The Greater Call Podcast - Episode 9: Solomon | Leadership Gold

Episode 9: Solomon: Leadership Gold

In this powerful episode of The Greater Call Podcast, host Mark Immelman is joined by Scott Lehman—founder of In His Grip Ministries, encourager, author, and leader. Together they dive into the life and leadership of King Solomon, uncovering timeless lessons on wisdom, humility, and legacy.

Scott shares insights from Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, connecting Solomon’s story to our own journeys as leaders, parents, and followers of Christ. You’ll hear practical lessons on seeking God’s wisdom first, leading with humility, and living a legacy—not just leaving one.

They also reflect on the life and faith of Charlie Kirk, the importance of surrounding yourself with truth-speaking mentors, and how divine appointments often come in the interruptions of daily life.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why Solomon’s prayer for wisdom still matters for leaders today
• How humility and servanthood shape true leadership
• The daily practice of surrendering ego and seeking God first
• Practical life lessons from Proverbs (including Proverbs 3:5–6)
• The difference between chasing after the wind and living with purpose
• How to live your legacy with intentionality every day

Guest Links:

Learn more about Scott Lehman and In His Grip Ministries: inhisgripgolf.com

Follow Scott on social media: @ScottLehman

Connect with Us:

📲 Follow us on social media: @TheGreaterCall (Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, & X)
 🎥 Subscribe on YouTube: Search The Greater Call Podcast
📩 DM us for prayer requests, leadership advice, or to share your story!

🌐 Website → markimmelman.com/the-greater-call

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, share this episode, and leave a review so more leaders of faith can be encouraged to live with purpose, wisdom, and legacy.

Connect with Us:

📲 Follow us on social media: @TheGreaterCall (Instagram, FaceBook, YouTube, & X)
🎥 Subscribe on YouTube: Search ‘The Greater Call Podcast’
📩 DM us for prayer requests, leadership advice, or to share your story!

Website→ https://markimmelman.com/the-greater-call/

✨ Be full of joy in all things, no matter where you are. Be thankful. Go and be a legend! ✨

Transcript

TGC E9

[00:00:00] Welcome to this Greater Call podcast. We are well on our way. This is episode eight, and as you know, uh, this is your place where you can come and join us and learn from leaders of the Bible, the heroes of our faith. You can learn life, uh, lessons on life, leadership, building a legacy. To that, I'm thrilled to introduce a friend, uh, the founder of In His Grip Ministries.

Um, he's an author, he's a leader. I call him a pastor. He calls himself an encourager. He's Scott Layman. Scott, welcome. How are you? Good afternoon, mark. It's really a privilege and honor to be with you. I, I loved our time. We got face to face at the PGA show a few years ago with your dad and to, uh, come back.

I feel like we're just kind of continue on from when we met there and, and walked around the, uh, you know, the, the club and. So it's great to be back with you. Love it. It's, it's my pleasure. Thank you. And [00:01:00] for the fans, um, remember, follow us on social. The handles at X and on Instagram are at the, uh, greater call, the greater call, and of course on YouTube where you can watch this, do share it with your friends.

All right, Scott, uh, the episode on Solomon, I'm calling this leadership gold because. Um, when I used to read about Solomon and you writing a devotional on the Proverbs of Solomon, right? Mm-hmm. Yes. Uh, this is in 2025 folks, and my ideas of Solomon were always the wisest man, you know? But the more I delved into Solomon the king, the leader, the man.

Gosh, he was not only was and upwardly mobile, but he was somewhat fallible as well. So it, it, it kind of was, refreshing might be the wrong word, but sort of [00:02:00] liberating in a way to see one of these great leaders of Mm. Faith, mm-hmm. Human like you and me. I think it makes him more relatable. Mm-hmm. At least he does to me that I don't know.

That perfect person that's walked the earth besides Jesus. Yeah. And even if you go to Solomon's dad with David, you know, I mean, he's known after a man, after God's own heart. Mm-hmm. Yet there's still, I. Shots he hit in life that we're probably not too honorable and maybe out of bounds. Uh, but we can learn from them as just as we learn from our, you know, bad shots in life.

And I think if we can move forward through those, that's good. Um, but you're right, that more that I've over the years got to know Solomon. Uh, he incredible wisdom. Uh. But also there's the part of his human side de desires, those selfish desires that at times took over. [00:03:00] Uh, let's do this. Uh, everyone kind of knows Solomon.

If you are new to the faith, here's the quick whistle stop about who Solomon is. Hmm. Um, as Scott mentioned, and I love the golf, um, metaphors, by the way, every shot he hits, uh, Solomon was the second son of King David. The heir. He was the wisest man that ever lived according to the Bible, king of Israel. In fact, king during the Golden Age of Israel, where it was at its height of prosperity, honor, and power.

