Welcome And Acts 11 Charge

Chris Grainger 0:02

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, it's a fun Friday member spotlight. I'm excited to get into it with our member, but before we get there, let's look at our scripture. Acts 11 is this week. Okay, so Acts 11, we look at two verses, verse 23 to 24. And they say, Then when he arrived and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them with all the resolute heart to remain true to the Lord. For he was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and considerable numbers were added to the Lord. Guys, those verses are so powerful. I took some time and I unpacked them in the SKO podcast. So if you want to just kind of go back to in your podcast feed, you'll find them there. And uh the last episode with Mr. Josh was awesome. So I hope you guys are encouraged by that. Again, the spiritual kickoff, fellas, we do this Monday through Friday at The Lion Within Us. We call it the Daily SKO. So if you go to the website, the LionWithin.us, you'll see daily SKO. Click on that. Cool part about that daily SKO now, we even give you a free gift. I got some sitting on my desk right here. So we we can mail those out to you, claim your free gift. And in the probably the best part of it is not access to the daily SKO or even a free gift. The best part is you get access to our prayer request space, guys. And I'm telling you, we got guys who use that prayer request space on a regular basis. And we're not just throwing prayer requests out and just leaving them. Like we genuinely pray over these items, and then as a weekly prayer call, you have access to that too. So we highly encourage you to check it out, alignwithin.us, start that daily SKO, and hope to see you inside. So I'm excited for this one. Um, it's some of our newer members. Uh he's he's newer and actually brand new to one of our leadership masterminds. But I just have enjoyed any interaction I've had with him. I was like, man, we just we gotta have you

Daily SKO And Prayer Space

Chris Grainger 1:55

home just to share your story. So, Jonathan Atkins, how you doing today, man?

Jonathan Adkins 2:00

Doing good, Chris. How are you doing?

Chris Grainger 2:02

Oh, I'm doing good, buddy. Doing good. It's a beautiful day here. And uh how about what in your neck of the woods? What's it looking like down there today? It's doing pretty good. It's nice and sunshining and good weather. There you go. There you go. Well, we love I love these episodes. I know our listeners do too, man. And and just maybe get us started, just sharing a little bit about your testimony.

Jonathan Adkins 2:25

Yes, sir. Yeah, so I'm 34, I'm not married, uh, live just outside of Birmingham, Alabama. Uh growing up, I grew up going to church. Um, but I was never really applied myself to the church or getting involved with anything. Uh, just kind of went and did the pew sitting, as you call it, the other day. Um growing up, uh my parents split up for a little bit, and during that process, um kind of got to not going every single Sunday. Uh they eventually got back together, but uh by that time I was headed off to college, and when I got into college I didn't go hardly at all. Uh, just didn't have anybody to make me do it. Um and over the years I kind of got to where I had anxiety issues and uh you know felt like if I could control everything then you know that

Meet Jonathan Atkins

Jonathan Adkins 3:22

everything would work out. But uh about a year and a half ago or so uh kind of hit a low point and basically came to the realization that I can't control nearly as much as I thought I could. Uh kind of felt like something something was missing. Uh so started going back to church. Uh got a great church here that I go to and uh been getting involved there, uh, but just kind of felt like I wanted more. Uh so I actually found uh y'all through the U Version Bible app. Yeah. Started did one of the just a guy uh plans and been hooked ever since, and the more I plug into it, the more I get

Drifting From Church After College

Jonathan Adkins 4:05

out of it.

Chris Grainger 4:05

So that's cool, man. So you I mean you so you did grow it, so it sounds like mom and dad, did they both go to church and you went with them pretty much every Sunday?

Jonathan Adkins 4:17

Yeah. Yeah, dad sometimes dad would sneak off to go hunting or fishing, but he usually would go with.

Chris Grainger 4:23

Well, it's cool to hear too. I didn't know that your parents they so they separated, but they're back together for now.

Jonathan Adkins 4:28

Yes, sir. Yeah, they were separated for several years um and ended up getting back together right before I went off to college. Okay.

