Kristy 0:06

Welcome to Unshaken, the podcast where unwavering faith meets real life. I'm Kristy, and together with my husband Tony, we dive into authentic conversations, offering biblical insights and sharing stories that inspire resilience, especially for families navigating the unique challenges of disabilities. Join us each week as we explore faith, family, and the journeys that keep us grounded in Christ. Don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode. Let's stand firm together.

Tony 0:39

Hey Unshaken family, this is Tony. I am so excited to be here with you guys today. I have a great friend of mine, Gary Steffes, here who leads a wonderful ministry called Pure Encouragement. So thankful and so honored that Gary has taken time out of his busy schedule to be with us today. I think you guys are going to be so encouraged and so pumped. I wish that I could take Gary's energy, bottle it up, because man, this guy is a ball of energy. He is a ball of encouragement. I'm just so thankful to know him and to be able to call him a brother and be able to call him a friend. So, Gary, uh again, thank you so much for joining us. You know, why don't we jump right in and just tell us a little bit about your family and then uh just walk us through your faith journey. Walk us through how you came to know Christ as your Lord and Savior.

Gary 1:30

Tony, you're awesome, man. You inspire me, brother. I love what you're doing, and it is an absolute joy and honor to be able to join you uh here on your podcast, man. It's amazing to see what God is doing through you as you walk in faith and you inspire me, man. So thank you for having me. Uh but yeah, to ask about my family, we we got a growing crew uh here in Florida. I got three awesome little kids, amazing wife named Michelle, and we actually have one on the way. So we're uh we're about to about to step up another another level here with kids. And uh that's exciting. So on the personal front, that's great. Uh that's been a huge blessing ministry-wise, like you mentioned, yeah, it's uh it's a joy and an honor to get to be a part of Pure Encouragement. Uh, and this has been a huge faith journey for me. Just learning to trust God into the unknown when you feel massively inadequate, when you don't know really where this is gonna go or what what God is gonna do with this, but yet you feel the call of God in your life. How do you step in faith? How do you walk in faith and stay on the wall when you don't feel like you have what it takes? Man, I'm learning to be able to live that out. Uh, and I know you can relate on some things in your own journey with things you've gone through. So, yeah, it's a joy, it's an honor. Uh, in regards to how I came to Christ, for me, I grew up in Michigan. I didn't have a relationship with God at all, really growing up, a little bit in the Catholic Church. I'd go on Christmas and on Easter. And really, my life was defined by hockey. And so I started playing hockey when I was super duper young. And I moved away from home when I was 16. I played up in Canada, eventually went to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Uh, went all around the country playing in multiple different locations. And on the outside, you would look at my life and you would think that I had all of this stuff together. Outwardly, everything looked amazing. I was playing on U.S. national teams. I was a full scholarship athlete to a top 10 team in the country in the NCAA. I was winning championships at every level that I played at, which is a gift from God, truly. And uh, so I'm on the outside looking amazing, but inwardly, I was an absolute disaster. I was struggling with the fear of failure to the point of having minor panic attacks on the ice. I would struggle before games just with great anxiety of just how the game would go. And then after the game, the anxiety would continue because what does this mean for my future? I struggled with comparing myself to others. I battled with jealousy. I battled with this these emotions that I didn't know how to control after a game and like dealing with the stress of life and all this. Like I was just a mess internally. Mindset-wise, I was a mess. And so I found myself making a lot of bad decisions, coping with these different stresses in some really unhealthy ways. And mind you, I didn't have a relationship with God at all in my life. So my life was defined by this sport. I rode the roller coaster of performance and chasing what people thought about me and validating my significance in the world. And so if I played good, I was happy. If I didn't, I was miserable. And my my worth and value in my eyes went up and down with how I was playing. And so I was riding this roller coaster. I didn't have a walk with God. And I came to a hopeless moment, honestly, with this with this battle of inner struggle. I'm driving to Ohio State University to go play against the team there. And on this bus trip, I have this hopeless thought like, this is just gonna be my life. Like I'm I'm just an anxious, insecure, fearful guy, and this is gonna be my life. And it was like this really discouraging, hopeless thought. And thankfully, that was not the end of the story because it was right after this that I end up getting asked to come to a Christian ministry on our campus at Miami University, which I had turned down actually a few times, kind of leading up to this moment. I finally say yes. I go to Athletes in Action on our campus, and a guy named Jamie Borchuk is talking about Ephesians 2, 8 and 9. For by grace you've been saved through faith. And this is not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, uh, not a result of works, so that no man should boast. He's talking about it, and for the first time in my life, it starts to make sense that Jesus literally, the Son of God, took on flesh. He dwelt among us, he lived a perfect and a sinless life, and then he dies on this cross. And the reason that he died was in my place for my sin. And as he died and his blood was shed, that blood was literally being handed up to the Father as a payment for the sin of the entire world. And if I would put my faith in Jesus, I would be forgiven, I would be washed clean. And then this was the thing that I never understood was relationship. I would be brought into an intimate relationship with Jesus and I would get to have eternal life with him. And for the first time, it made sense. And my sins are going across my eyes, you know, as I'm listening to this guy talk. And it just hits me. I'm like, I I believe in Jesus, and I want that more than anything. I was the guy that when he said, Does anybody want to give their life to Christ? I was two hands in the air. I wanted so badly to give my life to Christ in that moment. And uh and that was my starting spot, Tony. And for the first time, uh, I had a joy come over me, unlike anything I'd ever felt in my life. I had a peace that I began to experience that I never knew existed. And this transition happens in my life. And the the thing that I thought was impossible, which was confidence, and dealing with all of this internal pain and turmoil that I was going through in my life, God literally began to do a miracle in me to where those things started to find victory in my life. I started to find victory and I started to actually experience confidence. And when I became a pro-athlete for about 10 years, confidence grew to such a point where it became one of the greatest strengths of my game. So I go from confidence, the greatest struggle of my life, to confidence, one of the greatest strengths of my game. And then I actually get opportunities to talk to other athletes about confidence. And then I get to write a book on confidence to Christian athletes. And little by little by little, I find myself now in ministry where literally my job is to travel the nation, to encourage people and strengthen people in confidence and living the victorious life. God has done a radical miracle in my life, Tony, from the greatest struggle to the greatest ministry. This is what I get the privilege to do. And so I don't feel qualified. I am absolutely a guy that's just in pursuit of Jesus, that is trying to grow every day. And I am honored, yeah, to be doing what we're doing. But that is how I've gotten to where I am today, and that's how God grabbed my life.

