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Mike Hall: From Pastor to Entrepreneur - His Inspiring Journey · Reborn w/ Antonio Boutros

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to another enlightening episode of the Reborn Podcast.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: I'm thrilled to be your host, Tony Bootchers, and today we have a truly inspiring guest joining us.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: Today we have the privilege of delving into the remarkable journey of Mike Hall, A Vision Beyond Be Behind Sharing Real Hope, a ministry dedicated to spreading hope, sharing gospel stories, and bringing biblical truth to light.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: Mike's story is one of multifaceted leadership, spanning from his impactful work as a pastor to his success in building a thriving nationwide insurance agency business.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Join us as we uncover the insights, experiences, and wisdom that have shaped Mike's journey of entrepreneurship, ministry, and holistic living.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: Get ready to be inspired and uplifted as we explore the intersection of faith, business, and community leadership with Mike Hall.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: Mike, thank you so much for being here.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, thank you for having me.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_01: It's a privilege to spend some time with a budding, inspiring young entrepreneur like yourself.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, sir.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: I'm glad to be here and I'm glad I'm looking forward to the next uh few minutes we have here together.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: Uh the very first thing that's on my part this morning is what inspired you to establish sharing real hope and and how does it align with your personal personal mission and values?
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: Great question.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_01: Well, uh we have to go back into my uh overall background.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: And uh if we could go back and to the age 10.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_01: As a matter of fact, let me travel back to age four.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_01: At age four.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: You remember age four.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_01: Well, uh vaguely, okay, but but it's part of my I don't I don't think I remember age four.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: Now I'm a little bit closer.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_01: That was sixty-four plus years ago, yes.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_01: But at age four, my parents, uh, and I'm thankful to have had two uh parents uh in my life, my parents came to know Jesus Christ as their savior and began to take me to church.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: And uh through that, at age 10, I realized I had a need for uh forgiveness, even at age 10.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_01: Uh you know, I I realized the need for Jesus and I gave my heart to the Lord.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_01: And three years later, at age 13, uh this may seem unbelievable, but it is true.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: I I felt the call to to ministry and uh at age 13 began preaching and had the opportunity uh in my throughout my teenage years to to preach and then went to college and uh came out and started a church in Baltimore, Maryland in 1982 and pastored there in Baltimore for about 27 years.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's the background, that's my heartbeat.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: But in 2009, near the end of 2009, I had some changes in my life and uh unexpected changes in my life, unwanted changes, and it kind of changed the whole direction, but my heart was still to share the gospel, to care for people, and so sharing real hope.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: Uh actually, I'd already started that uh uh that 501c3 during my ministry years because of a trip to the nation of Haiti, and we started this something called Hope International, and eventually it evolved to doing business as sharing real hope, and and so uh that's kind of the background, and it's given me the opportunity to continue to teach and preach using this social media platform, a couple social media platforms.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: That's a lot in a little bit of time, right?
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_01: That's a lot of time.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I was not not not college age in uh 1980s, in fact, I wasn't born yet, but I'm curious, with having been most of your childhood a Christian from since four years old, how d do you navigate growing up as a Christian and then being an adult?
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: Was there any I know a lot of people have a break and I'm away I'm away from Christ or from Christ for a few years, uh, especially with college and society nowadays.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know what it was like uh 40 years ago.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_01: But well, um you I have to personalize it to me because um what it was like 40 years ago in general may not have been my journey.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_01: Uh for me personally, when I go back to four years old, that was kind of the beginning of the journey because that was when I began to be regularly exposed to the gospel.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I did not come to faith in Christ until age 10, so that's where my personal salvation journey began.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_01: And then, as I said, at 13, realized my life call, my life ministry, uh, call to ministry.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_01: So um so by the time I got to college age, uh, graduated high school in 1974 and went to to uh college in eight in uh August of 1974, I didn't go to a party school.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: I went to a small Baptist college, and so uh things were pretty strict there, and um I didn't have that uh I didn't have that break, as it were, where I broke with my faith for a while or left.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_01: That was my personal journey.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and um so it was a just a smooth transition at some level.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_01: Now, I'm not saying that there weren't challenges along the way, but but if if I'm understanding what you asked, yeah, that's just kind of where I was.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: When you say challenges, can you think of any specific one-time or recurring challenges that have come up in your journey as a pastor, uh leader, and entrepreneur, and and and how you overcame it and what you've now learned from it?
