In this episode of 'Small Town, Big God,' host Mikel Collins continues the inspiring story of Hope House Coffee in Rutherford County, North Carolina. The focus of this episode is Carl Schultz, the coffee shop's manager, who shares his remarkable journey from feeling called to ministry while working as a chef to becoming a pivotal figure at Hope House Coffee. Carl discusses the challenges and confirmations he experienced, his approach to discipleship, and the profound impact he has had on the community, including his relationship with a young man named Robert Lee. Carl's story highlights the transformative power of surrendering to God's plan and the importance of having hard spiritual conversations.

00:00 Introduction to Small Town, Big God

01:06 Carl Schultz's Journey to Rutherford County

03:24 A Calling to Ministry

04:40 The Turning Point: Surrendering to God's Plan

07:09 Becoming a Campus Pastor

10:03 The Vision of Hope House Coffee

15:25 Opening Hope House Coffee

18:07 The Ministry of Hope House Coffee

20:25 Discipleship and Fatherhood

21:55 Robert Lee

27:53 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

mcollins@elementc3.com

elementc3.com

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Welcome to Small Town, Big God.

My name is Michael Collins, and I'm here to share a story about God at work

in Rutherford County, North Carolina.

Now this is part two of the story of Hope House Coffee, so I highly

suggest you go listen to part one first if you haven't done that already.

But in this episode, you're going to hear from Carl Schultz.

Carl's a manager at Hope House Coffee, and he probably spends more time

discipling and leading Bible studies inside that coffee shop than anyone else.

Which is saying something.

Because there are a lot of Bible studies and discipleship conversations that

take place inside Hope House Coffee.

The first half of this episode is going to be about the amazing way that God brought

Carl into his position at Hope House.

And the second half is going to be about some of the discipleship that takes place.

And one young man in particular who I believe God brought into

the coffee shop and into Carl's life at a very intentional time.

I hope you enjoy this episode of Small Town, Big God.

So I I met my wife in Cleveland County, which is just a county

over, but her grandparents and her family lived in Rutherford County.

So even when I was in middle school, I started coming to Rutherford County.

And so you know, get older and you want to venture out.

We moved away and.

Lived in Charleston and lived down in, on Amelia Island and then in two, we

got married in 2008 and and then in 2010 we decided to move back to Rutherford

County so we got plugged in with Element.

I mean, day one.

And so, we've been Well, well it's Yeah, that's funny you ask because our pastor

in Florida, he said, Hey, do me a favor.

So we let him know we were moving, and he said, When you move to North

Carolina, make sure you get involved.

With a church that you see people being set free and, and lives being changed.

And so first Sunday that we attended, element was brand new.

I think they're only like a year and a half or so old.

Maybe two and it's just crazy how the Holy Spirit works and so when the same time

that the Lord was laying on Neal's heart to open element church the Holy Spirit

dropped on my wife and I on our wedding day same exact time we were laying on a

bench at Waterfront Park in Charleston right after we got married and the Lord

just dropped on both of us simultaneously, I'm gonna do something big with your

marriage and so we both heard it at the exact same time and we both just looked at

each other just you know, just completely bewildered of how that could happen and

so it was just like, did you hear that?

Yeah, did you hear that?

Yeah, it was just it was, it was the Lord.

And so we didn't know exactly what that looked like.

So about a year after, cause I didn't get saved until I was

24, got married when I was 25.

But about a year after I got saved we were a single income house.

I was a chef worked for the Ritz Carlton hotel company on Amelia Island.

And I'd been there for quite some time.

I just felt like the Lord was saying, Hey, I'm calling you into full time ministry.

And I would go to her and I would just be like, Hey, I feel like I'm

being called into full time ministry.

Her being at home, single income, , we had little ones at the time, and so,

she, She would look at me kind of panicked and scared and like what does

that look like and Every time I was like, I don't know and so like another

year would go by and I'd say the same thing and It was just it was a it was

a really Challenging time just hearing that and still having to go to work and,

. And the kitchen is a really hard place to work.

I used to say it's like being around a bunch of pirates, like everybody's

just a bunch of scallywags.

It was challenging for me to, to be filled with the spirit.

And to go into these really dark places.

. I had applied at some churches and I talked to the pastors of, of everywhere.

I never really felt like I was called to a seminary or anything.

I just, I knew that the Lord had a different plan for me.

I didn't know what that looked like, I knew he was going to use my

talents, but I just didn't know how.

