#415 Harry Gray: A Framework for Faithful Living

meat mafia - 7-21-25
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[00:00:00] All right guys. Welcome back to another episode of the Meat Mafia Podcast. I'm your cohost, Harry Gray, and I'm, again, I'm doing another solo rip this week. Um, I promise Brett will be in the studio again here soon. He's gonna be doing some solo rips as well. Uh, if you haven't noticed, we're. We're experimenting with some new formats.

We had some guys, uh, DM us about their quality of the format. Uh, last week I did the over intellectual, over Intellectualization of Health, uh, podcast. That was a solo podcast. I'll link to it in the show notes, but we're just trying to get in this format of doing some more solo podcasts. Our first time doing it.

And it's been really fun. It's been a great way for us to mix it up a way for you guys to get a little bit more insight into Brett and myself individually and just what we think about how we think about things. And so I'm excited to see how this series rolls out, but I'm back in studio today. Um, I have a, a topic that's near and dear to my heart that, um, is actually [00:01:00] incredibly relevant to me this week.

So. This week I'm gonna be giving a sermon at my church, and I was just, I felt compelled to share a bit more about. My walk with Jesus, my faith path, you know, it has not been, um, a very linear one. And so I think that, um, there's something here that I want to just dive into a bit because, you know, for the last two years I've been leading a group in Austin amongst all the different things that I'm doing, have been leading this group in Austin called The First Appointment.

It's been, um, not really a discipleship group, um, which would be kind of, you know, a group where guys are getting together and, you know, it's kind of capped on the amount of time that you spend together. You know, go for like a nine month period. This is more of an open-ended, uh, group where people can come together, um, ask questions, um, read through the Bible.

Um, not really a Bible study either, but just a place where we can come together and fellowship and learn a bit more about. Each other's faith and our backgrounds. And it's been great. It's been a place where our guys have been able to come together, [00:02:00] um, grow together, um, ask each other questions, sharpen up, um, lay down things that they've been struggling with, fears, doubts, anxieties, um, things that are relevant to their lives.

So it's been a really powerful group. And so what I'm gonna do today is basically just lay out a practical guide for men who are seeking to follow Jesus. And this is. Not gonna be, um, like me sitting here trying to convince you to believe or to follow Jesus. Um, I just wanna give, um, some practical resources and, um, just like a real story for people to hear.

Um, just hear my testimony, um, and people who are just looking to get to know what a day-to-day, uh, life, um, with building a relationship with Jesus, what that really looks like. And so, um. I wanna share a little bit of my story just 'cause we've talked about faith a bit on the show. We had Scott Hatch, my pastor on the podcast twice.

Um, he shared his testimony the first time [00:03:00] and then he came on recently, uh, I think it was probably like two months ago now at this point. And we talked a little bit more just about, um, going a little bit deeper into kind of the nuts and bolts of what it means to. Follow Jesus. And you know, I think when you say something, a statement like that, you know, following Jesus, it can sound very, um, strong to a lot of people.

And I think, you know, for me too, during a certain period of my life, it definitely would've turned me off, you know, early in my twenties, I absolutely would not have. Been able to hear that, but here I am, 31. Um, and I say it with pride. So, um, you know, at 28 years old moved down to Austin, Texas and um, had an encounter with Jesus that was slow.

Um, the interesting thing, you know, about the way that I encountered Jesus was I had a friend named Natasha who. Um, as soon as I got to town, I was interested in the endurance space here in Austin. You know, Austin's known as this Health and Wellness Mecca, and Natasha [00:04:00] Vander Merwe, who's also been on the podcast, she runs a triathlon coaching business called NVDM Training and.

She is a quiet and strong believer and she's very bold and direct in the way that she speaks to people. And so I'd gotten to know her after running the Waco Ironman. Brett and I ran the Waco Ironman in October, and after that experience I got to know Natasha at the race. I was incredibly excited to show up to her run group and get to know her more and show up for a few weeks.

She invites Brett and I to go get a smoothie, and she just point blank, asked me what my relationship was like, is like with Jesus. I'm gonna put a pin in that story 'cause I'll tell the rest of it later. But that story led to a very slow, uh, transformation for me. But it was really the first time where I had to reconcile an answer for that question and I didn't really have a good answer.

So, um, you know. After about 10 years of kind of drifting, uh, I would say, you know, 10 years after college, I was 22 when I graduated, so [00:05:00] 28 when I got down to Austin. But you know, kind of from 18 to 28, um, from, you know, leaving high school, um, you know, left high school with my identity in sports, my identity, and basically a consistent, uh, family unit, friend unit.

And, um, you know, got into college and, um, was dealing with a fractured family. So my parents were going through a split up, um. For the next handful of years, there was just kind of this disjointedness in my life and over a quick period of time just kind of found myself doing things that I wasn't typically doing.

Um, and you know, I, I felt like I was kind of in this, you know, when I graduated, I was in this clocking in, clocking out. Mindset and had just grown complacent. Uh, I was comfortable, Luke, more lukewarm in life and it was getting to a point where, you know, it was, nothing was bad, but there was clearly a lack of purpose in what I was doing.

And for me, you know. Someone who went from full purpose in sports and wanting to perform and be my best and, [00:06:00] you know, pursue excellence to some level of feeling purpose, purposeless. I found myself in, you know, 25, 26, just really questioning what I was doing. I think it's natural for guys as well, um, to go through these seasons of really questioning what we're doing and, um.

You know, kind of just had this, this cocktail of different things going on in life where I was like, um, you know, really feeling like, you know, this is like during COVI. And, um, there were a lot of things that I was leaning on as copes and numbing agents, which I can get to later. But I was just leaning on all these things that, um, allowed me to live a life that.

