Built 4 More is where high performance, leadership, and faith collide. Hosted by Denny Thompson, the renowned quarterback trainer behind some of the nation’s top talent, and Pastor Joby Martin, founder of The Church of Eleven22, this podcast is for those who refuse to settle. Through conversations with elite performers and industry leaders, Built 4 More unpacks the mindset, discipline, and faith-driven principles that fuel success. This podcast is designed for those who refuse to settle and are built for something bigger.
Pastor Joby Martin and Denny Thompson sit down with Edwin Martin on this week’s episode of Built 4 More. At 20 years old, Edwin was hiding a four year gambling addiction that nearly cost him his life. He was borrowing money he couldn’t repay, carrying debts no one knew about, and placing bets from the church pew while claiming to follow Jesus. It ended with Edwin alone on his bathroom floor, ready to take his own life. He prayed one desperate prayer: “God, if You are real, reveal Yourself.” Ten seconds later, his best friend unexpectedly texted him three words: “I love you.” That text interrupted Edwin’s darkest moment, and the friend who sent it would eventually lead him to Christ. Five years later, Edwin is an endurance athlete using every mile to point people toward hope. He recently ran 133.2 miles on a treadmill for 24 hours straight at a 10:49 minute per mile pace to raise money for suicide prevention. Months earlier, he ran across the entire state of South Carolina to support families battling cancer. Joby, Denny, and Edwin talk about the gambling epidemic hiding in plain sight, how sports betting is being engineered to keep people hooked, the difference between Jesus plus something and Jesus alone, why the enemy doesn’t care how he hooks you, and what can happen when you obey a nudge from God. They also discuss fitness without fulfillment, stewarding your body as an act of worship, and The Ship, which is Edwin’s mission to mentor fatherless boys. If you have ever hidden a struggle behind a smile or wondered whether your story can still be redeemed, this conversation is for you. Follow Edwin: https://www.instagram.com/ironsned/ 👍 If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to Like, Subscribe, and turn on notifications so you never miss a new episode of Built 4 More. 🎙️ Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/built-4-more/id1797411058 🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/00qd9DnMZJCGPUQbcNJmH1?si=d683e01fdefb4329 FOLLOW BUILT 4 MORE: 🌐 Website: https://built4morepod.com/ 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/built4morepod/ 👍 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/built4morepod 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@built4morepod 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@built4morepod Chapters: 00:00 Meet Edwin Martin 00:24 Running 133 Miles in 24 Hours 02:08 Running Across South Carolina 02:55 The Transformation Photo 06:05 Why Edwin Runs for Suicide Prevention 06:23 The Gambling Addiction Nobody Knew About 06:53 The Text That Saved His Life 07:45 Sports Betting’s Hidden Cost 08:54 How to Know When You Have a Problem 10:27 You Can Bet on Anything Now 12:49 Is Jesus Really Enough? 13:08 The Enemy Doesn’t Care How He Hooks You 14:43 Why Monday Night Football Exists 17:07 They’re Engineering Your Brain 18:56 The Friend Who Led Edwin to Christ 21:34 Why He Walked Away From the Navy SEALs 22:16 The Text That Changed His Path 23:07 When God Tells You to Text Someone 24:55 The Hardest Text Joby Ever Sent 27:33 Three Phone Calls That Saved Three Lives 31:11 A Message for Anyone in a Dark Place 32:11 The Messages That Keep Coming 33:24 The Biggest Struggles Facing His Generation 35:58 Fitness Without Fulfillment 37:00 Running Is Just the Vehicle 38:04 The Greyhound Chasing a Fake Rabbit 40:48 The Antidote Nobody Wants to Hear 45:04 Can Working Out Glorify God? 47:26 Work Is Worship 48:06 Joby’s 30-Pound Comeback 51:19 Love God With All Your Strength 54:53 Seized by a Greater Affection 59:35 You Only Have One Life 1:01:04 Jesus Plus Something Isn’t Jesus 1:01:44 The Ship: Mentoring Fatherless Boys 1:03:41 Who Will Pick Up Your Mat? 1:10:18 No More Casual Christianity 1:12:54 Your Story Isn’t Over 1:15:10 Project Savior Outdoors #Built4More #EdwinMartin #ChristianPodcast
