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Ignite Community Call | January 2024 | Darrin Gray
January 25, 2024 · 59 min
This release is a recording of January's Ignite Community Call, where our special guest, Darrin Gray, shared his expertise and heart with us. Find more from Darrin by searching @DarrinGray2020 or heading to his LinkTree here: https://linktr.ee/darringray
Come join us for the next one!
These calls take place on zoom, on the second Tuesday of every month at 12PM CST. These sessions are dedicated to bringing the community together to learn from an expert from one of the numerous fields within the marketplace. These calls are entirely free but registration is required due to limited seating.
Register now at Ignite-CB.com
Series Ignite Kingdom Talk: Formerly The Ignite-CB Podcast
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
January 25, 2024 · 59 min · Ignite Kingdom Talk: Formerly The Ignite-CB Podcast
This release is a recording of January's Ignite Community Call, where our special guest, Darrin Gray, shared his expertise and heart with us. Find more from Darrin by searching @DarrinGray2020 or heading to his LinkTree here: https://linktr.ee/darringray Come join us for the next one! These calls take place on zoom, on the second Tuesday of every month at 12PM CST. These sessions are dedicated to bringing the community together to learn from an expert from one of the numerous fields within the marketplace. These calls are entirely free but registration is required due to limited seating. Register now at Ignite-CB.com ...more Show the full description Show less This release is a recording of January's Ignite Community Call, where our special guest, Darrin Gray, shared his expertise and heart with us. Find more from Darrin by searching @DarrinGray2020 or heading to his LinkTree here: https://linktr.ee/darringray
Come join us for the next one!
These calls take place on zoom, on the second Tuesday of every month at 12PM CST. These sessions are dedicated to bringing the community together to learn from an expert from one of the numerous fields within the marketplace. These calls are entirely free but registration is required due to limited seating.
Register now at Ignite-CB.com
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0:01 We're so glad to have you with us for this release of the Ignite Community Call. These calls take place on Zoom on the second Tuesday of every month at 12 pm Central Standard Time. These0:13 sessions are dedicated to bringing the Ignite community together to learn from an expert in 1 of many different fields within the marketplace. These calls are entirely free, but registration is required0:25 due to limited seating. We hope this release blesses you mightily. Join us for the next 1 live and in person. Register today at ignite dash c b dot com. Thank0:37 you. And in the name of Jesus, may your faith and hope be ignited, afresh and anew.0:47 Michael Johnson, can you can you open us up in in prayer and we'll just kinda, as people are joining, we'll just we need to get going.0:56 Yeah, absolutely. Heavenly Father, we're thankful for this time that we get to spend here together. We just ask that Your presence is felt and known here, that we're all able to1:07 escape from daily activities that we have here today and just be here in your presence and just that the words that are said are part of our hearts and just help us to get to know you a little bit better here today1:19 through the words that1:19 are shared here in this meeting setting. Say these things in your name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Well, let's get going, guys. We've got a lot to cover today. I'm excited about our1:31 guest speaker, really excited about that. But before we get there, let's do a with with Bob and with Ben Ungerman, if we can do what's1:43
1:50 off to Ben. We'll save the best for last. We the the church community and specifically our church in in recent past has talked about 20 24 being a year of
2:02 arrest. And I think we would probably all agree that since 20 20, we've been in a pretty harsh season. You know, there's been a lot that's happened. I don't need to recap it all. I think we've all lived through it.
2:13 And it's there's a scriptural reference to a a 3 and a half year period. Can go back through the Old Testament and read about famine or drought or pestilence, and there's this 3 and a half year
2:25 period that many of those events happen. Well, this year would mark 3 and a half years if you consider the beginning of 20 20, the start of this harsh season. And with the
2:37 message that is coming from the church and and 1 message that's coming specifically from Lord of Hosts, I think is consistent with other ministries around the country is 20 24 is gonna usher in
2:49 a a season of rest. My challenge to everybody on this call is as business owners, we have to recognize if you if you believe that, if that resonates with your spirit, if if
3:01 the Lord's sharing a similar message with you, we have to recognize that that season of rest comes with work. And the work and the actions that we have to take are
3:13 this year, specifically in 20 24, make sure you know who you're voting for. Make sure you're voting for people that are gonna represent, the godly influence that we're
3:25 looking to help get our country back to. That's a strong message for me. I think I'm kindred with a number of people on this call. If that doesn't make a lot of sense, I'm happy to to talk
3:36 some more to you. Feel free to reach out anytime. But as we sit down and consider candidates and make what I think in this year are some critical decisions
3:48 when it comes to who we elect at the local level, state, and federal level, we can help the Lord, if that's even a right way to put it. The Lord's gonna use us for
4:00 change. He's gonna use us to implement what his will is in this world, and I think we have a lot of skin in that game. So that's my encouragement to everybody. This year is an important year. You can
4:12 help usher in the season of rest, by who you vote for. And I'm not just speaking to 1 candidate. I'm speaking across the board. So be mindful. Be prayerful. Look forward to hearing what,
4:24 hearing and seeing what happens this year in 20 24. Thanks, Greg. I'll turn it over to Ben.