Was without that real meaning the real, um, definition and pursuit, um, of why, you know, I think everyone has that, that, uh, that thing that's been placed on their heart that they're supposed to be going after. And so when I moved to Austin, Natasha had that conversation with me. And things dramatically changed since then.

Uh, growing up, you know, I grew up going to church. [00:07:00] I went to an Episcopalian church, went to Sunday school. Um, on Sundays it was kind of confusing. There was a bit of a, a disjointed message where Sunday School was, IM important, um, but church wasn't. So we would go to church on the holidays. But, you know, from a standpoint of just.

You know, going and getting a, a good understanding of what a moral compass looks like. Sunday school, I think was important for my parents to have us there. Um, but for whatever reason, we weren't like actively involved in other areas. So I think for me, growing up there was some level of confusion around that.

Um, and then, you know, just like talking about the, the college years again, um, you know, filling in some gaps here, just kind of like. Crickets. You know, nothing really. Um, there, you know, in high school I think I had, um, drawn a lot of inspiration from Tim Tebow. I even remember looking at my high school yearbook recently and seeing me like thanking God, uh, was like the first thing that I did, which is so funny because like, I, I just don't really remember that [00:08:00] period being, um, you know, faith of, you know, a period where I was like full of faith or, you know, diving into any sort of scripture or anything like that.

But for me. There was just, you know, this period, um, through college that felt like there was just like almost no, um, spiritual formation happening in a positive way. Um, and. You know, getting out of college, post-college, uh, there was a continuation of those habits and the lifestyle that I had formed in college, which I think is very common.

You know, a lot of people go to college, develop some bad habits, and then those things kind of just like continue unless corrected or, you know, there's a certain level of pain associated with you having to live. Um. You know, a certain way, and, and you know, I think a lot of people struggle, um, in those first few years, particularly guys, if they don't have that thing, that project purpose that they're, they're, uh, pursuing.

And so, you know, a lot of times that can be filled with money, drugs, sex, all the things that guys tend to [00:09:00] pour their purpose into. Um, and you know, I, I was in the northeast at the time, so there was just a number of reasons why that purpose wasn't, uh, pursuing God. And so. For me, um, you know, I kind of settled in comfort land.

I had, um, you know, no need to seek anything deeper, um, in terms of spiritual growth, um, because I had a job that was comfortable enough. It was challenging enough. It was, it it interesting enough, um, you know, lifestyle wise, like relationships were steady. Friendships were steady. Um, but I really did always feel like there was something missing.

And, um, yeah, I think there was a question that I kept coming back to that I couldn't really escape and it was, you know, what my life would look like as a father. Um, it felt like I had been through almost no real world experiences at this point that, um, allowed me to reconcile my own, um, [00:10:00] choices. Like good or bad, I hadn't taken enough of a risk to feel the downside of.

Really bad decision making, and I hadn't taken enough of a risk with the right, uh, level of equipping and the right level of skills to see the upside of taking risk, which, you know, obviously risk. You know, there's upside, there's downside. I think one of the best things about risk is that it grows your, uh.

Faith in your ability, in your own agency, your own skills, your own ability to get in and out of situations. I've learned that real time in entrepreneurship and just doing this podcast, frankly. And I think risk can be captured in a number of different ways, but for me, I think about risk as a, uh, you know.

Thinking about risk 200 years ago, RI risk 200 years ago, 300 years ago would've been, you know, sailing across the Atlantic in a wooden boat with people who, you know, had no certainty over food. No certainty over [00:11:00] the destination, no certainty whether or not you would make it back. Uh, risk today, uh, is captured in a whole different lens, and I think coming outta college, a lot of people are viewing the.

Trying five to 10 different careers within three years after college as risky because you're not setting yourself in one singular direction. Um, you know, but for a lot of people, they're not taking enough chances. They're not putting enough chips on the table to see. Um. You know, what the outcomes are of taking some risk.

And so I think for a young man, uh, you know, looking back, giving advice to myself, you know, taking those risks early, um, is incredible. And I think it, it can be expansive in the world of faith because you start to see like where the rubber meets the road, um, in terms of your decisions. And so, you know, from a man who grew up with a, a deep sense of purpose, I was really, um.

You know, looking to just fulfill my potential as an athlete growing up and then just hit that, that [00:12:00] real world, um, job and again, just like hit that comfort land. So, you know, my biggest question was kind of unwinding that brokenness around my family and what my role as a, you know, father provider husband was gonna look like, and not having that question answered.

Um, it, it just felt deeply unsettling. Um, deep down I knew. Everything I was doing was, um, far from the truth. You know, it didn't, it, it wasn't a, an indicator. I, I just felt like there wasn't really a, a, uh, a clear indicator of kind of my capabilities, my abilities. Um, you know, the job that I was doing was, was, uh, to, to, you know, put it bluntly, just it was simple.

Uh. It was challenging to a degree, you know, after the first year or two it started to get a lot easier and it became more relational, which is fine, but I was not at that stage of life. I wanted something very challenging to pursue. Um, and [00:13:00] so, um, I was really looking for that next thing after college, um, after COVID hit, I was transitioning through a period of really realizing that I needed to get outta that job.

And what hit me bluntly was that. You know, I, I felt like I really needed to move cities, get into a new, a new space, um, and really take a big risk. Um, if I didn't take a big risk now I felt like I was kind of gonna be kinda be trapped. Um, and so ended up moving down to Austin and taking that big risk, starting the podcast, starting Noble.

Um, and through that, um, there's been many amazing things that have happened in terms of me growing in my faith. And so, you know, I talk about. Just that conversation with Natasha, her bringing us out, you know, as my real first encounter with Jesus. And you know, for me, it's interesting looking back at that conversation because [00:14:00] I hear a lot of people's stories around when they were saved and they feel it, it.

