The Noble Man

This week Mike has the privilege of introducing the Noble Warriors Board of Directors to you in Episode 23, The Noble Man Serves in the Kingdom. You’ll learn a little background on each of the men and how they became connected to the ministry. Just like in our 1 Quick Question survey this week, we asked these men how they have served in the Kingdom.

From making a joyful noise in the chorus, to serving in children’s ministry, these faithful men have served for years in the church as well as in their surrounding communities. Each of them recalls ways that other faithful men invested in their lives. Listen to their stories and be encouraged by their faithfulness.  

Meet the Board of Directors: 

Jeff Robinson

 

Rich Babbitt 

 

David Romig 

 

Greg Beechaum 

 

Todd Christian 

Key Concepts: 

What is God telling you now and how are you to react? 

God is still working even in this season. Focus on what He wants you to do, and He can bless that. 

When God raises us up, it doesn’t make any difference where he puts us, we need to go to work. 

If we’re men that have been trained and appointed for some work, then you can’t sit idly by. You have to get involved, get your hands dirty, and be part of what’s going on in people’s lives. 

You’ve got to be comfortable with allowing God to do the leading and you riding shotgun. 

Don’t be afraid to expose yourself to leadership. 

It doesn’t make any difference how many men show up - never cancel. If one person shows up, give that person all you’ve got. 

God puts people in your path. Help with the practical stuff in life to help men live well and be honorable in the community. 

We need to study 1 Timothy 3 to understand the qualifications for leadership in the local church, and we need to be open in areas where we need growth. If we are left to our own devices, we are going to go rogue.  

We are grateful for these men who have heavily invested in the ministry and in Mike’s life. They are partners in the mission to serve churches as they equip men to walk with Christ and lead well. Noble Warriors has the tools to help in men’s ministry – just knock on the door. 

Join The Noble Man Podcast in September as we dive into a key issue in men’s lives – sexual integrity. We’ll be discussing how we can walk and live in a way that honors the Lord with our sexuality and be found faithful in this area. 

View Show Notes: NobleWarriors.org/Episode23

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More Resources and Encouragement: NobleWarriors.org 

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Dr. LeRoy Hill, Jr. speaks wisdom on how The Noble Man Prioritizes Relationships this week on podcast. Dr. Hill is the Senior Pastor of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Portsmouth, VA, established in 1865. 

2 Timothy 2:1-3 launches our discussion. These verses have been a prominent theme at Noble Warriors lately, and they just so happen to be Dr. Hill’s defining verse. “I encourage all men to find themselves in a verse.” 

“You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” 

Becoming a “good soldier of Christ,” or you might say a Noble Warrior, involves teaching others who can teach others. In order to follow Paul’s command here we must have relationships with other guys. Listen to Dr. Hill’s own experience here on the ways he’s implemented this idea throughout his life and ministry. 

Tips: 

Go deep. We’re 300 miles wide but only 1 inch deep. 

Create “bubbles,” a covenant relationship with 3 or 4 men who have “refrigerator rights” - the right to know my business and ask me anything. 

Every Paul needs a Timothy, and every Timothy needs a Paul. 

Selection is the method tap God uses to tap men. We need to model that – powered by prayer. 

Humility, time, and intentionality are key. 

If you’re going to have a friend, you have to learn to be a friend. Jesus modeled that. 

Men need men. 

Stop all the branding and be biblical. 

Masculinity is not toxic, but sin is. 

Men have a responsibility that holds the family, community, and church in balance. 

Don’t underestimate the power of bringing your wives together. 

Pastors can’t be the entire church’s best friend. 

We need to have some friends that don’t look like us and have the same stories that we do. 

Resources: 

Barna Journal – Five Essentials to Engage Today’s Men 

Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory by Tod Bolsinger 

View Show Notes: NobleWarriors.org/Episode22

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More Resources and Encouragement: NobleWarriors.org 

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Our guest is Pastor Steve Reynolds. He pastors Capital Baptist Church in Annandale VA and is the author of Bod4God: Twelve Weeks to Lasting Weight Loss.

