Latest / Made For More Leadership Podcast / How to Become a Man of God | Aaron Burke & Noah Herrin

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How to Become a Man of God | Aaron Burke & Noah Herrin · Made For More Leadership Podcast

0:02
SPEAKER_00: Hey, welcome to Made for More.
0:03
SPEAKER_00: My name is Aaron Burke.
0:04
SPEAKER_00: So glad you're joining us for this month's episode.
0:06
SPEAKER_00: I'm with my friend Noah Heron, and this is a return guest.
0:09
SPEAKER_01: Come on.
0:10
SPEAKER_00: Noah, not everybody gets invited back, but because the episodes went everywhere, we have Noah back.
0:16
SPEAKER_00: Actually, Noah is one of my favorite people.
0:18
SPEAKER_00: Started an incredible church in Nashville of Wade Church and uh author of now his second book.
0:24
SPEAKER_00: Second?
0:24
SPEAKER_01: That's right, yeah.
0:25
SPEAKER_00: Second book.
0:25
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna talk all about manhood today and how to step up.
0:28
SPEAKER_00: But by the way, if uh you're new to the podcast, we put on a new episode every month.
0:32
SPEAKER_00: Make sure you like, subscribe, and um, I'm so excited.
0:35
SPEAKER_00: I love feedback.
0:36
SPEAKER_00: So let me know on Instagram or wherever you're watching this how we can do this better, how it speaks to you.
0:41
SPEAKER_00: And know uh God's been doing really cool things through your life.
0:44
SPEAKER_00: First of all, just give us an update on Way Church.
0:46
SPEAKER_00: You've been doing this thing for a few years now.
0:47
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, three years.
0:48
SPEAKER_00: What's lifelike?
0:49
SPEAKER_01: Um about to celebrate three.
0:51
SPEAKER_01: We just passed 1700 salvations, which is one of the things we're most excited about.
0:55
SPEAKER_01: So big.
0:56
SPEAKER_01: Um, we're launching our second location.
0:58
SPEAKER_01: It's huge.
0:58
SPEAKER_01: We're inspired by Radiant Church and it launches in seven weeks from when we're recording this, which is uh we're just over the moon about.
1:06
SPEAKER_01: Um family's great.
1:07
SPEAKER_01: We have three kids now instead of two.
1:09
SPEAKER_01: It's huge.
1:10
SPEAKER_01: So just God's been really, really good to us.
1:12
SPEAKER_01: And um, shout out to Radiant Church because Way Church would not exist without Radiant Church.
1:17
SPEAKER_00: Very nice.
1:17
SPEAKER_00: Let's just talk about leadership for just a second.
1:19
SPEAKER_00: You are an amazing leader, you're navigating uh family, a church, travel, so much, writing books.
1:26
SPEAKER_00: How do you, how do you uh how do you do it all, man?
1:29
SPEAKER_00: Uh uh, well, you're very in your fit and you take care of yourself.
1:33
SPEAKER_00: Like, I think it's a big deal.
1:34
SPEAKER_00: Like, how do you win in every area?
1:36
SPEAKER_01: Um, I'm obsessive over like grading how I spent my time each week.
1:41
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
1:41
SPEAKER_01: So I am like almost film rooming the way that I spend my time because it it feels like when we started the church, there were a million different places I could put my time.
1:52
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
1:52
SPEAKER_01: And I was constantly asking people like you, like Pastor Aaron, like, what do I need to be doing more of?
1:56
SPEAKER_01: What do I need to be doing less of?
1:58
SPEAKER_01: And the the more that I prayed about it and the more that I really evaluated what was moving the needle in our family, in our church, it became clear if I'm not actually looking back at how my time's spent and if it's moving the needle, then I just don't have a target to hit.
2:13
SPEAKER_01: And so now I'm just like, man, what's gonna, what is the thing that I could do today that's going to bring the most fruit?
2:20
SPEAKER_01: And that's like kind of the question that I reverse engineer for every day of the week.
2:24
SPEAKER_01: Very smart.
2:25
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes it's, you know, spending a ton of time on a sermon that I wish that it didn't take me 12 hours every week to write it.
2:31
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
2:32
SPEAKER_01: I thought it would be better by now, but it still takes 12 hours.
2:35
SPEAKER_01: Um, sometimes it's it's saying, hey, we're canceling the meeting because we haven't had a family day in a couple of days, and we're just gonna do that today.
2:41
SPEAKER_01: But um, just asking the question, what's gonna bring the most fruit today?
2:44
SPEAKER_01: What does balance look like for you?
