Men's Leadership Network Podcast

In this month's episode, Pastor Jeff sits down with Bob Ravener, successful businessman and author of his new book, Up! The Difference in Today and Tomorrow is You. Bob has worked in some of the worlds most notable and successful businesses: Starbucks, Home Depot, Pepsi Co., and Dollar General, and he has so much wisdom on life, struggles and facing adversityGrowing up, Bob faced an unthinkable number of challenges. From having two alcoholic parents and being one of five siblings, Bob had to grow up fast. At 15, they lost their home and all had to separate and live with friends. A few years later, the Naval Academy accepted Bob, propelling him forward to his successful business career. As you can tell, Bob has a story you wont want to miss! 

In this month's episode, Pastor Jeff sits down with three amazing women from our staff: Women's Director Miranda Kokes, Digital Engagement Director Chloe Haddad, and Kathy Koon, our awesome Staff Counselor. With Valentine's Day coming up, the ladies share with us "what women want" in a man.  Each of these women have different years of marriage experience, and there is something to be gained from all three. Make sure to listen to this month's episode to find out how to best serve your spouse or loved ones!

In this months episode, Pastor Jeff sits down with longtime friend and mentor Larry Atema. Larry is full of wisdom and has been serving Rolling Hills behind the scenes since its creation. Larry is the CEO of Commonwealth Development Group, the company that headed construction of the Music City Center, Ascend Amphitheater, and many other special projects in downtown Nashville.  Larry has a passion for faithfully following God's call in your own way. Larry loves building management and acquisition, and through this passion helped Pastor Jeff acquire "The Warehouse," where Rolling Hills Franklin currently resides. We are so happy Larry joined us to kick off 2023!

Today’s episode features an awesome conversation with actor Jesse Hutch! Jesse has been in a ton of movies and television shows and he's an awesome man of God. He is super passionate about his faith, and he loves sharing Jesus with everyone he comes across.  Often, Jesse works on set with the lost, and he feels like God uses him to reach people in Hollywood and beyond through the screen. While he may act as characters on TV, Jesse doesn't want his faith to be an act. He wants to be authentic and live his life just as God called him to.

Today’s episode features a wonderful conversation with John Simons, the new Men's & Sports Pastor at Rolling Hills! John comes to us from Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, CA where he previously oversaw Men's and Community groups. John is passionate about helping men grow in spiritual maturity/leadership and excited to work hands on with the Versus Conference and creating a disciple-making culture with the men of Rolling Hills. John is a big believer in the fact that if you reach the man, you eventually get the whole family. In this episode, John talks about how he plans to help move Rolling Hills men toward better spiritual leadership in their homes, workplace, and community.

Today’s episode features a wonderful conversation with Mike Minter, founder of Reston Bible Church and Associate Teaching Pastor at Rolling Hills. Mike founded RBC in 1975, and it has grown into a congregation of 2,300 people today. He is married to his wife Kay, and they have four children.  Mike has worked hands on with men for many years, and he is really passionate about helping them grow in their wisdom. Wisdom is not something that comes naturally, but rather over tons of years and through a plethora of experiences. After starting his church 47 years ago, Mike had a goal of helping men grow wisdom by being Godly leaders in Church and with their families and friends. 

To start, Chase shares his powerful testimony with the listeners. He was invited to a fellowship event in his hometown of Fountain, Colorado and he immediately felt God pulling on his heart. The message that night was on salvation, and it couldn’t have been more relevant for him. At the center of his story was the simple act of invitation, and it was Chase’s neighbor that had invited him to the event. His life hasn’t been the same since.Later, Chase speaks on the successes of this life and how nothing compares to the eternal glory we will one day experience in heaven. It’s no secret Chase was successful in his profession. He reached the pinnacle of baseball, the major leagues. But, when going up through the minors he realized this: earthly things don’t satisfy us. Chase spoke specifically on the next promotion and the next pay increase and how it’s wonderful, but ultimately nothing compared to the fulfillment we find in Christ. Pastor Jeff and Chase also discuss the ups and downs of careers and how certain seasons are more bountiful than others. Keeping God first through it all is vital to being a strong Christ-follower. When Chase was traded from the Padres to the Yankees, his world turned upside down. His city changed, teammates changed, and life as a whole changed. But through this season of transition, it was apparent God was working all things for good. The trade gave Chase more people to minister to and allowed for fresh perspective. Finally, Chase speaks to men about how to leave a legacy that puts Christ above all else. As men, we are called to be the leaders of our home. We are able to put a Godly perspective on every aspect of our families lives, and Chase speaks about how he does this with his boys. In a specific example, Chase talks about how time in the deer stand has influenced his boys' walks with the Lord.We hope you take the 30 minutes to listen to this month's podcast! It’s a great one with so many powerful messages that we hope will encourage you to lead your family in pursuit of a Christ-centered life. 

