Welcome To The Line Within Us

Chris Grainger 1:43

Welcome to The Line Within Us, a podcast serving 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, guys, this is your member spotlight. Let's get into it, okay? But the scripture of the week, before we get to our awesome member, is Proverbs 28, verse 19. It says, one who walk works his land will have plenty of food. But there's a caveat. But one who follows empty pursuits will have plenty of poverty. So we gotta figure out which camp you want to be in, boys. Do you want to be in the hard work camp or you want to be in the just hold your hand out and hope and hope things happen for you, camp? And we know we're called to work, fellas. So at the end of the day, you get up, get after it. I shared some insights in this week's SKO episode on that verse. And look, you can get a daily SKO, a little daily dose, a little daily kick in your pants that you know you need. Call the daily SKO at the lion for free. This is what we do. We serve guys in a meaningful way Monday through Friday. So the LionWithin.us, get locked in on that. That also opens you up to our prayer request space, which guys, that is the busiest place of the lion by far. And I wanted to stay that way because it's all about lifting uh the prayers up of the guys that come to us. So all that fellas, the lionwithin.us. Let's get right into it with our member. This is a brother who's been around probably from maybe since day two. Not on day one, but from day two or so. Mitch Renda, what's up, brother? How you doing today?

Mitch Renda 3:05

Good, brother. I'm good. I'm glad to be here. Thank you for having me.

Chris Grainger 3:09

Oh man. Pump to have you here, bro. It's been for you've been just an uh supporter, an advocate, a cheerleader for me. And and I don't even remember, like, bring us back. Like, when do we even get connected, man?

Mitch Renda 3:23

We probably actually I I pulled the LinkedIn message up because I messaged you on LinkedIn, I think it was or maybe early 2022. Okay. This was a time in my life where I was really seeking out just wisdom and guidance around biblical manhood and the whole idea of this what you know you guys call foxhole, lion den, mat carrier kind of kind of stuff. Because I was and I was really entering manhood at this time in my life, just getting married in late 21, knowing and hoping, praying that you know kids would come in the near future. So um being provider, protector, that kind of role. So I was really looking for that kind of content. Right. Wasn't really being fed it anywhere else. And so I messed I I came across your podcast. I don't remember how I came across it, but I did, and uh clearly my message, I was very grateful after reading the LinkedIn message that I sent to you, um, just saying like this is exactly the stuff I'm looking for. Kind of I have this group of guys and we're trying to go down this journey and this path, you know, here where I live uh right now. This was again like well, I guess four years ago or so. Um, and then we just connected after that. And I think I think the next step was you started doing the Thursday night Bible studies. Um and that became like one of them one of the things every week that I look forward to most was doing the Thursday night Bible study with. I mean, at first there was like maybe four, four guys, yeah, five guys, and it would ebb and flow, but eventually it got to a point where there the group could be could be pretty full, you know, where you didn't even really have time to get get a word across. So and I know it's still happening. So that was that was great. But yeah, that's how we got connected.

Chris Grainger 5:08

That's it, man. And then we got to actually serve together on one one of our mission trips. So that was probably pretty cool, just actually being face to face, man.

Mitch Renda 5:17

Yeah, dude, that was a it was a great trip. Me and my my guys from up here had a great time. Um I mean, you know, a sad trip with what we saw. Yeah, but a great trip nonetheless, and uh yeah, grateful for the opportunity to get to come down to the Carolinas and and help out. Or where where were we? We were in like Tennessee border, Tennessee, Carolina.

Chris Grainger 5:40

Tennessee, Carolina border, but Helene just slammed that little that whole little area. But yeah, that little sliver, man, it was it was impacting big time.

Mitch Renda 5:49

It was, it was.

Chris Grainger 5:51

But yeah. Well, man, share, share with the listeners, you know, a little bit about you, your background, the type of work you do, uh most importantly, how you came to know the Lord, and just uh a little bit of your testimony, bitch.

Mitch Renda 6:03

Yeah, so I uh currently I live in Cincinnati, Ohio, uh not from here, had no relation or connection to the city before uh God God placed me here. But um I grew up most of my life in Jacksonville, Florida. So uh didn't grow up going to 1122 where Joby, who you've had in the show a few times, oh yeah, uh preaches, but towards towards the end of my time in Jacksonville, I was going there consistently with my back then friend, now wife, Colleen. Um, so there that's near and dear to our heart. Uh went to school up at Penn State, moved around quite a bit after graduating with the in the career path that I was in, which was a corporate finance career path. And then um once I landed here in Cincinnati, um my my brother and I decided to buy some property just as a side side gig, which then ended up turning multifamily apartments, stuff like that, which ended up turning into our full-time jobs um a couple years later. And so now we now we're in the commercial real estate investment world and own, operate, and manage a bunch of property, which is fun, but also not fun.