Tony 8:28

It gives me goosebumps every time I hear your story, dude, because like it is just incredible to see how God just literally just grabbed you and shook you to a point of saying, I'm here and I did this for you. You in in that place and jumping up like I know you would, because I know how energetic you are. I can just see you jumping up and saying, I need Jesus. I want to go back to your hockey career, those moments when you were first a Christian, because you're still in the locker room, so you're still in that culture, you're still in that environment. How did that kind of evolve and how did that change as you made your way through that, you know, before Pure Encouragement and and all this stuff?

Gary 9:21

Yeah, so when I came to Christ, there was no question, there was an old life, and immediately there was a transition into a new life. And certain people uh responded differently, I think, in my life in that transition, including my family. My family, they thought I went off the deep end and got involved in a cult. Uh, and they actually started coming to church with me to make sure I didn't go crazy. Uh, and thankfully, you know, it's just amazing what God can do to where He He really has begun to work so much in my own family's life. Uh, but that transition on the home front, also that transition from my teammates, like they were like, what in the world happened to this guy? He goes from chugging rum and coke in the bar and being a guy that's involved in everything, to now all of a sudden he's going to church on Sundays. He's trying to live a radically different life. He's not swearing, he's talking about Jesus, and he is not doing what he used to do. Like, what the heck happened to this guy? So, this whole transition, different people responded, I think, in different ways. And you know, and for me, I'm learning you're continuously taking steps of faith. Do I really believe what I believe? Because you're you're losing certain things while at the same time you're gaining new things. And so, as I'm gaining new friends that are going in a new direction, I'm also losing some of these old, these old patterns and habits and relationships and friends and and old ways of doing things. And and that was like a transition period, I think, in my life, that was really a lot. It takes a lot of faith to walk that. It really starts to put the rubber to the road as to you, do you really believe what you believe? That this walk with Jesus is not just an intellectual ascent to a theory, it's actually a deep-seated belief in a way of life that I'm now going on a new path in life. I'm coming off the broad road, I'm going on to the new road, and there's different people walking those paths. It takes a lot of faith at different moments. And like you talk about a lot in your podcast, which is resilience and being unshaken, unshaken in faith, unshaken in uh standing on the promises of God, the belief that Jesus really is who he says he is, that he is the one that can do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine. That faith step every day to lean into Jesus, to stand on the promises of God, that muscle was really beginning to get built in me in that transition and still is to this day. It's just deeper water, I think, as you walk with God, you know, more in your life.

