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Freedom Starts Where Leaders Get Honest | TJ O’Donnell | IKT S6E87
June 1, 2026 · 57 min
TJ O’Donnell joins Ignite Kingdom Talk to share his testimony of radical redemption, deliverance, entrepreneurship, and Spirit-led leadership. From addiction and prison to business ownership, Soul Shakers, and Stronger Man Consulting, TJ’s story points Christian leaders toward freedom, obedience, and Kingdom stewardship.
Series Fresh Fire 🔥 New IKT Episodes June 1, 2026 · 57 min · Fresh Fire 🔥 New IKT Episodes
TJ O’Donnell joins Ignite Kingdom Talk to share his testimony of radical redemption, deliverance, entrepreneurship, and Spirit-led leadership. From addiction and prison to business ownership, Soul Shakers, and Stronger Man Consulting, TJ’s story points Christian leaders toward freedom, obedience, and Kingdom stewardship. ...more Show the full description Show less TJ O’Donnell joins Ignite Kingdom Talk to share his testimony of radical redemption, deliverance, entrepreneurship, and Spirit-led leadership. From addiction and prison to business ownership, Soul Shakers, and Stronger Man Consulting, TJ’s story points Christian leaders toward freedom, obedience, and Kingdom stewardship.
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Kraig and Desiree Bougher are Spirit-filled business leaders who God has called to display His heart for the marketplace - Making the Marketplace the Miracle Place! Follow us on Ignite-KG.org
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In this video 0:00 From Trauma to Deliverance and Business Calling14:00 Entrepreneurship and Supernatural Guidance26:00 Signs and Steps of Deliverance in Business39:00 Overcoming Poverty Mindset and Isaiah 61 Anointing50:00 Prayer, Conference Promo, and Kingdom Call
From Trauma to Deliverance and Business Calling 0:00 I had an encounter in a little white shed surrounded by cops, and God just intervened and stepped inside that shed. And I didn't know really who he was. I just knew there was peace that came in there.0:12 Welcome. This is Ignite Kingdom Talk. Make the marketplace the miracle place.0:21 Hey, guys. Welcome back to Ignite Kingdom Talk. We're so we're so excited to be with you. We're so excited about what God has. You're gonna love our our our guest speaker. But before we get there,0:33 I wanna talk about the conference that's coming up in July, July 20 fourth and 20 fifth in downtown Nashville at at the JW Marriott. Guys, I'm telling you, if you0:44 are a Christian business owner, an entrepreneur, a business leader, I'm just telling you, you need to be there. You need to be at this conference because I I think we're gonna see some stuff0:56 happen. I I think truly the marketplace is going to become the miracle place. I think the lives are gonna be changed. Businesses are gonna be transformed. I I just I I there's just1:08 a feeling that we have, and, we are we're excited about it. It's, 1 of our 1 of our speakers, and I've never met this guy,1:20 TJ O'Donnell. And1:22 Never met him in person.
1:23 Never met him in person. Never met him in person. That I guess I should clarify that. But it's it's, it's sometimes it it's it's odd to never meet someone in person, and
1:35 yet they're they're 1 of your speakers at at the upcoming conference. But, TJ, welcome. Welcome to the show. I I I we've watched you on some of your
1:47 podcasts. Again, you came highly recommended, and I I believe in in, you know, Tyler and Zach and and, some of the others that know you. And
1:59 and, brother, welcome. Thank you. Yeah.
2:03 I'm, really just honored. Like, you know, I I I know we haven't technically been face to face in person, but I think that, I don't know, hour long conversation we had on the
2:15 phone kinda summed up our lives to to to say, hey. We're absolutely aligned.
2:20 Yeah.
2:21 We have the same heart for the Lord and the vision and and everything. And so, you know, and that that's just how God does it. Right? He he brings the pieces together, the people together to accomplish his will. And so
2:32 I'm I'm super excited to be part of the journey and and what's going on, what God's dropped on you.
2:38 Yeah. It it's, we are we're we're we're excited for and and and you're right, TJ. It's it's God is he is lining he's bringing the right team together. And and I know
2:50 that Des and I said that, you know, several different times, but I'm just telling you, you know, it's when you get together with those like minded people, you you
3:01 wanna see Franklin. You wanna see Nashville changed.
3:04 Yeah. I mean, yeah.
3:05 And and and that's what that that's what we want. I I wanna see
3:09 see the whole nation Yeah. Nations change.
3:11 But but it's Yeah. But it's like we have to start with where we're at.
