Welcome Discipline And Fatherhood Charge

Chris Grainger 1:43

Welcome to The Lion 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. So let's jump in. All right, fellas. This is your fun Friday member spotlight. Let's get into it. The scripture this week, though, is in the book of Hebrews, chapter 12, verse 11. It says, for the moment, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. And again, fellas, this whole week, the podcast, we talked about I'm just a guy who uh is raising a son and that call to be a father, and what does that mean and why that is so important, and how we can't advocate that responsibility or outsource that. Uh we we're in a world of outsourcing, but we can't do that as men of God, who God called us to be. So go back and listen to the SKO, listen to the to the Wednesday episode. Again, you can join the daily SKO for free. This is the way we serve guys. We have a weekly prayer call. Uh, we have a SKO Monday through Friday. It's just a fun way to engage. And we're even doing some free gifts now for you guys in the daily SKO. So go check that out at the linewithin.us. So I'm excited for this one because this has got a buddy of mine. So this is a uh Mr. Brent Rose. So, Brent, how are you doing today, man? I'm doing good. How about you, Chris? I'm doing good. I'm doing good. Any day I get a chance to talk to you is always a pretty good day. So I was just going to preface that right now. So you're and you're out of Alabama, right?

Brent Roe 3:10

I am. All right. We live in um we live in North Alabama, northeast Alabama. Uh some people may be familiar with um uh Lake Gunner'sville. Uh Lake Gunnersville is hosted a couple of uh Bass Pro tournaments and that kind of thing. And uh so we're about forty-five minutes to an hour south of Huntsville, east, southeast, and then we're about uh an hour and twenty minutes north of Birmingham.

Chris Grainger 3:37

Okay, okay. Well, I'm excited to have you on. And one reason too is uh for you're one of we we have a couple, we don't have many, but you're one of a couple pastors that are that are part of the line within us. And maybe just get the the listeners out there up to speed, a little bit of your background, how you came to know Christ and what led you into the the to the ministry.

Brent Roe 4:00

Um well, I am proof positive that God can use anybody to do anything. So uh I was um the way I came to know the Lord, I was actually on a youth retreat, and um, you know, it was a lot of fun. A lot of my friends were there, and one night we got to talking about how there's nothing you can do to earn your way to heaven. And my whole life I had thought I was doing good, you know, I've never stolen anything, never killed anybody, that kind of stuff. And anyway, when he said that, he sort of rocked my world. And um after he spoke, there were a lot of my buddies that went down to the front, they were crying and all this kind of stuff. And I sat there and I watched all this happen, and I'm like, you know, I know these guys, I know these girls, they're gonna be hot for about two weeks, and then they're gonna go back to doing what they were doing. And I said, That's not what I want. I I want something different. And um, so I kept inching closer because I thought whatever the minister had to say was some kind of magical incantation, like there were some magic words you had to say to get saved. And uh, you know, I wanted to hear that sinner's prayer kind of thing so I could get saved. But anyway, I wound up going back to the room and I'm sitting in the room and I'm all by myself, and I said, you know, God, I'm tired of trying to live for you now that I know that I can't do it. I'm exhausted. I'm tired of trying to be what you want me to be on my own. And I said, I don't know what I've got to say, I don't know what the words are, but I know I need to get saved. And I don't want something that's gonna last for two weeks, I don't want something that's gonna last for a month, I want something that's gonna change me forever. And whatever I need to do, I'm doing it. I I want you to save me whatever it takes. And that's a bowl.

Chris Grainger 6:12

Yeah.

Brent Roe 6:13

Well, I mean, it was like, you know, I'm here I am trying to please my mom, my dad, and everybody. And, you know, it's just it got to the point where I just couldn't it was so hard to try to maintain that. And uh so I thought I was doing a pretty good job, and then when I hear there's there's no amount of good you can do, man, I'm like, dang, what is up? That's right.

Chris Grainger 6:39

So uh it's pretty neat too that you would recognize it like the the camp high. That's that's some pretty high level of discernment at that age, because not many kids can recognize it. There is a, I mean, there's a camp high when you go to those youth trips and things like that. And you mentioned two weeks later the fire's out and you're right back in it, right? And that's why I tell guys, I'm like, yeah, you feel good right now, but let's see if this thing sticks, you know. That's right.