Chris Grainger 4:38

Well, I'd love to hear the stories of restoration, so that's awesome. But um I'm also for you, Jonathan, not that like every story is unique, but it it it's something about that time that age when we kind of get out of the kids and the youth programs, and then we start going to college. So many guys, that's where they drift. You know, it's almost like in the church, there's there's no really good good place for them, you know, for that for that demographic man. I don't is that kind of what you were were feeling at the time?

Jonathan Adkins 5:13

Yeah, I mean, you know, uh a lot of colleges and universities, there'll be uh you know different groups, but uh like I grew up grew up Methodist, uh, so there's like the Wesley Foundation. Um but you know they don't come seeking you, it seems like uh you have to go seek them. Uh and I was always the one to kind of stand off to the side and I was not gonna go seeking um something I've been working on lately, but uh yeah, I just it's real easy to drift uh that kind of age range, I think.

Chris Grainger 5:47

Yeah. That's tough, man. For so I mean, glad that you're back at it. And you mentioned anxiety, which, you know, brother, I'm right here with you with that. I've I've struggled with that in my life. When did that start raising its head with you?

Jonathan Adkins 6:01

Uh I think it was probably about the time when my parents split up. Um Okay. And it kind of I guess over the years it got worse and worse. Um and it got to the point where I guess end of twenty-four, beginning of twenty-five, uh started having like like physical symptoms. Um, you know, not feeling good, not able to eat, um, not sleeping, that kind of thing. Um I actually started going to a uh faith-based counselor, uh, which I still go to. Um she kind of encouraged me to, you know, to get into the church, not just go to the church. Um and so I started getting into the men's group at church and you know, I really liked what I got there, but I wanted more, uh, and that's kind of where my hand came in. So Yeah.

Chris Grainger 6:55

Yeah, man, I mean so many guys they just think they just kind of sit on the sidelines, you know. So when you say getting in, what what were what did you start doing at the church to kind of get you know a little bit more involved? Yeah.

Jonathan Adkins 7:08

Uh go into small groups, uh, and then also um going to some of the men's events that they hold. Uh usually do you know one a month, something like that. Um a cookout or trip to a gun range or what have you. That's right.

Anxiety And Faith Based Counseling

Jonathan Adkins 7:25

You know, they go out and do some just do some fun stuff, you know, with all the guys. Uh you know, they did a a cleanup day at the church uh the other day, uh just to get things ready for everybody to show up and you know, Easter pictures and all that good stuff. So that's right. Got a lot of outside yard work type stuff done and you know, just getting getting to know the people at the church uh and kind of forming those relationships to you know to where when you walk in the door, you're not just another face, you're you know, somebody that they know and you know, they're somebody you know. That's right.

Chris Grainger 8:00

I found man, you guess guys are always looking for something to do, you know. And and my wife was even, I was talking to her recently about the upcoming retreat. And uh by the time this comes out, the retreat didn't have already happened, but you guys, you know, if you didn't come, shame on you. We talked about it enough. But Jonathan's gonna be there. But one thing she mentioned, she's like, you know, maybe you need to let some of the guys get involved with some of the stuff here on the farm through the weekend. You know, we have horses and and I feel like, you know, for me, I just see it as work. But other guys guys that see that as opportunities just to jump in. So we I think there's something to be said about that for churches that you know when they look at their men's events, you know, you don't always just have to sit around and have a sauce's biscuit. You can put us to work and we're okay with that, you know. Yeah. Well I I well man, why don't you do that and sit around and drink coffee or something? That's right. That's right. Well, I was excited to have you on too because you're relatively new to the lion, man. You know, you got you found us on the Bible app, which is awesome. We love everything. Anytime I get to work with those folks, they're just awesome people uh out of Oklahoma there. And and and then you kind of joined the Lions Den and you saw what that's about. Then you start asking, you asked about the masterminds. So I'm just curious, maybe share with the listeners like your your experience, what it's been like, you know, what what did you think it was going to be like versus what is it actually like, and just you know kind of give them a behind-the-scenes peak for what it's been like for you, Jonathan.