It feels miraculous or it feels like it was kind of a lightning bolt moment. But for me, it's been looking back at that moment in time and it's kind of had to mature in its own way, kind of how that conversation happened. But it's become very clear to me that her just saying the name and witnessing to me, saying the name of Jesus and witnessing to me about how Jesus had played a role in her life.

Someone who I had admired, it forced me. You know, I said this before, it forced me to reconcile my own beliefs and, you know, through that discomfort of realizing that I don't know what she's talking about, I. Really didn't have a relationship. And so I accepted her invitation to church. Um, I go to Thrive Austin Church for the first time, and I was a bit taken aback.

It was a totally different scene than what I had used to, or, you know, grown up used to. Um, I had grown accustomed to your standard customs of a church. There was a [00:15:00] stained glass, old building wooden pews. Uh, multi-generational. There's a lot of older people, younger people, and, uh, thrive was kind of the total opposite of that.

Um, it was different, uh, the pla it felt out of place. It was, you know, the service was being done in a dance studio in Austin, Texas, off of South Lamar, uh, right off the highway. Uh, it was very, very different in terms of what I was used to. But the di the discomfort, um, felt oddly refreshing because it was authentic.

Um, it was homey. People were dressed down and it didn't really feel like, um. You know, people were trying to do, uh, people weren't trying to do faith to impress other people. They were there for a reason that was different than the outward projection of, you know, what's going on, um, in their walk with faith.

It's not a keeping up with the Joneses type of thing. I was really attracted to that and so I kept [00:16:00] showing up and through the encouragement of several people. Um, became more involved month over month. Um, you know, I learned, uh, I met with my pastor Scott that next week after Natasha had had that conversation with me.

And it was funny, he asked me the same question. Um, and for anyone who knows Scott, he asked the question in a little bit of a different way, but it was, you know, it just, in his style, he's, he just goes, so what do you think about this guy, Jesus? I'm like, man, what is, uh, what is it with all these people asking these direct questions?

That just, frankly, made me feel really uncomfortable, but in a good way. Um, you know, through that started showing up to small groups, um, with people that I did, felt like I didn't have much in common with, but was willing to just be there and kind of, um, figure it out as I go. Uh, learned how to pray. Met with Scott Weekly and quickly found myself on this unexpected path.

And before I knew it, I was getting rebaptized, um, June 11th, 2023. Um, so I was 30 years [00:17:00] old kind of going through this identity shift. Um, rededicating my life to Jesus. And for me, this was, uh, such a incredibly, incredibly powerful step. Uh, it felt like a decision that I was fully coming to on my own. Uh, one that I could, um, share with my family for generations to come and one that would impact my family for generations to come.

And, um, from there. Uh, I think I was just off to the races in terms of how much I wanted to get involved with what was happening at Thrive. Um, for anyone who's listened to this podcast with Scott Thrive is a, a church that's been around in Austin for about 10 years, but it's still about 150, 200 people, uh, in the congregation.

So it's relatively small, and so I felt like. There was an opportunity for me to build a relationship with Scott and his wife Sarah, and just really make an impact, um, just through showing up and serving and, and, uh, you know, just humbly learning from people who had a lot more experience than I [00:18:00] did. And, um, you know, through this, I'm, you know, this week preparing for a sermon and this, you know, all this has happened within three years of going to this church and being a part, um, of what's been going on.

And so, um. You know, I've developed through this relationship with Scott and the relationship with the church community, just, uh, this, this newfound idea of what an abiding life with Jesus means. And you know, the first time I heard that word abide in scripture, it's in John 15, you know, John 15 has kind of been this piece of scripture that's been a turning point for me and my understanding of what it means to follow Jesus.

And you know, Jesus doesn't make any claims in the Bible. Um. He doesn't say believe in me. Uh, he doesn't say, you know, uh, anything other than really, you know, just follow me. And he want, he just wants your heart. He wants your commitment. And so, um, that abiding relationship with Jesus, really that word abide is this, [00:19:00] this, um, beautiful word that to me it creates this image of living.

Uh, it's, it's like a dwelling place for you to. To have a continual, constant interaction with the living God. And I think an abiding relationship with Jesus is something that's moment to moment. It's not Sunday to Sunday, it's uh, a day to day thing, a minute by minute thing. And so, you know, I've developed that through small groups, church service, discipleship, prayer, scripture, fasting fellowship, all these different pillars of a rich spiritual life, um, that have.

Slowly grown throughout the last three years and. You know, I say all that to just kind of give more of a full picture of kind of like what this journey has been like that I've been on. Because I want this podcast, you know, the end of this podcast to be incredibly practical about, you know, how do you, if you're curious about.

You know, applying some of the things that you're hearing, if you're curious about [00:20:00] developing that relationship with Jesus, you know, how do you actually go about doing that? Because I, I do think that there's obviously a lot of people right now who are, you know, developing their faith and this, it's kind of, um, becoming.

You know, something with this absence of trust in a lot of institutions and governments and businesses, I think over the last five years there's been this downward trend in trust in all these big institutions and you know, people are looking for purpose, people are looking for meaning. There's been this existential crisis through COVID and people are looking to place their.

Purpose, their meaning in life in something. I think trust is something that it, it, if it gets displaced in one area, we're kind of always looking to find somewhere to place it. And so I've, I've realized that in my own life and seen it and it's cool seeing other people kind of come along in, in, um, you know, in my own life just seeing other people kind of on that same journey.

And so, you know, through the past three years, um. I've been able to participate in, [00:21:00] uh, following and also discipling, um, other men, helping them grow in their relationship with Jesus, grow in their faith. Um, begin to start to get into scripture and develop a rhythm around spiritual practices and learn more about what it means.