2:47
SPEAKER_01: I think I've heard you say this that balance is a myth.
2:50
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it is.
2:51
SPEAKER_01: And so um for me it's it's the rhythm concept that I've I've actually I learned this from you and from Katie, talking about kind of like the date, uh, the weekly date nights, you know, that that daily time with the Lord, and then the time away with your with your wife.
3:06
SPEAKER_01: And so a big budget line item in Maddie and I's budget is date night.
3:11
SPEAKER_01: And every three months we do a staycation in Nashville.
3:14
SPEAKER_01: I love that.
3:14
SPEAKER_01: And it sounds bougie, um, but it's the most energizing thing for our marriage.
3:19
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
3:19
SPEAKER_01: And so we run really hard.
3:21
SPEAKER_01: Like I know I'm gonna stand before the Lord one day and I'm gonna give an account with to what he put in my hand, and I want to maximize what he put in my hand.
3:29
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and so I just refuse to believe that the Apostle Paul would have been like, I need two Sabbaths this week.
3:35
SPEAKER_01: Um, I think he was like riding a Harley, like advancing the kingdom, yeah, and that's what I want to be, but I also need those rhythms that force me to stop in certain times.
3:47
SPEAKER_01: And so we've just been stealing your stuff, man.
3:49
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I don't know about that.
3:50
SPEAKER_00: But you you and Maddie are such an inspiration.
3:52
SPEAKER_00: And I mean, you're doing such a good job.
3:54
SPEAKER_00: I mean, raising three young kids at home, it's a big deal.
3:57
SPEAKER_00: Uh, let's just hit hit on this real quick and then we'll get into the book.
4:00
SPEAKER_00: But I mean, what is it like?
4:02
SPEAKER_00: I mean, like, how do you navigate?
4:03
SPEAKER_00: Because y'all both lead really well.
4:05
SPEAKER_00: I mean, she is very involved.
4:06
SPEAKER_00: She is.
4:07
SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's a major uh it could be a big, big tension point.
4:10
SPEAKER_00: And I know there's a lot of people that watch this, a lot of pastors have watched this, they're always trying to navigate, leading with their spouse.
4:15
SPEAKER_00: How do you do that?
4:16
SPEAKER_00: How have y'all do that?
4:17
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
4:18
SPEAKER_01: So I was at the park um about a year ago, and I was following this.
4:24
SPEAKER_01: Uh I wasn't trying to follow them.
4:25
SPEAKER_01: I just happened to be walking.
4:26
SPEAKER_01: I was I was on the phone, and there was this man with like his 13, 14-year-old daughter.
4:32
SPEAKER_01: They're on a walk together.
4:33
SPEAKER_01: And every like 10, 20 yards, this man would stop and pick up a piece of trash.
4:38
SPEAKER_01: Anytime he saw a piece of trash, he'd stop and pick it up and he'd throw it away.
4:42
SPEAKER_01: And I just kept watching him.
4:43
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, this is like this guy's a saint.
4:45
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
4:46
SPEAKER_01: And finally, the daughter said, Why do you keep doing that?
4:50
SPEAKER_01: And I'm like kind of paying attention, kind of not.
4:52
SPEAKER_01: And he said, I want to keep this place beautiful.
4:54
SPEAKER_01: And when I think about leading with your spouse, I think the number one thing that you can do as a leader is to do everything you can to keep your spouse beautiful in the eyes of the people that you're leading.
5:06
SPEAKER_01: It's crazy.
5:07
SPEAKER_01: It's a much more difficult job for my wife than it is for me.
5:10
SPEAKER_01: It's very easy to keep her beautiful, it's harder to keep me.
5:12
SPEAKER_01: But I think the way that you honor each other, and it doesn't mean that there are not moments where you're not gonna butt heads and where you're gonna have to sort through things, of course.
5:22
SPEAKER_01: But the way that you honor each other publicly, privately, creating a place where they feel like that person is gonna pick up any trash that comes near my way.
5:30
SPEAKER_01: My wife is so good at that that there's not an ounce of me feeling like when she crushes leadership, it diminishes me.
5:38
SPEAKER_01: Right.
5:38
SPEAKER_01: It's like she has done such a great job of loving me and picking up the trash that I want her to be a better leader than me.
5:46
SPEAKER_01: Does that make sense?
5:47
SPEAKER_00: No, it makes a lot of sense.
5:48
SPEAKER_00: You do a good job with that.
5:49
SPEAKER_00: And it's amazing to hear you can tell a lot about a person by how they talk about their spouse.
5:53
SPEAKER_00: Totally.