Chris Grainger 7:15

So right, right. So did you get so it's sound like you in Jacksonville, did you grow up in the church type of situation?

Mitch Renda 7:23

Yeah, I grew up with a Catholic dad and a Jewish mom. Um so usually when that's the situation, you grew up Jewish. Like you're they say you're Jewish if you have the Jewish mom. Um, but we grew up, I mean, we did do some of the holidays and stuff like that, but we grew up Catholic. Um, and so yeah, my my my journey with the Lord, I would always call I I always call it like a slow burn. Um I didn't have some radical conversion story or you know, I was doing something wild and crazy and the Lord smacked me upside the head. Like it was always a slow burn. You know, I was I'm raised but in a good family, great parents, you know, good examples. Um and yeah, I was always exposed to the church. I'm not sure I really understood the gospel until probably high school time. Okay. So I'd say high school is kind of where I I really maybe you know was was reborn or or came to Christ and and really understood what it what he did and what it meant for me. Um and then you know, going into college, I lived a college life for sure. I didn't do too anything too crazy, but um lived a college life, but God definitely kept me grounded uh with a fellowship group that I was a part of uh once a week, and these people were you know very I you know I grew up in the Catholic Church, so it's rigid, you know, it's it's it's you do these things and it's set, right? Uh for better or worse. And you tell them, you know, it's whoever's opinion. But I I went joined this fellowship group in college very charismatic. I'm talking like we're worshiping with no music on, they're speaking in tongues, all the things. So very different than what I was used to in the Catholic Church, but um just a room that the Lord needed me to be in to one, I think keep me grounded, and two, just you know, even in the midst of all the things I was doing in the college life, take just keep slowly taking me deeper and deeper into my relationship with him. Um and then again, like I said, I I moved around for a couple years after graduating. So I never every six months or so I was moving, so I never really got planted anywhere, I never really built community, community anywhere or or got uh involved in any church consistently until I moved here to Cincinnati, which was 2019. Right. Um and at that point, that's where um I think if there was any, you know, it's uh there's seasons in my life where the Lord just catapulted me a little bit deeper and a little bit deeper. Um, and one of those was just getting plugged into a real community, a real church for an extended period of time. Yeah. When I got here to Cincinnati. And then uh and then there's been multiple seasons, uh, usually tough seasons, um, that were the where the Lord has just you know, again, catapulted me deeper um seasons that he used to, you know, kill a little bit more of the Egypt in me each time, kill a little bit more of the self in me each time. Um, and so you know, we get into those if you want, but but that's uh slow burn journey with the Lord. Thankfully, there's been no like, you know, I didn't have any near-death experience that brought me to him to begin with. I did have those experiences, but that was after I was already walking with him. Right. Um and and then, you know, a few seasons in my life that really just like just really took me deeper where he really showed his face.

Chris Grainger 10:52

I'd definitely like to touch on those, but before we do though, I'm curious your parents, the the Catholic and the Jewish, you know, parents, how did that go over with them with you, you know, on your own faith journey essentially is what you did. So was it received well? Was there a pushback?

Mitch Renda 11:12

Received real well. I I think you know, the one thing, the one thing my wife grew up Catholic too. Okay. The one thing we made sure we did was get married in the Catholic Church. Okay. All our grandparents and everything, except for my mom's side, but her whole family and my dad's side, all Catholic, like Irish and Italian Catholic. Okay. Yeah, like serious Catholic. And so uh we made sure we got married in a Catholic Church, but but other than that, you know, people knew we weren't going to Catholic Church and it just we just God just took us somewhere else and led us somewhere else. And so the root of it was all just Jesus, though, you know, and the and as long as they could see that, they didn't, I mean they didn't care, you know. In fact, they you know they they loved to see the journey that we were on.

Chris Grainger 11:58

So man, that's that's encouraging to hear for sure. And you I know you had several seasons that have drawn you into that deeper abiding relationship with him, and and also you've had some pretty high moments as well. You recently became a father, so I mean just talk about some of the things that that that have been hitting you over the last really year or so that's been kind of impactful.