Brent Roe 7:04

That's right. Yeah, just wait because uh the the hard hadn't come yet. Right it's coming. Right. Yeah, when you make a decision to stop following Satan and start following God, Satan ain't happy about it. Not at all. Not at all. So but uh anyway, I you know, I got saved and um I went to church and youth group and that kind of thing, but I still sort of had my weekends where I'd you know, it wasn't that I did bad things, I didn't stay out and drink every weekend, I didn't do any of that. Um I say any of that. I did some of that, but not like all the time partying. But uh anyway, um my dad had been a blue-collar worker his whole life. Uh he worked at DuPont in Chattanooga. That's where we lived when uh when I was born.

Chris Grainger 8:00

Yeah.

Brent Roe 8:00

Well, yeah, get get a shout out to Bunky there. Yeah, that's right, fella DuPont.

Chris Grainger 8:07

That's right.

Called From Engineering To Ministry

Brent Roe 8:08

But uh anyway, um Dad had always pushed me toward being an engineer. For some reason, he thought, man, engineers have it made, they make good money. You know, you won't have to work in a plant doing hard labor all the time, you know, that kind of thing. So the whole time I was in school, man, that's what he was pushing me toward. And um, I had moved to um Auburn. I was um in school around there, and um, you know, I was just miserable. I was miserable trying to make all that work. And I came home and, you know, got really dug into the Bible, and so I just uh so it's a it's a neat experience the way it happened. I have a relative that was a youth minister at the local church, and um I've been hanging out with him and helping him with the youth ministry, and so um I had a dream about him one night, and the dream was I went to his office and I said, Hey, I had a dream about you. And he said, Man, that's scary. And I said, Yeah, tell me about it. So he said, What was you dream about? And I said, Well, I dreamed that I came to tell you that God had called me to the ministry. And he sat there and he said, Wow, that's that's awesome. He said, You know, he wasn't even paying attention really, and um in the dream, and he he said, That's cool, man. He said, But the the only church that I know that's looking for somebody like a youth minister is this church. He called the name of the church out. So about a week, two weeks later, I thought about that and I thought, you know, I'm gonna go tell him about it. So I go to his office and I'm telling him, you know, we're talking, he's busy doing something, and I said, Hey, I said, I had a dream about you. I dreamed I told you that I was called to the ministry. He goes, Wow. He goes, Yeah, that's that's cool, man. Yeah. And we sit there, and anyway, all of a sudden it comes back to him and he goes, he goes, Yeah, he said, that's awesome. He said, the only church that I know of that's looking for somebody right now is this church.

Chris Grainger 10:17

Really?

Brent Roe 10:18

And it was the very same church that he had named in the dream. Wow. And the hair stood up on the back of my neck, and I was just like, man, what is this?

Chris Grainger 10:29

That's an attention getter right there, buddy.

Brent Roe 10:32

So um I couldn't, I mean, it it threw me so much that it was really hard to stay focused on anything. That just kept coming up and up and up. And finally, one night in the kitchen, my dad was there. I don't know about you guys, but you know, I'm one of those eight-year undergraduate guys. So uh I spent a lot of time in college. But uh anyway, I'm there in the kitchen with my dad, and I said, Hey, I said, I just want you to know that I think God's called me to the ministry. And my dad, who I thought would say, you know, that's great, but if you get your engineering degree, you've always got something to fall back on. Right. He said, He turned around, he looked at me around the eye, and he said, Son, he said, if that's true, he said, You'll never be satisfied doing anything else. Yeah. And I was like, wow. And um, so I started making my way toward uh whatever I had to do to get to seminary. Um I was at Jacksville State University at the time at North in North Alabama, and um uh felt that strong calling, and I started asking around for places where I could uh minister, um, help with youth ministry, that kind of thing. And so my campus minister, my Baptist campus minister, uh he provided a place for me to live when I was in college, and he said, Hey, he said, I know this church, it's open, and he said, I I'd like to send him your name. So he did, and um so they called me, I walked in and um met for the first time my future father-in-law. Okay. So um he uh I'm 6'3, my father-in-law's 6'5, and I walk in, he's an intimidating guy, old school preacher, and uh man, I was scared to death. And uh so anyway, we went through and some of the people on the committee were saying, Hey, this might work out, and I'm like, Well, yeah, I hope it works out. And come to find out, they were talking about the pastor's daughter and me working out. Oh, okay. They they had playing matchmaker, okay. That's right. So it was really kind of a neat thing, and um anyway, I got to go to his house, he invited me over to eat, and um I got to meet Dana, my wife, for the first time, and she was in college and I was in college, and um, of course, having a lot of studies and engineering, she needed some help in math, and I tutored her through some of that. And anyway, uh we wound up I moved to seminary in January of ninety-four. We got married in October of ninety-four.

