Chris Grainger: 1:43

Welcome to the line within us, a podcast starting Christian men who are hungry to be the leaders God intends you to be. I'm your host, Chris Granger. Let's jump in. All right, fellas. Fun Friday, member spotlight time. Let's before we get to the spotlight, you got to hold hold on to your horses. Scripture week this week is 1 Timothy 6, 11 and 12. It says this, but flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and for what you are made, and what you made, the good confession, in the presence of many witnesses. And guys, that verse we took some time and we unpacked that in our spiritual kickoff episode this week. So go back and listen to that. It should be two back in your podcast feed. Took some time to walk through those. The last episode was with uh Pastor Joel Tudman. Really fun conversation with him. So go back and check that out. But for this episode here on our on our fret on our fun Friday, our member Spotlight, I'm excited to have this one because this is just one of the most special guys in my life. He's been a member of the Lion, I think, since day one. I mean, it's been pretty. He may have missed a day, but he made up for it since then. But Adam Rushing, super excited to have you here, man. How are you doing today? Do well, Chris.

Adam Rushing: 3:01

And yeah, I think I've been on since the beginning. And uh it's been an awesome ride.

Chris Grainger: 3:09

It has been, man. I'm trying to remember how'd you even get connected with this? It was through another podcast, right?

Adam Rushing: 3:16

Yeah, it was through your work podcast. So uh I've been on LinkedIn just kind of looking around for videos and uh popped up on Eco Ask Why, and I don't know why. Just felt compelled to send you a message one day, and then I did. And yeah, lo and behold, this guy is as famous or has got this podcast, just messaged me back and come to find out. We've got a lot in common. And um, you started telling me about the lion and what your vision for that was, and here we are now, years, years and years later. Yeah, man.

Chris Grainger: 3:51

It's been it's been crazy, and you've been a steady rock the whole way, and uh, and guys, I'm telling you, when we do these member spotlights, it literally is all about the guys, and uh, you're just you're gonna be blessed just to hear Adam. So I mean, tell the guys a little bit, you know, where you're from, family, and just your your walk with with with Christ, man.

Adam Rushing: 4:11

Yeah, all right. So I'm out of North Carolina, about an hour east of Charlotte. Uh recently just moved a little bit further, a little bit further east. Um, but I grew up in the same little area my whole life, went off to college at NC State, and up until that point I'd had a um what I'll call decent faith walk. It wasn't stellar, I wasn't knocking anything out of the park. Um but then I got to college and I'm not gonna say I went wild, but I I didn't really live out that fate that I'd been taught my youth. So it it it was almost like it I had been there, but it was all surface level, and I haven't really dived into the relationship part. Um come out of college and I got married about a week after graduating college. I got married. Um, and suddenly I'm you know, I'm starting my first real real job. I'm married. Uh my wife and I were renting a home, and you know, it it's me. I'm in charge. Um very quickly realized I was not. Yeah, I I did not have any of this figured out. There was no part of my life that uh that wasn't affected by a lack of living out the faith that I had uh and really claiming that faith for myself. Um so at one point I just had to surrender. And since then I've been trying to turn over more and more of myself and more and more of my responsibilities over to God. And the more I do that, the better off I I am.

Chris Grainger: 5:48

There's one story I'm trying to remember with you. It was you got a job and you had a car. I know as soon as as soon as you got the job, like you were let go. Like, share that if you don't mind. I feel like that's just it speaks to to your faith and how it's grown.