3:16 Yeah.
3:16 I do. And and and and I just keep thinking who better than than the Christian business owners, those entrepreneurs, people that know what it's like to take a risk, people that knows what it's
3:28 like to fall but to get back up.
3:32 Mhmm. You
3:32 know, that, you know, plan b plan b, you know, everyone's got a plan plan a, plan b, but my plan b is you get back up. You you get back up and you keep going.
3:44 That's my plan b. And, TJ, I know you're the same way, but tell tell tell the tell the Ignite, community who, a little bit about TJ.
3:57 Wow. How much time do I have? It's been, you know, I kinda sum my life up just to another story of God's amazing grace. Right? And,
4:09 you know, I I'm the first Christian in my whole family line, so I didn't grow up a Christian at all. Yeah. We I mean, traditionally, we were Catholic, but not good
4:21 Catholics at all. And, you know, I just grew up with a lot of trauma. Parents split up when I was really young, exposed to a lot of demonic stuff. And, you know, through my childhood was
4:33 was you know, there's there's a lot of violence and, just open doors to to trauma and things. And but I also had this other side that God's grace was still on my life
4:45 in the midst of all, you know, the craziness. For example, you know, I went to I went to juvenile hall twice in high school for violence, but I had a stepdad who was an angel. And every time I would go to juvenile hall,
4:57 they make you do your schoolwork, and I'd get out and go to independent studies. And by the time I I had so many credits racked up, when I went to to juvenile hall and
5:09 independent studies, when they let me back into high school my senior year. And so I I actually graduated with a 4. Well, it's just a a crazy, you know, letter in academics. So it's an unusual
5:20 story, you know, of God's grace even when I didn't know him. His hand was still on my life and, you know, being really separated from him, I I, you know, I had
5:32 little seeds along the way. You know how that goes. Right? You know, there's some seeds dropped on you along the way. And Yeah. I became a tattoo artist right out of high school. Back then, it was real traditional. You
5:43 know, you had to go through your apprenticeship, learn the craft, all that stuff, pay your dues. It was all run by bikers. And, you know, so I went through my apprenticeship and became a professional tattoo artist. And
5:55 that that was a turning point in my life because, you know, when you when you have a young guy, and I had about 4 of my buddies that were became tattoo artists running a tattoo shop, it just really opened the
6:07 door, to, you know, just a lot of sinful living. I got hooked on drugs, playing in a band and stuff, and and, opened the door to methamphetamines at that time in my life that
6:20 almost killed me several times. I went on a couple year bender, and, I, ended up, in an encounter. You know, my my I tried to get, you know, off drugs up and down. And
6:31 1 night, I ended up at a party, big house party. And I'd already you know, I I carried my tattoo equipment, always had a gun on me, and, I ended up getting into it with 5
6:43 guys. And there's a lot of details in the story, but, I ended up shooting 1 of these guys. And when I was on the run from the cops, I had an encounter in a little white shed surrounded by cops,
6:55 and God just intervened and stepped inside that shed. And I didn't know really who he was. I just knew there was peace that came in there. And I prayed and I said, hey. Listen, God.
7:07 If this is you and and you're real, if you can make all this go away, I'll give you my life. And, that's the last thing I remember. I passed out cold. It was like being under anesthesia. You know? I I closed my eyes. I
7:19 woke up 4 hours later, and I was free. But, really, I wasn't free. Right? It was just God saying, hey. I'm real. I'm here. Talk to me more, in other words.
7:31 And so I'm like, what do I do now? You know, you set me free. And the first really word I heard God say was do the right thing, and I'll take care of all the details. Now I never read a
7:43 book or, you know, the Bible or anything like that. Now I know it's the old Matthew 6 33, you know, God was saying, hey, seek first the kingdom of righteousness and I'll take care of all everything else that needs to
7:54 pertain to life. And so that principle stuck with me very early on before I even knew the plan of salvation. Well, I turned myself in. Like God said, he took care of all the details. I didn't
8:06 kill the guy. I was being charged with attempted murder, but went to court. Witnesses came forward, testifying. I was protecting myself, but I shouldn't have had a gun. I was on drugs, so I got an offer of 2 years
8:18 in prison. And, that was the grace of God. And when I was in prison, I had another encounter after getting in trouble and going to isolation. God really just
8:30 showed up in the cell by myself. The only thing in there is a Bible and a jumpsuit, you know, and I started reading the Bible, started coming alive. And then I got a cellmate who led me to the Lord. And, you know, that
8:41 that was that was a game changer in my life, in a lot of ways. Right? I felt the weight lift off. I got born again. Never been to church. I I take that back. I
8:53 went to Catholic church a few times, but never a born again experience, evangelical church, anything like that. And, you know, when I got out, I,
9:05 I got involved at a church, and my my first church experiences were really difficult. You know, I had really church hurt bad experiences, but but God just did a major work in my life in that season. I didn't have
9:16 anywhere else to go. I mean, I looked around, there was nobody like me there, and God said, listen, these people need you just as much as you need them. So sit down, listen, and learn. That's basically what God told me.