Chris Grainger 13:33

Okay.

Why College Discipleship Matters

Brent Roe 13:34

So um, yeah, and you know, uh, it's funny because my calling's a little different than most people because when I started, you know, I don't know about you, Chris. You're you're younger than I am, but um at that time, most ministers were either pastors or music guys and a few youth ministers, that was it. So I really didn't know what God was gonna call me to do. I know that uh there's a lot of more opportunities now for ministers. There's ministers of recreation and that kind of thing. But anyway, I thought, you know, I'm gonna do youth ministry and maybe one day I'll graduate to pastor, but just to be honest with you, I never wanted to graduate to that point. Um anyway, God wound up the first position I had out of school uh seminary, my master's degree was uh uh youth and college. Um I was a youth and college minister, and that's when through some things that had happened with some friends of mine, God really sort of focused that in on college ministry. A lot of my friends were went to church, that kind of thing, and all of a sudden, you know, they get college age, they move away to school, and they go nuts. That's right. These bullshit then they get out of college, they decide it's time to stop being nuts, they get married, they have a baby. Now they're back in church. So while they're twenty-six years old or so, they're spiritual babies because they've never grown, they know they have no idea. I mean, they open their Bible on Sundays and that's about it. Yeah. Maybe on Sundays. And uh anyway, I just saw all these young people coming to church. They got babies and a wife, and we're making them deacons and leaders in the church, and they have no spiritual foundation, there's no spiritual grounding. So when I got a seminary, God sort of refined my call and said, Hey, I want you to help these guys you're in college and make a difference in their lives, disciple these guys. And so when we when the church needs them, they're ready to step up into that place. And uh so I was campus minister at the University of Alabama for 10 years. And um I just I can't tell you how God blessed me through that. I was uh I've got former students that are missionaries in Indonesia. I've got former students that are leading music at big churches in different places. I've got former students that have recorded, you know, in Nashville and different things. I've got a former student who he's worked in the church and then he started a church, and he's the church has been gone about three years, and they're already over 500 in worship.

Chris Grainger 16:34

Wow.

Brent Roe 16:35

And um those are like my kids, those are like my family, and just uh amazing and it's it's uh I don't know, humbling experience to see when God uses you sometimes when you didn't know you were being used, but yeah, to have somebody come up to you and say, Hey, you know, this is because you helped me through to get to where I am.

Chris Grainger 17:06

And that is powerful. I mean, I mean, what a that age group to your point. I mean, we see it. I see it all the the many different churches I talk with as well and get to connect with is kids, youth, they seem to be really good programs, but then there's this gap, you know, because once they age out of usually usually youth is through through twelfth grade, and then you know, freshmen in college, and they just there's just just a gap until they to your point they get married or life actually hits them between the eyes and they come back to judges. Yes, absolutely. And it's like, man, there is an opportunity, but it sounds like you stood in a gap there at Alabama. Although you're not an Alabama fan, I want to clarify that now. For listening to the I am not an Alabama fan.

Brent Roe 17:49

Brothers like Jonah and Nineveh. Uh that was a hard fall for me. Because you're a Tennessee fan, right? Yeah. I am. I am a Tennessee fan. Yeah. Go Valls. Go Valls working uh for the tide. So I mean, I'm good gracious. Yeah, my my wife's a big uh Alabama fan. We got married on the third Saturday in October. Uh I mean, I've got a lot of things going against me, brother. Uh wound up having two kids born in Tuscaloosa. I mean, you talk about being born under a bad sign, man.

Chris Grainger 18:31

Well, what let what led you to leave uh the University of Alabama? Because you're not there anymore. So where where did God take you next?