Jonathan Adkins 9:31

Yeah, so I I've only been in the masterminds, I think maybe a month or so now, uh month and a half, maybe. Um but yeah, you know, started out with the SKO um and then wanted to do the Bible studies

Getting Involved With Men At Church

Jonathan Adkins 9:45

and things like that. Uh so I did join the Lions Den and uh found that you know every time I plugged in I got m way more out of it than I thought I could, you know, was even possible. Uh so then I started looking at the masterminds and kind of looking to into it. Um and with the mastermind, you know, it's it's somewhat what I expected, but again, it's just way more than what I ever thought I would get out of it. You know, even when it's not your hot seed, uh you still can get something out of it, listening to other guys. And I guess what I've gotten out of it is even you know, it I like it. It helps me uh even when I'm trying to help somebody else. Um, you know, give them some advice. Um, you know, it kind of helps to build those relationships and kind of help build some brotherhood. Amen. Yeah, with my hot seat, um, you know, it was just the other night and kind of had my topic in mind and uh we got into it and I think the the good Lord kind of led it a did a little bit different way. Uh it actually kind of morphed a little bit. Uh didn't quite didn't quite go the way I planned it, which I think with the anxiety part that kind of you know just another proof that you know he's he knows better and he's got a better plan than I do. Um but it uh

Finding Community Through YouVersion

Jonathan Adkins 11:05

morphed, I think, to a a place where it needed to be. Um by the end of it, I got some some real good tips from the guys, uh, some real good things to work on. Uh actually been working on them the last couple days to kind of improve some things and uh hopefully get some good results out of it.

Chris Grainger 11:25

And that's so awesome, buddy. Yeah, it's funny how you know we'll we'll have a plan, we'll have a an idea, but you get in there and you start a wrestling. I mean, I see this with one of my mastermind guys where I mean, I meet with a regular, and you know, I'll have this idea, it's laid out. Like, I think this is gonna go this way, and I'm pretty uh I'm you know, I'm 90 something percent confident, and then they'll just back that thing all to pieces, and next thing you know, it's like it's something completely, you know, that's that's that's morphed, but it's always better, you know, because that again, that iron sharpening iron. So I just maybe that's sound like that's what some of what you experienced all at night.

Jonathan Adkins 12:02

Yeah, yeah. I had uh, of course, Rob's in there, um Johnny Murphy, Steven, Mark, uh you know, there's there's some good guys in that group. And uh, you know, Rob Rob put one to me in uh my first answer, and then I thought about it. I was like, yeah, I wouldn't get an answer. That to me is the what it's all about, you know. Right. You know, guys pointing stuff out and you know, they're not doing it, you know, because they don't want you

Lions Den And Mastermind Experience

Jonathan Adkins 12:35

to succeed, they want you to succeed. Uh they want to make you better. Uh and it's been real real helpful, real eye-opening, and uh real joy to be a part of it.

Chris Grainger 12:46

Man, that's so awesome, man. That's right. I mean, it's easy to find guys that will affirm what you think is right, but it's finding those guys that are willing to push back a little bit and and but do you know they actually care. They're not just trying to be, you know, butts about it. They actually they want like to your point, they want to see you be successful. You know, I think that is so to me that's key. And in fact, you got Robin there. I love that guy. I mean he he'll he'll let it sling in a minute.

Jonathan Adkins 13:13

Yeah, he's he's good and Mark and Steven and uh you never know where Steven's gonna go sometimes, but he you he usually drop he'll drop a nugget or two when it when he gets done with it.

Chris Grainger 13:24

That's right. That's right. Well, what I guess what you're relatively new to the mastermind process, what's surprised you the most about it so far?

Jonathan Adkins 13:33

Uh I guess surprising me the most is just how invested the guys are. Um, I mean I kind of you know, it's advertised that away, uh, in a way, but um, you know, how connected they all are together and how they've kind of welcomed you in. Um, you know, they really kind of felt like I you know, it wasn't my first time there when it was my first time there. Um so I kind of felt welcomed in right away and got you know some good connections starting to form and uh got Johnny Murphy's my bow buddy on my my hot seat deal. So he's been packed me a couple times a day. And uh yeah, that to me has been the s the most surprising but in in a good way and it you know it kind of is advertised that away, but it to actually see it, you know, they're you know, they they do what they say they're gonna do.