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_01: Oh man, uh the list is long, but uh maybe I'll pull one or two out.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_01: Let me go back to uh those early days in in college.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_01: In my sophomore year, I returned to this school, and as a small, again, it was a small Baptist college.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, um, I eventually transferred from there to what is now Liberty University, but in that small Baptist college, the the rules were really, really tight.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_01: And uh in the sophomore year, I I met the woman that was to become my wife, and um I broke a rule at the college.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_01: Uh we weren't supposed to take first semester freshmen and go to their to their house.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: We took a uh Thanksgiving break, and I went to her house in anyhow.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_01: Someone told on me, and uh I came back, and this is uh okay, toward the end of at the end of November.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: Semester's gonna be over in what mid-December early December, and they're ready to kick me out.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_01: And a friend of mine went to the uh college president and and um saved me, and uh and I learned over time that I am at heart a rebel.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I'm saying?
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_01: And and the truth of the matter is, all of us are at some level.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_01: We're all rebels, rebels against God, and it takes all kinds of different forms.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_01: So I got to know myself a little bit better there, and over the years, uh, there are probably a few other things that pointed that out to me and and made me realize that that I'm on a growth path, and I needed to uh to to trust the Lord to change my heart, even as a believer from early age, and even as someone that stood in front of people and and uh taught the word of God and preached, uh, I had in my life the need to uh focus on my issues and and to uh to grow as well.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: Now, when you say rebel, I'm thinking of uh an interview you did a few years ago with another brother in Christ.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: Uh you sent it in our uh Christian uh connectors group meeting uh a few weeks ago, and you mentioned uh how you in this world as a man have to be a rebel because most men are uh I don't want to bring up a hot word, but toxic masculinity.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: Uh people, I think, obviously often misconstrue what that is.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um toxic masculinity is not a man who goes out and serves and uh and protects his family and his loved ones, that's what they want to call toxic masculinity, uh, but kind of the opposite of that is.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: You were talking about uh how exclaiming your your joyfulness and and your faithfulness in the Lord is kind of rebellious in this in this day and age.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: How have you navigated traditional masculinity, Christian masculinity, Christian values as a man in today's age, and how would you inspire others uh to do the same?
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_01: So, so great question, and and I I think I probably need to clarify there there are two different things here.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_01: Uh when I said that I see that I'm a rebel and all of us are rebels, uh, I was thinking of that in the negative, in the sense that uh from a biblical theological perspective, all of us are sinners.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_01: And a sinner is somebody that's that is that's broken God's law.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_01: A sinner is someone that is rebelled against God.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: And so, and there's a fix for that, and it's found in Jesus Christ.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_01: It's found in the cross, right?
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_01: What you're talking about, you're talking about being a rebel in the positive and and and uh bucking the system in of the of this world.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_01: Uh we're talking about going upstream instead of going with the flow of culture.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_01: Culture today, uh in a general sense, is polluted.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it's polluted by sin and all of its effects.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_01: And um this whole toxic masculinity, if if you wanted to go down that path, uh, it somebody uh invented that term at some point.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_01: And see, on the one hand, are there men out there that that are jerks?
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_01: Are there men out there that are uh egotistical, uh even abusive jerks?
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_01: 100%.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: That is genuine toxic masculinity.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_01: But on the other hand, being a real man, uh being a man that that does what God has designed us to do, provide and protect and lead and serve and care for.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um sadly, that's that's the exception to the rule, it seems, these days, right?
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_01: And so being a rebel in the positive sense is going against the flow, going upstream against the downstream flow of culture, and being that kind of a man versus the other kind of a man.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_01: The other kind of a man is abusive, or yeah, the other kind of a man is is um complacent and just let it be and and and pushing off responsibility.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_01: So there's two things there.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_01: When you're a rebel in a good sense of the word, you're saying, no, I'm gonna stand up and and be the man that I was created to be.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: Now going from men back to boys, uh, you haven't come to Christ at four and getting deeper at ten.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_01: At ten, yeah, at ten.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, at ten.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_01: I just started getting.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_01: Your parents came to Christ at four at four and started exposing me to the gospel, and by the age ten I came to Christ, yes.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: For those in the audience watching this who don't have Christian parents, they might have an absent father, uh, may have parents, but they're just not, you know, faith-based.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, how can uh younger men uh find their way to Christ and develop a deep relationship with him?
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: One thing that comes to my mind is uh I've heard time and time again, uh, is having a relationship with Christ is is vastly different from uh you know being religious.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_00: I actually did a podcast episode the other day where I was talking about how Jesus was, you know, I can't remember the exact verse, I think it's in Matthew 6, 21, 6, 22, uh, where he's talking about, you know, you guys, you guys followed on my laws, uh, but you never sought me out, uh, and so therefore I never knew you basically beyond.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, how can how can young men form a relationship with Christ?
