MJ King

This is Hans Schile from the Finishing Well Podcast.

On Finishing Well we help you make godly choices about Medicare, long-term care, and your money. Your chosen Truth Network Podcast is starting in just seconds. Enjoy it.

Share it. But most of all, thank you for listening and choosing the Truth Podcast Network. The heart of every man craves a great adventure, but life doesn't usually feel that way. Jesus speaks of narrow gates and wide roads, but the masculine journey is filled with many twists and turns.

So how do we keep from losing heart while trying to find the good way when life feels more like a losing battle than something worth dying for? Grab your gear and come on a quest with your band of brothers who will serve as the guides in what we call the masculine journey. The masculine journey starts here now. Welcome to the masculine journey.

We are glad that you're with us this week. And guys, I don't know about you, but we have seven people in this room and it seems like we're empty. Does it feel that way a little bit?

It does. We normally have so many seats packed and we're fighting and it's hot and it's actually kind of got a little roomy. It's a little roomy, you know, I don't have to sit next to Andy.

You know, it's really nice. Sorry. Oh, okay. Anyway. Yes, sir.

This is my girl. Okay. Sorry. We had a little technical thing there, so we'll, uh, we'll, we'll go from there anyway. Uh, yeah.

Normally we would have a lot more people here. We've got David that's out, you know, in the shame of it is David cut his own clip this time for the first time ever. Still not going to make it. Must be present to win, David.

Sorry, but, uh, maybe next time we do this topic, you could use that clip. Uh, Robby's out. Uh, and, uh, Jim is out and Wayne is out and, uh, grant, which grant doesn't usually get on the air, but, uh, we're, we're short, short some people, but to hope they're all doing well. Jim and, uh, um, Rob, you're up fishing for steelhead. So, you know, uh, type of fish. So if you don't know what it is, you can look it up.

That's your, your challenge of the week to look up steelhead fish or something else we talk about. But, uh, uh, before we get into the topic, we've been in the middle of a series. You want to say something there, Harold? I was going to say, don't worry about being short people because we got some short people. That's right. We do. We do. Yeah.

It's a proportionally if Jim's gone and you're here, it's just, you know, normally they balance out, you know, Jim being so tall, but no, um, before we get into the topic of what we've been going through, which is a masculine journey. Uh, something that our shows based on this, this topic, uh, we're gonna talk a little bit about the entrenchment. So for the guys that were at the entrenchment this weekend, you know, we've been talking about it a lot, promoting it. We had a, a good turnout. And, uh, what were your thoughts on some of the stuff from the entrenchment?

Some of your favorite memories? I thought it was pretty good. The, uh, it was neat to see a band of brothers that looks like they probably had a foundation and, but you know, to interact with another group of men and, and to see, you know, maybe some growth and some life there. And it was neat. We had some good conversations and that kind of thing. So I enjoyed it.

Even, even enjoyed the adventure, you know, you ordered up a hurricane just for the thing. So that was pretty cool. Yeah. Well, we'll talk a little bit more about that here in a second. Uh, Andy, what about you? Yeah, definitely the same. Um, I think just being able to expose people to this message, uh, wild at heart and what it can do for a heart, a man's heart and just position them.

I mean, they do have the built in band of brothers and hopefully they can, they can grow with that. Um, just, uh, here seeing their interest, I think, and seeing that there's a, you know, this isn't a common message that's, that's in churches, I think. So just being able to understand what the masculine journey is about and some of the, some of the topics that we go through. So it was good. Thank you.

Rodney? Yeah. I think them going from, Hey, wouldn't you like to do something? Hey, what about you?

What about you? Now they're getting a little more intentional and to see them like, okay, let's, let's listen to what these guys have to say, what they do in their lives. They've got a band of brothers and just being able to kind of step out of their comfort zones a little bit and say, okay, we're going to have to lead as men and do something in our church and really not just bring the men together, but then eventually the families and the whole church and kind of just, you know, kind of evolve around all of that was, was great to listen to them talk about where they want to go.