9:27 And and, so they put me through school. I became a pastor, did, you know, all the things, planted a church in 2007. On 7 7 of o 7,
9:39 I planted triple 7 church, which is, like, I'm thinking, wow, I've arrived. You know? The only 1 time in history does that happen. And, it was a wonderful experience. I mean, we
9:51 I I was ministering to the metal militia, freestyle motocross community. Ty's Brian Deegan, Ronnie Feist. It was, you know, I was meeting in an old nightclub. You know, it was this whole thing of
10:03 being cool, being relevant, you know, but I didn't understand spiritual warfare at that time. And, you know, we had a thriving church. We were baptizing people, leading them to Christ, but I had a lot of torment
10:15 still. I had a lot of, issues that I just couldn't figure out why I couldn't crucify the flesh in certain areas. And, you know,
10:27 3 years into the church plant, my wife of 14 years cheated on me and left, and I I lost everything. And that, you know, man, that was harder than prison, harder than
10:39 any other thing that I've ever ever been through. But God did a major work in me at that time in my life. You know, he he took me through a restoration
10:50 process. I I met my my wife who I have now, who's just amazing. We've been married, 14 years now. But, yeah, that season really opened
11:03 my eyes to a lot of things. As I was on my journey of restoration, you know, I noticed that I was dealing with a lot of rejection. And, you know, I'd
11:15 go back to the church I came from and just felt really rejected and, you know, a lot the church hurt stuff and all that. Finally, I ended up at an inner city church in, San Bernardino,
11:26 California, pastor I knew named pastor Marco. And just through some miraculous circumstances, I got reconnected with pastor Marco. I went to visit him. And, basically, he told me to
11:38 come see him in in his office. I went and visited him, and I shared my life story with him. I just kinda he just he told me, hey, share everything with me, you know, all your pain, everything he
11:50 went through. And, he basically when when I was done sharing, he was taking notes. He he closed closed the notebook and he said, listen, you're dealing with a spirit of rejection that came into your life when you were 5
12:02 years old when your dad left, and that spirit is creating circumstances for you to be rejected. Nobody knows it and you're being driven by it constantly. Well, apparently that thing inside me knew he was talking
12:14 at it and I started to get sick in my belly and cramping up. And, and I started going through this deliverance. He jumped over the desk and is calling stuff out of me. And, and I'm like, what in the heck
12:26 is going on? You know, I went through Bible college. I I went to Cal Baptist University. I studied the Bible extensively. I'm like, what is this? I knew demons were real and all that stuff. But, I went
12:38 through that experience and to be honest with you, I felt more free from that experience than the day I got born again. And so I asked the Lord, I'm like, what? Why? What is going
12:50 on here? I need to know how this works in scripture. And so the the latter part of my life here is really been a journey of God bringing revelation and understanding
13:02 around the power of the gospel and how it applies to your spirit, your soul, and your body. Right? I didn't and because the first thing the Lord told me was, you are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Well, I knew
13:14 as a good Bible student that Old Testament is a blueprint, Types and shadows, you know, blueprint. So I looked at I studied the temple, and there was a lot to glean from
13:26 understanding the functionality of the temple and and and how I function. So I I began to see that the inner place, the innermost intimate place where the Lord the presence of the Lord
13:38 is, is very sanctified. Right? Only the high priest could go in there, and if he had sinned, he would die. So it's this place of sanctification but
13:49 now the the holy place even David went in there when he wasn't supposed to and ate showbread and different things and so it's it's like this intermediate place
Entrepreneurship and Supernatural Guidance
14:01 between heaven and earth, that really aligns with the soul, the mind, the will, and the emotion. And then, of course, everything the the sacrifices on the outside is in terms of, you know, physical realm as physical
14:11 body. So the Lord showed me just this picture of, in the book of Nehemiah when he got the temple set up. He got everything set up. When he came back, everything was perfect, but Eliashib, the high
14:23 priest, allowed Tobiah, an enemy to live in the storehouse. And, Nehemiah cast him out. And I went, oh, gosh. That's how it works. Right? And so, I began
14:36 really diving into helping people get born again, delivered. Right? And and just understanding, you know, the the bigger picture of the gospel as in regards to justification,
14:48 sanctification, glorification. So anyway, that's been my my journey. But what happened was I became a pastor there and then the Lord out of nowhere, you know, I'm I'm thinking I've arrived
14:59 again. I got ministry going, but it's an inner city church and I'm having to raise money. I didn't feel called really to be a missionary because I'm entrepreneurial as well. And so,
15:12 while I was going through my restoration, our family business, my dad owned an automotive repair shop. So I I actually got back into when I got out of prison, I worked for my dad in the automotive
15:24 space, and I learned everything about the business. Well, I went on to be a pastor, and I left that life. I don't know where God just prophetically said, nope. You're going back into automotive.