Jiu Jitsu Injury And Emergency Surgeries

Wilderness Season And Dying To Self

Mitch Renda 12:20

Yeah, yeah. I yeah, the last year has been a it's been a a weird one. Um had a had our first kid in March of last year, so he's coming up on his one-year birthday in less than a month, and um that's been amazing. Like being a dad is a wild experience. Um being a you know, I know there's there's amazing things about being both a boy dad and a and a girl dad. Yep. I grew up with brothers only, my s or my uh wife grew up with brothers only. We have so many just dudes in our sides of in our families, and so like I was like, I don't know what I'm gonna do if I get a girl. And the Lord said, Don't worry about it, I'm gonna give you a boy. So he gave us he gave us a boy, and it's been he's just wild. And we prayed for a wild, a wild boy. We prayed that we were you not for a boy. We once we learned that it was gonna be a boy, we prayed that he'd be wild. Um, and he's wild. And so I I don't know how I feel about that. I might not pray that prayer again, but but it was it was an amazing experience, and you know, my wife's already we're talking about number two already and everything, so it's great. But um three months into his life, I uh I got injured, if you will. Um I was doing jujitsu, and actually this was out in Oklahoma, so I was doing jujitsu and uh and during that jujitsu session, really intense, like two-hour long, hardest workout of my life. I am not experienced in jujitsu. I have been doing it at this time, this was in June of last year. I had been doing it for about a month or so. The guy that I was doing it with had been doing it for like a decade. So like he, you know, if you know anything about jujitsu, if you know anything about jujitsu, it's about it's way less about effort and like exertion and way more about just technique and finesse and knowing the moves. And I'm over there squirming like a, you know, like a like a cat trying to get out of a of a hole while he's just you know sitting there like looking at his watch, like, you know, when's this gonna be over? Right. Um, and somewhere in that I perforated an intestine. And so basically, layman's terms, a hole blew up in my stomach. Long story short, um, I went the next like 24 hours not really knowing what was going on. Went to the ER, they saw what was going on. That led to um, I was septic at the time, so they were like, You're gonna die. We got to get you under the knife, like right now. So it was an emergency, emergency surgery, and um and they did the surgery, though it was a mess. They did it a couple weeks later. I was still in the hospital in Oklahoma, all in Oklahoma. Still in Oklahoma, right? Right. Still in Oklahoma. At this time, at this point, you know, my wife and parents and and child had flown out there, they're staying in Airbnb, just with me in the hospital. Um, and it happened again while I was in the hospital. And so I went I went septic again. Um, it's very dangerous to have to do two abdominal surgeries within a couple of weeks, especially within the condition that I was in. There's a bunch of unknowns, but they did it. And, you know, a whole long story. But I was in the hospital for three months, um two over two months out there, and then traveled back to Ohio in the hospital for another couple weeks out here, and uh and yeah, just that time was very unique, very dark. Getting out of that was, I'd say it started to become fruitful. I started to see how the Lord was working. And dude, there's a lot, there's a lot that he did, there's a lot that he taught me. Uh, but I would just say, like, in summary, and we can go deeper if we want, but in summary, it was a wilderness season. Still kind of in it. I still got more surgeries to come. I got two more to go this year, so that's gonna be fun. Wow. But it was a will it was definitely a dark wilderness season, one of those seasons where like, you know, you felt the Lord had kind of you know anointed you or or or uh you know uh give you visions for what's to come in your life, and you know, it's all exciting and it's fun. And then you find yourself in the season, you're like you question everything. You start to question, did I make this up in my head? If I did make this up in my head, like are is God even here? Is he with me? Like, you know, these questions start going through your head. You're sitting in a hospital bed, I couldn't eat for a month or whatever, a month plus. I'm losing, I lost 50-something pounds, like all the things. I had to relearn, basically relearn how to walk again. All these things were happening, and I'm having dark thoughts in my head. Um, but what he's doing in that season, especially when he brings you out, he lets you see this, uh, or where you start to see the light at the end of the tunnel, he you start to see how he works, is like I said, he's just he's killing Egypt in you. He's he's trying to take Egypt out of you. He's trying to uh if you got up, you know, you got the the three pillars of sin, right? Pride of life, lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh. He's gonna start chipping away at those. You know, when we pray that prayer, like, search me, God, know my heart, test me, know my anxious thoughts, see if there's any offensive way in me and lead me on the way everlasting, he's gonna, he's gonna, he's gonna do that for you. Like, so be careful if you want that, if you want the ways of God, he'll answer your prayers. They might they're not gonna look the way that you think, I can guarantee that, but he'll answer your prayers and he'll take you through seasons where you have to die. Like you, you actually have to die to yourself. And that's why Jesus says, like, you know, deny yourself. If you want to follow me, you don't have to want it, but if you do want it, deny yourself. Die to yourself. Um and so anyway, that that that was that what that season was. Was a lot of things that I kind of knew they were issues to begin with before this season, but he really started working on them, burning them off in this season. So he's still revealing things to me as we go, but that's kind of where I'm at.

