Passing the Torch: Building a Spiritual Legacy Through Mentorship W/ Steve Shamberger

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How can men build a lasting legacy for their families?
What does spiritual mentorship look like for modern men?
How do I find brotherhood and accountability to transform my faith and leadership?

This week on the MOI Podcast, we sit down with Steve Shamberger to celebrate Men of Iron’s 20-year legacy of mentoring men, transforming lives, and changing culture one man at a time. Host Ryan Zook and Steve dive deep into the ripple effects of spiritual mentorship—how one father’s investment impacted generations, empowered his sons, and built a thriving brotherhood of men seeking accountability and purpose for their faith, family, and leadership.

Are you searching for practical tools, resources, and real brotherhood to become a stronger husband, father, and leader? Men of Iron offers one-on-one coaching, small group curriculum, and mentorship that empowers you to thrive in your core five: Faith, Family, Friends, Fitness, and Finances. Gen Z is now more likely than ever to seek faith—don’t miss the chance to step up and leave a spiritual legacy.

#mentorship #fatherhood #leadership #masculinity #spirituallegacy #accountability #menofiron

Transcript

Ryan Zook [00:00:00]:
Welcome back to the Men of Iron Podcast. At Men of Iron, we exist to change a culture one man at a time. We do that by helping guys thrive in their core five their faith, family, friends, fitness and finances. We could not do the work that we do without a network of supporters that every month faithfully support us financially so that we can reach more and more men. If you believe in what we're doing, if you've benefited from the podcast, we would invite you to consider investing in the mission of Men of Iron, becoming a monthly partner and helping us to reach more men. Thanks for considering and thanks for your continued support. 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@garmin builders.com thanks again to Garmin Builders for sponsoring this episode of the Men of Iron Podcast.

Steve Shamberger [00:01:01]:
That when my dad passed, he was such a big part of that group, he was leading that group. But when, when he had passed, it felt like a couple days later I'm driving in and I felt like all of the prayers have been poured out upon me and I just felt like so at peace. And it's because of the prayers and the support of that group that helps carry you through the difficult times.

Ryan Zook [00:01:24]:
Hey, today on the Men of Iron podcast, we are joined by Steve Schamberger. Excited to have Steve on. One of the things we're going to be talking about some over the next couple of months is Men of Iron actually has its 20 year anniversary happening next year. And because of that, because we've been around changing a culture one man at a time for 20 years, we're starting to bump into stories of guys that were mentors that now have impacted their sons. So we're coming into the second generation of mentorship impact. It's super exciting for us because we believe that that multiplication is just getting started. So we had Steve on today just to tell us a little bit about his side of that story. So welcome, Steve, man, I'm glad you're here.

Steve Shamberger [00:02:05]:
No, thanks for having me. I appreciate it. Yeah, really cool. My dad, years ago, probably 10 to 15 plus years ago, started our church, did the program. He started as a mentor, had a mentee, and then just being able to see that was really cool. Every time I would go, he'd introduce me to his mentee. Hey, here's Ivan. Here's this guy. This is what we're doing. Just from an early start, I saw the advantages of mentorship in men's lives.

Ryan Zook [00:02:33]:
So let's dig into just your window on that. Were you like faithfully following Jesus at that time or were you not?

Steve Shamberger [00:02:43]:
No, not really. So in my journey, I gave my life to the Lord when I was in middle school maybe, but I really didn't have any follow up or direction after that. So then you go off to high school, go off to college, and somewhere in there was where my dad was faithfully following, you know, and he was going to church and then he stepped into the Men of Iron mentorship program as a mentor. Yeah. So I was not following or serving, you know, the Lord at that point in my life.

Ryan Zook [00:03:11]:
So one of the interesting things is like, we're not talking to your dad, we're talking to you. So what was the, the window like? What did you see? What did you know about Men of Iron kind of secondhand from your dad taking this mission seriously?

Steve Shamberger [00:03:24]:
Yeah.

Ryan Zook [00:03:25]:
What was that like for you, seeing it through your eyes?

Steve Shamberger [00:03:27]:
Yeah, I remember it being really cool because again, I'm not going to chur, you know, every week, but every time that I would go, I know they had like, you know, way back in the day, they had like the men, the mentors and the mentees up on stage and they went through the program and they really celebrated that. And then every time I would go to church on those handful of times a year, you know, my dad would always introduce him, me to his mentee and it was always something that was front of mind for him. Even the relationship. After the program, my dad continued to meet with his, his mentee and they went through and they, they continued to connect for a long time after that.

