October 17, 2025 • 13 mins
Vision determines destiny. Without clear direction, we drift into stagnation and frustration. This episode unpacks the profound truth of Proverbs 29:18 - "Where there is no vision, the people perish" - and offers practical guidance for Christian men seeking purposeful leadership in every area of life.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to the Lion Within Us, a podcast serving
Christian men who are hungry tobe the leaders God intends you
to be.
I'm your host, chris Granger.
Let's jump in.
All right, guys, this is yourfun Friday episode.
Let's get right into it.
Okay, scripture of the week.
This week has been the book ofProverbs, the 29th one, as a
matter of fact, the 18th verse.
Okay, it says Well, there is novision, the people perish.
(00:23):
But he that keepeth the lawhappy is he.
Because I love that verse.
I've used that verse a lot inmy life, particularly in
leadership roles where I've beenleading groups.
I've been leading, you know,meetings or different types of
agendas or just acquisitions andthings like that, and it's such
(00:48):
a salient verse and I reallytry to take some time to unpack
it for you in our SpiritualKickoff episode.
So if you go back, you shouldpop back to in your podcast feed
.
You'll find it there and I loveto hear from you like that
verse.
When you hear about whenthere's no vision, the people
perish, what comes to hear fromyou like that verse, when you
hear about when there is novision, the people perish, what
comes to mind from you?
Ok, so, and if you like thespiritual kickoff episodes and
(01:10):
apparently you guys do.
We see the stats and it'spretty awesome.
We do it Monday through Fridayin our Lion Within us community.
We offer it completely for free.
So you can get started withthat at thelionwithinus.
Scroll right down to the dailyspiritual kickoff.
Get started today for free.
It's an easy way to getconnected with us.
(01:31):
Ok, we really enjoyed our lastconversation, also with Dave
Jones, or Super Dave as he likesto be called, fun conversation
around vision marketing ministry.
What does it all mean comingtogether?
He has an acronym that he usesthat was so salient.
He calls it FLAP Fear, lust,Anger and Pride and he
(01:55):
recognizes if one of those fouritems starts to manifest in his
own life that that's not fromGod, it's just not.
That's usually a trap from theevil one and he's now, just by
being attuned and being awareand looking for that, is able to
redirect and course correct andstart changing his position and
(02:18):
his posture and his behavior tocombat those attacks.
So fellows really enjoy thatconversation with Dave, former
hockey player as well.
Definitely, if I play onehockey in my life, that'd be the
one I played.
Right, I've never played hockey, but I can appreciate
everything that he brought tothe conversation and hopefully
you enjoy listening to him.
Okay, so for our regular funFriday listeners, you know
(02:41):
what's coming.
But if you're new to the LionWithin, first of all I just want
to say thank you for listening.
But what we do on our FunFridays is we break down three
tips, okay, and these?
We're not trying to tell youhow to live, we're just trying
to give you some insights.
So how can you live to honorand glorify God?
So we break it down by threecategories that are health,
wealth and self.
Okay, health is your mind andyour body, like how do we
(03:05):
strengthen that to do what God'scalled us to do?
Wealth is around stewardship.
You know how do we be betterstewards of our finances, our
careers and other things thatGod blesses us with?
And self-tip is how do weimprove incrementally as
husbands and fathers?
Guys, we've been called to amajor task, so if we can give
(03:25):
you a little tip just to helpyou along the way, we're going
to do it, okay.
So for the health tip, this weekI read this somewhere, I can't
even remember where, but it waslike yeah, that's pretty dope
and it's very simple Find roomswhere you're the dumbest guy and
gyms where you are the leastfit.
Okay, because you are going towork out harder and you're going
(03:46):
to push yourself more when youhave to rise up.
If you're the smartest guy inthe room, you're in the wrong
room, but you just got to getout.
Find another room.
And I equate this to like kidsI was having a conversation with
someone about this the otherday around playing up like never
play down man, always play up.
You may be, and that you knowplaying up.
(04:08):
You may be at a little bit of adisadvantage because of your
current skill set, but you'regoing to grow by leaps and
bounds, just by the people thatyou're surrounding yourself with
.
And I see this in in in youthsports.
Just this past year with my,with my oldest girl, uh, for our
16 U League, they let so manyof the girls play down to the 12
(04:32):
youth and I'm telling you it'shurting these girls, it's a
major hurdle for them.
They could have grown so muchmore this year had they played
up versus just playing down,because you play to your
competition.
I mean, I've just seen this inteams after teams that I've
(04:53):
coached or been a part of.