Brent Roe 18:39

So while I was at the university, um a lot of my students, you know, have been graduating and now they've started having kids. And after 10 years uh of doing that, I realized that uh my ministry was changing, and don't get me wrong, I loved it. I mean, absolutely loved it. Um so but I saw where God was sort of transitioning me during that time being campus minister, I got to speak at a lot of different churches. Um I was interim at a couple of different churches. I I preached at Baptist churches all over Tuscaloosa. Um so I did an interim and uh at the it wasn't even at the end of the interim. It was a that's a whole nother story. But the bottom line is um they tried to get me to be their pastor.

Chris Grainger 19:40

Okay.

Brent Roe 19:40

And I'm like, I'm like, hey, you know, I love doing this, and I said, but uh I've got a full-time job, I've got a ministry, you know, I love helping you guys out, but you know, it's just not not the time. Well then we did another interim and um same kind of deal. They were asking about it, and so finally the last interim I did, um I told my wife, I said, Hey, this may be, you know, this may be an opportunity that God's opened the door. And um and it felt like it was, and so we stepped out of campus ministry and I pastored a small church just south of uh Tuscaloosa. Uh sort of the the next county down is Hale County, and so I pastored sort of right there on that line. And anyway, um it wasn't long after that till um we got a call to move back up to where um where we live now is um not too far from both of our families. Um I've got family that lives in this area. Dana's got family that's about 45 to an hour away. And um, so we felt like this was an opportunity, and we moved up this way, and I pastored um church for twelve years and then transitioned from that to another church. It's another crazy thing that God did, but um he opened the door for at another church, literally seven miles from the last church.

Chris Grainger 21:23

Oh wow.

Brent Roe 21:24

Completely different communities, completely different schools. It's uh it's like a whole different world. And um, man, he's blessed us. He um I've been here Mother's Day, we'll start five years.

Chris Grainger 21:40

Okay.

Brent Roe 21:40

And uh so um I don't know. I went through a lot of stuff, I feel like, to get to where I am now.

Chris Grainger 21:48

And Yeah.

Brent Roe 21:50

I don't know. It's one of those things I told I d to I told my wife the other day, I said, you know, I feel guilty. And she said, What do you feel guilty about? And I said, Everybody at church thinks that I'm working so hard and doing all this stuff. And I said, I'm I'm not all I'm doing is trying to be faithful to God and God's just blessing, man.

Chris Grainger 22:09

Right.

Brent Roe 22:10

A lot the way he is the line, you know, you see 60, 70 people joining a day.

Chris Grainger 22:15

Yeah.

Brent Roe 22:15

Man, and I know, I know your heart, Chris. I mean, I know that you would um you don't want the accolades, the accolades go to God. You're just in the position, man. Um, but that's sort of the way I feel.

Chris Grainger 22:28

Yeah.

Brent Roe 22:29

Just just uh crazy, clear, crazy place.

Chris Grainger 22:34

Amen to that, brother. Just just keep riding it, like you, like you told me earlier, because as God is moving and doing a mighty thing right now, and for you and in in you and through you, and uh I am curious as well for you, Brent. I like just for the guys listening, how did you even find the lion, man? I was just curious, like, when you got connected to the lion, because I know lots of our guys now are coming from the Bible app, and and God is blessing that in a crazy way. I mean, to your point, it's the numbers are kind of staggering for what the guys that are coming to our email list, the guys that are getting into daily SKO and then jumping into your lion's stand. But how how did you get connected with this originally?

