How to Build Stronger Men Through One-on-One Mentoring and Discipleship with Colton Herb

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Are you wondering how to become a stronger leader in your family and workplace? 
Curious about the real difference between mentorship and discipleship for men? 
Searching for practical ways to grow in faith, relationships, and personal development?

Dive into the latest episode of the MOI Podcast, where host Ryan Zook and Colton Herb break down the essentials of gospel-centered living, mentorship, and discipleship. This episode reveals why one-on-one mentorship and accountability are game-changers for men, how goal-setting fuels spiritual and personal growth, and why now is a cultural moment for men to step up as leaders at home, in church, and in business. Hear personal stories and actionable advice from experienced mentors and pastors, plus learn how you can get started today—whether you’re a business leader, church member, or simply seeking to level up in life.

Ready for growth? Discover success strategies for faith, family, fitness, and finances, and join the movement to change culture one man at a time.

#MensLeadership #MentorshipMatters #DiscipleshipJourney #FaithAndFamily #PersonalGrowth #MenOfIron #Strong27

Transcript

Ryan Zook [00:00:00]:
This episode of the Men of Iron podcast has been sponsored by Garmin Builders. Garmin Builders sets the standard in home construction. With more than 50 years of expertise, Garmin Builders has been building homes, communities, and connections that positively impact the lives of others. By blending tradition with innovative building science, Garmin delivers a better built, more efficient home. Discover the edge@garminbuilders.com thanks again to Garmin Builders for sponsoring this episode of the Men of Iron podcast. You don't drift into gospel centered living. You do it on purpose.

Colton [00:00:34]:
Welcome back to the Men of Iron Podcast. This month we're going to jump into something that we hear a lot about is mentorship and discipleship. And are they the same? Are they different? What are they? What are they kind of focused on and why, you know, both are kind of important. We don't want to give up one for the other, but they kind of work hand in hand as well. But I just want to jump into it today with Ryan and talk about, like, we talk in strong 27 that we want mentorships and mentoring to happen, but sometimes we get, sometimes pushback. Like, is, you know, discipleship, Is it mentorship? Like, what are you guys trying to do? Can so can we jump into that? Like, we talk about mentorship right out of the gate?

Ryan Zook [00:01:10]:
With strong 27 we have at Men of Iron, we have the opportunity to talk to a lot of different churches out there. And I'm talking all different sides of the spectrum, sizes, you know, the whole bit. We talk to a lot of different churches, and currently I would say we've been having several conversations where we bump into the same topic. And it seems like a lot of church leaders are trying to figure out how they can more effectively disciple people, which is great. Like, I'm. I'm thrilled that we're trying to figure this out. I think we're at a very important cultural moment where there is a lot of young people particularly interested in following Jesus and what does that mean for them in their lives? And so I think it's fantastic that our churches are trying to figure out how to disciple people. Well, because it's easy for us to fall into just regular rhythms. And hey, this is what we do. We run a Sunday service. We hope you have a great time. Also we have groups, whatever, which we're not against that stuff, don't get me wrong. But sometimes we can get distracted by all the stuff and miss out on discipleship. And we're actually called to make disciples. Like Jesus didn't say right before going to heaven, plan out a fantastic service and make sure you have a men's breakfast. He said, go and make disciples of all nations. Okay, so that's what we want to do. That's what we want to help you do. That's what we want to see you do. And I think, you know, I also don't mind when we're having conversations with church leaders and they're like, yeah, we get it. It's like a men's thing. It's mentorship. That's so cool. We love that. We're not sure that it's going to do discipleship for us. So that's what kind of like, spurred this conversation. Like, hey, we need to sit down and use a couple episodes of the podcast to say, hey, here's how we see discipleship. We want to partner with you to help you in that journey. And I can say a little bit from my own experience, like, I was a pastor before I came on staff at Men of Iron, and it seemed like to me, it was a larger church, and we were trying to figure out discipleship. And for us, it was because we had come through Covid. Everybody can remember, dreaded Terrible Covid, and tons of people just disappeared from our church. And I know that that is not a unique experience. A lot of people disappeared from a lot of churches. And it seems like the thing that we've come away with as a whole church body is it seems like we dropped the ball on the discipleship piece because had we invested well in authentically discipling people in our churches and our communities, they wouldn't come up against hard things or different things and fall away. And so I love this discipleship conversation. I think it's very important for us to speak into it. And again, I think we're at a critical cultural moment where there are a lot of people interested in what it means to know and follow Jesus, and we've got to jump into that and help with that. And we are. So I'm excited about it.