He's an author of Ecclesiastes, which is fast becoming one of my favorite books in the Bible, the Song of Solomon, where if you married, you've probably heard one or two verses from, so from Song of Solomon, and of course, a number of Proverbs. Which, uh, Scott can talk very, um, in an informed fashion about he built the temporal temple in j Jerusalem.

Mm-hmm. I would say personality wise, uh, he was decisive. [00:04:00] Certainly he was very, as pragmatic and I would sort of say upwardly mobile. Hmm. And it's, with that, I wanna kick you, kick us off with this Scott, um, the story, which is from One Kings and through the first nine chapters of Second Chronicles. Um, the story happens where God appears to Solomon while he's in Gibeon in a dream.

Mm-hmm. Okay. Ask me whatever you want and I'll grant it to you and I'll paraphrase and Solomon goes. Um, so give your discerning servants a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong for who is able to govern this great people of yours. Now I think of the leaders or the aspirant leaders watching or listening to this, and they, and I'm like, what a great thing to ask for if you lead right?

Give me the discerning heart. Give me the wisdom to make the right decisions, to choose between right and wrong [00:05:00] in the correct fashion. God is so impressed with this answer. He goes, I'm gonna grant you that and all the riches and wealth you could ever imagine. Now there's a lesson in this, and this is where I want you to kick us off with your interpretation, please.

Sure. Off you go. Well, I'm, I was wowed by the, not only God showing up to him in the dream to ask him what have you, what have you wish Solomon? I will grant it to you if I'm in soms. Position at that time, I don't know. My mind would go to, Lord, give me the wisdom and the discernment to shepherd your people.

I'm like, oh my, I have a, a ticket to ask for anything. Mm-hmm. My own golf club, my own anything. Personally, I don't know if I would've gone to how to best serve the people and what an amazing. [00:06:00] Example to ask first for that wisdom and discernment to shepherd God's people first and foremost. It, that right there is such wisdom.

I, I, I, I wanna say this is coming to me and I'm almost led to introduce something else and I'll, I'll, I'll take a beat on that. Um, there is a selfless aspect to that. Which is incredible for someone because he was king already when this request came to him, right? Correct. Mm-hmm. There's a selfless aspect to this because you're so right.

It is easy to go, gosh, if, if I got this, I'd be, I want all the tea in China or something. Right? It's all about me, right? Instead of if you're a real leader, it's about the people. It's about the legacy, it's about everything else. Folks under your. The sheep and if you are shepherding them. Mm-hmm. And I'm struck at this because again, when you read [00:07:00] further about Solomon mm-hmm.

Or a lot of what he did to further Israel's kingdom was he married hundreds of women from different countries. Yes. Just to extend the political influence. Mm-hmm. So I'm, I'm torn right now. Yeah, I'm, I'm wondering if you have a take that can help me because it's so selfless. Yet the man Solomon was all about expanding the kingdom.

It's crazy to me. Yeah. And I resonate with all of that. Mm-hmm. With you. And as you're sharing that, the Lord, just quick in my mind to, you know, Solomon's story as we continue to read through it all that is really gonna lead to Jesus. Yeah. Mm-hmm. He came to serve and not be served. He is our example for that.

And I wish I could say to you as a brother, but I've got that down. I, I'm, I'm on that. I am moving in that direction more and more every day to first serve my wife of 30 years, you [00:08:00] know, Leslie. And I've been just blessed that we're doing. To work together within a script. And she's amazing. She reminds me she has 10 lanes.

I have one lane just staying in my one lane and I think all will go well. And then we became parents later in life. So we have Micah now a 17-year-old, that I became a first time dad at 53 and, and I'm here to serve him, to shepherd him, to guide him. And it's amazing that Jesus' mindset is just. Not, not about him whatsoever.

And the wisdom that you brought up of, of Solomon, that takes a spirit of humility to take it off yourself, to look at the kingdom, look at God's people. And I have not arrived there yet. As of today. I'm moving in that direction. To know that I serve the staff within a script and, and the men that God's bringing into the ministry, uh, I've learned I am a Barnabas, I'm [00:09:00] an encourager.

It comes very natural. Mm-hmm. And I need to just keep giving that away because that's how God wired me. But it's, it's challenging day in and day out. Yeah. Well said, Barnabas, um, I, I've gotta say this too, it's like for all the business leaders watching this. Ordinarily, if you're in leadership, whether you're a father or a parent for mothers watching this, or coaches or whoever you might be, you're in this position of influence.

Mm-hmm. Yet this man, David, was, David's my hero from the Bible. Mm-hmm. Um, but Solomon is known as, you know, the greatest, one of the greatest kings of Israel. Mm-hmm. He had the servant way about him, and it's where you have to put one's ego aside or your. Um, ego aside to go, I'm actually here to serve. And so the whole Solomon story is kicked off with this prayer to go, Hey, I want wisdom and insight.