Tony 11:56

Great segue to my next question, which is our tagline is faith, family, and resilience. These words are foundational for myself, my family, and everything that we do here with Unshaken. And so, what does that resilience look like in your walk? And how has that kind of changed as you've grown in the walk? Because that resilience probably wasn't there in the very beginning. It's a muscle you had to develop. How has that developed from the time that you said yes to Jesus to today? What does that look like in your life?

Gary 12:32

Yeah, it's a great question. So one of the, I'll just tell you some stories, I think, because it really was this muscle, you can describe it, like it gets built. As you, as you walk little by little, you know, there's different moments and different faith steps that can happen. And so I I've had a few of those, I think, that have been really pivotal in my life. One of them, you know, for me, I remember walking through my college campus, and I really knew nothing about the Bible at this time. I knew nothing really about all these different just theological terms, you know, justification, sanctification, things that people can talk about with heaven and hell and angels and demons. And like I didn't know much really at all. I'd heard about things, but I was really a new guy. Like I thought I'd turn to page 76 of the Bible and find the hockey player section. Like I didn't know much anything. And so I'm starting really green, really new, and I'm just fighting to learn little by little. And so I'm walking through my college campus, and this pastor's on this uh iPod back in the day, and I'm listening, and he says something out of 2 Timothy, where it says that anyone who wishes to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. And I stopped dead in my tracks. And I'm like looking at the cafeteria, I'm like, like, no, everybody's walking around me, and I'm like in my own little world on my iPod. And I rewind that thing and I go, What did he just say? And and I listen to it again. And he says, Anyone who wishes to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. And I have this moment with God, literally on the sidewalk of my campus, going, God, I don't want that. And yet I have this moment where I'm going, Jesus, I believe you're real. I don't want what I'm hearing. What do I do? And and I'm just, it's like it probably took a couple of minutes, but it felt like an hour for me standing on the sidewalk. But it was a moment where I had to make a call in my heart. And I think your question about resilience, uh, it can really get into that heart level decision, that pre-decision that no matter what comes my way, I'm I'm gonna stand. I'm I'm in. And so this was one of my first moments where I really make this heart level decision. And in that moment, I'm like, okay, Lord, I don't want this. I don't want the persecution piece. But Jesus, I believe you're real. And I believe you died on a cross or rose from the grave, and I believe you saved my life and you love me. And so I'm gonna entrust myself to you, that you're gonna carry me through this. Whatever comes, I'm in. And I took the step forward, and really that physical step forward to start walking back to my dorm was a big step forward in my heart spiritually to say, Lord, I'm in. And so that pre-decision, I guess you could say, or uh, as we would read in Daniel chapter one, verse eight, it says that Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the king's food when he went to Babylon. There was a resolve in his heart. There was a pre-decision where he stepped forward without even knowing what may or may not come his way. And it was a resolve and a decision of the heart that was made before any circumstance came. That for me, I think Tony was a really big part of resilience in growing in my life in my walk with Jesus. Because I've had a couple of these moments in my life, but that pre-decision that Lord, I'm in, even if, or Lord, I'm in even when I don't know what's coming or how I'm gonna get through it. Like, Lord, I'm in. It's like that that pre-decision of faith, that resolve of the heart that I think has set me up to be able to navigate different moments, like being on a hockey team, where the only Christian, or going into a situation where you're kind of pushed out, you're not included because you're a Christian, or finding yourself in a moment where all your teammates are doing something that's kind of ungodly and you're not gonna do it with them, and you're the only guy that says, No, I'm out, and you feel really weird and awkward. Or even the moments where you're walking in steps of faith to tithe, or or to walk in steps of faith to quit a job, to do what God is telling you to do, which is what we ended up doing with his ministry, whatever it might be, the small or big decisions, that resolve of the heart, I think has been huge for me with resilience.

Tony 17:00

I've seen you live this out. I know that you really do live out that pre-decision, like you said, that and I think that's something that many of us kind of forget. And if we don't have that pre-decision, then it's easy to get swayed when something presents itself. Now, knowing you the way that I know you, there's another verse that you hang on to, and I want to talk about it. John 15, 4 abiding in Christ. So talk about that verse. I want you to talk about what it means to you, and how does that verse become so foundational for you?

