SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Faithful Warrior Podcast, where courage meets conviction. Each episode shines relied on the powerful testimonies of veterans, first responders, and godly men of faith who have walked through the fire and found strength in Christ. These are the stories of real life warriors on the battlefield and in life who share the journeys of struggle, redemption, purpose, unworthy in faith. And join us as we dive deep into the heart of what it means to be faithful in the fight and anchored in hope. Welcome, Kale man. How are you doing today, brother?

SPEAKER_02 0:31

I'm doing great, brother. Uh it's just, you know, same old, same old work and uh and ministry. And you know, I was blessed and honored to be able to come on here with you because you know you guys hold a special place in our heart. So anytime I get to have uh anytime I get to have a conversation with you, man, it's always gonna be a great one.

SPEAKER_00 0:50

And man, that's some big words, man. I I appreciate that, man. And I was gonna say what an honor it is to have you on this show. Uh man, I look up to this guy. Uh, he is uh a good friend of mine. Uh he helps me out in my foundation as a great partner with it, man. And uh he just loves Jesus. He just loves Jesus and and walk in his his purpose and his calling, what God's called him to do, man. So tell us a little bit about KO. Who is KO?

SPEAKER_02 1:20

Uh I mean, it's one of those questions where like I could start anywhere. Um, but I always really look at it and I start with the day that changed my life. You know, we could we could talk about all the old me, uh, who I was and all that stuff. But the reality is it's not really important other than just knowing that at one point in time I was not a good person and I wasn't following God. Uh and that and that's really all that needs to be said about that, because you know what my focus is now is everything that has happened since then and all the things that God is doing in my life going forward. Um, you know, so back in 2021, um, I had a radical encounter with uh myself first, um, where it got to a place that was really dark, and it got to that time where I was like, you know what, I'd be better off just not being here. So I had that that moment with me and you know, a shiny friend in a bathtub, and was just ready to check out, be done with it. And something something happened. And I I remember it clear as day, and I had been sitting in that bathtub just begging God to take me back. Um, the short behind that is I'd gotten to a point where I said, God, I just don't need you. I don't want you, I don't have nothing to do with you, I don't need you, just leave me alone. And unbeknownst to me, God said, Okay, we'll see how this will work. And he just kind of took his hands off me. And everything after that went went wild. You know, the whole world came crushing down on me, and uh, you know, all the the demons that you could entertain were being entertained at that time. And that went on for about two or three months, and I got to that point where I remember basically laying in the tub and saying, God, please take me back. Please take me back. Like, I'll do anything, I'll I'll do whatever you want, I'll be your humble servant. And he said, No. And I was like, excuse me? What do you mean, no? You can't say no, like you're supposed to be there for all of us. And he said no. He's like, You're saying this because you think that this will save you, and you're trying to save your own skin. And he said, No. And so the first year is coming up, and a friend of ours who is a phenomenal woman of God, um, was doing a New Year's Eve, New Year's Day service, and it invited us to go. And I showed up, and my wife showed up, and uh when I tell you the encounter that happened was so night and day, pretty much at the stroke of midnight, waking up all of a sudden and being a completely different person, you know, going from the darkest of the dark to the brightest of the light. And I remember John Ward, who's one of my mentors, saying, when as he was commissioning me into the ministry, and this is literally just hours after the other thing had happened, and he said, You know, you kept asking God to bring you back. And he said, You know, and God is telling me to tell you, He never left. You just chose not to see it, you know, he never left me. But I just chose to believe that God had, and through my lack of faith and my lack of trust and my lack of obedience, I invited all those things into my life. And then, like I said, everything changed. I woke up the next morning, uh, my mindset was different, um, and I had this desire to just go out and slay evil for God. Like that's that's that's literally what my life became was we're gonna go out and we are gonna conquer evil and we are gonna save the lost, and we're gonna spread the gospel, and we're gonna talk to everyone we can, and we're gonna walk a path that reflects you know everything that Jesus wanted us to reflect as we walked our lives. And, you know, I wasn't a stranger to the relationship of God because my wife had been walking it for a while, and I'd always been there. I'd show up, you know, I'd go to the church, I'd I'd sit in the back when she was preaching or she was leading worship or whatever. And it's so it wasn't like I didn't know. Right, it was just I was more important at any given time than God could have ever been prior to this encounter. And then since then, it's just been man, I just I live glory to glory, blessing to blessing, honor to honor, you know. Um everything that transpires from that day forward, ministry, uh getting ordained, uh being commissioned into the ministry field, having mentors, having people put in my life who are going to challenge me, and then eventually turning into God putting people in my life for me to challenge them. You know, and you and you see that process and you see that struggle, and and God puts these people in my life, and he's like, Hey, I want you to look at this person and tell me who you see. And I say, I see me five years ago, or I see me three years ago, or whatever it was. And man, you want to talk about waking up every day and just saying, Man, here I am, God, let's let's do this, let's get out there and and just wreck all the things of evil. And you