So Carl was ready to jump into ministry, but God wasn't opening the

doors that he wanted to walk through.

But But then, God used a radio sermon to open Carl's eyes and help him surrender

to whatever the Lord had planned for him.

And that same week, God began opening doors.

One day I was driving back and forth to Asheville and I was actually

listening to a, Sermon by Lecrae, he was delivering it to a class of graduating

seniors from Liberty University.

And so it was playing on, on the radio and Back then we actually listened

to radios, but anyways, he started it by saying, you know, everything

that the Lord created is good.

And I didn't see what I was doing as that.

I saw working in kitchen, kitchens and cooking, it was a form of,

of idol worship for a lot of the, the people that I worked with.

They worship the craft and it was just a godless, a very godless place.

So, you know, just to hear him, paint that picture of

everything that God made is good.

We're the ones that, that taint it.

And so you know, the next thing as he built the sermon, he was talking

about Daniel and how Daniel, when, when Nebuchadnezzar wanted to promote him.

Daniel didn't say, well, no, no, no, no, no.

I want to go back and, I want to interpret dreams for my people.

You know, he, he stayed in that kingdom, that wicked, dark, perverse kingdom.

And so, and he used it as leverage to lead Nebuchadnezzar to the

knowledge of one true God.

And so, I accepted that.

I was like, okay.

Lord, if, if you're calling me to the kitchen, then I'll stay, you know,

I'll, I will accept my lot in life.

And if that's my ministry, then, then I accept it.

And it was that exact same week that I was on the soccer field over at

ICC, and my son was practicing soccer.

And, I was sitting there in a little camp chair, and Neil Perry, our pastor,

he comes walking by, and we wave, and he had his little girl with him.

I think she was practicing soccer as well.

And he kinda did a 180, and came over, and he mentioned, he said, Hey, he's

like, I just really He's like, I wanted to wait to have this conversation, but I

just heard the, the Holy Spirit say now.

And so he said, we want you to be our campus pastor for our

new campus that's going to open.

And this was back in 2015.

And so I just, I just bawled, started bawling because it was so

significant that I had surrendered.

That same week, I just surrendered to the Lord.

I surrendered to His calling on my life.

And Neil was like, hey, go to Tryon.

They're building this huge horse park.

And just go up on the hill and pray over that place.

He's like, I just feel like the Lord's doing something there.

So I did.

I went and took my family and we walked around the town of Tryon.

We prayed over the horse park there, Tryon International.

And It was quickly after that that my father in law, who was working there

clearing the land for that facility, he talked to a chef that was there.

The chef's like, hey, we really need some help.

And and he let him know that I was a chef, and so I wasn't looking for a job,

but the job found me, I felt like the Lord was pulling me in that direction,

so I prayed about it, dropped my resume, and I worked there for seven years,

and just trying to figure out what the Lord was doing there during those

seven years, and made the most amount of money I've ever made, and, you know,

saw lots of fruit, I mean, the ministry that I had there was just incredible.

Carl was finally working in the ministry that he always wanted, but

that didn't mean he was immune to mistakes, as he's about to share.

And then, when the pandemic hit, it forced him to make a hard reset.

2020 happened.

Everybody knows, you know, 2020 was, was a riot.

And, there was some some pride that had crept into my life some financial

pride that it kind of crept in.

Not that I had Stopped ministry, but I just kind of stopped pursuing what

that campus looked like that Neil had mentioned I just thought that That was

where I was supposed to be and I was untouchable and then 2020 happened and

I had three months of furlough and I Sat at the house just trying to figure out

what the Lord was up to and it was during that time that the Lord really relit the

fire for What Neil had dropped on me five years prior and so The building across

the street, which is the coffee shop for me, it was like, Okay, maybe, maybe

there's going to be a restaurant there.

Maybe there's going to be a soup kitchen there.

Maybe there's going to be, something , that I could be useful for.

And so I was just, entertaining what that might look like.

I had my own ideas.

And, and the day that I was going to come and talk to Neil and JR I had like this

manila envelope full of ideas and stuff.

And I prayed about it right before I came that morning.

And I just heard the Lord say, Starting a coffee shop.

And so I just left that little packet at home.

I came in, I talked to Neil, I talked to J.

R.

And I just said, Hey, I feel like the Lord said starting a coffee shop.

And so, all my food background I just left at the door.

Never worked in a coffee shop.

It's not really my background.

I don't like getting up early.

So , I knew it was the Lord because it went against the

things that I wanted to do.