You know you play to whereyou're at, man, and I'm telling
you, if you're looking for a wayto grow as a Christian leader,
as a man in general, find theright rooms, bro, find the right
gym.
If you're not being pushed, ifyou're not getting that extra
little oomph every day, maybeyou're in the wrong gym.
Maybe you need to find a placethat's going to push you out of
(05:20):
your comfort zone, becausethat's where the truth, growth
happens.
I think we can all attest tothat.
Right, all right.
Now the wealth tip this week.
Simply commit to your callingman Like your job isn't just a
paycheck.
This is your opportunity.
This is your platform, if youwill, to do what God's called
you to do, and we have toapproach that with extreme
excellence and intentionality.
So you could be leading a majorsales team or you could just be
(05:45):
changing tires.
Hey, I've done both.
Okay, but diligence requiresreflects, rather, your character
.
So I'm telling you, when I wasworking as a mechanic, the work
I did, as I showed up every day,mattered and I treated it as it
mattered and doggone it, itmade an impact.
The work I'm doing today at thelion matters and I treat it
(06:07):
like it matters.
You don't think I pray overevery piece of content that goes
out, over everything that Iwrite, over every conversation
that we have.
There's masses, massive amountsof prayer and, quite frankly,
pressure to glorify God with it.
But I'm telling you, when westart thinking about our work
like it's worship, you startshifting things.
That job turns into a callingand that calling can be used to
(06:31):
bless others.
So wherever God has you placedright now, don't think just
because you're not working at achurch, you're not doing his
work.
I'm telling you that is such alie from the pits of hell.
No, you have a calling.
Get out there and do it.
All right, self-tip this week.
Dad jokes build connection.
Okay, that's very simple.
(06:53):
Don't underestimate the powerof having a little bit of fun.
Think about how laughter canbuild some memories,
particularly if you got somemilk squirting at your nose or
something right.
But it also opens doors fordeeper connection, because humor
is often a gateway to our kids'hearts.
(07:15):
Fellas, let's just be real.
So it's okay to be corny, it'sokay Tell the dad jokes, make
them groan, roll their eyes,because love is not always
serious, bro.
It has to be something that weshare together all the time.
So at the dinner table tonight.
Pull out some dad jokes.
You know we give you two everyweek on the Line Within Us, but
(07:37):
just use that.
Let your kids see that fun sideof you.
This is something I've beenthinking about a lot lately.
I was just talking to my wifeabout this today at lunch before
this podcast recording.
I was like you know what Idon't want my kids to only think
dad is this angry guy who isalways correcting them.
Now, that's my job.
I have to correct them.
I'm not saying we're going tolet our kids run wild.
I don't want them to thinkabout me as just an angry guy.
(07:59):
I want them to think of theirdad as a fun guy.
He can make us laugh right, andwhen he laughs a lot of times
when I laugh, tears come to myeye.
I want them to see that.
I want them to see their dadjust fully embracing the moment,
every moment, and remember somemoments it's okay to laugh, all
(08:19):
right.
So here are your three tips,fellas, very simple this week
Health, wealth and self.
Find those rooms where you'rethe dumbest and the gyms where
you're the least fit.
Okay, that's the easy one.
Well, tip is commit to thatcalling whatever God's called
you to do and self tip isremember those dad jokes, build
connection.
So our book of the week thisweek, fellows, we talked with
Dave about this, but his book iscalled Vision Wins Seven
(08:42):
Strategies for Mental Toughnessin Life and Sports.
I encourage you guys to gocheck that out.
Dave's doing some wonderfulthings out there, so we just
thank him for him, for sendingus his copy, as well.
For our dad jokes this week,we've got two good ones for you.
The first one is I once gotfired from a canned juice
company.
Okay, apparently, man, I justcouldn't concentrate.
(09:03):
That's pretty good, I mustadmit.
There you go, that's number one.
Number two did you hear aboutthe kidnapping at school?
It's okay, he woke up.
I don't know.
I got to think about that one.
Number one.
Number two I once got firedfrom a canned juice company.
Apparently, I couldn'tconcentrate.
Or number two did you hearabout the kidnapping at school?
(09:24):
It's okay, he woke up.
So let me know which one youlike best.
Fellas, remember to use thosedad jokes.
If you get an eye roll, if youget a sigh, it it's okay.
You get a little smirk, youknow you hit a home run on that
one.
Okay, boys, and look if youhave a dad joke that we haven't
used, that you want us to use onthe show, send it to us.
Support at the lion withinus.
That's an email address.
Just drop us a note with thedad joke that you have.