Steve is a… 

Son of God, Husband, Father, Grandfather, Son, Pastor, Author. 

Well-being is…  

Honoring God 

Maximizing your life for God – We must be healthy to do this 

Living a balanced life in the physical, emotional, social and spiritual domains 

Steve’s Healthy Life Testimony 

In first grade I weighed twice as much as the typical kid.  

I walked off the football field for the last time in November 1979 and vowed to never work out again.  

At 360 lbs. I had high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. I was a sick man.  

The Lord directed me to the Bible. I studied the word 'body' in the Bible.  

I’ve lost 130 lbs and kept it off. I’m 62 and I’m disease free.  

God healed me through the greatest health book in the world, the Bible!  

Ultimately, I did a sermon series called Bod4God.  

The Movement

This prompted a movement including a Losing to Live weight loss competition.  

Literally thousands of people have lost tons of weight.  

Abundant Life

My besetting sin, the issue I struggle with most is that I like to overeat and under exercise.  

Satan wants to steal, kill and destroy us physically. Jesus wants us to live an abundant, healthy, physical life.  

Food that is near you gets in you. Cut off the temptation at the grocery store.  

Sabbath

Do what you can do. Exercise is movement. Walking is one of the healthiest things you can do.

God designed us to function in the rhythm of having a Sabbath… some sort of diversion.  

Twice in the Bible, Jesus pulled away from the crowds to rest, even though not everyone had been healed and not every need was met.  

Scripturally it’s a sin to not Sabbath.  

It’s helpful for us as we lead healthy homes, for us to understand how to help our families Sabbath well.  

Final Thoughts/Comments 

Get Off the Couch – A Man's A.C.T.I.O.N Plan… It’s essentially a game plan for healthy living.  

Pastors struggle with health issues in large numbers. 76% are overweight.  

Bitterness is a huge health issue.

If we change the men, we change the family. If we change the pastors, we change the church.  

Think about the force that could be unleashed for the Kingdom if God’s people were all healthy.  

Listen to last week’s podcast, The Noble Man Works for the Lord.  

Reach out to Steve through his website about launching the Losing to Live competition, or to have him speak at your events.  

Remember, Jesus said the gate to heaven is a ‘narrow gate’!  

Links/Resources:  

PastorSteveReynolds.com 

Bod4God: Twelve Weeks to Lasting Weight Loss by Steve Reynolds 

Get Off the Couch: 6 Motivators to Help You Lose Weight and Start Living by Steve Reynolds 

The Healthy Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Health and Wellness by Steve Reynolds and Nelson Searcy 

Taking God to Work: The Keys to Ultimate Success by Steve Reynolds and David L. Winters 

Barna – Five Essentials to Engage Today’s Men

BetterMan

View Show Notes: NobleWarriors.org/Episode21

Leave a Review: If you like what you’ve been hearing, we invite you to leave us a review. Tell us what you love about this episode! 

More Resources and Encouragement: NobleWarriors.org 

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“Who you work for is more important than what you do.” 

 

This week, Mike unpacks some critical questions about work with Sebastian Traeger. Sebastian is married to Nikki, a father of four, an entrepreneur, Kingdom operative, and the author of The Gospel At Work: How Working for King Jesus Gives Purpose and Meaning to Our Jobs 

 

Check out last week's 1 Quick Question survey results for a list of listeners' first jobs… mowing grass, delivering papers, washing dishes, pumping gas, McDonalds, bagging groceries, farm helper, construction laborer, janitor, family business… 

 

Fathering is my favorite job… 

Highlights:

A beach mission trip became a greenhouse experience to grow my faith. Being around a group of people who were passionate about the Lord and life made a difference for me.  

Who you work for is more important than what you do. – This one idea should shape your work and life.  