Pastor Joby Martin and Denny Thompson sit down with Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen on this week's episode of Built 4 More. Liam was a four-year starting quarterback at UMass where he still holds multiple school passing records. He spent nearly a decade grinding through small Northeast programs Brown, Rhode Island, and Maine, writing handwritten letters and knocking on every NFL door he could find, until one relationship finally got him in with Sean McVay and the Rams. A few years later he's the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, and in year one he took a franchise that had been going nowhere and led it to 13 wins and a division championship. But long before any of that, Liam walked through the hardest thing of his life. He opens up about losing his mother, Beth after a four year battle with Lyme disease while he was in college and his dad was in the hospital. He talks honestly about burying that grief for a decade, the way it eventually crept up and started to eat at him, the mental health toll of pretending he was fine, and how a real relationship with Jesus finally brought him grace, forgiveness, and healing. Joby, Denny, and Liam talk about authenticity and why players "sniff out a fraud" instantly, the permission to fail that unlocked Trevor Lawrence, why he deleted all of his social media, the difference between a hero and a warrior, why "balance doesn't exist," what Travis Hunter really brings to the locker room, and what it looks like to stop trying to be someone else and become who God actually made you. 👍 If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to Like, Subscribe, and turn on notifications so you never miss a new episode of Built 4 More. 🎙️ Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/built-4-more/id1797411058 🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/00qd9DnMZJCGPUQbcNJmH1?si=d683e01fdefb4329 FOLLOW BUILT 4 MORE: 🌐 Website: https://built4morepod.com/ 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/built4morepod/ 👍 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/built4morepod 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@built4morepod 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@built4morepod Chapters: 00:00 – Meet Coach Liam Coen 04:36 – Why He Fell in Love With Jacksonville 07:11 – How He Turned the Jaguars Around 09:48 – Did He Know Trevor Could Be This? 10:19 – Watching Trevor Lawrence as a Freshman 13:17 – "Go Be You": Unlocking Trevor 15:28 – The Permission to Fail 18:21 – Why He Stopped Trying to Be Other Coaches 20:17 – The Houston Collapse 21:12 – Hero vs. Warrior: The Meeting That Turned the Season 24:59 – The Youngest Staff in NFL History 27:24 – "Do I Belong Here?" 30:25 – The Night He Knew He Belonged 32:39 – What Sean McVay Taught Him About People 33:32 – Tony Boselli and the Standard 35:18 – The Travis Hunter Trade 35:44 – The Real Travis Hunter 39:34 – From UMass QB to NFL Head Coach 40:38 – How He Went From Maine to the Rams 46:37 – "We'll Play Anybody, Anywhere, Anytime" 49:22 – The Pressure of High Expectations 51:56 – Losing His Mom 55:07 – The Trauma He Buried for 10 Years 55:50 – How Faith Brought Him Grace and Forgiveness 59:05 – The Cleats and the Holy Spirit 1:00:38 – The Myth of "There" 1:01:28 – The Question That Made Him Quit Social Media 1:03:26 – Why Balance Doesn't Exist 1:05:48 – Family Days and Putting People First 1:08:22 – Why He's Grateful to Coach in Jacksonville #Built4More #LiamCoen #Jaguars #NFL #ChristianPodcast #Faith #Testimony
Pastor Joby Martin and Denny Thompson sit down with Pro Football Hall of Famer Tony Boselli on this week's episode of Built 4 More. Tony was one of the most dominant left tackles to ever play the game. The first draft pick in Jacksonville Jaguars history, the best in the world at what he did. Then, at thirty years old and at the top of his game, a shoulder injury ended all of it. In an instant, the one thing he was great at was gone, and Tony was left away from everyone he knew, depressed, angry at God, and asking the question that leveled him: who am I without football? Tony shares what those years actually did to him. Being told his shoulder would never work again at the peak of his career. Lying in bed as a grown man wondering where God's protection went. The morning he realized four little kids and a wife were watching to see what kind of man he would be. And the thought that finally broke it open, if God had told him at eighteen that he would get USC, the NFL, a Hall of Fame career, and then have it all taken at thirty, would he still have said yes? Joby, Denny, and Tony talk about identity, the battle with control, why success never actually tells you who you are, learning to count it all joy in the middle of suffering, and the Bible study that started with a handful of Jaguars players in 1996 and grew into a church. Tony also opens up about his role as Executive Vice President of Football Operations, why his entire job comes down to one sentence, making other people successful, and what it really looks like to finally stop trying to be God. If you have ever built your whole identity on the thing you are best at, this conversation is for you. 