Brent Roe 23:13

So um what happened was um I had been involved in a couple of different uh Bible studies with some people, sort of uh you know, um what is it, C three or whatever that was? You know what I'm talking about with the the sort of the CEO group. Oh, the C twelve. And uh yeah, C twelve. I was helping a guy do something like that, and I thought, man, it'd be cool to to find something like that. And I'm I was actually on the Bible app and um and sort of ran into um I'm just a man fighting for my marriage. And you know, I've been married 30 years, 31 years. And um it's uh for for people that don't know, if you're married, you've got to fight for your marriage every day. I don't care if you've been married a day or 70 years, you've got to fight for your marriage. And um, so that threw some things that were going on in my life that resonated with me. And man, I went through that study and it really opened my eyes to, you know, to what's available out there. And I click the link at the bottom and it opens this up to the line, and and I see that it's an online um it's a men's group online where you can just be yourself and you can share some things. And um you know this as well as I do. Uh being a pastor is hard because you can have really close friends in the church, but there's things you can't tell them because I'm their pastor. Right. It doesn't matter how close you get, they don't want to hear how their pastor struggles. They don't want to hear, I mean, to a point, but I mean you can't you can't be vulnerable because when you show your vulnerability, you lose your ability to lead in a lot of places. Now, I'm vulnerable to my church and I share some ups and downs, but there's some intimate things that I just can't share. And I needed a group of men that I could go to and that I could just unload some stuff. And uh and I think the first time I called you, you know, you I got that invite to talk to you online and met you face to face. And and man, what you were what you were telling me was just exactly what I needed at that time. I needed man, I need some men to wrap their arms around me and love me unconditionally, you know, to be able to just yes, I'm a pastor, but I'm a man. Right. And I've hurt and I struggled. I have the same struggles as everybody else. And I think that to me, that was the key feature is to be in around to be around people and the and just not that there's there's a certain amount of anonymity because nobody knows I'm a pastor unless you tell them on the line, man. I love the the interaction where people don't change. If I if I meet somebody and they ask me what I do, uh I hate to tell them I'm a pastor because immediately the you know what I'm saying, the conversation changes. It's just it's just I can't tell you I can't tell you how many people I've said, oh I I I wouldn't have said that if I if I known you were a pastor. And I'm like, hey, listen, brother, God's here. I mean, it don't don't say don't change the way you talk because of me. Right. You know, but um or change the way you say anything because of me. Uh it's not about me, brother. It's about you and God. And you know, a lot of people, God wants your heart, he'll get your language later on. That's right.

Chris Grainger 27:14

Yeah.

Brent Roe 27:14

But I mean, he he wants your heart. And and I think being able to see people's hearts, I th I think that's one of the coolest things about the line is that man, you got every walk of life, you've got people that have been through some things that I've never even thought of. I know. Um dealing with problems that are just I don't see how some of these guys walk around. I know. Um I just I mean, man, Satan is all over us. And if we don't hang together, you know, the the Jesus said uh by this all men will know that you all men will know that you follow me if you love one another. And you know, if even liars and thieves, you know, they'll they'll hang hang around for each other. Man is the church, brother. We gotta hang together. We're in a battle twenty-four-seven. That's right. And I guess another thing is th it's not denominationally based. Yeah. I think that's awesome, man. I mean I'm Baptist. Man, I'm I'm Baptist, I've been Baptist my whole life, but I I don't think we've got it absolutely right and everybody else has got it wrong. Um it drives me crazy. And the other thing is, you know, I think there's times where we let religious institutions uh dictate a lot of the things that we do, and that bothers me too, because Chris and let me say this to everybody out there. I pastor a church, but I'm telling you, the church can be the most hurtful people in the whole world. And I've said this, I read this quote, and it carries with me all the time. The church is the only army that shoots its own wounded. Yeah. And when a lot of times in the church, when somebody's down going through a hard time, you know, instead of lifting them up and praying for them and encouraging them, you know, there'll be people that'll say, Can you believe they did that? And I'm like, man, yeah. I I you don't know what I know about their life. If you were going through what they were going through, you'd do the same thing. Yeah. And like I said, I th I think that's another part of the line that's just is tremendous for me.

Chris Grainger 29:43

Yeah, I mean, I see it daily now, where guys are just laying out the most vulnerable areas that they're struggling with, and and it's not met with condemnation, it's not met with, you know, uh, are you kidding me? You know, or or any type of of of just uh trying to be little. It's none of that. It's it's like, oh man, I'm sorry you're hurting right now. I'm gonna I'm gonna come alongside you, I'm gonna lift you up. And I mean, the intentionality, and I and I'm like, it's all God. I mean, that's why he gets all the glory. Because you can't in my mind I could design it that away in a system and it would work this way, but like at the end of the day, guys have to actually use it. And and to the fact that guys are using it, it's like, okay. So you know, and that to me, that's the coolest part, you know. And and at the same time, I tell my wife all the time, I'm like, these prayer requests are just heavy. I mean, and they're just oh man, and they're like, and I'm like, they're not, there's nothing I've never heard of any of I taught years Sunday school and took prayer requests, and uh, you know how we Baptists like to do the unspoken prayer requests, right? And I'm like, these boys, these boys don't believe in we they ain't no unspoken with the lion. I mean, they'll just tell you, you know, I looked at porn this morning, and this is where I mean you we get that level of of transparency. I'm like, but that's the that's the power of it, and and I think that's where I why I think God in in many ways is blessing it, you know.