God gave Carl the same vision that he had already planted in the hearts of J.

R., Eddie, and Neal, but knowing that God is calling you to something

better doesn't automatically make it easy to leave what you already have.

And this next section is one of my favorite parts of this entire story,

so I'm going to stop interrupting for a little while and just let Carl

finish telling you about how God brought him to Hope House Coffee.

It was very, very terrifying to

just leave.

Everything that I knew and we never, we never discussed finances.

I had no idea what that would look like.

And so it was terrifying for me , to leave.

that I had financially to go into an unknown situation financially and not

even know if it's ever going to work out.

You know, not knowing if, if this thing would get off the

ground and then quickly dissolve.

And so, so I wrestled, I wrestled for, wow, it felt like forever.

And one day I, I woke up, and this is, and this paints a picture of how important

it is to stay connected with the Lord.

How important it is to be able to discern the voice of the Lord.

in your life, I woke up one morning, everybody was asleep, and I went in the

library, and I sat down, and I picked up this, this old KJV, a Schofield Study

Bible, that I rarely carry with me, but I just use it, and, and and so I open

it up to the very front page, where it's just blank, it's like two blank pages at

the very, very front of the Bible, and I had inscribed on there, and, Coffee shop.

Just, that's it.

That's all it said.

It's a coffee shop.

And the date was 6 7 17.

And I, I just, I was very puzzled.

Like, what in the world was the Lord trying to teach me?

And, and the only thing I could come up with was like, maybe I think at that

time he was calling me to open or to start a Bible study in a coffee shop.

So I was like, okay.

And then there was another inscription beside it that said,

God loves us in spite of ourselves.

And it had the date 6, 7, 17.

So I was like, okay, Lord, you're confirming right now.

You're confirming by these two dates, you know, that, that this coffee

shop is what you're calling me to.

So I was like that's really neat.

I need to show this to JR.

So I bring that arduous KJV Schofield study Bible leather bound to church

that morning and lo and behold who's standing out front it's J.

R.

and so I, I see him and I walk up to him and I show him, I open the Bible

and I'm like, hey, look at this, man.

And I said, I said, you see what that says?

And he says, yeah, it says coffee shop.

I said, you see the date?

And he's like, yeah, you know, it's back in 2017.

He said, that's really cool.

And then I walked in to church, you know, and I sat down with my family and, and

Neil comes out on stage and he says, Hey, you know, we're in the Easter service.

This was April of 21, April of 21.

So it just kind of shows you a picture of how long it was like a year of me

wrestling with, you know, leaving.

My career, essentially.

And so this was April of 21 that Neil comes out on stage and

it's during the Easter series.

And he's like, Hey, open your Bibles up to Exodus chapter 15.

He said verse 21 through 26.

And so.

I did, and Neil said from stage, he said, Hey, I wanted to preach out of Luke this

morning, but the Lord wouldn't let me.

And so when I, when I opened the Bible to Exodus chapter 15 I had

circled verse 26, and it had a date next to it, it was just 6 7 17.

And it was those three confirmations, that was on a Sunday, and it

was those three confirmations.

That made me very very confident in the Lord that the Lord was leading me to the

coffee shop And I know that's kind of a long story to to you know To kind of

paint the picture of how I got involved, but it was a hundred percent spiritual.

And so I went in that was on a Sunday.

So I went in I had Monday off I went in on Tuesday and typed up my letter of

resignation of resignation And, you know, it was the hardest thing I've ever done,

is submit that and just put everything on the line, financially, put everything

on the line, and just trust the Lord.

So that was in April of 21, and we did not open the coffee

shop up until September of 22.

So I had a year and some change of walking out this road of humility.

I watched how, you know, somebody who I had trained became my boss and the

Lord, during that season, he showed me, he showed me so much, but the root.

of humility is humiliation.

And I was so humiliated daily, you know, because I'd let so much

pride creep in and the Lord just dealt with me on all of that pride.

And there was a season of fasting in there where the Lord just brought so much up.

An out and, you know, just, just walking that out and there, there were so many

things that I was not aware of that became ever present during that year, year and

a half of, of walking out that notice.

Man, isn't that an awesome story?

Because Carl was able to trust God and let go of his pride, God has brought him into

a place where he can use his talents for ministry in a way that he never expected.

And it was a lot of work, especially at the start.

Carl was a trained chef, not a barista.

I threw everything I had at it.