Yeah. It was, it was really good. I was, uh, I was blown away just about, you know, how, um, into the message the guys were, not that people aren't, but we've never really tried to do, you know, what we did. And so the difference for listening out there is we do a boot camp. We do it in a, uh, you know, Christian, uh, camp out at Carolina Bible camp, great location, you know, very different type of atmosphere, a camp type atmosphere. And then you go into, in this case, a church setting, you know, and so when I met with the pastor, which I've known him for years, that it was really important to us that we had areas outside the guys could go get quiet time, you know, and God kind of laughed at that. And he did throw a hurricane, you know, coming right through there at that time. And so, uh, you know, we set up and everything was kind of pretty when we were setting up initially in the morning, you know, Friday morning, and then it just kept getting darker and darker. And, um, then the hurricane came in Friday night, just about the time we were starting, you know, and it lasted, uh, through most of the night. Uh, we had a very adventurous drive back to where we were staying. And it's all part of the stories we'll tell, you know, for years to come, but it was, it was great. And it really worked.

It worked out well in that environment. And so looking forward to doing more entrenchments coming up, we've got, uh, at least one more in the works right now that we're not quite ready to announce. That'll be coming out, you know, later this year that we'll announce it for sometime early next year and maybe a couple more.

And so that's just like a boot camp light, so to speak. You know, you get some of the talks, but not all of them and, uh, get a kind of a flavor for it, but definitely always enough to get breakthrough, you know. Yeah. As many men as came back and talked about, you know, what they got out of their covenant of silence times and things of that nature, talking with God. And that was, that was good to hear. And just, I love the fact that we got to spend time together again. Yeah. We got to go, like you said, we went north into Virginia then and kind of spent a couple nights up there as a band of brothers, as a team, so we could spend some time together and talk about God and other things and what's going on in our lives and fellowship, which was really good.

Make fun of each other. That's a big part of it. Four downed trees. Danny's over there saying adventure, Tyler. Oh yeah. It was, it was quite the drive back. You know, we, we left and it was pretty relatively calm at the church when we were going to head out, but we were driving right back into the hurricane where we were staying.

And so not great planning. We were kind of in this 40 minute triangle, you know, everything was 40 minutes from each other from, you know, where a lot of us live to the, to the place up there, excluding you, Andy. And then 40 minutes back over and then 40 minutes home on Sunday. So anyway, back to the topic that we continue to go through the masculine journey. We're almost near the end.

We got this week and next week. Right. So if you want to recap a little bit of what we've went through and then talk about tonight's topic or today's topic.

All right. Well, so we started with the boyhood stage, zero to 12. I'm not going to go into it real deep and in depth, but apple of the father's eye.

I'm a beloved son. Some of those things that you get at that stage. Not going to go into the wound wounding part, but cowboy ranger to 10 to mid 20s lessons you you learn at that time, adventure, nature, hard work, warrior, 16 to 30 and beyond knows he is made as a warrior in God's image.

That's the man learns there are battles to be fought that are bigger than him. Going into the lover that was last week, late teens to the rest of life discovers beauty discovers poetic is more than more true than analytical begins to know God as a lover. Before you get into today's want to recap just a little bit more. Those first two stages as we've talked about in previous weeks are vital. The things that you get there, as you talked about with the boyhood stage, the apple of my father's eye. Do I really know that he delights in me?

It's not about performance. It's about just me being me and that's okay. Not all of us got it.

Many of us didn't get it. That's vital to the rest of the stages. The next stage that you talked about with cowboy ranger is do I have what it takes? That's the answer you need to get there because you're going to need both of those throughout the rest of your life. Without those, those other stages has some hollow spots in it. You hit some things that you just don't really know you have what it takes or you don't know that you're delighted in and all these other things kind of come about.