4:30 No, I love that. I appreciate kind of the tee up there. I think I'm sensing that in addition to rest, there's also refreshment and there's also reclaiming.
4:43 So, there's kind of the 3 R's this year that seem to be emerging in different circles I pray with and I'm looking for wisdom and counsel. And it's those 3 things.
4:55 What the world will see is turmoil, upheaval, what's being thrown out there to try and influence opinion. There's no need to worry about what our opinion is.
5:07 Our opinion is that the Lord is who He is. He does what He says He's going to do, and His word is true. And we can rest on that, and we can refresh ourselves in
5:19 that, and we can reclaim this nation and our state for those who are in Nebraska by adhering to the Word of God and trusting in Him and doing what is right
5:31 but sharing the Good News everywhere we go as Bob was suggesting. So right now, just for a quick government update, Congress will get back in session, the first
5:42 thing they're gonna do is they're gonna work on getting that budget funded for this year. There'll probably be some some gnashing and things going on, but there has been an agreement that's been put in place. Speaker
5:54 Johnson is absolutely the right man at the right time for this for this season that we are coming into, and we can rest that he is a man of God who follows the Lord in all his ways and has no
6:06 hesitation to proclaim the Lord and wants to get our nation back to its foundations. We have good leadership that is coming in in the absence of what was created by some turmoil
6:18 that opened up an opportunity. And and God is responding to the prayers of His people and putting godly people in those places. And for the election, things are going to be interesting with Iowa.
6:29 You've got a governor who's endorsed someone other than President Trump. You've got leaders of evangelical political groups who have endorsed people other than Trump, and yet Trump is up in the polls and he's
6:41 the leader. So it'll just be interesting to see what happens. We should be in prayer about that, deeply in prayer, because this will begin to shape what goes forward. Sometime in the summer, we
6:53 should expect a lot of turmoil brought up beyond what we've already seen. July was the timeframe in 20 20 where
7:05 things emerged, a lot of chaos emerged, and then July was the timeframe for the Roe v. Wade decision when they finally, they had originally started in
7:17 October the previous year and they delayed it. I believe that was purposeful and then Roe v. Wade was overturned in the July timeframe which set agenda for this red tsunami
7:29 that did not materialize in 22. So, be mindful of the season with which the enemy chooses to strike and to try and create discord and create angst
7:41 and anxiety that will try to shape and turn the political direction that we're going so I guess my point is what you see right now may not be what you see as things
7:53 move forward and those 3 hours are really critical to be aware of. In Nebraska the state legislature has gotten back in their 2 main focuses are tax reform and
8:04 workforce but there will be some. Some reclaiming of ground and denying of what the enemy has been trying to do with things like sports and spaces bills that
8:16 is on the heels of banning of child surgeries and treatments to change genders last session. That was very miraculous. We could get into a conversation
8:28 about how a Democrat decided to go with his faith over his party and was the critical vote that made those things happen because you didn't have enough Republicans without it. And just how things have been in motion. And
8:40 I'm just eager. I'm excited. God is on the move absolutely, and I'm not looking to what the world has to say. What I see in the news matters little, but what matters most is things like this,
8:52 Greg, when you're bringing people together and we are circling the wagons for the Lord and he's getting the glory for all of it. And in the end, we will praise him no matter what transpires because he is he is the 1
9:04 doing the work.