Chris Grainger 14:27

So Right. Right. I mean we've been really it's it's hard when you design stuff like this in your mind to your point. I can put on a piece of paper the way I want it to be, but then the experience has got to line up to it, right? And and I just give God it He gets all the credit because we've had we've got great leaders, we have great members, and and they're authentic, they're not faking it, and and I don't think that's all Him, man. That's all God, you know. Uh and I think that is the difference. And the fact that we're trying to lead with biblical counsel, you know, not just secular here's what I think, you know, let's let's let's let's see what the what God's Word has to say about this.

Jonathan Adkins 15:07

Yeah, and it's too, you know, to have the ability to connect with guys from a lot of different backgrounds, uh different parts of the country. Uh you know, there's probably some guys in the lion overall that, you know, on certain topics we may not agree, but at the end of the day, you know, we're all there for each other. Um it's real, real special to be able to, you know, get those kind of connections that you know otherwise you would never get. And you know, I don't think it's you know it's not a mistake. It's it is God that would bring all of us together and allow that to happen.

Chris Grainger 15:46

You know, recently I've been seeing some guys post pictures of them getting together, and and one of the the leaders texted me the other day, and they were like, you realize it's because of the obedience of starting a line is why some of these friendships exist now. You know, I mean we you know, when so recently Mark he went down to Alabama and ran it and and they coordinated a meetup with Brent, and that's just cool. I mean, and I can't imagine, yeah. I'm look I'm so looking forward to got we got an event, we got close to 100 guys gonna be at it. Um but when you go to a lot of men's conferences, usually you go with your group, you know, and then that's kind of it. I I I don't think that the line events gonna be that way because so many of the guys there know each other from the either from a mastermind or the lion's den, or you know, they're they're we're connected. And so I just think it's gonna be more of just uh almost like a little bit of a family reunion, but we actually like each other. Family reunions can be kind of tough.

Jonathan Adkins 16:48

Yeah, yeah. Having uh, you know, I've got a guy that I text with a good bit, uh Jonathan Murray up in Pennsylvania. Oh yeah, yeah. And having guys that share similar struggles and having guys that share different struggles. Um to me the biggest thing is uh like the prayer request space, you know, to see guys

Iron Sharpens Iron Feedback

Jonathan Adkins 17:10

just you know put it in there and have guys kind of rally around them. Uh even when I need it, you know, to put something in there. And you know, I put something in there one day and within like two minutes, uh Jonathan Murray had was giving me a phone call. Uh you know, that's not something that you find just anywhere.

Chris Grainger 17:29

No, man. I mean it's just another way God's moving. It's just it is pretty incredible. And you know, I'm so thankful for you know you, the way you've leaned in. You know, you're you're you're you're obviously taking advantage of all the things we're trying to do because we want to help you in your walk in Christ. And maybe for again, you haven't been with the line a long, long time yet, but what has been the biggest impact for you and your discipleship journey? Uh, have we aided you the most in that?

Jonathan Adkins 17:57

Uh I think honestly, it's just a daily uh you know merge in the word, uh, you know, whether it's SKOs, uh the Monday prayer huddle. You know, I think I joined like at 6 a.m. on a Monday morning, you know, got a message from you, uh, got a call from Rob. Uh you know, joined that prayer huddle that day. Uh and I mean I was I had some some wet wet eyes when we got off that prayer huddle because it just felt that powerful. Um, and then you know, the the lion lunches, the Thursday Bible studies, the Saturday Bible studies about I am not a morning person at all, but for me to get up at you know six or seven morning on a Saturday, uh, you know, that's that's how much I've enjoyed it and uh how much it's meant to me. Um but yeah, and just getting plugged in on a daily basis and you know, sometimes multiple times a day, uh it's kind of helped me develop a a habit of uh you know, I go back after the SKO, uh I'll go back and read you know whatever the scripture is for that day and kind of study it a little, you know, throughout the day. And uh that's kind of helped the biggest is just the daily habit of the word.