5:53
SPEAKER_00: And you're always honoring her, always celebrating her.
5:56
SPEAKER_00: That's why you have a great marriage.
5:57
SPEAKER_00: Um, let's talk about your book.
5:58
SPEAKER_00: I'm so excited about this.
6:00
SPEAKER_00: What a need today.
6:01
SPEAKER_00: There seems to be a huge move of God amongst young men coming to faith today.
6:07
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
6:07
SPEAKER_00: And um, I think your book couldn't have come at a more perfect time and the idea of like challenging men and what does it mean.
6:14
SPEAKER_00: So, why did you write this book?
6:17
SPEAKER_00: Tell us kind of the by background and the synopsis of it.
6:19
SPEAKER_01: One of my favorite things to do is to listen to old dead preachers.
6:23
SPEAKER_01: Uh-huh.
6:23
SPEAKER_01: And Billy Graham has always been a massive inspiration for every pastor he is.
6:27
SPEAKER_01: Uh, but like one of the greatest preachers ever, also like some of the greatest hair ever.
6:32
SPEAKER_01: I don't know early Billy Graham.
6:34
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, dude, how did you know?
6:36
SPEAKER_01: No wonder millions showed up.
6:37
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
6:38
SPEAKER_01: So I'm listening to this old Billy Graham sermon one day, and he was talking to men in the sermon.
6:43
SPEAKER_01: And he said, guys, all of you that are listening to this message are gonna have to overcome the three G's.
6:48
SPEAKER_01: You're gonna have to overcome gold, glory, and girls.
6:51
SPEAKER_01: And he said, every temptation that you face will fall under one of those three categories.
6:55
SPEAKER_01: And what I was seeing, we had just started the church when I started writing this book.
6:59
SPEAKER_01: We had a ton of young people and a ton of young guys, I mean, way higher percentage than what I would say typically you would see coming to church.
7:08
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, man, like how can I, how can I help disciple these guys?
7:12
SPEAKER_01: I started discipling a small group of men, but I was like, I want to to create something or write something that helps men outside of this group and outside of our church.
7:21
SPEAKER_01: And so I basically wrote the book Helping Men to Overcome Those Three G's of Temptation.
7:27
SPEAKER_01: Um, the world says the way to become a man is to get all the gold you can, to get all the girls that you can, and to get all the glory that you can.
7:34
SPEAKER_01: Right.
7:35
SPEAKER_01: And when you see the life of Jesus, he had a completely different approach to all three of those categories.
7:41
SPEAKER_01: And if you study anybody who has ever hoarded the three Gs, uh, they end up alone with no power, with no glory.
7:50
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
7:50
SPEAKER_01: And if you study the life of Jesus, 2,000 years later, he gets all the glory.
7:54
SPEAKER_01: He owns the cattle on the side of a thousand hills.
7:57
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
7:57
SPEAKER_01: And he's the greatest man and greatest leader of all time.
8:00
SPEAKER_01: And so if you I think I think every man wants to make an impact, if you want to make an impact, model your manhood after the person in Jesus.
8:07
SPEAKER_00: I love that.
8:07
SPEAKER_00: So when you think of manhood, you know, this is beat your chest, kill a deer.
8:11
SPEAKER_00: You know, I think I I I mean it's fun, but like, what does it mean to be a man?
8:15
SPEAKER_00: What does it mean to be a man in our society?
8:17
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
8:18
SPEAKER_01: If that was what manhood was, uh, they definitely wouldn't let me written that uh write that book because um I joke all the time with our church, like I I don't hunt, I hunt for deals at the mall.
8:27
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
8:28
SPEAKER_01: So um now there are some amazing men of God who do those things, and I honor them.
8:33
SPEAKER_01: That's amazing.
8:34
SPEAKER_01: But um, I think really what manhood is, is it's leveraging the strength that you've received.
8:40
SPEAKER_01: Right?
8:40
SPEAKER_01: The book of Acts, uh, there's this encouragement.
8:42
SPEAKER_01: Um, it says, stand firm and act like men.
8:45
SPEAKER_01: Right, right.
8:46
SPEAKER_01: Be strong and courageous.
8:48
SPEAKER_01: We have strength as men that is clearly different than the type of strength God gave women.
8:54
SPEAKER_01: They're both so important.
8:55
SPEAKER_01: They're both um valued and seen by God, but our strength is different, and that's not something to run from.
9:01
SPEAKER_01: It's something to leverage for the glory of God and the good of other people.