Ryan Zook [00:04:05]:
One of the cool things about the history of Men of Iron is one of the things that hasn't changed is we still today encourage our church partners. Hey, if you are a formal Men of Iron church partner running a one year mentorship program through your church, we encourage you to do major launches, quarterly huddles where you bring the guys together and then like essentially like a graduation.

Steve Shamberger [00:04:25]:
Yeah.

Ryan Zook [00:04:25]:
So we, we try not to totally completely call it graduation because mentorship is not something where you box and you're done, which you kind of alluded to. But one of the reasons that we invite people or encourage people to do those major like all in church events if you're a church partner is because it does build some excitement. And, and what's Cool. Is it a lot of times brings people in that might not normally be there, and it draws attention to the fact, hey, we are intentionally investing in our men, and we believe that that's the highest possible investment we can make. So we've been. We've been having a lot of different conversations on podcast recently, but one of the things we've been highlighting when you spiritually invest in men, so if you're. If you're a pastor, if you're leading a church, even if you're at a business or something, like, if you are intentionally developing the men, you actually get the highest return on investment. Because when a man's life changes, it affects his family, which leads his wife to be more supported and cared and loved for. It affects his kids, which is kind of the perspective that you're bringing today, and it affects his community, like those other people that around. So Ivan would have been your dad's protege. We call them proteges. And he was directly benefiting from that.

Steve Shamberger [00:05:36]:
Yeah.

Ryan Zook [00:05:36]:
So the ripple effect is enormous, and it's just cool to hear, like, what that was like for you.

Steve Shamberger [00:05:41]:
Yeah. And I think. I think the biggest and most important thing that we can leave is a spiritual legacy. I know people talk about legacy a lot, and I think sometimes it's a little bit funny. Like, I know you want to leave maybe a financial legacy to your kids or what kind of legacy? What are people going to remember when you're gone? I think the only thing that really matters is a spiritual legacy. And I feel like my dad definitely left that, you know, for us. We have a big family for, you know, he has over 20, some grandkids. He has six kids, and he left a spiritual legacy. But so I think that's important. And he modeled, you know, in so many ways, the love of Jesus. Right. But it was important for him to pour into individuals and in this case, his protege.

Ryan Zook [00:06:26]:
Yeah.

Steve Shamberger [00:06:27]:
And to get to see that from a distance. It did impact me. You know, I shared with you now, like, and my dad was my spirit spiritual mentor. He was, you know, my best friend. He was, you know, a business mentor, but he was my spiritual mentor. And he walked alongside me, you know, to get closer to Jesus. So not only the influence he had on his protege, but there was the mentorship that he had with me and so many other people in his circle of influence.

Ryan Zook [00:06:55]:
So again, like, as a son looking at dad, so you saw, like, the big launch. You met Ivan. You knew Ivan. What was that year of mentorship like? Did you see much? Did it. Did you Hear much, much about it. Just as a son watching dad do what dad does. What was that like?

Steve Shamberger [00:07:11]:
I know it was the consistency of showing up. I know that they met. They met often, and I know that there was a consistent and intentional follow up other than, you know, the one on one. I know it was impactful because I know that they would always connect when they were at church. He would always share what they were going through. And my dad and I had a really close relationship even when I wasn't following the Lord. We had a really good friendship. So he would just share a lot of, you know, that, hey, I'm connecting, connecting with the guy. I thought he'd be younger. He wasn't quite as young, but. But it still made a world of difference in both of their lives. I think they both learned a lot from, from the, the mentorship program, of course.

Ryan Zook [00:07:52]:
Okay, so let's pivot now. So your dad is obviously your spiritual mentor as well. You said that. What kind of things did he do in your life? What was that like for you? And, and how has it contributed to where you are today?

Steve Shamberger [00:08:04]:
Yeah, no, I mean, it's really contributed to my walk with the Lord, honestly. The barometer of what it looks like to be a Christ follower and a man following Jesus. And that's, you know, be it in my marriage, be it in the church, be it in my relationships. But one of the things was, you know, he had a Tuesday morning men's breakfast and that was really important to him because there was a group of guys that would always go and try and seek the Lord and have fellowship in that. And that was really important just because of maintaining those relationships, but also accountability, also the fellowship and connection. And I saw that. And he at first, like when I gave my life to the Lord, he asked me, hey, you going to come the Tuesday morning? It's a great group. Come into it. I didn't want to. Right. And I kind of felt, you know, a little bit he was holding me accountable, but I almost felt like it was a little bit of a burden. You wake up early, I'm just sitting there. I don't know, I'm early if my walk in the Lord. But you fast forward, it's been eight years now, and I've been in that group and the relationship and the accountability and it's really, you know, everything about that Tuesday morning Bible study is about men holding other men accountable and growing and seeking the Lord together. And I think that, that, like there's mentorship all through that.

