Farming, Addiction, and Faith
This episode of the Engage Church Network Podcast features a powerful conversation with Joey Lankford: missionary, leader, and founder of Cul2vate. Joey had what most people chase after: the nice house, the nice family, the nice salary, and all the “stuff” that comes with the American dream. But beneath the surface, he felt drained, empty, and hungry for something more. That restlessness eventually led Joey and his family to leave behind the familiar comforts of Nashville for the poorest communities of South Africa. There, Joey helped launch job-creation initiatives through greenhouses and farming, discipling and equipping men and women to find dignity, purpose, and sustainable work.
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Joey Lankford: Uh, funny thing is I come here and I think we sat down, you and I, right, right, right, right off the rip. Uh, 'cause I brought like $8,000 back, and when you come to Brentwood with five kids and $8,000- ... you can live about an hour and a half.
Mike Glenn: You, you and I have been friends for- Mm ... 100 years now. Mm-hmm. Uh, w- but when I first met you, you were in, uh, y- uh, medical sales. Yes, sir. Uh, on the corporate track. Yes, sir. Uh, time management, carrying a calendar and all of that, and, uh, and now you play in the dirt. Mm-hmm. What, what [00:01:00] happened? You- Tell, tell,
Joey Lankford: tell us how Cultivate happened.
Yeah, so, you know, you're, uh... You're right, you've been around since the very beginning. Mm-hmm. When I started, uh, um, just through the adoption of Bristol- Mm-hmm ... basically, you know, working in a family-owned business and having that gravy train. Mm-hmm. You know, Dad set that up. The boys were all... I was the oldest- Mm-hmm
and so just sort of leading the pack, and like, well, this is just what you do in the South. Right. You know? You just start a business and... And then my wife came to me and, and, uh, after the three kids, Bra- Bradley, Braxton, and Barron, said, "I, I think the Lord's calling us to adopt." Uh, I was t- you know, obviously attending Brentwood Baptist Church and going to the Sunday school- Mm-hmm, mm-hmm
and doing the thing. And, and so, uh, yeah, I spoke to a few people about that, 'cause that had never been something we had talked about. Right. Uh, but I didn't know that God was gonna use that, that whole process to really just, uh, what I call, it's like I hit a season of, like, being spiritually so discontented-
Mike Glenn: Right[00:02:00]
Joey Lankford: with this. And I... You were helping me along to discern in that period of time, like, what in, what in the world is
Mike Glenn: this? Yeah. Like- Because
Joey Lankford: you had e- Everything you- Had,
Mike Glenn: had, you had everything, right? Yes, sir. But- But I, but I think, I think your story is, is important here, because I think there's a lotta guys right now-
Joey Lankford: Mm-hmm
Mike Glenn: that are really disappointed. Mm. Here I am at 35, 40. Yes, sir. I'm, I've accomplished what I thought I w- wanted to accomplish. I have everything- Yeah ... except I'm not happy.
Joey Lankford: And I think that's where it led me in, in 2010, is like- There's, uh, the, the, the barn story- Right ... where I went to the barn on my property and it was not an overly spiritual attempt to get close to God.
It was just like, uh, it was a- it was purely out of like I've gotta get some answers. Mm-hmm. You know? So I tell people I took a can of snuff, a Bible- ... uh, and I had my horses- Yeah ... you know, and my dogs- Yeah ... down there and, and, uh, and I think it was the first time at 32 that I was really fully present for the Lord to be able to speak to me.
Mm-hmm. Even as a Christian growing up in a Christian home, it's like- Mm-hmm ... [00:03:00] you know, if you don't show up, I don't- not sure that I can follow you- Right ... anymore kind of s- conversation. Like- Mm-hmm ... it doesn't, it's not holding water for me. Like- Mm-hmm ... you know, I, I don't have a job security issue. I definitely don't have a- Right
paycheck issue. Uh, my mom and dad are still married and, and alive- Mm-hmm ... and my siblings. And so there was never a really traumatic onset for me of like- Right ... it was just a long season of grinding out, is this what God s- knew when He knew me before- Right ... I was in my mother's womb. Mm-hmm. When I was in His womb, before my mother's womb, is this what He had for me to do?
Right. And that question I th- I mean, I couldn't answer. I, you know, so I spent that time, even came out of the barn. I think that's when we started following up is like I, I don't know, I just know that I'm not where I'm supposed to be. Mm-hmm. The road I'm on is not gonna take me to... It was almost a, a, like a Scrooge kinda- Yeah
flyover of life. Right. And I'm not gonna get to, to... I'm gonna get there, but that's not probably where I'm gonna- Right ... wanna end up. Yeah. And so, uh, yeah, so we I started m- meeting with [00:04:00] the, the church leaders and pastors- Mm-hmm ... and friends and saying, "You know, this is where I am." And I remember the day I wrote missions or politics in my journal.
Mm-hmm. And I circled both because I was so confused. I really didn't know, and missions was- When I say it had never- That's right, yeah ... I mean, I knew missionaries. Right. And I didn't wanna be a missionary. I mean, I just, I just had this image from Dixon. Yeah. People coming back from Asia every eight years.
Their kids look like, you know- ... they, they didn't belong- Yeah, yeah ... in, in the States anywhere. We- wearing, wearing funny clothes. So I, I'm not, I hope- Yeah, yeah ... I hope everybody receives this well. Yeah. But I, I just, uh, I, when, when, when missions started, when God started calling me, I think my first response was, "Nah, man."