9:04
SPEAKER_01: And so being a man is taking what God has put inside of you and asking the question, how can I take this gift and make the lives of the people around me better?
9:14
SPEAKER_01: It's it's sacrifice for the glory of God.
9:17
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
9:18
SPEAKER_00: Let's talk about the girls because it seems like the epidemic of pornography and lust is just overwhelming in our society today.
9:27
SPEAKER_00: It seems like everybody I've talked to today is just battling in this area of life.
9:31
SPEAKER_00: What's your wisdom to helping men find freedom?
9:34
SPEAKER_01: I think the first thing you got to do is do everything you can to remove what tempts you the most.
9:41
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
9:42
SPEAKER_01: The amount of young people that'd be like, Yeah, I just need prayer.
9:44
SPEAKER_01: I'm addicted to porn.
9:45
SPEAKER_01: I'll be like, You have a cell phone?
9:46
SPEAKER_01: And they're like, Yeah.
9:47
SPEAKER_01: Is it a smartphone?
9:48
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
9:49
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, you're not serious about quin porn.
9:51
SPEAKER_01: Right, right.
9:51
SPEAKER_01: And it's like, well, I I can't give up my cell phone.
9:53
SPEAKER_01: It's like, why not?
9:54
SPEAKER_01: Right.
9:55
SPEAKER_01: Like, like we existed for thousands of years without an iPhone.
9:59
SPEAKER_01: Like, do you care about finding freedom or not?
10:01
SPEAKER_01: And what happens is we walk around three clicks away from the thing that's killing our soul, but we won't give that thing up.
10:07
SPEAKER_01: It's like, do you really care about giving it up?
10:09
SPEAKER_01: So I my biggest piece of advice would be um, okay, let's say you can't give up the phone.
10:14
SPEAKER_01: Well, then you need clear boundaries around the phone.
10:18
SPEAKER_01: It needs to be charged in the kitchen.
10:20
SPEAKER_01: Your wife needs to have full access.
10:21
SPEAKER_01: There needs to be covenant eyes, there needs to be all the things because you are sneaky and you will get around that thing to look at it.
10:29
SPEAKER_01: And so that's like super practical.
10:31
SPEAKER_01: The other thing I would say, and this is the more spiritual side, is uh the way to overcome pornography and lust is not to try harder, it's to fall more in love with Jesus.
10:41
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's very good.
10:42
SPEAKER_01: Ultimately, every addiction, every sin cycle we face can be broken when you fall more in love with Jesus than your sin.
10:48
SPEAKER_01: And so if you mess up or when you mess up, the question sometimes is as simple as I need to repent.
10:54
SPEAKER_01: And now what can I do today to fall a little bit more in love with Jesus?
10:58
SPEAKER_01: And one day you look up and the thing that you used to fall prey to, you don't because Jesus is more beautiful than that sin to you.
11:04
SPEAKER_00: I love it.
11:05
SPEAKER_00: People think that you get married and your lust issue ends.
11:08
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
11:09
SPEAKER_00: And uh there's this whole idea out there that man, if I could just get married, then I'll get free from this issue.
11:14
SPEAKER_01: Totally.
11:14
SPEAKER_00: But the issue doesn't leave when you get married.
11:16
SPEAKER_00: And it's if you don't deal with it before, then it's gonna stay with you the rest of your life.
11:21
SPEAKER_00: Any other challenge for men in this area of their life?
11:24
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I would say um I I really think that the small unseen battles make a massive difference.
11:30
SPEAKER_01: So, okay, like like now you're not looking at at porn or now you're not checking out the girl that walks by.
11:35
SPEAKER_00: Right.
11:36
SPEAKER_01: But like the stuff that no one else is gonna know about, you know, the the when when there's, you know, maybe you're in church and there's a girl that walks in and she's a cute girl and you notice that she's cute, not looking for the second time is a massive deal.
11:50
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and those little moments, we sometimes excuse ourselves.
11:54
SPEAKER_01: Ah, I just looked a little bit.
11:55
SPEAKER_01: And it's like when you don't look, you should be excited about that and you should see that as the big deal that it is.
12:02
SPEAKER_01: It's it's reshaping your identity as I'm not that.
12:07
SPEAKER_01: Right.
12:07
SPEAKER_01: I don't have to do that.
12:08
SPEAKER_01: I'm more than a conqueror through Christ Jesus.
12:11
SPEAKER_01: And I just think that that those little wins over time are a bigger deal than you think.
12:16
SPEAKER_00: All right, let's talk about defining manhood in this idea of like, man, so you're not looking at lust.
12:21
SPEAKER_00: What are you doing as a man to be a man of God?