And then I [00:10:00] think the cool thing about this is that if maybe we follow Solomon's lead and say, look, instead of, Hey, God, ground my business success and God make me a better father, and all the rest of it. Just like, Hey, God, ground me the wisdom. Mm-hmm. Deal with every situation in a godly fashion. Then all of the other things, those desires of our heart are likely to be added.

Yes. Love it. Love it. I think that's a great initiation point for each of us. You know, daily, Lord, I, I seek your wisdom, your discernment. How do I best continue to serve Leslie after 30 years? How do I best shepherd Micah? A 17-year-old? It's a hard teenage season of culture. I've got two girls, man. Oh my goodness.

Um. So to go to him first? Yes. And, and I'll be transparent in this, uh, time together with you, mark that just a couple years ago we had a outside consultant look at the [00:11:00] ministry of in script to see how sustainable it was, right? And we went through hours and hours of interviews and board interviews and staff, and he came back and said, you have amazing potential to make incredible impact.

And men's lives through this game of golf within his grip. But you have a major stumbling block. I'm like, I thought we were doing well 18 years in the making and and I go, what's the stumbling block? And he goes, Scott, to be honest, as a brother in Christ, it's the man in the mirror. It's you, your hands are in everything.

Okay? And until you're willing to give it up and lay the ministry at the foot of the cross. You're just gonna sustain and you'll not make the impact that God has the potential to make through you. At that time, mark, we had 13 weekly life groups at golf clubs in the area. I thought we were doing great.

Mm-hmm. And I literally got on my [00:12:00] knees and laid the ministry at the foot of the cross to surrender it completely to Jesus. And less than two years later, those 13 weekly life groups are now 31. Yeah, and we have 10 more lined up to come in the fourth quarter. And that humility that we talked about in the beginning with with Solomon, 'cause he was very young.

To get asked that question. Mm-hmm. And he made it about the people and, and the position that God was putting them in. And at 64 years old, you'd think I would know that by now, that God's put me in an incredible position of influence, but not for me. It's for the people. He's the men that he's bringing in, in through the ministry.

And so that, it was a huge, probably the biggest ouch I've had in my lifetime. Um, when you mention ego, I'm learning that means edge got out. Oh, and it really needs [00:13:00] to be left in my bag and, um, do it his way versus my way. I'm so thankful you would share that personal anecdote, uh, that takes mm-hmm.

Humility or setting ego aside in itself. Because anyone who's, anybody who has any aspirations of being in an elevated role, and I guess we all do because God's put the spirit of dominion within us, right? Sure. Correct. Yeah. Over our sphere of influence, right? It takes a lot to be in a place where you go, okay, I get it.

I'm gonna set myself aside for this thing. Mm. I need to ask this, and I digress now from Solomon, but I think there's lessons in this. 'cause if we go to the end of Solomon's journey, when he is close to passing away, right? There's this epiphany again. Mm-hmm. My question to you is, I'm certain this setting self aside is a daily endeavor.

This is not a one and done kind of a thing, is it? No, it is daily. And [00:14:00] even in that experience that I had, um, I have a mentor, Jack Countryman, who's 95 years old, and I go to Jack Daily for wisdom and guidance, and he is not afraid to speak that same truth that I heard two years ago of Scott, is it gonna be about you or is it gonna be what God's doing?

And then through you for his glory, because you, he goes, remember my son? God does not share his glory with any man. He has to get all the glory. And this is, it's a daily surrender for me. I now have a huge gray pillow right at the foot of my bed, and when I get outta bed every day, my knees go straight to that pillow and I start on my knees.

'cause I've been challenged that the tallest you can ever be before God is on your knees. And so I start there and just thank him for the day. You know, I thank him for Leslie, for Micah, for the opportunity he's given me within the script. And [00:15:00] it's a daily surrender for me daily. Uh, so many lessons. I mean, poignant lessons too, because as you're sharing that, Scott, it is my memory or my, my soul, I don't know.

Soul is jogged where the. The bad part of the Solomon story is that when he gets away from turning to God first mm-hmm. And sort of starts to get ruled by, um, you know, I'm all conquering hero, I'm expanding. It's all about me. It's all about me. That God says, at the end of your days, the kingdom of Israel is gonna be split.

Mm-hmm. So your actions are going to have consequence. Correct. Correct. There's a realism too, and I feel like that's almost building on your observation where, um, God is not about glorifying man. God is to be glorified. [00:16:00] Here in servitude and at God's Besst. Are you getting where I'm going with this? Yeah, I do.

And here's what I found. When I'm on an island, when I'm trying to do it all on my own, that's where my flesh takes over. That's where me takes over. That's where I think I'm going to do it. I'm gonna make this happen. And the shift that God's had me on is. Do life with a core group of guys that are not afraid to speak truth.

