He Spent Years Rooted in Rejection — Until God Broke Through

Father wounds, rejection, identity, and the moment Jesus breaks through — this powerful conversation with Eric Stephens shows how God rebuilds a man from the inside out.

Eric grew up carrying the weight of rejection, especially from his biological father. That wound shaped years of partying, addiction, depression, and even a suicide attempt. But in his darkest moment, God made Himself undeniably real — and everything changed.

In this episode, Eric shares:
• How father wounds shaped his identity
• The moment he cried out to God and got an unexpected answer
• Why sin “cost him more than he was willing to pay”
• His battle with addiction and depression
• The supernatural moment that led him back to Christ
• How Redwood Christian Ministries was born
• Why men must become rooted in Christ instead of pain
• His mission to give believers an alternative to destructive music through Beyond the Walls

If you’ve ever felt unseen, rejected, or unsure of who you are, this episode will speak directly to you. God still redeems, restores, and rebuilds.

Share this with a man who needs hope today.

Redwood Christian Ministries – Rooted In Christ

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

And a lot of people who live in Lakewood, Ohio, they know that if you live by the train tracks, when the train goes by, it just becomes white noise because you hear it all the time. You know, you can just fall asleep to it, you know. Um, so the train goes by, you know, it's just it's nothing. It's nothing to you, right? But I'm praying, Lord, if you are real, if you are real, because I just got these two very conflicting stories. I need you to make yourself real to me. I need to know when my grandma's gonna die. And if you do, I will follow you. I got on my I'm praying this on my knees. That train goes by so loud, I jump out of my skin and it blows its horn three times.

unknown 0:38

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 0:38

And I said, Okay, I got it.

SPEAKER_00 0:45

Welcome to the Valiant Forge Podcast, where we help men overcome life's battles, show up better in the world, and become a valiant warrior for God. This is a place where we share practical strategies that will equip you on life's journey to help you become the man God has called you to be. Are you ready to overcome your doubt and fulfill your purpose just like Gideon? If so, let's go.

SPEAKER_02 1:12

Today's guest, Eric Stevens, knows what it's like to be unseen and hanging on by a thread. He spent years battling addiction, depression, and even a suicide attempt. Until Jesus met him in the middle of his wreckage and rebuilt him from the ground up. He's now the founder of Redwood Christian Ministries and is the host of the Rooted in Christ Podcast, where he helps people encounter the same redemption that saved him. And I think in a couple days you're gonna hear me on his podcast. So go follow his podcast and we will talk more about that at the end of the episode. I got another special surprise for you. So here is my conversation with Eric Stevens. Eric, welcome to the podcast.

SPEAKER_01 1:55

Sir, how you doing? Thanks for having me, man. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_02 1:58

I'm doing I'm doing great. So you've built a minute ministry around helping believers become rooted in Christ. But before we talk about your ministry, I want to talk about Eric the man. So take me back to the moment when God first started forming you before the podcast, before Redwood, before Redwood Ministries, and before the calling was clear.