Chris Grainger 18:28

Well, I'm curious. I mean, just a little from a little a little bit, uh, and share what you like. I mean, from your wife and a newborn, you know, what what was what was that like managing that with with the uncertainties and the doll? I mean, how did her faith grow? I'm sure.

Mitch Renda 18:43

I'm sure it was a you know, she's walking it with you as well. Yeah. Um, so to be we're thankful, the timing of it is weird to say we're thankful for it because she was on maternity leave uh for five months. She had five months of maternity leave. That's what I'm talking about.

Chris Grainger 19:02

Let's go.

Gratitude Learned Through Lost Time

Mitch Renda 19:02

And so so she has still had like another month and a half or whatever left when this all happened. So she could just fly out uh to Oklahoma. There was no no work that had to be done. Right. And so I yeah, I know for her, the way that she kind of processed this, um she's not one to get super emotional all the time. Um she she will power through situations like this. And uh and so that's what she did. She was definitely a warrior through it, but what really helped was she was so focused on Cam, our son, yeah, and just keeping Cam alive. Right. And thank God I have parents who were my dad had retired like a month before that, and so they were able to fly out and just spend this whole time there too. And he retired from his old job, and then I hired him as my nurse basically for the next few months, and he literally was my nurse. Like he he was that that is what he was. Um, and so thankfully my my parents were focusing on me more than you know, my my wife, not that she wasn't focusing on me, but she was really yeah healthily distracted with keeping keeping Cam alive and and and raising Cam. Um, and so you know, for me, it was just a weird entry to fatherhood. But I would tell you, like the first, you know, this is your audience is is men for the most part, and uh a lot of them are already dads, some of them may not be yet, but I remember the first few months of fatherhood, like before I got, before I landed in the hospital. I was super grateful. Like I was out, like it's amazing to have a kid. It's like you you feel this love for this thing that like you haven't really experienced before. All the things you hear, it's all true. But you also like, I was so caught up in other things in life, building a business, trying to get to a point where I could, you know, I can be sole provider, and my wife can quit her job, and she can be a stay-at-home mom because that's what she feels called to do. Like a lot of these pressures, not unhealthy pressure, but I I maybe received it unhealthily to the point where I I couldn't I I struggled to be grateful in the moment when I was with my son. You know what I mean? So I go away with the Lord in prayer one night or every night, but certain nights and just feel overwhelmed and and grateful for what he's given me. But in the moment, when I'm looking at my my son, like outside of just first having the kid and like looking at him being like, Whoa, this is crazy, and then you get back into the normal rhythms of life, and it sometimes becomes hard to really soak in every time you look at your kids, soak in, you know, what what the Lord's blessed you with. And so when I found myself in the hospital, I couldn't hold him for four months. Like it was lit, like the one I physically couldn't for a while, and then once I got to the point where I was like a little bit more independent and walking around, I still couldn't hold him because it was too much like strain on my body and on my core area after these surgeries and stuff. So it literally took, I think, early June is when this happened, and it was like October when I could start holding him again, and then consistently holding him and like like being a dad physically to him, probably not until like Thanksgiving time or something like that, like mid-November. Um and what that taught me was like it was almost like a disciplining, that was one of these, one of these areas of discipline and rebuke that the Lord was walking me through, these areas he was trying to kill in me, was this like like now I now I can go upstairs and I can see him and I can just feel that overwhelming gratitude because I can look back a few months ago and remember where I couldn't bend down and pick him up. And now that I can do that, it's you know, you you gotta remember those seasons that the Lord brought you through, the ways that he's worked in the past. And you can't forget those. I can't forget the darkness of that season, else I might lose the gratitude of where I'm at in the moment right now. And so and so that was a that was a huge thing. Like I can now, I've noticed it, like I've actually experienced it. It's gratitude in the moment. Sitting there with him, you know, playing with him, feeding him, whatever. And it's gratitude in the moment. And I struggled to have that before. Just for whatever reasons, distracted with life and you know, thinking other things, getting lost in other things rather than you know, this ridiculous blessing that the Lord has has given me. So so yeah, it was unique entry to fatherhood, but one that I'm grateful for because I'd rather have him done it then than me three be three kids down the road and then realize like all these things.