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_01: Beautiful question.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_01: And um, first of all, let me just say, if I could just look there and say to you, you are here today, not by accident, but by God's design.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, young men, uh the the ones that God is calling, he'll draw them to himself and and they'll be open to it.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_01: And then here in in this country, in the United States, there we still have lots of gospel opportunities through the various social media channels and and so on.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: But um but then there is the best way ever.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_01: And that's when another person, another human being comes into their life, befriends them, and shares, shares the gospel.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um this is an opportunity here though, for for whoever's watching.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_01: It it's God loving on you, giving you an opportunity to hear the truth, and then responding to that truth.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um the truth is, Tony, uh there are so many young men your age out there that are wandering, wandering around, wondering what they're gonna do with their life.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_01: And and uh they need someone like you.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_01: Is what you're doing here is is spreading good news, and hopefully there'll be young men that'll be attracted to this, that'll hear, and that that'll begin a journey.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_01: It'll be a part of the journey that God has them on to come to faith in Christ.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_01: And and you're right, there's a big difference between religion and being religious and having a relationship with God.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_01: Religious people don't go to heaven.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_01: I'll say that again.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_01: Religious people do not go to heaven.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_01: Religion doesn't get you there.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_01: Religion is man's attempt to please God, man's attempt to get to God, and it's impossible.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_01: It's like there's a there's a big gulf that separates sinful mankind from a holy God.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_01: We can't get to God.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_01: Uh religion always falls short.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_01: But but God can get to us, and God got to us through the cross, and the cross is the bridge that bridges that gap between us and God.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_01: And Jesus on the cross paid the penalty for our sins.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_01: So everybody that believes in him, that trusts in him, when I say belief, not just a mental ascent, but actually I believe in this chair and this chair, but but when I really show my belief in my chair, is when I put all my weight on it and trust it to hold me.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_01: And believing in Jesus is not just saying, yes, he can hold me, but putting all of my weight on him and saying, I'm trusting you and you alone to reconcile that relationship with God.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_01: So the cross bridges that divide.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_01: God comes to us and creates that renewed relationship with him.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_01: And so, relationship, not religion.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: I think we live in a world where most people, many people, all people maybe, uh, are done wrong time and time again by other humans and inherently they uh find that they cannot trust anyone.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_00: How can they differentiate between when they come to Christ uh that they can fully surrender and rely on Christ, even though they've never been able to uh rely on anyone else uh throughout their lives?
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_01: And and I'm sure that there are millions, without exaggerating, of people that are right there in that situation that you just described.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_01: Hard to trust other people, and maybe there have been things that have been done to them that uh that would make any human being distrusting.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_01: And um so so my heart goes out to them.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_01: And the only thing I can say is try him.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_01: Try him.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um you know, there are many people that have sat in that chair, and that chair didn't collapse.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_01: There have been many, many people, I'm one of them.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um I I have to say, God is faithful, God is true, God has never let anyone down.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um people have let people have let people down, but God has never let me down.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_01: And and so I I can trust him.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_01: And so they have to personally just sit in the chair and see that that that happens.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_01: Now, that's not a guarantee that bad things are gonna happen.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_01: Bad things happen to all of us at some level.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_01: For some people, it's the bad thing is is a flat tire on the way to work in a rainstorm, right?
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_01: Get over that pretty quick, right?
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, for other people, bad things are are terrible sexual abuse.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_01: There's a difference between a flat tire and a rainstorm and terrible sexual abuse and everything in between.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_01: So, so but bad things happen to all of us.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_01: It's part of the fact that we live in a world that has been affected by and under the consequences of rebelling against God, against sin.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_01: And it affects us all.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_01: Sickness, disease, breakups, all kinds of heartache.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, but in the midst of all of it, there is a faithful God.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and a God who, in spite of our rebellion, offers hope to us and hope that's beyond this world.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_01: We're all gonna die.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_01: And we're all going to spend eternity.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_01: We're not gonna die dead and be done.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_01: We're going to transition.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_01: And and and uh the transition to the presence of God, heaven, is going to be leaving all of this mess behind.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_01: And so the question is uh, can you will you trust Jesus in this broken world?
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: With the fact that even as believers, we will still face tough times, challenges.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_00: How do you personally define success uh in leadership, entrepreneurship, ministry, uh, and uh and how how can you how can you how can you define success when when there still are going to be, no matter how good you're doing, bad things that will happen even as a believer.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_01: You know, um I let me come back to that in a second because when you say that, um there's a book that's been written by a man that many people would know, John Maxwell.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_01: And the title of that book is Failing Forward.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_01: We have it in our library in the in the other room there.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um and the scriptures talk about uh falling down seven times, you know, getting up eight.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um so uh uh success involves failing forward.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_01: We're all gonna fail at some level or the other.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_01: The question is, do you stay down or do you do you move forward?