Ryan Zook [00:09:25]:
Yeah, I, I think what's interesting and kind of what got my attention as you're walking through this story is obviously your. Your dad invested in your life the whole time. Your dad takes this step to intentionally mentor Ivan. While he's pouring into Ivan, he's pouring into you at the same time. Now you're in this men's group circle, you said, for eight years. Yeah. What's it like being a part of that brotherhood? Because. Because one of the things we encourage guys is like, hey, find. Find that brotherhood. Like, figure out who your mat carriers are. We were just with Joby Martin. He uses that language like, who are the four guys that can carry you to Jesus when you're not going to get there by yourself? Who are your 3am friends? Who are the guys that you can call in the middle of the night because you need some help immediately? What's it like being in that brotherhood of guys?

Steve Shamberger [00:10:12]:
Yeah, it's probably one of the top, you know, text chains I have in my. All of my text chains. And it's the fact that we love and look forward to Tuesday mornings because of how important it is. There are guys. We've lost a few. My dad, you know, is no longer with us. And there's a couple other guys that started out in that group that have passed away. But when we're in those moments, those relationships have carried us. And I shared, you know, before with a few of the guys in the group that when my dad passed, he was such a big part of that group. He was leading that group. But when. When he had passed, it felt like a couple days later, I'm driving in and I felt like all of the prayers have been poured out upon me, and I just felt like, so at peace. And it's because of the prayers and the support of that group that helps carry you through the difficult times.

Ryan Zook [00:11:01]:
What kind of, if I can be pointed, like, what kind of difficult things are. Are being navigated now in that circle? What's that look like?

Steve Shamberger [00:11:09]:
Well, I mean, a lot. I mean, there's. There's a. A lot of them are older, older guys. There's a guy that really doesn't have any kind of future or positive outlook for his heart. He has a pacemaker. The pacemaker went off a couple times last week, zapped him back because his heart stopped. He's in that group. There's a couple older guys, they have pacemakers, are going to the heart doctors. There's about three or four of them. There are people in there that have family struggles. They've gone through some really Hard things, their life, be it through a divorce and difficult relationships or maybe a strained relationship, you know, with maybe kids, because as I mentioned, a lot of them are older. So, I mean, everyone has things in their life, but we're able to intercede for each other. We're able to walk and do life together. They're able to know that they're not alone. None of us in that group are alone because we're kind of walking hand in hand. We're continuing to pursue the Lord, but we're also bearing each other's burdens along the way.

Ryan Zook [00:12:16]:
I was. I was talking, talking to a men's group last night at Worship center here in Lancaster. And one of the things I was highlighting in that group, if you go. I think it's. I think it's John chapter one. If you go to John chapter one, you have John the Baptist and two disciples. And John the Baptist and his two disciples are down by the river. Jesus comes down to be baptized. John the Baptist says, hey, that's the Messiah.

Steve Shamberger [00:12:38]:
Yep.

Ryan Zook [00:12:39]:
And so one of those disciples is Andrew. Andrew has been following John for some considerable amount of time. We don't know exactly how long, but we know that Andrew had committed his life to following John. As soon as John says, that's the Messiah, go follow him, Andrew decides to commit his life to Jesus. So he's now following Jesus. And if you've been in church for a long time or you've been around faith for a long time, like, it can feel like those are like stained glass windows kind of stories where it's like. Yeah, I get it. It's like almost like a fairy tale. Even though I believe it's true, I've just heard it so many times, it, like, there's no impact.

Steve Shamberger [00:13:08]:
Yeah.

Ryan Zook [00:13:09]:
So these are real men. Like, Andrew was up a real guy. And he honestly really did commit his life to follow John and then to follow Jesus. And so as he's following Jesus, he's like, man, I. I gotta tell my brother about this.

Steve Shamberger [00:13:20]:
Yeah.

Ryan Zook [00:13:21]:
So Andrew goes and finds Peter. What's interesting about that is most of us know that Peter is a disciple. Most of us don't know that Andrew is the disciple. So it's kind of like this. This quiet investment where Peter shows up a little bit more. The reason I tell that story is because it is this chain of men leading and investing in other men.

Steve Shamberger [00:13:40]:
Yeah.

Ryan Zook [00:13:41]:
So if we didn't have John the Baptist, we wouldn't have Andrew. If we didn't have. I mean, certainly if we didn't have Jesus, we'd be in a lot of trouble. But if we didn't have Andrew, we wouldn't have Peter.