I pretty much slept there for the first few months just go home nap come right

back in and and and just enter the interpersonal Relationships that that I

get to be a part of I think that's That's the most rewarding part about what I do.

You know, I learned quickly because there was, there was a lot of concern.

I'm like, you know, I've been a chef pretty much, you know, since I

was 16 at least a chef in training.

And so I was like, do I even know how to make a coffee?

Like, you know, I know how to make Bernays.

I know how to make hollandaise.

I can break down foie gras and, and make bellinis for caviar but, you know,

do I even know how to make a coffee?

And so it was just, you know, there was, there was a learning, it was a

steep learning curve of, of how to even hone in the, the art and I'm,

I'm not there, I haven't arrived.

I'm sure there's a lot of continuing education that I need to do in order

to, to keep growing the business and keep growing you know, just the, the.

The day in day out operation of, of making fantastic drinks

While Carl enjoys making drinks and learning how to apply his skills as

a chef in a coffee shop setting, it's really the people that make up the

substance of his work and the ministry of Hope House Coffee as a whole.

Management comes pretty easy for me just because I love people.

I love, I love that the everyday interactions that

I get with all the staff.

And I love to watch them grow spiritually.

I love to watch them grow.

In their, in their jobs and their roles, you know, my goal and the way that I

manage it, I always, have it in the back of my mind that That I want people

to be able to learn what I'm doing and, and to, to replicate that and, and so

that's really, it's really the day in, day out for me but seeing, The people

that come in, not just on, on the back of the house staff wise for all of the

and I hesitate to use the word customer.

But for the guests who, you know, we get to, to be a part of their lives, you

know, I've seen so many people set free in that room and just in the coffee shop.

I've seen, I've seen.

People get interested in God again.

People start attending church again.

I've seen, you know, just people really start thriving and, and,

and give their life to the Lord.

And it's, and it's because there is a community of people who genuinely

believe what they say they believe and they live it out each and every day.

And the interesting dynamic about church is that the doors are open

maybe twice a week and people can come into the church and, and find help.

Spiritually twice a week, whereas the, the doors of the coffee shop are open seven

days a week, and people can come in and have those conversations and have that

fellowship and that meaningful interaction seven days a week, and I think that is the

Lord's heart for Hope House Coffee Shop.

Carl's desire to minister and lead people well goes deeper than

just an extroverted personality.

He also see's the need we have in our country for father figures.

Carl's desire to minister and lead people well goes deeper

than just loving people a lot.

He also sees the need that we have in our country for father figures.

You know, I, I grew up in a fatherless home.

My heart is to father the next generation.

And so, you know, really, and.

I say, you know, 20 somethings, it's 20 something year olds, but

I've seen, you know, 40 and 50 year olds who are unfathered.

And I, and I, and honestly, I think it's an epidemic of, of the vast proportion

for America as a whole is we're seeing an entire generation of unfathered men.

And, and so, and even, I even talked to, to guys who grew up in a home with

a father and they're still unfathered.

You know, they're still undisciplined.

They, you know, they have, they've yet to, to, step into that, discipleship.

And so that's really, when you see me, you know, when I'm in

there, it's really discipleship.

Carl's love for people and desire to see others succeed have helped him to

be a great manager, and it's his heart for the fatherless and discipleship

ended up leading him to connect with a young man named Robert Lee.

Lot because I know he spent a lot more time with him than I did.

A lasting impression, not just on myself, but on, on so many people.

And so really how that all got kind of off the ground was he

came in, he was looking for a job.

You know, I noticed that he, you know, he, he was just very well put together, you

know, and, and carried himself very well.

And I was, I was super impressed with him and I could tell that he, he enjoyed.

You know, working out and, and fitness and everything.

And so I had planned on kind of like a, a 5, 16, where it says Jesus

often withdrew to, to lonely places.

I'd.

I had planned on my day off just to kind of get away.

And so, I wanted to go on a hike so I was going up to Mount Mitchell

and I was going to do the, the arduous trek of, of of that trail.

And so, right before, like the day before I was leaving he came in and I just asked

him, I said, What are you doing tomorrow?

I didn't even really know him, he was still a stranger.

And I said, What are you doing tomorrow?

And he said, I don't have any plans.

I said, You want to go hike the highest peak east of the Mississippi.

And he's like, yeah, I said, we'll meet me here at seven in the morning.

We'll go.

So got up that morning, got all my stuff ready to go.

Grab my pup swung by the coffee shop, picked him up.