SPEAKER_01 2:22

Oh man. Yeah. I um I was actually, you know, I was raised by my mom and my grandmother for the most part. Um my stepfather came into my life at about age 11 for the you know, more of a full-time capacity. Um, you know, my biological father, um, one of his last things he said to me was I wasn't gonna mount to anything, I wasn't gonna be like him. I was I didn't have muscles like him. I wasn't gonna, you know, get girls like him. You know, he my last experience of him was my 11th birthday when he when we were playing basketball together. Now, mind you, this man is six foot three and fresh out of the military, and I'm an 11-year-old fat kid. Ball bounces off the rim, I go up for a rebound, he fouls me so hard I hit the ground, I start crying. Um so, and that's when he said all those things. So I, you know, I I just started looking for my identity and people after that. And I just, you know, you just had enough of already like getting picked on and not fitting in in school, and you know, um, all those, all those things. And you didn't need the your biological father telling you that you wouldn't be where he was. Because, you know, so that was a huge um that was a huge trigger point for me to and now I can say it, but I didn't know the time, like that led to my my main issues being in in rejection, um, and then looking for my identity in man and and in people and and in things. So that was critical because by the time I got to college, an important part of this story is I had been going to Catholic school, so I had mass on Fridays, but I was going to a Baptist church, so we had that on Sundays. And I I distinctly remember telling my parents, driving out to Kent State, like I'm not gonna be following any of this stuff when I get out here. You know, I I went to college to get a job because I didn't want to live in the ghetto in the hood anymore. Like, so I was just gonna that's the only reason I went to college to get a degree. Other than that, I went there to party and to live my life and by the standards that the world said. I, you know, all the stuff that the world says is is necessary, all the stuff they say you're supposed to have the money, the girls, the nights out. Um so when I was with one crowd of people, I was one way. When I was in another crowd of people, I carried myself uh a different way. I just wanted to be I wanted to be accepted. But I created a persona of just being the villain of my own story because I'm like being being good never got me anywhere. It just did not get me ahead. Um, but you know, I see in music, I see in TV, I see in everywhere. Like the bad guys are the ones getting cheered for. You know, they're the ones like, and you know, there's obviously I'm heavily influenced by the world, the stuff I'm listening to, the stuff I'm watching. And you know, at that point, I'm like, I'm gonna be that. I'm gonna be that tough guy on Thursday night you don't want to run into. I'm gonna be that guy who can shoot whiskey with the best of them. You don't want to play that game either. You know, I'm gonna I want to be the life of the party, you know, all of these things. And I was just digging myself further and further and further into the grave of my flesh and just pushing, you know, Christ further and further away because I thought I was getting what I wanted. You know, and now I really do tell people like sin will cost you more than you're willing to pay and more than you're aware of, and it will definitely keep you longer than you're willing to stay. Um you don't realize the price that you are ultimately paying. You know, it seems fun in the moment until the rug is ripped out from under you. And if you if you fast forward to um me graduating college and getting into some of my my adult years, my grandmother had already beaten um cancer before because she was somebody I really looked up to. She grew up in a time where being black and being a woman was like two strikes against you, you know. But I never heard her make an excuse. I never heard her use any of that. You know, she you would not have heard her describe her situation the way that I just did. So I kind of got some of my work ethic and some of my grit from from how she would move and how she would operate. You know, she'd be tired, she keep going, she get hurt, she keep going, you know, those kind of things. So I got a phone call one day that said your your grandmother has uh has bladder cancer, but because of the type of cancer and how aggressive this has gotten, and maybe they said the stage this was at. They basically said that um my mom called me and said that she your grandmother has like somewhere between like five to seven days to live because of what hospice had came in and told her, just because of the type of cancer and how it had advanced. I got a phone call from another family member, maybe about an hour or two after that, that said, Um, hey, I don't know who started this rumor, but your grandmother's not gonna die, she's gonna be fine. You know, and then there's me sitting here hoping that you know my hero rises again, rides off in the sunset, that 80s baby and me, you know, you hope your action hero comes back and then does the thing. Um, but I have to deal with the fact that my mom is telling me one thing, so why would she lie and make that up versus a family member who is now telling me something totally different? You know, so um I remember I went in my room and I was sitting there on the bed. I sat perfectly still for a while because at that time I wasn't really dealing or processing with any of my like my feelings, my my emotions. You know, it was all through other substances that I was processing things. So I never had a chance to really like develop, you know. Like I didn't, I didn't say I don't I won't say I didn't have a chance. I didn't. I chose a route of substance abuse and other things to cope. Um, yeah, I didn't take the chance. So um at that point, I'm sitting there and I'm living in Lakewood, Ohio at the time. And a lot of people who live in Lakewood, Ohio, they know that if you live by the train tracks, when the train goes by, it just becomes white noise because you hear it all the time. You know, you can just fall asleep to it, you know. Um, so the train goes by. You know, it's just it's nothing. It's nothing to you, right? But I'm praying, Lord, if you are real, if you are real, because I just got these two very conflicting stories. I need you to make yourself real to me. I need to know when my grandmother's gonna die. And if you do, I will follow you. I got on my I'm praying this on my knees. That train goes by so loud, I jump out of my skin and it blows his horn three times. Wow, and I said, Okay, I got it. She's gonna die in three days. Three days later, Saturday morning, first thing, she was gone, 6 a.m. First thing.

SPEAKER_02 8:30

Wow, and um, you know, your grandmother had already beaten cancer once at that point.

SPEAKER_01 8:37

Already had beaten it once, yeah. Already have beaten it once. So um, you know, what was funny was I had visited a church the week prior called New Life Church in Lakewood, and that Sunday that I didn't go to church after she passed, I got a call from the pastor, and he said, you know, I noticed you weren't at church today. We hope everything's okay. That man met me one time and knew I was missing. So now I know the shepherd knows the sheep, right? So um, so I was that one. I was that one that that God went after, and I was out there, you know, I was I was really out there. So um that's the that's the point where he where he reached me, you know, in in that in that in my darkest moment where that because at the time that was not only my biggest fear, but my grandmother had a place in my heart that probably Jesus was really supposed to have, you know, I can say that now. You don't really realize that at the time, even once I got saved, I didn't realize that that that revelation came years later.

SPEAKER_02 9:30

So yeah. So when you were you were going to Catholic school and being going to a Baptist church at the same time, was there a lot of conflicting theologies that was going on that was kind of messing you up? And then another question I have, and you can kind of bounce go it's kind of two different questions, but do you think that you were running away from your father telling you you'll never amount to anything? I mean, you went to college, so you you must have had some kind of ambition, right?

SPEAKER_01 10:02

I so I don't really remember feeling like these were conflicting viewpoints because like this is one of those things, like you're a kid, right? Like you don't, I don't really remember, like I noticed there was definitely a difference, you know, for sure, especially in like the praise and worship, or especially like the dynamics of the preaching, or like the outfits on a Sunday morning versus like how like the standards, like there was definitely some some dogmas that were that were absolutely um different. The the Hail Mary, for example, you know what I mean. You you noticed the differences. I think I ran from from the the religiosity of some of those things. I think I ran from some of those dogmas, but I was literally running to the world. I can't make any excuses and blame uh Catholicism or or the Baptist faith. I was running to to go live that party lifestyle. Um, and I think as far as my my biological father went, I you know, I think I touched on this a little bit, but I did not, I grew up on the east side of Cleveland, I did not want to live there anymore. You know, I was falling asleep to to to sirens and gunshots. And the house next to us, I'm talking like cocktail bomb, like burnt to the ground. You know, I just I'm like, I don't want to live here anymore. So my main motivation to get to college was to literally go out, make my own decisions, live my own life, get enough money to have a decent apartment, pay some rent, and then just party. Like I was very, very short-sighted. Like I did not go to college with the aspirations to better the world. I went there to better my world, you know. Um, but so there they to end so was there drive there? Yes. Was the motivation completely distorted? Also, yes. So I see.

