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Welcome to the Raising Up Fathers Podcast. We are here to champion men to thrive in their four main roles: son, husband, father, and brother.
Through testimonies and best practices. Our goal is to help you look a little more like Jesus in the areas that matter the most. Our vision is to raise up ten thousand fathers in the name of Jesus. You can find out more at raisingupfathers.com
If what you heard today encouraged you, please share it with a friend.
We're gonna get started, and, we're just gonna open up with a word of prayer and then bring Michael Allen up here. As soon as Zach Zach Garza. Sorry. Went out of line. Zach Garza up here.
Speaker 1:You're welcome, but father, I just thank you so much for who you are. Lord, we just confess that we are here for you. We are here because of you. You're the one thing we all have in common, and we're expectant. So, Father, I just pray that you would come and meet us as we assemble on this mountain.
Speaker 1:Place and fill our hearts, fill this room, fill, this place with your presence. You would meet each man in this room, wherever they are. And that we would experience you in a new way, and that we would experience whatever it is that we need. God, I pray that we'd all be able to let down our burdens as we enter this weekend, distractions, anything that would hinder us from all that you have. And we just say, we confess that you are worth it.
Speaker 1:You are worthy. In fact, we just we we we lift your name high, Jesus. You said that when you are lifted high, you will draw men to yourself. So we lift you high on this mountain, ask that you would draw men to yourself. Would you be lifted high and magnified in this place?
Speaker 1:Come and be with us. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Zach Garza.
Speaker 2:Thanks. What's
Speaker 1:going on?
Speaker 2:What up, guys? How's it going today? Good. Good. Thank you.
Speaker 2:That's good. That's good. Hey. Thanks so much for being here. Welcome to ten thousand fathers, fourth annual, might I add.
Speaker 2:Yeah. I know. Jeez. Someone got a tattoo. Hey.
Speaker 2:I I I I'm so excited. Like, I I am you guys have gotten a lot of emails from me. I've been staring at your names on a Excel spreadsheet for six weeks, and I've been praying for y'all more than I probably should have, if I'm being honest with you. But, each each and every guy here, I mean, I I'm I'm so excited. And I know that you're here for a reason.
Speaker 2:I don't care if you were like, yes. I'm all in. I don't care if your wife said you're going to this. I don't care if you got talked in by your dad or by your father-in-law or if you're just here because all of your friends are here. I know that I know that the Lord has something for you Yes, go.
Speaker 2:If we will let him. There have been lives that have been transformed at this thing, and it's got nothing to do with what we said. It's got nothing to do with, you know, all of my printouts, or the songs that we sing, or our small groups. It's got everything to do with Jesus our Lord. And I know, I'm confident that someone's life is gonna be transformed today.
Speaker 2:And someone's marriage is gonna be transformed this weekend. And someone's kids are gonna be different because of what you experienced alongside your brothers here in the next two and a half days. And I hope that you're expected. And I was talking to where's Todd? Is Todd here?
Speaker 2:Todd? Todd? Okay. Todd's not here. Todd's awesome.
Speaker 2:Todd's here somewhere. He's probably holy spirit is just, like, floating in the the rafters. Hey. I I didn't prepare for this portion, but that's cool. So I'm just gonna rant.
Speaker 2:And I got the microphone. There's nothing you can do about it. Hey, we've been super intentional about everything about this weekend. There are older men here. There there are Abrahams here.
Speaker 2:Men who have lived life, men who have been married for twenty, thirty, forty years. There's also Isaac's here. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. There's also Isaac's here. There's a bunch of dudes my age.
Speaker 2:Right? 35, 40, 40 five. We got kids running around. We got wives. We don't know what the heck we're doing, but we're doing our best.
Speaker 2:And there's a lot of Jacobs here. There's a bunch of dudes, 30, 20 five. There's even some guys who are, like, 19. You guys are so far ahead of where I was whenever I was 19. And we did that on purpose because we all have something to learn from each other.
Speaker 2:And I'm so excited to learn from the Abrahams. I'm so excited to learn from the Isaacs. I'm so excited to get just lit on fire by these Jacobs, these guys who are 25, 20 eight, 30 years old, who just love the Lord with all their heart. Everybody is my teacher, and we can learn something from everyone. But only if we do this one thing, and this is what Todd said.
Speaker 2:He said, I've got this picture of us taking off our armor. Man, who in here is walking around with some armor on today? I know I am. I mean, I I am I'm stonewalled. Like, my heart is hard today, and I don't know why.
Speaker 2:I've got this armor on. I've got this protection on. I'm pretending like everything's okay, and it's not. But I'm saying that today to say, men, let's lay down our armor. Let's surrender all today and just see what the Lord's gonna do.