🎙️ Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/built-4-more/id1797411058 🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/00qd9DnMZJCGPUQbcNJmH1?si=d683e01fdefb4329 FOLLOW BUILT 4 MORE: 🌐 Website: https://built4morepod.com/ 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/built4morepod/ 👍 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/built4morepod 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@built4morepod 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@built4morepod Chapters: 00:00 – Meet Tony Boselli 02:22 – Three Strangers, One Standard 04:15 – You Can Be Talented and Still Get Cut 07:10 – Why Shad Khan Hired Us 08:18 – The Executive Assistant Who Became a GM 11:32 – "My Only Job Is to Make Them Successful" 12:16 – Humility Is a Posture, Not a Personality 14:29 – One Ego Can Burn the Whole Thing Down 15:53 – The Houston Game and the Ghost of "Old Jacksonville" 21:09 – The Meeting That Turned the Season 21:57 – Eight Straight Wins and a New Offense 26:24 – The Offensive Line Is a Picture of the Gospel 31:33 – What Tom Coughlin Taught Him 39:32 – "We Get Paid More Than We Deserve" 41:53 – The Injury That Ended His Career 43:19 – His Wife Became His Rock 46:08 – The Thing You're Stressed About Was Once Your Prayer 48:16 – Trying to Be God Will Wreck You 50:18 – Consider It Pure Joy 52:07 – Learning to Enjoy the Suffering 59:53 – "I'd Be Lying If I Said I Don't Like Being a Hall of Famer" 1:00:17 – What He Values More Than the Gold Jacket 1:03:05 – The Bible Study That Became a Church 1:13:34 – "Dad, I Got Saved" 1:20:00 – Why Broadcasting Left Him Empty 1:25:44 – David in the Pasture: Preparation, Not Punishment 1:31:47 – "The More My Guys Are With You, the Less Likely They Are to Go to Jail" 1:35:29 – Crisis Is a Terrible Calendar 1:37:36 – We've Never Been Their Age in This Age 1:44:32 – Why the Draft Is the Most Misunderstood Event in Sports 1:54:30 – The Man Behind the Hall of Famer
Pastor Joby Martin and Denny Thompson sit down with Super Bowl champion and former NFL punter Steve Weatherford on this week's episode of Built 4 More. Steve spent ten years in the NFL, won a Super Bowl, made the cover of Men's Health, and became known as the fittest man in professional football. From the outside, he had everything. On the inside, he was addicted to pain pills, trapped in pornography, and standing at a window at two in the morning after the biggest win of his life wondering why he felt nothing at all. Steve shares the story he rarely tells. Being cut in a locker room at twenty five years old and having to ask the groundskeeper for a ride. Hearing a street preacher through a hotel window seventeen floors up saying the exact words he needed. Being abused as a child by a Christian teacher and spending the next twenty four years trying to prove he was enough. And the night in a circus tent in the desert when everything finally broke open. Joby, Denny, and Steve talk about identity, addiction, the lie that achievement will finally fill the hole, confession and healing in marriage, why encouragement makes you a leader, and what it actually looks like to be transformed instead of just informed. If you have ever chased something believing it would finally make you enough, this conversation is for you. 👍 If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to Like, Subscribe, and turn on notifications so you never miss a new episode of Built 4 More. 🎙️ Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/built-4-more/id1797411058 🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/00qd9DnMZJCGPUQbcNJmH1?si=d683e01fdefb4329 FOLLOW BUILT 4 MORE: 🌐 Website: https://built4morepod.com (https://built4morepod.com/) 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/built4morepod/ 👍 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/built4morepod 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@built4morepod 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@built4morepod Chapters: 00:00 – Meet Steve Weatherford 01:20 – Cut in the Locker Room 04:50 – The Street Preacher Outside the Window 07:10 – Jacksonville and the Jeep on Beach Boulevard 