SPEAKER_02 11:43

Yeah. So when you're after your grandmother passed away and you started going to that church, was it like a sudden turnaround or was it slow? Do you have a hard time getting away from the friends and the life that you had?

SPEAKER_01 11:57

Some of it was a very quick turnaround, a lot of it was radical, and then I backslid. And then there was because I never dealt with those roots of rejection, some of that stuff was just would just linger. Um, I would tell anybody, you know, if you need to change that phone number, get a new apartment, you know, change your social media pages, put, don't just delete the phone number, you know, block it and then delete it so they can't call you and you can't call them. You know, some of those, some of those things were still too close to me. Um, and I didn't have a biblical view of of hating my my sin the way that God that God does, feeling about my sin the way that God does. Um, but I really, I really, even though that I backslid and I was I was not where I needed to be, I was not happy sinning because I had a uh an awakening in the sense of I was aware of what my sin was and what my sin was was doing. And 2016, 2017, we had an Azusa conference that came to Cleveland. I rededicated my life to the Lord and ran hard for him since you know that was that was really like a staple point in my walk.

SPEAKER_02 12:58

Yeah, there's there's something you said. You said you didn't understand the roots of rejection, and I I did notice that because your podcast is called Rooted in Christ.

unknown 13:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:08

So was that kind of how that all started?

SPEAKER_01 13:11

No, that's not I I wish I could, I wish the podcast started from that because that'd be so like poetic, but that's not how I thought how I started. Um I actually um I was I was I had a job at Baldon Wallace University. So for anybody who doesn't know, I do I do major gift fundraising. So I meet with the alumni of of universities and I ask them to give back to donations, for give back donations or scholarships, dorm renovations, technology, capital campaigns, whatever you name it, that's what I was fundraising for. And I was flying a crazy amount of miles uh a year. Um and we all know what happened in in 2020. You know, everything got shut down, obviously. But prior to that, our church started our encounter retreat, which was our our leader, but they did it for our leaders, which is based in encounter, get filled with the Holy Spirit, get recharged with Jesus. It was a it was a it was a good time. But at this retreat, a lady who goes to our church walked up to me and she starts telling me about her vacation out in California. And this is probably 2017, maybe 2018, at the at the latest. And I should not admit this, but I do it all the time. I just tell the truth. Like when people, because I was traveling for a living, I was traveling so much. When people talk about their vacations, it was just in one ear and out the other. Like I never listened, you know. I'm not that person to invite over your house to look at the picture book from you having fun on your vacation. Like, I'm not gonna do it because for me, it was like this plane takes off at this time. If I miss it, I gotta do this. You know, the if if it's coming from here, it's gonna be three minutes late. I might miss my connected flight. Like, for me, it was just all business for this. Um, that mentality made me successful, but it also made me drown out when people were talking about talking about their family vacations. But she told me she told me this story about California, and I couldn't, I was captivated by it, which is not my personality. I wrote down every word she said about her vacation at that retreat, put it on a shelf. 2020 hits, but I when I tell you between 2017 and 2020, I thought about this woman's vacation at no less than once a week, and it was on my spirit like heavy. Wow. So one day, literally, I kid you not, it's 2020. We haven't gone anywhere. It is probably one or two o'clock in the morning, man. I'm just being honest, like, and I'm sitting in my I'm sitting downstairs watching TV, and Godzilla, king of monsters, is on the TV. Like, like this is what I'm watching right now. And the Holy Spirit says, go get that notebook off the shelf because clearly I'm just wasting my life away. And I go get the book, and the story goes: the redwood trees in California grow to be 300 to 450 feet tall. But the roots of these trees are only six feet deep. But these tree roots are are interlocked and and they're intertwined. So the tree roots go on for miles, but they help uplift and support and hold one another up. These trees also battle storms together. So when the storm comes in, they funnel them out. So you see a redwood tree down, that means it got isolated somehow. Um, these trees need like need the ash for fire for purification, and they're so massive, they're their own ecosystem. So they take care of like birds and animals that live on it, they nourish the area around it. And it hit me in the face when I read that that that night. And I was like, this is the way Christianity is supposed to be. Not this church versus that church, not you speaking tongues and I don't, not you got tattoos and piercings, and I don't. No, what did you do with Jesus? Let's just keep the main thing, the main thing, and we can deal with everything else after that. Have you accepted Christ or not? So my nonprofit stands on three things, which so that is now called Redwood Christian ministries, and we stand on salvation, discipleship, and unity in in the body of Christ. And so I just I went to the Ohio site, typed in, you know, and I I typed in like like well back up. First ask Holy Spirit what do you want me to call this? And once I got that clarification, because they were called Redwood trees, and I don't want to take the Christ out of anything because that verse that if you deny them before a man, I'll deny you for my father. Like it sits in my head in every context. Like, I understand the full context of what that scripture says, but it just it sits in my mind. I'm like, I don't want to take the Christian out of this. So, and I said, This is a ministry, and the Holy Spirit just gave it to me, Redwood Christian Ministries. Typed it on the Ohio site, nobody had it. Trademark the logo, nobody had it, which was insane. This process went by like like that. So then we had a 501c3. Um, so that kicked that off. And then the podcast came in 2022, um, where I have guests go on the show and share their testimonies and share their life stories about all the stuff that God is is doing um in their lives. And it's you know, and I mentioned this, you know, if it doesn't fall into one of our three pillars, I will I don't touch it, you know. So if it's not about salvation, discipleship, or church unity, um, we don't get involved. So I I now have life coaching, I now have the the podcast. Um we host a Christian hip hop and RB concert here called Beyond the Walls, give you an alternative of music to listen to because I hate the music of the message of secular and explicit music right now. Um it's just it's complete opposite of my faith, you know. So um, and like the coaching helps because sometimes pastors and leaders don't have somebody to talk to or listen to or give them guidance to. So that's kind of where where that stepped in. But yeah, I I would to go back, I wish it was so poetic is rooted in rejection, now rooted in Christ. I yeah, I can't take credit for that though.