They're your encouragers, they're your route. Come on, we can do this together. But just making sure that I'm, there's a great proverbs deeper into the book and Chapter 27 17 is Iron Sharpens Iron. One man sharpens another. Yeah. Those relationships. I, I feel connected to you at heart level, mark, just like that.

And I long for the relationships that I can do life with guys like you, that I can be transparent, I can be myself [00:17:00] and not try to be somebody that I'm not and facade or the world thinks I'm this. And, um, the more that I can just share the journey, God seems to use that for the betterment of. Guys that we're, we're walking life with.

Okay. I, I, I'm, I'm gonna go here. I, I, I tea, I teased earlier that I was considering this. Now folks, this is completely off the script. My script is in front of me over here, and, uh, I'm going where I am. And this is in 2025 and we're in September. And we are on the heels of a sly, uh, political assassination.

Correct. Charlie Kirk was gunned down, and for the folks who don't know, Charlie Kirk was essentially a young man mm-hmm. Who followed the calling of God on his life. Mm-hmm. And he just went to campuses and to people and just debated with him about mm-hmm. These views and what their views were. And, and, and the reality is, you know, in the Bible it says, you know, in this [00:18:00] life, if you, what Jesus said.

If you think you're under gonna go undergo trials and tribulations, you are gonna undergo none greater than what I did. Correct. Charlie Kirk just got up there in the face of folks that were, well, that's, that sounds wrong. He was not afraid to go and, um, meet and speak with and communicate with folks who took varying opinions to him.

Mm-hmm. It resulted in the end of his life. Okay. Mm-hmm. Um. What you share here with me now sort of led me to talk about that because to be any great leader, it's about having good people around you as you recom, as you recommend iron sharpens iron, but it's also about communication. Mm-hmm. If you look at Solomon, I guess to a certain extent, maybe I should research more, but any great leader in the Bible.

We've got Peter coming up who was unafraid to get up in people's faces. So true. Okay. Um, [00:19:00] the communication words aren't violence. Violence is violence, and you've gotta be brave enough in your convictions. And that's the one thing Charlie Kirk did was he was unabashed about his faith. Massive position of authority, and he wasn't concerned with losing social media followers.

Right. He was like, this is my message and I'm resolute in my message. Um, again, I was led to share this, so I'd love you to, to, to, to add a take if you do. Yeah, absolutely. One thing I, I really admired about Charlie is he realized that God designed him, you and I with two ears and one mouth. Yeah, that leads me to believe that we should probably listen as twice as much as we talk if we do it proportionally.

He was really good to listen to those, um, individuals that would debate with him and say, well, you know, that's a, that's a really good point that you made right there. And he [00:20:00] was able to acknowledge. Others' input others' opinions. And I think that was his secret sauce. Yeah. Was he had open debates, he would listen intentively.

And that doesn't really happen today. A lot of even. And. Even in my own conversations, I'm ready to bring my next message out before my wife is finished speaking her mind. I, I'm just, I'm going all transparency today. Right. But I think he did a wonderful job of one being committed to the calling that God had on his life.

He was obedient that all the way to taking the shot that took him out. Mm-hmm. He was obedient to that day in and day out, and he served those people that God brought to him, but he didn't waiver of his beliefs, of his convictions, and I believe as, as God [00:21:00] took him home, there will be an uprising of a revival happening on campuses across this country.

Because of that one man, I truly believe that. I'm so glad you would share that because again, for the folks who don't know, if you're coming to this Greater Call podcast for the first time. Mm-hmm. Um, the mission for me behind it was to just learn from heroes of the Faith, to learn about life, to learn about leadership, because we're all leaders in our own sphere.

Yes. To learn about leaving a legacy because legacy is the best thing we can leave. Correct. And, and, and, and Charlie Kirk, as you mentioned, I think his voice is gonna grow bigger after what happened. Mm-hmm. He has a quote from him, and I feel like this is so applicable to all of the PO all of these podcasts, and especially Solomon, because Solomon had the situation, um, where two mothers.

[00:22:00] Came before the king and there was one baby and they were arguing about whose child it was, right? Yes. So instead of Solomon getting all emotional and flying off the handle or whatever, he looked at them and said, okay, someone bring me a sword. We'll chop this in half. You can have the head. Yeah. Yeah.

Then he watched the, didn't say anything more and then he watched the mother's response and he saw the real mom or the mom who wasn't The mom goes, sure, go ahead. And the real mom wanted to protect the child. Correct. Your child. Off you go. Amazing. So pragmatic. Um, listened to your point and it reminds me of this Charlie Kirk quote that I actually heard this morning.

