Honor Thy Temple

A childhood marked by alcoholism, abuse, and chaos. A young man desperately searching for anything that would make him feel whole. Then at age 22, everything changed when a stranger handed him a book at Barnes & Noble that would redirect his entire life toward Christ.

This is Chris Bryant's story.

Chris grew up in Mississippi in what he describes as a war zone. Both parents were alcoholics. The home was abusive. He became a troubled kid acting out, desperately crying for someone to love him. His grandfather was his lifeline, the one person who showed him unconditional love and modeled Christ without saying much at all.

By his teenage years, Chris was deep into drugs, alcohol, and chasing girls, convinced that something external would finally fix what was broken inside. Then came that divine appointment at a bookstore when a complete stranger approached him and said, "Read this," handing him Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.

That book became the philosophical bridge Chris needed. Within months, he gave his life to Christ. Within a year, he was teaching Sunday school. Within two years, he was enrolled in seminary and planting a church. The transformation was radical and immediate.

But the story doesn't end there.

Fast forward to age 35. Chris was married to his wife Summer for years, had beautiful kids, money in the bank, and was serving in ministry. On the outside, everything looked perfect. But on the inside, he was crumbling.

Old wounds from childhood started surfacing. Anxiety began building like a volcano. When authority figures in his life began relating to him from a place of power rather than partnership, it triggered every survival mechanism he'd developed as a child. His body braced for impact. The pain was coming. The storm was coming.

By age 40, Chris broke.

One morning, Summer found him on the couch at 6 a.m., wailing and sobbing. Through tears, Chris said the words that would change everything: "I need help. I'm not okay. I need you to get the guns out of the house."

What followed was a journey into the deepest parts of his soul. A three day intensive with a Christian counselor. Hours spent in silence and solitude by the Finley River. Learning to sit still with God for the first time in his life. Wrestling with trauma, fear, and the broken blueprints of love he'd carried since childhood.

His counselor told him something that became a lifeline: "Chris, you're not broken. You're just running the software you ran as a seven year old. It worked then. It doesn't work now."

Through tears and trembling, Chris learned to practice silence and solitude. He would sit by the river for 20 to 30 minutes at a time, anchoring his wandering mind with simple phrases like "safe with you" and "here with you." It was during one of those sacred moments that he heard God speak for the first time: "You are my beloved son."

The words he'd been waiting for his entire life.

Today, Chris is a business and leadership coach, a broker, a husband of 24 years, and a father. He still has hard days. Anxiety still creeps in. But he's learned to make friends with the enemies within. He's learned that repairing trust is the journey, and that how you relate to God is how you relate to everyone.

His message to anyone struggling is simple but profound: Be kind to yourself. Stop beating yourself up. The Father is waiting to be gracious to you. He's lifting Himself high in your world to show you mercy. Come home so He can be good to you. Trade in the scraps of the world for the feast of God's goodness.

You're not too far gone. You're not crazy. You just make sense.

00:00:00 Welcome to Honor Thy Temple: Introduction
00:00:53 Child of God: Chris Bryant's Identity
00:04:03 A Childhood in Chaos: Growing Up in Mississippi
00:05:30 The Turning Point: Mere Christianity and Salvation
00:19:26 The Breaking Point: When Everything Collapsed
00:22:00 Asking for Help: The Moment of Surrender
00:27:25 You're Not Broken: The Three Day Intensive
00:34:52 Silence and Solitude: Learning to Sit with God
00:48:28 The Physical Journey: From Extremes to Balance
00:53:31 Granddaddy: The Hero Who Loved Unconditionally
00:59:14 Daily Rhythms: Walking with God Today
01:06:03 Making Time: The Accountability Factor
01:16:31 Be Kind to Yourself: Final Words of Hope

October of 2024 marked what felt like a week from hell. Constant fighting in our marriage, feeling overwhelmed with our kids, crushing work pressure, and a toxic job environment pushed us to our absolute limits.

I, Jonah, host of this show, felt trapped as the sole provider, unable to escape despite wanting to quit every single day. The anger, the stress, the exhaustion... it was all consuming. Then came the moment everything changed. I finally admitted the truth I'd been hiding for years: I wasn't well.

While I'd always stewarded my physical body through exercise and proper nutrition, I'd completely neglected my mental and emotional health. Spiritually, I also felt like I was sliding off a cliff. Meanwhile, we showed up at church every Sunday pretending everything was perfect, even serving on the worship team together, while our home erupted in volcanic arguments daily.

Then, God showed up.

Come November of 2024, God intervened in the most unexpected way. I lost my job.

As terrifying as it should have been as the sole breadwinner with a wife and five kids, there was an unexplainable peace. During those six or seven weeks without work, God completely transformed me from the inside out. I spent countless hours just being still and waiting on the Lord, and he met me daily with the gift of His presence.

He taught me that my temple isn't just my physical body. It's made of three parts: a body (physical health), soul (mental and emotional health), and spirit (spiritual health). I'd been neglecting two of those areas for far too long. No more. Something had to change.

And it did.

Over the course of the next 6 months, we saw God move in our home in ways we only dreamt of.

Seek first the kingdom is our story.

And your story, your testimony, your willingness to be vulnerable about the mess, it matters more than you know because you’re not alone.

Welcome to Honor Thy Temple.

00:00 Welcome to Honor Thy Temple: Intro
01:33 The Napkin Moment: When Everything Broke Open
04:30 Behind the Mask: The Reality of Our Struggle
06:09 Pending Doom: Living with Unresolved Anger
13:11 Losing the Job: God's Greatest Gift
23:48 The Waiting Period: Hours with God
27:35 Down to Our Last $50: Trusting God's Provision
31:24 Seek First the Kingdom: Our Family Verse
34:39 Evening Worship: The Transformation Begins
43:47 "It Feels Like Love": Our Son's Revelation
45:47 The Stage Surrender: A Corporate Breakthrough
53:06 Why the Enemy Fought So Hard Against Our Marriage
58:26 The Three-Legged Stool: Physical, Mental, and Spiritual
1:26:15 Taking the Next Steps to Being Well
1:32:15 Thank You: Outro