12:50 – Ten Years in the NFL as an Undrafted Free Agent 13:10 – "Winning the Super Bowl Was the Most Depressing Night of My Life" 15:15 – The Goals He Wrote Down at Fourteen 15:20 – The Abuse That Made Him Question If God Was Real 16:35 – The Night He Won It All and Felt Nothing 17:25 – The Greyhound and the Fake Rabbit 22:30 – Pills, Porn, and the Life Nobody Saw 24:20 – Leaving His Wife and Kids 25:05 – Walking Into Church for the First Time in Twenty Years 28:00 – The Burden Board 29:10 – The Man Who Led Him to Christ at Eleven 32:25 – His Son Gives His Life to Jesus 36:00 – The Deceitfulness of Sin 41:30 – From Competition to Completion 48:40 – Working For Victory vs From Victory 55:35 – Fighting the Devil in the Dark 57:45 – Confession, Marriage, and Healing 1:02:00 – Why Discipline Could Not Save Him 1:05:20 – Identity Comes First 1:13:30 – The Game Film in Heaven 1:26:35 – What Surprises Him Now 1:32:45 – Change Your Inputs 1:40:30 – Get in the Dust of the Right Men 1:44:40 – "I Got This" Is the Most Dangerous Thing a Man Can Say #Built4More #SteveWeatherford #ChristianPodcast #Faith #Identity #Purpose #Addiction #Testimony #NFL
Pastor Joby Martin and Denny Thompson sit down with actor, filmmaker, and former police officer Jim Klock on this week's episode of Built 4 More. Before Jim ever stepped onto a Hollywood set, he spent a decade serving as a police officer and undercover narcotics detective. He loved the job, but God began calling him somewhere he never expected. What followed was a journey of faith that took him from the streets of Virginia to some of the biggest productions in Hollywood. Jim shares how a late-night security shift led him to Christ, why he walked away from a career he loved, and how God opened doors that eventually led him to work alongside some of the biggest names in the film industry. But more than anything, this conversation is about learning to trust God's calling, choosing humility over recognition, and using every opportunity to encourage the people around you. Joby, Denny, and Jim discuss the difference between passion and purpose, what it's really like to be a Christian in Hollywood, the danger of pride, why encouragement matters, leadership, identity, and what success actually looks like when your life is centered on Christ. If you've ever wrestled with stepping into God's calling or wondered if He's asking you to leave what's comfortable for something greater, this conversation is for you. 👍 If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to Like, Subscribe, and turn on notifications so you never miss a new episode of Built 4 More. 🎙️ Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/built-4-more/id1797411058\ 🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/00qd9DnMZJCGPUQbcNJmH1?si=d683e01fdefb4329 FOLLOW BUILT 4 MORE: 🌐 Website: https://built4morepod.com 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/built4morepod/ 👍 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/built4morepod 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@built4morepod 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@built4morepod Chapters: 00:00 – Meet Jim Klock 01:25 – From Drama Student to Police Officer 04:25 – The Night Jim Gave His Life to Christ 07:55 – Undercover Narcotics & Finding His Calling 11:45 – Leaving the Career He Loved 16:20 – Passion vs. God's Assignment 22:45 – Faith Requires Action 27:30 – From Cop to Hollywood 33:45 – Is Hollywood Really Anti-Christian? 39:15 – Keanu Reeves & Humility 43:00 – The Power of Encouragement 47:00 – Sharing Your Faith in Hollywood 50:00 – Changing Hollywood's Culture 56:30 – Success, Identity & Purpose 1:07:10 – Playing Villains Without Losing Yourself 1:12:00 – Giving People More Grace 1:17:00 – Transactional vs. Transformational Leadership 1:24:00 – Fame, Validation & Identity 1:29:45 – What Success Really Looks Like 1:38:00 – The Roles That Changed Jim's Life 1:49:50 – Building Healthy Culture on Set 1:57:00 – Leadership, Teamwork & Hollywood 2:02:45 – The Film That Meant the Most 2:05:20 – Final Thoughts #Built4More #JimKlock #ChristianPodcast #Faith #Purpose #Calling #Hollywood #Leadership #Testimony