Mike Glenn: Yeah. Now, to give folks some context. The, when you wrote politics, that was a viable thing. Very viable option, Dad. Because, because your family and your dad- Yes, sir ... is, uh- And I,
Joey Lankford: and I had had even, like, a, you know, invitations from- Right ... people that, uh, were in the community and church- Mm-hmm ... with us to say, you know, "We've got this district seat opening up- Right
at [00:05:00] the State House. Uh, you're a young, energetic, well-connected guy 'cause of o- obviously- Right ... my father, and, and this would be a great space." So f- I mean, I was like, you know, that approval part of me like- Right ... this is one more rung up the social ladder- Mm-hmm ... in Brentwood and church and whatever. So man, that had an appeal to it- Mm-hmm
that was really appetizing to somebody that's wired like me, and so I just ... But then the Lord just kept ... Through, uh, through Courtney's prayers and our prayers collectively- Mm-hmm ... for the first time in a 10-year marriage, was like we just gotta hit the mat together. Like- Yeah ... we don't have anything else that we can offer each other.
Mm-hmm. And God began to slowly reveal that, um, yeah, He was calling us to missions. And I remember being in South Carolina. We had a house by Lake Jocassee out there in Greenville, close to Greenville. And she rolled over, and I, and I, and I looked at her. We'd been on this journey of like- ... of tension and just like- Yeah
"What are we gonna do? You can't be this miserable all your life," you know? Mm-hmm. Like, and, uh, so it was, it was, we were out there for, uh, [00:06:00] the weekend, and, uh, I rolled over, and I was like, "All right. I'm gonna, calf rope, I'm gonna go to missions. Okay." "I'm gonna be a missionary." And I remember rolling over and waking her up, and, and, uh, she rolled over.
And I'll c- take you to the spot in my mind right now. I'm already there. But I said, "I think we're supposed to go to missions." And she looked at me, and she said, "I've known that for a long time, Joey. I've just been waiting on you to get there."
Mike Glenn: Ooh, ooh.
Joey Lankford: And, uh, I remember tears just rolling down my face- Mm-hmm
thinking, you know, that was the, that was ... I didn't know how she was gonna respond to that. Mm-hmm. Again, you marry somebody because you've already done that equity research- Right ... about where the safe path is and- Mm-hmm ... and how you're gonna get there. And I was basically telling her, "We're gonna purposefully dismantle this- Mm-hmm
uh, for the sake of Jesus and the cross if we truly believe in it." But sitting here 15 years later, you know, she's been the diesel behind that engine- Yeah ... for, like, the entire time- Right ... even leading up to that. And, um, through y- through your counsel and others, we ended up with a [00:07:00] mutual friend of ours, John Thomas- Mm-hmm
uh, and Living Hope- Right ... on the tip of the continent of Africa, which again, uh, was a mind-blowing sort of connection, and, uh, ended up there, uh, for five years and being tooled and taught and trained- Okay ... in a ministry. For, for,
Mike Glenn: for, for those who may not know about John- Yeah, sure ... and, uh, and Living Hope, why don't you give them a little background?
Joey Lankford: Yeah, so it was a, when I started it was, had been a 20-year partner of, of, uh, my home church, Burma Baptist. Right. And, um, and so my dad said, "If you feel called to missions, you need to start talking to the, to your missions department at your church." Yeah. I'm like, "Okay, whatever." So I just started talking to people there at the church and, and, uh, and specifically, and then I remember John being in town, in Avril.
And, uh, John sat me down and said, uh- If you don't
Mike Glenn: know John- He has- ... if you talk to John, you'll wind up in South Africa.
Joey Lankford: And he k- told me, uh, that he had a plan for my life- That's right. ... uh, when I sat down with him in the cafe, and, uh, [00:08:00] I didn't know him, but I knew his accent and his energy was something I wanted to press into.
Yeah, yeah. Like- Mm-hmm ... you got that kinda energy from- Mm-hmm ... for the Kingdom of God. Now,
Mike Glenn: this is, this is a man, just to give you real quick background, pastor of a s- a medium-sized- Small ... Baptist church- Mm-hmm ... in Cape Town, South Africa. Mm-hmm. Is broken-hearted- Mm-hmm ... by the AIDS- Mm-hmm ... that was happening in the township literally across the street- Yeah, Masiphumelele
from the church.
Joey Lankford: Masiphumelele.
Mike Glenn: Yeah. Uh, about a half or something, 30, 30%, 40%- Yep ... of AIDS. AIDS
Joey Lankford: and tuberculosis. Yeah. So it was like- And then
Mike Glenn: related- ...
Joey Lankford: 47% unemployment, 35% AIDS and tuberculosis. Yes. So it was, and it's, uh, 45,000 people on one square mile. Right. And the church is literally, like, uh, so for reference, an h- a mile, half a mile- May- may-
maybe, uh- Yeah, maybe ... maybe that. Yeah.
Mike Glenn: And so he starts leading his church to do that, and ends up with one i- uh, of the premier AIDS- [00:09:00] Sure ... treatment centers in the world. I mean, this is known around, people come from all over the world- Yes ... to figure out what, uh, what- Yep ... what this little church is figuring out.
Now, the good news was people started responding to treatment- Right ... getting better and going home.
Joey Lankford: Without jobs.
Mike Glenn: Without jobs. Right. So he comes to us and says, "We need to have a jobs program." It's like, what? Uh-huh. Which, we built a hospital- Uh-huh ... and all this. Right. Now, now we have a jobs program. Right.
And then that's where you come in.
Joey Lankford: Yeah, 'cause he's, he's like, "We got a jobs program, but we just need an ig- an igni- ig- ignition switch for it." Like- Yeah ... you know, and with my passion and energy- Right ... and 10 years of building healthcare, you know- I was like, and in my, in my mind, 'cause people listen to me talk and in my accent it's like, "Yeah, he just came from a farming background."
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right? He just knew how to farm. Actually, I would've been better suited running the healthcare center- Right ... that they had built- Mm-hmm ... because of my background in healthcare. But again, God had b- other plans. And when we got over there and, [00:10:00] uh, John actually introduced me to greenhouses.
