, I got the most terrible phone call and Jay had gone into the hospital, uh, over over just right after Christmas, and it's like we couldn't hear anything from him and his health had just declined in such a way and actually I heard my little brother on that phone call take his last breath.
Mike Weaver:And when that happened, um, to me, a lot, a lot of stuff just fell apart. Yeah, um, in recent years before that, my dad, who was our hero I mean, he's an incredible man of God went to be with Jesus on Christmas day 2017, in 2021. My mom, who was never really herself again, much after he had passed um, went to be with Jesus in 2021, just right after mother's day and man, and, and then this you know, and then Jay went home and I was kind of like I don't even know if I know who I am you know, without them, you know this little family that I had grown up with was kind of um this, stabilizing you know place in my life you know, and I and I was just, I was just so broken over it, you know.
Hannah Kerr:Yeah, To lose your best friend, your brother. You didn't know, Big Daddy Weaver, the road without him, and he had just, you know, started this legacy of faith and prayer and ministry. And you guys were in it together, you were partners, you know. But, um, I, how, how has it been to be on the road without him? How do you live in that tension of missing him and continuing to do what you know God's called you to do? How do you, how do you do that?
Mike Weaver:It is. When you say tension, that's what it really is for me, cause it took this thing that had been a home to me for so long and then, without him there, when I look around to see it, this thing that I loved without him there, it kind of just hurts. You know, like it's not what it was to me in that way, but I love the kindness of the Lord because he. Let me see the miracles first.
Hannah Kerr:Yeah.
Mike Weaver:And so it's like in my heart it's already established that he is good and he has good in mind for those who love Him and just for humanity in general. But something changed in me because, man, when we would pray for people, we just knew it was going to happen and we would pray like it was already happening. Hebrews talks about that faith is being certain of what we hope for. We would pray in that way. And when Jay passed, specifically, I know that when I would pray, all of a sudden, when I would get to the end, there would. It was almost like I would pull the punch.
Hannah Kerr:You know what I mean.
Mike Weaver:But in the that, uh, I feel like the Lord was revealing to me that the things that I love about the miracles was kind of this thing that wasn't very, uh, healthy. In a way, too, it was like when you see God do so much, there's this thing where you almost start feeling like you kind of got God on a leash. Wow, and, by the way, that's not the case, right. Right you know the sovereignty of God is real. He's God, almighty.
Mike Weaver:There's only one there's only one who is, you know, and it's him and I, you know, I spent a lot of time at first after my, my dad and my mom and Jay passed, really just wanting to know why, and it felt like I was beating my head against a brick wall you know, but then you know, after you exhaust yourself being that I don't think I was mad at God, I've I tried that before, I think, and I just found out that it doesn't really get you anywhere.
Mike Weaver:But when I'm not getting these answers, it's, it's a frustrating thing you know, and so we changed the question that we were asking as a family my little family not so much about like why God, as much as like you know well, god, what is it that you're doing?
Hannah Kerr:now.
Mike Weaver:And I'm telling you, if you're not seeing him heal, you may be seeing him like, just, hold you. You may, just, you may just see him providing in some other way.
Mike Weaver:You know, because he is a multifaceted God and I do believe he's a God who heals and I believe you can pray in confidence, but you can also take your hands off of what happens, because you're not God you know, and just rest in the fact that you know, if you're not seeing it today, then he's not done with it yet and we can trust the fact that he really is good, because we we have seen his heart displayed in other parts of our life. Yeah, yeah.
Hannah Kerr:And I think, something that I've been thinking about a lot just being on the road and seeing miracles and seeing God move is just checking in my own heart that I'm not loving the work of God more than I'm loving God.
Mike Weaver:Oh, my gosh, hannah, you know.
Hannah Kerr:I think it's a tension to be like, okay, I'm seeing this amazing thing, but I love you, God If I never see another thing, if I never you know, I've just been praying through that and just making sure that my heart is for him.
Mike Weaver:It's so good.
Hannah Kerr:Wanting him more than the miracle, and I even think about that, with you losing your family like just your closest people. And what does it look like when that is taken away? And God is your support. God is who you lean on, like you don't have a choice, you know.