All my work is unto the King! What I’m doing is much less important than who I’m working for.  

You can start teaching your children a very practical theology of work early on. Part of what it means to be made in God’s image is to actually work. The default is not sitting on a couch playing on an iPad.  

Our work can consume us and become an idol for us or we can retreat from it and become idle.  

Christians are not called to live balanced lives. We are called to live sold out lives. We’re to live life sold out for King Jesus. This is our primary assignment. All other assignments God gives us are ways for us to live out the primary assignment.  

God is the one who gives us our assignments. I don’t understand why God gives some the assignment of being unemployed or underemployed or struggling business owner. I don’t understand why some are given the assignment of a perfect fit job or flourishing business. But, God is the one who gives those assignments, for His purposes. 

What does it mean or look like to be faithful to God as an unemployed person? 

Work hard. Work smart. Trust God.  

Hard work and smart work don’t always equal success. God controls the outcomes.  

Resources:

The Gospel At Work: How Working for King Jesus Gives Purpose and Meaning to Our Jobs by Sebastian Traeger and Greg D. Gilbert

TheGospelatWork.com 

Barna Study – Five Essentials to Engage Today’s Men

Winning at Work and Home – Men’s Fraternity Classic 

A Man and His Work – Authentic Manhood 33:The Series 

Taking God to Work: The Keys to Ultimate Success by Steve Reynolds and David L. Winters 

 

Join us next week for Episode 21 – The Noble Man Lives a Balanced Life

 

View Show Notes: NobleWarriors.org/Episode20

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More Resources and Encouragement: NobleWarriors.org 

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We consistently wrestle with the question, “Who am I?” 

 

Mike Young talks about identity this week on the podcast with Gary Freeman, Fatherhood and Family Program Manager of Care Net National. Gary walks us through his own search for identity as a man who “knew church but didn’t know Jesus.” During his years of playing college football, he came to Christ in a “Saul-to-Paul moment.” A gifted athlete, Gary had realistic hopes to join the NFL when a series of injuries took him on a different journey. He is “pro abundant life” with a passion to see lives saved, transformed, and living abundantly in Jesus Christ. 

 

According to the Barna Journal Five Essentials to Reach Today’s Men, 80% of evangelical men say faith is the core of their identity. “We need to live that out, not just mark it on a survey.” 

 

Questions About Identity: 

 

What happens when my identity is ripped away? 

 

Who is my true source - the created thing or the Creator? 

 

Am I really going to trust God for Him to provide? 

 

Am I striving for Christ or for myself? 

 

Who do I really serve? 

 

How do we use what we have to serve God? 

 

Who is Christ in me? 

 

Resources: 

 

Care Net 

 

Gary J. Freeman 

 

“The Role of Men in the Fight for Life” - The Noble Man workshop by Gary Freeman 

 

The Five Essentials to Reach Today’s Men Barna study 

 

BetterMan  

 

The Kendrick Brothers' movie, Overcomer

 

Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God's Work by Timothy Keller 

 

Verses: 

 

1 Peter 5:8  

 

I Samuel  16:7 

 

John 10:10 

 

View Show Notes: NobleWarriors.org/Episode19

Leave a Review: If you like what you’ve been hearing, we invite you to leave us a review. Tell us what you love about this episode! 

More Resources and Encouragement: NobleWarriors.org 

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Ok, ladies – this one’s just for you! Mike is noticeably absent in our “Ladies Only” podcast, The Noble Man is Encouraged by His Wife. Join the wives of Mike’s “Wise Guys” men's group (from Episode 15) as they discuss the power of their husbands’ small group and the positive ripple effect it has on their family. 

Guys…

If you’ve ever wondered whether your wife would be ok with you joining a small group and adding one more thing to the calendar, this just might be the encouragement you need to hear. 

Ladies…

If you’ve ever wondered if the extra time your man will be spending away from you to invest in small group will be worth it, don’t take my word for it. Listen to these women discuss the value of knowing their husbands have other Christian men in their lives. These are men they can be real, authentic, and open with; men who can encourage one another in the Lord and as a result, encourage one another in their marriage and family as well.  

