Fishing for Men in a Whole New Way

0:00 Who Michael was before his “radical encounter” of redemption

4:04 The effects of Michael’s spiritual transformation

7:23 Giving up control and “rejoicing in the wait”

13:05 What embracing the Lord has taught Michael to live without

22:26 The values and disciplines that keep Michael on the right path

28:58 What Michael feels like Jesus is using him to do

35:40 The dreams and vision Michael is pursuing now

Snippets/excerpts

2:22 to 3:26—Michael diagnoses the roots of his obsession with financial success: a desire for the validation he never really got from his father

15:46 to 16:45—How Michael has been able to put his so-called “Job season” in perspective

36:30 to 37:35—Michael describes how the Lord has moved him to use his entrepreneurial skills for a higher, more fulfilling purpose

3:27—As you’ve pursued career success and financial security over the course of your adult life, is there someone you’ve held in the back of your mind whom you’ve been trying to impress with those efforts? A parental figure who didn’t validate you as a child? A woman you wanted to date? A friend or family member you always felt you were in competition with? Did that person ever give you the validation you were seeking, and did the pursuit of that validation make your efforts feel more satisfying, or more hollow? Galatians 1:10

4:51—If you’ve fully accepted the Lord and given your life to him, what were some of the most immediate effects of your transformation? What were some things you had been overly fixated on before that you suddenly found yourself free from caring about? 2 Corinthians 5:17

12:30—Think of something great that happened in your life only after a long, and perhaps frustrating, wait. How did that event, gift, or milestone change you for the better? Think about what your life would’ve been like if you’d received it the minute you expressed a desire for it—would you have been as grateful, and would your life have been as profoundly changed? Isaiah 40:31

16:50—Have you ever despaired over losing something that was extremely valuable or important to you, but then had that loss put into perspective by witnessing someone else’s suffering that was far greater? How were you humbled by that situation? What do you feel like you learned from it? Philippians 2:3

24:06—Have you ever thought that the blessings described in the Bible were “meant for other people”? What were those “other people” doing that made them deserving of those blessings, and what had you done that you thought made you undeserving? Why do you think it was so hard for you to believe that God’s blessings were available to everyone? Ephesians 2:8–9 

27:04—Have you experienced the difference between being “challenged” and being “accommodated” with people in your own life? What are some valuable things that the “challengers” bring to your life and spiritual journey that the “accommodators” don’t? Proverbs 27:6 

32:30—Think of the goal you’re pursuing most intensely right now—a career or financial level, a weight-loss goal, a material object you’re trying to acquire, some award or recognition. Have you stopped to consider, as Michael advises, the “seed” behind that goal or desire? Do you consider that seed to have constructive, Godly motivations, or have you realized that you’re pursuing it for shallower, more superficial reasons? Proverbs 4:23