SPEAKER_02 18:39

So so how what started building you towards this? Like from my perspective right now, you have a powerful ministry. And you know, I've I've met you once before. I I can just I can sense that power, that spirit of Christ in you. So right after you Well, let's go back to the Azuzu conference that you were talking about. Did something significant happen there that you you like to speak about that made you like I'm gonna go hard after God now?

SPEAKER_01 19:09

It was just it was just tired of of sin. You either hurt on the change, you know the change. And I'm like, I was hurting, I knew enough, and I wasn't happy, you know. And it was a matter of really like, Lord, I want to go all in with you. And at that point, I went down to the altar and I just said, Lord, here is I'm laying it all here and I'm leaving it here. I'm not picking this back up, I'm gone. I'm leaving all of this here. And so that was that was the moment, you know, that that's what took place in that moment. But some of the the other answer question is like, I don't want to see anybody go to hell, you know, and I used my voice for absolute destruction for most of my life. And I said, now I'm gonna use it to tell you about this man known as Jesus. So it's it's been a mission of mine probably since I got saved to really talk to those people who other people either have forgotten about, they don't want to talk to, they don't want to share their faith with. Point me in that direction. Let's let's go give them let's go give them the gospel. Because as a Christian, I don't want to see anybody go to hell. And I don't, and as a Christian, I don't know why anyone would, but I have to, I've always asked myself, do I love you enough to tell you about Jesus? Do I love you enough to get out of my comfort zone, out of my discomfort to tell you about Christ? So I think that he took something that the enemy was using for evil and just said, No, this was the gift that I put in you. I'm gonna turn this around and use it for the way it was meant to be used.

SPEAKER_02 20:34

Yeah. When you opened up that notebook, you know, had that thought in your mind where you're already kind of in the place of like, I want to build a ministry, and then God led you.

SPEAKER_01 20:46

No, I I wasn't, I really wasn't, and I that's why I can't take credit for for any of this because like I told God I was not gonna do my podcast. I actually told him no on it. So but God has had me in a situation in a situation where like I can't take credit for anything that goes on. Hey, somebody else, somebody spoke to you, planted a seed, it got watered, and now look at what it's it's growing into. Hey, you didn't want to do the podcast. I gave you some divine appointments, now you kicked off the podcast. Don't get prideful, remain remain humble and and serve me. So he completely took me out of it because none of this was really on my radar to do this.

SPEAKER_02 21:26

So, what I like to do, and I know you like to do it too, is I like to highlight Jesus. So, seeing you said there were some divine appointments that led you to starting this podcast, yeah, even when you were saying no.

SPEAKER_01 21:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:38

Can you tell me some of those divine appointments?

