Pastor Bronson Stewart:
Well good morning. We are not here to promote the marriage conference. That’s just an awkward segue there. So we are here to talk about something different, and if you ever wanted to know what it looks like when an NFL football player sits in an Ikea chair, <laugh>, that’s what you get right

Joel Dressen:
There. I, I don’t fold up very well. It’s okay. I’ll try. Just

Pastor Bronson Stewart:
Enjoy the ride. <Laugh>, I’m a normal sized man and I, I, I barely fit as well, but we’re fired up to have you here. Can we just give Joel a round of applause for being here fired up for him? It’s been just an amazing morning. We are tired, but it’s been an amazing morning. And I I also, I think we should do this because my wife hates it when we do this. Joel’s family is here. Okay. so let’s give them a round of applause too. His wife, his parents, kids. Thanks for being here, guys. My wife hates that too, so

Joel Dressen:
Yeah, they didn’t look like they liked that <laugh> thought they were,

Pastor Bronson Stewart:
They don’t wave at them people. They, they don’t know. And so we’re excited here. Let me just tell you, Joel and I met about a year ago, and when I got to hear Joel’s story, we worked through an event together. And, and when I heard his story and then I, I was just thinking about how God has used Super Bowl Sunday each year, really just to deliver really cool truth and some really awesome stories. I was really struck by Joel’s story really as a way to take Super Sunday a different way. And so I will just tell you, I think you’re gonna be blessed this morning as we walk through our time. Maybe you know his story. Maybe you’re super familiar. Maybe you’re gonna hear it for the first time. But it is a powerful story of how God has worked. And so you’re from Colorado native here, played football here. Just would love for you to kick off as a kid growing up here. How did you first come to know Jesus?

Joel Dressen:
Yeah, so a little bit about me. I’m, I’m a 43-year-old man. I’m a, I’m a sinner just like everybody in this room, but I’m saved by the grace of Jesus, and that has become the goal to pursue that every single day. But I, I grew up in a little town in eastern Colorado called Fort Morgan. Not too far from here.

Pastor Bronson Stewart:
There’s, there’s one Fort Morgan, is

Joel Dressen:
There a Fort Mor a Mustang in the building? Yeah. Yeah. What’s

Pastor Bronson Stewart:
Up? Some right there. The two of you. Wow.

Joel Dressen:
I was the, I was the youngest of, of three children. My, my, my mother was a nurse and my father worked in construction in city management. And my brother was a stud high school football player, and I wanted to be just like him. And he, he paved the way for me. So I was able to go through high school and, and earn a college scholarship to Colorado State. And yeah, we got some IES here. It’s

Pastor Bronson Stewart:
Three Colorado State fans. So,

Joel Dressen:
And at, at Colorado State, I was able to get a, earn a college degree and become a, a six round draft selection to the New York Jets in the 2005 NFL draft. Make that team as a rookie, playing 14 games as a rookie. And then new coach, new general manager. They come in at the end of 2000, or after training camp in 2006, and I get cut finally get another opportunity with the Houston Texans. And I play five years there. And then I was able to be an unrestricted free agent and come back and play my last two years of my NFL career here in Denver in 2012 and 13. And since then, I’ve, I’ve dabbled in some broadcasting mostly been doing a lot of dad time and family work, but I’m a spend a lot of time ranching. We have a cattle ranch east of Amarillo in Texas and have horses here in Castle Rock. And so my days are, are plenty busy. Yeah.

Pastor Bronson Stewart:
Yeah. So take us all the way back little little Joel growing up there in Fort Morgan. What was life like growing up in the church? Who were those influences and what was that moment that you came to know Jesus this

Joel Dressen:
Summer? I, I love sharing this story because I, I don’t know if most people are like me, but when the Holy Spirit found me, it was like a, a, a switch got flipped. And I remember it so vividly. I was in sixth grade, it was a spring day, and my father was not the spiritual leader of our home. I’ve never seen him pray. He would walk into a church for funerals or weddings, but that was just not a gear in his transmission. My mother was the spiritual leader of our home, and she made that important, she made that important. And we went through a period of time where my older siblings, they, they didn’t think it was important, they didn’t go. But me and my mother, every Sunday would, would go to go to church and Sunday school and, and bible studies. And she was still in her, or she was in her adult Bible study class.