Gary 17:41

John 15 has changed my life, hands down. So when I came to Christ, we're going through my story a bit, I wanted to be an Olympic athlete. Uh, when I came to Christ, I I wanted to be an Olympic Christian. And my intensity and discipline and effort that was in the direction of fighting to be an Olympic athlete immediately goes into my walk with God. What I began to learn over time is that the Christian life is really, really hard to live in your own power, in your own strength, your own will. There's things just that stretch me that I can't do in my own strength, like loving your enemies, praying for those who persecute you, trusting God in moments that are just way out of your control, uh, having faith in moments that seem impossible. Like these are these are things that are really, really hard to do in your own power. And so I would find myself as this really well-meaning Christian, like I loved God and I do, but I found myself in these days where I'm trying to muscle and willpower fruit in my life. I'm trying to be peaceful and joyful in moments that are challenging and I'm failing at it. I'm trying to be self-controlled and yet I'm stumbling. I'm trying to be loving to things that are hard to be loving, people that are hard to be loving to. And I'm I'm finding myself struggling in certain moments. And as I'm battling these internal things, I find myself in this cycle with God to where I'm like, Lord, forgive me, please, again for this entitlement that I'm feeling. Forgive me, Lord. I don't want to be harboring this anger in this moment and I'm battling it again. Lord, the identity struggle yet again. Like I'm just getting tired of these same fights over and over again. And I just found myself getting pretty exhausted as I'm I'm learning, you know, to live this life with Christ. This verse of John 15 comes into my life through a series of different events, and they rock me with this one-degree shift in the pursuit of Jesus. And so that verse in John 15, 4, I love it with all my heart. It says, Abide in me and I in you. It's Jesus speaking the night before he goes to the cross. Abide in me and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. And what I begin to learn through this verse and a bunch of but brothers in my life, they start to shift my perspective from trying to be this branch, like I'm the branch, try, and I was trying to muscle fruit in my life. And what they showed me is that the point of this passage that Jesus is saying is that you're a branch, you're not the power source. The vine is the power source. And so, as a branch trying to muscle fruit, it's never gonna succeed. The branch's job is to get connected to the vine. And if you will abide in me, Jesus says, in the vine, in me, the power source, the vine will produce supernatural fruit through you, the branch. And so this shift happens in me to where instead of trying harder to produce fruit, I all of a sudden shift to I'm fighting harder to get intimately connected to my savior. And if I can get intimately connected to him, removing the hindrances that keep me at a distance, he promises to produce a supernatural fruit through my life. That one degree shift has changed my life, Tony, radically. To where now what used to feel like impossible in my own might, I'm actually starting to experience a peace and a joy and a strength. And not that I'm perfect, but like as I abide in him, he's producing these things in it through my life. And so God is so good. And I'm learning, Tony.

Tony 21:50

This is awesome. As a follow up to that, tell me how this plays out within your family as a father and as a husband, as the leader of your household.