SPEAKER_01 21:40

Absolutely. Get ready to realize how disobedient I really am. So um, I was taking a I was leaving church on the Sunday and I was taking a work trip. I think I was headed to South Carolina. So this just tells you how late of a night this was about to be. And I did not feel like going. Like I was getting burnt out. Um, I was getting burned out from traveling, like I realized what. Once I stopped traveling, I didn't miss traveling the way that I was like at all. So when it picked back up again, this must have been 2021, I think, at that point, whenever I don't remember when they opened the airlines back up. But um headed down there, and you know, I'm sitting there with a bad attitude. So I said, you know what? Before I go to the airport, I'm gonna go home. I'm gonna grab my churches, touch cars, and invite cards because obviously somebody's leaving Ohio to go to South Carolina. I'm just gonna evangelize over sitting next to me on the plane. So I just went home, grabbed some of my church to touch cars. I said, I'm just gonna talk to this person. I get on the plane, guys down. I sit next to him, and I was like, hey man, how are you doing? He was like, Good. He was like, How are you? I said, I'm tired, man. Just left church today. So, but now I'm headed here for work. And I just wanted to see how he reacted to the word church because I'm that person. You don't want to make eye contact me in the grocery store. I'm gonna talk to you and I'm gonna find a way to invite you to some church function, find a way to talk to you about Jesus. Like, this is just what I do. Like, going to the store for milk and eggs can take me three hours, just because I'm gonna talk to as many people as I can. Um, but and he said, Oh man, so you're a believer. I paused and I'm like, Yeah. And he said, Oh, so you're you're spirit-filled. I'm in my head, I'm like, that's what happens, you know, at the point of justification. Yes, you know what I mean. I'm like, these are not normal theological, this is not a normal conversation to be having right now. And he's like, Man, he's like, So you're a Christian? I'm like, Yeah, and he's and we just got to talking, and I just we just started sharing stories, and I said, Yeah, man, God has tell me to start this podcast. I'm like, all this equipment looks the same, and I don't really know what to do. I don't really don't even want to do it. And he starts telling me that God has had it on his heart to start a nonprofit, but he didn't want to start it because his wife is pregnant, he didn't want to go to school for two years. And I said, Man, look, I've had a bad day today, like, but I you don't have to go to school to start a nonprofit. I literally just started one. I've been doing fundraising for over 20 years. I can walk you through this process very quickly and easily. I can tell you what to do before this plane even lands. He said, You know what? I'll make you a deal. If you tell me what you tell me all that, I will literally tell you what equipment to buy for your podcast because he was a producer trying to get a Christian TV series on Netflix. Wow. I was like, You gotta be kidding me. So we land, I give him the stuff, he sends me the Excel sheets and compares all the mics and everything else. Like it was crazy. But you would think that so I get home, right? I order all the equipment, I get everything he said. I'm like, all right, we're gonna do this. And I still didn't do it. I still didn't do it. The stuff sat in boxes for months, for months. So you know what it was 2021, and this is how I know because 2020, I never I didn't catch COVID. I didn't catch COVID until 2021. And I was on another work trip, came back home, I started feeling really sick, and I was laid up on the couch for an extended period of time. And I know God allowed that to get my attention because part of the reason it took that I was discouraged of starting the podcast was once I bought the equipment, I started reaching out to some of my closest connections. I'd love to have you my first guest, I'd love to have you on there. One of my best friends, me and him just kept miscuing. One of my other friends, she couldn't do the show because she ended up dropping an album at the same time. Like, God had quickened her to go do something like that. And I was like, wow, this is this is crazy. Somebody else I had reached out to who did a conference at our church. I sent her a DM and I said, Hey, would you be willing to be my guest in the show? Like, I think your content is like would be would really speak to my future audience. And you can see on Instagram people read your message and don't respond. I'm like, this woman just left me on red. Like, are you kidding me? We talked all the time. Like, I've talked to your assistant all the time. Like, what is going on here? Um, and that had probably been going on for like three or four months. And I was like, Did I even hear from God? Boom, I catch COVID. COVID hit me hard too. I lost like 15, 20 pounds in like three or four days. Like, it hit me hard, hard. Um, and at that point, I was like, God, I know, and I'm laying on the couch so I can see the box of like a podcast equipment there. And I said, God, if you want me to start this podcast, I need a sign because I swear I thought I heard from you, and apparently I didn't because ain't nothing working out. As soon as I got done praying, I kid you not, seven minutes later, the lady who I had originally reached out to left me on red, sends me a DM on Instagram, says, Hey, I'm sorry I never responded to your message. I've been swamped. I just hired an assistant. Let's set this up, streamline this whole thing through her. As soon as I got over Kobe, we hit we hit uh record, and it's been we're approaching episode 200 coming up in in June. So that's amazing. Yeah, man. So that's it, it always birthed out of my disobedience. That's why I can't say, like, yeah, I was definitely on this path, you know. Um, and I that just goes to show like you may not know the exact thing that God is calling you to do, like the specifics of your calling, but just keep doing the last things he told you to do. Share your faith, love on people, get bring your time, talent, and treasure to the kingdom, and he'll open those doors when you're when you're ready for it. Because if he would have blessed me with this stuff in my 20s and my 30s, you and I wouldn't be talking right now. This is this whole thing would have burned the ground.

SPEAKER_02 27:18

And I love that encouragement, it got me a little riled up. Um, so you've done you do mostly do like testimony interviews, right?

SPEAKER_01 27:28

Um, most of the time I have people come on and share their testimonies. Once you come on, like after the first time, like we usually break down some kind of scripture or some kind of life event. Like it can be full-on Bible study in there. We can be like, Look, or how can you apply this scripture to your life? Like, yeah, once once you've came on and shared your testimony, I don't have you come back and do the same thing again. We tell you go back and watch episode 86. Right now, we really want to dive into like the Great Commission on this episode.

SPEAKER_02 27:50

So the question I was asking you that because the question I want to ask, because I've had a lot of testimonies on myself. I what themes do you see kind of repeating in the lives of believers? Because I'm listening to your story, yeah, and kind of how I started my podcast, and there's a lot of similarities because I was like, no way, I'm starting a podcast as well. So I'm like, you know, through testimonies that you've seen and listened to, do you see any repeatable themes that God has in people's lives?