Joel Dressen:
And I was in my sixth grade Sunday school class, and I was the only student in there that day. No, no other sixth graders came. And so it was me and two instructors, two male instructors in this Sunday school class. And instead of presenting a specific lesson that day, they just kind of looked at me and like, well, this is the only kid in class. They, Joel, do you have any questions about God or the Bible? And I use that opportunity to ask all those tough questions that you never really understand, maybe as a kid, like, you know, why does bad things happen to good people? If, if God’s so merciful, why did my dog die? If, if, if he knows the hairs on my head, how come he didn’t bring me a Super Nintendo for Christmas? Although the important questions I asked those guys and they were able to take me to places in scripture to support their answers.

Joel Dressen:
And it was really profound for me because that was evidence. That was everything I needed. And they were calm and wise. And now as an adult, I look back at how those men are spending their time donating their time on Sunday to, to sit with just one student and answer his question. And how selfless of an act of them to spend that time that way, just for a chance that maybe this one sixth grader would move his, his faith line, you know, a fraction of a fraction of an inch. And so I have this conversation with these men and I, I go out to my mom’s minivan, it was a white Dodge Caravan minivan, and she was still in her class. So I was out there by myself. And I, I’ll never forget it, it was like the Holy Spirit was injected in my veins that day to where that was gonna be a part of me moving forward no matter what. And, and it’s been that way ever since. Now have I been perfect in my walk with faith? No. It’s a moving target. You know, God’s not done with us from the moment we take our first breath to the moment we take our last, he is not done working in us. And, but you make a choice. And I made a choice that day that he was gonna be a part of me every single day. And, and he has.

Pastor Bronson Stewart:
I love that. First off, I love that in Fort Morgan, you didn’t lock your cars. ’cause I grew up in town like that. <Laugh>, you just climbed in mom’s car and praise God for moms who took rowdy kids to church, maybe there’s a mom today. It was hard to get the family out the door. It’s worth it to take your kids to church. Yeah.

Joel Dressen:
Job. So I

Pastor Bronson Stewart:
Love to see that story there. I can only imagine what it was like because I know what it was like my mom trying to get me to go to church

Joel Dressen:
<Laugh>. Yeah. And we talked about this briefly in the hallway, that in households where the father is the spiritual leader of the family, the family is 93% likely to, to follow him. In families where the mother is the spiritual leader, that number drops to 17%. 17%. So men, you being in this building right now, you being here right now is setting the example for your family. And it is so valuable. It is so important. Yeah. Don’t forget that.

Pastor Bronson Stewart:
Yeah. It’s huge. So there comes a point where you find football, you fall in love with football. I remember when I found football and the deep love that develops and you find out, Hey, I’m, I don’t just love football, I got a shot. What, what was it like being able to play college football? And then I think what I love about your story is specifically that God definitely lined up for you to go to Colorado State and what that time meant there. Yes,

Joel Dressen:
Sir. So I was very fortunate that I was the youngest of three kids. And I had an older brother who was six years older than me. And bless his heart, I feel like this was the most divinest of interventions because he was a really good high school football player. Like really good. And oftentimes his picture would end up in the front page of the Fort Morgan Times the newspaper, and he would cut this picture out and write bible verses on it and, and put it up on his wall. And him humbling himself before God. I mean, this is a teenager doing this, this is a teenager doing this. No one was forcing him to do it. And I, I witnessed it and he provided the example for me as far as discipline. I, I didn’t touch a drug or a drop of alcohol in high school.

Joel Dressen:
Not nothing ever. And it was ’cause of him. He, he didn’t either. I wanted to be just like him. On Friday nights he would stay at home. He didn’t go out with friends, he didn’t drink, he didn’t party. And I’ll never forget it ’cause he would get all showered up and he didn’t have a shirt on. And he was this big muscular beast of an athlete. And he would sit there in his bedroom, Vaseline, all over his lips. And I mean, he’s still being mean to me, don’t get me wrong, <laugh>. But he, he sits there with one a Bible in one hand and just kind of sprawl all over the place. And I, I got to witness that and that’s so valuable. So I wanted to be just like him. So all throughout high school, I did the same thing. All of those aspects that, that made you a good football player.