Mike Weaver:Yeah, I was left with all these like unanswered questions, yeah, but still he was there, you know, yeah, and I, you know that's incredible to me and what you just described is, I think, what happened in me.
Mike Weaver:The very first night we ever prayed for anybody in the show in the way that we kind of moved into. I was in the bathroom washing my hands before we were going to go out and start the show, and I heard, as clear as a bell, the voice of the Holy Spirit just say there's people out there tonight that can't have children, and you just need to let them know. I haven't forgotten about them. Right and I'm like for real, like in the bathroom you know, like what's the I'm washing my hands?
Hannah Kerr:Yeah, totally, you know.
Mike Weaver:And so we just said that, and there were three of them, and for months after that, as the Lord would give us these little downloads, there would be three of them, but in the beauty of the entire thing was just learning how to hear him and walk with him, you know, then you begin to see the miracles, though, and you're just like, ooh, I want to see you one up that one and I was wondering because you know there's not really a recorded case.
Mike Weaver:I mean, there's a place that said Jesus didn't do many miracles in a certain place, but there's not a recorded case of where Jesus prays for somebody and then nothing happens.
Hannah Kerr:Right.
Mike Weaver:Right, right. And so I was just like well, that's because every time you pray for somebody, somebody is somebody, is just supposed to get healed every time. You know what I mean. But really I think his track record came from this Jesus says this to Philip Philip goes well. Why don't you show us the father and? And? Jesus goes well. Why don't you show us the Father and Jesus?
Hannah Kerr:goes.
Mike Weaver:Philip, if you saw me, you saw the Father, because I don't do anything that the Father's not doing. I only do what I see the Father do. Right, he's only in this intimate place with the Father and he's only operating out of that. And because when you get God, you get everything else, what's the Ben Fuller song right now? It's like if I got Jesus, I got everything.
Hannah Kerr:I got everything I'll ever need. That's the thing.
Mike Weaver:All the miracles come with Jesus, but I'm telling you, you can make a God out of the miracles, and that is not what Jesus wants.
Hannah Kerr:It's so cool to hear about just that season of Big Daddy Weaves ministry just being so rich with the presence of God, with miracles, and how have you seen that legacy that Jay has started? How have you seen that continue even after he's left, even today in Big Daddy Weaves ministry?
Mike Weaver:I think there's a shift in our purpose. There wasn't always this much gray in the beard.
Hannah Kerr:I don't see any. There's like so much.
Mike Weaver:It's like but and you know what I mean it's like at some point we're going to be granddaddy weave here. You know what I mean. But the thing the thing is is that you know we were going out and we were doing this stuff for a long time time, but one of the first places that I really experienced joy again after Jay was here, was honestly seeing you and Jason praying for people. And then it dawned on me, I think my purpose in this whole thing has changed that.
Mike Weaver:My delight is seeing my kids get Jesus in a real way. My son, eli, is down there praying for people every night.
Mike Weaver:And seeing him learn and seeing him learn how to hear from God Again. You're not just going for this event, you want to walk with the Lord. We want to flow with the Lord, like, what are you doing? You know when we began to say it and instead of asking why, we began to ask the question God, what are you doing? All the answers shows up so quickly and usually he's not pointing here, he's pointing somewhere where you, literally you know cause I, where I've found the most sense of healing, uh, is when I'm not thinking about me so much. You know what I mean. Yeah, it just dawns on me that I'm consumed with my own pain or whatever, my own situation.
Hannah Kerr:Yeah.
Mike Weaver:When the Lord is going like. Let me show you how to have joy Like our pastors share, like the acronym of joy. You know, you said Jesus, others and you.
Hannah Kerr:Yeah.
Mike Weaver:Right, pastors share like the acronym of joy. You know, you said jesus, others and you yeah, right, and so that's a and that thing seeing the lord move in you guys, seeing, I mean, you guys grow in the lord man. Hannah, you are one of the most compassionate people I've ever known. Like I, when I see you down and you're ministering to people, I've seen people who are so brokenhearted come straight to you because it's like they can see it on you, you know, and you just literally just hug them into the love of God, into the presence of God. You know, it's so good man and it's amazing that your awesome husband, his, name is Jason.
Mike Weaver:Yeah, because we call my brother Jay or Jay Dog, but his name's Jason.