know, and that went on for a couple years, and I mean the fire stayed strong, and you know, everything was going good. And then, like everything else, that little bit of I starts to creep its way back in, you know, yeah, and and it's the little things, you know. We always we always dismiss the little things. Oh, just it's just the tiny things, and boy, them tiny things will get you way quicker than the big things. Yeah, so you know, and and I was getting involved in ministry and I was going to church regularly, and I was involved with things, and and there just it was like things were missing. You know, I I would go and I would I'd feel God and we'd worship and we'd we'd pray and we'd listen to the message and we'd study and you you were constantly in God's presence. And I just knew there were things missing, you know, it was like, but I just couldn't put my finger on it. I was like, you know, I'm I'm missing something. There, there's there's something that needs to be filled in my life that's not. And you know, I started really searching, and I started really kind of putting myself out there, and of course, you know, TikTok was the last place I ever wanted to go. Social media was the last place I ever wanted to go. And you know, I get on I get on TikTok and uh, you know, start scrolling and jumping into people's lives and just talking to them about whatever. And then, you know, I I rolled across one group of of people who there was a bunch of them, and you know, they kind of welcomed me in, and you know, I started building a relationship with them and under under the flag of what their intention was. Um, and I was with them for a while, and then and then the veil was kind of lifted off of that off of that relationship. And uh things things were were brought to light and things were revealed, and God opened my eyes on some things, and he said, you know, he's like uh this was your introduction because I wanted you to feel comfortable, you know, so that you would continue to do this. So I put you in a place I knew you'd feel comfortable before I drug you out of it and put you in a place I knew you would be uncomfortable. And since that day, man, I live, I live in uncomfortable places, you know. And I love it. I love I love living in uncomfortable spaces. I love living in in the chaos, if we'll if we can, you know, if we say that. If if I love living in the chaos, I love being in the places where the broken and the people who are just have been used by the world and the people who just have lost everything, they've lost hope, they've lost just trust, they've lost everything that that made them who they are, and they're just broken people. And you know, I think that's about the time that we had hooked up and and you know and started talking. Um man, and then look at it now. Yes, you know, wow, it's it's so amazing that you know, I I talk about it with with the guys all the time, man. It's like it's so crazy to think that God would use us, you know, us, like you know, uh I know that I'm I'm worthy, I know that I'm chosen. And it took my brain a long time to get to that point where I understood that because you know, I I hear men and women all the time say, Well, I'm just I'm not good enough. God can't use me, you know. I I'm not I'm not I don't fit in the box of of what God says, you know, we have to be. Yeah, and I and I struggled that with them for a long time I struggled with it because I kept going back to that, kept going back to why I'm just I'm not worthy, I'm not good enough. Like, why would you want to use me? You you you know what my past looks like, you know about my time in the military, you know about the things I did in my youth and when I was a teenager and the trouble I would get into. And and why would you why would you choose me? You know, what I'm not special, I'm I'm I'm nobody. I haven't done anything incredible. And you know, you I remember the day where he said, that's that's why. That's that's why I'm choosing you. I'm choosing you because everybody who's ever met you, and everybody who's ever been around you, and everybody who's ever been in a relationship with you knows who you were and what you've done. And now I'm gonna use you to show them what I can do. And you know, that moment, man, that moment when you realize that God chooses us because of our brokenness. He chooses us because we've had those those thoughts. He chooses us because we we think that our ways are better, or we think that, you know, there's nothing that we could ever do to be redeemed, or or whatever it is that is going through our mind that the world has poured on us as what they say is thought. And he tells you, you know, he says, that's why I chose you, is because you will be a walking testimony of what I can do with anyone. There's no such thing as too far gone. There's no such thing as not redeemable. You know, I hear people say, I just don't think God could forgive me for what I what I did. And it's like, bro, I'm gonna tell you right now, the blood has the same power now as it did then. The blood, the blood ain't got any weaker. If anything, the blood's probably gotten stronger, you know. Yeah. And and so when when you when you look at that in in the lens and you go back and I and I examine my life from being a young child to you know a teenager, and then a teenager into an adult, and you know, spending the time I did in the Marine Corps, uh, and and then going into you know some other things out after I left the Marine Corps before getting back into the tattoo world. And now, you know, I'm at the place where I own my own shop. I I'm I I get to set my own hours. You know, um, I'm just now getting picked up to be the chaplain of the local police department, you know. Uh I look I'm gonna tell you right now, if 15-year-old me saw me doing that, 15-year-old me be like, what are you doing? This ain't something you want to do. You want to be a chaplain, you don't even like God. Why, why, why are you doing these things? And I and I would just be like, Don't worry, 15-year-old me, you'll understand why. You know, after all the struggle and all the the training that you're about to go through for the next 30 years of your life, you go figure it out. But you know, I mean, I'm 48 years old and I've been doing I've been doing life with God for the last five of it.

