S5:018 – How Paul went from persecutor to apostle
Join The Journey
Watermark Community Church, Dallas, TX
5.0 • 879 Ratings
🗓️ 5 May 2026
⏱️ 36 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
How did the apostle Paul become a Christian? Is anyone too far gone from Jesus? In this episode, Emma Dotter unpacks the conversion story of Saul: a Pharisee who was on his way to persecute Christians when he had a miraculous encounter with Jesus. Later, Saul would go by his Roman name, Paul, and become one of the most famous Christians in history: the apostle Paul. Then, Watermark Institute student Devan Tatum shares the story of how Jesus radically transformed his life from finding temporary satisfaction in the world to finding true purpose and lasting joy in Christ.
// ADDITIONAL VERSES MENTIONED:
John 9: 31; Luke 12: 20; 1 Timothy 1: 15; Philippians 2: 13; Micah 7: 18; Psalm 139: 6; Psalm 55: 22
// RELATED JOIN THE JOURNEY EPISODES:
- S4:268 Acts 9-11 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s4-267-acts-9-11/id1600151923?i=1000735699050
// RESOURCES FOR FURTHER STUDY:
- Read Devan’s story: (https://www.watermark.org/blog/not-the-same)
- Learn about the Watermark Institute: (https://www.watermarkresources.com/ministries/institute?utm_medium=institute&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=the_current&utm_content=the_current_20251111)
// WHAT IS JOIN THE JOURNEY?
Join The Journey is a realistic daily Bible reading plan that helps followers of Jesus at Watermark Community Church and beyond enjoy abiding in Jesus together. Join The Journey Jr. is designed to help parents guide their kids in Bible reading through interactive and age-specific lessons. In 2026, we’re studying the book of Acts—one passage per week. For another year, teaching on Sunday will align with each week’s passage. Then, for the next six days, we’ll return to the same passage with fresh focus, exploring insights about who God is and how we can enjoy him more deeply. Monday through Saturday, we’ll approach the same passage from a different perspective each day—whether observation, interpretation, prayer, or another spiritual practice—to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for God’s Word. Then, watch or listen to the video podcast to tackle the week's toughest verses and discover key historical, theological, and practical insights.
Daily Bible lessons for adults: https://jointhejourney.com
Daily Bible lessons for parents and families: https://jointhejourney.com/jr
Weekly Bible podcast for kids: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
// MORE RESOURCES FROM JOIN THE JOURNEY:
Digital Bible study resources: https://jointhejourney.com/resources
Previous years’ print curriculum: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Waterma...
Contact the Join The Journey team: jointhejourney@watermark.org
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | All right, all right, join the Journey family, friends, and guests. |
| 0:04.1 | You're listening to Join the Journey podcast with your host, Emma, daughter. |
| 0:09.4 | Thanks for joining. |
| 0:10.8 | This week, we are beginning our study of Axnine, looking at Saul's conversion. |
| 0:16.7 | And here with me today is a guest I've been super excited for for a while now. He is one of our Watermark Institute students, and his name is Devon Tatum. Devon, welcome. Thank you so much, Emma. I'm so glad you're here. If his face looks familiar, it's probably because he was the Easter Watermark News. Praise God. And if it doesn't, you're going to get to meet them here today. |
| 0:55.4 | So, Dev, what I want to do, this episode, listeners may feel a little bit different. What I want to do is have you just share what God's done in your life. And then at the end, we'll talk about how your life relates to X-9. I like that. Thank you. You're welcome. So take it away. The mic is yours. It is very radical and very dramatic. So I'm born and raised in Topeka, Kansas. So that's where I grew up |
| 1:03.9 | before coming down to Dallas. And I grew up with a black dad and a white mom, and we would always go to church growing up. |
| 1:13.3 | But then I feel like I don't remember anything about church. I just remember seeing my dad up there, |
| 1:19.1 | preaching sometimes, and you go to like children's church. So everyone was a Christian. And I feel |
| 1:25.5 | like that's all I knew. |
| 1:28.1 | So when I was in first grade, about six or seven years old, my parents got divorced. |
| 1:34.0 | My dad cheated on my mom, which led to us not really going to church anymore. |
| 1:40.7 | But we were still trained in praying at dinner and things like that |
| 1:46.7 | praying before we ate lunch. And that kind of led to custody. So me and my three biological |
| 1:52.5 | sisters, me being the second oldest, we lived with my mom. And on the weekends and every other |
| 1:58.3 | Wednesday we'd go be with my dad. And with that, |
| 2:02.0 | sometimes we would be with this one woman that my dad was seeing or another woman that my dad |
| 2:07.7 | was seeing and they would, and we would adopt kind of their family. And I'd be like, |
| 2:13.8 | oh, these are my siblings and things like that. My dad didn't take us to church during those times. |
| 2:18.4 | My mom took us to church because my grandma was devoted to that. |
| 2:23.5 | So that's kind of what it looked like growing up. |
| 2:26.9 | And my mom has epilepsy, so she can't work. |
... |
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