Hannah Kerr:Yeah.
Mike Weaver:And it means one who heals actually J-Dog, but his name's Jason. And it means one who heals actually. And so when I met Jason, who had also been through significant loss, in his life and recent loss in his life.
Mike Weaver:We kind of bonded over that a little bit. But, man, there was this openness in him to step out into new places in the Lord and he began to pray for people. And so I'll share a story that I've been sharing in the shows because I love it. It's so good, man, you know. So we were in I don't know what the town was, we were in, we were in maybe Nebraska or someplace like that, and Jason was walking through the sanctuary before the show of the little church we were playing at and he sees a man who the Lord puts on his heart. He's watching what the father's doing, right, and he goes and he asked the man. He said, man, is there anything I can pray for you about? And at first the guy is like no, and the guy shares this with us. Later he says, man, I have this thing with my back, but I don't want to tell him because he's like I'm scared.
Mike Weaver:He's going to pray and nothing's going to happen.
Hannah Kerr:Right.
Mike Weaver:And so he denies it as long as he can, but Jason won't let go because he's he's watching the father, right. And so finally the guy says, well, there's this thing with my back. And what the story was is like, however, long before ago the man had fallen off a tall extension ladder, had two bulging discs in his back, was in terrible pain, was actually on the books with a surgeon to have the operation for it and all this stuff. And he's sitting at the show that night in pain but doesn't want to say it. And finally says it and Jason prays and then all of the pain leaves his back right and he's like oh, you know and you're thinking like, well, but it's probably coming back right and it never does.
Mike Weaver:He goes in for the surgery only to find out man, are you messing with us? Dude, there's nothing wrong with this. Like the Lord had completely healed the discs in his back.
Hannah Kerr:He just healed his back right and they had the proof of this? Yes, Cause they already scanned it.
Mike Weaver:They already had him lined up for surgery and all of that stuff. So then the guy comes back to the show and is just in his saying all this stuff, you know, and he's like man. And so we give him the microphone, he testifies like man. The Lord healed my back, and so it's crazy. Then a couple of times on the road I keep looking at Jason, who is like off screen.
Hannah Kerr:Yeah, he's over there, you guys, because this is just real stuff to me, man.
Mike Weaver:This is life to me right now the story of this I'm telling you, and so the guy shares, and then everybody comes down in front at the end to pray. Three more people who have disc issues in their back come down and leave with no pain.
Hannah Kerr:They didn't come back with the other testimonies yet, but it's like the Lord is moving, you know. And there's something when people hear a testimony like oh, I have that issue and maybe God could do that for me. Like it almost like, rises up their faith to hear a story of someone else. That received healing for something they need.
Mike Weaver:And you know who needs to hear that the most is that story is somebody who's in the middle.
Hannah Kerr:Yeah.
Mike Weaver:Somebody who's in the middle of it that's where the enemy wants to show up In the middle sometimes is kind of at a low point, right, you know. And the enemy wants to tell people he wants to say, look, the low point is the end of it for you, right, you know? And and. But the devil's a liar, right, you know? And, and that's what I love is like, even this story with jay, when jay died, there's this thing. The enemy's telling me it's over, yeah, it's over. How can you ever even believe me for a miracle again in jesus? How can you believe god for a miracle again? You know, when you know this, the people you wanted it for the most. That didn't happen to you and I'm and I didn't have an answer to that question, but it really hurt my hope you know yeah.
Mike Weaver:And, man, the fact that this young man named Jason shows up, and I just see God doing it all again, and but doing it different, doing it in a way that's unique to you guys and I.
Hannah Kerr:I just I love that that's who he is, and it's a. It's a hope builder for me, man, and it's a. It's a. It's a restoring, restoring work that God is doing in me. Yeah, yeah, it's been so sweet. I've loved watching you and my, my Jason, just really connect, and we've just learned so much about how to pray for miracles, about what it looks like to have faith for miracles. Um, it's just been the best experience we were talking about it earlier of just.