'cause uh, you know, the more I. The deeper I go, the deeper my roots go in the spiritual soil, the more I learn that I'm, I'm such an infant in that we're all kind of just trying to follow the guy right in front of us. And, um, it's been amazing having the opportunity to be discipled by someone like Scott, my pastor, and then be able to pass that down to people who are just maybe where I was, you know, not three to six months ago.

And so for me, you know, I was. An older brother. I was six years older than my younger brother. Always felt called to lead, always felt called. To set an example, I was a captain of my football team for three years. Varsity football team for three years, from sophomore year to senior year baseball team. Same thing for two years.

Um. And have [00:22:00] been in these rooms in capacities, you know, now where I'm, uh, have noble the business and a few other thing, leadership roles, um, for the podcast and other things, but there's nothing quite like leading men to the Lord and, uh, seeing men find their identity in Jesus. And, um, discipleship is a powerful tool and I think we need more.

Disciples, disciple makers, um, in the world. And there's a lot of guys who have pressed their fingerprints on me. Um, you know, people like Daniel Wilson, one of my good buddies. He's just an incredible, incredible believer. Someone whose faith, um, pours over into other people's cups as soon as you meet him.

And, um, he just has an incredible story. And, um, you know, he's one of many, many people. You know, my, my buddies here in town are all just, uh, gleaming examples of people that I've been, um, impacted by. And so. You know, there's been a few turning points in my faith. I've talked a little bit about, um, a few of them, but I think there's kind of been an undertone throughout my entire [00:23:00] life that I wanted to call out just to see if there's any consistent through lines with people who are listening.

You know, I think it's important to share some of these. It's, it's kind of going back to that same thing with like my interaction with Natasha, her sharing her. Relationship with her faith and her business gave me some other context to understand why this is important. And so I think it's good to witness and share kind of our, our own personal testimony.

So for me, I, I kind of, I always felt like I had this all of existence. Um, I kind of lived in this state of curiosity around kind of how. How all this came to be. And I think we all kind of do in our own ways, but I remember when that kind of started, for me, it was more of a realization around seeing a, a through line and a trend with, um, my grandmother, she wrote, she wrote me and my siblings letters growing up, and it was a, a absolute blessing to have her in her life because she, [00:24:00] in her old age, um, not to, you know.

In her old age, she, um, she was still wondering, she lived in wonder, lived in awe around just how the world is, how the world operates, how new technologies, um, come into existence. Like, I think she just marveled at the natural beauty of the world around her. She was curious about the moon, the skies, outer space, the stars.

She would write to us and talk about these things. Um. And, you know, I, I'm quickly reminded that there's a lot of distance between me and her in terms of age, but there's this closeness, um, amongst our experience and our wonder for like, what is actually going on around us. And so it brings me to like this thought around just creation in general, like my creation, um, the creation of this world around us.

And, you know, that kind of ties into [00:25:00] just, you know, me even being here. The probability of our existence. You know, on paper there's people who've run the numbers. I don't have the numbers off hand, but the probability of of all of us being here is so small. But, you know, I think about even my own story. My parents met on the side of a ski mountain.

Um, I think about, you know, if my dad had an extra cup of water that morning and was. Five minutes late getting onto the mountain or, you know, had a longer breakfast, you know, poof, like existence is, is a totally different concept. Uh, for, for me. Like, you know, I, I don't exist. And so for me there's like this marvel around just how.

All of this has come together, how this creation has come, and also individually, just the moment to moment things that needed to happen in order for all of us to come into existence in our own unique ways. And so for [00:26:00] me, I kind of always kind of had this undertone of just. Finding that wonder and awe.

And I think that I've come back to it a lot in growing in my faith. Um, it's been kind of this undertone of, of um, just having a reverence for the world that's been created around us. And so. Um, you know, moving to Austin, I had that interaction with Natasha that I spoke about. Scott. Um, I started going to small groups, you know, these are all turning points for me and my faith.

Um, started going to a small group with Natasha, and then there was a, a pivotal, pivotal, pivotal point for me, um, where Scott really took an interest in my development. And I think he always, um. Within the first few weeks of me going there, he reached out and we had had, within the first month we had gotten lunch together and this is the lead pastor of the church and, um.

Within the next few weeks, he's inviting me to small group, and then within the next few months [00:27:00] he's inviting me to read through the book Disciplines of a Godly Man. And then within the next, you know, after we finish that, he's like, all right, let's do another one. Let's read through John, let's read through Romans.

Let's read through Genesis. And before I know it. I've read through, you know, a small but decent portion of the Bible. I've read one gospel story, uh, one of Paul's letters in Romans, and I've read the creation story in Genesis and, you know, through that. Um, and then also read that book Disciplines of Meg Man.

So through that, you know, it's, it's probably all taken place over about a 12 month period through that formation of just studying the word, studying scripture, seeing how it applies to my life. There was. Such a, um, quiet wake up for me where my face started to become a lot more real. It wasn't just me showing up to thrive and being.

Um, you know, quietly sitting in the back and listening to the worship or showing up halfway through the worship or skipping worship [00:28:00] altogether. And just coming from the message, my faith started to evolve. It started to become something more real. It started to be something that I wanted to happen, something I wanted to be a part of.

Um, it wasn't just kind of this curiosity, this, uh, itch that I was trying to scratch. And, um, yeah, quickly I was, you know, being discipled by Scott, the lead pastor of this church, which, um, you know, if I'll. You know, turn around to this again later on. But for anyone who has the chance to be led by another, uh, guy who's, you know, 40 years old, has three kids, married, stable relationship, has been through real experiences in their life, and they're willing to pour their spiritual foundation, their spiritual knowledge into you, um, you are, um, very fortunate and I would say take hold of that opportunity.