Steve Shamberger [00:13:49]:
Yeah.

Ryan Zook [00:13:49]:
If we didn't have Peter, we wouldn't have James. And it's this faithful chain of men that you can actually track. I've done it. It's very nerdy, but you can actually track exactly who those men are as we go throughout the generations. The reason I tell that story is because your dad is one of those faithful men.

Steve Shamberger [00:14:08]:
Yeah.

Ryan Zook [00:14:08]:
And now you get to be one of those faithful men. And so, like, the. The thing I want the audience to hear is you, too can be one of those faithful men. And sometimes it's a series of relatively small steps. Showing up at a breakfast, praying for a guy with a pacemaker, praying together with a guy that's having some trouble in his family. It's a way that we show up up in a small way, but actually makes an incredibly big difference.

Steve Shamberger [00:14:36]:
Yeah.

Ryan Zook [00:14:36]:
And it's quite a ripple. And part of that difference is faithful accountability. Okay, so your, your dad is mentoring Ivan at the same time you can make the case. I mean, your dad is being your dad, but he's mentoring you. And there's friction in that. Like, it's not always phenomenal, it's not always enjoyable. And this is what we were talking about in this group I was speaking to last night, that a lot of times men want to hold back and we don't totally say the whole thing.

Steve Shamberger [00:15:06]:
Yeah.

Ryan Zook [00:15:07]:
Because we don't necessarily want to say the whole thing in a group setting. But just like you need a group setting, you need a one on one setting. Because in those one on one settings, you can be a little bit more honest, a little bit more of the truth. There's a little bit more trust there, and all of us need that. So, like, at Men of Iron, we want to resource you and support you and help you to do that, because we believe in this ripple effect that, that you're an example of today. And many other men that have gone through the mentorship are examples of today, which is one of the things we're going to highlight over the next couple of months. How is that making a difference in your life today? So maybe talk a little bit about, like. Like you're a. You're leading a business now, you're leading your family now. Like, what's that look like for you today?

Steve Shamberger [00:15:49]:
Just following Jesus. But then as we're following, then you're. You're bringing people along with you. That's what my dad did. Yeah. And like, that and he, and he had the intentional mentorship. Right. And then he, the intentional group with the Tuesday morning guys. But then we had a smaller group. Right. There's just a handful of guys. But I think that that's the biggest things. To continue to pursue the Lord and bring people along with you. I think that's the spiritual legacy that like we get to live and the intentionality of one on one, but also the intentionality of like small groups or different studies and things. And to continue to do life together. We were meant to do life together. I mean that's how we were built. We were built for community.

Ryan Zook [00:16:31]:
Yeah. And I think part of it is you have to, you have to do a little bit of your part in seeking out that community, but also recognize that when you find that spot, wherever that spot is, it can make a big difference in your life because it can be part of how you faithfully carry that legacy.

Steve Shamberger [00:16:48]:
Yeah.

Ryan Zook [00:16:48]:
You've been in that breakfast for eight years.

Steve Shamberger [00:16:50]:
Yeah.

Ryan Zook [00:16:51]:
And I'm sure there's been people in and out. Out.

Steve Shamberger [00:16:53]:
Yeah.

Ryan Zook [00:16:54]:
And one of the things that's important just, just to talk about is that we know that today there's some new research out about. It came out in September. We know that today that Gen Z is the most likely generation to be interested in faith and ultimately to find themselves in church. It's really never been that way before. Like we've always been in this kind of declining moment. Like each generation is less likely than the previous one to be in church today. Gen Z is not like that. They actually are the most likely to be in church.

Steve Shamberger [00:17:22]:
Church.

Ryan Zook [00:17:22]:
And for the first time again in generations, men are actually seeking that out. And we don't want those men to come seeking and have nobody to help them.

Steve Shamberger [00:17:31]:
Yeah.

Ryan Zook [00:17:32]:
And so one of the things that's important to men of iron is that we can resource you. Like we're going to reach all the men we can, but we want to link arms with everybody else that's interested in that mission and give you the resources, the tools that you need to be able to invest in those young guys because they are out there and they are searching and they do want help. To know what it means to know God, know their purpose, build God's kingdom. We want to help them do that. I'm just curious, like what, what you're seeing in that realm of things.