15:37 And I went to work for someone, that made all these promises, and his promises didn't I mean, and this is life changing stuff. I left the city. I
15:49 I made a deal with this guy. And, through that experience, God, he really dropped on me that I need to own my own business. And so,
16:01 I thought to myself, yeah, I you know, God's given me this ability, you know, to connect with people in the world, but also to navigate in the world, cause that's the world we live in.
16:13 The church sometimes gets disconnected from from the world, right? And so, the Lord allowed me to come out of ministry completely. And, of course, I'm
16:25 a minister because that's who I am. I don't need to be pastor so and so. I don't need to any of that. I'm still gonna lead people to Christ, baptize people, pray deliverance, whether I'm a shop owner or whatever I'm
16:37 doing. But, anyway, that led me the Lord clearly said, you need to own your own your own shop. And so I agreed to work for this guy even though it was a bad deal. And while
16:49 I was working there, I was dreaming and and writing my, my business plan, for my own automotive shop.
16:56 So, TJ, were you still pastoring at this time then?
17:00 At this time, and it's it's a long story, but when I went through the transition of God calling me into that, I I really felt like God was saying, you know,
17:12 you're you're gonna step away from professional ministry. And so pastor Marco, you know, we were very close, really just a tremendous man of God. He
17:24 recognized that and confirmed it and was like, he blessed me out. I would have still been involved there, but it was over an hour away where the Lord was moving us. And, you know,
17:36 I had always opened my home and ministered to people and and I thought, well, I'll just get involved in a local church out there. There was I mean, it was a dead zone. It
17:48 was God didn't open the door for any churches out there. So, technically, I had gotten out of, you know, professional ministry, and now I'm, in the entrepreneurial
17:59 space. And, the first thing I did was invest in coaching. You know? Before I opened my first store, I took some of the capital that I got,
18:12 and I went through, it was called repair shop coach. They had 1000000 dollar blueprint, and I gleaned and I and I learned these these principles to to put into
18:23 my, business plan. And to a t, the first year, we we did hit 1000000 dollar, gross sales and profited in in the first year. So it
18:35 was, you know, it was God's grace. He was leading me in that. And and so, yeah, I'm like, okay. Here I am. I don't know what God wants to do with me in ministry in the future, but
18:48 where I'm at is, I'm technically now an entrepreneur. I'm still gonna minister. I'm still gonna pastor people, all that stuff, but we didn't have, you know, an organized ministry at the time.
19:00 And then I went through a life plan. I invested in coaching again and found out that I'm not a manager. I'm an entrepreneur. I'm a builder. I'm I'm a multiplier. So I opened a second store, and it
19:11 it kinda blew up like the other 1. And so, you know, now I'm in this place in California where, you know, I'm doing very well financially now, but still have
19:23 that that aching for where where am I being called into ministry. And, you know, I, when 20 20 hit, obviously, it was a significant time for everybody, but, you know, it really opened the door
19:35 for me and my wife to reflect. And, you know, we had set up our system so so well that I'm absentee. I didn't have to be there. I can run through Zoom and and, you
19:47 know, I can I can come and check-in and just be present, but I got my whole system is set up to where I'm it's like I'm there because I have the cameras, the the systems? But, you know, when COVID hit,
19:59 we kinda disconnected. We went to the river and realized the shop is doing great. We don't need to be here. And then we really were praying, and we went and visited Nashville.