Joel Dressen:
The, the physical, the emotional, the mental, the psychological, there was a spiritual element too to it as well that applies to everything that we do. What you do is not your identity, but your service to the Lord. And I was so, like, if, if my life could be a living sacrifice playing football, that people move closer to God because of my efforts, they see my efforts, then that’s how I want to be. And I was able to earn that, that college scholarship to CSU and it was such a blessing to go to CSU. I en or I don’t envy. I worry about these kids who, who go to college programs and they have a head coach who isn’t always aligned with God or aligned with himself spiritually. But I got to sit and listen to Sonny Lubeck every single day. Sonny Lubeck, I, a lot of you probably don’t know him, but an older man of just the highest character.

Joel Dressen:
He treated everybody with respect. He pursued Jesus. He would organize bible studies for his coaching staff. We had a team chaplain who would have Bible studies for all of our entire roster. We had a, a chapel service before every single game home and away. And he emphasized that part of it. And I look back and I think about how vulnerable you are as a young person from age 18 to 22, all of the influences in your life can take you down so many paths, so many roads. And I got to sit and listen to that man every day. It was such a blessing to be at CSU and, and be able to learn from Sonny.

Pastor Bronson Stewart:
Yeah. And, and so you, you you mentioned you get drafted by the Jets, I mean, proof of a broken, fallen, sinful world, the New York Jets, right?

Joel Dressen:
<Laugh>, yes sir.

Pastor Bronson Stewart:
Right there. But so God is testing you, sending you into this mission filled, called New York City. What was that like though, to get drafted, to arrive, to, to have your dream come true and to make it to the NFL?

Joel Dressen:
There’s never this like arrival moment. They say that there’s only one person who’s happy on draft day, and that’s the person who goes number one overall. And everybody else is just angry. They didn’t get picked sooner. And I definitely fell into that category. I I was projected to be third to fifth round pick, and I end up falling to the end of the sixth round. So, so right then and there, God’s humbling me right away before I even go, he’s like, Hey, you think you’re entitled to this draft spot? You think you’re entitled to go to this team? Hang tight there, young fella. Let’s let’s recenter things. But yeah, I was able to 1, 1 98 overall in the 2005 NFL draft to, to the Jets. And I was able to make that team as a rookie, played in 14 games as a rookie, but then had a knee surgery in that off season.

Joel Dressen:
A new head coach, new general manager comes in in 2006 and I get cut after training camp. So here I am, I’m thinking, wow, I, I could be one and done my, my, my dream might be dead. And so the entire 2006 season I’m out of football. I I, nobody wants me, I nobody wants me. And it is the most humbling time of my life. And I wanted to blame everybody else. I wanted to blame the coaching staff at the Jets. I wanted to blame the general manager, blame the training staff for not getting me healthy enough. It was always somebody else’s fault while I got why I got hurt or why I couldn’t play, why I was, my dream was dead, but God is close to those who are broken hearted. He’s close to those who are crushed in spirit. And that’s exactly what I was.

Joel Dressen:
And I called on him and I got another opportunity with the Houston Texans in 2007. And this time God’s telling me, he’s like, Hey, you and you alone are accountable for everything that happens in your life. Your life is a function of your choices and your choices alone. It’s nobody else’s fault. And, and right then and there, I I took accountability for everything that happened to me in my life. I got cut because of my fault. I was out of football because of my, I wasn’t right some way, somehow I wasn’t good enough. And so God told me, Hey, adjust your relationships. Focus more on me. Change your diet, sacrifice more, start there. And so, from the moment I arrive in Hu Houston in March of 2007, I’m doing these things. I I’m, I’m doing it all. And I, they had me live in a hotel the whole time from the off season program all throughout training camp.