Mm-hmm. He calls them tunnels. Mm-hmm. And I never knew what he was talking about until we went and I was like, "Oh, a greenhouse." Um, and he started showing me and casting vision for like- Mm-hmm ... this could be this, this could be this. And so I, I was like, uh, well, you know, I love being outside. I love hunting- Right
and fishing and, and so I was like, I, yeah, no, I think so, I think this would be something we could sink our teeth into. Obviously, came back to the church, the church invested in a couple of greenhouses. Mm-hmm. And, uh, we started growing tomatoes, and I didn't know how to grow tomatoes. Um, and we got, uh, I remember walking around as a business guy in Cape Town.
Yeah. And, uh, I went to Food Lover's Market. It's like, let's say the, the social equivalent of like a Whole Foods- Uh-huh ... here. Um, and I went to their corporate office, I'll never forget this, and, uh, I asked for the procurement or buying agent there. Yeah, right. And I ended up in a guy's office and sort of told him what I was doing and, and, uh, w- we, uh, entered into a [00:11:00] contract for unrefrigerated crown on tomatoes.
Mm-hmm. So, like fresh off the vine at 8:00 in the morning. Right. Um, it was part of their Black empowerment project- Mm-hmm ... which was trying to get everybody skilled for white-owned businesses in the Cape, uh, Western Cape primarily. Now they've grown across other places of South Africa. But, um, so, uh, we bought the greenhouses from a Zimbabwean farmer.
He was 63 years old, and he put his life on mine for five years. Mm-hmm. Basically, uh, doing the farming while I did the business and mentorship- Mm-hmm ... and worked alongside folks in the greenhouses. Um, it grew to be wildly successful within the portfolio of Living Hope. Right. So, like, you know, they've got addiction centers- Right, right
hospitals. This was just- Mm-hmm ... the job and workforce development arm and, um, and so we, we, we saw 26 small businesses start out of there. Okay. Um, we started doing some really creative things with- Now, now when
Mike Glenn: I came to hang out with you, you- Yes, sir ... were growing, [00:12:00] um- Cucumbers ... cucumbers- Mm-hmm ... and, and, uh, other plants like that in tubs of water.
Joey Lankford: Mm-hmm.
Mike Glenn: Yep, hydroponically. Hy- hydroponic. Mm-hmm. And in the water was tilapia.
Joey Lankford: Yes. So they were literally taking, again, uh, don't confuse me with, with the- ... the brains behind what I was a part of, but, uh, so basically taking a, a above ground swimming pool- Right ... and, uh, filling it with- 5,000 liters of water and putting 750 fish in it, okay?
Mm-hmm. And then putting floating styrofoam trays in it with, like, seeds of lettuce. Right. So the lettuce is coming down through the styrofoam, growing at the top, and the roots are literally just floating on top of the water. In, in the water, yeah. Um, which was mind-blowing to me, right? Uh, and then the fluent water from the fish, they would spray over 22,000 worms and collect what would be worm castings or worm tea- Yeah, yeah
they called it. And then they would reuse that over the plants to create these [00:13:00] supersonic growing- Right ... hyper... You saw it all with your eyes. Yeah, yeah, it was, it was- The, like... And then they would eat the fish every nine months. And you're like, "Well, this is the most amazing closed loop-" Right. Yeah "... growing system that I've ever seen in my life."
Nothing, nothing in this process
Mike Glenn: is,
Joey Lankford: is- So, and I think- Yeah ... like, we'll get to where I'm at now, but I think that's where my intrigue came. Mm-hmm. Is, like, looking at food equity around the world. Mm-hmm. Um, was... It's the, was the beginning of me thinking, you know, I see starving people every day in Masiphumelele.
Right. And it's literally, you'll... You've heard John Thomas say- Uh-huh ... a four-lane highway separates us from the, separates them from the richest people- Yeah ... in the world. Mm-hmm. Literally mineral rights holders- Right, right ... and, you know. And, and it, it's, it's, you can sit there and look both ways, and it really does something if you, if you're from the Western world- Right, yeah
from America. Well, like how I grew up, it's like, wait, how can two such polarizing places exist- Mm-hmm ... 20 yards [00:14:00] entrance to entrance- Mm-hmm ... and, and, and be so different? Right. And, and be so, um, I gu- I guess, uh, just i- indifferent to- Mm-hmm ... the plight of each. And it was both ways. Mm-hmm. It wasn't, you know, just a, a, a white or a Black issue.
It was just like this... It was just- You know, the whole city ... the purest cross-section- Yeah ... of richest and poorest in the world. Mm-hmm. It's the way John describes it- Yeah ... that, you know, that you'll ever see, and I would agree with him on that. But I started looking at food, uh, and what the food, what the choices for food were.
Mm-hmm. And I remember the winds of change blowing in my life again after five years- Mm-hmm ... of being down there. A- again, um, I try to say this every time that I get the opportunity, but South Africa was why God took me there. It was to give and impart on me a heart for food- Mm-hmm ... food insecurity- Mm-hmm
food equity- Mm-hmm ... the things that, like, now really resonate- Yeah ... within my spirit. Now let,
Mike Glenn: let's under- l- l- let's understand, [00:15:00] this was not just, uh, a hobby out behind the hospital. This was, this was several acres- Full on farming ... of, of, full of tunnels- Mm-hmm ... and farming- Yeah ... where the recovering Um, patients would work- Yep
learn the skill that they could take back to their villages- Yep ... that would feed their villages. Mm-hmm. And we were, we were selling the produce- Mm-hmm ... in the local grocery stores. Mm-hmm. If you went to the vegetable s- section, you- They had a running
Joey Lankford: real... Like, eventually they realized that we had flipped, uh, what we would call buyer's choice on them.