Colton [00:03:44]:
Yeah. I think what's so cool is, like, when you talk about discipleship, there's a gap.

Ryan Zook [00:03:48]:
Oh, yeah.

Brian McDermott [00:03:48]:
And I mean, even with me talking with leaders on a regular basis of, you know, they're trying to incorporate that with their small group and stuff like that, but it's hard to get guys to get one on one and be intentional and have that time. So that's like, everyone wants that. Like you were saying, nothing wrong with small group. I don't want to take anything away. We support resources.

Ryan Zook [00:04:05]:
We're not knocking anyone.

Brian McDermott [00:04:06]:
But I do think there is something special about one on one with a guy and helping him grow and pushing him closer to Christ. Because so many times we're like, oh, small group, small group, small group. But then you're wondering, like, then the church. Like when something like Covid does happen or something happens and there's a there, people don't come back. It's like, did we miss the mark as a church? And you have to look yourself in the mirror.

Ryan Zook [00:04:26]:
Yeah. I remember when I was on staff at that church, one of the, one of the things that would pop up in our discipleship conversations, we had a whole task force and teams and the whole bit. It was like, man, if we could just figure out a way to get one on one with everybody in our church.

Brian McDermott [00:04:41]:
And.

Ryan Zook [00:04:41]:
And we were trying to figure it out. We're like, how. How do we do that? How, like, can we ask people to do that? Is. Is there any way to do that? So one of the reasons I came over to Men of Iron is because I found an organization that was like, oh, that's. That's what they do. Like, they get people one on one. We've successfully done it a lot of times, a lot of places with a lot of men, and it makes a huge difference. So again, we're not knocking anybody. We want to be with you on this journey of figuring this out. And mentorship and discipleship, a hundred percent certainly go hand in hand.

Brian McDermott [00:05:10]:
So when we talk about that. Discipleship. Mentorship.

Ryan Zook [00:05:13]:
Yeah.

Brian McDermott [00:05:13]:
What's the difference?

Ryan Zook [00:05:14]:
Right?

Brian McDermott [00:05:15]:
Let's, like, let's, let's just get that.

Ryan Zook [00:05:16]:
Out of the way.

Brian McDermott [00:05:17]:
What's the difference in the two? We talk mentorship and then church is like, well, that's discipleship.

Ryan Zook [00:05:21]:
Yeah.

Brian McDermott [00:05:21]:
So what's the difference in the two? And are they both important or do we, Are we just using different word? How does that actually frame up?

Ryan Zook [00:05:27]:
I think they're both important, and I think it's possible we're both using different words. Yeah. So, okay, so. So to boil it down, and I'm not going to give you a Webster thing. I think you have the Webster thing. I think so we'll get that in a second mentorship. For when Men of Iron says mentorship, we do believe it's mentorship and discipleship. We're wholly completely focused on men. So it's one man investing in another man. It's just a couple seasons ahead that can help him with whatever he's dealing with. Okay. So in its truest sense, I suppose mentorship is helping someone become more like the mentor. Okay, so what's the risk there? Well, the risk is you have a bad mentor and you become more like him. That's not great. We don't want that. Okay. Let's just be clear about that. And I've had conversations with pastors like that, like, yeah, like, if you set up bad pairings, that's not good. Okay, so if you have a good mentor, then you become wiser, you become stronger, you become more godly because he's a godly man. And ultimately a good godly mentor will help you become more like him as he becomes more like Christ. It's exactly what Paul said, like, follow me as I follow Christ. Which, fun fact, I. I always hate when Paul says that because he seems very cocky, but I've grown more comfortable with it. Okay. That's, I think, Christian mentorship, where when men of iron does it, one godly man is investing in somebody who's striving to be more godly. And he's saying, hey, follow me as I follow Christ. I'm not perfect. I don't have it all figured out. I might not even have every single answer that you're looking for, but follow me as I follow Christ. And I think when you're doing that, it becomes discipleship, and we can get in the weeds on that, like, what needs to happen. I'd be happy to do that. But I think in. In its most simplest form, mentorship will make you more like your mentor. Discipleship will make you more like Jesus. Can you do them together in one thing? A hundred percent. You find a godly mentor who's striving to be like Jesus, and you'll become more like him as he becomes more like Jesus.