SPEAKER_01 28:25

I think the main theme is the faithfulness of God. Like that, that I don't, you know, I because I talk to everybody, like I don't care how like I literally talked, you can be a Christian hip hop and RB artist, or you can be the the mailman, or you can be the electrician, or if you can be the nurse. I personally, if you have a Jesus story to tell, reach out to me. I'm gonna get you on the show. Because I think you're I 100% believe your testimony is for someone else, and people can overcome by the by by listening to other people's stories and hearing some of the stuff that they've they've gone through. You know, that's why I'm costing when I tell my testimony to not glorify the sin because the stuff that I went through, I realize it is completely magnified on TV and music and everything else, you know. So, but that's been the theme is just the faithfulness of God, you know, whether it's the former drug dealer, whether it's the murderer, whether it's the pastor's kid, whether it's the person who grew up in church and walked away. Like we've had so many stories on there. Um, I just recently had a story with a lady who told me that her her son is now um, she might have been on your show too. I can't, I'm I'm not gonna name her name, but she don't know how I've only had men on my show so far. Okay, so okay, so um she basically said her son is um is transgender now and how to deal with things of that. Like we've we've we've had it all in there, how she's now interceding and being an intercessor for him, and I just see God's faithfulness, but I see his his joy in in the believers too. So, you know, every every story is like they're all unique, but the faithfulness of God is just that that line through them all. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 30:04

Okay, I'm gonna ask you a kind of an interesting question. What does it mean to be rooted in Christ?

SPEAKER_01 30:12

If you ask me that right now in 2026, I want to tell you it is intentionality. Um, because the word God put on my heart this year was intentionality and be intentional. So it is being intentional with your walk with Jesus. Started my days with him, I'm ending my days with him, putting together a specific growth plan for this year so I can go deeper in the meaning and understanding of the word, reading his word and living it out, reaching out to my my pastor and my accountability partners to to hold me accountable, to make sure that I'm still on the right path. You know, it's it's prayer time with my wife, it's devotional time with my wife, it is um doing Bible studies with with our daughter, it is it is family nights, it is intentional date nights with my wife, so we don't lose that spark. Um it is but it it is it is intentionality of keeping him at the center and keeping him first and not doing anything on my own desires. That is, I guess that's a short version of that, but it's it's being intentional and doing it all with for him and onto him and trying to put Eric Stevens to death and put me aside.

SPEAKER_02 31:21

Yeah, I love it. I do the same thing, but I'm gonna put myself in a place of another man that like listens to me, sees everything that I do. I'm I have a full-time job. I administer, I'm a minister in the church, I'm running a podcast, you know, I'm discipling guys on the side. I have a wife, I have grandchildren. They always ask me, like, how do you, and I do the same thing. I make very intentional about making sure I'm spending time with my wife and my grandchildren and my kids and and everything else. They always ask me, like, how do you how do you do it all? I know you're a businessman, you're in ministry, you got a family. How do how do you maintain that balance?

SPEAKER_01 32:02

I don't do anything that is that doesn't involve me. Like, yeah, I I I wait, like, Lord, what do you want me to do? And you tell me where you want me to go, who's supposed to be in my life from where I'm at, who's supposed to be in my life and where I'm going, what am I called to do? Where am I supposed to? And then when these things start popping up, I know because I've been praying in advance. I think we underestimate our our prayer closet sometimes that God has a plan and a purpose for our life, and it's sometimes we feel like we're moving by by by chance when really he's like, No, I've orchestrated this, I've ordained this, I've already been in your tomorrow, so I know what you're gonna need when you get there. Like, depend on me today. You don't got to worry about any of this stuff. Like, depend on me today, and tomorrow we'll we'll deal with tomorrow when it gets here. So, you know, it's it's those it's those kind of things. I that's the spirit side. The flex, the the the human side. I have a calendar on my phone that if it is not on my calendar, do not expect me to show up. If you are going to be late, that tells me you do not respect my time. So you've got that 15-minute window and I'm gone. So it's like, you know, um, everything is my my rest day, scheduled out, date nights, scheduled out. My um right now, my reading plans, scheduled out, my discipleship time, scheduled out. It is all I'm a compartmentalized thinker. Everything has every I believe I'm that person, everything has a place that it's supposed to be, but Jesus is in every single compartment. It's not like there's hey, there's this room over here, Jesus, you can't come in this. I don't want you over here. No, he's in every compartment, you know. Um, but yeah, that's that's really how it goes. I it doesn't feel like a lot to me, and this is I should have mentioned this too. I'm also enrolled in Portland Bible college to make sure I keep growing and make sure I keep learning. So I don't slip up and accidentally teach heresy, you know what I mean? Yeah, right, right. Um, you know, so I I do that, and so those classes, my time to take those classes, scheduled out, you know. So that's that's just how I do it. Again, it goes back to the intentionality. I don't need to have my hands in everything. Um, I don't need to be a part of everything. My yes validates my no, and my no validates my yes.

SPEAKER_02 34:06

Amen. Yeah, what you were saying. I used to not be the person to come compartmentalize everything.