12:25
SPEAKER_00: You know, um, obviously you don't have to wait till you're 18 to step into that.
12:28
SPEAKER_00: But I mean, what is your challenge to young men of like how do you step up?
12:31
SPEAKER_00: Totally.
12:32
SPEAKER_01: Um, if you want to be a man of God, you got to be around the person of God.
12:35
SPEAKER_01: So, first and foremost, I think your habits are everything.
12:38
SPEAKER_01: So, you know, don't Sunday is the overflow.
12:41
SPEAKER_01: It's not it's not the foundation.
12:44
SPEAKER_01: And um, you've modeled this to me so well.
12:46
SPEAKER_01: It's like your daily habits are who you're becoming.
12:48
SPEAKER_00: It is.
12:49
SPEAKER_01: And so if you don't have godly habits, you're not gonna be a godly man.
12:52
SPEAKER_01: And so just start with that.
12:53
SPEAKER_01: Like, like, what is my daily rhythm of being with the Lord?
12:58
SPEAKER_01: And one of the things that I feel like will make you more like a man of God, maybe than anything, is finishing reading the the Bible.
13:06
SPEAKER_01: And when you're done, be silent and see if God speaks to you.
13:10
SPEAKER_00: That's very good.
13:11
SPEAKER_01: The amount of young guys just like, I'm crushing my Bible reading plan.
13:13
SPEAKER_01: It's like, well, what is God saying to you?
13:15
SPEAKER_01: Well, today I read Leviticus and he didn't really say anything.
13:18
SPEAKER_01: It's like, okay, but like, did you take a second to just let God talk to you when you were done?
13:23
SPEAKER_01: And I think that that's been a habit that that's really shaped me.
13:26
SPEAKER_00: Um What other habits have shaped you as a man?
13:28
SPEAKER_00: Because you're, I mean, you do very well in this.
13:31
SPEAKER_00: Your habits do shape.
13:32
SPEAKER_00: I mean, there's a reason why you're so successful.
13:34
SPEAKER_00: What are some of those that you give young guys?
13:36
SPEAKER_01: I do this thing called the one-minute prayer.
13:38
SPEAKER_01: I used to have to really fight for it.
13:39
SPEAKER_01: All right.
13:40
SPEAKER_01: The most intimidating scripture in the Bible to me was pray without ceasing forever.
13:44
SPEAKER_01: There was one time I really like sat in my room and timed myself praying and thought I was gonna like pray down heaven and I prayed for like four minutes.
13:51
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
13:51
SPEAKER_01: No, it's hard.
13:52
SPEAKER_01: But the one minute prayer is just like, I'm gonna, I'm gonna take one minute after every single calendar item and talk to the Lord.
13:58
SPEAKER_01: So, hey, like I just finished staff meeting.
14:01
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna go take one minute before the next meeting and just thank God for what moved the needle at staff meeting.
14:07
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
14:07
SPEAKER_01: And in and it includes God in your day in a way that doesn't feel like you're just siloing God to the very beginning or the very end.
14:16
SPEAKER_01: There's been so many moments I've taken that one minute to be grateful or that one minute to ask for his strength for um, you know, a fundraising meeting for a building or whatever.
14:25
SPEAKER_01: And God has said something in that one minute that totally changed the next thing I want to I went to do.
14:31
SPEAKER_01: And there's no other way to describe it other than he's active and alive and wants to be a part of your life.
14:36
SPEAKER_01: I love that.
14:36
SPEAKER_00: Any other habits for men?
14:38
SPEAKER_01: Um, yeah, I think a big one, especially if you're married, is um sitting down with your spouse and doing a check-in of some kind.
14:49
SPEAKER_01: That's great.
14:50
SPEAKER_01: Um, I think it's revolutionized our marriage.
14:54
SPEAKER_01: It's brought us closer together in unity.
14:56
SPEAKER_01: So almost every Sunday night, like I'll fly home tonight.
14:59
SPEAKER_01: Yeah and once the kids go down, we do like a five to 10 minute check-in and we talk about three main things really.
15:05
SPEAKER_01: It's how are we doing?
15:06
SPEAKER_01: Like, how do how do we think we did this past week?
15:09
SPEAKER_01: Um, how do we think we're doing with the church?
15:11
SPEAKER_01: And then how do we think we're doing financially just with our goals and stuff like that?
15:15
SPEAKER_01: Just because money is the biggest cause of divorce and has been in America for decades.
15:19
SPEAKER_01: And so it's a big point.