SPEAKER_00 14:57

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:59

But I will never, ever, ever say that I wish things had been different. You know, I I don't I don't normally correct people when I hear them say that, but that my thought process is I wouldn't change a single thing. Because I know that if I had tried to get to the place I am now much earlier in my life, I would have failed. I would have already quit, I would have walked away because I didn't have all the lessons that God taught me from birth to 43.

SPEAKER_00 15:32

Right.

SPEAKER_02 15:33

You know, all those lessons that he teaches you to get you to the place where you are now. And you know, I look back and like I said, I wouldn't trade any of it.

SPEAKER_00 15:45

No, you know, you know, I think is I'm so thankful for my brokenness because of all that that I did for so long. If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't have the relationship that I have right now with Jesus. So I'm thankful for it. I'm just like you. And you know, I hear people say, oh man, it the the brokenness and all this. No, be thankful for it. Be thankful for it.

SPEAKER_02 16:11

Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, I like that. Yeah, I mean, you know, it's like I've I've sat there and thought, man, I wish I wish I would have treated my wife better. You know, and and that's one of those things where I'm sure could have or could not have affected anything. But but God is like, well, look at the lesson that I was able to teach her through that. Look, look how much she grew in the ability to love you, even though you were a piece of garbage. You know, and so like even those things, man, even things when I think back, like, oh man, I wish this, I wish that. And I sit there and think, and I said, wait, wait, I don't want to say that because I might be taking away a lesson that someone else was learning. You know, that that might have been someone else's test or someone else's, you know, challenge, or someone else's struggle that they were going through, and that was God's way of of using me and my brokenness to help them through their brokenness. You know. So, you know, fast forward um to about 2023. Uh, I just I I I'm doing church, I'm doing ministry, and uh I'm I'm ministering at a rev at a a service with some people, and this is when the foundry was kind of birthed. Um, a guy was there, his name was uh Ryan Cook, and he came up to me and we were talking, and he said, Man, God really has been on me about this with you. And he's like, You need to start a ministry. And I said, No, no, no, thank you. I don't want to do that. That's that's work. I I just I just want to sit here and bask. He said, No, no, no. He's like, You've gotta you've gotta start a ministry, man. And uh I had just spoken earlier that night about the blacksmith, um, because that's one of those things that I'll always go back to when I look at my own journey and relating it to how the blacksmith works and how much attention he has to pay to every process of that forging from the beginning to the end. You know, it's not just fire and forget, you know, it's it's it's sitting there and patiently watching and waiting and tending to, you know, that that that foundry as that impure metal is starting to be cooked down. You know, he and it's he can't just leave it because if he leaves it, it could ruin. And you know, he's sitting there and just impatiently watching as the impurities of that metal are slowly burnt out. And then once those impurities are burnt out, then he transitions that stuff and it goes into the next process. And I look at that as how my my walk has been with God. Like I remember being the impurities, and you know, I was I was more precious than gold to him, but I was I was covered in impurities, and then being able to see that process where God's like, okay, guess what? You're going in the fire, and it's not gonna be comfortable, and you're not gonna like it, and it's not gonna feel good, but when it's over, it will be worth it. And I remember saying, Okay, God, well, whatever, whatever you gotta do, let's go. Because again, like I said, I mean, I had been I had been actively seeking, but I still had so much of me left in there that it wasn't fully getting through, you know, and so I went through that process with God. I went through the foundry, um, and I mean I went through the fire and the impurities were burned out, and then I remember being poured into that mold and and God saying, Okay, now that we've got you cleaned up, now we have to shape you. And he said, and that's gonna hurt even more. Now like you're supposed to be a loving, gracious God. Why are we doing all these things that hurt? Like, I'm I'm not a fan. This is this is not fun. And he said, Don't worry, it'll be worth it in the end. You just have to trust me. So, okay, God, I trust you. And I remember, you know, having that mandate put on me that evening where God said, This is this is what I want you to do. And I said, Okay. And uh, so originally I founded the foundry, uh, and it was gonna be a men's, uh, like a men's. I don't even remember what it used to be because it was so long ago until I changed it. It was just kind of a men's ministry, yeah. Just kind of a general basic men's ministry. And I remember getting all excited about it and starting to build the table. And then it just kind of, God said, okay, now hold up. I said, Well, wait, God, we went from hurry up and do this. Now we're now we're doing the the wait. He said, Yep, you gotta wait. He's like, because I've got I've got people who I'm gonna put in your path to help you with this, and they just haven't caught up yet. So now you have to wait. And I said, Okay, I'll wait. And then uh, you know, some time goes by and the foundry just kind of got pushed back, and then about A year, year, year and a half, about a year ago, I guess. Maybe a year and a half ago now. And it was brought back up. And uh, we were actually on a live, we were on TikTok on a live, and we were talking about the armor of God. You know, we're going through Ephesians 6. And it was, I think it was one of the first lives that I had actually jumped in with y'all. Um, and I and I remember it uh just like it was yesterday, and we were talking about Ephesians 6, and I remember getting on there and kind of giving my take on the armor. And while that was going on, you know, we had had conversations about things, and I remember bringing up discipleship, and I was like, Well, you know, we're doing all these things, but are we are we discipling people? And it was kind of like, no, not really. And God said, Well, guess what? You're gonna change the foundry from a men's ministry to a men's discipleship group. And I said, Yes, okay, God, that's what I'll do. And I changed it from a ministry to a discipleship group. And I said, Well, now what? And he said, Well, now prepare. I said, Okay. And I sat down and I wrote out enough devotions and studies for six months of what God was telling me how he wanted this discipleship to go. And I said, Okay, God, I'm gonna sit down and I'm gonna start working on this. And he said, Cool. Get it, you know, you start working, and when you're ready, I'll start sending people to you.