Benefits these wives discuss: 

“He wants to talk more when he comes home.” 

“It helps him become more attentive to me.” 

“I feel more cherished.” 

“He has guys to carry the load and share the burden.” 

“I can be his encourager, but I’m not the only one who knows how he really feels.” 

Resources that have helped these wives understand their husbands better: 

The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian 

For Women Only by Shaunti Feldhahn (and For Men Only by Shaunti and Jeff Feldhahn) 

Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man’s Soul by John Eldredge 

Love & Respect: The Love She Most Desires; The Respect He Desperately Needs by Emerson Eggerichs 

Proverbs 27:17 

Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another. 

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!  

 

View Show Notes: NobleWarriors.org/Episode18

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More Resources and Encouragement: NobleWarriors.org 

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Mike Young is joined by a group of younger guys as they discuss the impact of men who have invested in their lives in this week’s podcast, The Noble Man Invests in Other Men.  

As fathers, we are to be the primary disciplers in our children’s lives. As men, we need to seek to invest in younger men, come alongside them, and encourage them in their faith. 

A broader perspective of discipleship includes modeling ideals and character traits such as: 

Consistency in church attendance 

Generosity 

Caring 

Availability to share time and advice 

Walking the talk 

Hospitality as a family affair 

Service 

Investing in others 

Studying the Word regularly 

Walking well with Christ 

Discipleship can also happen in a moment. 

“Standing in line at Walmart, we can have a spiritual conversation that encourages someone in their faith, and that’s a discipleship moment.” 

“Never get to the point where you think no one is watching you. You can be a mentor and encourager to someone right behind you.” 

Resources: 

The Noble Man is a Man of the Word [Podcast Ep. 11]

MasterLife Curriculum 

Love & Respect: The Love She Most Desires; The Respect He Desperately Needs by Emerson Eggerichs 

FamilyLife’s Weekend to Remember (Use Group Name: NOBLEWARRIORS for discount)

Point Man: How a Man Can Lead His Family by Steve Farrar

Half Time: Moving from Success to Significance by Bob Buford

Qualifications for elders and deacons: 

1 Timothy 3 

Titus 1 

View Show Notes: NobleWarriors.org/Episode17

Leave a Review: If you like what you’ve been hearing, we invite you to leave us a review. Tell us what you love about this episode! 

More Resources and Encouragement: NobleWarriors.org 

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“Teach me how to be a man of God.”

Tom Gensler and Tom Cheshire of Relevant Practical Ministry for Men join us on the podcast this week to discuss how The Noble Man Seeks the Wisdom of Other Men. Gensler and Cheshire take the pressure off as they discuss how to “lower the bar” in discipleship. You’ll discover resources and practical tips to live out Paul’s example in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”

Resources:

Relevant Practical Ministry for Men

Real Life Discipleship by Tom Gensler and Tom Cheshire Receive a free download of the Year-Long Discipleship Guide when you order from the RPMFM store.

Men’s Fraternity Series by Robert Lewis “Robert Lewis taught me manhood from a DVD.”

Tips:

Live a life of thriving in Christ.

Information by itself is not transformational. Knowledge in the context of relationship points back to the source of truth, Jesus Christ.

Someone has to love us through the information and teach us how to apply that to our lives.

Sanctification is a lifelong process.

Be in the Word consistently, more often than you’re not.

Be HOT and FAT Honest, Open, Transparent Faithful, Available, Teachable

No guy has all the information figured out. We need folks who will walk with us through each of those seasons and remind us that God has answers for each challenge in each environment.

Super-effective evangelism is relational.

Scripture:

2 Timothy 2:2– Paul puts a qualifier on the men Timothy is to invest in: faithful men who will be willing to teach others also.

Proverbs 4– Get wisdom.