15:21
SPEAKER_01: And what that's done is like it it keeps us aligned, but also it keeps like the vision that we've set for our family out in front, and really that's led by the man.
15:30
SPEAKER_01: And so it's it's showing her that like even on a crazy week and even on a day where we're pouring out at church and all the things, it's like you're the priority.
15:40
SPEAKER_01: So good.
15:40
SPEAKER_01: And you see it in this regular time together.
15:44
SPEAKER_00: So there's kind of this, I don't know, I mean the stats behind it, but we know it's everywhere where the all these young men are coming to faith.
15:50
SPEAKER_00: What do you think is behind all this?
15:52
SPEAKER_00: Like, why do you see it?
15:53
SPEAKER_00: Do you I mean, I'm I'm sure you're seeing it in Nashville too.
15:55
SPEAKER_00: It seems like there's just this resurgence of faith amongst young men these days.
16:00
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
16:00
SPEAKER_00: What do you what do you make it and how do we make the most of it?
16:03
SPEAKER_01: My my knee-jerk reaction answer is I think men are tired of being the joke.
16:10
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
16:11
SPEAKER_01: I think men are tired of the ambiguity of is this real, is this not?
16:17
SPEAKER_01: And what they're finding in the person of Jesus is I'm not a joke, I'm called, I have a purpose, my life can make a massive difference in the kingdom of God.
16:25
SPEAKER_01: And they're looking at the words of Jesus, and there's not ambiguity.
16:28
SPEAKER_01: It's very clear.
16:30
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't mean that it's easy to follow Jesus, but at least it's clear.
16:34
SPEAKER_01: And in fact, I actually think the challenge of following Jesus excites men.
16:37
SPEAKER_01: Men want to be challenged.
16:39
SPEAKER_01: Like the guys that I know that are are the men of God that I want to be like, they don't fall away from the challenge.
16:46
SPEAKER_01: They crave the challenge.
16:47
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
16:47
SPEAKER_01: They're like, I want to be challenged because I know on the other side of challenge is God getting the most glory out of my life.
16:54
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
16:54
SPEAKER_01: And so I think these young guys are going, man, no one else is doing this like Jesus.
16:57
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna give it a shot.
16:58
SPEAKER_01: And on the other side of it, they're their life's being changed.
17:01
SPEAKER_00: Who's the target of your book?
17:03
SPEAKER_01: It's it's really like 16 to 30-year-old guys.
17:08
SPEAKER_01: And I know that that's a a wide range of guys.
17:10
SPEAKER_01: A 16-year-old dude's going through a completely different thing than a 30-year-old dude who's married and has kids.
17:16
SPEAKER_01: But the chapters, I I tried to really write them in a way where everyone in that age group is really going to get it and get something out of it, given examples that resonate with both.
17:26
SPEAKER_01: But um it's it's people who are stepping into manhood and stepping into the different areas of manhood, you know, like fatherhood or like going to college or like having to provide for a wife and and kids.
17:38
SPEAKER_00: Well, guys that are being raised today in this fatherless generation, totally disconnected, um, what's your advice for them?
17:45
SPEAKER_00: Because I know people disqualify themselves.
17:47
SPEAKER_00: I'll never, I'll never be able to step up.
17:49
SPEAKER_00: I mean, some people have believed that lie and I mean they're frustrated, confused, don't know how to lead their spouse.
17:54
SPEAKER_00: What do you, what's your challenge for them?
17:56
SPEAKER_01: Okay, this is gonna sound self-serving because we're both pastors.
17:59
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but something that I've seen evident in some of my best friends' lives is that just because you had a bad earthly father does not mean you can't have a spiritual father in the faith.
18:08
SPEAKER_01: That's great.
18:09
SPEAKER_01: And my biggest encouragement would be if you're not rooted in a local church, go find a local church.
18:15
SPEAKER_01: Don't just go serve at the local church.
18:17
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
18:18
SPEAKER_01: And when you're there, look around for the guy who's been married for 10 plus years, 20 plus years, his wife loves him, and go up to that man and beg him to meet you for coffee every other week and just say, Hey, I need a spiritual dad.
18:31
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
18:31
SPEAKER_01: And it will change your life.
18:32
SPEAKER_01: That's probably the best thing you could do after listening to this podcast if you don't have a good dad, is to do that.
18:37
SPEAKER_00: I think it has saved my life so many times.
18:40
SPEAKER_00: I was about to make a decision, maybe it was a month or two or so ago, and I have a spiritual father in my life that I called and I said, I need help.
18:48
SPEAKER_00: I need wisdom on this scenario.