And man, we really, we were stuck together for 12 hours.

And so for 12 hours, from 7 that morning until 7 that night, man, we just, we

had an amazing time of fellowship.

I learned that Robert Lee was a believer.

He shared his testimony with me.

You know, I learned that, that he kind of had a rough upbringing.

He was a, a product of the foster care and You know, I learned, you know,

what he was doing here and, you know, and so yeah, we just had a, we had a

fantastic time that day and shared some incredible views and You know, I think

that he, he really enjoyed himself and, and he talked about that trip a lot

during the time that I got to know him.

And so dropped him off and then I got to see him, you know, he pretty

much lived at the coffee shop and he was there every single day.

It felt like from open to close.

He was always on his laptop, he was always just networking, he was, you know,

he had his headphones in, his earbuds, you know, he was, he was plugging away,

he was on his phone, you know, I, I, I assumed, you know, from what he had told

me that he was, he was working kind of remotely and so I left him alone and,

and he, he was always just in the zone a lot of times when he left the coffee

shop, I'd see him out there running you know, at night he, he would go and

he'd run and just a really solid guy.

But I'll tell you the way that I live my life, Mike, is, is, is I

don't want to have any regrets.

And I, I say this to people and I say this to you now.

You just, you, you never know when.

Tragedy might strike and it's hard to have those hard conversations with people.

It's awkward, but I am So glad that I had those hard conversations with Robert Lee

tragedy did strike with Robert Lee.

Just a few months after he first walked into the coffee shop,

Robert Lee was struck and killed by a vehicle on Highway 74.

It was a tough time for everyone who knew Robert, but we were all so grateful that

God had brought him into our lives, and Carl especially was able to have some

of those hard conversations with him.

And I actually had a chance one day.

I asked him I Went through Romans Road with him gave him the opportunity

to give his life to Christ.

He made sure to you know to Confirm hey, you know, I definitely have done

that I asked him one day, I said, Hey, if you were to die today, do

you know where you'd spend eternity?

He said, yes, I do.

I said, do you have peace with God?

He said, yes, I do.

So I had those really hard conversations with Robert Lee.

He.

Continuously was, was able to, to just reassure me that

he actually did know Christ.

And and so when, when we got the news of his tragic passing, you

know, it was, it was really hard.

It was hard for me to process the sudden loss of someone who was just

like family to me and to many others.

He just sucked you in and, and he had such a, a fantastic personality

and his laugh and, you know, he's just such a fantastic guy.

And so when I got that news, man, it was, it was really

hard on me and, and it really.

You know, it just, the loss of life period is just tough.

It's tough to wrestle with, but at the end of the day, you know, I do

have peace about Robert's passing because of those hard conversations

that, that I had with him.

And so really, you know, I admonish anybody who's listening is, is have

those hard conversations with people that you care about and, and even

strangers, you know, make sure.

That if, if tragedy does strike in a moment's notice that you can, you can

lay your head down on the pillow knowing that the gospel was presented and that

you gave that person every opportunity to spend eternity with our Lord and Savior.

This episode of Small Town Big God is in honor of Robert Lee.

I hope that this story has inspired you to share the gospel with people

you come into contact with every day.

And if you've never given your life over to the Lord, if you don't

know where you're going when you die, then please reach out to me.

My email address is mcollins at elementc3.

com.

I'd love to talk with you.

You can also find me on social media.

Or, just go to elementc3.

com and fill out one of our prayer cards and one of the pastors

will be in contact with you.

But before we end this episode completely, there's one more

thing we need to know from Carl.

Which is, what is his favorite drink at Hope House Coffee?

I like a revolver.

A revolver?

What's a revolver?

It's, it's eight shots of espresso.

Oh!

Oh boy!

That's it?

That's it.

So it's just like a coffee cup full of espresso?

That's it.

Man!

That's it.

Alright!

I'm not the guy that you want to ask like, what's your favorite drink?

Cause I am, I, I have an adversity to sugar.

And so I, you know, I, I like to taste them, but personally, my

favorite is just a, a lot of espresso.

And I, it actually comes from my background of working in kitchens.

We, we always kept a, Supply of caffeine on hand at all times.

Well, I can't say that I recommend anyone else try a revolver.

I do hope that you will stop by Hope House Coffee and

say hi to the amazing people that work there.

You can probably find me sitting at a table in the back corner.

But thank you guys so much for listening to this episode of Small Town Big God.

And thank you for being a part of Small Town Friendly.