Um, and if you're looking for that, um, go to local churches and try to find it. So for me, um, I had that being discipled experience. And then I had two experiences. One, starting [00:29:00] this group, the first appointment, this fellowship Bible study where I, me and Scott meet at, uh, the Texas Roadhouse for a dinner and we start talking about what it would look like after he's gone through all these books with me.

And, uh, he's gone through these four books. Uh, John Romans, Genesis, just Disciplines of a Goly Man. He's like, alright, let's, let's start our own group. It's gonna, there's gonna be a fitness component. We're gonna run for 30 minutes and then we're gonna do some sort of scripture and study. And that's, that started two years ago.

And quickly this group has grown and it's grown. Um. You know, steadily, there's been ebbs and flows, but consistently there's been about 15 guys who show up, um, for the last, uh, every Tuesday for the last two years. And that group has been amazing because I've seen different guys come in, get plugged in, move states, but still kind of want to stay plugged in.

Um, I've started a podcast [00:30:00] for the first appointment where we're going through the book of Luke right now. Guys are able to plug in, um, get. Some spiritual depth through those Tuesday mornings and then go back to their church and apply kinda what they're learning. Um, and yeah, it's been a group that's grown.

Uh, it's, it was born out of Thrive and now there's a lot of guys who just come from all different churches across Austin and it's been this amazing experiment of, um, guys who are just hungry. To pursue the Lord and develop a relationship. And a lot of guys who are kind of just like, you know, I know this is important, I want to figure this out.

I just don't really know where to start. And so they're looking for guidance, um, people to pour into them and it's been a great group for that. And so. That, that first appointment group has been amazing because it's given me a place to start to hand off the things that I've learned from Scott to other people.

So, you know, taking some people through John, taking some people through disciplines of a godly man and just being able to learn kind of how there's this two-way window of when you're giving and serving to other people, you are actually [00:31:00] receiving in the same, uh, same process. You're, um, learning how to lead, you're learning how to, um, articulate your faith, articulate.

Questions that maybe you need to be humbled, uh, by, and, you know, go back and learn some more. Um, and I think that's something that I had to come to terms with, you know, I was incredibly young in my faith and still am in leading this group. And so for me, it's a matter of being humble and being willing to not, you know, I'm not the smartest guy in the group.

I just want to, you know. Allow that conversation to flow. And so that's been a huge turning point for me. And then I went through another discipleship group with a group of friends, uh, 10 guys and we were for nine months just running after the Lord, uh, doing scripture memory, going through the New Testament and then doing scripture applications.

And it was an incredible group and we all grew so much in our faith through that. And so there's kinda these, this context there that I wanted to bring into the conversation because. Um, yeah, just there's, there's been these inflection points and I hope that, um, you know, this is a word of encouragement for anyone [00:32:00] listening just to remain steadfast.

You know, if it doesn't feel right right now, um, maybe, um, think about your roots and where they're planted is the right place to be. Um, or do you just need to be a bit more steadfast and stick with it a little bit longer? Um, so for me, you know. Jesus got real for me when I started letting go of myself, uh, my fears, my doubts, my insecurities.

So I started giving up vices and idols. Um, you know, pornography, sex, drugs, nicotine, uh, language, improved cussing, you know, cussing less. Like if you go back and listen to first episodes of. Uh, the Meat Mafia Podcast, I think there'll be a noticeable shift in the way that I speak. Um, you know, gossiping, you know, just slowly there's just been this transformation where like this, um, indwelling of wanting to see [00:33:00] things stripped out of your life that are removing you from having that true intimacy.

Um, idols that numb us from, um. Yeah, being secure in our identity. Being secure in what we believe, being secure in the type of person we want to be. Um, you know, there's a lot of things that are vying for our identity that are, are, um, you know, things that help us feel more secure or give us a false sense of security.

And I think that the one thing that I've learned is that, um, you can replace all these idols with intimacy with Jesus. Um, and, um. I've really, you know, seen that in my own life. I've seen, you know, nicotine vices go away. I've seen all of those things that I just listed, um, be given to the Lord and they've been taken away.

And I know there's other ways, um, that people [00:34:00] believe that, you know, you can get rid of those things or, you know, you know, habit improvement. But I think spiritual formation allows for, um. Those things to per those habits, those new beliefs, the new transformation, the new spirit to live within you and for that to grow and, um, you know.

As scripture says, a new creation has come. And I believe that to be true. And so what I saw in my own life is a restored identity that's rooted in a purpose to serve, uh, and work in re ministry, to lead, um, to rest in the peace that transcends all understanding. Um, this piece that you're, you know, you might be walking through the worst period of your life, but you don't feel any anxiety.

You don't feel any doubt. Um, and I think that in today's world, there's a lot of people who are struggling with anxiety, doubt, depression, suicidal ideation, uh, dysphoria around gender. I mean, all these problems are popping, or all of these, [00:35:00] um, what I would say, you know, are mental health problems. All these things are popping up and they're all identity related issues.

Um, you know, where, where are you replacing your identity? Um, and so for me. I've seen this resurrecting power, this resurrecting redemptive force in my life take place. And I share all that because I think that it's important for people to realize that, you know, you don't always need to lean on a pill.

You don't always need to lean on a vice. You don't always need to lean on, you know, whatever it is that, whatever it is that allows you to kind of stay in that numb middle ground where you feel purposeless or you feel, um. Apathetic towards outcomes in your life. I think, you know, the Lord has more for you.

And so, you know, God created us in His image and his ability to replace these, these attacks on our mind, um, with his perfect peace is, um, is his power, is, it's in his ability to do that. [00:36:00] And, um, through denying myself and picking up a relationship in Christ, um, I've learned to trust the Lord with all my heart.