(09:45):
We'll give you a shout out onour show and if you help us,
it's to say thank you forsupporting and playing along.
How about that?
So the question of the week wetalked about it all week is what
areas of life feels mostdirectionless right now?
Okay, we all have these areas,whatever it may be, whether it's
(10:08):
your career or your health, oryour marriage, or your parenting
finances.
We got it, I know I've been inall of those.
Right, so, whatever that areais, do something about it.
Right, don't just hem and hawlike we talked about in
conversation with Dave, but ittakes action.
So, course correct.
And if you need support on that,head over to thelionwithinus,
(10:31):
let's chat.
Let's talk about it.
Okay, connect with us in ourdaily spiritual kickoff.
That's free.
Join our community, sign up forthe weekly roar.
Whatever you do, I'm going toreach out to you.
That's my commitment.
I'm going to reach out.
And if you want to have aconversation, I would absolutely
love to do that, okay.
So, guys, share this stuff outwith others.
The lion withinus is where youfind our resources.
Open the Bible app as well.
(10:53):
Search for the Lion Within Uson your Bible app.
Follow us there.
We have plans coming out on theBible app very consistently.
We try to be consistent withthat.
So, other than that, guys, it'san honor, thank you.
Thank you, thank you for takingthe time to listen and I hope
you have a great weekend.
All right, get out there andkeep unleashing the lion within.
I've got something big to share.
(11:17):
We're making a major shiftbecause we know the battle was
real and it's time more men hadaccess to the support they need.
For too long, guys have beentrying to carry the weight alone
pressure at work, tension athome, wounds from the past, in a
world that demands strength butoffers no place to rest.
We see it, we've lived it, andthat's exactly why we built our
(11:38):
community.
It's a stronghold, a placewhere warriors can find rest,
truth and a band of brothersstanding beside them.
And starting now, we're makingit easier than ever to step in.
We've lowered the barrier tojust $15.99 a month.
That means, for less than thecost of a drive-thru lunch.
You can join a brotherhoodthat's centered on Christ and
built for growth.
(11:59):
Inside you'll find access toour daily spiritual kickoffs
every Monday through Friday, ourLion Lunches, our Bible Studies
, our Friday Forge gatheringsall that and so much more.
Every man needs a stronghold,and you don't have to fight
alone.
If you've been waiting for theright time to jump in, this is
it.
Go to thelionwithinus and jointhe community and see for
(12:20):
yourself what happens when irontruly sharpens iron.
Welcome to the Lion Within Us, a podcast serving
Christian men who are hungry tobe the leaders God intends you
to be.
I'm your host, chris Granger.
Let's jump in.
All right, guys, this is yourfun Friday episode.
Let's get right into it.
Okay, scripture of the week.
This week has been the book ofProverbs, the 29th one, as a
matter of fact, the 18th verse.
Okay, it says Well, there is novision, the people perish.
(00:23):
But he that keepeth the lawhappy is he.
Because I love that verse.
I've used that verse a lot inmy life, particularly in
leadership roles where I've beenleading groups.
I've been leading, you know,meetings or different types of
agendas or just acquisitions andthings like that, and it's such
(00:48):
a salient verse and I reallytry to take some time to unpack
it for you in our SpiritualKickoff episode.
So if you go back, you shouldpop back to in your podcast feed
.
You'll find it there and I loveto hear from you like that
verse.
When you hear about whenthere's no vision, the people
perish, what comes to hear fromyou like that verse, when you
hear about when there is novision, the people perish, what
comes to mind from you?
Ok, so, and if you like thespiritual kickoff episodes and
(01:10):
apparently you guys do.
We see the stats and it'spretty awesome.
We do it Monday through Fridayin our Lion Within us community.
We offer it completely for free.
So you can get started withthat at thelionwithinus.
Scroll right down to the dailyspiritual kickoff.
Get started today for free.
It's an easy way to getconnected with us.
(01:31):
Ok, we really enjoyed our lastconversation, also with Dave
Jones, or Super Dave as he likesto be called, fun conversation
around vision marketing ministry.
What does it all mean comingtogether?
He has an acronym that he usesthat was so salient.
He calls it FLAP Fear, lust,Anger and Pride and he
(01:55):
recognizes if one of those fouritems starts to manifest in his
own life that that's not fromGod, it's just not.
That's usually a trap from theevil one and he's now, just by
being attuned and being awareand looking for that, is able to
redirect and course correct andstart changing his position and
(02:18):
his posture and his behavior tocombat those attacks.
So fellows really enjoy thatconversation with Dave, former
hockey player as well.