Gary 22:00

That's so good. So this term go vertical has has become a focus point for me in my house. Okay. And so let's apply it to a couple different scenarios, even like this last week or two. There are moments where my wife and I disagree. And in those moments, when we disagree and the stress arises, and I start to feel all that internal emotion about this discussion, in that moment, I have a choice. Either I am going to be emotion-led or I'm going to fight to be spirit-led. I'm either going to go vertical and bring my frustration and anxiety and angst and my thoughts to God, even in the moment. I feel the stuff boiling and I don't want to say. And in that moment, if I will somehow pause in the moment and just go vertical and just say, Lord, I'm really, really angry at that. Or Lord, I'm really, really confused by that. Or Lord, I'm really wanting this to go this way. And it's not. Like that one vertical statement can sometimes calm me down to such an extent to where I will actually respond outwardly in a different way. Right. And so that's just in those disagreement moments. Other times with my wife, we're we might disagree on where God is calling us to move on something. And it takes humility to surrender and fight for unity with my wife. I do not want to move forward without being unified with her. It says in Joshua that as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. It doesn't say that I will serve the Lord and my wife will tag along. It's we will serve the Lord. And so fighting for that unity, and sometimes there's like there's some friction to be able to be at that unity. But I'm learning in these moments of friction that my way of approaching these moments is I have to go vertical. I need to be constant vertical pursuits, whether it's in my own quiet times in the morning, even in the moments of discussion too, it's this vertical thing. And the same thing applies to my kids. So I'm sitting at the table recently with my kids, and uh they're just kind of going bonkers. It's it's almost dinner time, they're tired and hungry, and it's just kind of chaos. And I am finding the emotion rising in me, you know, as my kids are making a mess and they're not listening, and there's just stuff that's going on. I'm finding my anger boiling to where I'm I'm like wanting to snap. And in this moment, I'll never forget. I just sat there recently and I just paused. I I literally look up to the Lord, like this look up to the ceiling, and I'm like, God, I want to snap right now. I'm so frustrated. And here's what I'm thinking, and here's what I'm mad about. And I'm Lord, please forgive me my anger, but I'm just being honest with you. This is where I'm at. And as I go vertical and start talking with God in that moment, it could have been 15 to 20 seconds of me talking with Jesus. I felt a total shift in my inner man to where I began to calmly deal with my kids rather than ramping up the emotional engine of my house by me losing it on them and then them getting even more riled up. I found myself coming in calmly and dealing with the situation in a calmer manner. And I think it became way more effective. And obviously, I was way more led by the spirit and led by love in that moment than I was by emotion. And so I'm learning, Tony, like practically speaking, abiding in Christ. It's not just a quiet time in the morning where I'm just with God for 40 minutes and then I go on my day without him. It's a constant state of remaining in dwelling with being intimately in his presence. And the one statement that helps me live this out is go vertical all day long. Go vertical, go vertical. So that again, back to your resilience question earlier, that helps me with resilience very, very much so as well.

Tony 25:57

How important is it for you to have that band of brothers around you and help you stay in that vertical, you know, mindset?

Gary 26:07

I would not be where I am today if it wasn't for the brothers that have surrounded me, no question. And I think with our Ministry of Pure Encouragement, we talk a lot about this uh dealing with this inner world of tension and struggle and how do we navigate those emotions? And one of those ways that we deal with some of that stuff is getting that toxicity out. We can get it out into someone in our life who's a really trusted friend, a trusted uh brother in Christ or sister in Christ that that that you can you can share this with, and then they take that and they deaden it in the ground. There's not a fire in your life as a result of what you're feeling. You can totally blow up on them and they take that emotional lightning bolt and they just deaden it in the ground. Uh, and so I really do value the people in my life. No question. I've heard some mentors say to me that, Gary, you're gonna become the sum of the six people you spend the most amount of time with. And so surround yourself wisely with the right people and being intentional as to who those people will be, uh that's that's a very intentional effort on my part. It's it's not just gonna happen because I hoped it happens. I got to go find those guys and I got to go invest in that. And so finding those brothers, I have a few of them, and I would stand in a foxhole any day with those guys. They they are awesome, and they're my lightning rods. And so when that stuff boils, or when I totally blow it and fail, and I need someone to be able to come to the light with and confess, or maybe I got a moment where I'm feeling stretched and I don't know what to do. These are the guys I go to. And as I openly and vulnerably share these things and I get that emotional uh angst out of me, or whatever that thing might be going on, uh, they take it, they deaden it, and then they stand with me and they help guide me. Uh, in Proverbs, it says there's wisdom in the abundance of counselors. Wouldn't be where I am today without those guys.

Tony 28:02

I know how important it is to also have that group, and and I count you as part of my group. I don't know if you know that or not, but you've been such a wonderful brother to me. You're always an encouragement to me. I always look forward to getting a text message from you and and uh because you are always encouraging. And so tell us all about pure encouragement. Tell us how it started. Go to the genesis and let's just walk through this incredible ministry that you are leading out so faithfully.