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_01: Now, what defining success, um, I think um uh you start with who made you, who created you, and and why were you created.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um and uh all of us are are made by God, we're all created by God, and and the ultimate reason we're created is to have a forever relationship with God.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_01: And in that relationship to reflect as a mirror would reflect to reflect his glory, to honor him.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_01: Now, there are lots of ways to do that, right?
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_01: So, so you Tony have a certain um set of skill skills, a certain passion, uh, some experience, even in your your young life, and your passion and your skills and your experience is different than mine.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and and and God is a God of variety.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_01: And so God created me to honor Him through a certain way.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_01: God created you to honor Him through a different way.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_01: And and so success ultimately is is uh living in the uh way that God created you personally to live.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: Now I think one of the things God has done for me, as well as uh, in my opinion, the biggest uh pandemic, if you will, of of today's age is not COVID, uh it's mental health.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and that's what leads to men being uh abusive and complacent both both ends of the spectrum.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_00: Uh ultimately is I believe a lot of mental health problems.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_00: Uh given that you have
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: a lot of uh a lot of stress on you a lot of burden uh as a leader in both ministry and entrepreneurship are there any habits you have uh or or things you tell yourself what what key practices have have you maintained to maintain your mental health and uh and and faithfulness with with christ yeah and that's that is such a loaded question and it it there's i i mean we could just forget everything else and just focus on that one question for a long time right um but but let me just throw out a couple of things uh a few things uh let me just start by saying um routines i i i I'm I'm uh actually mentoring a a young pastor and one of the things that I've said to him is is is consistent routines are so very important in in life getting a consistent routine um to to maintain good mental health now and I'm I'm not talking about how to deal with with bad mental health right uh maintaining healthy a healthy uh mental state um starts at the core of of who we are and and who God has made us to be again I keep coming back to that and and I could apologize for that but I'm not going to so uh one I uh regularly feed myself mentally and and emotionally I have a regular routine of doing that uh for the last I'm in my fifth year of reading all the way through the Bible okay and and that may sound simplistic to some people but it's probably even you heard my story I go back many years right but in these last four years the difference that it's made in my life that simple routine every night when I go to bed I the last thing I do is I lay in that bed and I read those scriptures in that going through that schedule that reading schedule some nights it's great some nights it's ah you know but overall it's making a big difference in my perspective in the world and strengthening so that secondly I have relationships with other men peers and otherwise that that encourage me that I nurture I'm not an island to myself God created us to be a part of a community God created us to be social creatures to interact to need each other and I think mental health depends on on that and in in our society today with the with the proliferation of social media what do you hear about you hear about the young people that isolate and and they have a hard time interacting with people because they live there right yeah and so so having healthy relationships helps helps that um and we could go on and on but so those are a couple things we've talked we've touched on it a couple times uh when you when you think of community and specifically when you think of mentorship and coaching what role do you believe mentors and coaches uh play in both personal and professional development and how can we uh sometimes we'll have especially in the professional realm uh mentors who might not be uh you know have a relationship with Christ but they still have good advice in a professional sense how can we stay aligned with our core values while still respecting them and and and their time and their feedback and so on.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_01: Again great question have more than one mentor and and definitely have for for for those of us that want to maintain a whole healthy relationship with with Jesus and want to grow in our faith of we have a good at least one or two good mentors in that regard plus the peer relationships and then that should help to filter the other mentorships.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_01: So absolutely you have somebody in your life in your area of business or entrepreneurship someone that is not necessarily walking with the Lord but they've got lots of experience and wisdom in your particular area absolutely you would do that and because you have these others you can filter if they're if they're coming from a place that's that's not good, that's not right or that that doesn't align with your faith then you're able to filter through that because you've got this other relationship here of a mentoring relationship.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_01: So multiple mentoring relationships based on what the need is what the area is because this faith-based person that's mentoring you may have absolutely no idea uh as about what you're doing no understanding could never help you in directly in terms of building your business but they can help you there and the guy over here that's helping you build your business is not yet maybe in a relationship with the Lord but he's got lots of wisdom and experience in what you're doing so you you the two to balance.