Chris Grainger 23:55

Right. Right. In some ways you're your position now to savor the goodness, you know, versus, you know, some of these guys when they get in, they just to your point, you go through the motions and you blank your eyes and it's 10 years down the road. I just feel like that's almost in some ways God was positioning you so that you could appreciate the goodness of of of every moment of being there with him. I mean that that's that's a unique spot to be man. Not many dads get there. Well either we see it but we're we're you know 12, 15 years later.

Mitch Renda 24:28

Yeah, and I think we like at least our head in our heads we know it. We always know it. Right? Like we know to be grateful. We know to be to like try to be as present as possible but it's really hard to do it to actually practice it. And I think the Lord forcing me to slow down and have to lose those things for a period of time then makes you if it just forces you. Like I I I'm not wasting any time anymore. Like I'm gonna be present I'm gonna be grateful. But again I still I still got to remember I can't forget that's right time.

Chris Grainger 25:00

So well I just know for me like with my with my little boy you know he's three and I didn't pray for a wild one but that's just what God gave me. So I I'm glad I didn't pray for a while because I don't know if we can handle it to doubly wild.

Mitch Renda 25:15

Yeah but I just know like for me we can learn a lot from the from her from her particularly from young boys too which I I saw with my girls as well but I really see it so clear with him like like we'll get off this podcast and and I'll go inside for a little lunch and bro when I get in the door I don't care what he's doing he's gonna drop it he's gonna run to me he's gonna wrap his arms around me I mean he's talking about just being fully being where your feet are present in the moment he gets it and and I'm sure your son gets it you know and it's so but and they teach us as dads that and it's just like man I want more of that I want more of that of just just be there man and I just I don't know I think we can learn a whole lot from our kids yeah it it's like that Luke Combs song Frontdoor famous if you listen to that it's like it's a big deal every time you walk in the room it's a it's like it's Christmas morning for for your kid especially a boy to dad relationship like that's a right it's unique and and mother to or daughter to dad and also son they're all unique in their own ways but um but I think like that that that kind of like how he just explodes with joy when you walk in the room. Yeah that's what he that's what the Lord wants from us. Like he's like why why can't you why don't you have that towards me? Why don't you think that is possible? I think a lot of times we don't even think that's possible because it's not a physical tangible relationship. We don't think that that type of just overwhelming joy and like being completely satisfied yet still being hungrier than ever we don't think that that's like a possible thing. We read it in scripture and we hear it in the sermons but we don't actually believe it but it it is it's very very possible.

Chris Grainger 26:58

Right to that brother well I mean you know you got connected with the lion you've you've seen from the from the beginning when we were stumbling in many ways we still stumble but we just you know we look better when we stumble now but we're we're trying to figure it out.

Mitch Renda 27:13

Yeah.

What Makes The Lion Different

Chris Grainger 27:13

You know what's been the coolest part for you just sitting back watching the lion uh over the last you know three years or so and where we are and where we're at and potentially where where it's headed there's a lot there's a lot uh that I could a lot of ways I can answer that question.