Joel Dressen:
And <laugh> Bron said, I am wearing out the carpet on the floor in this hotel room, just pray and pray and pray. Lord put it, mold my heart to however it has to be. Prepare me for this blessing to make this team help me find a way. And his answer, he’s like, okay, but you gotta talk to me more. You have to talk to me more. And I realized that my prayer life was where you saying, this is where you need to grow. Troy Palama, I don’t know if you guys remember him, he was outstanding Hall of Fame football player, safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He had that Wild Islander hair falling out of his hair or out of his helmet. He was one of my favorite players to study on film because of how special he was. And one thing I noticed on film was in between every single play, he’s mouthing something, he’s doing the, the cross thing.

Joel Dressen:
And so I, I watch an interview with him and he is like, soft spoken, this gentle, kind human, but he’s an absolute savage on the field. I’m like, that’s who I want to be. That’s how I want to be. And in this interview, he goes on to tell how in the middle of a game, in between every single play, he’s having an open dialogue with God. He’s praying to God in between every single play. And it blew my mind because football, NFL football, this is the most competitive sport and business in the world. These owners are billionaires for a reason. They wanna be better than the other billionaire, right? They’re, it’s insanely competitive. And so I tried that, I started doing that in practice and in games where I would have this open dialogue with God, where it sounded like, Lord, please, please help me focus, Lord, please gimme my breath. Father God, please keep me injury free. Father God, please help me use my technique on this play. And it worked. It worked. I made that Houston Texans team, and I didn’t miss a game for the next five years. Five years. It’s one of the things I’m most proud about. Thank you.

Joel Dressen:
It, it’s really hard to stay healthy all, all 16 games and keep yourself available. And, and God kept me healthy for five full years, and it was just amazing time. It’s

Pastor Bronson Stewart:
True. What they say, God bless Texas.

Joel Dressen:
Hey, God bless Texas. Yes, sir. That’s

Pastor Bronson Stewart:
That old hymn, right? I think that’s an old hymn. And so that was Joel’s words, not mine. Joel said, God bless him in Texas. So you get the, the greatest joy of your life to play in the state that does football better than any other state. There is Texas football, right? So you’re blessed there. But then this is where I love Joel’s story, and you probably think you know it. They think they know it, they think they don’t, they don’t know it. But you become a free agent Yeah. And you get a chance, walk through the free agency journey and just how that all ends up Yeah. With where you landed.

Joel Dressen:
So it’s like a really nerve wracking time. I’m finally, I’m 30 years old, I’m finally a free agent. So that means you can go to any NFL team that wants your services. And wouldn’t you know that the team that wants me the most, that wants to pay me the most, who just happened to sign a Hall of Fame quarterback, Peyton Manning, they come calling me up and some dreams just keep getting better. It was such a blessing. But truth be told, that story was actually really stressful. Yeah. The whole league was kind of on hold at that time because Peyton was a free agent and nobody knew, knew where he was gonna land. If he had signed in your division, you might want to sign some free agents to beef up your defense. So the whole league was on hold. So when free agency started, my phone was quiet.

Joel Dressen:
So I’m like, oh, wow, this feels like 2006 again. Maybe nobody wants me panic stricken time. Peyton finally signs, and then I start getting free agent visits. So I, I go to Tennessee, I go to New Orleans, I go to Cincinnati, and I’m actually sitting at lunch with the Tennessee Titans tight end coach. John Elway calls me up on my phone. No lie, this is my childhood hero, right? I grew up idolizing this man, and Hey, Joel, John Elway here. Yeah. He’s like, you’re a free agent, right? Yes, sir. He’s like, all right, here’s the numbers. What do you think? That was easy. These guys are all taking me around their facilities, showing me their weight room. Like, I don’t know what that is. So he calls me up and, and tells me the numbers. So I, okay, I hang up, I go tell the Titans coach.