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah we spoke on in the beginning uh a couple of setbacks or quite a few setbacks that you mentioned that you've had throughout your your career and leadership how do you bounce back from setbacks or disappointments and what motivates you to persevere uh in your mission okay we're gonna go there aren't we let me let me uh pull out the big guns to that yeah yeah yeah and we'll go to probably the biggest setback of my life I'm just gonna be transparent uh here um uh I said at the end of 2009 after pastoring for 27 years I had a major change in my life that redirected me and sadly uh that major change was uh a marital an unwanted marital separation and so um uh three days before Christmas the wife left and uh and the short version of a longer story is we never reconciled uh it never happened and about uh ten years into that separation uh a divorce occurred um and um for good reason so that uh those first uh that first year year and a half uh was the hardest time of my life uh I'm a small guy uh I lost 20 pounds during that time uh not meaning to um I honestly the only time I could I found peace was when I slept and thankfully I that is one thing that God blessed me with was sleep.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't when I went to sleep I slept and then when I woke up there it was you know um so that that was the hardest thing that I I think I've ever faced in life it was like a slow death uh you know and losing a spouse in that way so here's the good news uh I have five adult children the oldest uh was right there invited me into his home and his wife was beautiful here we are almost 15 years later 14 and a half years later still there beautiful relationship we're we're business partners um my daughter-in-law said I hope you never leave she's affirmed it more than once um when I moved in their oldest was four months old God put her right in my arms and used that to to fill my bucket and then two more came along so I've been blessed to be with three granddaughters actually live with them and help to raise them uh God brought people into my life there gave me that family gave me that opportunity then down the road you mentioned Sharon real hope we we moved when I was 61 years old seven years ago we moved from the east coast where I'd spent all my life to Indianapolis where we knew no one that was that's a big change for anybody but for a 61 year old that has all of his life ties back there it was really tough right but but uh in in that all that process God brought me to a place where I was able to uh begin doing some podcasts and and I kind of that that 501c3 had kind of been dormant for a while so I renewed that started doing some audio podcasts eventually got to video and did some live streams and through uh one of my friends back east uh he said you know you need to uh to uh boost those internationally that'll help your um link clicks and and uh that brought me to a point where I God opened up a whole door internationally so to the point that last year uh 10.5 million views over two million through plays in in countries where the gospel is is not necessarily always freely given difficult countries and so it's opened up a whole genre of ministry for me and and given me the opportunity to use the skills and the talents and the passions and that was brought to me sort of you know I almost kind of fell into it and so uh through that most difficult time in my life 14 and a half years ago I mean the worst time I've seen the grace of God poured in and seen him provide for me along the way and uh those friends that I was talking about those peers I had uh a group of maybe five uh pastors that I had relationships with back there those guys surrounded me they loved on me uh uh it really works what I'm saying you know it it works uh and and I had that already established and so when the crisis came there was that network of of men in my life that that fed into my life etc etc would you say 14 and a half years ago or even uh a few years ago when you when you uh came with your son has that having been a Christian since 10 years old has that even strengthened further your relationship with Christ without a doubt and and uh look um I know I don't look like it but but I work out right and and one of the things I do is is pull-ups all those hated pull ups right and and that that hurts and there's a resistance error you try it can you do 13 pull-ups I can uh I don't know if I can and and and it hurts but it's it builds I'm not this is not hanging down at least there's not much there but it's tight you see what I'm saying it builds that muscle that resistance builds the muscle what's true in the physical is true in all the other life the hard times I don't want them they hurt you know I don't when I pull that that uh piece of equipment out that I hang in the door to to to do it on I I look at that thing and say oh let me just get this over with right oh I don't I'm not looking forward to this but I know I like what it produces and we don't like the hard times in life we don't ask for them but they're gonna come you're either in a crisis coming out of a crisis or you're gonna face one one one way or the other and so God can use that in his mercy in his mercy as a gem the gem of life to strengthen you and so yes the the hard things that I've gone through have have helped helped me and shape and continues to shape me I'm still a work in progress and I always will be there's still God's still working on me still changing me still making me the man that he wants me to be and that'll be the case until I go to heaven you know and I will never arrive until I arrive and I know that so those things have helped.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_00: With your journey uh since you were 10 or before even moving to Indianapolis and so on I'm hearing grit, integrity faithfulness from your perspective what is the most essential trait uh individuals should cultivate to achieve success whether in ministry entrepreneurship leadership or or in life in general I I'm going to just off the top of my head uh again that's another one of those big loaded questions but I would say um I'm gonna almost make up a phrase humble teachability the person that knows it all the person that can't be approached the person that that that that is not open to to growing to new things that they're dead in the water they're dead in the water there there's a they're they're they're not going to go very far but if if you're open and you and you say say look yeah I still have something I you can teach me something Tony you know I'm I'm on my way to 69 years old and you're 20 what?