Maybe because I was gonna record with you in the show. Hmm. Probably. This is Charlie Kirk, welcome. Without judgment, love without condition, forgive without limits. Now, to me, Scott, mm-hmm. If you want to be a great father, a great [00:23:00] king, a great business leader, a great minister, whatever it might be, a great coach that is almost, you know, great leadership and great people.

Skill summarized in three phrases. Yes. I think spot on. Uh, what great reminders for us as leaders in our home, in the environment, you know, where God has us, uh, with your podcast, with the gifts that God and, and I do, I feel led to share this with you, mark as your brother, as your encourager. That where we are today and where our listeners are, our viewers are, God is always repackaging and repurposing us to where he's taking us.

And I believe he did that with Solomon in the early years. He repackaged, he repurposed, you know, become this incredible king and and leader. And he is doing that with you right now. And, and I believe he's doing that with me right now. I was challenged recently. Do [00:24:00] I wanna leave a legacy or am I gonna live a legacy that rocked my world?

I had to spend some time in that. I, I wanna live a legacy. I wanna do it now and not have any regrets when I have my tea time in heaven, which I don't know when that's gonna be, when God calls me for the first to the first tea, uh, in heaven. I'm just walking through this temporary home here on earth to my eternal home in heaven.

I I long to hear this mark from Jesus when I meet him face to face. Well done. Good and faithful servant. Mm-hmm. I long to hear that. And when I focus in on that today, I wanna do the very best I can in my home, in the ministry. Am I perfect? No, I still, you know, I still miss the mark. I, I do. However, if I focus on live the legacy today versus just trying to leave when, [00:25:00] when I'm gone, um, I.

I'm Quicken to live out with intention and purpose each and every day. It's helped me greatly for sure. Yeah. Great lesson. I Okay. I need more. We all need more. Okay. You are, because I'm gonna, we, I'm gonna bring up Ecclesiastes, is that Yes, please. But you busy in this project and for the folks who don't know, uh, go and find in his grip golf.

Um, the devotionals you put out, Scott, are tremendous and you're working on one. If you're listening to this after 2025, it's available for 2026, correct? Yeah, it will be out in 2026, correct? Mm-hmm. Uh, it's essentially devotionals from the book of Proverbs. Mm-hmm. Which, if you just go and read that, if you are a non Bible person, that's probably the best place to start, I would say.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. 'cause there's not so many of those thousand days and where to And two fours and stuff like that. Correct. [00:26:00] It's just kind of basic live lessons from from Solomon. You've shared the iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpening another. Share one or two more life leadership proverbs that would help us, please.

Yeah. The one that I'll share now there's, there's two verses. Uh, in chapter three of Proverbs there are five and six I I. Not only are they etched onto the tablet on my heart, they, I wear 'em daily on my wrist or iNOS script wristband. Um, Proverbs three, five and six. And this is something we've had a gentleman cover thousands and thousands and thousands of these that if any, listener of year ago, gosh, I'd like to get a wristband with three Proverbs three, five, please.

We'll send it out for free, no questions asked, but this is what it says. These are the first two verses I ever read in a Bible. At age 36 when the year I came to know Jesus. Mm-hmm. I was struggling. My marriage was on the rocks. Leslie was [00:27:00] ready to leave after the first year, and I looked up to God and said, God, I need help.

I came across this little book that you've, you've seen over 20, you know, five years ago. This is called In His Grip and inside of it, uh, was Proverbs three, five and six, and it says this. And I don't know where your viewers are or your listeners are, but let these two verses wash over them right now.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean out on your own understanding, but in all your ways, acknowledge him in all your ways. Submit to him and he will direct your steps. He'll direct your path. And I have to look at that daily at times 'cause there's. There's days I'm like, Lord, I don't even know where we're going right now.

I'm lost. I am struggling. I don't know how to be that father I need to be or the husband. Um, and I just have to continue to put my trust in him, not [00:28:00] in me. But if I do that with all my heart, with everything I am Lord Jesus, I trust you. Today. It's hard to navigate some of those storms of life. But if you stay focused on him, guess what?

Um, even as Peter showed us, you can walk on water if you stay focused on Jesus in the store. I, I want you to do that again because here recently, my pastor, Kyle Jackson, who started this podcast with me, he's now stepping aside to allow me to float a little bit by myself. Um, showing a lot of trust, I must add.

Um, he challenged me the other day when reading, we read the chapter of John together. And he said, you must read it using the soap method. Hmm. Especially as you read a sentence, then you observe just the sentence, then you analyze it, and then you like, what's a personal takeaway from each sentence in whatever [00:29:00] you read.

So I want you to read three, five, and six again, but are at each, each, uh. Period. Stop for just a beat or two so folks can listen and you know think and then we'll move along please. So do that again for us. So I love the soap. Alright. Acronym that you did. Are you ready for ours? Ours is Grip. Grip. Of course it is.