Adam Rushing: 6:04

Yeah, absolutely. So, like I said, I got out of college, I got married, uh, started this training program with a company, and the the goal of this program was to make a uh was to train up associates who were gonna go off and do do better or bigger and better things for the company. Um and within that time frame of a year training program, I made it through the program, um, went off to take my, you know, the the actual job that I was selected to to hold. Um part of that job was you need a car because you're gonna be traveling. So I got one, you know, brand new, nice and shiny. Um within a couple weeks, my wife and I had closed on a home because we were gonna be staying local and I was gonna be traveling. And then a couple weeks later, I get called in the office one morning and I don't have a job anymore. But I got to keep the house and the payment, and I got to keep the car and the payment. Um and that that just tore me up. I mean, from from everything that I thought I had become down to bare bones. Because again, like I said, I've been living as if I was in charge and I was in control, and in about 30 seconds my life went from I got this to I don't. Uh and I d I didn't really know what to do. So for about three months while I was hunting for a job, God just worked on me and worked on me and worked on me and worked on me. And he, you know, he had to tear me down to build me back up. And here I am now. I mean, years later, but thank God I'm not the man I was. I I've told you guys before in a line that you wouldn't have liked who I was before. I didn't like I don't like who I was before now. Well that's a powerful story, brother.

Chris Grainger: 7:59

And I can tell you one thing, you've been you've been obedient. I mean, even to the point recently, you had a recent trial with trying to sell your other home, moving to a farm, and and the the God's timing is never, he's just never early, right? And just yet he tests us, and I think we have to go through those trials sometimes because it that's where we grow the most.

Adam Rushing: 8:18

Yeah, yeah. So you're referring to the house I just I thankfully sold. Um we were originally uh told, yeah, oh yeah, your house looks great, it'll sell real quick. Uh and again, people's definitions are real quick and my definition of real quick are different. Because we're on the market for over a hundred days. Uh and yeah, there at the end, we started getting, we're talking with our realtor, like, hey, what are we gonna do? This this thing hasn't moved. This thing, you know, stuff's gone on. We're we're moving, we're building a home. Uh, I'm about to be looking at two mortgage payments that some ain't gonna someone's gonna have to give. Like we uh we'd planned for some of this, but we hadn't planned for all of this. And it's just one of those things, but God. So we came back from a vacation and we we did a price drop. And the same time we did that price drop, there was another family who had literally that weekend just finished up their uh their renovations for their home so they could get it listed. They were going to list their home three days after our price drop went through. Our price drop got them to look, they came out and viewed, and within a couple days we had a contract. And it it's just a yeah, I mean, it's just a really powerful process because again, it's another point in my life where I thought that I had this figured out. And I think that's one one thing that's really hard for for men to realize, especially uh whenever you look at the secular world. Secular world says you gotta have this figured out, and you gotta have it figured out today. Christian walk's not like that. We don't have this figured out. Yes, we surrender our life to Christ, and every single one of us does that at some point in our lives. Um, but there's a sanctification process, and it looks different for everybody. There's no one-stop shop, no A to B to C type of process. It's individual. And that's what's so amazing to me about our faith is that you can take a group of guys like the Lion and put them all together, and you're gonna hear stories like mine. You're gonna hear stories that um guys who came through drug addictions, you're gonna hear guys who are addicted to pornography, you're gonna hear guys who um yeah, maybe they just became a Christian last week and they're falling into that same thing that happened to me in 17, 2017. Uh, where do I go from here? How do I do this? And it's just one of those things, Buck God, and He meets us right where we are. He never leaves you alone, He never abandons you, He's never gonna substitute you for somebody else. He wants you and all of you. He's just gonna get it over time. Amen, brother. Amen.

Chris Grainger: 11:07

Preach, brother. So let's let's shift a little bit. I mean, uh one of the big things we've done with the lion, and you've been instrumental, and I can't say that enough, it's been the formation of these mastermind groups, you know, and that's been a process that took us a couple years. You've been kind of uh one of our guinea pigs, if you will, of just trying to figure out what's the best way to serve these guys. How can we help them? And now you're leading a group, you're doing some incredible things there. I mean, kind of just share with the listener out there the evolution of the mastermind from your purview and and where it's at right now.