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_01: 20 20 that's that's how old I was when I got married I'm trying uh yeah yeah yeah it's all right don't don't rush it you we'll talk about that later but but uh can a can a 20-year-old young guy that's that's experienced a little bit of life teach a guy that's been around for 69 years anything I believe so do I and and so I hope that that I have the humility to say I can still learn and I can learn from anyone in any situation.
• 36:28
  SPEAKER_01: You know I can even learn from jerks right um uh and and somebody that's that's not being nice to me I can I can learn if I'm open so I think that's one of the key key traits if you want to do so many but that and then if you really want to get somewhere in life and sustain yes integrity and character you know that is so very important you can get away with cheating the system for a little bit you can you can do it but be sure it'll be there are so many public examples of people that that that uh thought they were getting away and then they're found out there's so many politicians business people you you know people that uh even even uh celebrities I'm thinking of one right now that that fled the country I don't I think he came back but the big big name celebrity you be sure your sins will find you out so why not just be the person in the dark when nobody's looking that you know you should be you know and so integrity integrity I like that as part of the Reborn Podcast uh I always ask rapid fire questions okay uh one one line one sentence uh starting with today what is your go-to source for spiritual inspiration the Bible and this is probably gonna be the same answer but what is your favorite book that has influenced your spiritual journey well obviously yeah the Bible what is the most rewarding aspect of sharing hope stories through sharing real hope knowing that I am uh in the center of God's will knowing that yes how do you recharge and stay spiritually grounded amidst a bit a busy schedule maintain the routine top piece of advice for someone looking to integrate faith into their everyday life the right routines uh so you you were wanting one sentence answers yeah but the right routines favorite Bible verse that resonates with you the most oh uh a whole bunch but I'll give you Proverbs chapter three verses five and six trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your path I just feel like that's a good one to edit on we got a few more uh what is your favorite part about leading and inspiring others in ministry seeing lives change that's that's so fulfilling to see see lives see seeing people light up yeah best way you found to connect with at-risk believers and offer them hope um being uh not only sympathetic but as as best you can being empathetic um I it's amazing how God brings people into my life that um I can relate to over the years since my marital separation and and divorce uh I can't tell you how many men that just have sh shown up in my life that I'm able to empathize with and take what was my pain now and transfer over some hope to them.
• 40:04
  SPEAKER_01: And that's just happened recently at my church on a Sunday morning.
• 40:07
  SPEAKER_01: I I'm I go to a church that probably 15 to 1700 people and I sit in this basically the same place every week on purpose here comes a guy that sits next to me in all of that that's going through it right at this minute how did he end up next to me and I was able to just last week he says you're my bright you're the bright spot in my life in my week craziness yeah yeah but but I was able to enter his pain by sharing my pain by being vulnerable transparent and saying hey I've been there I know how it feels there it is going off script a little bit uh off of the the uh rapid fire questions when I think I took us off just there I didn't give you a rapid fire answer uh but I I appreciate it when we're told things like that from from people in our lives how can we avoid being uh self-glorifying egotistical thinking it's for us rather than for him for God uh how can we keep our ego in Christ rather than in in the world so um uh the one way to do that is to recognize the grace of God that was poured into your life to get you through that so let me come back to me again see uh all that I went through and all of those things uh I think you've even heard me use that word God's grace provided those things I have to recognize I can't it's not about me I didn't get myself through that by his grace I surrendered to him and he came at me with with all of these opportunities.
• 41:52
  SPEAKER_01: Now you got to remember I wasn't an isolationist I had relationships with five or six pastors on an ongoing basis.
• 42:03
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't wait until I was in the crisis.
• 42:05
  SPEAKER_01: I was again back to routines by the grace of God trying to be faithful and doing the things that that God honors and then when the crisis came they were there so when I recognize that that and so here I'm in I'm interacting with this new friend that sits next to me in church that's going through a marital situation when I share with him I share with him hey I I had a breakup too and God helped me through it and etc etc that's not being egotistical and that's not bragging on me.
• 42:37
  SPEAKER_01: It's bragging on the guy I I I'm honest and I I share the hey I'm broken too and here's how God did it so when you stay honest you stay home you you stay humble and you recognize that it is God is getting you through and you're vulnerable and transparent I think that keeps keeps it in line it keeps the ego out of it.
• 42:58
  SPEAKER_01: And when you've been through enough pain it it it pretty much works on that ego right it crushes that ego when you've been through the pain.
• 43:06
  SPEAKER_00: Back to the rapid fire questions.