As we've talked about over all the other shows and we'll talk about more today is that God comes back in and fathers us through himself or other people in those stages to go back and give us what we have missed. I'll offer it up again if anyone would like to email any of us. It's just our first name. Well, collectively, but you'd have rodney at masculinejourney.org. Andy, Danny, any of us, we can get you this list so you can kind of work on it yourself if you'd like to.

Or you can come to boot camp coming up November 17th through 20th. That's the plug. Andy, what's the topic for today? So this this week's stage is King.

What's going on? OK, 30 to 30s to 60s is the age range. You know, some I didn't realize and I probably should have, but this is the point of the masculine journey. It relies on learning from other stages can be trusted with power as important rules for his people. And when we say king to just to let put that out there, you know, we think of kings as rulers of nations or whatever kings or any place that you have a sphere of influence. And that can be in your home. That could be in your ministry. That could be in your job. And it all always gives I mean, there's a there's a power that goes with that or a title.

But really, it's about the influence that you have on that people and whether you're a good king or a bad king depends on the type of the way you influence others. Right. Yeah.

The. And bothered by God, John writes, you know, the whole point of our masculine journey is to become good kings. Right. Right. So that we can love others well. And so I'll let you go ahead and continue.

We'll come back. So how it is wounded. So never given territory of his own territory that was given as violated territory given is too big is made a king too soon. This seems to be the extremes of all those different areas has a domineering mother or father or through betrayal. So that's wounded through betrayal. Yeah. Yeah. You know, go through those one by one again. The wounding. Yeah.

Just say the first one. OK. Never given territory of his own. Yeah.

All right. So you just never had anywhere that you could call your own. You know, I think in father by God, John says, you know, give give him authority over the sock drawer. You know, at least they can arrange it any way they want. I didn't get that.

I was wounded severely. Drawers. Yeah. You know, you got to have rule over something. Right. And so the next one is what? OK. Sorry. Territory that was given as violated. Yeah.

I don't know about you, but how many times did a father figure your father say, hey, let's work on this project? And then all of a sudden they take it over. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Territory given is too big. Yeah. Given too much responsibility too soon. You know, the the man of the house kind of stuff is made a king too soon. Yeah.

As a domineering mother or father that even gets back into the project that you're talking about. And then betrayal. Yeah. Yeah.

That, you know, you and a lot of us have all that we've all of that. Yep. At some point, you know, some form of betrayal.

Yeah. We're going to not get your clip, Danny, in this first segment. I did my best to try to work it to where we didn't get you a clip in the first segment. We still have I think there's a very severe kingship wounding.

Well, I never gave him the territory to begin with. So, you know, we're waiting to be about. We'll see how much more we can do. In the meantime, go to masculine journey dot org to register for the upcoming boot camp. That's coming up November 17th through 20th. Again, masculine journey dot org. We'll talk to you after the break. For me, describing boot camp when I heard the stories from the stage that the other men had. And then during my prayer time, I'm getting a download from God on where my life is and how I have wounds. And I have a place in his story to know how I heard from God is one of those things. He really does communicate with us.

Register today at masculine journey dot org. What has boot camp meant to me? That's a really tough thing to articulate. It's so deep inside me. It's ingrained in every part of me understanding woundedness. That's where God really caught me at my first boot camp and also helping me step into healing and restoration from those wounds. It's kind of cool.

It's like an onion. He keeps peeling back layers and it's exciting and sometimes frustrating to go there with him. But I enjoy the process and the way God leads me to freedom.

Register today at masculine journey dot org. The mighty king's enemies beware. Well, I've never seen a king or beast with quite so little hair. I'm gonna be the main of it like no king was before. I'm brushing up, I'm looking down, I'm working on my roar. The swine of a rather uninspiring thing. Oh, I just can't wait to be king.

You've got a long way to go young master. So, Danny, that was your bump. And we know now why it was your bump, don't we?

Yeah, because you've never seen a creature with just so little hair. Exactly. Exactly. It's my favorite line of the song. It is. It's a good one.