Pastor Joby Martin and Denny Thompson sit down with Green Beret John Wayne Walding on this week's episode of Built 4 More. Born on the Fourth of July and named after the Western legend, John Wayne Walding lost his right leg in the Battle of Shok Valley, one of the most intense firefights since Vietnam. He tied it off with a tourniquet and kept fighting for hours until every one of his brothers made it off the mountain alive. But the war was only the beginning. John woke up the next morning with one leg and a choice: be a victim or be a victor. He chose to never quit. He ran the Boston Marathon on a hand cycle, became the first amputee to requalify as a Green Beret sniper, got 14 years sober, and surrendered his life to Christ. In this conversation he shares the warrior mindset that carried him off that mountain and now drives his faith, and the conviction he lives by every single day: I owe it to the fallen to live well. This is a raw and powerful conversation about courage, identity, and what it actually costs to be free. Joby, Denny, and John Wayne dig into the true story of the Battle of Shok Valley, the faith of America's founders 250 years after the Revolution, why God never calls anyone to easy, why struggle is good, spiritual warfare and the tactics of the enemy, and the difference between earning grace and walking worthy of it. If you have ever felt like your hardest season was the end of your story, this one is for you.
This week on Built 4 More, Pastor Joby Martin and Denny Thompson sit down alone. Just the two of them answering listener questions. They open on what may be the most common question in the inbox. What do you do after baptism when you find yourself back in the same sin you thought you left behind. Joby walks through the difference between conviction and condemnation, the three tenses of salvation, and why the instinct to clean yourself up before coming back to God is the exact opposite of what God actually wants from you. The conversation moves through some of the heaviest questions you have asked. Discerning God's calling on your life versus your own ambition. Carrying the burden of leading a family when the world feels heavier than it used to. Supporting a husband struggling with his identity. Loving a family member fighting suicidal thoughts. Raising an athlete without putting a weight on them they were never meant to carry. Talking to the friend who says they want to believe but cannot get there. What it actually looks like to tithe when every dollar feels accounted for.
Pastor Joby Martin and Denny Thompson sit down with Josh Turner on this week's episode of Built 4 More. Josh is a pastor, the founder of the 10:10 Project, and the father of Riley, a 19-year-old with a rare genetic disorder who has had 33 surgeries, sleeps on a ventilator, and just graduated high school. When Riley was born, three doctors walked into the hospital room and told Josh and his wife Becca she would live a year and they would have to decide when to let her go. Riley is now 19, preaches across the country, and one day told her dad to stop praying for her healing because God made her this way on purpose. In this conversation, Josh opens up about walking through suffering publicly, why he stopped asking God why, what NT Wright told him that changed everything, and the morning he lost a friend in ministry that led him to start the 10:10 Project. Joby and Denny dig into burnout, why 42 percent of pastors want to leave the ministry, the danger of success, and what it actually looks like to build rhythms that keep you healthy for the long haul. This is one of the most honest conversations we've had on Built 4 More about suffering, faith, and what God does when you can't figure out why. Learn more about the 10:10 Project: 1010project.com
Pastor Joby Martin and Denny Thompson sit down with Ruslan KD on this week's episode of Built 4 More. Ruslan came to America as an Armenian refugee, found Jesus in Southern California, and built one of the most recognizable voices covering Christian content. He started as a rapper, became a commentator, wrote a book on godly ambition, and now hosts the Bless God conference. This conversation is about what happens when the algorithm starts doing the job the local church was meant to do. Ruslan gets honest about his own turn away from the tear down content that built his platform, why the stuff that goes viral is often the worst thing for your soul, and why nobody actually gets discipled through a screen. From there the three of them dig into godly ambition versus selfish ambition, why contentment is the launchpad and not the finish line, what it looks like to love God with your body and not just your mind, and how wisdom usually shows up as restraint when the whole culture is begging you to react. It is one of the more layered conversations we have had on the show, and it will make you rethink the content you consume and the life you are actually building.