9:05 Amen. Amen. Thank you guys for sharing. That's that that that that is awesome. And, you know, my wife, my beautiful wife, has a friend on from Canada. It seems like every week
9:17 we've got somebody on from Canada, Renee Drake. Renee, it's great to have you on from Canada. But here's the thing, Renee, it's the same thing up there. It's it's
9:29 the exact same up there. We've got to keep the faith. We've got the answer and we've got to stand up and we've got to be full of Him. And
9:40 I'm just again, I'm excited about what God's gonna do and what he is doing. And Jason Weber, are are you on?
9:51 Yes, sir. I am.
9:52 Okay. Can you just take Jason Jason has something he's pretty pumped and excited about. And I'm gonna have him share next month. But can you take like 30 seconds, 45
10:03 and just give us a taste of what this thing is that you're all excited about, you keep talking to me about?
10:11 Yeah. No. I appreciate that. Thank you for this, Greg. It's great to be on. I've already talked to a couple of you guys about this, Chad. I know you know a little bit about Some outreach software that we're utilizing in
10:20 terms of an AI team that we've built out to build this software. It it helps for outreach for business. We can actually utilize this outreach tool for evangelism. There's many different
10:32 things that we can utilize it for, but it's all organic outreach through Facebook, Messenger, personalized messages that'll actually build conversations, relationships, book appointments, close calls.
10:44 And like I said, we can do use it for evangelism in terms of reaching the younger population. So there's there's some incredible things that we can do with it, and the sky is the limit because it's just growing and and
10:54 excelling. But, excuse me, the AI team that we're that we're building is is phenomenal. It's all Christian based, biblical foundation based, ethically based
11:06 AI development programs that we are we are building for people. So can't wait to share with you guys next month on that.
11:13 Awesome. Awesome. And and Jason just started another group that meets on Friday mornings. I'm telling you, I love these groups that are starting up, guys. It there
11:25 there there is such momentum that's happening and this group that he started, I'm telling you, there's some, to me, Chad and I got off the call
11:37 and we just, we were just kinda like, oh my gosh, there were some, it's not that the other groups are any less, but there was just it just so happened to be that everyone in there was movers and shakers and it was just
11:49 like, oh my gosh. What's the guy? I can't remember his name, but talking about AI guys, this guy is, I must have taught him because he's really smart. I mean, if you
12:01 guys know me, I'm kidding. I don't know. This stuff goes way over my head. He's developing this AI solution thing help fight against
12:12 pornography.
12:14 Yes.
12:14 How cool is that? How cool is that? So, guys, a real quick thing that was burning in my heart, and then I'm going to give it over to Chad Burmeister. Chad
12:26 is going to introduce our guest. But Proverbs 9, Proverbs 9, and this is out of the Passion Translation. I always call it the better Bible. That's just the 1 I like.
12:38 Teach a wise man what is right and he'll grow even wiser. Instruct the lovers of God and they'll learn even more. The
12:50 starting point for acquiring wisdom is to be consumed with awe as you worship Jehovah God. I just feel an anointing on that. To
13:02 receive the revelation of the Holy 1, you must come to the 1 who has living understanding. Wisdom will extend your life, making every year more fruitful than the 1
13:13 before. Who in the world doesn't want that? So, is to your advantage to be wise, but to ignore the counsel of wisdom is to invite trouble into your life. Chad
13:25 Burmeister, can you introduce our guest that I'm pumped about? Let's go.
13:31 I would love to. I'm glad to be here today. In the in the tone of AI, I've got the book I wrote 5 years ago called AI for Sales. I'm at a conference called
13:42 Traffic and Conversion. Where do I start? I met Darren about 7, 8 months ago. I was at an event, and it's called Wired
13:54 Differently. Christian business leader. We're on an island. We're walking through this island, and Darren, you'll find, is a
14:06 listener. He takes the time to truly establish deep relationship with you wherever you are, on the bus, on a deserted island in Florida.
14:18 And we were talking, and all of a sudden, my phone went off, the alarm on the phone, 7 times in a row. And Darren and I kind of backed up from each other and we're
14:29 like, what just happened? And he's like, you know, he was hacked a week prior on his email, and we just were like,
14:41 And it was 1 of those god moments where you just know that the tape stopped at that moment in time, and we were supposed to be on a scavenger hunt on the island that day. For the next hour and a
14:53 half, we just walked and talked about God, our faith, and that's really where the Pro Player Prayer Project was born. It was something that Darren had been talking to another
15:05 gentleman about named Bill Horn for since March of that year. And we got to know each other, and now we talk every other day.