Right. Right. And they were requesting the Living Hope tomatoes, right? Yeah, and so you would have grown Living Hope Farm- Mm, and then they would have, like, um... I remember the day I came into Food Lover's Market, and they had these new big screen TVs. Yeah. And I was like, "There's Einstein. Wait, there's a tie."
And they had been out there videoing. And what they basically were, were giving the [00:16:00] buyer is this sense of, uh, you wanna eat well, we wanna f- we wanna have the best- That's right. That's right ... quality product, but you can do that and socially make change- Make, yeah ... you know, through- Invest, invest in the community
the investment in this organization. Right. Yeah. And that entrepreneurially instill in my spirit is, like, nonprofits are gonna have to evolve just like everything else in the world. Bingo. Right? And so, like, I, I was just telling somebody this morning, you know, I don't know that God, Hi- His I got you moment for me was, like, I took a businessman out of the business world, put him in the nonprofit world to just- Mm-hmm
move him through over 20 years so that when sustainability and, and other income- Oh ... related- Right ... questions come up about how we sustain ourselves, I c- you know, I, I wanna be a part of that. Right. Uh, I find that that's where my fuel comes from. But we had set up a commercial, basically a commercial business- Mm-hmm
selling the wares of the farm, which is food. The reason I fell in love with it is because there's not a person that's gonna hear this podcast that won't eat three times, you know, that- That's right ... won't need [00:17:00] sustenance today and, and won't want it, uh, to get good, good food. Um, and so it's not something like the other s- things which are totally good, but, like, bracelets and, you know, carved objects- Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm ... and whatever from Africa. This was something universally that we could sit down anywhere in the world, at a plate of food with. Right. Uh, and it didn't, religion didn't keep us apart. Politics wouldn't keep us. Mm-hmm. Like, we're all gonna be at that place- Mm-hmm ... at some point today. And, and so, uh, I mean, again, I just learned that by watching and observing the South African movements.
Yeah. Um, again, those polarizing dynamics at play in their social structure. Uh, and then Courtney and I began to hear the winds of change. Um, again, if you heard them once, they're easier- That's right. ... to pick up on the second time. So- And to come back
Mike Glenn: home.
Joey Lankford: Yeah, and I, and, uh, you know, I, I tell people we took four kids, and, uh, we lived on the side of the Atlantic Ocean, and something happened, but we brought back five kids.
Um, and you know Baylor very well. Um, my [00:18:00] wife got pregnant. We had a beautiful little girl that lived over there 13 months. She's going into sixth grade here- Mm ... in Brentwood now. But- I think when the winds of change started blowing back to 2015, uh, we, uh, y'all sent us in 2010- Mm-hmm ... as missionaries. We'd been there about five years, you know, and, um, we had a f- few opportunities, which I brought up with, like, you and others.
Like, there was a- some non-profits in Ethiopia. Right. There was one in Rio de Jane- that wanted basically what Living Hope had been able to do there- Mm-hmm ... in the food and, and workforce development game in their already established non-profit structure- Mm-hmm ... just like Living Hope had done. Right. And, uh, man, the more we prayed into it, the more we were like...
I, I just felt like God's saying... I'll never forget sitting at a computer and researching the p- population of South Africa, 53 million. Mm-hmm. And then out of just, out of random interest I just said, "Food insecurity in America," and it said 48 million. Yeah. And I was sitting there going, "Wait, my church sent me to come serve in a place whose population is almost- Right[00:19:00]
in total the amount of hungry people we have walking around in our country." Right. Right? Mm-hmm. I just remember that sitting with me like, wait, there's a huge opportunity- Mm-hmm ... for Christians to be on the tip of the spear of something, that I need academia and I need resource from the US to come behind.
Right. P- p- political folks- Mm-hmm ... uh, people to get behind this so that we can build something that's not, that's way bigger than me. Mm-hmm. L- l- let it be Lord Jesus, you know, 'cause I can get in the way of that. But, like, something that people can really come in and take, that we can hand off instead of me going to different places.
I just began my- to see myself as like, I could bounce around, but that'd be a lot of fun. Right. There's some- Right ... exotic- Right Me and Courtney living in Rio wouldn't be a bad deal. Yeah. You know, they take care of you, and y'all would've protected us- Right ... and made sure that... But that wasn't it. You know, God, I remember, um, talking to you a bit about it, and it was, it's like you just, you, you gotta w- ask the Lord to increase your desire, take it away.
You know, like- Mm-hmm ... just follow the [00:20:00] open doors. Mm-hmm. And it just kept being like, "Go home." And, uh, funny thing is I come here, and I think we sat down, you and I, right, right, right, right off the rip. Uh, 'cause I brought like $8,000 back, and when you come to Brentwood with five kids and $8,000- ... you can live about an hour and a half.
And so I, I said, "Well, I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go see my buddy at the church who is my pastor." So me and you sat down and, and, uh, you gave me some wise counsel that day. You said, um... Yeah, obviously I'm 15 years into this, and there's never been a moment when I doubted- Mm-hmm ... whether or not I was gonna eat- Mm-hmm
or my family was gonna be taken care of. Mm-hmm. So, but you looked at me and you said, "You're fine. We're gonna pursue this together. Um, and you keep running your lanes and, and setting the traps, and let's see what God does. But don't worry about what you're worried about." Yeah. Like, "Don't make a reaction based on your bank account."
Right, right, yeah. Like let's just- work this out- Yeah ... and if you need me, I'll be in my office [00:21:00] or whatever. Yeah, yeah. You know, like sort of that kinda go home, go to bed, get up, do your thing. Right. If you need me, call me. You know, and so I, and I realize that, and you know the men and women that we both know personally who undergirded that- Yeah
and said, "We're gonna support this- Yeah ... uh, while, while we get, figure out what God's doing." And it's so, um, yeah, we got mutual friends that have just been around us forever and- Yeah ... have helped me get started. So, so
Mike Glenn: you come back. You literally got nothing. Got nothing- I mean, you go from a really- ... but relationships
successful, engaged- Yes ... ministry. You come here, there's nothing, and then God starts opening some- Crazy doors ... crazy doors. I mean, doors we weren't even- No ... we weren't even knocking on.