Hear his voice and practice obedience. And what I wanna spend the rest of this podcast talking about is the resources and the tools of the trade that I am currently using, currently developing, currently learning about, and the resources that I learned from in order to see those things come to fruition in my life, to for those, for that fruit to become real and good.

And so just. To reiterate, you know, I've learned through this to trust in the Lord with all my heart, hear his voice and practice obedience and the tools of the trade for these spiritual, for developing. You know, that faith is a core set of spiritual disciplines, which these are the ones that, I think there's, there's many more than this, but [00:37:00] these are the ones that have had the biggest, um.

Formation effect in my life. Um, these have been pillars of my faith. Uh, so the first one is witnessing. I've mentioned it several times. Natasha and Scott witnessing to me early in my faith was a huge. Transformative point for me, but I've seen witnessing and testimonies be a, a place for my faith to grow for other people's faith to grow.

Um, and it's a two-way window where as you share your faith and see other people take from it, you learn that there's this reciprocity in. In how Jesus is working within you. And so I think that witnessing is incredibly important and it's an an amazing spiritual practice that can often be forgotten. Um, fellowship, doing life with other believers, doing life with, um, other people who are growing in their faith, who are looking to pursue a life with Jesus.

Pursue a life with the Lord. I mean, that was my first small group when I literally had no [00:38:00] idea what I was doing. I was just showing up, wanted to be around, uh, people who were. Seemingly doing the right things and um, just doing it in a humble way. And lo and behold, it had a huge impact on my faith. Um, prayer.

So learning to pray, learning the different types of prayer. Um, you know, there's listening prayers, there's healing prayers. Um, there's different. Um, ways to think about prayer. Um, you know, adoration, confession, Thanksgiving, uh, supplication, you know, asking the Lord for things. Um, and a lot of that comes through, you know, what I've learned is, um, you know, looking at the Lord's Prayer, you know, you can.

Take a lot about, alright, like what is it, like, how do you actually go about praying? And I think the Lord's Prayer kind of models that out. You know, being willing to praise, um, you know, say God is holy and then asking God for daily bread. Um, you know, I think there's a lot of things in there that we can pull on and learn from to gain in our own understanding.

[00:39:00] Um, you know, learning what worship is. Uh, I used to go into church and skip worship regularly. When I first got there, I was, um, just thought it, you know, it was music, kind of cool. Um, didn't really understand what it was. And my, you know, definition of worship has changed. You know, Romans. 12 two. You know, it says, therefore, I, I urge you brothers and sisters in view of God's mercy to offer your lo your body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.

This is your true and proper worship. And so, you know, what I take from that is that, you know, your worship is w is, uh, woven into your day-to-day actions. Your worship is not necessarily just showing up for the music before church. Um, that's just one small sample of worship and how you can go about just giving up.

Um, yourself for, um, the Lord, for, um, your relationship with Jesus and building that intimacy. Uh, another spiritual discipline that's been really important for me is fasting. Um, [00:40:00] you know, Luke 9 23 talks about denying yourself. And I think in today's world where there's so many vices, so many idols, I think fasting is this way to separate ourself.

Create separation from vices. And in that time I found that, you know, God has shown up for me every single time that every fast has had a purpose for me and it's been incredibly impactful. So fasting is one, service is another. You know, again, denying yourself solitude. I think, you know, in a fast-paced world, solitude is, um.

It's something that we only get, you know, for the most part, you know, people live such intense lives. Um. They get two vacations a year and they get a taste. That's just a small taste of solitude, um, in some of those moments. But for the most part, it's like if you're not seeking out, you're not really getting true solitude, true quietness, finding quiet time in the mornings just to create space [00:41:00] within your day that's, you know, not physical space, space within your time blocks.

That is just true. Nothing. Um, most people are just. Endlessly bored by that. It, it sounds terrible. And you know, for me, for a long time I couldn't agree more with that. It's, um, it, it can be really daunting just to sit there and pray and sit there and listen to worship music or whatever it is, but, or, you know.

Whether you're ruminating on scripture, ruminating, ruminating on what's happening in your life, you know, solitude and getting out in nature. Uh, these are practices that Jesus followed, um, routinely and rhythms of life that I think should be, should be mimicked. Um, and then finally the last spiritual discipline for me, which really came into the picture this past year, was just memorizing the word of God.

Uh, not just reading, reading it, but trying to commit it to memory so that there's not just this like Buddhist philosophy of emptying your mind, but. Filling your mind with, um, the word of God with good things. Um, [00:42:00] so that when you are tried, when you are tested, when you are tempted by things that might veer you off the path, um, you have, uh, a, a spiritual backbone, you know, something to lean on.

And that's reflected, uh, in Luke six and seven when, uh, Jesus is tempted in Luke six. Uh. He's able to just recite scripture when the enemy comes and attacks him and tries to attack his identity. He just, he, he. Just recite scripture. He's fasted for 40 days. His body is weak, but his spirit is full. And he recites scripture back to the enemy and the enemy does not know how to respond.

And, um, that's what a real identity with Jesus looks like. And so, um, you know, those, I'll recite them again. The spiritual disciplines witnessing fellowship, prayer, worship, fasting, service, solitude, memorizing the word of God. These have been transformative tools for me, and not in a [00:43:00] religious way, but in a way where it's just allowed me to develop a relationship with all the different things that I have in my life.

Um, tear down idols, um, allowed the. The, um, work and word of God to move throughout my, my life in all the different ways. And I continue to see these things, these pillars of my faith, um, be, uh, tested and grown. And I highly recommend and encourage you guys finding one that you like. Um, and going deeper, figuring out how to implement it on a regular basis.