Chris Grainger 19:17

That's so good, man. That's so good. I mean, highly encouraged by what you're doing, and and you're making an impact to so many other guys as well. And I mean, focusing it on and keeping God's word the priority, that's gotta be it. You know, and I just so thankful for the way he's moving and and obviously it's it's it's pretty cool. You can't you can't um you just can't manufacture it. It really it's it's

Brotherhood That Shows Up Fast

Chris Grainger 19:45

and that's why I got to when people um it's a spirit-led thing. It's just a spirit-led thing, and and I think it's if we keep being obedient to the spirit, I feel like God's gonna bless it. And as soon as we don't, uh I've I've had this conversation with God a lot. Shut it down. Like, look, if we get out the of of alignment and and it starts being about us or me or anything like that, shut it down. And that's a bold prayer, but man, we s we serve a bold God, and and I think it's that type of stuff matters, man, for sure.

Jonathan Adkins 20:14

Yeah, yeah. It's uh I had actually uh before my mastermind, I prayed Sunday morning uh you know, that God would work with me and kind of help me, you know, kind of explain to the guys what I needed to work on and help me receive what they had to say. And it just so happened that that that Sunday morning the preacher uh was preaching a sermon on that very topic of you know fully submitting to God and you know giving up that last little bit of control. And uh, you know, I was like there's no mistake there. It's you know, there's not a coincidence at all. Uh my hate pastor says there's no such thing as coincidences, it's called divine timing.

Chris Grainger 20:55

So that's it. That's it. Well, Jonathan, I'm curious from your standpoint. There may be a guy out there listening, and he's like you. Maybe he's been on the fence, he's been listening to the podcast, or perhaps he's even looked at it, one of our Bible plans and was encouraged by that on the Bible app, but he hadn't taken a step forward, you know. He hasn't joined a daily SKO or Lion Stand or put an application for the mastermind. What would be your message to that guy to take one step?

Jonathan Adkins 21:28

Uh I would say that don't be afraid to take a step because everybody in here is very welcoming, uh, very supportive, uh, and it'll be one of the most rewarding things I think you ever do. Um so you know, the end goal that we're all after uh spend an eternity with God in heaven. Uh there's no I don't feel like there's any time to waste on that. You know, go ahead and get started. Take that first step, and you know, like me, I took that first step. And was immediately just blown away by you know what I found and you know, been just wanting more and more of it ever since. Amen, brother.

Chris Grainger 22:09

Amen to that. John is it's an honor to have you here, brother. Anything else you want to touch on before we kind of get to our final parts of this uh member spotlight today? Well brother again, it's a great so so blessed to have you a part of us, man, and and looking forward to to watching you continue to grow in your discipleship journey and just being a small part of that. And uh so guys, yeah, check it out. Um the book of the week as a as a quick reminder, fellas, uh The Man for the Day, uh from Josh Smith. Um the Titan The Titus 10, he wrote that too. I don't know if you ever read that, Jonathan. That's a really good book. Uh but Josh, uh great just thankful for him. He actually sent me some copies. We're gonna be giving some of these uh away at the retreat.

Building A Daily Word Habit

Chris Grainger 22:55

So you know you'll you're the first one to know about that. So hopefully hopefully you guys are gonna enjoy that. But uh, but yeah, thank you for him for sending me those copies. And uh Jonathan, I got a couple dad jokes I'm gonna run by you, man. Okay, I'll see which one you like best. Uh and and you don't you don't have to like either one of them, but I'm curious what you think about it, okay? Uh and this first one is not from our dad joke um officiary. I mean, it's not from Doug. This is weird, because Doug sends me all the dad jokes. This is actually from Cameron, okay? Uh you know Cameron pretty well. All right, it says some people like elevators, some like escalators, some like stairs, okay. Uh it all depends on how you were raised. That's pretty good. All right, so that so you got a little chuckle out of that one, all right. So that's the first one. The second one is what is the best present? You know what the best present is? It's broken drums. You can't beat them, man. Yeah. You're gonna go with the first one. All right, so Cameron won the first one, all right. So the second one's one I found. So Cameron, uh I bow to you, your your excellency. You won you won the rounds for today. So that's your two dad jokes, fellas. We do it, we do put these out in a poll uh every Friday uh in the lion, and it's a it's a guys can vote on them, and it's always fun to see where guys vote. Uh, I just like to see where guys are wrong. But uh anyway, so but we like to have a lot of fun with you, guys. Uh so those dad jokes, you know, some I guess elevators, some like escalator, some like stairs. It depends on how you were raised. That's number one. Number two is what's your best present? That'd be broken drums. You can't beat them. So let me know which one you like best, fellas. I roll totally count when it comes to dad jokes. And the question of the week this week is how are you embracing what God is doing, even if it's unfamiliar? Uh I mean, God's calling you to do stuff that you feel like that you know, that's one thing. But it's when you got to get out that comfort zone and literally take the steps of faith that you you can only see the next step, you can't see the next three. That's where so much is forged. So much is forged. And that's what we try to encourage you guys with at the lions. So uh Jonathan, man, it's been an honor to have you here, brother. Anything else you want to share today before we wrap up?