Joel Dressen:
I’m like, Hey, that’s Denver. Here’s the numbers. He’s like, ah, all right. We can’t do that. I’m, I hop a plane and I come to Denver. When I get here, I chicken out. I’m like so scared. I didn’t want to do it because I didn’t wanna leave my comfort zone. I didn’t wanna learn a new offense. I, I saw Peyton banning in the training room. I knew he was coming off this neck deal. I I, I, I didn’t know, but I was chickening out. I was literally wanting to go back to my comfort zone. So I’d tell, I call up the Texans, I’m like, Hey, make the money the same, and I’ll come home. They do it. So I tell Denver, Hey, I’m actually gonna go back by the time I land in Houston, Elway leaves a voicemail. Hey, would more money change your mind? <Laugh>,

Joel Dressen:
I’ll pray about it. <Laugh>. Yeah. Let me, let me think about it. Right? And no lie I did, I had to think about it. They did offer more money, and I didn’t want to go back on my word. I had told Houston, I’m coming back. I’m coming back. I didn’t wanna go back on my word. I stay up all night. Me and my wife, we pray about this all night. I talked to my dad on the phone and he’s like, man, you’ve been cut multiple times, Joel, and they don’t care. So going back on your word, you, you’re 30 years old, you have to go to the highest bidder and all of these other things that you’re not paying attention to, like Peyton Manning, like the Denver Broncos, like wake, wake up <laugh>. And I did. And I thank goodness I did end up coming here because I got to play with Peyton Manning. I got to be a Denver Bronco, no lie. I, I grew up <laugh>,

Joel Dressen:
I grew up idolizing John Elway, Shannon Sharp, ed McCaffrey, rod Smith, bill Romanowski, all those guys when they were winning the Super Bowls in 97, 98. I was in high school watching that. And for me to be able to put on that uniform in my home state and come finish my career here. Wow. Wow. Okay. Let me, I I’m leaving out the more faith you, you’re leaving out my favorite part of the story. Yeah. So during my time in Houston, I had developed this motto, more faith equals more miracles. And it stems from Matthew 58 13, when Jesus goes back to his hometown, and he’s actually, the people didn’t, didn’t like him there. They were, they actually mocked him for the miracles that he had did. And so he didn’t perform many miracles there. He said, ah, the people lack faith, so I’m not gonna perform many miracles there.

Joel Dressen:
And so I derived this motto that more faith equals more miracles. The more you operate your life with faith, the more miracles are gonna be presented to you. And so here I was getting to go back to Denver, and so I’m like, I have to tattoo that on my body. So it, on the inside of my biceps, I tattoo more faith equals more miracles. And my reasoning behind this is because when I would catch a touchdown pass, it is the most euphoric, like out-of-body experience that could happen. The crowd just go, pa and your teammates all come smother you. And it, it’s, it’s, it’s euphoria. But in those moments, it’s like I was so desperate to deflect that attention away from me, away from the person, the human, the fleshly human who caught the touchdown pass to my savior, my God, who put me in position to do that.

Joel Dressen:
It was a function of his blessings. Every good thing in my life is a function of God’s blessings. And there was no better time for me to display that than catching a touchdown pass. If I could put my arms up in the air and someone can maybe squint and read more faith, more miracles and, and know what I’m about, that, that’s, that was my goal. If my, if, if playing football each and every day could be a living sacrifice to the one who blessed me to do that, to create more believers, then that’s what I wanted to do. Yeah.

Pastor Bronson Stewart:
That’s cool. And, and I think that’s, that’s the part of the story that, you know, and, and amazing year, right? Best year ever when you first get here of your career. But, but what looks like it’s gonna be a Disney story, takes a turn, injuries show back up. So Super Bowl 48 comes along, the Broncos are there. Just walk through the, the struggle of that season, particularly how that season ended for you.

Joel Dressen:
Yeah. And so 2012, my, my first year with the Broncos was a great year. We were, you know, 13 and three we’re the number one seed had more catches in the season than I’d ever had. I’m playing more than I ever had. I’m finally a starter on a good team with a good quarterback. And we, we messed that game up against the Ravens in 2012, right? Where that ball goes over Raheem his head, and, and we lose that one. And I, I’ll never forget walking off that field that day, I sobbed, I cried and cried and cried because I know how much work, how much things have to go your way just to be in position to, to, to be in the playoffs. And so I I, I go through 2012 and then, okay, all right, we’ll just go do it again. It’s, it’s, it’s easy, right?