SPEAKER_01 34:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 34:14

But uh, you know, what I really got convicted with is stewardship. Growing up, stewardship to me was always about how you handle your money. But it's about a lot more. It's how you handle everything, how you handle your time, your relationships, all of that, and it's all about intentionality. And where you said it doesn't feel like a lot to me, that's what I tell everybody who asks me that question like I still got plenty of time. Somehow, God makes a way, because that's that's how I see it. So I know you uh you coach a lot of men. Is there a specific thing that men are struggling with today? Because this is a podcast for men, so I want to ask a question around that.

SPEAKER_01 34:57

I I can't, I don't I'll say this. What uh the guys I've run into, it seems like God brought them into my life for a specific reason. And it's because they're all put their hands the plow kind of guys, they're all doers. And I've had to tell I so now what I'm doing is I'm introducing more devotionals, I'm introducing more scripture, I'm getting them in in the Bible way more often than they've been. I'm I'm showing them, hey, Portland Bible College offer these free classes. I I recommend you taking these. So it is intentional discipleship to make sure that they because they're leaders in their homes. So, and if they're not right now, they they will be. But even if they're they're even the few that are single, you still need to be letting Christ lead your life right now. So it's making sure that we you're wired a certain way, but let's make sure wherever you need to, you know, wherever we need to do some fine-tuning, you do that with scripture. Yeah, so that's probably a theme that I've seen. I get a lot of the workers, I get a lot of the the doers, I get a lot of the um, I get a lot of people who could easily burn out, you know, if if it's not like facilitated right, you know, it'll be the opposite of what you and I just talked about. So I see a lot of that. I see a lot of those guys. Um I I see, yeah, I I think I see a lot of the street guys too. You know, I I'm not surprised by that either, you know, which makes sense to me um based off my testimony. So being able to really talk to them about setting up boundaries and and being intentional with guardrails and those kind of things, and then just being open and sharing my life about it. So I I think that's probably I think that's really what I've what I've seen is I just like we need to really apply the word to your life more often. Your your input needs to increase because your output is already high. And do we need to bring in, do we need to reel back some of this output?

SPEAKER_02 36:43

Yeah, it's amazing how God works like that. Like a lot of the men that I'm not intentionally coaching, but I just you know, I I work with guys at church, not on purpose, it's just God brings them into my life. And we we they all struggle with a lot of the same things that I struggled with and sometimes still do a little bit. And what I love is like I'll say something and I'm trying to teach them, but then it hits me in the back of my mind, oh, you can apply this to your own life. It's it's cool how God does that. So there's there's a question I ask every man that comes on the podcast. First Samuel 22, it says the men of the kingdom were disgruntled, disheartened, and discontented. They came to David in the cave of Adulum. David was hiding in the cave to get away from Saul, because Saul was jealous trying to kill him. During their time in their cave in the cave with David, they ended up becoming David's mighty men. Modern day, you got a group of men in front of you, and you got the mic in your hand. They're disgruntled, disheartened, discontented, they're looking for direction, some type of leadership. What would you say to them?

SPEAKER_01 38:02

A lot of times what is coming off of our tongue has already been on our heart. So I think I'm gonna talk to them about getting to the root of what they're disgruntled about. And I'm willing to walk with you if you're willing to put in the work. But we're gonna do this with Jesus Center first. I will hear you out, I will listen, I will sit there with you, I will, I will, I will, I will cry with you, I will scream with you, I will mourn with you, I will get in the trenches with you because leadership is actually service. Jesus wash feet, and I think that's what I think that that that's what I would really get across to them. But I would tell them, don't put your eyes on this this flesh, because eventually this flesh is gonna fail you. But let's take all of those things and put it into the person that can house and handle all of that and bring the healing and bring the deliverance, which is Jesus. So I think I think that's the the first and foremost. Like I will get in those trenches and get in the mud with you. Um that's I've always been that person. I'm not the rah-rah, I'm not always the rah-rah speech person. I'm like, I'm gonna roll up my sleeves and get my hands dirty with you, person, and then we're both gonna be covered in mud, but I'm gonna be in a position where we can help you know lift you up. I will also say this too. I think I think we go, we can make we make a mistake in discipleship when we make comments like I'm gonna bring you up to my level. That's crazy. It's absolutely crazy. First of all, what is my level? What does that even mean? And is that where God wants this person to be? Because what if they're called to have what if they're called to be the next Billy Graham and they're called to have like five million subscribers on YouTube? That's not where I'm at. Right, you know, so I would I would I also want to make that clear to anybody who's doing doing discipleship or pouring into someone. We want to help them achieve where Christ is calling them to be and what he is asking them to do. So that'd be it'd be very Christ-focused, very Christ, Christ-centered, you know. Um, and depending on if they're in a cave block with me, they probably have some of my issues. So I probably have a testimony to share for some level of encouragement too. So the guys around me seem to have some my some of my past problems. So um yeah.

SPEAKER_02 40:24

Oh awesome. I don't I don't know if you're doing it intentionally, but a lot of the times in your answers, you've always used the word root. I just love that. Like you said, we'll get down to the roots. So yeah. Where can uh people connect with you and find you?