Pastor Joby Martin and Denny Thompson sit down with Drew Parker on this week's episode of Built 4 More. Drew Parker is one of the most successful songwriters in country music. He wrote Homemade for Jake Owen, Stay Country or Die Trying for Blake Shelton, and Doing This for Luke Combs, a song that earned a Grammy nomination for Best Country Song. Four number one songs. Stadium tours. The Grand Ole Opry. A weekend on stage with Willie Nelson. By every measure, he had made it. But Drew had been a believer his whole life, and at the very top of his career he could not shake the feeling that something was missing. He had chased the dream all the way from a small town in Georgia to Nashville, and it still was not enough. So he prayed and asked God to make it clear what he was supposed to do next. Days later his manager called him shaking. A skeptic who had never had a kind word for faith. He said he had been waking up in the middle of the night hearing that Drew was supposed to sing songs about Jesus. Drew walked away from his record deal at the peak of his career. He put out his testimony in a song called Blame Jesus. He is still writing country music, but now he is using the same gift to point people to Christ. In this conversation Drew opens up about the emptiness of chasing success, what it actually costs to follow Jesus, surrendering a dream he spent his whole life building, and how God was chasing him the entire time.
Pastor Joby Martin and Denny Thompson sit down with Matt Chandler on this week's episode of Built 4 More. Matt is the lead pastor of The Village Church in Texas and has spent more than two decades as one of the most listened to pastors in the country. Most of us were sold a version of faith that goes straight up and to the right. Follow Jesus, and life gets cleaner, easier, better. Matt's new book Becoming Like Jesus tells the truth instead. The Christian life is a coil of highs and lows, and every low is still moving you forward. The seasons that feel like failure are usually the seasons God is using to form you. In this conversation, Joby, Denny, and Matt get into why you sin less and feel worse the longer you walk with Jesus, why we run from God when we should be running to Him, how lesser loves quietly steal our hunger for the things that matter, and why isolation is one of the enemy's most effective weapons against men. Matt also opens up about his brain cancer diagnosis and what suffering taught him about the goodness of God. If your faith feels stuck, or you have wondered whether a hard season means you are doing something wrong, this one is for you. Subscribe and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode. #Built4More #MattChandler #Faith #Christianity #TheVillageChurch
Pastor Joby Martin and Denny Thompson sit down with Pastor Tim Timberlake on this week’s episode of Built 4 More. Tim Timberlake is a pastor, communicator, and leader at Celebration Church in Jacksonville, Florida. In this conversation, Tim opens up about the pain that shaped his life, from walking through his father’s cancer diagnosis as a young boy, running from God, getting shot at 16 years old, and eventually having a dream that changed the direction of his life forever. Tim talks about what it means to suffer well, how pain can build humility, character, and godly integrity, and why the fruit God produces through suffering is not just for you, but for the people around you. The conversation also goes deep on leadership, criticism, and what it looks like to keep your hands and heart clean when you are being attacked. Tim shares how he navigated one of the most painful church transitions imaginable, why he refused to clap back, and why he believes you cannot let pain, frustration, or public opinion speak for you. They also talk about the idols of comfort and the fear of man, the character it takes to lead well, the importance of suffering with your eyes fixed on Jesus, and why the decisions you make are ultimately making you. The guys also get into football, the Jacksonville Jaguars, Travis Hunter’s baptism, what culture really means inside a locker room, and how God can use influence, pain, leadership, and obedience for something much bigger than yourself. If you are walking through pain, criticism, leadership pressure, spiritual warfare, or a season you never would have chosen, this episode is for you.