Hannah Kerr:It's been life-changing for us to just watch God move and to learn from you guys how to even be open to that, like I didn't grow up in a faith tradition where we prayed for miracles, you know. So it's just been so cool. I wish that I could have met Jay. I just hear all these stories and we came on the road with you guys right after. I think the first tour back after he passed away was the one that we came on and I love that it was called the only the beginning tour, like it's just, it's the beginning of a new season that God has you in, and it felt like a new season for us too of just operating in this new way with God, of just believing him for more in our lives, and that's just been really, really cool. I'm just grateful for that.
Mike Weaver:Yeah, Hannah, I really and truly believe in my heart that the Lord has such huge things for you guys you know, and I know that I'm just going to enjoy watching what he does with you. You know it's my favorite. I love it.
Hannah Kerr:It's so cool and I want to talk about your family a little bit more just, um, watching your kids now kind of pick up the mantle that you've been carrying and just watching them lead worship. I got to see, uh, naomi, your daughter, she's 13. Yeah, I got to see her lead worship a couple of times and she's just so anointed, she's so gifted. And watching Eli pray for people every night and watching Zeke like just play does he play bass? Like just watching you and your kids lead worship together. What is that like for you, as their dad, to just watch them grow up.
Mike Weaver:That is the next level for me, man. That is the next level. That is the place. My place of greatest peace is just being with them. Man, I'm married so far out of my league. Candace are amazing, I know, because they've had a lot of prayer, but but also they're so amazing because of who their mama is too, man and she's been like this constant in their life. You know I'm going on the road. Sometimes they're getting to come on the road, that kind of stuff.
Mike Weaver:But, you know and so, but I and I, I feel a sense of resolve and a sense of purpose in big daddy weave, um, but I also have this huge love, uh, for getting to lead worship with my kids yeah because I love seeing every it's like. Every time I feel like they grow in it, like with an exponent you know, yeah, yeah and I love hearing eli ask these questions.
Mike Weaver:he's the oldest one and he, he has these questions about ministry and about life and he, he's like a he just he burns that people would come to know the Lord. You know, I'm like I don't know a lot of other 17 year olds that were like that you know he's a man of God at 17.
Hannah Kerr:Like legitimately. Yeah, I look up to him in some ways my son, you know, and like only Jesus can do that, man so.
Mike Weaver:I love all of them, man, they're, they're, they're so special. I mean, obviously, cause they're my family, but I just, you know, I'm so grateful for them and that's the place of greatest ministry, like to me, is is with them.
Hannah Kerr:It's so sweet. I'm not a part of your family, but I am proud of them, like I am their family.
Mike Weaver:You kind of are, though you know what I mean they, you kind of are, though you know what I mean.
Hannah Kerr:I mean, I feel like I've just watched them, even in the past few years, just mature and grow so much and like I look up to Eli as well just his faith and the way that he loves the Lord and trusts him and believes for miracles from him Like it's been amazing he's seen blind eyes healed, like right before his. Like it's just, it's been amazing. And then Naomi, just her voice is such a gift and it's just it's been amazing.
Mike Weaver:And then Naomi, just her voice is such a gift and it's ministered to me like just listening to her sing, and likewise because I know that man Naomi, two of her very favorite people in the entire world, she really looks up to you and she really looks up to McKenna Johns from the Young Escape, but you guys are kind of besties.
Mike Weaver:And so man that's, I'm telling you, she just thinks the world of you two. And so, man, that's, I'm telling you, she just thinks the world of you two. And I'm so glad those are the kind of role models that she has.
Hannah Kerr:That's so sweet. I can't wait to see what all of your kids do as they keep growing and just it's so cool. It's a testament to you and Candice both just the way that you followed the Lord, that they are after the Lord now too, Like it's just, it's so sweet.
Mike Weaver:Thanks for saying it. Oh man, we sure are proud of them. We sure love them.
Hannah Kerr:I love it. Okay, well, we have a segment that is called the Middle Moment that I would love to do now. Let's do it. So, okay, what happens is I have this little wheel. It has lots of topics on it. This is unbelievable, and you're going to spin the wheel and then we're going to talk about whatever it lands on just for a few minutes, just to end our time together.
Mike Weaver:No way, this is a good, lighthearted way to end or whatever here. All right, here we go, all right.
Hannah Kerr:Give it a good spin it really goes.
Mike Weaver:You have to like kind of dub, some kind of sound here like I know no dubbing necessary, that was perfect.