unknown 23:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:42

And then over that time, you know, we had numerous talks about discipleship, numerous talks about bringing people in and getting them, you know, fed and getting them clothed and armored up and you know, getting that that spirit man built up in them and teaching them how to pray and teaching them how to worship and teaching them how to love and and all those things. And I was like, okay, God, I'm doing these things, and you haven't sent me anyone yet. And he's like, Don't worry, I will. You just have to be patient. And I was like, God, you God, you love this hurry up and wait thing. I was like, that's that's the military all over again. Like, and he said, I know, I'm using it on purpose because you understand it, you hurry up and get it done, and then you wait. And he's like, and while you're waiting, that's where you are building your patience. And he's like, Because the people I'm gonna send you, you're gonna you're gonna need patience with them because you know, I was at the point where in my walk and in my life where I knew who I was, I knew what I walked in. You know, I I've done deliverance. I've you know, we've we've done all the things, we've led worship, we've we've taught messages, we've preached, we've taught, you know, we've semi-sort of helped pastor people, we've brought in uh spiritual kids and helped raise them up in the faith. We've done all these things, and I was like, Well, I'm I'm ready. And he's like, nope, not yet. And then, of course, all of the things that we've had have transpired, Kingdom Connection and and uh, you know, Shepherd's Light Foundation, and you know, the guys who had strayed away, who had come back. Um, and he said, Okay, now. And I remember making that first phone call to one of the guys and saying, Hey, I changed the foundry from a men's ministry to a men's discipleship program, and I'm reaching out because God wants you involved in this. And and instantly that individual was like, Yeah, yes, 100%, yes, let's do it. And I was like, Cool. And I was like, Okay, we're gonna start here. And then life started lifing on his end. And he was like, Oh, he's like, I really want to, and he kept coming up with excuses and kept coming up with reasons why we couldn't meet and whatnot.

SPEAKER_00 26:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:12

And I remember asking God, saying, God, you send me this person, now he's too busy. And he's God's like, Patience. He's like, I'm not just sending you one, he's like, I'm gonna send you a punch. He's like, but this one you had to get right now. If you hadn't gotten him right now, then he might have not come back. So okay, God. The next one God sent was someone who I had never expected. And man, it's been one of the greatest blessings that I can ask for with him. And then all of a sudden, it was two, and it was three, and then it was four, and then God said, Hey, you start to get a little backlogged. So now I'm gonna send you someone to help you. And then I added someone to help me with it, and then we added a couple more people, and then God's like, Okay, we're gonna slow down a little bit. I've got a couple more people I'm working on, and then we're gonna add those people too. And man, it's been it's just been it's been so amazing because now I don't even question anymore. Yeah, I don't even, I don't even that the question that used to come up my mind, doesn't even come up anymore. Oh, you're not worthy. I don't, that doesn't even, that's not even a a speck of dust anywhere in me. Yeah, because I'm sitting here watching God work, you know, and I'm watching the connections that he makes. And I'm and I'm you know, uh having people who I've met through these connections and and then meeting them, you know, in real life, or or you know, I mean, meeting y'all out at the at the ranch uh at the first journey, and then meeting Adam when he was here, you know, being able to meet these guys who we've been building relationships with for the last year, and then you start meeting these guys in person, and you're just you can't you can't not say this is God's doing.