In this episode of Built 4 More, Denny Thompson and Pastor Joby Martin sit down with Garrett Gross. Garrett is an ex MMA fighter, gym owner, father, and one of the most unlikely men to be doing what he's doing today.For 15 years, Garrett competed as a professional MMA fighter while losing a fight off the mat that had nothing to do with the sport. He tried to fix it, but kept falling. He started to wonder if this was just who he was.Then one morning everything changed. Not because of a program or a plan. Just a parking lot, a quiet moment, and a God who had been working in his life long before Garrett was ready to admit it.Three years later, Garrett is running an MMA gym in small town Illinois that's become an actual mission field. Men are showing up and encountering Christ. A weekly Bible study is forming the kind of community most churches struggle to build, and he's leveraging the way God wired him to reach people the church was never going to reach on its own.Whether you're in the middle of your own fight or trying to figure out what God is doing with the pieces of your past this one will speak directly to where you are.
For the first time, Pastor Joby Martin and Denny Thompson bring their wives into the studio. Gretchen Martin and Angie Thompson sit down to answer questions submitted by listeners on marriage, motherhood, ministry, and everything in between. Joby and Gretchen have been married 26 years. Denny and Angie have been married 28. Between them they've planted a church, built a quarterback training business, raised four kids, and walked through seasons that nothing about looked like the plan.In this episode, Gretchen gives the behind the scenes of building The Church of Eleven22 from the ground up. And Angie gives the behind the scenes of Denny building one of the premiere quarterback training businesses in the country.The conversation goes deep on what the Bible actually says about submission and respect. Why secrets are exhausting. What it looks like to pray out loud over your spouse. And the "do over" hack that changed the way Joby and Gretchen work through conflict.
Scott Hanson has one of the most recognizable jobs in American sports. As the host of NFL Red Zone, he speaks to more people on Sunday than almost anyone on the planet. More Americans will spend time watching NFL football this weekend than they will sitting in a church. Scott knows that better than anyone.But behind the highlight reels and the touchdown calls was a guy who had made his career his god and still could not shake the feeling that something was missing.In this episode, Scott sits down with Pastor Joby Martin and Denny Thompson and opens up about hitting the lowest point of his life at 25 years old, when a broken relationship cost him everything he thought he had. His personal life. His professional life. All of it at once.What happened next started with a random trip to Blockbuster Video, a movie about Jesus, and a football coach in Springfield, Illinois who refused to be ashamed of the name of Jesus on a Friday night. Scott had no idea that coach's faithfulness was about to change his life forever.The conversation also goes deep on what God is doing through the NFL right now, why young men are turning back to faith, and what it actually looks like to be salt and light when 10 million people are watching.
Rich Froning is the most decorated athlete in CrossFit history. 4 individual titles. Multiple team championships. A legacy that the sport has never seen before and may never see again. But behind all of it was a guy who kept winning and kept wondering why it wasn't enough. In this episode, Rich sits down with Pastor Joby Martin and Denny Thompson and opens up about what it actually felt like to be the best in the world. The obsession it took to get there. The emptiness that followed every gold medal. And the moment faith stopped being something he grew up around and became something he actually lived. Rich also shares the story of how he and his wife walked through years of unexplained infertility, how God used a pregnancy clinic in Cookville, Tennessee to bring them their first daughter, and how that one moment changed the entire direction of his life. All three of his kids are adopted. None of it was the plan. All of it was God. The conversation also goes deep on what Rich is building now. A men's discipleship group out of his barn on Saturday mornings. A faith driven gym culture that doesn't apologize for the name of Jesus. And what it looks like to trade competing for yourself for something that actually lasts.