• 43:09
  SPEAKER_01: Okay I think this is more so for the newer people how do you incorporate prayer into your daily routine again I have a routine for that and there are certain times of the day when I pray and then throughout the day after a while you get to the point where it's it's it becomes part of your life.
• 43:36
  SPEAKER_01: It's like breathing you breathe breathe a prayer off.
• 43:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah that's I remember back uh when I was brand new in my faith I'm still new uh I would go to church I would read the Bible I would pray but it all felt like a chore I think ultimately anyone who's going through that sort of phase I would say lean into The people in your life.
• 44:02
  SPEAKER_00: Most people probably won't listen, but go to groups.
• 44:06
  SPEAKER_00: I know that can be scary for some people.
• 44:09
  SPEAKER_00: And keep doing what you're doing, even if it feels like a chore, because eventually it won't.
• 44:13
  SPEAKER_01: Very, very, very good word.
• 44:15
  SPEAKER_01: That that is 1,000%.
• 44:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 44:19
  SPEAKER_01: It's like any daily routine, you know.
• 44:23
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes time-wise, taking a shower is a pain, right?
• 44:28
  SPEAKER_01: But you do it because you know you it needs to happen and you push through it.
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_01: It's a good thing.
• 44:34
  SPEAKER_01: Same.
• 44:34
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes you push through prayer.
• 44:36
  SPEAKER_01: But when you do that enough in that routine, that relationship starts to you know what I'm saying?
• 44:43
  SPEAKER_01: And then it becomes but anything can become routines can also become rituals, ritualistic, and you want to avoid that.
• 44:52
  SPEAKER_01: And so God will drop a little thing into your life.
• 44:55
  SPEAKER_01: You know, He'll let things happen.
• 44:57
  SPEAKER_01: Well, things are going to anyhow, and He'll use that thing that drops into your life to grab your attention.
• 45:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 45:03
  SPEAKER_00: And this could be at risk of making the podcast an hour longer.
• 45:10
  SPEAKER_00: But I would also recommend people get baptized.
• 45:14
  SPEAKER_00: I when I I just got baptized April 7th, so just what three and a half months ago, two and a half months ago.
• 45:20
  SPEAKER_00: I don't even know what the date is today.
• 45:23
  SPEAKER_00: But I didn't think there was gonna be any tangible change, uh, but I genuinely felt the Holy Spirit come over me.
• 45:30
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I feel like God has been, not that he doesn't beforehand, but I feel like God's definitely been answering my prayers more uh since getting baptized.
• 45:38
  SPEAKER_00: I've put many things into prayer, into uh our men's groups and and so on, and he's answered them almost pretty much overnight immediately.
• 45:47
  SPEAKER_00: Not that that's what it what it's always gonna be.
• 45:49
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm gonna pray for a billion dollars, he's gonna just drop off a semi-truck with cash tomorrow.
• 45:55
  SPEAKER_00: But uh, for example, one of the things I struggled with was having my identity more in being an entrepreneur rather than being in Christ.
• 46:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I gave that to God in our in our men's ministry, and kind of overnight, I think maybe realistically, it was like a week or two later after I prayed on it, was completely reversed.
• 46:16
  SPEAKER_00: So I do believe there is definitely uh divine power in getting baptized.
• 46:22
  SPEAKER_01: And if if if I could just come off of that and just say um it's an act of obedience.
• 46:29
  SPEAKER_01: And when you obey God, that that that there's there's consequences, and and there are good consequences to obeying God.
• 46:38
  SPEAKER_01: Jesus said, go and make disciples, baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.
• 46:43
  SPEAKER_01: And if I can say just one other thing about baptism, uh the thing that helps me understand it is uh it doesn't save you, it doesn't make you a Christian.
• 46:53
  SPEAKER_01: Just like in marriage, putting on the ring doesn't make you married.
• 46:57
  SPEAKER_01: Putting on the ring is a symbol of your marriage.
• 47:00
  SPEAKER_01: It is a recognition that you're married in in our culture, in our society, right?
• 47:05
  SPEAKER_01: So baptism is the ring.
• 47:07
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you've you're already married, you're already saved, but when you baptize, it's a public confession.
• 47:13
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's coming out, it's saying, I'm putting on this ring, I belong to Jesus, and I want everybody to know it.
• 47:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I think he's really shifted priorities uh for me.
• 47:22
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and and and for those who are newer in their faith and they need something tangible, uh, my business, since giving my identity to Christ as opposed to in my business, my business has uh probably grown 5x at least uh with a with a good roadmap for exponential growth from here on out.
• 47:45
  SPEAKER_00: Uh now I that's gonna be a whole nother conversation.
• 47:50
  SPEAKER_01: But it might not be your experience.