Brian McDermott [00:07:21]:
Yeah, those two words. So I looked them up.

Ryan Zook [00:07:23]:
Yeah.

Brian McDermott [00:07:23]:
I was like, all right, we're going to do this podcast. I should know the definition of what we're going to talk about. I mean, I talk about it all day, but actually knowing what these words mean. And mentorship really broke down of setting goals and going after them and having someone keep you accountable to those goals. And in strong 27, and in any mentorship, setting those goals is important because we're going towards something. Hey, if I want to get better at my faith, I need to set a goal of how I'm going to do that, how am I going to accomplish a smart goal, how am I going to accomplish that? And having someone hold me accountable to that. So that's that mentorship piece. But what is so good about it is that how they go hand in Hand is the discipleship piece. Those goals are pushing me to Christ, and the mentor knows that. And as you're mentoring and you're. You're with this protege in those meetings, you are talking about those things. Yes. Okay. You're going to read your Bible.

Ryan Zook [00:08:07]:
This isn't.

Brian McDermott [00:08:08]:
I don't want to make this works. Like, we're in here just reading, reading, reading. But it's actually as I know. I know if you read the Word every morning is your goal, I know you're going to get closer to Christ. And that's what we're trying to do. We're trying to create disciples. I mean, it's called. We get called to it in the Bible. Like, that's what we're trying to do is create those disciples. And having those two get hand in hand together I think is so important.

Ryan Zook [00:08:29]:
I think that's one of the ways that Men of Iron Shines, is that our mentorship is mentorship in the truest sense. Like, you are setting goals and being held accountability. We want you to be more like Jesus. We want you to grow in your faith. We always tell guys, hey, we care about faith, family, friends, fitness, and finances. If you skip faith, you're not going to get anywhere that you want to go. Okay. You're just going to be, like, better at friends and finances. Okay. But we want you to follow Jesus. So when you're setting smart goals and being held accountable to it, it's actually driving you on purpose closer to where you're trying to be. And I think it's one of the places where I've seen churches struggle again. From my own experience, having been a pastor for a long time, we got really good at broadcasting a great message. Okay. So. And I was preaching a lot. So, like, it's. It's definitely exciting and compelling to get a giant group of people together, get them amped up about following Jesus. But then it's over. And we never were really great. Or I should. I should own that myself. I was never really great at, like, okay, what are you going to do about that? Well, I'm going to live it. Yeah, yeah, I get it. But like, how. How are you going to live that? And how are you going to measure that? Which sometimes freaks people out because it's like, wait, that you're really going to dig into my life? Like, yeah, that. That's what we intend to do. And it will help you and you will benefit. You think about Jesus and the disciples. You think about Paul and Timothy. Any number of examples of what I believe Is mentorship in the Bible? You think Jesus wasn't calling those guys out on their stuff. He knew their lives because he watched them make the decisions they made day in and day out. And he definitely called him on it there. I think Peter has this moment where in, like, one chapter, he's saying, you are the Christ, you are the Messiah. And a couple verses later, Jesus, like, get behind me, Satan. Like, you think that's not a strong correction? Like, Jesus knew his stuff, called him out when he needed it, encouraged him, forgave him, offered him grace and mercy, but continued to push him and move him. And I think it's one of the things that men of iron has to offer, one of the things that mentorship has to offer that is oftentimes missing in encouraging people to be more like Christ.