View Show Notes: NobleWarriors.org/Episode16

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More Resources and Encouragement: NobleWarriors.org 

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“Every man needs wise men in his life pursuing God and encouraging others in that pursuit.”

Isolation is dangerous, so it’s more important than ever to stay connected.

Small group, accountability team, wise guys, it doesn’t matter what you call it. What matters is a safe place to go, learn from each other, and share life-on-life experience.

Just start. A 15-year dynamic doesn’t happen in the first month or even the first year. Keep going after it.

Be committed. That doesn’t mean perfect attendance, but it does mean intentionally staying the course over time.

It’s not imperative to have a formal Bible study, but stay rooted in scripture and use it as your guide and course corrector.

A high level of trust and privacy is crucial. Every member must know the group is a safe place to talk about what really matters.

“One of the things that would make our families, churches, the kingdom, and culture healthier is to see men who are willing to meet and be honest, open, transparent, and seek and value the wisdom of wise counselors.”

“Too many of us who claim the name of Christ who are trying to operate in the flesh. We are not sourcing the scripture.”

RESOURCES TO PRIME THE PUMP:

The Man in the Mirror by Patrick MorleyPoint Man by Steve FarrarMaster Builders Bible for Men

As an Amazon Associate, Noble Warriors will earn from qualifying purchases.

KEY SCRIPTURES: 

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 “… but woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!”

John 15:1-5 “Abide in me, and I in you.”

View Show Notes: NobleWarriors.org/Episode15

Leave a Review: If you like what you’ve been hearing, we invite you to leave us a review wherever you’re listening to this podcast. Tell us what you love about this episode! 

More Resources and Encouragement: NobleWarriors.org 

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This week on The Noble Man Podcast, Mike discusses how The Noble Man reads and studies the Bible. Listen as he walks through a timely example of how to apply the scriptures to every issue we face today, including racial injustice.

Key Lessons: 

The Bible is sufficient to speak to every situation. (Hebrews 4:12-13, 2 Timothy 3:16-17)

We need to view culture through the lens of the Word rather than view the Word through the lens of culture. (Matthew 13:14-16, I Chronicles 12:32)

Imago Dei - All humans are made in the image of God. (Genesis 1:26-27)

ALL humans are broken and born with a depraved heart. Sin is crouching at the door. (Genesis 4)

Key Scriptures on Reconciliation:

Numbers 12 - Moses marries a Cushite woman.  Did Moses Marry a Black Woman? by John Piper

Acts 8 - Philip ministers to the Ethiopian eunuch.

John 4:4 - Jesus went out of his way to minister to the Samaritan woman. 

Galatians 2:11-21 - Paul confronts Peter’s hypocritical behavior with the Gentiles. 

Luke 10:25-37 - Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan.

Micah 6:8 - Do justice, love kindness, walk humbly.

Rev. 7:10 - Every nation and all tribes, peoples, and tongues will be standing before the throne.

Challenges:

Will you refuse to reject folks who don’t look just like you? (Numbers 12)

Are you willing to engage spiritual conversations with image-bearers who don’t look like you? (Acts 8)

Are you willing to go out of your way to serve and share the Living Water with those who don’t look like you? (John 4:4)

Are you willing to see others as God sees them with no one superior or inferior?

Live and act with integrity or be called out.

Invest time resources or energy to help those in need.

Are you willing to die to self to be a kingdom-minded carrier of the gospel to all?

 

Quotes:

“When God calls a man, he bids him come and die.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“The ground is level at the foot of the cross.”

“Everyone wants to live the resurrection, but no one wants to go to the cross.”

“Live and love and lead like Jesus.”

“Let’s just do the Bible.”

 

View Show Notes: NobleWarriors.org/Episode14

Leave a Review: If you like what you’ve been hearing, we invite you to leave us a review wherever you’re listening to this podcast. Tell us what you love about this episode! 

More Resources and Encouragement: NobleWarriors.org 

 

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