And how do you develop a practice around it? You know, there's a, a book that I'm gonna recite here in a minute, but it's called pra Practicing the Way. I think there's a, just a spiritual practice. These disciplines need to be practiced. It's not something, it's, it's like sports, you know? It's not something you just show up and you're good at.

It's not something where you show up and you see the fruit immediately. You have to do it week in and week out [00:44:00] and over and over and over and over again until the point where. You might start questioning whether or not anything's ever gonna come from it. But once you develop that relationship with Jesus, you start to hear and understand how God is working in your life, and you see.

Just the context around these different things and how they are working through you and with you and their tools within your spiritual tool belt. So I highly recommend you guys pressing into at least one or two of these. If you guys are someone who's listening to this podcast right now and going, all right, like, I've made it this far into this practicing, uh, you know, just this practical guide to following Jesus, I'm curious.

I'm gonna just press into one or two of these. And so a few of the resources that I've leaned on, um, to grow in my faith, you know, some of the books I've already mentioned, but Disciplines of a Godly Man was an incredible one for me. Uh, this is a book that basically lays out a lot of the spiritual disciplines that I just talked about and lays them out.[00:45:00]

In the context of today's world versus what God wants from us in these spiritual, uh, practices. And, you know, the, the book starts off hot. It is truly, um, you know, just cutting right to the point, uh, talks about the discipline of purity. You know, putting purity first in your relationships, what that looks like, how to implement it, why it's important, why God thinks it's important.

Um. You know, it, that book in particular was Impre, incredibly impactful for me in that area. Um, so if you're a guy, I highly recommend this book, um, for a number of different reasons. Talks about different vices, you know, different ways the world is influencing us, influencing us through culture, through music, through movies, through, um, all different areas.

Uh, and I think that it just heightens our awareness, our spiritual awareness around, um. How we're being influenced and so, and, and how we can show up in the world with discipline, with integrity, um, in all the different areas of our life because it's important [00:46:00] to, you know, bring the same spiritual vigor to, um, service as you would, um, you know, say purity or, you know, you, you, you can't really live in a, a world where you have, um, some parts of your spiritual life at a hundred percent and some parts at 0%.

You can, but. I think that eventually you'll find that integrity needs to wrap its arms around all of you, uh, to really, uh, you know, I think God's has two hands on you and he is sculpting you like this artist, and he is, he's working you like Clay. And I think eventually he kind of has to work through some of those.

Um, imperfections, uh, so to speak. So, um, another book, wild at Heart by John Eldridge, beautiful Outlaw by John Eldridge. These are two books that I would recommend to any guy in their early twenties. I think these are incredibly easy to read. They give you a whole new perspective on purpose and beautiful outlaw in particular gives, gave me a whole new perspective on Jesus.

I used to think that Jesus was this hippie barista [00:47:00] that was very. Um, I don't mean this in a negative way, but feminine in the way that he was portrayed, kind of this peacemaker, which he was. Um, but he also has this outlaw spirit, this um, this rebellious spirit. And I think that John Eldridge does a beautiful job capturing that and beautiful outlaw.

Uh, the way of the Victorious Great book, practicing The Way by John Mark Comer. Um, this, if you got any level of excitement around the tools of the trade, the spiritual disciplines that I just outlined, um, go listen to practicing the way, um, on audiobook or go by the book and, and read it. It's phenomenal.

And then praying like monks, living like fools. This, this book changed my prayer life. I could not recommend it more. Uh, sacred Pace. This book changed the way that I think about decision making, uh, changed the way that I think about my time, how I want to allocate it. Um, made me think more deeply about the Sabbath, um, and even.

It made me think more deeply about sabbaticals and [00:48:00] like what that looks like in terms of developing a rhythm around rest. Um, abide in Christ, another great book. And then, um, one book that I really loved it was recommended through a podcast that I'll touch on in a second. But this book was by, um, rabbi Foreman and it's called The Beast Crouching of the Door.

And it really touches on. Sin in this incredibly, uh, detailed, nuanced way. And, you know, rabbi Foreman is a, um, he's a Jewish rabbi who just does an amazing job just talking about. Like this initial separation from God and what he had intended for us. And um, yeah, just gimme a lot of, um, insight into the creation story that I hadn't really thought about before.

Um, then some podcasts that I really enjoy, um, the Impossible Life Podcast. Um, that's. Uh, just honestly, it kind of helps me to have some of these podcasts that aren't necessarily full faith forward, like the Impossible Life talks [00:49:00] about leadership, business, and faith, and how those things are intertwined, which I love.

Um, and it just feels a little bit more practical. So, love that podcast. Um, that's, uh. Just an incredible resource. And then, um, Craig Rochelle's leadership podcast. Love that one. And then the Bama podcast. This is one where if you're looking to just take that, um, your faith journey to the next level, I would start listening to the Bama podcast immediately.

Uh, it's with Marty Solomon. He does an incredible job with, uh, just teaching from teaching from the perspective of. Of the Eastern lens. He is a me Messianic Jew, and he teaches about the Old Testament and New Testament. Through that perspective, he gives us context around a lot of the, um. Illustrations allegories throughout the Bible that I think get missed.

I totally missed them. You know, a lot of times I would read a story at Face Value, move on, not think twice about it, and he just gives so [00:50:00] much color to these stories that if you're not reading closely, you're just completely missing. At least. I did. Um, and then, you know, a few, few other resources that I just highly recommend, I've touched on them already, but join a small group.

Start a small group, join a discipleship group, and be discipled by your pastor. If you can do those things, you're gonna be an amazing spot. So I hope that this podcast was useful for people who are looking to go a little bit deeper in their faith. We've talked about faith a lot on our podcast. You know, Brett and I have obviously been exploring this topic ourselves for the last several months.