Brian McDermott [00:10:40]:
When I think of those two. And I want to. I want you to give me, like, an example.

Ryan Zook [00:10:43]:
Yeah.

Brian McDermott [00:10:44]:
Of like, where rubber hits the road with that. Right. Like, so where have you seen in a guy's life, whether it's personally, whether you've been, you know, been the mentor, maybe you've been the protege.

Ryan Zook [00:10:52]:
Yeah.

Brian McDermott [00:10:53]:
When you're putting these things together and you see, like, I make that goal, right. And then that discipleship piece comes together, what does that look like? And give me, like, an example of that.

Ryan Zook [00:11:01]:
I'll give you a personal one. I'll give you one from a protege. So personal one is. I was. I was a young guy. I was leading some groups in my church. I had a lot of influence, a lot of leadership over a group, and I was furious at what some of the decisions that were being made by leadership in our church. And so I got this bright idea of, like, well, we'll just. I'll just take my group and we'll get the heck out of here. Okay. And there was stuff going on in my life. Like, oftentimes when you're falling backward instead of moving forward, there's usually honestly, like, something hidden in your life. And I had a lot of stuff hidden in my life. So there's a lot of sin in my life. And Satan the enemy was dragging me away from Christ. And in that process, I was dragging other people away from Christ. So my mentor at that time, he kind of was watching it. You know, I think he was really waiting to call me out when he could be very confident something was off. So we go out for dinner, and he's like, hey, you know, this is not good, what you're doing, and I'm not going to let you keep doing it. And you need to apologize. And the Holy Spirit had gotten me into a position where I was ready to apologize. So I was like, you know what? You're right. This is what I've been doing. I was doing some of this behind your back. I've been doing some of this, like, hidden sin. It's really been hurting me. I just appreciate you calling me out. He's like, that's great. I forgive you. You have been leading an entire group of people in a bad direction. So Wednesday night, you're going to address that group of people, and you're going to tell them everything you just told me, and you're going to apologize. And I was like, I don't know, 19, 20. I was like, well, okay, I'm all in. I'll do it. So we. We had a. We had a service where it was me speaking about all the things that I had done wrong, which I. I get, like. Can strike people some kind of way. Like, I don't. I don't know if I should be doing that. It was great for me. Was it hard? Yes. Was it painful? Yes. Did it put me in a better place? A million percent, yes. And I'm very thankful for it. So that was a great example of just accountability in my life. He watched it. He was careful with it. He didn't call me out until it was time, and then he made me fix it, which I think was critical. I had a protege recently, and his goal had been reading the Bible. And he was. He was killing it, man. Like, reading the Bible on a regular basis. He'd bring his Bible to our mentorship meetings. We'd look over what he had read. We'd talk about it. It's fantastic. He started talking about, like, hey, you know, I. I think I have this down. I just don't think it's necessary anymore. I was like, I don't. I don't know, but we'll give it a shot. So we gave it a shot, had our mentorship meetings. We were talking about how it was going, and, like, he got off track. Okay. And so he came in. We have. We usually have a breakfast every week. And he's like, you know, I just need to shoot you straight on some stuff. And it was not surprising to me, honestly, like, sometimes you can see this stuff coming, and it's not the end of the world. But I was like, okay, listen, here's what I know. When you were tracking your goal of reading the Bible every day, you weren't dealing with this stuff. And when you shifted and decided you didn't need that in your life anymore. You started to move backwards. And I do believe, especially for men, you're either moving forwards or moving backwards. There really isn't any in between. And a lot of times when you decide consciously to be comfortable in between, you're sliding backwards. So call him out. We had a really good conversation about it. We kind of reoriented his goals, and it's been fantastic. I think it's important to just recognize. I don't believe that reading your Bible every day is required for salvation. Right. It's not this legalistic thing where it's like, God won't love you if you don't do that. You're just not putting yourself in a good position to hear from the Lord. And a lot of times I hear from guys like, man, I'm just in a place where I just feel like God's not speaking to me. Yeah. Cause you're not actually trying to listen. James 4 says, when you draw near to God, he will draw near to you. It's not a magic trick. It's like, yeah, like, if you get closer to God, he gets closer to you. So that was a long answer to your short question.