So tell us a little bit about that bump why you chose it. Well, you know, we were talking about king and that song just, you know, I just can't wait to be king. And if you know the story of the Lion King and he goes through all kinds of wound ends and all kinds of struggles just to get to ultimately taking his place as king. And, you know, it just kind of speaks to my own life that, you know, as far as kingdom goes or growing up to be full manhood or whatever.

And all the battles and struggles and, you know, I kind of identify with Simba, hair and all. Exactly. He does grow some hair though. He does.

The thing that's really cool about this and we're going to get to your clip next. You have a young boyhood kid that's not really been wounded yet. And so he's got his life in front of him in this bump.

Right. And he's excited about the day that he can be king. He's got some stuff off because he's a boy and he's thinking of the boy's mentality, but he's excited about being king. And that doesn't end up being a story. Does it, Danny? Something changes. No, his uncle, his evil uncle Scar sets him up for failure, basically, and his dad gets killed in an accident.

And, you know, he takes all that blame and, of course, his uncle piles it on, helps him with the shame, you know, in case he didn't have enough. And, you know, he runs away and all that kind of stuff. And ultimately he comes back, but he still struggles with the fact that he's owning this wound that's not really his. And a sage comes into his life, Rafiki, and kind of mentors him back into who he really is.

So you want to go ahead and finish setting up the clip or are you good with that? The clip is from The Lion King and it is on the first show, not the first segment, but, you know. Yeah, you still made first show. First clip of the show. And he's come back and there's been some struggles and I think this is after he has confronted his uncle and almost lost his life again. And so he's really trying to figure out who he is. So he goes to Rafiki, who pours some wisdom into him in a loving, masculine journey way because he gives him a hard time, which is hilarious. And then he sees a vision of his father.

So you can play the clip. You know my father? Correction, I know your father. I hate to tell you this, but he died a long time ago. Nope. Wrong again.

He's alive. And I'll show him to you. You follow old Rafiki, he knows the way. Come on. Look down there. That's not my father. It's just my reflection. No. Look out.

You see? He lives in you. Father? Simba, you have forgotten me.

No. How could I? You have forgotten who you are and so forgotten me. Look inside yourself, Simba. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the circle of life.

How can I go back? I'm not who I used to be. Remember who you are.

You are my son and the one true king. Remember who you are. No.

Please. Don't leave me. Remember. Father. Remember.

Don't leave me. Remember. That cliff, his father is telling him to remember who he is. And what God has been doing in my life, especially through this series we've been doing, is peeling away the onion, as Shrek says, and we quote so much, about the stuff that doesn't belong to me.

And to say remember who you are and the heritage of godly men and godly women in my life and from a family standpoint, from a bloodline, and also from the spiritual mentors that he's put in my life, and to pour in and this is who you are, despite what the enemy has told you and the wounded, and they need to step into the roles that you are a husband, you are the man of the house, you are those things that you need to step into. And that's just what that spoke to me. That's what I think, from this aspect, a king means. You don't rule an iron fist, but you are the man of the house or the king of your influence. We were talking before the show, the enemy typically uses disqualification. He'll use disqualification to make you hard driven or to shy away. The result may look different, but it's usually somewhere around disqualification, isn't it?

Yes. And that's a lot of what you had faced at times. Yes, because when I came up to a point where I felt like God was leading me into being ordained, and the first thing that was thrown over was, well, you've been divorced. And I actually had a denomination that wouldn't touch me because of that.

But once again, the sages have stepped in and things have progressed. And God told me pretty plainly one day, you let me decide what you can and can't do. And I always forget that. Well, you know, God, I got this or I got that. And he'd reiterate, I told you I would pick what you can and cannot do.

Thank you, Danny. I want to bring that up because if the point of our journey is to become king, the enemy is going to throw everything he can to disqualify us, to take us out, to make us believe we can't be an effective king, right? We can probably be a bad king, but not being an effective good king. And so we're going to talk a little bit more about that as we go on. Andy, I want to go to your clip.