Adam Rushing: 11:45

Yeah. So we did um, I'll say a beta trial a couple years ago. And it was just a very small group of guys meeting on a routine basis, and we would come together and we would um just talk about life. And if if somebody was going through something, then we would address it. And we didn't address it the way the world does. It wasn't a whole lot of this is what I think you should do, this is what um this is these are the types of things that you know sound good whenever you write them down, but we we actually attacked this thing using biblical truth. So we would go through scripture and we'd reference things. Um, you know, like guys saying he's struggling with his finances. Well, the Bible tells us you you're not supposed to live on more than you make. So let's let's address that first. Um you know, like one of the one of the things I struggle with is uh is anger. So what does the Bible tell us about anger and why why do my kids frustrate me sometimes and and how do I use the Bible in that um to start combating that? Because you know, I mean, we all face those things. We all face those types of things. Again, thank God that we serve a living God who gave us an active word and is still uh still relevant and still potent 2,000, 4,000 years later. I mean that's really amazing whenever you look at that. So we we started mining through that for for gold, uh trying to find out how to apply apply those uh those scriptures to our lives. In the second revision, we started doing things a little bit different. Uh we had a time clock on them, so we were running these groups for about 12 weeks. So one cycle we'd let we'd meet every two weeks. It was six guys, um, and we focused more on trying to teach. And we were trying to focus around content, presenting content, and things like that. Yeah, we we worked through some stuff there at the end, but the the goal in those seemed to be more about delivering the content or the message. And that was good. I mean, there's a definitely a place for that, but we felt like we'd lost contact with the real purpose of those, the real strength behind those. And that's where we got to this third provision where we are now. So now we're leading these groups, and there's there's three of us now, but we're looking to grow um leaders who are facilitating these groups, and that that's exactly what I do. I facilitate. I don't bring any content, I don't bring any message. My sole job is to keep the meeting on course and make sure that we try and hit a time clock so these guys who are busy and have busy lives can get back to it. Uh, but they bring stuff that's on their mind, they bring stuff that's on their heart, and they also bring the scripture references, they bring up things. Uh, we just did a meeting in the last few weeks about uh personal fitness and being able to be healthy not only for now, but also for later in life. Whenever your kids are grown, you know, how do you maintain health your entire life? How do you how do you work out? How often? You know, what's what's this supposed to look like? What does it look like to really take care of this body that God gave us so that we are equipped to use it later on for his purposes? Yeah, it's powerful. I mean, every single guy in that group struggles with that. And we had a hour long conversation about it and how we handle the challenges that come up against us. And then you're also asked outside of the the call.

Chris Grainger: 15:19

You guys are touching base, you there's mechanisms to to check in. There's it's not just you say you're gonna do something, there's accountability. I know you're a big accountability guy, you like following up and making sure guys are doing that. So I kind of speak to that too a little bit.

Adam Rushing: 15:34

Yeah, yeah. So one of the main reasons that the masterminds work is in this day and time, again, the world will tell you what you need to do, but nobody's willing to follow up and help you out. The word tells us that we're supposed to be brothers, we're supposed to unite in a task. So whenever we go to it, we go to it. Uh we've implemented what we call the battle buddy. Um, to me, it's really it's really based on scriptural references that says, you know, if one stumbles and he falls, he can't get back up. But if two are together, one will help the other. To me, that's that's what we're leaning on. We're leaning on that scriptural truth and that two are better than one. Uh and one guy will sit in our hot seat, and that's basically where you bring your issue, your concern or your issue or challenge. And the group will help you walk through that and break it down and make sure you're seeing it for what the problem really is rather than just what you think it is. And then we'll start to give you some ideas, some structure around how to uh how to go after that. At the end, the guy makes a commitment. So if you commit to working out three times a week, doing a half a mile, and then in six months you want to do a marathon, that's that's great. But in six months, who's gonna call you up and say, hey, how'd the marathon go? And if you have nobody call you between day one and six months later, who's gonna ask you how's training going? Who's gonna ask you, you know, what's the yeah, are you icing your ankle? Because you know, it got twisted a couple weeks ago. You don't have that personal connection. So we've really started implementing a personal connection by giving the battle buddy and assigning someone to be that accountability partner, it's someone who's got your best interest in mind. They're not looking to earn points, they're not looking to get paid, they're just asking you, how's it going? And they want you to be real with them. And that's where we find the most value is whenever guys are real. Right.