Brian McDermott [00:14:42]:
No. That's so good. And I think, like, that's so good to hear, because sometimes we always, like, give this lofty idea or, like, why it's so important, but sometimes we need rubber hits the road.

Ryan Zook [00:14:50]:
Yeah.

Brian McDermott [00:14:50]:
And, like, talk that through and what. That looks like another opportunity, I think, for this as well, is like, what if I'm a church and I'm a leader listening? Right. And you said, well, we missed the mark. Or maybe we don't know that discipleship side or how we put mentorship into place. What. What would be some ideas for, like, you to tell leaders to be able to, like, maybe help it click in their head? Like, we're talking mentorship, we're talking discipleship. I feel like we're talking the same thing. Yeah. And how do I actually apply that in my church or in my small group that I'm a part of?

Ryan Zook [00:15:19]:
So I can get overly nerdy on this stuff because I love this stuff. JT English has a fantastic book called Deep Discipleship. And in the book, he. He opens the book Making the Case. He tells this story about somebody who was misdiagnosed and they were treating the wrong sickness the whole time. Check out the book. It's fantastic. He says that American Christianity has been treating the wrong disease. He says that we've been doing a lot to just accommodate people's schedules. It's very, if you're a pastor, I'm sure you've heard like, hey, there's a lot of sports going on. I'm so busy with my kids. I got my job thing, I got my, my kid thing, my family thing, my work thing. And in large part, I've seen a lot of places just offer less feeling that they're respecting people's time and what JT English the case that he makes is, no, no, no, no, no. You need to actually require more of people's time because you don't drift into gospel centered living. You do it on purpose. And so as a leader in the church, as a leader in the movement of following Jesus, we require more, not less, and we shouldn't be ashamed of that. I get that you're nervous about it, you're cautious about it, because sometimes you're really disrupting like a huge, long established rhythm. But when you expect more of people, they rise to the challenge and they oftentimes appreciate it after the fact. So you do, you have to get rid of the hump of like, yeah, it's a, it's a time commitment. We actually are expecting more. And you, you got to walk out those conversations, but you end up in a place where people are like, man, I actually, I, I, that was good for me, really in the weeds on it. When you get into discipleship, you're trying to become more like Jesus. So what do you need to become more like Jesus? Historically, I think, particularly in the last 40, 50 years, we've either doubled down on an academic understanding of God. So that is like, hey, read the Bible, learn about basic doctrines of the faith, and study, study, study, study. Or in other circles, we've said, get in a group, you need to do life together. We're better together. Get to know your peers. Awesome. Both those things are fantastic. I don't think either of those are discipleship on their own. And I think that's why we deal with some of the things we deal with in American faith. When you combine those things, it's like a superpower because you're not just studying for a test and you're not just aimlessly living life. You, you're trying to become more and more like Jesus because you're getting to know him and understand him and you're living it out with people who can call you out because if you're a pastor of a big church, you can't call out every single person in your church. But if you have them in circles of community, they can. So when you combine an academic understanding of God, who he is, and I'm talking, like, things that can sound really boring, like, doctrine, like, who is God? What is humanity? What. Why have we been created? What is a church? Why do we believe in it? How do we do it? Why do we do communion? Why do we do worship? Like, I'm talking, like, get in the weeds on what we believe about those things, but also walk those things out. Because you don't want a giant head with no heart. And you don't want a giant heart with no head. That doesn't make any sense. So we're trying to create a whole person. So we're teaching you more and more about Jesus. We're watching you walk it out. We're challenging you. And always, as part of both of those approaches is you have to read the whole Bible, talking Genesis to Revelation. You gotta sit there and you gotta do it. I get it. It's a big book. I get it. It's old. I get it. It's confusing sometimes. Stop it. Just read the thing and start. We have seen so many guys that get into our mentorship, and they say, I've never read the Bible. I'd like to read the Bible. And their goal for the year is just to read the Bible. And at the end of the year, yes, they've read the whole Bible. They've also become a better husband. They've also become a better father. They've seen their issues with lust go away. They found that they're more compassionate. They found that they're more loving. Why? Because they are studying God's word on a regular basis. They're making space to hear from God.