Joel Dressen:
Well, that off season, this left knee starts to disintegrate, right? So in May, I had to have a piece of cartilage scoped out, and then in August it happened again. So you can’t make the club in the tub. So I was, I was hurt. I was, couldn’t hardly practice all training camp. And Julius Thomas was doing his thing, a special athlete. So I go from being the best tight end on the roster to probably the worst, the worst behind Julius and Jacob, Tammy, Virgil Green. And so I still have a role on the team. I still make the roster and I play in the regular season games, but I’m pretty much relegated to scout team duty and special teams work. And I’m okay with that. I’m okay with that. That’s all my body could handle. But once we got to the playoffs, we had a bunch of guys get healthy, and we couldn’t give a tight end a uniform on game day anymore, or a, a fourth tight in the uniform.

Joel Dressen:
I don’t know if you guys know this, but there’s 53 guys on the NFL roster, only 45 get a uniform on game day, meaning that there’s eight guys who are gonna be standing around in sweats because they’re not part of the game plan. They don’t get a play. And so the, in the playoffs leading up to Super Bowl 48, I was inactive. I was one of those players in sweats and humbling time, humbling time. But, but God is close to those who are brokenhearted. He is close to those who are crushed in spirit. And I still was on a team that was in the Super Bowl, and the unique thing about the Super Bowl was the inactive players, if you’re inactive, you still get to wear your uniform and go through pre-game warmups. So I, I, in my heart of hearts, I kind of knew, I kind of knew that that was probably my last time I was gonna get to put on an NFL uniform.

Joel Dressen:
So I did it, I put on my uniform, taped my angles, put on the eye black, and I ran around MetLife stadium, and I was flexing more faith, more miracles for anybody who would, who wanted to watch. And then, yeah, then I went into to the locker room before the game, and I had to take all my stuff off because I wasn’t, I was inactive. And we go on to get our butts kicked in that game. That was terrible, and that was a bummer. But, but God’s still working, right? And so then fast forward to July of 2014, and I get cut with a failed physical designation. I, I was too hurt, too injured to play anymore. And you know, that that first year not playing football, that that was okay. I was okay with that. I was so worn out from the pain and the pills and the surgeries that I needed some time to just rest and heal and, and, and be away from it. And so that, that was nice that first year, but then 2015 comes along and I’m, I’m feeling better. I’m like, man, I wish I was an active player. Still, I’m missing it so, so much.

Joel Dressen:
But I, I’m still too injured. And I was doing some local broadcasting, both TV and radio, and everybody knows what happens in the 2015 season, the Broncos go on to, to win the Super Bowl with that historic defense. And all I got to do was talk about it on the radio. And this is an embarrassing story to tell, but this is humanly, this is me in my flesh. I was not happy for that Broncos team. I was so cloaked in jealousy, in envy, in anger for a long time. I, I didn’t understand why, why God got me so close to the one thing that I wanted. I just wanted to be a productive member of a Super Bowl winning team. And I was so close, I was right there, and it got fell short, and I had to, I had to watch them go on and do it without me.

Joel Dressen:
And it was the most humbling time of my life. It actually launched me into a deep, deep depression. And I realized that it was my thoughts, my thoughts were carrying me into this depression, these humanly fleshly thoughts that lie to you every single day that tell you you’re not worthy. You’re not good enough. It’s not true. Okay? And my mind was perpetuating these thoughts of self-loathing. That man, you couldn’t even win a Super Bowl. Everything you’ve done is for nothing. But God is close to the Christian spirit. He’s close to the broken hearted. He’s more concerned with your character than your comfort. It would’ve been real comfortable for me to go win that Super Bowl and have that fairytale ending like you described. But he wanted me to talk to him more. He wanted me to grow more my character. And what he was telling me is like, Joel, the power of your thoughts is where this is, is gonna get you out of this. He’s telling me you have to fill your minds with everything that is noble was pure, holy, righteous, instead of these victim hood mentality of self-loathing and depression.