I should have known that. G is God's word are What's it reveal when you read that? Which we'll do this and these two verses I is where the rubber meets the road. How do you implement? What God revealed to you in his word. How do you implement it? How do you apply it? And then p we're gonna pray it out.

Okay? We're gonna pray it from head knowledge to the heart knowledge where transformation happens, right? And so these, uh, I'm putting on, you know, my, I'm getting serious now. Yeah. I, I put my readers on. This is like game on. I, I kind do it. I'm going in on this. Um, but just the [00:30:00] first line is trust in the Lord with.

Your heart. I mean, what does that reveal? What does no, what Half measures you? No half measures? No. He, he doesn't want us look warm. He doesn't want us half in one foot in one foot out. He's drawing a line saying, I want you all in, and I want your heart. So trust in the Lord with all your heart. Then lean not on your own understanding.

Mark, I mean, lean out on your own understanding. It's the hardest, you know what you're honestly thinking about that, that is the hardest thing in the world, especially for a leader. Huh? People are, especially for men, leaders, for, for our inputs to situations, correct? Mm-hmm. Correct. And I, and I think that's where hopefully humility as we continue to increase that muscle of humility.[00:31:00] 

We can do this more. Mm-hmm. Lord, I don't know how to do this. I'm gonna lean into you then in all your ways, submit to him. Submission for a guy. I'm, I'm gonna make this happen. I'm not submitting to anything. Well, that's gonna be hard to really go deep into the Lord's relationship with if I don't submit to him daily.

He knows everything. That's where the wisdom and his discernment will come from. So I trust in him with all my heart. I lean outta my own understanding. I acknowledge him in all my ways. Guess what? This is his promise. He will make your path straight. Yeah. What a great promises certainly is. And I wanna say this now, you wear that on your wrist and a wristband.

Well, a 40th birthday. My wife gave me my dream watch. Okay. On the back of it, she had my initials put on there and the dates. And then my [00:32:00] favorite Bible verse, which is Proverbs 16 three. And Proverbs 16, three goes, commit your work to the Lord and your plans will be established. Which one of my favorites.

Yeah. Which is very much along the lines of what you're saying over there. Mm-hmm. I'm embarrassed to admit. Maybe instead of looking at the front of the watch, I should look at the back of the watch. Oh, but I got chill a little more often on that one. If, if, because think about that. Oh my goodness. That was a daily call to arms and you and, and, and I took that really seriously.

It is. My favorite verse was then, you know, now I've got tons that I'm leaning on all the time, every day. Yeah. That became a call to arms or marching orders. Consider, you know, the influence or the impact on people's lives or whatever it might be, would actually become, I I I, I know this, I'm probably [00:33:00] nowhere close to what I should be.

We are all on a journey for sure. Well, thankfully, I'm repackaging according to your, according you are repackaging and he is repurposing you. Yes. And especially for us on the, on the back nine of life. Mm-hmm. That. Mr. Countryman 95 years old, he, it's got the biggest impact in your life you'll make in your sixties, right?

I'm 64 right now, and he goes, and don't shy away from your seventies and your eighties. 'cause you know what you're good at. You know how God's using you do more of that and you'll make amazing impact on people's lives. So you're just getting warmed up. You, I have you even crossed 50 yet? I mean, you're, you're, I'm about to be 55.

Okay. Well this is good news for everybody because so many folks are like, oh no, I'm too old. I'm too old. But, but God almighty is, I mean, he's written the story. Correct. And some of the great leaders of the faith, they only started making real differences when they were advanced in years as well, [00:34:00] when had the luxury of learning things, experiencing things, you know, gaining wisdom, maybe.

Gaining wisdom. Yes. When we were, uh, walking through our adoption story, you know, with Micah and becoming a dad at 53, I'm like, Lord, are we gonna be the next Abraham and Sarah where they had the child at 90? I mean, it's, um, if Lords still has this here on earth. He, he still has work for us to do. Okay. And I still feel like my, my tank is filled.

I really do. I know it's 64 years old that Wow. Retirement and I don't really see retirement in the Bible at all. I haven't found it, so I'm still gonna say, Lord, I'm available. Use me to impact that one guy today. That's been my daily prayer. Well, you're doing a great job and I'm thankful you would join us.

Okay. Those are some of the proverbs. That you've shared and I shared that too. Mm-hmm. I wanna move along a little bit to Ecclesiastes, which Solomon essentially wrote at [00:35:00] the end of his life folks. And, and the mega themes in there are essentially him searching, you know? Mm-hmm. The real meaning of life now.

Right. Um, he obviously had this emptiness that he needed filled. Even though he had all this fabulous riches and the Queen of Sheba and all these people were coming to observe, what a great man he was. He felt everything. Mm-hmm. Uh, talks about work and death, you know, he was like, eventually everyone's gonna die.