Speaker 2:Because I think it's gonna be awesome. Because he who calls us is faithful. He will not fail us. Welcome to 10 k, 10,000 fathers. Steve Allen had a vision to raise up 10,000 fathers, and you guys are a part of that today.
Speaker 2:And Michael Allen is around here somewhere. Michael is Steve Allen's son, and he's gonna come talk about 10,000 fathers. I wanna honor Michael as the oldest son of Steve. Let's touch. Who here knows Steve Allen?
Speaker 2:Okay. So Steve is the most the most godly man that I know. I named my second kid after him, and he transformed my life. Obviously, he transformed your he he made your life.
Speaker 1:I
Speaker 3:wouldn't be here for him. Literally.
Speaker 2:Just super weird, but godly. And, Steve got diagnosed with ALS eleven years ago.
Speaker 3:About that. Yeah. Ten years ago.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And, it was his vision, that he believed that God gave him to raise up 10,000 fathers, that we get to be a part of his legacy of carrying it on. So Michael's gonna share with you now. Cool.
Speaker 3:Awesome. Thanks, Zach. Yep. And just another show of hands. So who is here for the first time?
Speaker 3:Like, this is your first time. Look around the room. That's that's crazy. Like, this is the fourth year. This many guys, this is your first time.
Speaker 3:And show of hands again, who has been here previous years? I think it was like less than, like twenty, twenty five people. About 116 guys here today, where they'll be here this weekend. And it says already multiplied in just a few short years till now there's people that hear like, Hey, me, I haven't even met Steve Allen before or heard about who he is. But to quote a man named Lou Engle, if you don't know your roots, you won't know your shoots.
Speaker 3:So as with this whole vision of 10,000 followers, I want to share a little bit about Steve. And so I get the honor and the privilege of sharing about him. But if you ask any of those guys that have raised their hand about who he is, they will each say, and I know because I've talked to each one of you, that he has impacted their lives. Not just like, Hey, I knew him for, you know, the past year or two, but there's a longevity of a lot of relationships in this room with him over decades. And that's something actually that you guys get to step into now.
Speaker 3:I'm not saying, you know, with Steve specifically, though I think we're gonna try to zoom in tomorrow. But I am jealous this weekend for a depth of relationship that will happen here that even if this is your first time that you're actually gonna be able to step into something that has been plowed in the spirit, so to speak, that's actually been, yeah, I know it's it's been already in the making for years and years and years because of a man named Steve Allen and because of the spiritual sons that have come and stepped alongside of him and said yes to kind of where it all started. Steve was a missionary kid. He was born in Seoul, South Korea. He then became a missionary himself, went to Thailand.
Speaker 3:That's where I was born. Oldest of six kids, lived there till I was 14 before moving to America. And I remember when my dad was just sharing about his experience on the mission field. Obviously, I was a kid, so I didn't really, you know, take in too much then, but I can, as an adult now learn a whole lot more. And one of the things that he said was about his and the team that he went with, their fruitfulness in ministry, he said we did ministry as family and family as ministry.
Speaker 3:Unpack that a little bit, they're they saw the greatest fruit over a decade and a half there in the mission field in Thailand, over 96% Buddhist, barely any Christian at all. And he actually and actually modeling that for the Thai people there. And he actually took what he learned there and has continued to bring that along in The States, in the different states that he's lived in. He's in Tennessee right now. He was here in Colorado for a number of years.
Speaker 3:But when he moved, you know, from Thailand, lived and running for a year, moved to Tennessee, he had ten years there of continuing just to do life together. They did a life group in their home for about eight years. I think there might be some men that have come to 10,000 fathers as a result of that. But he continued to just to stir that. I think that hunger and the desire to see healthy and whole families, but specifically healthy and whole fathers, sons, brothers, and husbands.
Speaker 3:And that's, I think, this weekend, that's what you're gonna get a part of is hopefully encouragement as we walk out those four roles. And he's actually, he's in Tennessee right now. Like like Zach said, he has ALS. He really, really wanted to be here this weekend. Unfortunately, he can't.
Speaker 3:There's there's gonna be about 20 or 25 guys there with him this weekend there. Doing this. But in Columbia, Tennessee, and shout out to the Columbia crew that came all the way here. There's probably like five or 10 of you here tonight. But there's a verse in one Corinthians chapter four verse first, yeah, 15.
Speaker 3:15. Even if you had 10,000 guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, I became your father through the gospel. So that's where the number 10,000 comes from. It's not just some arbitrary like, oh, it's a cool big number.