SPEAKER_00 28:05

Yeah, you know, for sure. Um this discipleship program. So the foundry's turned in from a men's ministry into a discipleship program for men. Can you tell us a little bit about how that is, like the kind of the structure of it a little bit, how you're doing that that program with these guys?

SPEAKER_02 28:24

Yeah, so um again, you know, with it being called the foundry, I have it set up in three distinct stages, um, just like you do when you're forging metal. So the the first stage is the the foundry, it's where that raw metal is taken and poured into this crucible, and that's where the heat is applied the first time to get all those things out, all the all the impurities, all the drosses taken out of that metal. And through that, it's me putting these guys in the book of John. Man, I love the Gospel of John. Um, you know, the Gospel of John is there to teach us how to love ourselves and how to love other people the way Christ loved us and loved other people. And you start that process with teaching them how to love themselves so that you know you can start watching the guilt and the shame and those things that are not fruits of the spirit, those things that are not gifted to us. You watch those things burn away. And through that, while we're going through the book of John and they're learning how to love, and you're watching families change, you're watching family structures change, you're watching how they interact with people, you're seeing light in them that you might not have seen before because they're understanding that if we can model our love after the way God loves us, after the way Jesus loves us, after the way the Holy Spirit loves us, if we can model our love after that, it changes your entire perspective on the world. You know, you don't hate, you don't have anger, you don't have fear, because you start to realize that love conquers all of that. The next step is pouring them into that mold. And when you pour something into that mold, depending on what it is, and you know, I get that we all want to be weapons. You know, everybody wants to be a weapon. I hate to tell y'all, but not everybody's a weapon. Some of us are swords, yes. Some are poured into shields, and those shields jobs, those are your intercessors, those are your prayer warriors. You know, those are the ones who are designed to protect, and they're designed to be that deflection. And then you have some that are formed into armor, you have some that are formed into cups, you have some that are formed into bowls, you have some that are formed into platters, because some of them, their their entire life may just be about service. You know, they might just have a servant's heart and they just want to serve God's people. You have people who become medics, they're healers, they want to help heal people from their traumas. You have people who become cups, and and their whole point is to keep people from getting thirsty, you know, constantly filling that cup, constantly keeping them hydrated so that they're not getting thirsty and they're not, you know, getting dehydrated. You have people who what I would call the foot washing balls, and man, those are the people who I look up to the most because those are the people who are gonna get down and dirty on their knees and they're gonna scrub feet, you know, and and and they will do it with a smile on their face, and they'll do it because they usually have a really large servant's towel, you know, and then like I said, you have shields, you have people who are specifically designed to protect, you know, those are the people your prayer warriors, those are the people who will stand between hell and somebody to make sure that person doesn't get hurt, and then you have your swords, your weapons, and that's done very specifically through each one as God starts to reveal to these men what their calling is on their life, the Bible goes right after it. And they say, Oh, guess what? God is starting to reveal that you're gonna be a pastor, so you're gonna go into the book of Acts because you need to learn about the church. Oh, God, God says that you're gonna be a preacher. Well, guess what? You go into Romans because you need to understand how to preach to the lost, you know, and and and that's the amazing thing about watching it happen, you know. Oh, well, you're you're somebody who's currently dealing with the struggle of being a believer amongst a group of non-believers. You're going to Ephesians, brother, because you need to understand about armor, you need to understand how to keep yourself armored up while you're being attacked from all areas and all angles, so that you can continue to be that light and eventually conquer that darkness. You know, it's it's just so amazing to see it happen because as their gifting starts to pull forward in their life, the Bible is like, hey, I've got a book for you. Oh, you you want to be a worship leader? Guess where you're going. You go into Psalms. You know, songs are gonna tell you everything you need to know about worship, you know, and then the final stage, which is the fine-tuning, uh, the fitting, the polishing, the sharpening. That's where the sword goes to the stone to have that that true edge put on it so that it can cut through anything. That shield is gonna get its final reinforcements and its padding, and it's gonna get its leather straps so it can be held and that it's you know, that it's there. You know, the cups, the bowls, the the platters, those are gonna go for polishing so that they are bright and shiny and and are a new thing, and that people see that and they go, Man, look, look at that beautiful shiny cup, look at that beautiful shiny plate. You know, and it and it gives them that appearance of where people look at that and say, Man, how how do I get like that? Yeah, you know, what what do I need? What do I need to do so that I can look like that? What do I need to do so I can be an effective sword, or that I can be an effective shield, or that I can be an effective servant? What do I need to do? And then from that moment on, is it's maintenance. You know, you you don't send your soldiers out to war and leave them out there. You know, you you send these guys out, and then eventually they have to come back and they go back to the blacksmith because that armor is taking hits, might have cracks, that sword's blade is a little bit duller than it was. It probably needs to be fixed, you know, and that's where after the process, they've they've learned to trust God to the point where they know all they have to do is go back to him and say, Okay, God, my blade's a little dull. We need to get it sharpened up. And he says, Okay, well, guess what? I'm gonna put you in contact with some guys. Yeah, you know, here's some pastors. If you're a pastor, here's some pastors I'm gonna put in your life so you can reach out to them so they can help sharpen that blade. Yeah. You know, if you're an intercessor, if you're a prayer warrior, hey, I'm gonna link you up with some more of those so that they can help, you know, fix that shield, repair those dents and those cracks, and repair that leather and and the padding so that you become effective again. And then once that's done, then he takes you and sends you back out. You know, and it's and it's a never-ending cycle. You know, discipleship never ends. You can't graduate from it, you know, and and that's one of the things with this is you know, I'm building lifelong brothers through the discipleship program because these are men who I know once they get to that final stage, it's still not over.