And then talking about wisdom. And if you've heard me, if you're listening on audio folks, and I'm filling around my desk, which looks like paper everywhere, 'cause Scott's jug in my mind here, the first one I want to talk about is Ecclesiastes three. Which is essentially Solomon's observations, right? And he said There's a time for everything.

Now this comes up when you say our job's not done. And a season for every activity under heaven. A time to born, be born, and a time to die. A time to plant. A time to up uproot, a time to kill, a time to [00:36:00] heal. A time to tear down. A time to build up. And it goes through your time to weep and a time to laugh more on dance, scatter stones, gather them, embrace time to refrain.

So he is essentially going our entire life. They're seasons there is for sure. And from what I'm gleaning from this, I, I don't think we can, circumvent said. Mm. Because this is the wisest king to ever live. Right? Correct. At the end of his life now going, you know, as much as I would've liked to have not gone through that season of X, whatever it might have been.

Mm-hmm. It just is what it is. But we have gotta stay true to what we're doing. Yeah. Or stay true to loving God, doing those sorts of things correctly, and let the season just transpire. Amen to that. I do believe the world's voice is getting very, very loud. Yeah. And that world's voice will, especially [00:37:00] as us as guys pursue success, whatever it takes, you know, whatever year, whatever feels good, do it.

Uh, accumulation. I not happy with one home. I've gotta get the second home that car's okay, but I wanna go get that car. So it's really simple for men, they just want one thing, there's only one thing men really want. Mm-hmm. And that's more, yeah, you want more stuff, more money, more women, more this, more that.

And as I spend more time in the word of God, and Proverbs Ecclesiastes, there's a small voice that Holy Spirit that speaks to us. And as we get a grip on a verse, maybe two verses, God embeds that quietness into purpose and it's more about him. More about people love God you said, and love people. That boils it down to why are we here?

Yeah. That, that's great. Uh, I'm [00:38:00] led to say this too, you know, my father mm-hmm. Fans of this. My dad is, is my dad. Love your dad, love your dad. He's a easy man to love. He is, uh, he is wise, um, wise through life's experiences, and he spends a lot of time in the Bible. Mm. And you're a big one for acronyms. Well, my father, I think, might've invented acronyms that, and he has an acronym for more, which is Maximize our resources effectively.

Love it. Yeah, well love it. I'm using that. Think of the leadership lesson behind that thing too. Instead of, instead of searching for more, maximize what you have today. That's when real, yeah, that's when real growth occurs. So I digress. Okay. Let's go to, um, a class. Excuse me. Easy for me to say. Yeah. ES four six.

Okay. And you've just, you've just teased us here. One handful with tranquility than two [00:39:00] handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind. Mm-hmm. First, haven't read Ecclesiastes. You'll see or read the term Chasing After the Wind a lot. Correct. Solomon At the end of it all just goes. All that wealth. It was like chasing after the win.

All of this endeavor. I was really just chasing after the win. There was no purpose. There was no real meaning to it to fulfill my soul. But Yi's saying better, one handful with peace than two handfuls, but it's causing you all sorts of turmoil for the leader in the business person and whoever it might be, listening to this incredible wisdom right there and what we need, at least I need to, I need to pause.

Throughout the day to really, am I chasing or am I allowing God to guide and direct the steps that he has for me? Because there's times Mark that I look at, man, I'm, I'm rushing to the next appointment, to the next appointment, the next next appointment. Um, I'm fortunate to drive a truck that's [00:40:00] got in script golf wrapped around it, and I'm at the gas station and, and a guy will come up, Hey, hey, you're, you're the in script guy.

Um, I've been meaning to talk with you. I'm like. I've got an appointment. Oh Lord, I get it. Interrupt. Interruption Uhhuh is a divine appointment that you've authored. Yes sir. How, how can I serve you? How, how can I help? And there's too many times I've driven by that guy. Or walk by, I'm, I'm on a mission. I'm going to the next appointment, to the next meeting, and if I can slow down a bit and keep my radar up mm-hmm.

Say, Lord, I just need to be available. 'cause there's some sweet moments in a parking lot of a gas station or the bank or the grocery store that I wonder how many times I've walked by those by not being available. You use the term divine appointment? I, I think there's just a life lesson in that because mm-hmm.

If you truly are true to your Proverbs [00:41:00] three, five and six and mine 16 three, you know, if you order lying, God to order your leadership, your legacy steps, everything will be divine appointments and be there with, with your feet off. In the interest of time, I'm gonna throw two at you, let you comment and then we'll wrap.