To begin, Jason shares the story of his upbringing and how he came to faith and eventually caught fire for the Lord. At the center of this faith journey is the story of a miraculous conversation with a stranger at church. Jason then unpacks the feeling that many men have about their personal faith journey because they don’t have a dramatic story of salvation, and how and why men should change how they see their path to the Lord.Later, Jeff and Jason talk about the act of rationalization, and how men allow themselves to use it to justify sin and spiritual complacency in their lives. As a lawyer, Jason assures us he can rationalize a lot of things, but he would agree that not everything we can do is something we should do. Excuses are cheap, but acting upon the wisdom of the Bible is worth so much to our families and our relationship with God. Jason explains how there’s no better way to keep yourself accountable to biblical living than spending life in community. The pair also discuss the importance of prioritizing time. Do you know how many times Scripture shows us that spiritual leaders of the Bible got up early in the morning? The first step of your day sets the tone. There are tempting reports to check in the morning: work emails, national news, sports scores. But, how could our lives be different if we spent those first few minutes centered on what Jesus has to say?And of course, for sports fans, Jason tells of the lessons he’s learned from coaching children at baseball, including what he means by the phrase, Look like a ballplayer! If teams and camaraderie are important for kids, what reason do we have to believe they’re not important for grown men, too? We hope you’ll find half an hour to listen to this month’s podcast, and that you’ll consider getting plugged into a men’s group through Rolling Hills if you haven’t already.

Diego is a husband and a father of three children, and he knows that those are the roles that come first in his life. But, for a week this summer, Diego did the unthinkable: he stepped up from serving his three to the church’s 300. The biggest focus of his conversation with Jeff is on that decision to consistently serve, whether it’s on a busy sunny day at Beach Week, or a less-than-glorious freezing Sunday morning in January. Together, Jeff and Diego unpack some of the most common roadblocks that keep men from serving more in their church community. Then, Diego gives advice on how he was able to overcome those excuses that he once made for himself, and he shares how serving others has blessed him with amazing relationships and a sense of purpose. Diego doesn’t just keep his faith to his church family, either. As a Clinical Research Manager, he regularly prays with his team members. Depending on your personal experiences, you might fervently agree with him when he says that prayer is frowned upon in corporate America. As Christians, we are called to live boldly and to be a light in a broken and fallen world. But, increasingly, it may seem like having a public faith could risk your reputation and even your job. Diego’s words will bring encouragement to anyone who feels tension in their workplace because of their faith. For Diego, every day is an opportunity to model a Christian life for others. He’d be the first to tell you that it’s not always fun to get up early and stay late serving – but we aren’t ultimately doing it because it’s fun. If it weren’t a sacrifice, it wouldn’t be serving. It’s not always easy and safe to proclaim the truth and to share Jesus outside the walls of a church, but there are people who need to hear it. Our families and neighbors see what we say and do, and for them, we are ambassadors for Christ. In the long run, choosing to be bold and selfless for the sake of Christ will never be something we regret. We hope you’ll choose to listen into this inspiring conversation, as you continue to refine and live out your own answer to that big question. 

The Bible is chock-full of examples of other men gathering together and calling on each other to do the things that they do as they imitate Christ. So, we, too, have opportunities each day to surround ourselves with Godly men who set the kind of example in their walk that we need.Men came from all over to attend Versus, and God put them there for a reason. He used Versus to call men to determine the next steps to grow in their faith. Or, maybe even to call men to Himself for the first time. There was such a response to the message that was shared that dozens of men walked down in front of the crowd to announce their acceptance of Jesus as Lord and Savior of their life. Seeing other men and hearing the stories they shared of the struggles and victories they’ve had in Christ is powerful. It’s something that can happen in everyday conversations.As Tim Tebow stated, he has a platform, and, rather than use it for selfish desires, he chooses to use it for the glory of God. We know that Scripture tells us the things of this world will return empty. So, in examining your life in this context, what is your purpose? Like many men, do you find you identity in your job, money, or success? When you do that and something happens to throw that off-kilter, it can feel like your whole world is crashing down. That’s why we are told to seek first the kingdom of God.So, what are the next steps after Versus? Don’t Go Alone – You may not know it, but there is power in walking with other men. Oftentimes, it isn’t until you have community that you realize how much stronger your walk can be than it is on your own. Take a Habit Inventory – Look where you are devoting your time (e.g. social media, sports, Netflix, etc.). What spiritual habits are you practicing, or could you practice, instead?Spend Time with God – Be in the Word and in prayer – everyday. Not because you have to, but because you get to. We have an opportunity and are equipped to handle the things of this life by a God who loves us and wants to spend time with us. Take full advantage of this one-of-a-kind relationship. If you don’t know where to start, we’ve created a unique curriculum you can find below. Find some men to go through it with you and learn about the Weapons of War that God provided to help us in the battle.