20:10 As soon
20:11 as we flew into Nashville, I felt the presence of the Lord so strong. And me and my wife just looked at each other like, uh-oh. I think I think we might be home. And I'm like, wait a minute. This is far away from
20:22 Southern California. You know? And, but the Lord confirmed it. You know, we it's weird because I a lot of times, I will see
20:34 3 sevens when I'm really praying and trying to make a, you know, an important decision. The Lord will will do that for me. A lot of times on a license
20:45 plate. Right? I'll be praying about it, and I'll look over and I'll see a license plate. And then not just 1, but I'll look over and see another 1. And then a mile down the road,
20:57 here's another 1. In my mind, that's way beyond comprehension. That's that's supernatural. It's an intimate thing that the Lord just knows me, and
21:09 that's that's been kind of an anchor for me, in a lot of situations. Well, we hit the ground in Nashville. We're driving, to go visit my sister in St. Louis, and my wife goes,
21:21 look at the odometer. We're talking about, could we live there? And it's 4 sevens. And I'm like, wait a minute, babe, but it's 4 sevens. Yeah. But there's still the 3 in there. She's like you
21:33 know, she's always real discerning. And I'm like, man. I don't know if we can do this. And probably a minute later, my mom texts me. And, she's already up in, Saint
21:45 Louis, and it's bike night up there. You know, I like to ride Harleys. And she's she said, hurry up and get up here. It's bike night. Check out all the bikes. She took a picture of these bikes. Well, I didn't even see
21:56 that. I saw the car in the picture with the license plate that said 7 7 7.
22:01 What happened?
22:02 And so I knew I looked at my wife and I go, we gotta move. We gotta move. And we went home and within probably a couple months, our house, yeah, we bought a house.
22:13 It just happened so fast. And, you know, we landed in Nashville. I didn't know what to expect. I knew I was gonna write my book. I knew God was calling me to do that. I accomplished that. I didn't know the ministry of
22:25 triple 7 or, Soul Shakers was gonna was gonna take off. I didn't know anything any of that stuff. I didn't even I didn't even know we were gonna kinda be
22:37 forerunners in deliverance out here. None of that stuff. And that just started happening as we opened our home, started ministering to people. People just started getting free.
22:49 God began to give me more revelation to train people. And, so I know I'm, you can interrupt me at any time.
22:56 I wanted to ask, just hearing your hearing you on that, how how important is it for people in business,
23:08 Christian people in business, whether you own your business, whether you're an employee, whatever your position is, but the the deliverance part
23:20 and how maybe what are a few signs that people could look forward to think, oh, maybe I struggle in that area and I do need deliverance. And, just the
23:32 importance of being, I mean, the scripture says whom the sun sets free is free indeed, and that he's come to set the captives free.
23:40 Yes.
23:41 And, to bring liberty. And there are those that are bound, even though they love the Lord, they're Christians. They're still bound. Can you explain that a little bit and even how you can take that
23:52 into a business?
23:55 Yeah. I mean, and that's my story, right? I lived it. I've experienced the freedom. I've got confirmation in the word of God. You know, a lot of
24:07 times these things come in when you're really young.
24:10 Mhmm.
24:11 And they become so part of your identity. Because remember, an unclean spirit, we say demons, but you have to understand history. You have to understand the history of the Bible, the story of the
24:23 Bible. You have to understand Genesis 6, you know, the days of Noah, where these spirits unclean spirits come from, the dead Nephilim, like, all this. So when
24:35 Jesus is casting out demons, they're not thinking a third of the angels and principalities and Satan in the garden. They know who they're they're dealing with. And, you know, Hollywood
24:46 tries to blow it up and, you know, your head's gonna turn around. And an unclean spirit is a disembodied spirit, so it needs a body to to influence. It doesn't possess
24:58 anything. It influences. It's like, if I get cancer, am I possessed by cancer? No, I'm not. But I'm afflicted and I'm I'm under the, influence. Right? It's gonna change
25:10 my mindset, the way I feel, all that. And so, you know, the Lord began to show me that an unclean spirit is is very similar to a deadly virus or a bacteria or but it has
25:22 personality. And so and they're identified by their function. So anytime Jesus was casting out demons you get clues. He said deaf and dumb spirit come out and he
25:34 spoke directly to the function, a cherub is a throne guardian. Jesus himself, God is our salvation, He is identified by His function. Spirit beings are really identified by their
25:46 function so you can speak to a spirit of anger, a spirit of fear, a spirit of rejection. I carried a real heavy spirit of rejection and I didn't know that. Now I see it. When I got
25:57 delivered from rejection, I could actually see the assignment coming. People influencing people to try to cause rejection in my life. Now I go, wait aShow more
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