The Good Life – November-December 2019

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HAVING A BEER WITH | SCOTT HENNEN GL: What is your faith? SH: I call myself an Evangelical Catholic. I spent a lot of my years as a Catholic thinking that just meant to go to church on Sunday. Most of my adult years were just about going to mass. My grandparents were devout Catholics. My dad converted before he married my mom. My mom was a very devout Catholic and a strong pro-lifer, so that was really instilled in me, but honestly, it isn’t as though we talked about Jesus a lot at home. I’ve since come to have my faith grow and come to understand that no matter if I’m Catholic or Protestant, it has to be more than going to church. It has to be more than just being a good person. It has to be about having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. And the more I’ve learned that the more I’ve blossomed in the faith. I love the Catholic faith a lot because it’s so rich. <strong>The</strong> first university was Catholic, and healthcare — so much has come from the Catholic faith. GL: What do you think is one thing people prioritize too much these days? SH: When I grew up, I’ll never forget my mom and dad looking at a house that had two garage stalls when we were going to move into a new house in Montevideo. That 26 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com made me think, “We’re the Brady Bunch! We’re like that house on TV!” Now it’s not uncommon to see four-car garages. Honestly, I have nothing against people having things. I have a three-stall garage at home full of junk, so I’m not perfect in any stretch, but we're going down a dangerous path as a culture, valuing stuff more than we value what we can take with us, and it's none of this; it's not a lake home or a nicer truck. GL: If you were to turn into any celebrity for a day, whose life would you want to live for 24 hours? SH: I love Johnny Carson because he was such a great interviewer. He was funny but you really learned something about the person he was interviewing. He had great interviewing skills. As a talk show host and an interviewer, you know where you want the interview to go, so you kind of push it that way, rather than just letting it happen and ask a lot of questions. My dad always said to just listen intently and don’t worry about what you’re going to ask next, just listen to them because in their answer you’ll get your next question. GL: Well, I’m not doing that very well. SH: You can’t! You have to go to the next topic.

GL: If you could start a secret society, what would it be about? SH: Jesus. GL: Would you want it to be secret, though? SH: Well, you don’t want Jesus to be a secret, but I think there are a lot of people that are good people that really think they have all the elements they need. “I go to church. I don’t steal from anybody. I’m a good person.” But I’d love to tell people that just being a good person doesn’t mean they’re going to Heaven. You’re saved by grace from God alone, and you get that from a personal relationship with him. I'd say, “This is the most important meeting you’ll have of the entire week.” I'd want to get people to come who wouldn’t if they knew it was about Jesus. By the way, I love talking to people about it. What I don’t like doing is forcing it on people. If it creeps you out or you think I’m shoving it down your throat, I get it. That’s fine. I would just love to have a nonthreatening conversation about it without any judgment. GL: What does living “the good life” mean to you? SH: I think everyone has to find their own good life, but for me the good life is not far from what I have. <strong>The</strong> time with family, the time building a company with a great partner and the chance I get to talk on the radio every day — that’s the good life. You always want more time for more of the things you love, so more time to do all of that would make the good life even better. I love the life I have. I really do. • urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 27