Humility As The Root Of Favor

Serving One Person At A Time

Mitch Renda 27:31

I'll I'll like I'll give you two answers one is you know the the thing about the lion which is really cool when once you once you get in and and you're a member and you're you're getting to really be part of the community and get to know other guys is yes it's it's like a lot of it's virtual like yeah you we're doing physical retreats and stuff now and all that and that's all really great and important but most of the rhythms are virtual um but there's a it there's cons to that but there's also pros to that is you get exposed to all these different kind of kind of men guys who are in all different kinds of seasons they're dealing with all different kinds of darkness and all different kinds of triumphs and and and uh and blessing and all sorts of stuff. And so you get to learn from dudes who are in all different career paths and single guys, married guys, guys with big families guys with just entering you know the family life all this stuff. And whereas like you know if you're in your you know your your tangible group of dudes in your community a lot of them are kind of usually in the same season as you're kind of walking life together and that's really great too there's pros to that. But I'd say that's a one of the really cool things and the things that I loved about it is like all the different perspectives you get from all the different guys in the group and in them in the in the community and especially when it comes to everyone's where they're at in their journey with the Lord. Right. It's just the reality of it some guys are decades into it some guys are 10 days into it. That's right. And so getting to you know there's a discipleship aspect there where the guys who are a little further along can take the guys who aren't under their wings that's huge. I think discipleship is like this lost concept in the church today. There's just you know we get discipled it's great because like you can you can listen to the lion podcast and that can be a form of discipleship for you but you're not like directly being discipled by other men and the lion offers that like like real quick. Like it's easy it's easy to find that within the lion um and so that's cool. And um but then the other thing I'd say is like you watching you throughout the whole thing not to put the spotlight on you but but watching you I think one of the things I have learned because you know out of those three pillars of sin the pride of life that's the one I'm battling every day. That's the one yeah I battle the other ones in ways but that's the one that God's got to kill in me the most I that's pride of life is is my is my darkness. And from when I watch you not saying you don't battle that but the humility that you've carried in this season of building the line and from the moment I met you but it's especially the last maybe six months or so when it really like things are really getting busy for you. Things are really taking off and the you know the the lists are growing the the uh people are getting to every everywhere around the country getting to know what the lion is um and seeing that you're not so much focused on um the m you are and you're not so much focused on the masses and like getting your your your face out there or or anything like that but it's each and you say it all the time it's each guy that comes in how do we best serve that person right and the amount of time you spend talking to individual people this is a lot of time a lot of time that you're not doing other things and but it's the most valuable time because you know that's it's what that's how Jesus operated. He's the ultimate example that's how he operated he had the biggest mission that anyone will ever have he was the he was the hero of all humanity but he didn't get caught up in that as much as he was focused on whoever was right in front of him. And so I just see the Lord's been sending people to you left and right and you're not overlooking them to be like oh keep sending them keep sending but it's each each guy that comes in it's like how do we best serve him and you'll get to a point obviously where you need other guys to step up and help and help lead and you're doing that right now. That's happening that's happening behind the scenes in a in a way um but the humility that you've it's just a great example dude the humility that you've walked with in all of this the favor of the Lord is no it can't be attached to the one who's going in pride. And so I see the favor but I I go a little bit deeper and I I tell I I see the roots of that and it's it's the your humility in it. And there's a lot that we can all learn as dudes observing you in this um where we can apply it to whatever the Lord's called us to do. It's like we gotta before we do anything, before we it could expect anything any prayers to be answered any favor we gotta just pray for that type of humility. Take that pride out of us kill it get it out we don't need it until I see that in you well I don't I don't know the right follow up to that because don't let don't let that give you a big head no man because it's boast you up I tell you bro it's uh but it's it's an honest it's an honest answer.

Chris Grainger 32:50

I take it though man like when I was 16 I I started working at a service station and I don't think I've even shared this much on on the podcast maybe I have once or twice. But bro that job just caught taught me so much and it was all about serving the individual that's in front of me. And I would have work piled up I mean it was overwhelming. As a 16 17 year old kid 18 year old kid you know it it got to be overwhelming but I always just focused on all right what can I do for the one right now and that's the way I'm trying to keep it with the lion and bro I get stood up in meetings now and like people set up a meeting with me and my calendar stays jammed up and they'll just they'll they'll ghost me and at that point you know Grace all right it was something happened um but the ones that don't the ones that actually show and it's just when they always hop they always like well what are you trying to sell me and I'm like nothing. What would you like to talk about? How can I best it's always the question's always the same how can I best serve you right now because you got 30 minutes that's typically what the blocks of time and saying I don't want to talk anything lying if it's not going to serve you. So you tell me where you at in your discipleship journey and I and I'll see if I can help based off what the spirit said and I don't know man that's just been uh that's been refreshing and and I've enjoy I enjoy those conversations and and sometimes they lead to guys checking us out and probably you know a high percentage of time they're like man just thank you for taking the time to pray with me because we always pray together before the call's over and you know what man I just some people from a business standpoint would be like you're an idiot and I'm like well I don't think so man. I think that if there's something to be said about serving and just extending a hand being there this world we live in everybody they're getting AI to death and automated messages to death and it's just like when you actually can have a genuine conversation then I don't know I just think it's there's beauty in that and it's value.