Definitely, if I play onehockey in my life, that'd be the
one I played.
Right, I've never played hockey, but I can appreciate
everything that he brought tothe conversation and hopefully
you enjoy listening to him.
Okay, so for our regular funFriday listeners, you know
(02:41):
what's coming.
But if you're new to the LionWithin, first of all I just want
to say thank you for listening.
But what we do on our FunFridays is we break down three
tips, okay, and these?
We're not trying to tell youhow to live, we're just trying
to give you some insights.
So how can you live to honorand glorify God?
So we break it down by threecategories that are health,
wealth and self.
Okay, health is your mind andyour body, like how do we
(03:05):
strengthen that to do what God'scalled us to do?
Wealth is around stewardship.
You know how do we be betterstewards of our finances, our
careers and other things thatGod blesses us with?
And self-tip is how do weimprove incrementally as
husbands and fathers?
Guys, we've been called to amajor task, so if we can give
(03:25):
you a little tip just to helpyou along the way, we're going
to do it, okay.
So for the health tip, this weekI read this somewhere, I can't
even remember where, but it waslike yeah, that's pretty dope
and it's very simple Find roomswhere you're the dumbest guy and
gyms where you are the leastfit.
Okay, because you are going towork out harder and you're going
(03:46):
to push yourself more when youhave to rise up.
If you're the smartest guy inthe room, you're in the wrong
room, but you just got to getout.
Find another room.
And I equate this to like kidsI was having a conversation with
someone about this the otherday around playing up like never
play down man, always play up.
You may be, and that you knowplaying up.
(04:08):
You may be at a little bit of adisadvantage because of your
current skill set, but you'regoing to grow by leaps and
bounds, just by the people thatyou're surrounding yourself with
.
And I see this in in in youthsports.
Just this past year with my,with my oldest girl, uh, for our
16 U League, they let so manyof the girls play down to the 12
(04:32):
youth and I'm telling you it'shurting these girls, it's a
major hurdle for them.
They could have grown so muchmore this year had they played
up versus just playing down,because you play to your
competition.
I mean, I've just seen this inteams after teams that I've
(04:53):
coached or been a part of.
You know you play to whereyou're at, man, and I'm telling
you, if you're looking for a wayto grow as a Christian leader,
as a man in general, find theright rooms, bro, find the right
gym.
If you're not being pushed, ifyou're not getting that extra
little oomph every day, maybeyou're in the wrong gym.
Maybe you need to find a placethat's going to push you out of
(05:20):
your comfort zone, becausethat's where the truth, growth
happens.
I think we can all attest tothat.
Right, all right.
Now the wealth tip this week.
Simply commit to your callingman Like your job isn't just a
paycheck.
This is your opportunity.
This is your platform, if youwill, to do what God's called
you to do, and we have toapproach that with extreme
excellence and intentionality.
So you could be leading a majorsales team or you could just be
(05:45):
changing tires.
Hey, I've done both.
Okay, but diligence requiresreflects, rather, your character
.
So I'm telling you, when I wasworking as a mechanic, the work
I did, as I showed up every day,mattered and I treated it as it
mattered and doggone it, itmade an impact.
The work I'm doing today at thelion matters and I treat it
(06:07):
like it matters.
You don't think I pray overevery piece of content that goes
out, over everything that Iwrite, over every conversation
that we have.
There's masses, massive amountsof prayer and, quite frankly,
pressure to glorify God with it.
But I'm telling you, when westart thinking about our work
like it's worship, you startshifting things.
That job turns into a callingand that calling can be used to
(06:31):
bless others.
So wherever God has you placedright now, don't think just
because you're not working at achurch, you're not doing his
work.
I'm telling you that is such alie from the pits of hell.
No, you have a calling.
Get out there and do it.
All right, self-tip this week.
Dad jokes build connection.
Okay, that's very simple.
(06:53):
Don't underestimate the powerof having a little bit of fun.
Think about how laughter canbuild some memories,
particularly if you got somemilk squirting at your nose or
something right.
But it also opens doors fordeeper connection, because humor
is often a gateway to our kids'hearts.
(07:15):
Fellas, let's just be real.
So it's okay to be corny, it'sokay Tell the dad jokes, make
them groan, roll their eyes,because love is not always
serious, bro.
It has to be something that weshare together all the time.
So at the dinner table tonight.
Pull out some dad jokes.
You know we give you two everyweek on the Line Within Us, but
(07:37):
just use that.
Let your kids see that fun sideof you.
This is something I've beenthinking about a lot lately.
I was just talking to my wifeabout this today at lunch before
this podcast recording.