Brian McDermott [00:19:15]:
That's good.

Ryan Zook [00:19:16]:
Come on.

Brian McDermott [00:19:18]:
No, I think it's so good because I. I feel we. I hear it. I mean, as I'm. As I'm meeting with these churches, and as I'm. As I'm connecting with them, that's one of the things that they're running into, like, how do I mix the two? And I've seen both ends of that spectrum, right? I've seen the small group side. I've seen. I've seen the discipleship side. But I think it's so good that we can just hit on it this week. And just as we're talking about it, mentorship, discipleship, they kind of go hand in hand, that both are very important things. And setting goals isn't a bad thing. And those goals are really just helping you push you closer to Christ. At the end of the day, I.

Ryan Zook [00:19:52]:
Always say you need three Pieces in discipleship. It's doctrine. Discipleship and God's whole story. What are those things? Doctrine is you gotta know what you believe discipleship is. You need to have practical spiritual disciplines in your life every day. God's whole story is read the Bible, know what God's been doing from start to finish. So that is like, critical in your walk with Christ. It will help you, it will make a difference.

Brian McDermott [00:20:13]:
So one of the things that I do want to hit on and make sure guys don't think they're off the hook if they're not in a small group, if they're not leading a church, maybe they're not a pastor. Is business guys too.

Ryan Zook [00:20:22]:
Yeah.

Brian McDermott [00:20:22]:
Because I think sometimes business guys can just kind of, oh, well, I mean, I'm a part of a small group. Or maybe I, maybe I don't lead. Like, how does that fit in for them as well of having, like, mentorship? Because you hear mentorship a lot in the business world. Like, I have a mentor. But how, how do we tie both together, even with, like, some discipleship as well?

Ryan Zook [00:20:42]:
Jesus did not say, go forth into all nations and become a pastor. He said, go forth into all nations and make disciples. Right? And so this conversation, we talk a lot about church. Sometimes business eyes can also feel left out. Like, hey, you're saying I don't matter if I'm not a pastor? Are you kidding me? No, that's not what we're saying. We work just as much with business leaders as we do church leaders. We also work with guys that are just guys like, you know, employees with influence in community. So I believe this is a mission that all of us have. If you believe that somebody else needs to solve discipleship, you're already in a bad spot. Because if you're hearing this, God has ordained this, it's on you. Figure out how you're going to carry this discipleship mandate personally. Right? So you're talking about businesses. If you're a business leader. If you are a business leader and you are a Christian, you have a mandate from God to lead the people that you're leading closer to him. And I get like, man, we're in a weird climate. I do think there's a revival happening in our country. I do think people are more interested in the gospel. I think they're more interested in the Bible and church and becoming more like Jesus. Capitalize on that. Like, grab that. I get it. It's not in your next quarter plan. It's not one of your rocks. But take advantage of this moment. Don't miss the moment. Figure out how you're going to invest in your people. If you just lead a department, how are you going to lead those people in that department closer to Jesus? Are you going to get in trouble? Maybe. You might. It's not necessarily always a popular thing. Do you need to kind of top secret do it? Maybe. If you are a leader of your own company, guess what? You can do whatever you want. So tell people, hey, this is a Christian company. Uh, we want you to be successful in our company because we love you and we care about you. We get it. You might not be a Jesus guy, uh, but we are. And so we are gonna use the, our, our time, our resources, our investments to honor Christ and build his kingdom. We're so thrilled that you're along for the ride. Here's how we do that. Okay. And now you're into a mentorship conversation, you're into a group conversation, whatever. I mean, it's up to you. I don't, I don't know your business, but you do. Um, you can lead your people to know and follow Jesus. And I think we've been tricked, man. I think we've been tricked into thinking that that is something that happens at Sunday at 9 o' clock. And that's what got us in the mess that we're in. Like, following Jesus is not a Sunday at 9 o', clock, Wednesday at 7 o' clock thing. It's an everyday thing. And don't abdicate the responsibility that God has given you because you're afraid. Stop that. Take your responsibility seriously and lead the people that you have influence over closer to Christ. That happens in your business, that happens in your family, that happens on the soccer team, anywhere you are. Go for it. So, so can we help you that Absolutely. We can help you that I would take you right back to where we just were. Like, there's mentorship, there's discipleship. We believe men of Iron Strong 27 does both those things hand in hand. We believe it does it very well. There's other organizations that also do it very well. So I would love for you to work with us. You don't have to go find somebody else, but take the responsibility that God has given you seriously and watch what he does. Because we don't do this on our own. We're filled with the Holy Spirit. We're led by Christ as we step out in these decisions. So trust and follow.