SPEAKER_00 36:27

Right.

SPEAKER_02 36:28

Right because it's it's never over. You know, we're always gonna learn. We're always gonna, at least we should. We should always be learning. You know, I'm I'm real quick to tell people the moment that you think you know everything, you know nothing.

SPEAKER_00 36:40

Yeah, yeah. Man, what what a what an amazing experience for these guys to do the foundry discipleship program, man. That's amazing that God laid that on you. And man, I I don't want to shift gears, but we're gonna have to shift gears just a little bit. And uh, because you God's got you in a lot of things, and and we want to touch on them. So uh next we're gonna jump in. Uh you serve as an instructor with Shepherd's Life Foundation, which is a nonprofit that's helping military veterans and first responders dealing with PTSD and suicide prevention. And uh, you know, uh that's how we met each other uh ultimately and and worked through that. So what makes the Shepherd's Journey experience so powerful?

SPEAKER_02 37:28

Oh that's a that's a big question. Um I mean uh first and foremost, I think uh the the need for it is really where the power comes. There's such a need for it, and and and being able to be a part of that, you know, and even with the first journey and and and watching lives change, you know, man, like the the the the simple fact that there's something out there for people that is not pushing medication, it's not put we're not pushing meds, we're not pushing therapy, we're just pushing come have an encounter with God, you know, come meet God on your terms in the place that you are, and let him put his arms around you and tell you that you are okay. Yes, and that you're worthy, and that he sees you and that he created you, you know, and and being able to watch that happen, being able to see guys show up who are walking with their head down and their shoulders, you know, and just you can see them they're just walking kind of like this, and and you can see just all the pain and all the hurt. And you know, I still even today go back and we'll scroll through the photos that we took while we were there. I still even today go back and scroll through those photos and and to be able to see day one when they got there, and then day two, and then day three, and then day four, and you can just you can see the change. Yeah, you can see the freedom, and you can see the the love and the trust and and the brotherhood that they built between the four of them just in four days. And you know, and these guys still all talk to each other constantly, you know, they're still keeping in touch because they they've they've grown a bond that nothing's gonna ever break because they they they shared their traumas and ultimately conquered them together, you know, and just being able to be a part of that and knowing that you know we did nothing. Right, right, we we literally did nothing. I and I I remember telling you that one day, I was like, Dwayne, we could just go back to the house. Because the moment that they let God in, God was like, Hey, I'll work all this stuff out with y'all.

SPEAKER_00 40:23

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 40:25

But man, like I said, the impact that it's had and the impact it's gonna have. I mean, every person I've talked to in the last three, four months about it, they've all said the same thing. Man, where where has this been? Where has this been? And I'm like, well, it's here now, you know, and and and we have ways that you can get a hold of us. And you know, I've talked to a lot of people locally about it, and and they've all been like, man, this is this is great. You know, what what do we need to do?

SPEAKER_00 40:58

That's awesome, man. So as you say you're talking to somebody locally about this, we're gonna switch to the next gear. You you're stepping into a new chaplain role with your local police department. Yeah. Why is this ministry so important to you right now?