Mitch Renda 34:55

And the other thing I'll add to that is uh a result of that is like you're not in a hurry with this stuff. Like yes you have yes you want you want certain things right like you you want to get to certain places but if you're willing to do that and take that kind of time you're showing your heart you're not in a hurry you know you're not trying to cut corners and move go around the Lord and and get to where you where you think the line can go or where you think God's promising you the line will go. Because if you do it enough he'll let you go around him. He'll let you go in a hurry and uh go not in his pace and not in his timing uh and that won't end well. Right. But he'll let you do it to to to figure it out that it won't end well and he'll he'll let you do it in a loving fatherly way but I don't see that. Like I I'm not I can't see further than what I can see but I don't see that in the line I see step by step God's pace God's pace a bunch of favor a bunch of favor keep going step by step you know like that's what I that's what I see in it. And so I dude I'm excited for wherever it's gonna go but and especially the last several months it's just like he's doing something he's doing something.

Why Ruthlessly Biblical Matters

Chris Grainger 36:06

He really is I mean you went to Oklahoma for terror you know you had a bad experience out there we went out there and that's when he blessed us I know you know it was you were right in the same area I think too weren't you in is Edmund the area that's exactly where I was and we and he blessed us in a mighty way and and the cool part is it's like the pod and all the stuff I've done in the past is is great but the big blessing is through his word which is I just think that's kind of funny like through his word and people's hunger for his word and then the way that that like the reflections that we write uh through the plans on the Bible app. I mean I was in a call yesterday with an Indian that lives in Paris and he's like this is the second call he's had with me he loves the line he's part of the the the the community and and everything we're doing at Lions den and and uh I just laughed when I was with him he's like what I'm like you just don't think I just I can't I have to acknowledge the a little bit of the awkwardness here like you're you're from India you're in Paris I'm two degrees from Jade Clampett baby like this is this is kind of weird outside of Jesus but Jesus just like he's right here in the middle of this and he's just laughing he was just like you're crazy but he had a Nirvana hoodie on so he's he's he's still cool but but anyway so it's it's like God's just orchestrating these things you know and it's like let's go let's lean in and it's maybe the the listener band that's like they they're listening to the pod or they're checking our stuff out but they haven't taken that step to check out any of our stuff from the free stuff to the to the lines then like what would be your message to that guy yeah um I'd say there's a lot of options out there right a lot of a lot of communities a lot of masterminds all the stuff it's all out there it's not hard to find not anymore but if you're someone who wants to you know like Jesus says if you want to be my disciple if you want that if you want whatever the Lord has for you in your life number one is find people like mentorship content influence that is ruthlessly and un just uncompromising ruthlessly biblical not gonna stretch the word we're not gonna manipulate it we're not gonna remove things we're not going to make the the word of God all about leadership or like some Ted Todd like it's not what it is.

Mitch Renda 38:33

The word of God is the word read it and and embrace it and learn from it as it is written no matter how difficult it is to hear sometimes because it is difficult to hear actually most of the time um and that's the lion's that the lion is uh is ruthlessly biblical you're not willing to compromise on the word of God you can tell all the stuff you do the daily SKOs all the stuff the Bible studies it's all biblical the guys who you are are leaning on to help continue to build the lion I know I know them all relatively well they're all ruthlessly biblical they're not willing to deviate from the word of God so I say that's number one uh if you want something like this if you want to go deeper with the Lord and in this community and this kind of influence and and stuff is what you need this you will find that here and it will be ruthlessly won't always be what you want to hear. In fact a lot of times it's not what you want to hear but it is it's all good. It's painful but it's good. That is the word of God that's the walk with God it's painful but it's all really really really good um the other thing I would say is like along those lines this is my personal journey speaking um is it's painful but it's good like this this life you know and I'm I'm I got way more to learn I got many many years unless the Lord takes me away before that I got many many years to just keep going deeper and learning more things. But one thing I've known so far and learned so far is this life of being a follower of Jesus because he's the ultimate example we got to keep remembering that like we we want to live in him in us abide in him and him in us our life is going to look like his life in some ways we're not gonna be God by any means but it's gonna look like his in some ways and it's a it's a life of of pain of being broken. We talked about this the other day Chris like being broken like the broken horse broken over and over again to the point where all you want is the Lord you all you want is God above all these other things. And getting to that point is not easy. Like it's like you know the Lord rebukes and the Lord disciplines but it says in Hebrews 12 to not be discouraged in that and and not um not despise that like embrace that and count it as blessing because God does not do that for his for for those who aren't his children. Right. He disciplines and I hear a rooster in the background he's pretty close he's pretty close. That's great. In Hebrews 12 12 it says if if you are not being disciplined or or rebuked like you're illegitimate not a son. So embrace those seasons they're gonna suck they're gonna be painful but they're gonna make you complete and they're gonna uh make you mature and you're gonna keep going through them in life like they're not gonna stop you'll go through promised land seasons too and those are great but I would say like that the more you go deeper in the lion and I would encourage you to do it those seasons are to come both both of them wilderness promised land they're both to come but like it's painful but it's all really really good.