Chris Grainger: 17:33

I guess I'm curious, just from your standpoint, what surprised you the most about this new format, the new structure of the masterminds? I mean, you're leading a powerful group of men. Any surprises?

Adam Rushing: 17:47

Um, I guess for me personally, I'm getting a business degree for a cost of admission into the masterminds. Uh the guys who are in my mastermind are entrepreneurial. Every single one of them either runs a division, owns a business, or is in some way, shape, or form leading the charge at work. So getting to hear all the different things that they bring up, and you you would think, you know, you would think that they would have completely different issues for me. Like these are guys who are just knocking out of the park from a professional level. I'm I'm not. Uh these guys are top-tier performers in their work and in their industry. Uh what they bring up though is the same stuff that I face. Like the fitness thing, I struggle with that. Umger with colleagues or with kids or pick a person, I struggle with that. Um trying to stay motivated in certain situations or trying to stay in the word, setting up a schedule that allows me to be in the word more often so that I can get more knowledge, but also build a stronger relationship with God. I mean, they struggle with the same things. I think that's been the biggest eye-opener for me is that if I'm just quiet and listening to these smart guys talk, I get a little smarter. Amen. Well, I will tell you this.

Chris Grainger: 19:14

They they get a lot smarter by listening to you too. I mean, he's and guys, you're listening. Adam's very humble. I mean, he's one of the smartest guys that that I've ever had a chance to meet, knows his Bible in and out, and he's always the first one to come with biblical truth. So, I mean, hats off to you, brother. You're making us all better. And maybe for that guy out there who's listening to Adam and he hasn't taken any action yet to check out the lion at all, from our daily SKO to the community to the mastermind, you know, and maybe just wondering is it is it for him to him or not? What would you say to him right now?

Adam Rushing: 19:50

I think the first thing I'd tell him is if he if he looks up where he's at and he listens to the world, the world's gonna give him about 15 different opinions. If he waits two minutes, there'll be 15 different opinions, and everyone says that they're right, and everyone says that they're an expert. We serve a God who was intelligent enough to know that we were gonna go through life and that we were gonna crave uh authority, that we were gonna crave knowledge, that we were gonna have problems that we needed help with. And he gave us a written word that's still relevant to this day to help navigate those things. Uh, the other thing that I would say is don't do it alone. If you uh there's a story in the Bible about uh an Ethiopian who was reading the word for the first time, and and one of the apostles walks up and says, Do you understand what you're reading? And he says, No, how can I possibly understand this if I have no one to teach me? That's what you need. You need someone who's gonna come along beside you and who's gonna teach you. The word is applicable in all things in your life, but unless you have someone to teach you and help guide you and to really help you start to dive deep into what it means and how to apply it, you're gonna struggle. Uh the other thing I would say is that uh be very careful what groups you get into and who you're around. Um there are countless groups out there that will teach um if you believe in God and you do these things, then you're guaranteed these responses from God. And that's that's not what my Bible shows. Uh to me, the Bible doesn't teach that. It doesn't show that in any way, shape, or form. The Bible shows me that every gift from God is perfect and that those who Who are called according to his purpose do things for his good, it's for his glory, it's not for you. The Bible's all about God's glory. So if we start to make our lives and our relationships and things like that, we start looking for ways that we glorify God in those, that's gonna be the next thing. So for me, it's look up, look around, and compare what you're seeing in the world to what you see in the Bible. And then once you see that the Bible has the ultimate truth, you need to get a brother or a band of brothers around you who believe and follow the word. And I don't mean just to have the bumper stickers or to have, you know, they've got the Bible Chris your thing is they've got the Bible in their truck and it doesn't leave. Yeah. Don't don't go with those guys. Find guys that lean into it, find guys that apply the word daily. Find you a mentor or a group of mentors to really start to get a good feel for this thing and then start to apply it.