18:50
SPEAKER_00: And I explained the scenario as a business thing I wasn't getting involved in.
18:53
SPEAKER_00: And he's like, I don't think you're looking for wisdom.
18:56
SPEAKER_00: I think you want an out.
18:57
SPEAKER_00: Do you want me to give you an out?
18:59
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, I do.
19:01
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
19:01
SPEAKER_00: I want you to help me.
19:02
SPEAKER_00: He's like, Well, then do you want me to tell you you can't do this?
19:05
SPEAKER_00: I was like, I actually do.
19:07
SPEAKER_00: I need someone to guide my life.
19:09
SPEAKER_00: And it's like, that's what a spiritual father does.
19:11
SPEAKER_00: It's like somebody can speak in your life, speak what's best over your life.
19:15
SPEAKER_00: But that was chased down by me.
19:17
SPEAKER_00: I think a lot of these guys are frustrated because that guy didn't point them out of a crowd or chase them down like every mentor I have in my life.
19:24
SPEAKER_00: I mean, you've done that well, especially in church planning, calling me, getting advice from guys that have gone before us.
19:31
SPEAKER_00: But if you're waiting for that person to come to you, they never will.
19:35
SPEAKER_00: That's right.
19:35
SPEAKER_00: Take the initiative, step up.
19:37
SPEAKER_00: Any last challenges for guys who are just in a season where they feel discouraged and going, Man, I just I don't have a good model to follow with this.
19:45
SPEAKER_00: How do I step into manhood?
19:46
SPEAKER_01: Man, I I just what you just said about like they're not gonna come chasing you down.
19:52
SPEAKER_01: I I actually said that one time to a guy and he said, Yeah, but Jesus did that for the disciples.
19:58
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, hey, man, I hate to burst your bubble.
20:00
SPEAKER_01: Jesus isn't here.
20:01
SPEAKER_01: Most, most, most guys are not Jesus, right?
20:05
SPEAKER_01: Right.
20:05
SPEAKER_01: So they're probably not thinking about discipling the new 20-year-old at their church.
20:09
SPEAKER_01: So you are gonna have to fight for it.
20:10
SPEAKER_01: And so that kind of goes along with um my last encouragement, which is like, stay in the fight.
20:16
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's staying in the fight over time that is going to lead to you becoming the man of God that you're called to be.
20:23
SPEAKER_01: And what I am in the middle of reminding myself is when things are hard, there is probably not a better season for you to become more like Jesus when things aren't going your way.
20:36
SPEAKER_01: It's very good.
20:37
SPEAKER_01: And so maybe you're discouraged right now because the results aren't good on the outside, right?
20:42
SPEAKER_01: But the results on the inside could be incredible if you lean into the power of God in a hard season or in a season where you feel discouraged.
20:49
SPEAKER_00: Well, it's our suffering that produces the Bible says perseverance and then perseverance, character, and then character hope.
20:55
SPEAKER_00: That's right.
20:55
SPEAKER_00: It's created out of those hard seasons.
20:57
SPEAKER_00: Noah, you are a top-tier leader in our world today.
21:00
SPEAKER_00: It's amazing how God's using your voice and your life.
21:04
SPEAKER_00: Uh, just give us a little behind the scenes.
21:06
SPEAKER_00: What is it like in this just whirlwind of God's grace as we close this out?
21:11
SPEAKER_00: I mean, do you do you feel as grace in this?
21:14
SPEAKER_00: Are you excited about this season?
21:16
SPEAKER_00: Is it just chaotic?
21:17
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
21:17
SPEAKER_01: I think the big thing I feel is just unbelievable gratitude.
21:20
SPEAKER_01: And I know that that sounds cliche, but um, if you had told us three years ago that we were gonna see some of the things that we're seeing, like I had high faith.
21:28
SPEAKER_01: You knew me then.
21:29
SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah, it's amazing.
21:30
SPEAKER_01: I was like, I had a lot of a lot of goals and a lot of things.
21:33
SPEAKER_01: I was like, God's gonna do this, God's gonna do that.
21:36
SPEAKER_01: And he's just exceeded um all of it.
21:39
SPEAKER_01: And um I'm so grateful for the team that we have, for the family that's around us, and um that God would would pick very flawed people to um be a part of his his plan.
21:54
SPEAKER_01: I think the best is ahead for Tampa Bay.
21:56
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
21:56
SPEAKER_01: The best is ahead for Nashville.
21:58
SPEAKER_01: Yes, it's amazing.
21:59
SPEAKER_01: And um, man, I think about this all the time.