Joey Lankford: No. The governor didn't even know, um, so Governor Haslam- Mm-hmm ... uh, who we're mutual friends with, but, uh, w- uh, he, he and I had started praying together when- Mm-hmm
I'd come back on furlough. Nothing more than I just, I had a mutual respect, like a huge respect for him, and, and, um, and so I'd go see him. And when I got back, I said, [00:22:00] "You know, what are you doing now? I'm, I'm gonna- Mm-hmm ... I started this nonprofit. I'm trying to get it off the ground." And, um, eh, "Well, why don't you go see my commissioner, Julius Johnson?"
I'm like, well, I didn't know Julius- Yeah, right ... from a bar, so, you know. I'm like, okay, that's his way of putting me off. That's right, yeah. You know, like I understand you're, you're busy, you're busy, Governor Haslam, but, you know, uh, I'm broke and I need you to help me out- Mm-hmm ... kinda thing. He, uh, I, when I met Julius Johnson, I met him in Steve Bennett's greenhouses.
Mm-hmm. Um, which Steve is also our friend and, and church, uh, friend. But I remember pulling up a chair and this older gentleman, I guess Julius was probably- Yeah ... 65, 70 at the time. He came in and, and I'd been praying, like, "God, give me, give me something. I mean, you've given me favor, obviously." Right, right.
This man's meeting with me on his way to his, the big house in, in Columbia, and, and, um, on his way from Columbia. And so I just started praying, "Lord, give me..." And so he sat down with me at a picnic table in a [00:23:00] greenhouse with coffee that Steve had set out, or his staff. Uh, and so we b- just began to talk. And you know that sense when you, when somebody walks up, you know you got the same God.
Mm-hmm. Like- Mm-hmm ... I was like, this, okay, I'm hearing this, like just a gentle, grandfatherly kind of- Right ... tell me what we're here for kinda. And so I just gra- I just took a deep breath and I said, "I, well, I went around and I walked around today and I prayed that God would help me make the most use of your time, 'cause I know this is valuable time, and, and, uh, I think He told me what to ask you for."
And I'll never forget, Julius says, he, uh, l- he laid his pen down, 'cause he had a pad of paper, and he goes, "Oh, he did, did he?" And, uh, I said, "Yes, sir." I mean, I didn't talk like this. Yeah, yeah. I mean, it wasn't me. Yeah, yeah. It was, and I said, "Uh, God told me that you were gonna be the one that gave me land." And when I said that, he, there wasn't not five seconds of pause in the air, and he said, "I can do that."
And I was like, "This is going [00:24:00] okay." And I'm thinking land like what we're- Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah ... sitting on right here. Yeah, yeah. A little common space. Like a little outdoor garden spot. Right, right. Yeah. You know? Uh, realized within two hours how much power he held, because he sent an email and 20 people were copied on it, and immediately it started just going.
Mm-hmm. Just going. Mm-hmm. Um, met him at his office, and we drove down to where he- Cultivate had started. Right, right. It's e- it's a lot of places now, but I remember him p- sliding his SUV down a hill and going acro- around that curve- ... and looking at that eight acres, and literally getting out and saying, "Will this do?"
Yeah. Right in the middle of Nashville. Oh, yeah. Right? Like- Yeah ... and I remember sitting there going, "Will this do?" Like, how do I hide- Yeah, you don't w- It's like, "Yeah, you got any more around the corner we can look at?" Yeah, you don't wanna do a moonwalk here on this thing. Nah, I was like, "Uh-uh." Yeah. We've since become, um...
I mean, I love, um, Commissioner [00:25:00] Johnson. He was used- Mm-hmm ... by God and put there. You know, you read in the Bible of, uh... And, and Governor Haslam, too. Like, uh, when I asked Commissioner Johnson, "Why did you do that for me?" When we were getting our second- Mm-hmm ... piece of property- Mm-hmm ... from the state, through the State Building Commission, and he looked at me and said, uh, "Joey?"
I said, "Yes, sir." He said, "I've never told you this, but I know how to read an organizational chart." And I realized he was telling me when it came, it came from the top.
Mike Glenn: Yeah,
Joey Lankford: yeah. And the governor had said, "Let this happen- ... if you can make it happen." And so basically what he was saying is- Yeah, yeah ... "I'm, I'm glad you're grateful to me, but I- Yeah
I'm following- Yeah ... orders." And I know that those orders came from even higher than that. Yeah. Yeah, sure. And, uh, these men of God were placed in a position to do now what has been done. Basically, you know, we went from that, the first people it pitched up were criminals- Mm-hmm ... coming out of incarceration,
Mike Glenn: uh- Okay, because the, the most important crop that- Mm-hmm
you invest in-
Joey Lankford: Mm-hmm ...
Mike Glenn: isn't the food. [00:26:00] Mm-mm, it's the people. It's the people who work- Mm-hmm ... at Cultivate.
Joey Lankford: You know, the food was, uh, yeah, it was God's way to get me interested.
Mike Glenn: Yeah.
Joey Lankford: You know? And y- and you think about, like, and I'm still interested in food. Like, I, I love to talk about the food sc- As far as future church- Mm-hmm
utilization of land. Yeah. You've been in those discussions with me, but, but the people is where God, like, my heart- Mm-hmm ... for people, and for addicts especially, because I realized how much of one I was-
Mike Glenn: Right ...
Joey Lankford: through the process, like, oh, Lord. And, and s- that journey is still ex- expressing itself in my life.