Gary 28:33

Yeah, I'll tell my faith journey here with this, but uh to circle back to what you just said, Tony, you're an inspiration to me too, man. Big time. And your heart for Jesus is absolutely contagious. And I can almost guarantee people that listen to this podcast would say the same thing. You are an inspiring brother. And I consider you in my life one of those guys that spurs me on. So thank you. Thank you for what you do, and thank you for how awesome you are being one of those brothers that stands with many of us. Yeah, as those guys that are that are strengthening others to be able to live this life for Jesus. And so be encouraged. I consider you a dear friend too, and uh, and I really, really admire all that you're leading and all that you're doing. So, to my pure encouragement story, like and how this happened, I was working for this awesome ministry out west called Influencers Global, and we were talking all about abiding in Jesus. There's a revival happening in Central California. It was so much fun. I loved what I was doing, I had zero desire to want to leave that. And it was in this time we take 21 men to a prayer retreat in Tulsa, Oklahoma. And while we're there, I'm a staff guy that's going there to love on people. And yet I'm the one that ends up getting rocked. And so I find myself in the last session up front, the guy that was speaking is praying over me. And as he puts his hand on my chest to pray over me, like I just feel this emotion boiling, like bubbling, and it just starts coming. And eventually it just comes to the point where I'm in tears. And I kind of cried. I out cried the band, Tony. I was crying so much that I literally almost couldn't stop. I just I had guys sitting around me. It was like just this amazing moment I had with God. And in this time, I felt like the Lord was speaking to me a couple things. And when I say speaking, I didn't hear like this crazy audible voice. It was like this prompting in my soul that that was so clear, it was so powerful and strong, so full of love. It wasn't condemning or fearful. It was it was the Lord prompting this on my heart. And I'm wrestling in my mind, going, like, is this you, Lord? Is this me? Is this my thoughts? Like, what is that? And because I'm not a guy that's just out there chasing a sensational moment. I wasn't trying to go fabricate an experience with God so I could go back and just tell everybody that God did this awesome thing in my life. I really wasn't pursuing that, but I couldn't deny what was happening with me in this moment. And I'm feeling like the Lord is speaking to my heart, and so I'm filled with this incredible excitement because I'm like, I think God is speaking to my soul. And at the same time, I'm filled with this incredible fear where I'm going, Oh my, these guys are gonna kill me because of what I feel like God is saying to me. So there were six things that I felt like God said to me in that moment. Uh, the first, I had this picture of Abraham coming to my mind, and it was the words into the unknown. Second, it was the words in ministry. Third, it was take her home. And I immediately began to think that was my wife, taking her home near the extended family. The fourth was a verse out of Jeremiah chapter one where it says, I've called you to be a prophet to the nations. Everywhere I send you, you shall go. Everything I command you, you shall speak. The fifth was, I want you to fast for seven days. And the sixth was these words, launching pad. Okay, and so these are the six things. I'm in my mind wrestling about it. Can't deny what I'm feeling in this moment. I'm filled with excitement and I'm filled with terror, all in the same moment. My board chair is sitting in front of me, going, Gary, what's going on? And I'm going, Dan, you don't want to know what I think is going on. Uh, you know, and so I it was this wild moment for me. I go home starting the next day. I fasted for seven days straight. I've never done that before in my life. And I was from that moment forward just doing everything that I could biblically to make sure I didn't go crazy and off the deep end. I was meeting with all these counselors, uh, missionaries, pastors, brothers in Christ that were super mature. I felt in their faith, going, This is what happened. Am I crazy? Help me understand this. I was doing worship nights, I was doing freedom in Christ to make sure I didn't have any toxicity in my soul, like leading me to like fear or pride or whatever. Because this was a huge decision in my life. I felt like God was telling me to potentially quit the job and to go into the unknown in ministry. And I'm going, I don't want to leave. My wife is pregnant with the second baby. I have no idea how we're going to afford this. Zero idea. Coming out of California that time, uh, U-Hauls were crazy expensive because it was the middle of COVID and some of the stuff going on. And so I'm wrestling, going, like, Lord, are you legitimately telling me to do what I think you're telling me to do? So for about 30 or 40 days, I am in full wrestle mode. And by the end of this, I got to make a call. And I finally go to my wife, who was three months pregnant at the time, and I'm like, honey, I think that God is telling us to quit the job, to go into the unknown. We're going to be in ministry. Uh, I don't know if it's going to be joining a church, planting a church, gonna be joining a ministry, planting a ministry. Uh, we're gonna go home to the extended family, which is get which would be here in Florida, and then we're gonna it's gonna be something national, honey. I don't know what it's gonna be. I think it's gonna be something national. I've fasted for seven days. I have no idea what these words launching pad mean. I have no idea how we're gonna pay for all this. Are you in? And my wife is so full of faith and awesome. She prays about it a bit, and she comes back and she goes, Gary, I trust your relationship with Jesus. Let's go. And so that was the Genesis. That was the starting spot. And so we launch out shortly after this. Uh, I quit the job. Some people have some radical different opinions about all that, and but they were super supportive for the most part. And God just miraculously starts providing every single problem that we had of impossibility to this day, to where I am today, has been met. And it's crazy how God has miraculously provided from getting us across the country to providing places to be able to stay, to getting us into a house when we didn't have a W-2 and a long enough status to be able to get a loan from a bank, to navigating all the different challenges from having babies and and all, I mean, money stuff. Like, God is awesome, Tony, as to what he's done. And without going into all those stories, like it's been just this amazing testimony of God's incredible grace. It's been my journey of surrender and trust. And God is leading this. And if God isn't in this, I don't want to be a part of it. I long to do that which he is in the center of. And so where he's landed us, and it's taken some time to kind of to really nail down the lane that we're in. But our mission as an organization, my lane, so to speak, in the church, is to strengthen and encourage people to live a victorious life in Christ. So we help people overcome things like the fear of failure, the fear of what people think, performance anxiety, insecurity, comparison traps, identity issues. Uh, we are strengthening the hands of the church because when the church is strong, the gospel is going to go forth in power. And so we're strengthening people in identity in Christ. We're strengthening people to live inside out so they can win from all that internal junk inside and get that toxicity out so they can live for Jesus in victory. Uh, we have some different resources that we use to do this, but the whole mission of this organization is to strengthen and to encourage people. And I am absolutely honored to be a part of it.