• 47:53
  SPEAKER_01: You you you might get baptized and your business might crash, right?
• 47:56
  SPEAKER_01: But the the truth is, what your bottom line is your identity is in something that'll last no matter what else happens.
• 48:03
  SPEAKER_01: Uh if your identity is in your business, if your identity is in your physical prowess, you might you might get a disease that knocks your physical prowess or takes it totally away.
• 48:13
  SPEAKER_01: Your business might crash.
• 48:15
  SPEAKER_01: You your anything can happen to take away the things that we put our identities in, but nothing can happen to change your identity in Christ if you know Jesus Christ.
• 48:26
  SPEAKER_01: That's where you're 100% right there.
• 48:29
  SPEAKER_01: Your identity has to first and foremost be in Jesus Christ.
• 48:33
  SPEAKER_01: And then all those other things are good and right if you're doing it right, but you're not tied to that.
• 48:41
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 48:41
  SPEAKER_01: Because the truth is, we're all gonna, we're all going to uh eventually leave that business, we're all gonna eventually uh leave that marriage by death or whatever.
• 48:52
  SPEAKER_01: We're all gonna eventually lose our physical prowess at some level, uh, but but not our relationship with Jesus.
• 49:00
  SPEAKER_00: I think on a secular level, we're as entrepreneurs taught to work 24-7 as well, is another thing.
• 49:06
  SPEAKER_00: I just started taking Sabbath uh about two, maybe two and a half or so months ago.
• 49:11
  SPEAKER_00: Good job.
• 49:11
  SPEAKER_00: And that's also been peaceful, refreshing.
• 49:14
  SPEAKER_00: Good in the beginning in the first few weeks, it definitely felt odd.
• 49:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 49:20
  SPEAKER_00: But it's been uh I would say the the main thing is peaceful.
• 49:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 49:26
  SPEAKER_00: To take it.
• 49:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 49:28
  SPEAKER_00: Going back to the the rapid fire questions, what is your favorite hymn or or worship song that lifts your spirits?
• 49:36
  SPEAKER_01: Oh man.
• 49:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um Amazing Grace is a really, really good one.
• 49:42
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but uh uh there's a hymn, um greatest Greatest Thy Faithfulness.
• 49:48
  SPEAKER_01: I love that that hymn because God is faithful.
• 49:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 49:52
  SPEAKER_00: What is one thing you're currently grateful for in your journey of faith and entrepreneurship?
• 49:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um in a broad sense, the grace of God, in a in a particular sense, uh, my son and daughter-in-law that have been channels of God's grace into my life for the last almost 14 and a half years.
• 50:14
  SPEAKER_01: Very grateful for that.
• 50:16
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I always wrap up uh the in uh uh the Reborn Podcast with one question, which is if you could give one piece of advice to uh the audience listening, men, women of all ages, uh what would you tell them?
• 50:32
  SPEAKER_01: Well, uh if you've listened all the way to the end here, uh you're not gonna be surprised by this by this answer.
• 50:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um and that is uh find uh and pursue your relationship with God uh and go to the Bible.
• 50:49
  SPEAKER_01: Uh go to the Bible.
• 50:50
  SPEAKER_01: And if you're brand new, uh start reading in in the New Testament, the fourth gospel, the Gospel of John.
• 50:57
  SPEAKER_01: Start there and and begin a regular, regular reading.
• 51:01
  SPEAKER_01: Get a uh a modern day translation uh of the scriptures um and and go there.
• 51:09
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for tuning in to today's episode of the Reborn Podcast.
• 51:13
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you found our conversation with Mike Hall as enlightening and enriching as I did.
• 51:19
  SPEAKER_00: Uh remember, you can find more about sharing real hope uh and connecting with Mike on where can I find you?
• 51:27
  SPEAKER_01: SharingRoralHope.org.
• 51:28
  SPEAKER_00: SharingRealHope.org.
• 51:30
  SPEAKER_00: Uh if you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review.
• 51:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I always say the most important thing you can do is share it with your friends and family.
• 51:41
  SPEAKER_00: Uh your support means the world to us.
• 51:43
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, uh stay inspired, stay motivated, and keep striving for greatness.
• 51:49
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and and a new catchphrase uh that I've keyed uh just the last week.
• 51:54
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I've been actually recommended to put it on some shirts so I might end up doing that and jump in some merch.
• 51:59
  SPEAKER_00: We'll see if that uh goes.
• 52:01
  SPEAKER_00: But doing God's will with his power uh for his glory.
• 52:06
  SPEAKER_00: Uh with that said, this is Tony Buster signing off.