SPEAKER_01 40:41

So please, please, please, please, please subscribe to the root in Christ podcast. We are on all major podcast platforms, um, YouTube, Spotify, Apple, we're on all of it. Um, if you're looking on Instagram, we are currently uh Redwood CM, though I may change that page over the Root and Christ podcast page very soon. So just be on the lookout for that. Um, personal uh is Eric Stevens 1983. You know, find me on social media. Um, and if you are anywhere in the Midwest and you like Christian hip hop and RB, Beyond the Walls is coming November 7th, uh, 2026. We got KB will be our headliner. Uh, Breno will be there, Taylor Wells will be there, Portia Love will be there. There may be some surprise guests, you never know with me what we're gonna do. So um, yeah, and I'm happy to say last year that concert, we saw 40 or 50 people give their lives to Christ. And we have people coming up to the artist afterwards that have never heard the gospel presented. So we're getting, we're seeing, we're seeing people get saved at Christian hip hop shows, um, which which tells me that it's there's no shortage of people who need to hear the gospel. We have a shortage of people who are willing to share it, and that's really what it comes down to. So, because of that, I'm also in Jesus' name, and I know it's far away in 2027. We're really hoping to do a men's conference in April of 2027 to catch some of these folks um who are coming out of this, out of out of the concert. So that's what we're working on. Awesome.

SPEAKER_02 42:02

So is the concert going to be all over the Midwest?

SPEAKER_01 42:06

Not this year. This year is gonna be Cleveland, Ohio, um, at the House of Blues. Now in 2027, November 7th.

SPEAKER_02 42:13

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 42:15

Now, in 2027, however, we are planning the Beyond the Walls tour. So I would just sit tight because you might see us in Detroit, you might see us somewhere in Indiana, you might see us in Columbus and Cincinnati. We're working all that out right now.

SPEAKER_02 42:27

So if you come to Chicago, let me know.

SPEAKER_01 42:30

Uh I the House of Blues in Chicago is on my radar. I won't lie to you. I'm thinking about it because I think that'd be crazy. To have the house of blues in Chicago and then go to House of Blues in Cleveland, I think that'd be dope. Yeah. Awesome, brother.

SPEAKER_02 42:46

Got any final words before we end?

SPEAKER_01 42:48

Keep the main thing, the main thing. Try Jesus, give it to Jesus, walk with Jesus, talk to Jesus, cry with Jesus, pray with Jesus, fast with Jesus, all of it, every bit of it, give it all to him. What you're looking for, whether you're saved or not, is him. If you don't know the Lord, give your life to him. We've all fallen short, we've all made mistakes. Giving your life to Christ is not a it's not a ritual, it's not a um, it's not rules and regulations. It's not, it's it's it's freedom that you've never experienced. It's freedom you've never experienced. And I would say to any believer who's not walking in that freedom, what do you still need to surrender to get you closer and closer to to him? What do I need to let go so I can be more and more like him? What is hindering me in my walk with him? So that's it, man. I would push everybody towards the cross. Because I don't care if you know Eric Stevens, I care if you know Jesus. That's that's what it really comes down to.

SPEAKER_02 43:41

Amen. And that that heart really shows up in you.

SPEAKER_01 43:44

So appreciate it. Thank you very much, brother. Anytime, man. Anytime.

SPEAKER_02 43:48

You don't have to stay rooted in the wounds that shaped you. God can pull you out of rejection, rebuild what was broken, and plant you in a place where you can finally stand strong. Eric Star. Is proof that no matter how far you've gone, Jesus can still find you. And before you go, do me a favor if you're tired of the music that you're listening to and you want to hear some good, grounded faith, good music, go and check out the Christian RB and hip hop artist that Eric is sponsoring through Beyond the Walls. Support the music that will build you up instead of tearing you down. And make sure you follow his podcast, go to his website, pay attention to the concerts that he has coming up. I believe there's one coming out in September. And I think you know, if you're in the area that he's in and you go check it out, I think you'll have a great time and learn to be rooted in Christ, as he was talking about. Now, if this episode encouraged you, please share it with another brother. Tell someone else about the podcast, leave me a review on Apple. It only takes you a few minutes on Apple Podcasts, leave a review. It only takes you a few minutes, and it really helps get the message out and helps the algorithm push this out to the men who need it. If you watch this on YouTube and the episode touched you, and there was something in the episode that stuck out to you and you had a thought about it, I would appreciate it if you leave me a comment below and like the video. That's another thing that helps the algorithm push this out. I'm trying to build a community here, and I need more people to follow the podcast, the YouTube channel, and all those things in order to start building this community. I do have a community that I created on school that will be in the description. I am starting to post more encouragements and stuff in there, and it's also a great way. If you just found this podcast and you want to hear more, it's a great way because I've been posting some episodes in there that you can just click on the link and follow. A lot of my Valiant Mondays, that's another thing, Valiant Mondays. That's where I encourage you and give you insights. And to be honest, I the Lord has been leading me down this path of just being open and vulnerable. And I'm feeling a little bit led towards what I'm going to be talking about this coming Monday. I'm not going to speak it yet because sometimes the Lord pivots me in certain directions. And so stay tuned, join, follow the podcast, chat, follow the channel, and I will see you on Monday. Stay strong, stay valiant, keep forging your path, and be blessed.