Tony 36:21

Such incredible work. Give me the highlights of like what you're doing right now and like where you see God leading you going forward in the next three, six, twelve months as you continue to lead out this ministry.

Gary 36:35

Yeah, so our ministry is expanding rapidly, uh, which has been really fun. So I uh we've just hired a couple of staff. We're expanding across the nation more and more. Uh, we just had about 70 plus guys uh all sign up for our men's journey community, which you're a part of, Tony, which is great. And so it's a national uh movement of men that are fighting to get intimately connected to Jesus. That that verse in John 15.4 to abide in Christ. And so we are in fierce pursuit of intimacy with Jesus. And if there's any listeners that you have that want to be a part of that, I would love to have people be a part. We have we have virtual groups, so anybody can join from anywhere, but but that stuff is going on. Uh, we have a movement on identity in Christ. So helping people stand in the truth of who God declares them to be. And so we have a 30-day identity challenge that's been really fruitful. We have uh a 42-day, six-week confidence journal that different people are doing across the nation. That's been really, really great too. Some of these are getting translated into Spanish. Uh, they're on the verge of potentially getting translated into some other languages as well. So that's that's a fun expansion piece. Uh, but these are really just resources available to strengthen and encourage people to live this victorious life. Uh, and so we work with sports teams as well. So I do a handful with different universities and different teams, coaches, uh, we work with ministry leaders. Basically, anywhere we get invited, we go. And I felt like a directive that I've gotten from God, Tony, is that my job is not to go sell myself anywhere. So I'm not knocking on anybody's door. I'm not trying to sell myself anywhere. I go where I'm invited. And so if we get invited to speak at a certain church, we go. If we get invited to help do a seminar, because we have a we have a seminar that's a one-day or a two or two-day seminar that's been really fruitful, we go. We just did one in in Bakersfield, California, and that was really, really fun with it with a handful of guys, 161 guys or something. That was really great. So it's uh it's been a really fun to be able to do these things, but we go where we're invited. We have tools to strengthen and encourage people. And I love just getting to run alongside guys like you, Tony. We're chasing Jesus, man. He's got more for us, and I can't wait to see what he's gonna do.

Tony 38:52

We're definitely gonna put links to your website and to resources um in the description of the episode and and on our podcast website as well. Last question for you, Gary, before I let you go. This is something that is foundational for us here with the Unshaken Family. How foundational and how important prayer is in your life and your family and how you lead, and even how you lead your organization.