Brian McDermott [00:23:48]:
That's so good. I think just my last thought on it is especially for that businessman side, you know, we need to make sure that our walk is in line is too, and that we're reflecting Christ. So maybe you're in that situation where maybe you can't do that. But as you walk with Christ and you're making those right decisions, people notice that stuff. And people are going to see that in your life and say, wait a minute, something's different about this guy. And then that's when that door is opened and that conversation happens of like, why? Like, you were just in that crazy meeting, you didn't blow up. You gave that guy grace when you should have probably chopped his head off and it didn't happen. Right?

Ryan Zook [00:24:20]:
Why?

Brian McDermott [00:24:21]:
And then that opens those doors for discipleship, talk about Jesus, whatever it may be in that moment. But I think that's so important, even just for individuals. You don't have to be a business guy, even for individuals. You're pointing people back to Christ at the end of the day.

Ryan Zook [00:24:32]:
And I would add to that the stats actually, like the latest stats that came out. There was some reports that came out in early September. There is a movement happening in the United States of America where more people than ever historically, generation to generation, have been interested in knowing Jesus and building his kingdom. So sometimes it helps just to know, like, the data is actually on your side. Like, more and more people are curious about what it means to follow Jesus. Because I think we've lived through a period of time where it's like, this can't be it. This is crazy. And so because there's that growing interest, I talked about it recently. Gen Z is the most church generation in recent history. So that means, like there's, there's less boomers, there's less Xers. I'm not a generation expert. There's. But there's less and less and more Gen Z people. And for the first time ever in a very long time, in Gen Z, more men are interested in faith than women. It's fantastic. And so just know that there is a growing interest in faith and maybe that just charges you up a little bit to be a little bit more bold because you will be offering something that statistics show people actually are intrigued by. So we don't want to miss this moment. We want to take it by the horns, I guess, and, and really make a lot out of it. And really what we're going to do is make a lot of Christ. We want to build his kingdom. You might be wondering, how can you do that? And so we would love for you, if you're not sure where to start, you're not sure what to do reach out to us. You can leave a comment right here on this video or you can send us an email@info menofiron.org you can also just get started right now. If you want to make a difference in the men in your life, in your circles, we can help you do that immediately. So there'll be a link in this description. All you need is to be willing yourself and get a group of men around you. We can help you get started today. All right, so click that link. We'll get in contact you with you. We'll help you out. We hope you're encouraged by this. I think there is a discipleship movement happening in our nation and around the world. I hope you can tell we're very excited about it and we want to support you in whatever it looks like to help you be a part of that mission. So our mission is to change a culture one man at a time. That's why we want to help you get it done. We'll be back again next week. We'll see you then.

Colton [00:26:45]:
Thanks for listening to the Men of Iron podcast. Be sure to, like, subscribe and share at Men of Iron. We exist to choose change a culture one man at a time and we'd love to have you partner with us. So go to menaviron.org to see how you can get involved or donate@menaviron.org donate.