Brent Roe 31:16

I think you're absolutely right. And I think that's something that if more people understood uh about the line, uh more people I think would be a part of it because I I see so many men that are hurting that need community. Right. And you know, I I hope and pray that everybody finds a church to be a part of. You need that community. But there's times, man, where you just need to be around some brothers, and if it's online or if it's through a phone call, and um, you know, just just make that call, brother.

Chris Grainger 31:49

Yeah. Or or our live event, you know, we're starting to do more of those. We we're gonna try to do two a year. So we got the one like when this comes out, we got the live event starting that day. And uh miss, you know, those types of chances to grow and and just be real. And I was asking my wife, I was I was like, like I gotta do all this, you know, prep work because I want the guys to have a great time. And and and and she was, I was telling her everything I was doing. She's like, Why don't you just you focus on the food and and the and the activity, you know, get get stuff set up. She said, But you need to let God do his thing too while they're there. So and I'm like, What do you mean? She's like, Well, you know, have your sermon ready for Sunday. And she's like, I'm not telling you, don't have your sermon ready. She says, but the rest of it, just let God move. She said, Because most church groups don't do that. You know, it's it's very structured. She said, I think that's why guys want to come, is because it's just that relaxed and fellowship. So I'm uh I'm taking her advice because she is good looking and she's smart. So, you know, that's where I'm gonna go.

Brent Roe 32:49

Smoking hot. That's what I'm talking about. That's it, baby. That's it. Well, I can tell you this. You know, you can't the thing about true discipleship is, and I've I've been around ministry long enough. I mean, I started ministry uh part-time in 1992, actually before then, uh in the 80s, in the late 80s, I was part-time youth minister assistant, uh, which is somewhere just below janitor. Anyway, I've seen lots of discipleship programs. Some are good and some are not. And but the bottom line is I I don't like programs, man. It's about relationship. And you can't program relationship. I mean, uh I've seen tons of great programs, but man, true relationship is messy and it's not on a timetable and it takes years to develop, and you just gotta go with it, man.

Chris Grainger 33:46

Amen. Well, if you were to think about, you know, the impact for you. You're in a mastermind, you're in a lion's den. You know, if you were to summarize what the line what the lion's impact has been for you directly, you know, what what would that be?

Brent Roe 34:02

Man, I think it's the relationships. I and I say I think, I know, absolutely it's the relationships. And I um, you know, I know that there's guys in the line that if I put a prayer request out, they're gonna be praying for me. I know that, you know, they're not gonna say, dang, can you believe what Brent did? I know that they're just gonna get on their knees and they're gonna pray and they're gonna send me some encouraging words, and that's invaluable. And the on top of the line is a is a big community. Man, the smaller community within that community, man, my mastermind group is phenomenal. And um, you know, Lucas does a great job of leading it. And um, you know, every single member. Um I remember the first time that I shared, and shared something that was just devastating me at that time. And man, they came around me and encouraged me, and you know, don't give up, and you know, we're praying for you, and you know, I get texts from those guys almost every day, different ones. Yeah. And uh they come from all walks of life. I mean, you know, brother, you got you got a retired DuPont man that's in a traveling trailer with Bunky, you got TR driving the barge. Yeah, you know, you got Mark who's man, he's in Houston, uh got a new job in Houston, and he's traveling. And uh you got uh Michael and um the security guy, and you know, then you've you've just got so many of those different people. I mean, um, you know, you got a a prison guard brother and so I mean you got you got everything under the sun and and the fact that these guys the one thing and and I think this is the great thing about being a believer and being a disciple of Christ, being a believer in Christ, is that we're all come from different backgrounds. But the central character in our life is the same. Because the central character is not me, it's not you, Chris. That's right. The central character in our lives is Christ.

Chris Grainger 36:22

That's right.

Brent Roe 36:23

And that's what binds us together. But man, my mastermind group, they have helped me through it. I do anything for those guys. And I'm hoping to come to the uh April event and um and being a part of that. I hope, you know, I know this is coming out at that time, but man, I I hope to be there. And one of the real reasons I want to be there is because of uh of getting to see my mastermind group.

Chris Grainger 36:50

Yeah.