Speaker 3:But it is at the end of the day, while this has been a dream of Steve Allen's heart, I believe this is a dream in the heart of God. The father heart of God to see fathers raised up and me, I'm only 32 years old, but I've gone to learn through seeing my dad's life has transpired and seen also the sons, the spiritual sons, have come alongside him. What it looks like to say yes to serve the dream of a father. To actually say no to your own dreams and aspirations for at least a time to actually say yes to the dreams of a father, what it looks like to actually come alongside, to uphold his hands. And you will get to meet them, you know, throughout this weekend, Zach, Ben, you know, even Clifton.
Speaker 3:There's there's so many people that are here that have actually said yes over years to that. But I'm jealous for that for this weekend that you actually get to know other fathers. For us as sons, say yes to even serving fathers, coming under fathers that are here, encouraging one another in that. Very grassroots. We're not trying to start like a, you know, a crew chapter here in every single city.
Speaker 3:But what we want to see happen with my dad's prayers has been over years is to see thousands of fathers raised up walking in their roles ultimately advancing the kingdom of God wherever you are. And so I'm super grateful for all the different regions, cities that are represented here. I know we'll get time to know each other more deeply over this weekend. But take the moments that are here. I mean, we only have maybe seventy two hours if that.
Speaker 3:It's gonna be a short time, but I'm super, super excited and super grateful for each one of you guys. And if he was here right now, my dad barely be able to finish the sentence. He'd just be welling up with tears. I've seen the fruit that's already here, from his prayers and the prayers of other men as well. Because you guys being here is not an accident.
Speaker 3:So thanks for letting me share this for a couple of minutes and looking forward to being able to have Steve on the screen tomorrow and actually be able to see you guys in person.
Speaker 1:So my name is Ben DeBose. I didn't introduce myself earlier. Sorry about that. But, we got a couple quick testimonies, and then we I'm gonna just kinda share, about what you can expect this weekend. And then, Eric Preuss is gonna share a testimony, and we'll pray and head to dinner.
Speaker 1:But, yes. My name is Ben. I'm live in Nashville, Tennessee. I've got five small children and a beautiful wife. And my wife is so excited for me to be here, because every year when I come home, I am completely renewed in all the things that matter the most.
Speaker 1:The husband, father, brother, son, and she's experienced it and tasted it. And my children have experienced it and tasted it and seen what happens when we come together. It's a powerful thing. Scripture says Psalm I think it's one thirty three. Somebody can correct me, especially if you went to ACU.
Speaker 1:But how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity. And it is repent, they come back to faith in the one true God. Scripture, you see, I mean, there's assemblies all throughout scripture. And and they're powerful places when men get together in unity. And that's what we're doing.
Speaker 1:That's what we're doing this weekend. One of the things that that I just really want us to as as I think Zach said earlier, you know, wanna lay down the I said lay down the burdens. He said lay down your armor. One of the special things that that this weekend is about, and and what's cool is there's a lot of really successful people here in life, in different areas of success, a lot of business owners, a lot of, doctors, different things like that. But but again, to be here for the things that matter the most, there's a, you know, the biblical and the Hebrew culture.
Speaker 1:The priest of the family is the father, it's the husband. And for far too long, we in the West have delegated the priesthood to our pastors, Christian schools, to all these places. And what I want to see and what we want to see is for all of you to take your rightful spot as the priest of your home. Whether you're married with no kids, whether you have five kids, six kids, whatever your situation is, you are the priest of the home. You are the one who ushers in the spirit and the presence of God.
Speaker 1:You are the one who who speaks over your children. And and what's awesome is, like, I can get so caught up in business throughout the year in my in things that I'm going in like and I can even have a godly like heart and desire for I'm we're doing this to make a difference. Like I'm building a legacy and I can I can think that that and spend 90% of my energy on this business that I think is on this business that I think is actually the legacy when what's really the the thing that's happening is that the people that sometimes get only 10% of my energy at home? And I don't know about you guys, but I wanna be a father that comes home and my children rush into my arms. I wanna be a father that my children run to when they're scared and aren't scared of me and how I'm going to respond to their mistakes or their situations.
Speaker 1:And and I wanna be a husband who has grace for my wife. Zach's gonna talk a little about about this, and I may share a little bit on Sunday, but, man, as at the the place of headship in our families, okay, is not a is not a lordship over our wives. It's a it's it's the same thing that you should that Jesus came to do for us, create a place for for them to flourish. Our job as husbands is to create a place and an atmosphere for our wives to flourish. And these are the kinds of things that you can expect.