15:17 So Darren wrote a book called The Jersey Effect, and he went into the depths of understanding of these professional athletes around
15:29 the Indianapolis Colts in their winning Super Bowl season. He got to know Tony Dungy. He got to know all the players. And some of the stories, if you haven't seen or read that book, I
15:40 highly encourage you to go to Amazon. It's called The Jersey Effect. It's very, very deep and meaningful. I've now had the chance to work with Darren in a number of areas. He
15:52 has joined He Gets Us, which is the Super Bowl. They do 2 Super Bowl commercials. They're going to do them again this year. It is the single biggest movement for Christ in the history
16:04 and postmodern world that we live in today. So he was also on Tony Dungy's organization, All Pro Dad, for about 12 or 13 years. He also does work with
16:16 athletes in action. So all I just can't wait for you to meet Darren today, get to know his heart. This is someone who will change eternity, and I'm just happy to be
16:28 along for the ride with him. So, Darren Gray, glad you're here, my brother.
16:33 Yeah. I'll hand
16:34 it over to you. And
16:36 Darren, leave a little bit of room at the end for some questions. Take it away.
16:44 Well, you, Chad. But thank God the Lord doesn't just call the highly credentialed, He credentials us as we go. And that was
16:56 a rousing introduction, and thank you for it. I've worked hard the last 30 years in the world of sports, media, and ministry
17:08 to be present for people and then to find pro athletes and leaders like yourselves that are willing to use their testimony to help share the good news, and in so
17:20 doing, touched a few people along the way. And, Chad, you're a delight to work with and have been such a encouragement in the last year as we've gotten to
17:31 know each other, and so thank you for that introduction. I I wanna give a shout out to my assistant, Barbara, Propignant, that's joined the call last minute notice, but that's that's what we
17:43 do. People that just support us and come along. She'll be with me at the Super Bowl here in a few weeks, and some of you may go, the Super Bowl? What does that what does that mean? You go to the Super Bowl, Darren? And
17:55 the answer is, I certainly have been to the big game, but in and around the Super Bowl every year, thought leaders from around the country gather from the world of sports, from the world of business,
18:07 that are are are gathered in that Super Bowl city, and a lot of, influence is exchanged. So I'll be there Tuesday through Monday interacting with
18:19 agents, athletes, business leaders, sponsors, helping to produce some programs, helping to emcee other programs, and helping to do media advocacy work for
18:31 yet other programs. So I sort of move effortlessly with the help of Barbara and my publicist, Sonya, to and through a whole variety of programs. So I figured I'd just highlight
18:42 a couple of those, and that'll give you a sense for who I am and what I stand for. And in so doing, you'll also learn what I won't stand for, and who I really
18:54 am. And that's identity work, and that's ultimately what I guess we're all doing here on this call today, just finding out who we really are and how do we stand united, for Christ. Although we may
19:06 see, the world differently, we may have different worldviews, we all serve the most high and his son, the risen savior. And that's really the cost of entry, for for
19:18 me and all the work that I do. He paid a price. I'm so grateful to him. He changed to me in 19 99 in, in his football stadium, that I was in, and they called promise keepers
19:30 back in the day. And I was way up high in the in the upper level, and, the Lord moved in my heart that day. And while I had received Christ earlier in my life, I wasn't I
19:42 wasn't living that way. And and I needed to take a moment and recommit and re pledge my life. And while I don't remember everything about that day, it's interesting that it was in a football stadium. And I
19:54 made the long walk from up there, down there. I knelt down, prayed the prayer, said, Lord, let me let you be the general in my life. And, it's been a wild ride since then in the world of sports
20:06 media and and, ministry. And the lesson that day was as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. And so I hope I hope that I reflect that
20:18 and, who I am and how I try to lead, and and, I'm sure many of the rest of you, have similar stories and look forward to getting to know you in and around this network. But
20:30 as I think about the upcoming Super Bowl in the week that leads up to that, there's a little thing called media row. It used to be called radio row, now media,
20:41 and it's the Pat McAfee show, the Jim Rome show, the Dan Patrick show. All of these media outlets, coalesce into 1 place. This year, it'll be at Mandalay Bay, just
20:53 blocks from where the brand new stadium is in Las Vegas. At that place, those media outlets are gathered looking for the next big story as it relates to football and the world of
21:05 entertainment. It really is a who's who of of the NFL, and, you know, I've conversated with everybody that you might imagine from Deion Sanders to Tony Dungy and folks in between. But,
21:17 what I do there is I get guys on purpose for Christ, so that in the in the exchange that happens, it's a 10 minute interview that typically happens on those media outlets.