Hannah Kerr:Hot take. Okay, hot take. Do you know what a hot take is?
Mike Weaver:No, you're going to need to explain it to me.
Hannah Kerr:It's like an opinion that you have about something that is unexpected. I can't think of a single one right now other than okay, like if I thought that facebook was better than instagram, or which would be a hot take because most people think instagram is better than facebook yes so, uh, if you have a hot take, you can answer that one, or I would like to uh rig the wheel and talk about bigfoot I think that maybe that could be my hot take is Bigfoot. Okay, let's do it.
Mike Weaver:That's, that's, that's all Okay. So I don't want to be that guy or whatever, but it's like I mean, somebody has been seeing something out there, you know Right. So what is it?
Hannah Kerr:You know what is it.
Mike Weaver:And so this is where two things that we've talked about on the show potentially collide. Okay, See see so when we think about the possibility of bigfoot yeah, and we can kind of yeah, right on the line, right on the line, because really it's both of those things, because we both listen to some podcasts about these kinds of things, which I never thought that I would be listening to a bigfoot podcast, but I do listen to a couple. We do, but I have a theory that could Bigfoot really be a real-life Wookiee? Okay?
Mike Weaver:That's what I personally want to believe. Yes, and it's like, since we can't really get a solid photo of Bigfoot, then it's like who says he's not a Wookiee?
Mike Weaver:Who says and out there in the forest, you're just hearing who says he's not a Wookiee who says and out there in the forest you're just hearing, you know, you're hearing the noise and it's like, and you're going like George Lucas, he's out there, he is. What if Star Wars is not imaginary? And what if it's really a documentary? That is not what I really believe. I have to. I have to be a hot take about like that is not what I really mean yeah. That is not really truly what I believe.
Hannah Kerr:I feel open to the idea that Bigfoot could be real.
Mike Weaver:I want Wookiees to be real.
Hannah Kerr:Yeah, well, because if one person okay, think about this, there are thousands of accounts of people seeing Bigfoot.
Mike Weaver:It's true.
Hannah Kerr:If just one of them is true, it busts the paradigm.
Mike Weaver:That's true's like I've heard that somewhere.
Hannah Kerr:I've heard that somewhere, yeah so I just feel like I'm open to him being real.
Mike Weaver:He could be interdimensional, I I don't know I mean, I think it could be dimensions, and maybe he's in the middle is what he is in the middle.
Hannah Kerr:That's why he's blurry in this one. He's not really in that one, and that's he's blurry in all the pictures because he's in the middle of two dimensions. Maybe he actually is pixelated, like that's what he looks like. Is he's pixelated?
Mike Weaver:It's true, like that's what he looks like in real life.
Hannah Kerr:Oh my goodness, it's amazing.
Mike Weaver:That is hilarious. So we had all this meaningful talk and then we we end on this foolishness, or whatever so it's so good. I love that you have a wheel, though. That's beautiful.
Hannah Kerr:Listen, Amazon can give us a lot of treasures and Amazon did provide that wheel for us.
Mike Weaver:I'm going home and I love dude, that's probably my hot take is Amazon Like I don't know if you've ever like, just if you randomly order things on Amazon.
Hannah Kerr:Oh, for sure I have ordered.
Mike Weaver:I have thought that I was dreaming and I had packages arrive to my house from things that I have ordered in the middle of the night, from my bunk on the bus that is amazing.
Hannah Kerr:I think that I do order most things in the middle of the night in the bunk as well, Like that is when it gets me. I'm like I need to buy generators right now.
Mike Weaver:No doubt about it. I mean, you just have the burning need and I always want to get it. Make sure it's prime, though, because it needs to get here in two days just two days. You know it's great now, I'm gonna have a wheel, I'm gonna go get a wheel you gotta do that's gonna be the deciding factor in our family. Now we're just gonna like all of a sudden well, let's take it to the wheel and like open that's so good, mike.
Hannah Kerr:Thank you so much for being here thank you so much for having me.
Mike Weaver:This is amazing. It looks great. I love hanging out with you. I can't wait to listen to the rest of what you do on this awesome podcast thanks for being in the middle of it with us.
Hannah Kerr:I love it, mike Weaver, everybody.