Pastor Joby Martin and Denny Thompson sit down with David Nasser on this week's episode of Built 4 More. David Nasser was born in Iran and lived through the 1979 Islamic Revolution as a child. His family escaped with nothing, eventually landing in small town Alabama as refugees during one of the most anti-Iranian moments in American history. He was bullied, outcasted, and had no plan, until a friend invited him to church from the passenger seat of a car at midnight. What happened next is one of the most remarkable stories of God's sovereignty you will ever hear. David opens up about what it actually looks like to grow up as the enemy in your own country and then become the enemy in your new one and how God was holding him through all of it without him knowing. The conversation also goes deep on what God is doing in Iran right now. The underground church there is the fastest growing church in the world, and David breaks down what that actually means, what it costs the people living it, and why this moment in history may be the greatest open door for the gospel the Middle East has ever seen.
Pastor Joby Martin and Denny Thompson sit down with Tim Tebow on this week's episode of Built 4 More. Tim Tebow is one of the most decorated college football players in history. Heisman Trophy winner, two national championships, first round NFL draft pick, and he has been one of the most publicly outspoken Christians in the history of American sports. Tim opens up about what it actually looks like to keep Christ on the throne when bitterness creeps in and your plans do not go the way you expected. The conversation also goes deep on the fight Tim has given his life to outside of football. Right now more than 50 million people are being trafficked globally and more than 400 million children will be exploited or sexually abused this year alone. Tim breaks down what the Renewed Hope Act is, why Congress needs to move faster, and what every single person listening can do right now to help. He also gets into how to protect your own children from threats most parents do not even know exist. Tim also walks through his new book If The Tree Could Speak, how it came to him in the middle of the night, and why the perspective of the cross itself might be the most powerful entry point into the gospel you have never considered. If The Tree Could Speak: https://timtebow.com/tree/
In this episode of Built 4 More, Pastor Joby Martin and Denny Thompson sit down for a powerful and unfiltered Q and A covering some of the most real questions people wrestle with in their faith and everyday life. From wondering if you are truly hearing God’s voice to feeling the pressure of parenting and questioning if you are getting it right, this conversation goes straight at the things many people think but do not always say out loud. Joby and Denny unpack what the Bible actually says about hearing from God, why it can feel confusing at times, and how faith is often less about waiting for a perfect answer and more about trusting God with your next step. They also dive into the weight many parents carry to raise their kids the right way and why your mistakes do not disqualify you. In fact, some of the most powerful lessons your kids will learn come from watching you own your failures, repent, and keep going. This episode also challenges the idea that you need to have everything figured out before you move forward and reminds you that God has already given you more direction than you think. When you feel stuck, unsure, or disconnected, the answer is not always more clarity but more obedience with what is right in front of you. If you have ever felt like God is silent, struggled to make a decision, or questioned whether you are doing enough in your faith, this episode will meet you right where you are. It is honest, practical, and rooted in truth, reminding you that you were made for more and that following Jesus does not require perfection, just surrender and a willingness to take the next step.
Pastor Joby Martin and Denny Thompson sit down with 7x New York Times bestselling author Jon Gordon on this week's episode of Built 4 More. Jon Gordon didn't set out to become a bestselling author. He set out to survive. After losing his job, taking a second mortgage on his home, and maxing out $20,000 in credit cards to open a Moe's Southwest Grill in Jacksonville, Florida, he was crumbling from the inside out. What followed was one of the most unlikely faith journeys you'll ever hear. A new ager and Buddhist meditator who cried out to God in desperation, saw a literal roadside sign that said "Jesus is the Answer," and had a Buddhist energy healer accidentally explain the gospel to him in a way that finally made everything click. Jon opens up about the season where he was failing as a husband and father and what happened when he finally surrendered that to Jesus. He talks about the walk of gratitude that started his transformation, how his faith completely rebuilt his marriage, his family, and his calling, and why he considers God the author of every book he has ever written. The conversation goes deep on leadership and culture too. Jon shares what happened when he spent six hours with Jaguars head coach Liam Coen building the culture that fueled Jacksonville's turnaround this season, why the best leaders in the world never stop taking notes, and the one mindset shift that separates leaders who perform under pressure from those who don't.