Okay. Ecclesiastes is five 10 Uhhuh. Whoever loves money never has money enough. Whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. Now. Um, and what's your next one? Well, we, we'll gloss over that because that hits one between the eyes, but yeah, it all is. At the end of Ecclesiastes. Mm-hmm. After Solomon has essentially relived his entire life, this wise man who's looked at everything in this very pragmatic, very sort of like dollars and cents, black and white sort of a thing.

Mm-hmm. And everything was like chasing after the wind, right? Mm-hmm. He summarizes it all with [00:42:00] 13, 12, 13. Now that all has been heard, so he's saying we've covered everything. Mm. Here is the conclusion of the matter. Fear God and keep his commandments. So this is the whole duty of man. Now I'm gonna say this, perhaps he's had the luxury of just saying that 'cause he was fabulously wealthy.

Mm. And you know, he had hundreds of wives and you know, had a Expanded a kingdom. Yeah. But he realized that his actions were gonna have consequence and that Israel was gonna be divided upon his passing. So all of the work. It was sort of purposeless. Mm-hmm. Uh, he had built great relations with other kings from other places.

King Harra helped him build the temple, which was one of his great achievements. Right. Um, but he was taxing his population to death basically. Mm-hmm. And he wasn't considering his people for growth. Mm-hmm. Um, so at the end of all [00:43:00] of this, he's going, well, I've looked at everything, and here it is, fear God keep his commandments.

Mm-hmm. Now that might sound a little hocus pocus to folks, but the truth is, if you in that posture, your leadership skill, certainly your life will become infinitely easier. Would you agree? A hundred percent? A hundred percent. And I think it's okay to pursue. With the gifts, the abilities that God's given you and the treasures that you're, you know, that you accumulate.

But here's, I just learned this today at the heart level. Um, one of the, our supporters for the ministry, I went by his house today and he said, Scott, we're gone all weekend. This backyard of the pickleball and the pool and the putting green, it's yours. Bring, bring Micah, bring Leslie. Use this because it's all Gods.

[00:44:00] And I wanna just say, I wanna bless you with it. And this week, and we've been looking for something to do this week in fun. Now we've got a pool, we got a putting green, got a pickleball court. And that word is generous. Generosity that if God has blessed us with wealth, with uh, resources to really all his.

And how can we bless others with that? We can't take it with us. And to be around that, um, and be on the receiving side of ministry type of expansion right now, uh, there's some really generous people out there. Mm-hmm. And what they feel is it's better to give than to receive. It just feels good to be able to give to God's work.

And, um, so I think it's okay. I, but God really wants to order. He wants to be number one. I can't serve both God and money. Money is a [00:45:00] resource that he's blessed us with to use. I feel like I have to say this, this is really big in my heart right now. You know, if you don't have the money, less people with your words.

Give people your time. Um, I, I, I understand you. I, you know, I've been in various fundraising efforts where there are lots of people with lots of money, and for them it's not that hard to stroke a big check. Correct. It's a lot harder to give the time. Correct. Absolutely. And there's, there's the three ts, your time, your talents, and your treasures.

Yeah. And sometimes we're, we don't have the treasures to give, but we do have time. We have some talents, we have some gifts that we can, you know, give for the Lord's work. And it's very fulfilling, uh, to be able to be a part of, uh, God's work here on earth. It's, it's humbling. Well, and you're being a good and faithful servant.

Mm-hmm. My friend. [00:46:00] Well bless you. With that, I want to have you share with, uh, the fans, the listeners, the viewers, uh, where they can find more about you and more about in his script, please. Uh, I'll lean toward the in script side and then I'll get wrapped into that. But in his group, golf.com is really a great place to find our community and what we do.

And we have a new app, uh, that can be do downloaded from our website. And then on the social channels, uh, it's, it is Scott and Layman at, you know, X and even Facebook and LinkedIn. For some reason LinkedIn is a platform that's really been, um. Great relationship building and maybe it's business like you're doing here, but the faith, you know, comes into that.

Uh, in the beginning I remember some guys said, get this faith stuff off here, this in this grip, get it back, you know, off of, uh, LinkedIn. This is business. I'm like, it's who I am. I, I, this is what I [00:47:00] do. And uh, so it's been a really great platform to meet some guys and build those relationships. Hmm. And in his grip is I-N-H-I-S-G-R-I-P, like, uh, golf golfers.

You will love it. Scott does great work. Um, to that folks, um, remember we exist to serve you here at the greater call. Mm-hmm. Please follow us, share this with your friends. If you so led, the handles are at the greater call on X and on Instagram. Go, uh, search and search and subscribe on YouTube. We'd love to interact with you over there.

And remember, this is all about you. This is all about us fulfilling purpose. Mm-hmm. Or living a productive life for being great leaders and more than anything else for leaving a legacy. So be full of joy and go and be a legend. Amen and amen. Great job, mark.