We've got time to get it in this segment. This is an example of someone trying to influence a good king. Yep.

Yeah. So it's from Braveheart, surprise, surprise. But we're progressing in William Wallace's life. And this is after the Battle of Sterling.

They won the unbelievable battle. And the nobles make him a knight. And then after that, the nobles seem to fight. They can't get their clans together to agree on it. They're competing.

They're trying to get the scraps from Longshanks' table. And they're kind of fighting him back. And he steps in and he kind of calls that out and says, look, you guys, your focus isn't on the right things.

They're not on the people and the people that you are leading. And then Robert the Bruce approaches and says, look, you know, you don't understand. And he's like, no, I do understand. And then he speaks into Robert Bruce's life and encourages him to take the right action and become a king. Okay.

We'll go ahead and play it. A knight, the Sir William Wallace. Sir William, in the name of God we declare and appoint a guardian and high protector of Scotland and thy captains as aid to come. Stand and be recognized. Sir William, where are you going? We have beaten the English, but they'll come back because you won't stand together. What will you do? I will invade England and defeat the English on their own ground.

Invade? That is impossible. Why?

Why is that impossible? You're so concerned with squabbling for the scraps from Longshanks table that you've missed your God-given right to something better. There's a difference between us. You think the people of this country exist to provide you with position. I think your position exists to provide those people with freedom and I go to make sure that they have it.

Wait. I respect what you said, but remember that these men have lands and castles. It's much to risk. And the common man that bleeds on the battlefield, does he risk less? No, but from top to bottom this country has got no sense of itself. It's nobles share allegiance with England. It's clans war with each other. If you make enemies on both sides of the border, you'll end up dead.

We all end up dead. It's just a question of how and why. I'm not a coward. I want what you want, but we need the nobles.

We need them. Now tell me, what does that mean to be noble? Your title gives you claim to the throne of our country.

But men don't follow titles. They follow courage. Now our people know you. Noble and common, they respect you. And if you would just lead them to freedom, they'd follow you. And so would I. Yeah, you know, really when you get into a kingship, what delineates a good king from a bad king is who are they doing this for? Who are they doing this for? Themselves or the people?

And that's what he was trying to call out. And then this whole thing about you get this title, this noble, and they get mixed up into that. Well, the nobles have so much to lose, but William Wallace keeps a focus on we all have something to lose here.

What makes them better? But I think, too, getting into the part where he talks about people follow courage, not titles. And a king will lead when it's difficult.

It'll take courage to do that. And that's what he's trying to inspire and speak into. It's almost like he's almost performing as a sage, too, sage. He's just trying to speak into his life and say, look, you have something that you carry that you can lead these people if you'll just do it. Exactly. When I look at this topic, as you were talking about there, and I brought up in this clip and it was in what we introed, that a king makes life better for the people that they're over.

Right. So what's that really look like at a work situation or at home? What should that look like? And that's a question, if you're a king out there, you need to ask yourself, is how is it for the people that's under my care?

Am I all about what's better for me or what's better for them? And so we'll talk about examples of that when we go into the after hours. But before we go there, any thoughts on that? A good king that you've been under or been around, Harold? To me, I think the important thing is that to be a king, in fact, means you're a leader. You're out front pulling. You're not behind pushing.

And that's what makes the difference between a good king and a bad king to me. Thank you, Harold. And we're going to talk a lot more about that in the after hours. So please go and download that and listen to it or stream it, however you want to do it, at any of the podcast locations.

We're going to talk more deeply into it, talk about our own stories. But in the meantime, go to masculinejourney.org to register for the upcoming boot camp. That's coming up November 17th through the 20th. It's going to be a great weekend out at Carolina Bible Camp in beautiful Mocksville, North Carolina. Go sign up. We'll see you there. And we'll talk to you next week.