Jonathan Adkins 25:10

Just encourage everybody to get in the line and plug in and be a part of the family.

Chris Grainger 25:16

Amen, brother. Amen. Well, guys, to do what Jonathan just said, uh go to the linewithin.us. You'll see on that on our website, you'll see Daily SKO, Lions Den, and then Leadership Mastermind. Now, here's full disclosure. You can't join the leadership mastermind off the website. The way it works

Advice For Men On The Fence

Chris Grainger 25:35

is we we we have an assessment, so you do the assessment, and then from there we have a conversation because quite frankly, guys, we want to make sure that this is for the right men. You know, and I I literally met with a guy yesterday and he he wasn't ready for it. You know, it just it wasn't he was better suited for the Lions Den. So look, there's there's a little bit uh of process that goes into it, but we do that because we want these groups to have the dynamics the way Jonathan just mentioned. You don't get that dynamic just by opening, it's just a free-for-all, anybody come. We really want to make sure that it's gonna serve the guy that is interested in the most. Okay, so go check that out, the linewithin.us, click on that leadership mastermind, put in an application. Guys, give us a rating review, share Jonathan's story. I mean, share, share this episode. So click on the share button. That's a great way to get connected there. And then he also mentioned he he got connected with us originally in the Bible app. So, fellas, go to the Bible app. We love, I'd absolutely love working with the Bible app. Right now, we put about two plans per month, and they're all they're I'm just a guy plans. We just we keep working on that series, and and I get the ideas from the guys from the Lions In. So Jonathan is one I he's they all give me ideas, and that's how that's what I write from. So it's all on the Bible app, fellas. Great ways to get connected there. We got some fun new things coming soon, we'll be talking about. So hopefully you guys will be checking that out. But other than that, the the lion within.us rating review, all that stuff matters. Guys, have a great day. We'll see you next time. Just keep unleashing the Lion Within. It's time to stop battling pornography, lust, and temptation alone. We're done sitting on the sidelines, seeing shame win,

Dad Jokes And Weekly Question

Chris Grainger 27:15

and hearing from guys that are fighting private wars with no backup. So we decided it's time to fight back. We have our sexual integrity support group, which is a confidential space inside the lion's den for men who are ready to step into the light and pursue real freedom. This isn't just for guys in crisis, by the way. It's for any man who's tired of the cycle, who's tired of living in secret, who's tired of saying this is gonna be the last time. Look, most guys don't need another app or some rules. They need some brothers to come alongside them to say you're not the only one. This doesn't define you. And freedom is possible. So look, inside our group, you're gonna find a confidential, judgment-free forum to engage and ask questions. You'll have honest conversations without commendation, and you'll also have a monthly call with a trusted guide. So look, this isn't just about stopping pornography. It's about becoming a man of integrity, a man aligned, a man who lives in freedom, not secrecy. And you don't have to clean your stuff up first to come. You just have to step in. So our sexual integrity support group is found inside the lion's den. And you can start that today with a 30 day free trial. So if you're ready to stop fighting alone and need that extra support, start your 30 day free trial right now at thelionwithin.us. That's thhelionwithin.us, and step inside the lion's den.