22:01
SPEAKER_01: I was telling the guys that I'm here with today that when we almost planted our church, uh, or when we were praying about planting our church, we were down to two cities, and it was Nashville and it was Tampa Bay.
22:09
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
22:10
SPEAKER_01: Because I because I grew up um just outside of Tampa.
22:12
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
22:13
SPEAKER_01: And uh every time I come here, I am so grateful that we did not plant in Tampa Bay.
22:17
SPEAKER_01: Because this is what would have happened.
22:18
SPEAKER_01: We would have planted and I would have been like, you know what?
22:21
SPEAKER_01: I just want to quit and work for that guy right now.
22:23
SPEAKER_01: That's what I would have done.
22:24
SPEAKER_01: It would have been great.
22:25
SPEAKER_01: So um it's just so cool that we've gotten to learn from you guys and we have taken so much from your team.
22:30
SPEAKER_01: It's uh I learned so much from you, but then our staff is learning from Pastor Bobby and all these brilliant leaders at your church.
22:36
SPEAKER_01: And so thank you for the way you've invested in us.
22:38
SPEAKER_00: I do want to say this because you're probably one of the most gifted people that I've ever met, but yet you're unbelievably teachable.
22:44
SPEAKER_00: Where do they come from?
22:45
SPEAKER_00: Because honestly, it's really remarkable because I'm like, if I was as talented as him, I don't think I would ask that many questions.
22:51
SPEAKER_00: But you're very good at this.
22:52
SPEAKER_00: And I just want you to challenge our listeners as we close this out because so many leaders can get to a place where they're not leading.
22:58
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, they're not learning, they're not thriving and striving and trying to grow more and more.
23:03
SPEAKER_00: You're always, I feel like, in the grind to grow.
23:05
SPEAKER_00: Well, thank you.
23:06
SPEAKER_00: Um, where does that come from?
23:07
SPEAKER_01: Um, I I've been around some amazing men, and the commonality of the leaders who don't stall out is they're all curious.
23:18
SPEAKER_01: And I just have noticed that curiosity not only does it make you better, and does it like you can learn something from anybody?
23:26
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
23:27
SPEAKER_01: And it makes you better.
23:28
SPEAKER_01: And I and I also think it opens doors to that skill and talent won't open for you.
23:35
SPEAKER_01: Like, I know I'm not the most talented preacher.
23:37
SPEAKER_01: Like, I want to be a great preacher.
23:39
SPEAKER_01: I feel like I'm a good preacher, but like that's something that there's there's a million great preachers out there that would be better than me.
23:46
SPEAKER_01: But what I think that I can do is constantly stay curious so that I can continue to grow over time.
23:52
SPEAKER_01: And when I'm curious, it opens up doors for me to be a part of people's life.
23:56
SPEAKER_01: And so I've just seen the power of curiosity.
23:58
SPEAKER_01: And I would just say to anyone listening, um, the power of a good question will unlock doors that a great answer will never unlock.
24:06
SPEAKER_01: So good.
24:07
SPEAKER_00: So good.
24:08
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
24:08
SPEAKER_00: Second book, first book is holy habits.
24:10
SPEAKER_00: Did it such a great book?
24:12
SPEAKER_00: And then Welcome to Manhood.
24:13
SPEAKER_00: Where can they get it?
24:14
SPEAKER_01: They can get it.
24:14
SPEAKER_01: Amazon, Barnes and Noble.
24:16
SPEAKER_01: I think Target has it too.
24:17
SPEAKER_01: It's really anywhere, um, anywhere you buy books.
24:20
SPEAKER_00: So 52 chapters.
24:23
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
24:23
SPEAKER_01: I was thinking about the guy who's like, I'm gonna read two pages a day.
24:26
SPEAKER_00: Right, right, right.
24:27
SPEAKER_00: It's for you.
24:28
SPEAKER_00: This is the book for you.
24:29
SPEAKER_00: And uh no, you're a great leader.
24:31
SPEAKER_00: Hey, if you're in Nashville or you just travel through Nashville and you're gonna some random bachelorette party, you need to come to Hang at Wade Church.
24:39
SPEAKER_00: It's a phenomenal move of God.
24:41
SPEAKER_00: Noah's a great preacher.
24:42
SPEAKER_00: Follow him online, he's got a lot of great content out there, and I'm so glad you listened to this.
24:46
SPEAKER_00: And if you are new, make sure subscribe, like, share this with your friends, and it's an honor to be on this podcast and to be speaking into your life every single month.
24:57
SPEAKER_00: We'll see you next month for Made for More.