Mm-hmm. That, you know, I'm not building something, uh, for these men and women that have benefited. I'm building it for me. Mm-hmm. Like, God's given me the ability to be so close to addiction that in, in my own way I can fight it at times- Right ... because you've been around, they're the mo- they're the most try- transparent and vulnerable people you can be around- Mm-hmm
'cause they've hit rock bottom. Right. And, uh, you know, I've, I've been able to share my heart in, in Brentwood- Yeah ... in a safe place- Right ... where I didn't have to worry about somebody going, "Oh, crap, you did that?" Yeah. You know? Or, [00:27:00] like, you know. And so, um- Yeah ... a- so we just started off with a couple of dudes working with me.
We grew t- 10,000 pounds of food in 2015, '16. And I remember thinking we won the Super Bowl. Mm-hmm. It's four plots, 10,000 pounds, and we jumped around and hugged and kissed. And- ... they had been sober for six months, and I was trying to get sober, and we were just all- Yeah ... trying, you know- Yeah, yeah, yeah ... like that whole life of just, like- Right
and, uh, and I remember, uh, just being like, "Oh, Lord, let it be," you know, "What are You doing?" And so we just started building brick by brick and block by block- Mm-hmm ... and making sure that the Lord's name was on every, like, trying the best we could- Mm-hmm ... and just our human brokenness to be like, "If you're gonna do this, you're gonna have to do it, Lord.
You're gonna have to do it." So, uh, it- it, we, we've graduated 170-ish people into employment through a one-year work, uh, program- Right ... that we developed. Um, I've now six farms all ran [00:28:00] by prior graduates who have taken ownership behind what I would call underutilized property behind churches. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
I'm beginning to be heartbroken for the amount of land- Mm-hmm ... that churches have that they pay to have mowed. You've, you and I have talked- Yeah ... for years about this landscape of church future and, like, what we could do with that to create community and, and actually- Mm-hmm ... uh, uh, flip our hand on, like, we do care and we are gonna invite you to our property.
Yeah. The- You started doing this, or I, the church started doing this behind remember about years ago- Yeah, yeah ... through some
Mike Glenn: people. Well, and through some gardeners. Yeah. Uh, we had senior adults who were- Yes ... selling their- And downsizing Yes. They loved to garden, didn't have a garden anymore Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
We had young adults- Mm-hmm ... who wanted to garden- Mm-hmm, they had no space ... but lived in a condo or an apartment. Mm-hmm. Mm. So this beautiful friendship between- It's still there ... between the senior adults and these young people. Yeah, it's still there Uh, and, and the pride of, of harvesting the first- Mm-hmm
[00:29:00] cucumbers. Mm. Or the first strawberries. Yeah. And, and coming up to my office going, "Hey, we just picked these this morning." Here you go, Pastor. You know? That's right. Yeah. Here you go, Pastor. Yeah. You're like, "This is pretty good." It's, it's not bad.
Joey Lankford: Jenny's gonna love this. It's
Mike Glenn: not
Joey Lankford: bad. Um, I, and kinda cat- for me, catalyzing, like, okay, we've got
We did have food anxiety creep into every American home during COVID. Right. So an awareness began to be there to, uh, I think, where we're gonna have a, a, a transitional avenue for food equity. Mm-hmm. Uh, we're working on some real creative things- Yeah ... to, uh, allow for some of that to happen, because, um, we know that people wanna eat food, know where their food's coming from- Mm-hmm
know how clean it is, know what people are doing. You know- Mm-hmm ... how they're getting it. Mm-hmm. But we also know that there's a, probably a, a place in there for them to, to eat healthy and do what John did in South Africa. You know? Right. You eat healthy, but you also support those that are underserved and- That, that are there, that are trying to turn it around
through food education, through relationships with the government, through stuff like that.
Mike Glenn: Now, now, you know, I, I've had, I've had the [00:30:00] privilege of knowing this whole story- Yes, sir ... and, and being, and, and being part of it, and your family. Uh, and, uh, a- and all of that. Sitting out in the pew- Mm. Uh, you, beautiful family, all, I mean, everything.
We go- if we gonna, if we're gonna do American family, we're gonna do you- Yes, sir ... and Courtney. Mm. Uh, and, and, and those beautiful children. And here you are, you leave all of that on this, on this great adventure. So for those friends of ours who are sitting out there- Hmm ... who are just like you- Mm-hmm ... in that, you know, okay, I'm 40.
Mm-hmm. I, I wanted to do this- Mm ... and I've done it.
Joey Lankford: Mm-hmm.
Mike Glenn: And, uh, or I've got the trophy, and you know, it's not all I thought it was gonna be. Yes, sir. What do you tell them?
Joey Lankford: Um, uh, the way that I've, and continue to fall forward into what God has for me- Mm-hmm ... is just, [00:31:00] um, you know, delayed or partial obedience is is not obedience at all.
Right. Like, my wife keeps having to say to me, I'm a slow learner and you know that. But, like, if you hear God speaking to you- Mm-hmm ... you know, there's nothing... I've told you this, if you could wind back the clock to when you and I first spoke about this- Mm-hmm ... and somebody said, "Here's a $10 million check- Mm-hmm
to keep you from doing and experiencing," you're, you're fine. Yeah. Just, it's almost like Uncle Wormwood, you know- Yeah. ... screw tape toward, you know, like, "You're fine. The enterprise is- Yeah,
Mike Glenn: yeah ... you just stay out
Joey Lankford: the, you stay out of the game." Now more than ever I've s- I'm seeing people like you're describing- Mm-hmm
come and say, like, th- it's a revival of sorts. Right. Like, early retirement, uh, and through technology- Mm-hmm ... people are experiencing more quicker, so they're realizing these buckets don't hold water. Right. You know, so we're gonna go- Exactly right ... take a look at this Bible thing over here. Yeah, exactly right.