The Versus 22 Men’s Conference was an awesome time! In today’s episode, Jeff sits down with Grammy-Award Winning artist, Shay Mooney, to recap the evening. Plus, Shay shares his story of small-town beginnings and a lifelong walk with Christ. Shay’s insights on fatherhood, the challenges of being a man, and the insufficiency of money and status are full of wisdom and built from experience. Whether or not you were able to attend Versus 22, this episode is for you. Shay identifies a whole host of challenges men experience in life, whether they know it or not. Comparison. Criticism. Sexual immorality. Anxiety. Stress. A big step toward improving ourselves as men is recognizing these problems and being vulnerable enough to share them with others. Being a man doesn’t mean that you will never struggle. Being a man means acknowledging the difficulties we face and addressing them and bringing them to God and to the people God’s put in our lives. Because when men handle troubles well, it helps their marriages, kids, and community. A fantastic opportunity to start to build a fellowship of guys is to get together for our five-week post-Versus Bible Study. You don’t need to have been to the conference to participate, because our curriculum is designed to stand alone. This is a chance to build on the ideas we introduced at Versus 22 and reach out to any men in your life who couldn’t attend. We’ll provide all the materials you need — you just need to ask other men to join you. It’s no big deal to ask a group of guys to watch sports or go fishing. Why not ask them to come together to grow in faith? As Shay suggests, if you just ask, they’ll probably say yes... Although some coffee and food could really seal the deal! As the episode wraps up, you’ll hear Shay’s main takeaways he wants to share with you. Hear about what happens when you surrender to yourself and give things over to God. Shay tells us how things change in our lives when we choose to serve others and follow God even when we don’t feel like it. The things you like to do don’t have to be done on purpose. But, doing the things you need to do — even when it’s not easy — is what makes a man faithful. Lastly, hear Shay’s answer to the question that’s become a tradition for the MLN podcast: what do you want your legacy to be? It’s an important question for us all to answer, and we hope you’re forming your answer and building that legacy as you continue to follow our monthly podcast. 

For today’s interview, we’ve brought in Jacob Scrimpshire, the Discipleship Pastor, and Chase Baker, the Family Pastor, from Rolling Hills to hear their thoughts on Easter and understanding the magnitude of this event. Well, we can start with recognizing what this event, this holiday, really means. Jesus, the perfect, sinless Son of God, died a sinner’s death on a cross. On Easter, we celebrate that this very same Jesus rose from the dead – all so that we, His children, could be cleansed once and for all for our sins. So, that means, if you really believe Jesus is who He says He is, your perspective should be changed. No longer is Easter about the bunny or the eggs, it’s about the forgiveness we received, the grace of our kind Father, and the magnitude of our sins. Though the Easter bunny and egg hunts are not wrong or bad, we simply must – as men, as parents, as husbands, as leaders – bring the focus back to the empty tomb… back to Jesus. Always.Ultimately, the Easter story is the greatest story ever told. And, if we believe that to be true, why would we not want our kids, our families, and our coworkers to know this story more than any other story? Jacob and Chase share with us about what it means to tell the Easter story, both to yourself and to others. First, read the story yourself! Read it for the first time, or be reminded of it, and read what Jesus went through for you. Read of the hope of this story. Then, share the story with others. Talk about the story throughout this season, and use it as a means of inviting someone to an Easter service or event with you.In today’s podcast, Jacob and Chase also share several practical tips on how you can make Easter traditions with your kids, how you can pray during this season, and how you can prioritize what matters most. Men, this podcast is one that will both equip you with the tools you need, as well as encourage you with a reminder of why Easter can truly change your life – and how Jesus, in one act, changed humanity for the rest of time. Listen today. 

This month, we've flipped the mic around and have Rolling Hills Senior Pastor Jeff Simmons be our guest on the podcast! Jeff is a father of three girls, one middle schooler and two high schoolers. He knows how complicated and challenging parenthood can be, especially with all the other demands on our time and energy. Today, he’s sharing strategies to model and encourage Godly living and a love of Jesus in our little ones, so we can look back on our lives and know we invested in what matters most. As fathers we are called to be the primary disciplers of our children – but we can’t be with them all the time. Sometimes we allow our children to go out into the world and to learn from teachers at school and coaches on the field. We let them spend their time with friends and their friends’ families, and at extracurricular activities. It’s okay to get a break from our kids! But, it’s important to take responsibility in planning the experiences that influence them, both while we’re in the room and while they’re on their own.These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates (Deuteronomy 6:6-9).The instructions for parenting we find in Deuteronomy make it clear: our love of God should be woven into our homes and present in even the mundane activities of our day. Following God as a family should become a habit! Jeff’s advice points to a need to be intentional about establishing that habit from birth to young adulthood and everywhere in between. The little details and moments we are given matter, and they all are opportunities from our God we must steward to make an edifying impact in the lives of our children. Being the leader of a household is a calling which demands having our priorities straight. Jeff Simmons wants his legacy to be that of someone who pursued God’s purpose for his life. He wants for all of us to be people who invest our lives in what really matters. How do God, your spouse, your children, and your job rank in your life? And how should they rank, and why? If we can get that answer right and begin to live that way, we’ll all be on our way to being better fathers and followers of Christ. Listen into our conversation with Jeff this week as we talk about our ongoing journey to be Godly, effective fathers.