Retreat Stories Dad Jokes Book Pick

Question Of The Week And Closing

Chris Grainger 41:47

Amen brother amen yeah that that rooster likes to make a cameo from time to time on the show. So uh but anyway that's great. Yeah he's is it like noon it is at noon at roosters is this like a thing we got too many roosters at noon right now. Yeah yeah we got too many roosters and it's and that's the main problem. So my which my wife gave me the approval the other day I we're gonna be doing a a house cleaning and getting some rid of some roosters to make room for some hens. So uh so yeah you won't hopefully we won't have as many rooster cameos in the future you know I like it it adds a lot it adds a lot like you that's what you can expect when you go on the retreat that's where you live that's right it's got roosters and horses and that's right all sorts our retreat our retreat last year was funny my wife called me she's like this is a Friday night the guys have just gotten there she's like we got a problem I'm like what there was a there was a possum that was above the chicken literally you know a couple hundred yards from where we're all camping so here we go with a shotgun and taking care of a possum I mean this is what you get when you come to a line event man it's just real it's raw and something there's usually a lot of uh a lot of firearms but anyway love it that's the weekend this has been awesome brother I knew it was gonna be uh and and before we wrap up I want to run a couple of dad jokes by uh I and we do have our book of the week guys that the book of the week is cultivate love this book uh so check this out uh we'll have a link out there for you but two dad jokes for for Mitch and now since you're dad you you know you get to really vote on these and and lean into it uh so the first one is man I got a new pen and man that thing can write underwater did you know that so guess what else it it it can write other words too I know that was a terrible one all right so that that that one anyway uh I'm thinking like what kind of device is this yeah it can write underwater but it can write other words too so if you have to explain it it's not that good of a dad joke but anyway so no that's the U Well that just might be because I'm slow on the uptick but uh do you look these up you don't you don't come up with these look I look them up or usually Doug sends them you know Doug from from the line oh yeah he'll send me a lot of them from time to time so that's the first one or the second one is who won all right who won the neck decorating contest do you know who won the neck decorating contest it was a tie dang it that one wasn't that hard right a little bit more on that one I got overwhelmed I got nervous it's all good it's a good one though it's all good so yeah that one that one's better dad joke more more simple to that one of the kids the other one yeah that's like a math problem I was thinking through that I didn't get it well don't shoot the messenger guys do we know we do put the dad jokes out as a poll on Friday's in the lions den so uh guys always enjoy that and and I used to I have a lot of guys that tell me they're like look I don't vote until I run it by my wife and then whatever she says that's the one I vote with so you know let that be your your litmus test on on how to place your vote on that one boys. The question of the week is what intentional work is God calling you to begin today? God called Mitch to do some very difficult challenging things and and he leaned into it.

Mitch Renda 45:00

You heard his whole testimony historic well a piece of his testimony here today and guys whatever he's calling you to do just lean into it you know what Joby told me three years ago John 25 John 25 just do whatever he tells you to do like you cannot go wrong if you just take that advice boys so Mitch anything else you'd like to share today brother before we wrap up no man just grateful for you grateful for the lion and uh real excited to see what God keeps doing and and and what happens over the next even couple months but more so like a couple years and decades because it's going to be wild and if you're on the edge just jump on in now because it'll it'll only get better I believe.

Chris Grainger 45:41

Amen, brother. We're gonna keep laying into it. And Mitch, it's been an honor, man. Praying for you, praying for your family. Thank you for taking the time. Guys, go check them out. Connect with us. You can connect with Mitch inside the lions then. Thelionwithin.us is where you find all our stuff at. And have a great weekend, boys. Just keep unleashing the Lion Within.