Gary 39:20

It's huge. Uh, and I appreciate you bringing that up. I immediately think about Luke chapter 10, verse 2, where Jesus says, The harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few. He says, Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labors into his harvest. Isn't it interesting that he doesn't say, therefore, strategize more? He doesn't say, therefore, study harder. He doesn't say, therefore, uh, go and do the next thing. You know, he doesn't he doesn't point us in that direction. He says, Therefore, pray earnestly. There is a harvest in front of you, therefore, pray earnestly. And I'm learning to really live this out practically that from the moment I wake up in the morning, it's utter dependence and it's sending the spirit of God forth. Like it says in Zechariah chapter four, verse six, that it is not by power nor by might, but by my spirit, declares the Lord of hosts. And so if we're in the fight for souls and the fight to see people live victoriously, to make eternal impact, this is not something that can happen in our own willpower and our own strength. We have to send the Spirit of God forth. And at the same time, it's also a fight because being a prayer warrior requires having like this muscle built in your life, a muscle of faith uh that you're not just praying to a wall, that it's actually worth your time, but also like this muscle to pray, because that can be hard to do. But little by little, you build that muscle and you start interceding for people in your life. You start interceding for different things in front of you, and it becomes this the non-negotiable weapon that you wield in everything you do uh in your life. And so I have a prayer team with our ministry. They're the unsung heroes, they're the they're absolutely SEAL team six of Pure Encouragement, which is this this prayer team. They're amazing. I I wouldn't be where I am today without this group of warriors. And so we have them. I I currently have a handful of different people that pray for me specifically. I get to pray for them, which is wonderful. Tony, I may rein you in to be one of my guys someday on that, uh, which would be great. But I got I got that effort. We do a prayer day nationally, which last year we had uh every single state in the nation was covered with at least one person. We had eight out of the 13 provinces in Canada all on the same day, praying together. So we're trying to do it as a ministry, we're fighting to do it individually. Uh, it's an utter belief that apart from calling on the name of Jesus, we will accomplish nothing. And yet there is a fight daily for it because it requires faith. It requires humbling myself with this super long list of to-do items. Uh it's it's something that we have to fight for. Satan fights against that because I do believe that prayer is powerful and effective. Uh, and so I'm learning to live it out. I know you're a prayer warrior too. Uh, what encouragement do you have for me about how I can be stronger in this area?

Tony 42:32

It's something that, and I've learned it more from my wife. And so I have to give her a lot of credit because she is such a prayer warrior, and uh she keeps me accountable for when we're when we're not praying as much as we should, she's the one that calls me out and says, Hey, we need to get back to praying more. And and she's right. Uh every time that she's called me out on it, she's right. And so I I I would say just continually pray with your spouse. And I know as a guy, it may feel awkward in the beginning, but if you are consistent with it and you continually sit and prioritize praying with your spouse, I cannot tell you how much that has improved and strengthened my marriage and the things that we have seen God do, but it's because we were intentional about praying with each other. Being that vulnerable, I think it does something to your relationship, but it also does something to your prayer life. You have to get real with it because if not, you can tell when somebody's just going through the motion. That's not what you want to do with your spouse. Any final words for our unshaken family?

Gary 43:48

Yeah, I would say all the way back to John 15:4. To live a victorious life, we cannot do it apart from intimacy with Jesus, and he's the answer to everything. Jesus is the answer to every single problem and struggle, every single area of discouragement, the area of need for hope, every area where we need resilience, Jesus is the one. He's the one who gives wisdom, he's the one who gives power and might. He is the answer to literally everything. And if if somebody's maybe fighting relentlessly to live this Christian life in their own power, that one degree shift like I've experienced, where it's it's not about trying harder as a Christian, but getting intimately connected to Jesus. If we can win with intimacy with Jesus, he will shoot us out of a cannon with strength. And then we get to live this adventure with the Lord and He will empower us no matter what comes. So that would be probably where I'm at and what I want to live out too in my own life. So not just the your listening community, not just you and I, but uh, but literally me. I long to be intimately connected to Jesus and I want that encouragement in my own life.

Tony 44:52

I couldn't have said it any better. Gary, would you just do us the honor of just praying us out?

Gary 44:58

Lord, I thank you so much, Father, for this incredible community, this unshaken community, Lord. May that be true of every person that hears this podcast, that we would be unshaken, unshaken in faith, unshaken in the face of trial and circumstance, unshaken and unwavering, Lord, in every single way. May we be steadfast, may we be resilient. I ask you, Lord, blessings on every listener and especially upon Tony, uh, on his whole entire family, on this entire movement that he is building. God, will you bless every bit of it? And Father, we say thank you because you deserve all the glory in Jesus' name. Amen.

Tony 45:37

Amen. Thank you so much, brother Unshaken Family. I hope you guys have enjoyed this. Hope you guys have been encouraged by this. Love you guys so much. Hope you guys have a great day and a great rest of your week. And we'll see you next time.