21:30 It's required by that outlet that they give the talent, the people that speak, sometimes me, but more often than not famous people that played the game of football that I've gotten over the last 30 years. And
21:42 the bargain that's made is they get to they have to talk about football for 8 minutes, but for 2 minutes, they get to talk about whatever it is that they came there for that day. And so I use campaigns
21:54 like the He Gets His campaign as a way for guys to talk about their faith and bring forward, that we all serve a God that really gets who we are. He paid a price for us,
22:06 and I get guys to tell personal stories in national media outlets, that help to draw people back onto God and ultimately get them plugged back into the church with a really
22:19 sophisticated database program that lies behind this program. For those of you that haven't heard about it, he gets us dot com. Check it out. But you can go on there
22:31 and request prayer from wherever you are in the country. And if there's a church or a pastor in your area that can minister to you, they'll connect with you via text and then invite you to
22:43 church. All of your churches are eligible eligible to sign up. It doesn't cost anything. We'll scholarship your church to participate. And then you can do what's called you can be in
22:55 receipt of you can be a receiver of spiritually open skeptics. These are people that may not yet believe in the divinity of Christ, but they've decided to explore who
23:06 Christ is again because we've created a campaign that's so radically authentic, because it delivers Jesus' humanity, not notwithstanding, not
23:17 because we don't wanna show you who his divinity is, but we wanna first draw you in to let you know who Jesus was so that then we as a pastor or as a person in Receipt of Explorers can tell you about who he is in
23:29 my life, and that's how the faith is transferred. That's where evangelism begins to move toward discipleship. And, tens of thousands of people on a weekly basis are entering our catchment
23:41 system that he gets us and learning about it. And then we have national partners. I'll tell you about just 1. It's called death to life, And death to life is a national strategy to help people that are
23:53 wrestling with suicidal ideation or worse. And immediately, if we detect with our AI that that person is wrestling with a life threatening issue for they're gonna
24:05 hurt themselves or somebody else, we can route them immediately to professional caregivers that then disintermediate the local process and get them the national help that they need. And I share
24:17 that with you just because that's my background. It's it's the marketing. It's the media. It's all of the pieces around that. But He Gets Us, you'll find, is the most authentic and the single greatest campaign in my
24:28 estimation in the history of the postmodern world. And the only reason I put post in there is because I do think we're living in a postmodern world where truth it's an upside down world where truth is not
24:40 always so easily understood, and and there's a lot of, lies in the marketplace. And I suspect that y'all talk about those things sometimes. And so we just wanna make sure that we're
24:52 authentically reintroducing people to who Jesus really is. It's an amazing campaign. And so that's part of what I do at the Super Bowl and in other places, also the NBA All Star weekend, also the
25:04 NCAA weekend, also, planning to head down to, Austin, for South by Southwest and find some surprising places to deliver, these key
25:16 messages. I tend to do it in and around the world of sports because that's my expertise. That's where I've spent a lot of my energy, and I'm sure you have lots of questions about who I know, and I'm happy to talk about
25:27 some of those things. But I just call it I sum it up as the good guy club. It's the men that I understand, that are beyond reproach. And while they may not,
25:39 all be the best spokespeople in the world, they're willing to be an ambassador for who Christ is. They're willing to put community, faith, and family first. And then I have a network,
25:52 that few people fully understand, Chad does, but of hundreds of NFL players, coaches, alumni, and other sports that Barbara and others helped me to steward and
26:04 shepherd over to make a positive difference in the lives of families. And some of them are faith forward, like Tony Dungy. Y'all would know who that was. I did a a big event, Zoom,
26:16 a call just like this with all the pastors, earlier, well, late last week in Las Vegas, and we're we're corralling all the pastors to get them present for
26:27 all the projects that we'll be doing with athletes in action and with part of a champion and with the Roman Gabriel show, and with sports spectrum, and with the He
26:39 Gets Us campaign. Those are the primaries that I'll be doing advocacy work for at the Super Bowl. But I give you that because it gives you an idea of how it is that I move in agile ways through those places.