I was like you know what Idon't want my kids to only think
dad is this angry guy who isalways correcting them.
Now, that's my job.
I have to correct them.
I'm not saying we're going tolet our kids run wild.
I don't want them to thinkabout me as just an angry guy.
(07:59):
I want them to think of theirdad as a fun guy.
He can make us laugh right, andwhen he laughs a lot of times
when I laugh, tears come to myeye.
I want them to see that.
I want them to see their dadjust fully embracing the moment,
every moment, and remember somemoments it's okay to laugh, all
(08:19):
right.
So here are your three tips,fellas, very simple this week
Health, wealth and self.
Find those rooms where you'rethe dumbest and the gyms where
you're the least fit.
Okay, that's the easy one.
Well, tip is commit to thatcalling whatever God's called
you to do and self tip isremember those dad jokes, build
connection.
So our book of the week thisweek, fellows, we talked with
Dave about this, but his book iscalled Vision Wins Seven
(08:42):
Strategies for Mental Toughnessin Life and Sports.
I encourage you guys to gocheck that out.
Dave's doing some wonderfulthings out there, so we just
thank him for him, for sendingus his copy, as well.
For our dad jokes this week,we've got two good ones for you.
The first one is I once gotfired from a canned juice
company.
Okay, apparently, man, I justcouldn't concentrate.
(09:03):
That's pretty good, I mustadmit.
There you go, that's number one.
Number two did you hear aboutthe kidnapping at school?
It's okay, he woke up.
I don't know.
I got to think about that one.
Number one.
Number two I once got firedfrom a canned juice company.
Apparently, I couldn'tconcentrate.
Or number two did you hearabout the kidnapping at school?
(09:24):
It's okay, he woke up.
So let me know which one youlike best.
Fellas, remember to use thosedad jokes.
If you get an eye roll, if youget a sigh, it it's okay.
You get a little smirk, youknow you hit a home run on that
one.
Okay, boys, and look if youhave a dad joke that we haven't
used, that you want us to use onthe show, send it to us.
Support at the lion withinus.
That's an email address.
Just drop us a note with thedad joke that you have.
(09:45):
We'll give you a shout out onour show and if you help us,
it's to say thank you forsupporting and playing along.
How about that?
So the question of the week wetalked about it all week is what
areas of life feels mostdirectionless right now?
Okay, we all have these areas,whatever it may be, whether it's
(10:08):
your career or your health, oryour marriage, or your parenting
finances.
We got it, I know I've been inall of those.
Right, so, whatever that areais, do something about it.
Right, don't just hem and hawlike we talked about in
conversation with Dave, but ittakes action.
So, course correct.
And if you need support on that,head over to thelionwithinus,
(10:31):
let's chat.
Let's talk about it.
Okay, connect with us in ourdaily spiritual kickoff.
That's free.
Join our community, sign up forthe weekly roar.
Whatever you do, I'm going toreach out to you.
That's my commitment.
I'm going to reach out.
And if you want to have aconversation, I would absolutely
love to do that, okay.
So, guys, share this stuff outwith others.
The lion withinus is where youfind our resources.
Open the Bible app as well.
(10:53):
Search for the Lion Within Uson your Bible app.
Follow us there.
We have plans coming out on theBible app very consistently.
We try to be consistent withthat.
So, other than that, guys, it'san honor, thank you.
Thank you, thank you for takingthe time to listen and I hope
you have a great weekend.
All right, get out there andkeep unleashing the lion within.
I've got something big to share.
(11:17):
We're making a major shiftbecause we know the battle was
real and it's time more men hadaccess to the support they need.
For too long, guys have beentrying to carry the weight alone
pressure at work, tension athome, wounds from the past, in a
world that demands strength butoffers no place to rest.
We see it, we've lived it, andthat's exactly why we built our
(11:38):
community.
It's a stronghold, a placewhere warriors can find rest,
truth and a band of brothersstanding beside them.
And starting now, we're makingit easier than ever to step in.
We've lowered the barrier tojust $15.99 a month.
That means, for less than thecost of a drive-thru lunch.
You can join a brotherhoodthat's centered on Christ and
built for growth.
(11:59):
Inside you'll find access toour daily spiritual kickoffs
every Monday through Friday, ourLion Lunches, our Bible Studies
, our Friday Forge gatheringsall that and so much more.
Every man needs a stronghold,and you don't have to fight
alone.
If you've been waiting for theright time to jump in, this is
it.
Go to thelionwithinus and jointhe community and see for
(12:20):
yourself what happens when irontruly sharpens iron.
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