SPEAKER_02 41:18

So the the long and short of this, and it it this goes back to something that always makes me laugh inside and outside, is God has a great sense of humor. And I was sitting down with one of my really good friends who's the pastor of a local church, and I said, Man, I said, I know that you're doing all these things, uh, but what are you doing locally? And I was like, Oh, okay, oh, you're doing all these things on TikTok and all these things on FaceTime. What are you doing locally? And I was like, Oh, that's that was for me, yeah. And I was at work and uh I was working on uh a buddy of mine who is the chief of detectives for my local police department. And while I was tattooing him, the phone rang it as one of the guys from the discipleship group, and he was like, Hey, you got a minute to talk? And I said, I do, but you're gonna be on speaker phone, and so whoever's in here getting worked on, I'm gonna hear. And they were like, Ah, we don't care, so cool. And so me and this individual, we have our conversation. What he was just asking some about some wisdom, some counsel, and he had some things going on. He was trying to get some clear direction. And afterwards, when we hung up, the guy was tattooing, said, You know, the PD has a chaplain program now. And I said, Excuse me? And he's like, Yeah, they started a chaplain program because the coroner's office only has a handful of chaplains and they're really hard to get a hold of. And I said, Well, how many chaplains do they have? He said, I don't know, a couple, I think. I said, Okay. So while while I'm there working on this guy, I pick up the phone and I call the chief of police because he's a good friend of mine. I said, Hey, hey, buddy, I heard I heard y'all have a chaplain program. What when that happened? What's going on with that? He said, Yeah, it's new. We just started it. So, you know, and he's like, Well, what I'm gonna do is uh he's like, I'll have I'll have the guy who's over it call you. I said, Okay. About 10 minutes later, phone rings, answer it, hello, and he says, Hey, this is uh this is a sergeant with uh the PD. And I said, Hey, Sarg, what's going on? He said, Uh, well, the chief told me to call you. He's like, and he says, I'm the chaplain liaison between the PD and the chaplains. I was like, okay. And he's like, and uh, the chief told me to call you uh and talk to you about it. He said, because you know, he said that you sounded like you were interested. I said, Well, I didn't sound like I was interested. I was just asking questions because I didn't even know we had chaplains. So I do all my paperwork and I fill out my application and I and I do all the jump through all their hoops that I have to jump through. And uh, you know, and then next thing you know, he he calls me and he's like, Hey man, the The city wants you to do a couple ride-alongs with us. And he's like, It's all just the politics of it. And I said, Okay, that's not a problem. And so, you know, he's also like, Oh, and you know, your applicate, your background check came back fine, and you know, all the other things have come back already. And he's like, you know, but the city wants this, this, and this. And uh, so okay, so I jumped through all their hoops to get all their stuff because it's whatever, you know, I understand the politics behind things. Um, and so then I go out and uh so Monday, I guess it was yesterday. So yesterday, I rode my first ride along with uh the sergeant, and man, we had such a good time.

SPEAKER_00 44:41

Good, good. Well, I'm gonna ask you, since you you're now have a ministry that's gonna be in kind of law enforcement when you were you know prior military. So, what unique challenges do you think that law enforcement officers face today that many people never see?

SPEAKER_02 45:01

You know, and and me and uh and the guy who I was riding along with, uh, we actually talked about this in the car yesterday. You know, that we had a lengthy conversation about it because, you know, one of the biggest struggles um that he uh told me about with just the department in general and with police officers in general, because I I've served in law enforcement in a limited capacity. Um, but he said, you know, the biggest thing is that they don't want to go to the psychologists or the psychiatrists. He's like, because he feels like they feel like all they're gonna do is try to get them, you know, disqualified.

SPEAKER_01 45:40

Right.

SPEAKER_02 45:41

And they don't want to tell their buddies because they don't want to be made fun of, you know, and they don't want to be, you know, labeled and and and picked on or whatever for something. And you know, with the chaplain program being introduced, you know, they all know me. And even the ones who don't know me, it's it's I'm I'm not I'm not a police officer. You know, I'm I'm I'm I'm the chaplain. So I have a very unique uh uh place where they understand that my job is not to try to disqualify you, my job is not to, you know, use anything that you've said in confidence to me against you to try to get you kicked out. I'm not gonna make fun of you about it. I'm not gonna be like, oh, I can't believe you're being this way, you know, and being able to impact those individuals basically trying to stop the unthinkable from happening, you know, happening later on down the road, you know, and and I see it when there is an officer involved shooting. Um, I've seen it when there was an officer-involved shooting where a non-combat individual is injured. You know, they were they were not even part of it, it was just a civilian that was collateral damage. And I've watched how it crushes them. And, you know, and I understand why the struggle is there because like I said, they don't want to tell anybody because they don't want to be labeled, you know, and they don't want to, they don't want people to think that they're making excuses, they don't want to look weak, you know, they don't want to look like they can't perform their job. And that's just, I mean, that's just one. You know, uh, I mean, I I I was I've been out with guys on on DV calls, and one of the officers kind of had a a moment where I think she was having kind of a a little bit of a flashback from at one point in time where she had been involved, you know, and being able to step in and be like, hey, you know, are you good? Yeah, are you are you okay? Do we need, you know, do we need to? And I remember the lieutenant picked up on it real quick and he sent her back to the car and said, go back to the station. You know, he was like, You're good, you're cleared, you know, just just 10-8 and and go back to the station. Because he recognized that that that something was starting to well up in her that just would make her ineffective. And so he just had her removed, but he didn't make a scene. He just said, Hey, just go ahead and clear, just go ahead and clear code and go and go back to the station. You know, you're good. Um and so, like I said, you know, being able to be on the ground floor and have the opportunities to nip a lot of these problems in the bud before they become problems, is is really that goes back to the the the why. Um that you know, I've I really felt like God was was putting me in this place to do this was because the other chaplains are full-time pastors of churches, no military experience, no law enforcement experience. They're just you know, one I think one's a Baptist preacher, one's a church of God preacher, right? You know, so yeah, man.