26:52 And then we have faith forward guys like Tony, and then we'll have other guys that rising up and becoming more and more faith forward. I'll give an example.
27:04 Mike Minka Fitzpatrick. Well, y'all may not know who Minka is, but he's a heck of a player that plays for the Steelers. He's injured the last couple of games, so you haven't seen him playing.
27:16 But we, delivered to him the Bart Starr award, and you go, many of you won't even remember who Bart Starr was, but he was a faithful guy that was the winner and the
27:28 MVP of Super Bowl 1 and Super Bowl 2. Now think about that. Like, that from the very beginning of the NFL, and I'm so blessed to be able to help coproduce a project
27:39 with other leaders and athletes in action called Super Bowl breakfast, where we give out 1 of just a very small handful of NFL sanctioned awards, the
27:51 Barkstar being 1. And so you see how that gives me access. He gets us, gives me access. Athletes in action gives me access. And then while I'm there, I just need to be faithful to be attuned to what
28:03 Chad used said earlier to listen and to be attuned. I'm much more comfortable listening than than trying to, you know, explain exactly who I am, but I wanted to do that for Craig because he asked me to. He's
28:15 like, be sure to talk about that. He gets this thing so so people understand that it's a safe place. And and I'll make 1 more comment about that, then I'll give you a couple of more anecdotes about the Super Bowl just as
28:26 a microcosm of who I am, what I stand for, and then I'll open it up to some q and a. And then I've got a bolt at 1 45 eastern. I'm pressed
28:37 on a lot of fronts, to to be pressing. I've got a project going on the Bart Starr award, actually, but I'll I'll I'll land there, and I'll leave time, for 10 minutes for q and a here
28:49 in a moment so you can be thinking about that. But kind of back to my through line, which is this this Bart Starr award in Minka. Minka has shared his faith publicly, but as we award him
29:01 that, we're gonna give him countless opportunities to speak out and engage and now be a more faith forward leader. But, you know, that at the end of every single NFL game, you guys, it's the
29:13 only professional sport that without a question at the end of every game, they kneel down at center field. Now the NFL no longer covers that with the camera in some
29:25 ways, and and I don't wanna make political commentary, but, like, they don't they don't show the national anthem anymore either. And so you can draw your own conclusions, but I know, right, I see some thumbs down and,
29:36 you you know, there there there are some undertones, and it is a public you know, it it is a a tricky world we live in. But in those spaces, Athletes in Action, which is a company
29:48 I do a lot of subcontract work for, and who actually is the owner of the Super Bowl Breakfast and Barks Star Award, They they, in 19 91, were the group
30:00 that helped to spawn the first kneel down. And now in nearly every single game of all 32 teams, there is an NFL chaplain, not always an AIA employee, but
30:12 many times he is, about a third of them are AIA, FCA, and then some unaffiliated chaplains. But they make sure that the team has a rich and fertile, a
30:24 spiritual leader inside of the the NFL team to make sure that those players have access to the best of breed chapel services, coaches studies, player
30:35 studies, wife studies, couple studies, all that's needed to help raise up a team. Some are more high functioning than others, but they all, every single 1, have access to spiritual guidance.
30:47 And so we're so thankful that the NFL allows that to be so, and it's because we're trusted, and we're able to help to steer that. And while I don't guide all of those things, I'm an insider
30:59 in all of those places, and it's a blessing, to be able to help guide some of the spiritual, mentorship that happens in and around the league. But as I finish up now with my Super
31:11 Bowl, through lines, I also will host an emcee a really cool event with somebody that you might recognize. His name is Chris Broussard. I suspect that a lot of folks on this, call may
31:22 listen to Fox. So Chris is the sports commentator for, them. I serve on his board of directors. He's a dear friend. He was born and raised in the same town that I
31:34 grew up in, which is kind of cool. So we've got a lot of love for each other, but he is as faith forward as it can be. He is spot
31:46 on with both his life, how he lives, how he behaves, but also with his faith. And that's tricky to do in the world of pro sports sometimes where not
31:58 everybody thinks the same way about their faith. And then I also am a representative of the Roman Gabriel show. Roman Gabriel, at 1 point senior, was the highest paid player for in the NFL.