Like, let's just go [00:32:00] see some of these Christian folks that are- Mm-hmm ... running around. Uh, and so I, I, I just- Or the
Mike Glenn: happiest guy I know is Joey Langford. Yeah. I wanna go hang out and see what he- I wanna go see what he's talking about ... I wanna go see what Joey's learned. Yeah. Yeah.
Joey Lankford: And, and then to get down there and realize that I think the, the ministry of, of vulnerability- Mm-hmm
and, like, transparency. Mm. Like, no, I'm truly happy. But it's not, it, my, like, my marriage is still, you know, day to day, like- Yeah. ... and my, and my finances aren't. Yeah. But, but there's a peace that surpasses- Mm ... all understanding. When God says that in His Word, He means it. Mm-hmm. And I would say to dive into that, man, to dive into His Word- Mm-hmm
and just ask that, you know... And I always tell people if, if you pulled up at a stop sign right down here and, and you looked over and the Lord was knocking on the window and you- Mm-hmm ... rolled it down, is there anything that He would, He could ask you to do that you wouldn't do? Yeah. Like, we're talking about the- We're talking about the dude that we profess to worship.
Yeah. Mm-hmm. Like, if He said, "Hey, can you go to Dixon and..." Yeah, I can do that. Mm-hmm. But [00:33:00] if He asked you to do something that was maybe more- Mm-hmm ... costly than that, where is your checkup point? Mm. Like, what are you, what are you holding back from? Yeah. Because I can tell you that, like, ah, it's more broken and beautiful than anything you can imagine.
Oh, it,
Mike Glenn: yeah.
Joey Lankford: Like- Yeah ... I sit here as a project. Mm-hmm. Like, but I'm His son, and I can leave after this podcast and you, and you and I know that anything can happen, right? Mm-hmm. But the sensitivity to His voice- Yeah ... both in the good times and the bad, like, "It's okay, son." I mean, I've been I've been beat up too in the last- Yeah
15 years. Yeah. You know, like, but it's okay. Um, man, do I understand more about His mercy and grace and His love than I ever have in my entire life. Yeah. It means something when somebody says, you know- You know, God's mercy met me here. His grace met me here. Mm-hmm. No, I get that. Yeah. You know, I'm with addicts every day- Mm-hmm
who've been 22... Our, our, our average incarceration around the leadership table's 13 [00:34:00] years. You know, like, I'm with people who have literally been at the bottom. Mm. And, um, we- I was at a, an AA thing the other day, and I was... And the guy, there's a guy that was walking out with me, and he starts to talk, and he's talking about the AA, and I said, "Can I, can...
I gotta tell you something, though. I've been around, like, addicts for nine years now." Mm-hmm. "Going on 10." Right. Every single one that I have met who has a sustainable p- life- Mm-hmm ... has met Jesus Christ at some point. Some point. Some point. I... You can say anything you want to me. Mm-hmm. Every single person that I have met that has a peace- Yeah
that surpasses- That high power
Mike Glenn: has a name.
Joey Lankford: It has a name. Yeah. It has a name. Mm-hmm. And it has a feel. Mm-hmm. And when you meet him, you c- y- I mean, there's, my leadership team, two of them met him in a jail cell. Mm-hmm. You know, like, 22 years in prison, 10 years in prison. These men are discipling men and women right now towards k- kingdom of God like nobody I've ever been around.
Yeah. Because they met Jesus, right? Mm-hmm. That's not, there's n- Mm ... there's not a lot of education [00:35:00] with that. Yeah. That's a, that's an encounter. And, um, that's a long way of answering your question, but, like, just put yourself in the posture and ask that God would- Yeah ... continue to reveal to you what His destiny is for you, not your destiny.
Like, I still don't know. I mean, I'm sitting here today, like- ... I know what I'm doing. Yeah. Right now. It's a- But if you said, "Are you gonna run for politics?" It's a 24-hour contract. I mean, it's And like, I get this all the time, you know? Yeah. Like, okay, when you get to a million pounds of food- Yeah ... a year, and you're graduating, it's, is that it?
Right. Are you gonna franchise this? Are you gonna do something with it? And I'm like, I mean, God knows enough about me to keep me on a short rope, right? I mean, if I could see next year, I'd be standing there by the first of next month. Y- yeah, that's me. Yeah. And, uh, He, He's, He's not willing to let me do that.
Yeah. And so I, uh, by His grace, I still don't know the answers to the questions I just posed to you. Yeah. Like, what am I gonna do? I, I'm gonna try to- You're gonna be faithful today. Uh, yes, sir. You know, get the m- Day by day ... you get the amount you need
Mike Glenn: for the day. Right. Yes, sir. All right, let's end this, let's end this story with our favorite story.
[00:36:00] Yes, sir. Uh, John Thomas, our buddy, gets sick. Uh-huh.
Joey Lankford: Oh.
Mike Glenn: And it- You asked me to tell that ... it is a serious- Uh-huh ... illness. Uh-huh. And, and John gets r- really down. Uh, to the point that I'm reading his podcast and everything, this phase- Realizing it ... and I'm realizing this guy- Yep ... this guy's hurting.
Joey Lankford: Mm.
Mike Glenn: Lord says to me, "You know, if he'd been in town-" If he'd been in the States, you'd already be there.
And I had put off going to, you know- You didn't travel ... every time, you know. We all knew that. I, I don't like travel. Right. I don't. I don't like the peanuts on an airplane. Right. I don't like nothing. Right. And, uh, and your daughter- Mm-hmm ... had walked up to me and said, 'cause I hugged her and said, "I love you."
She said, "Well, you don't ever come see me." Mm-hmm. And that's- The Bradley- Uh, uh, um ... that we both know Uh, ooh, yeah, we, uh- Uh-huh ... ooh, okay. Uh, worked it out. We ca- I, I called you and I said, "I'm gonna come see John, but don't tell John." Yep. And, uh, and you drove me over [00:37:00] there, and we walked up on his front porch.