SPEAKER_00 49:28

I tell you, uh man, we're gonna have to have you back on the show. We we got a lot to talk about. I mean, we can do uh a whole show just on on the journey, we can do just a show on military and coming back into civilian life, and then I can do another one with you with law enforcement and identity and and that man. Yeah, we're gonna have you back on the show for sure. As a meeting talking with you, but as we start to wind down, man, we always ask our guests these three questions. And the first one is what is your favorite verse and why?

SPEAKER_02 50:03

So John 15, 13. Um, greater love hath no man than to lay his life down for his brother. That has been my life verse for probably the last 10, 15 years. Um, and and I could go into a whole lot of depth on it, but I'm not going to. I love that the Bible is the living word. I love that one scripture has carried me for 15 years. And as my understanding grew of about you know, as I grew to more understand God more and understand the scripture more and grow in my faith and my walk, how that verse changed from being the physical side of I will put my life on the line for someone else, to now I understand it, meaning, well, it's not just your life, but it's also your time. You know, are you are you willing to sacrifice your time for your brothers? You know, are you willing to sacrifice the things that you want for the things that someone else might need? Um, so yeah, so John 15, 13 uh is is like I said, that's my life verse, and and I don't think it'll ever change.

SPEAKER_00 51:18

Yeah, I like that one, man. I like that one. So the next question is what does it mean to you to be a faithful warrior?

SPEAKER_02 51:30

Understanding that you're not always gonna win the battles, but God has won the war. But that doesn't mean we still don't fight. You know, you'll you always it's it's forward only. You know, that's that's that's and you know, I've said that many times to the guys, forward only. That's the only way to go. You know, it's it's why we wear the flag patch on our sleeve with the blue to the front, is because we only go forward, we don't run, we don't retreat. So, you know, forward only, um and and and that's that's really where it's at is we we know that the war is won. And and there are gonna be battles that are lost. There's also battles that are gonna be won. And what you do is you you celebrate with your brothers when those have those victories, yes, but you make sure that you are also there for them when they have those small defeats.

SPEAKER_00 52:31

Yes, yes, yes, I stand in agreement with that for sure. That's a great man. And then the last one, here it is. So if any of our listeners or anybody out there who is struggling right now and they feel like there's no hope or nobody understands what they're going through, what do you say to that person right now?

SPEAKER_02 53:08

God created you. But he chooses you. You want to talk about you want to talk about knowing what it's like to be loved, understand that the God who created everything doesn't need us, but he chooses to have a relationship with us. You know, he can snap his fingers and change everything in existence. And yet he says, No, you know what, I'm gonna choose to have a relationship with you because I love you.

SPEAKER_01 53:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 53:54

Wow. Wow, what an amazing answer, man. I wanna hit deep. Man, there's a lot to take in on this episode. I mean, we flew through it. We flew through it. So uh, man, I can't say enough to have you on here again. It's an honor, and uh I I feel like there's a lot that hadn't even been turned over yet. And uh, you know, you you hear it on these uh these podcasts when they say, Oh, you can have at least three hours, you know, it's gonna be at least three episodes, and you know, I can say it's maybe maybe you're gonna end up being about five. But we're gonna get there. But uh man, uh again, I I appreciate you taking the time out of your day and in in your ministry and what you're doing right now, man, and uh coming on the show and just talk to us and of course what's going on, man. I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_02 54:46

So well, and that's that's what I'll leave everyone once before we end this is just remember if you if you work off of God's plate and on God's time, you'll always have room and you'll always have time.

SPEAKER_00 54:56

Oh, amen. Amen. So as we close, remember this being a faithful warrior is not about being the strongest person in the room, it's not about having it all together, it's about remaining faithful to Jesus no matter what battle you face. If you're walking through a difficult season of the day, don't quit. Keep trusting, keep praying, keep moving forward. God is not finished with your story. Until next time, stay faithful, keep your eyes on Christ, and remember the battle is real, but also so is the God who walks with you through it. We'll see you on the next episode of Faithful Warriors Podcast.