Um, and it's been, or last several years, and it's been incredible to be able to share that journey with, uh, my, you know, brother in my business, the guy who's, um, I've lived with and just had a lot of shared experience with. It's been incredible to be able to develop in this area of our life as well. You know, there hasn't been separation in that sense and, um, it's allowed us to really, um, you know.

See transformation in each other and grow in our faith [00:51:00] together, which is amazing. And so, you know, just kind of as like a part six, uh, this, like, just a final wrap up, it's like, how has my relationship with Jesus affected my life? And so, you know. A year, a little over a year ago, uh, I met my now fiance, so I'm currently engaged to be married next month.

Met her at church here in Austin. I truly believe that that was God working through, um, both of our lives, both of our relationships with him, and it's been incredible to see what's happened there in our relationship. Even, you know, within. Just a year. We've seen, um, so much growth together individually, and God has been at the center of all of that.

Um, we've seen, you know, sin redeemed, uh, redemption happen and, you know, both of us just feel incredibly comforted by the Lord's presence in our relationship. And so. You know, if you've been a listener of the podcast for any amount of time, you've seen that there's been a major influence on our [00:52:00] businesses.

From the faith lens. We've been talking about it more. We've tried to weave it into a lot of conversations. We ultimately end up, I feel like, you know, the Ben Greenfield podcast is a perfect example. Um, what other podcasts? You know, the Michael Smoke Podcast is a perfect example where I was just totally.

Not expecting those conversations to necessarily go so deep into the faith lane as they did. You know, like with Michael, I didn't realize that his father had passed away. Um, and that that had been a huge catalyst for him going deeper in his faith. I thought we were gonna sit there for an hour and a half and talk about health and wellness, which we did, but we talked about it more through the faith lens, which was so cool.

And it's been so rich just seeing people come on our show and be able to share in that way. Um, and it's been a huge driving force for us kind of having this evolution with our show. I feel like our show started out as this podcast. I was purely talking about kinda the nuts and bolts of nutrition. Uh, this countercultural health movement that, um, is happening kind of here in Austin and other places that eventually turned [00:53:00] into Maha movement.

And, you know, this idea that we have so much more that we can be investing into from a health perspective other than preventing disease, um, and, uh, prescribing prescriptions. And so for us it's been cool just seeing how faith has become this other component of things that we're talking about. So, you know, one thing that I've seen through our business where.

You know, my relationship with Jesus has affected my ability to resolve conflicts, um, first with within myself. So overcoming different shame, different levels of shame, fear, guilt, anxiety, and then with other people. And so, you know, for me, like resolving conflict, dealing with other people. Being, uh, you know, someone in my entire life, a little bit of a people pleaser.

It's like just having that rock to lean on, uh, in some of the situations has been incredible. And then, um, you know, just understanding, I wrote an article a little while back and I'll link to all of these resources, but I'll link to this article as well, all the resources in including the books [00:54:00] and, uh, podcast that I mentioned.

But I wrote, um, I wrote an article probably a month and a half ago, two months ago. For Noble about this word, Avodah. Um, and it's this combination of work and worship and how your work should be. It's a, a Hebrew word that. Is basically combining work and worship, making it so that your work should be an expression of your love for the Lord.

And so I'm still working on this and understanding how to make this actually come to life. Um, I think I'm getting closer and closer every single day. I know I'm working on things that I wanna be working on. Um, but it's given me this sense, you know? This relationship with Jesus has given me a sense of, uh, more purpose, more understanding in my work than ever before.

Um, and I want to just say this explicitly that I have humbly failed at all these things. Um, mismanaged people painfully struggled with conflict avoidance [00:55:00] and resolution of conflict, um, and even struggling with work burnout, purpose, money struggle, self doubt. All of it. And I say all that just to say that, um, I've seen the Lord work through all of those things, make me stronger through all of those struggles and through all of it, giving me more agency, more capacity to lead, more capacity to be the type of person that, um, can lead other people.

And I think that through all these risks, struggles, there's a faith component. And yeah, just say all that, that, you know, I've been humbled by. My relat building my relationship with Jesus. And it's been an incredible journey. Uh, I've seen, you know, generational curses broken and it's been such a rich experience.

So, you know, my prayer for you, if you're listening to this still, is to just take, um, what I've talked about here and just start applying one thing, one thing at a time. Don't rush it. Um, find another person to do it with. Start reading some scripture, um, [00:56:00] and just, um, lean in, press in. Uh, there's a whole new world.

Um. Waiting for you, um, on the other side. So I'm gonna leave it at that. I'm gonna put a bow in this conversation. It's been amazing. I hope you guys have gotten some value out of this. Um, I do wanna give a quick word here about our supplement company, noble Origins. If you are interested in supporting us, please go over to noble origins.com.

This is where Brett and I are building the number one beef protein isolate company in the world. Our goal is to get beef protein spread to the masses. We want people. Consuming the highest quality supplemental form of nutrient-dense protein that they possibly can. So throw the pea protein away, throw the whey protein away.

Get yourself some noble origins. This is a nutrient-dense, uh, superfood packed nutritional drink. So go get your order of noble origins.com. Use Code Meat Mafia for 15% off. Um, and. Yeah, let us know what you think of the product. We [00:57:00] love being able to support, uh, you guys in your health journeys with information and with a product.

It's such a blessing to be able to put a great product out there and then also be able to provide information that helps you guys grow spiritually, physically, mentally. So if you enjoyed this episode, please leave a comment, share it with somebody. Uh, spread the word. That is really how the show is gonna grow.

Um, we wanna reach more people, so. If you could send this to somebody that might learn one or two things from it, leave a comment, subscribe and follow along for more. Thank you guys so much for joining us for this episode of the Meat Mafia Podcast and we'll talk to you soon.