Brent Roe 36:51

The only one I won't get to see that I know is Lonnie, and you know, Lonnie's uh missionary full time, and he's got other meetings to take care of. But uh anyway, um I just think that's a powerful, powerful tool to have in your back pocket. When you need somebody, man, they're there for you. And there's no doubt if I put the call out, I'll guarantee you that some of those guys will drive to Alabama to be here with me. So uh and I hey listen, I'd go um I'd go where they are too, man. I mean, uh they're just they're just a sweet bunch of guys.

Rest Under The Broom Tree

Chris Grainger 37:33

Well, Brent, I mean, just having you in and and being a part of it, it's you make us better. You know, your group's are cr incredible, and maybe there they're probably there's guys listening now who, you know, they've probably been on the sidelines listening to the podcast or reading the stuff on the Bible app, or you know, we put out so much content now, I just lose I lose track of where it all goes. But I know lots of guys consume in different ways, but many of them are sitting on again, just sitting there kind of uh consuming versus leaning in. What would be your message to the guy who don't recognizes all you said today is is relevant to his life but hasn't taken a step to to connect with the lion? What would be your encouragement encouragement to him?

Brent Roe 38:16

My encouragement would be this everybody's looking for some help. Everybody's looking for, and you may not word it that way. Maybe you're trying to live all on your long on your own, but it can't be done. It cannot be done. And it doesn't cost anything to give it a try. Man, I would say just try it, check it out. You know, there's thousands of people that quit things every day. You can quit day after tomorrow if you want to try. That's right. But just try. And I'll tell you this, I I think I believe in the line so much as an online community of of black-minded believing men. I just think that's such a need in our country right now. That's such a need. And uh it's a need in my church, man. I mean, I've got young fathers that are young men, uh, married, unmarried, all different walks of life. Right. And everybody looks for the same thing. Everybody looks for people that are going through the same trash you're going through.

Chris Grainger 39:19

Yeah.

Brent Roe 39:19

And man, let me tell you, in the line, you're gonna find that you're not the only one. You're not walking alone, brother. That's right. You're not the only one walking with Christ. I love uh Chris, uh being a pastor, you know, I I gotta throw this in there, but uh I'll have to preach a sermon. But you look at Elijah, Elijah fought the prophets of Baal, and he had them all put to death. Right. And the next day he's out in the desert and uh they put a call out for his life. You know, they're they're trying to kill him. Yep. And he sits down under a broom tree. That's right. And he says, God, I'm the last one left. I'm the last one following you. And I'm tired, just take my life. Take me now. That's right. Take me now. And God, God, for three days, he told him, just rest. And he fed him and he rested, and he fed him and he rested, and he fed him and he rested. So number one is this get some rest and get some food, take care of yourself. The next thing he told him is, get up because I've got something for you to do. I've got a remnant of over a thousand people just like you. Right. And it's time to get back to work. So if Satan's got you down and you don't feel like doing anything, get some rest, take a deep breath, let the Lord refresh you, get into his word, and then get ready, because you're not the only one in that place, brother. Satan may convince you that you are, but there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus our Lord. He may convict you, but He does not He does not condemn you. You're not alone. Man.

Chris Grainger 41:11

So I I we'll have to I'm gonna have to va validate this. I'm making sure you haven't been talking to my wife. I bring this up because she literally yesterday I got hair standing up. Day before yesterday, I was telling her I was like, the stress, you know, the lines, we just passed a thousand guys, and it's you know, just it's with that responsibility, it's it's getting heavier and heavier. She's like, you just need to stop and go sit in your corner of your office and read Elijah. She and she brought up the story you just brought up. And I'm like, all right, so now that how about that dream earlier you had in the conversation? I feel like I'm having that moment right now.

Brent Roe 41:50

So uh so well, hey, I I tell you what, that's there's been a lot of times where I was ready to quit. I five years ago before I came to this church, I literally would have taken a job working at Walmart.

Chris Grainger 42:04

Yeah.

Brent Roe 42:04

I thought God had messed up. I thought I was not, I thought he maybe he meant the call in a different way, maybe he missed out, but I felt so down and depressed. I was just ready to quit everything. And God brought that to me, and he brought a friend alongside of me that took one friend, one minister friend. And that one minister friend's the reason I'm not in ministry today. There you go.