Mm-hmm. And he wouldn't let us in the house. Remember that? Mm-hmm. No. He kept looking at me. You had the hat on.
Joey Lankford: And I- He didn't know who you were. I kept telling him. And we hadn't seen him for six months- Yeah ... out of his house. Yeah. Yeah. But what I told you- 'Cause he'd been really ill ... when we, it's like he was s- He was sick
deathbed sick, right? He was sick. Yeah. And, uh, and- So I tell this story probably, I don't know if you know this, but, um, in that moment, you know, Cedric had just died and you'd helped- Right ... me walk me through- Right. Yeah ... a friend's death with his spouse- Mm-hmm ... in Ocean View. Mm-hmm. Earlier that day, I think, or the day before.
Yeah, we'd been down there, yeah, been in his home. Your timing was God's timing. But, so we walked through that, and then you were gonna go see John, and, uh, Tracy had arranged for him not to know and us to be there- Mm-hmm ... and him to be there. Um, and so my, my church pastor from the States, uh, my mentor from South Africa, and, uh, here we are pulling up in that Land Rover and, um, and then he was confused.
Like he was like, [00:38:00] and he's got his little old man jogging pants on- ... and his shirt. I was like, "Lord, help." I mean, somebody needs his Abercrombie. Yeah. Like, we gotta get this guy some clothes, you know? Yeah. But, uh, once he did notice, um, I remember the embrace, I remember the tears. Um, uh, I remember y'all going into, uh, his house and then, uh, I remember you asking me to, or asking John, "Is there a place that I could go and fetch you a basin?"
Mm-hmm. Um, I remember I knew what was coming when I heard you say that. Um, I remember standing there going, "That's not the way I had this planned out." Um, and so I di- he said, "Under the sink." I went and got it. You told me to fill it with warm water, and I stood there, and I got the opportunity to see two heroes of mine, um, [00:39:00] um, I got to see you kneel down and wash his feet.
I got to see him receive that. Um, I got to see y'all talk and say things that I've s- still I, I will only know. Um, because I was blessed by God to be in that room, uh, and hear y'all talk, uh, about life and ministry and struggles. And, um, it was a pretty emotional and defining moment in my life. Um, um, I got to see the heart of two men.
I get to s- uh, because, you know, and I know you know, but in the life of a public person- Mm-hmm ... you get to hear everything and everything- Right ... about anybody. Whether you love them or not, you're gonna hear it. Mm-hmm. And, uh, I always tell people, "You don't have to really speak to me about those guys." I've saw, I've seen the heart- Yeah
of, of, of t- of men, and there's been others that, you know. No, but, um,
when you're young and wet behind the ears in ministry- Mm-hmm ... [00:40:00] and you get to see people who are further down the road and who you love and consider to be, um, great leaders and lovers of Jesus- Mm ... uh, in that posture, it just, it does something to you at a soul level.
Mike Glenn: Yeah. Um- I remember he asked me, he said, "Why, why are you here?"
And I said, "John, Jesus told me to come over here and pray for you." Yep. That's- And if I- You left,
Joey Lankford: like, 24 hours later, I think ... and if
Mike Glenn: I pray for you and go get back on the plane-
Joey Lankford: Yeah, then I've done what I- ... I've done what I've had to do ... and you did do that. Yeah. I think you preached the Sunday and then preached the following Sunday.
Yeah, yeah. They do, they- Like, and that's a 27-hour- Yeah ... or whatever flight back and forth ... they didn't, they
Mike Glenn: didn't, they didn't even know I was out of town, really. Yeah,
Joey Lankford: I mean, again, as a young minister and somebody that lives off approval a lot of the times- Mm-hmm ... and, like, you know my wiring. You know it.
Yeah. You've been around it. You've seen it at its best and its worst. Um, that was a real defining [00:41:00] life moment. Mm-hmm. A stake in the ground moment. Yeah. And I've told you that before, like, you know, I don't know what God's gonna do, but if I get one way or the other, I've got that as a reference point- Yeah
for what true humility and ministry looks like, and I think I'm on the p- pursuit to try to figure that out in my own life. Um, you know, uh, but it's been a journey. Yeah. And I'm grateful to be here- Been an- ... with you today. Yeah. Like, when- We are grateful you're here too ... when you, uh, when you, when your staff reached out or whatever and Maggie said, you know, "Is this something...?"
I was like, "100%" Yeah. Like, this is a friend-to-friend conversation. That's right. Yeah. This is not a normal- Yeah ... like, this is my pastor. Yeah, no. And, you know, like, he's- Who knows stuff. Yeah, he, he sent me to Africa. He helped me to get there, and he helped John to figure out what the calling was for me. Yeah.
So, um- Oh,
Mike Glenn: gosh.
Joey Lankford: We- So it's just been a lovely, lovely journey. Oh. And I'm forever grateful, um, n- to you and so many others. Yeah. Uh, grateful for the opportunity to be a, a voice for the Lord, I think, and, like, [00:42:00] for the church, let's rethink how we steward our land.
Mike Glenn: Yeah, no kidding.
Joey Lankford: I mean- This is Joey
Mike Glenn: Langford Great friend, missionary, real deal.
Yes. Find more out about Cultivate at cultivate- .org. C-U-L-2-V-A-T.org. And you can find out more there Get there. It's the real deal. This is the Engage Church Network Podcast, and I'm Mike Glenn. And we are very, very glad you've joined us today.
Thanks for tuning in to the Engage Church Network Podcast. We exist to train healthy and skilled leaders for congregations throughout Middle Tennessee. If today's episode helped you, share it with a fellow leader, and don't forget to visit engagechurchnetwork.com for more ways to grow.