32:10 Out of every player, he was the 1. And so his son and I are close friends, and we do a lot of media advocacy work today. If anybody makes it to Vegas and you end up, where the Super Bowl
32:21 is down on media row, I'll be down there for many hours doing advocacy work, placing talent on that show, and many others. So that gives you a snapshot of how I move effortlessly between all
32:33 of these programs. And while it's not important that you know all of that, like, you've kinda seen how how I put together this redemptive lens in and around of the world of sports,
32:45 media, and ministry. And then likewise, I'll tell you what it is that I I need. I need connections to high net worth individuals that would love to support the He Gets Us
32:57 campaign through their business or their social impact investment funds or their donor advised funds. That's just part of what we do, raising the friends and the funds to help fund that
33:09 campaign, which was spawned by the Green family. So I just put that out to this group, not expecting that anyone on this call would be that person. But if you happen to have a a thought sparked, you now know
33:21 somebody inside the campaign, that's helping to raise the friends and the funds and then do the sports missional work around that to help get athletes on purpose for Christ. So that's that's what I do, you
33:33 guys. It's a crazy, amazing way to make a living. I'm a father of 4, and I'm gonna land it and kick it to Craig to help do a little q and a. Lovely wife, Leslie. Been married
33:45 for, 29 years. Love of my life. Met her when she was 12 years old. My oldest son, Evan Spencer Gray, my godson, Prince Michael Majestic Johnson, a young
33:57 homeless man that we picked up in fourth grade. He's now a college graduate and and, gainfully employed. My daughter, who got engaged 2 weeks ago, bravo to the institution of marriage,
34:08 which is, you know, in some ways declining in society, so I I love that. And then my youngest son who I can hear knocking around upstairs, he's a massage therapist getting ready to go head off to his therapy
34:20 place. But, guys, I'm Darren Gray. I'm a Jesus follower, and I love the work that I do. Thank you for inviting me to this IGNITE project. And you'll hear more about us because Chad will
34:32 be telling you more about the ProPlayer prayer project and how we're gonna be teaming up, with Ignite to help get some cohorts moving and and ultimately bring some player influence into these places.
34:44 So god bless you, and let me take some questions. But let let let's have Craig facilitate that so we can also speak over it. Yeah.
34:52 Yeah. Darren, thank you so much. And and and, guys, here here's the thing. This I I I love this guy. And every time I have a chance to be on a call with him or actually be with him, there's always something I
35:03 always find out something that I did not know. And, but it's not about Darren knowing all these named people, all
35:15 these big shot people. And I don't want to say big shot people, but people with that everyone else would know who they are. That's not why I'm impressed with him. Darren is a doer, and and and he
35:27 loves Jesus, and he he's he's a kingdom guy. And I love the work, Darren, that you are doing. And you just thanks for not giving up
35:38 and and fighting the good fight. And and, guys, I wanna open it up for questions. We kinda do it in a weird way. If you've got a question, you need to blurt it out.
35:53 Greg, I stuck 1 in the chat.
35:56 Hey. I'll check it out here. Hey, Darren. How do you find ways to connect with Christians of different churches around a common cause? You know, pastors are
36:08 oftentimes, like, caught in their own little silos, and, you know, there are church networks. So I've got a connection with a large church network. In fact, I'm meeting with a a key leader
36:21 this week about how do we get them out of their silos. But it's by providing them with the tools and resources that they need to do their jobs better. I practice a
36:33 simple principle. People support what they help to create. So this idea that if I can give them tools that allow them to be more creative, then, hey, then they'll participate and collaborate.
36:45 That he gets this campaign that I was talking to you about earlier in that sophisticated database system behind the scenes, that's called Gloo. And g l o 0 is the single greatest database for
36:56 Christ in the history of the world. So we've got a lot of tools that we give to churches. We scholarship to churches, and then that draws the pastors in. But a lot of times, it's hand to hand
37:08 combat. It's this idea that ministry moves at the speed of relationship, and sometimes you gotta make that extra call to that pastor and say, hey. Let me show you what I'm working on, andShow more
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Kraig & Desiree Bougher136K followers
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