Speaker 1:So I I can tell you that there's a lot of men who are here just like me because their wives I mean, I'm here because I wanna be also. But their but wives are literally pushing people out the door going, it it's a sacrifice for a mother of five children. And we're talking I've got small children, guys. We did three in one pop. So we we had we have a five, a six, and three I mean, yeah, six, a five, and three three year olds.
Speaker 1:So it's a sacrifice for her to send me here. But she does it willingly and gladly. So, this time is for you. What you give into it is what you'll get out. I I can tell you that the culture that that that exists is one of complete authenticity, and, like, you get to be you.
Speaker 1:And, and so we we want you to contribute to that, to be real. We want you to to be honest and bare your soul. It's great. There's things that men can do as brothers with each other that that nothing else can do. You know, it's in in your hearts.
Speaker 1:And, we intentionally designed it with lots of downtime. So we've got rest time, whatever you need. If you need some r and r, I just spent, like, four hours in my room with the door closed, just because I needed some I needed some refreshment. But what you put into it is what you're gonna get out. And and so really encourage you guys to, as hard as it is, I also am a business owner.
Speaker 1:I also have to have a an obligation to customers. As hard as it is, I would encourage you to not respond to every phone call that you get or every text message that you get. But but, anyway, we we want you to be here and enjoy it. So, we have we have the the format. I think you all have schedules, but we have some sharings.
Speaker 1:We got some awesome meals. The food here is dynamite. We have a lot of free time tomorrow, and, and then small group times where we get to be in in a room with a smaller group where we can encourage one another. So, I'm gonna invite Eric Presley to come up here. Eric came last year, brought two of his sons, and he's gonna share a testimony real quick, and then, we will pray and go to dinner.
Speaker 4:Awesome. So, I love what Zach says because I've got the mic, so that means you're captive audience, so sorry about that for just a minute. I brought two things up here. They're both black. They both can do a lot of different things, for me.
Speaker 4:This one can distract me. This one might push me further into the hands of the father. I'm just gonna encourage you when you're here this whole weekend, your very best is to allow yourself to do what Zac said. I'd use the word vulnerable. You've heard it expressed in three different ways now.
Speaker 4:The most that you're gonna get out of this is how much you allow yourself to put your posing away, put your facade away, put the image that you think you've got to have away. Because if you do that, you might experience something similar to what I experienced, because I've done a lot of men's ministry. Our church does a great men's ministry. I go to the boot camp that that we hold every year. I love it, but there's something about this group and what happens here, and that is it is a nakedness in the Garden of Eden before the Father where you can really be real.
Speaker 4:And that's my encouragement to you and so, I'm gonna start doing that just by sharing my own testimony from, from last year and I think it's, incredibly vulnerable because the testimony that I have is actually, involves one of the friends and buddies that was brought by one of my sons. He doesn't know that, necessarily, but it has to do with his sister, who's about to marry my son. And, like all of you fathers that have children that have grown up that are not still three, five, and six, or, or whatever, and they're teenagers, they're college, maybe they're in their twenties, professionals, and they meet somebody and they're about to marry. You as a father, you want them to be making probably the most important choice of their life after Christ, right? And so I've been always guarded with all of my sons, I have five boys, sorry, and I've, I've always encouraged them to really be discerning and to be prayerful and, and not to just because she's a, you know, attractive young lady and, and maybe, does some really cool things at, at school or or whatever.
Speaker 4:Right? You know, I want them to see in them the heart of God and that that young lady is gonna help them become more the man of God that they're supposed to be. Because I want it to last till the Lord returns or till they, return to the Lord. And so I've always been kind of guarded. My testimony is that last year I had no grid for what the Lord did, but he brought me to this place of vulnerability so that I could receive the daughter that I'm about to marry or officiate this coming summer.
Speaker 4:It was so unexpected. But I love that young lady more than I can tell you. She doesn't know it yet because there's some things that I actually want to do that will solidify in her, that she knows that she's part of our family. I bless her to be with my son, and I, I want them to have the greatest journey together as husband and wife. I share that testimony because that's so unexpected.
Speaker 4:I didn't come here to embrace a new daughter. I came here to hear a voice of the Lord to tell me how to be a better husband, how to, you know, charge down the mountain, you know, in business, and and to do all these different I did not expect that. So I encourage you to expect the father to show up in whatever way he knows you need it, but you're gonna have to get naked. You're gonna have to get vulnerable before him. Maybe it's in a worship set where, where that's where it happened for me.
Speaker 4:Maybe it's in a small group. Maybe it's at the dinner table when you guys are talking. Maybe it's when you're going for a walk. Set your hearts to anticipate the father to show up this weekend, and to give you that gift that you need so that you can be the father, the husband, the son, and the brother that you need to be.