Steve Shamberger [00:17:58]:
My wife and I through our church got to go to a missions trip. Just got back a couple week ago, a couple weeks ago from Sweden and my nephew and his girlfriend went and my Nephew really wasn't attending church. You know, my. My wife invited them because the team wasn't very big. They were looking to fill spots and just kind of threw some flyers out. And he's like, yeah, I think we might be interested. So that was back in April. Since then, he's been attending every single week we went on the trip. And on the trip, he was able to share his testimony and the gospel to a group of teenage Muslim boys at a soccer tournament that they put on. And so you talk about the generational pool, right? The spiritual legacy. So, you know, my dad is there, and then he pours into us and myself, and then we get to continue to pour into the next generation. I mean, like, that's what it's about to me. But then to follow up with, there is a, you know, a spiritual revival going on in the younger generation. And when we went over there to a little town in Sweden, their community and their church was on fire. And it was just the young kids, the student men, the young adults. And we're seeing that here. And the pastor there referenced it. It is young men, they're looking and seeking for truth, and they're finding it in the church.

Ryan Zook [00:19:15]:
So this is. This is important to. To highlight and to recognize that there is a movement that's happening. We do have an opportunity to rise to the challenge. One of the things I like to challenge all of you in the audience is like, that's not something that somebody else is going to do. If you assume that somebody else is going to take that torch and carry it, you're going to miss out on what God has for you to do. And I want you to take your role and your responsibility in this seriously. Like, God really has placed you in this moment in time that is a unique in time to carry his mission forward. And so just. Just as Steve has been highlighting, like his dad was mentoring somebody, his dad was invested in this breakfast. Now, you know, Steve is carrying that torch. Now this nephew's involved. Like, we have this incredible opportunity to build into something that is much bigger than ourselves, that is really built, I mean, ultimately by God's spirit. Like, God is leading all of it. God's sovereignty is all over all of it. But he chooses to use faithful men to take that responsibility seriously, to invest in other men so that those men ultimately can lead other men to take their role and responsibility seriously. That's one of the exciting things about the history of Men of Iron we haven't talked about a lot recently, but we are turning 20 soon. And one of the cool things about that is that there are a lot of stories out there of men who watch their dads mentor other men and now are taking that call in their life seriously as well. Like, hey, my dad had a protege. I want to have a protege. And so it really speaks to the effectiveness of multiplication of mentorship. We don't have the corner on mentorship. We have some tools and resources that can help you. Obviously, we believe in what we do, and we are changing a culture one man at a time. But it's pretty exciting to see guys that watch their dads do this, that are now doing it themselves. And we just want to encourage you in that journey. If you need some help in growing in your core five, your faith, family, friends, fitness, and finances, there are links in the description that can help you. You don't really need much. You just need to be willing to do it and to gather a group of men. If you hear Steve talking about this breakfast that they're a part of, we have the tools and resources that we can give you to help you spark that. We would suggest that you use a man's game plan. Just get. Just buy the pack, be willing to lead it, get a group of guys around it, get a conversation going. You're going to see a lot of fruit come from that. If you want to be a mentor, you can find that link in our description as well so that you can sign up, self, start your mentorship, get another guy, do life together for a year. You will be astounded at the amount of life change that happens when you really do set out to know God and know your purpose, to challenge each over. Over the course of that year. Steve, I loved hearing about your dad. I loved hearing about what your dad's done in your life and the impact that you're having today. Is there anything that you want to leave with the audience on like, hey, this is. This is the impact that there is.

Steve Shamberger [00:22:01]:
One thing that stands out is when Billy Graham was asked if he would do anything differently, he said, and this Billy Graham. Yeah, he preached, I don't know, hundreds and thousands of people. He said, the one thing I would do differently is get a group of 12 guys in a very close relationship and pour into them in an intentional, intimate way to continue that ripple effect of making disciples. And I think that's pretty, I mean, coming from Billy Graham, that's pretty powerful of the power of mentorship and discipleship. And I think we have a great opportunity right now to step into that.

Ryan Zook [00:22:36]:
Thanks so much for being with us man. Appreciate it. Thanks for listening to the Men of Iron Podcast Again. We want you to thrive in your core five. That's your faith, family, friends, fitness and finances. Ultimately, we think the best way to do that is a one on one mentorship with another man just a couple seasons ahead of you. Investing in you, calling you out, holding you accountable so that in the end you're a better man at the end of that year. If you're interested in that, there's a link in our description. You can just follow it and get the resources you need. Thanks again for listening to the Men of Iron Podcast. We'll be back again next week. Week thanks for listening to the Men of Iron podcast. Be sure to like subscribe and share at Men of Iron. We exist to change a culture one man at a time and we'd love to have you partner with us. So go to menoviron. Org to see how you can get involved or donate at menoviron. Org. Donate.