My story is the story of every man. The details are different, but the brokenness and the need for healing are the same. I was baptized at eight, but neither my parents nor the church I attended knew how to disciple me. I was dropped off at church every Sunday and Wednesday. I was a good kid. I never got in trouble, and I got good grades.
When I was 12, my parents divorced. We lived in San Diego then, so my mom, sister, and I moved back to Kentucky to live close to family. Twelve years old is an important season of life when dads teach their sons how to be men, and my dad was on the other side of the country.
Fast-forward ten years. I met the most beautiful woman in the world, and we married. My wife's parents were also divorced, so we both carried some baggage into our marriage. We started great, but marriage has a way of bringing issues to the surface. We began to argue in unhealthy ways. I struggled with anger and pride. I was passive in critical areas. I didn't know how to be a godly man. My wife and I were struggling and heading down the wrong path.
But God sent a man into my life out of nowhere. He invited me to join a year-long discipleship group with him. I had no idea what that meant, but I wanted what he had. His name was Dwayne Potteiger, and he is my greatest hero. He taught me how to read and study God's Word, love God, love my wife, and be the man God created me to be. I am convinced I would not be married today if God hadn't sent Dwayne into my life.
The influence of discipleship in my life impacted me and my marriage, shaped how I raised my daughters, and how I intend to invest in my grandchildren. When you reach a man, you do more than touch a single life. You set into motion a legacy of faith.
Over the years, I have had a front-row seat to see God do amazing things through the men in my groups. I have seen marriages restored, dads step up and start leading at home, light bulbs come on when men read the Bible for the first time, and guys go on to start ministries, go to the mission field, and become pastors. I can't take credit for any of it, but the blessing of being a part of the process is priceless. The best testimonies have come from the wives who tearfully share how God has changed their husbands.