Announcement: Our Versus Men's Conference is returning May 5 and we're excited to have Tim Tebow joining us as our keynote speaker! The event will be held at the Williamson County Ag EXPO Center arena in Franklin, TN. You can find more details and get your tickets when they go on sale Feb. 9 at VersusConference.com. Show Notes:Now celebrating their 17th year of marriage, Chris and Jenni Graebe have paid close attention to the rhythms which have led to successful marriages around them, and God has called them to share these helpful insights in their new book, The Rhythm of Us.Marriage is one of God’s greatest gifts. It is God’s foundation for bringing new life into the world and building strong families. When things are going well, our marriage with our spouse is fulfilling, edifying, and life-giving. Each spouse puts the other’s needs before their own, serving one another as they grow closer to God. The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” – Genesis 2:18Two are better than one,    because they have a good return for their labor:If either of them falls down,    one can help the other up.But pity anyone who falls    and has no one to help them up. – Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 But in practice, like most things in this life, marriage also comes with plenty of challenges. After the honeymoon phase of marriage, as life gets busy and maybe a bit mundane, staying deeply in love takes some intentionality. What can couples do to keep growing in love with one another… and with God? Neither Chris nor Jenni grew up in households with perfect marriages, but both gleaned examples of “what to do” and “what not to do” both before and after their own marriage. The couple met at church in their early twenties when the pastor asked the congregation to greet their neighbors. The Graebes met while worshiping God and have continued to pursue Him in their marriage. While working on their own spiritual development podcast, Jenni’s study of the spiritual discipline of crafting a rule of life inspired a new way to think about God-honoring marriage. After envisioning the spouses they wanted to be in Christ, the couple could intentionally plan the spiritual and relational practices they needed to build into their lives in order to reach that ideal. You’ve probably heard it said that a successful marriage requires striking the right balance. But most of us juggling family, work, church, and other responsibilities will find that total balance is difficult to reach – and even harder to maintain – as unexpected circumstances and changes arise. Instead, we could aim to find rhythm, like a couple dancing together in time. The Graebes found that five “rhythms” help to strengthen Godly relationships:Speaking lifeServingSlowing downSeeking adventureStaying in awe Like Jenni, we should all aspire to build the kind of marriage that our children will long to have for themselves. Tune in to this month’s podcast to hear more about what God has done in the lives and marriage of the Graebes, and to explore new ways to grow spiritually as husband and wife. 

As we turn the page on 2021 and enter 2022, it’s important to focus on what matters. Brett James, a Hall of Fame Songwriter, summed it up best when he described what he wanted his legacy be: love! “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” – Matthew 22:37-39Love matters. It matters to those around us, it matters to our innermost being, and most of all, it matters to God. If love is the finish line, what are the guideposts along the way? How do we get there? In the New Year we hope to encourage you that in the race for love: Goals MatterTime MattersRelationships MatterBrett’s story shows us all that God puts each of us in a time and a place for a purpose. Sometimes it may be a trial we’re in, where leaning into Jesus can provide us the way out and an invaluable lesson. Often it is in the deepest valleys when we can draw nearest to the Lord. Sometimes it’s in the everyday – handling your career to provide for your family, keeping up with your small children who require so much of your energy, or maybe it’s an area of ministry in which God has called you to use your gifts. Brett speaks about his path to a songwriting career and how so many try for years without success. Sometimes He places the most unlikely person in your path to show you a different way. Brett tried to make it for seven years before moving on and going back to medical school. But as much as he felt prompted to do this for the greater good of providing for his family, God moved in an unexpected way when he continued to use his gift. He persevered in his passion of songwriting while attending classes. God showed him (in record time) that this passion and gift would be rewarded as He carved out his own path for Brett’s life.  Look around – there is plenty of evidence that you don’t have to work in ministry to fulfill God’s plan for your life. We are all gifted in certain areas and each job, task, or career can be a mission-field. If we keep our identity deeply rooted in Christ, we can find meaning in our lives, which is far greater than needing to find meaning in our careers. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” – Colossians 3:23-24As we encouraged you to close 2021, this race is much easier to run with brothers, fellowship, and the accountability we can find when we don’t go alone. Give the podcast a listen this month and follow up each Friday with a different focus on our Goals, Time, and Relationships to help you achieve what really matters this year and beyond.