Chris Grainger: 22:43

Well, Adam, I can tell you one thing, guys. We are better off. The lion is stronger because of men like Adam and the testimony he brings. He's leading two little girls at home. He's got a wonderful wife, and he's always willing to step in and help a brother. So, Adam, it's been just a lot of fun just unpacking with you. Before we jump, though, we got a couple things we want to hit on. Uh, the book of the week this week, guys, is this run right here to fight to find yourself with Pastor Joel Tubman. So you want to go get a copy of that. And Adam, I got two two dad jokes I want to trout on you, man. I want to see which one gets you. Uh they neither one of them may get you, but it's worth a shot. So why not we try that? So first one is how did Joseph make his coffee?

Adam Rushing: 23:22

Uh you happen to know that one? You probably do. All right. Well, he brewed it.

Chris Grainger: 23:31

So, you know, there you go. He brewed. So there you go. So I don't know. Uh, I know. All right. All right. And then what yeah, and once and when someone needed a boat made, what did the people in town say? Well, they said we know a guy, you know, so there you go. You know, both Old Testament for both of them, you know, but uh could be kind of fun. So first uh I'll have to go to go to the Hebrew one. Okay, there you go. Honest coffee right there, fellas. So that's it. So the first one was how did Joseph make his coffee? He brewed it. That's number one. And number two, when someone needs a boat made, what did the people stay in town say? Uh they would say we know a guy. All right. So there are you two dad jokes, guys. You got a dad joke, hit us up. Adam and I know uh our dad joke, I guess you say our dad joke theologian would be Mr. Doug in our community. Doug. He has a dad joke for every yeah, every day of the week. If you need a dad joke, you just go to Doug. He's gonna bring them, fellas. So uh the question of the week this week is where's God calling you to stand and fight for truth right now, fellas? We are all fighting for something. Adam's fighting for something, I'm fighting, but we're all fighting for guys. That's the main thing. So, Adam, it's been an honor, brother. Anything else you'd like to share before we wrap up?

Adam Rushing: 24:44

Look forward to seeing you guys in the Lion community and make sure you can find a seat in the mastermind.

Chris Grainger: 24:51

Amen. Amen. Well, guys, check us out. Again, these these fun Friday episodes are so much fun for me now because I'm just I'm not just talking to myself anymore. I get to bring in awesome guys like Adam. And all the stuff that we talked about, guys, can be found at thelionwithin.us. Go check that out the website, click on the mastermind, we'll get connected with you there, or just jump into the community, start your 30-day free trial there or the daily spiritual kickoffs. We got lots of ways we can connect with you guys. Go to LionWithin.us to find us. So, guys, have a great day. Get after it, Adam. It was an honor, brother. Hope you have a great one. And fellas, just keep unleashing the lion within. Let's just say it out loud. Marriage is one of the greatest gifts that God can give a man, and one of the most consistent places where we can feel unsure of what we're doing. Even the strongest marriages have moments where you look at your wife and you think, you know what? I love you. I'm so committed to you. But right now, I have no idea what I should do next. And that's why we launched something new inside the lion within us community. It's our very first support group. And it's for husbands. And we're calling it committed and occasionally confused. This isn't just a place for men in crisis. So if you're there, hey, you're welcome. This is for any man who refuses to coast and wants to take his marriage from good to great. So inside, you'll find an active chat and a feed honest conversations and brotherhood that says, you're not alone. We've been there. Let's bring this to God and grow. And we're also doing a monthly couples night where your wife is invited because we're not letting the world set the agenda for our homes. Now, if you want access to this support group, it's very simple. Go to thelionwithin.us and join the Lions Den. Okay, that's the LionWithin.us. Start your 30-day free trial of the Lions Den community, and boom, you have instant access to the committed and occasionally confused support group. We'll see you inside the den.