Chris Grainger 42:35

Well, Brent, this has been an incredible member spotlight. I'm so thankful and blessed to have you in with us. And uh before we go, man, I want to run a couple of dad jokes by you because you're you're a dad. I like to see what tickles your fancy. Our book of the week this week, though, guys, I'm gonna plug my book again just because uh, well, it's the Lion Podcast, and I can't plug it enough. So go get go get uh Unleashing The Lion Within, that copy of my book. I'm actually using that with uh a guy I'm discipling right now, and it's just super easy just to kind of work through those chapters and use it, fellas. So again, Amazon, uh, it's an audible version of that book as well. Uh so go check that out. But so, Brent, the two dad jokes. I didn't get these from Doug, ironically. Doug usually gives me my dad jokes every week. Uh, but I got these on my own. So this is the first one. It says, uh, you know what, do you know what a dad says when he puts the car or the truck in reverse? Do you know what he says, Brent? He says, I don't. He says, Ah, this takes me back. So there you go. Okay. I guess that's that one. Uh, and then the second dad joke is was uh all right, I I was thinking about making a joke about retirement, okay? Um, but it didn't work. So so well, I got a little chuckle out of both of them, man. So if you had to vote, which one would you go with? One or two.

Brent Roe 43:59

I'm probably going with number one because uh I don't think I'm ever gonna make it to number two.

Chris Grainger 44:05

Amen to that. Well, you're hey man, you're doing guys' work. We don't get to retire, bro. You know, that's just part of it. You were right.

Brent Roe 44:11

You were right. Hey, I got to figure in the other day, and I figured out exactly when I'm gonna retire. Yeah. I'm gonna be 97 years old, and I'm gonna get to retire for about 11 minutes and 39 seconds.

Chris Grainger 44:27

He'll call you home. That's it. That's right. That's right. All right, well, guys, let us know which dad joke you like best. Number one, number two. The question of the week we had this week is what have you chosen hard over popular? Remember, fellas, we ain't called to popular. We're calling something we're called to hard. Is he any man can take the popular road, but we don't want to do that. But Brent, anything else you like to share today before we wrap up, brother?

Brent Roe 44:48

No, hey Chris, I love you, man, and uh I appreciate your part in this ministry, giving leadership to all these guys. And uh I'll tell you what, guys, uh besides Jesus, you ain't got a better friend in this world than Chris Granger. So uh, man, he is a faithful friend. He'll be praying for you. And uh pray for him, pray for him and his family because Satan works against him too, brother. All the time. So uh just just lift him up.

Chris Grainger 45:18

Well, thank you, Brent. I love you too, brother. And and and guys, thank you so much. Just again, remember spotlights. This is what it's all about. Thelionwithin.us. Go to the website, fellas. Brent talked about it already. The Daily SKO, that's a free way to jump in today. Or jump into the lines then. That's that's a 30 day trial. Just try it out, or put in an application for a mastermind because if he mentioned His mastermind group. Guys, we take those applications all the time. And look, it's not for everybody, and that's okay. But it's just if it's something that you that you're curious about, let's talk about it and we'll go from there. But again, Linewithin.us, the Bible app and all that those other places as well, fellas.

Brent Roe 45:57

So let me say let me say this too. I know the um the cost is um there's more cost involved in the mastermind, but I'll tell you this. If if I told you that you were that you were going to invest in something that was gonna make a difference in your life immediately and for eternity, what what would it be worth to you? I promise you the mastermind group's worth every dime. Every dime.

Marriage Support Group Announcement

Chris Grainger 46:27

Amen, brother. Amen. Well, Brent, this has been incredible. Guys, again, thank you for listening. Ratings and reviews that all the you know, give us that thumbs up on that, fellas, and share this out with others. Hey, share this one. Here, here's a challenge as we wrap up. Share this one with your pastor. Your pastor could use some encouragement. Just head. You know, so fellas, I just I challenge you. If you listen to The Lion, hit the share button on whatever you're listening to, Apple Spotify, it don't matter, and send it over to your pastor, send it to them. Uh, we'd love to have more pastors in to walk with and encourage. We got we got a few, and uh, we'd love to have more because we know those guys are, as you heard it, they need that support as well. So, Brent, thank you again, brother. It's been an honor having you on. And uh, guys, thank you for hanging out with us. We'll see you next time and just keep on leashing 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. Though 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 Lion's Den. Okay, that's thelionwithin.us. Start your 30 day free trial of the Lion's Den community, and boom, you have instant access to the committed and occasionally confused support group. We'll see you inside the den.