Joel Dressen:
And it didn’t happen right away. It’s something that happens a little bit each day. But when you start filling your mind, putting on that armor of God every single morning, get, get in your Bible every single morning before you do anything else. And if it’s just one chapter, one verse, anything you’re preparing your heart for that day. And, and God got me outta that depression. It wasn’t through medications, it wasn’t through endless therapies. It was by changing my thinking and the gaining of wisdom as you become older, that more and more that Bible, it tells you everything. It tells you everything, how to live, what to eat, how to sleep how to talk to God, what you should think about. And God pulled me outta that depression by changing my thought processes. Yeah.

Pastor Bronson Stewart:
I first off, thank you for your vulnerability. I know it’s a hard story to walk through and

Pastor Bronson Stewart:
You’ve had to dig that up three times today, so I appreciate that. That’s okay. I know that’s not easy. And I, and I think it speaks to the pressure that as an NFL athlete to, to hide that to not be honest about that. And, and what I would hope that it, it lands with you is that as hard as it may be to imagine catching a pass from Peyton Manning it’s it’s probably not that hard for you to imagine being jealous or angry or depressed or saying, Hey, God, why are you moving in those people’s lives? Not my life? Why are you fixing their prayer? Why are you answering their prayer request? Not my prayer request? You know? And, and so I just, I I love how you tie that together. And, and I just think here as we just wrap up, what, what would be just the, the encouragement that you would give someone here in the room today who maybe has their identity rooted in something else, is trying to hold it all together, is trying to do it all. What would be just one encouraging takeaway that you would just kinda leave in this space this morning? Yeah.

Joel Dressen:
You know, what I’ve noticed is that rock bottom looks different for everybody, right? But rock bottom for me was not winning a Super Bowl. That seems like a pretty privilege, luxury, luxury of a problem to have. While some people are dealing with the loss of a loved one, or addiction, or any other of the troubles that we deal with in life, I would just say that God is close to those who are broken hearted and crushed in spirit. He’s there, he’s there right there waiting for you to, to take his hand and, and, and, and pull up, rise up out of those ashes together. We have a God who loves us, who has plans for us. And in our most broken moments is when he works in us, in our most broken moments where we think we’ll never be the same if you choose him and you choose him again each and every day. I, I feel like I’m in a place in my life where that’s how I start my day. If my children can come up out of their bedrooms in the morning and they see me sipping coffee, and I’m have this Bible open, everything else falls into place. Right? Start there. Start there. So start there.

Pastor Bronson Stewart:
Yeah. that’s good. Last question I just wanna leave you with, because I, I love how you talk about just walking and living through the narrow gate. We, we just kind of came out of our series through the spiritual disciplines. Talk about how that has shaped everything for you. What I love, especially from a dad who didn’t walk that road, and how you’ve been committed to walking that road. Just in with, in with that, what that means and what that looks like daily in your life to enter through the narrow gate.

Joel Dressen:
Yeah. So my time as a athlete, as a young athlete, entering through the narrow gate meant getting up early to, to work out instead of sleeping in or diet, discipline not going out, not drinking with my friends. It was those disciplines entering through the narrow gate, the willingness to do what most people aren’t. And now, as an adult, entering through the narrow gate is choosing Jesus openly and honestly, every single day. Starting there, starting there, entering through the narrow gate means not doing what? Social media, what the world wants us to do, that we have a responsiveness and a reactiveness that is of the spirit, the fruit of the spirit, joy, faith, love, kindness, peace, self-control, Galatians five, right? When those things are apparent in your life, that’s when you know you’re living by the spirit, by, by the fruit that it produces the narrow gate. Just being in this room right now, you’re walking the narrow gate. Yeah. Keep choosing that, that that wide gate that leads to destruction, that life is about self-satisfaction, money, how much toys you acquire. That ain’t it. That ain’t it at all. It’s all about your character growth, how you are preparing yourself for eternity. And God ain’t done, you ain’t done from the moment you take your first breath to the moment we take our last. That’s right.

Pastor Bronson Stewart:
Amen. Great word. Jesus. Give a round of applause for Joel and time. Yeah. Wow. What I would say is if anything that Joel said struck a nerve with you, we would love to talk with you at Trailhead. I, I, I think, man, we’ve had some amazing testimonies come through here for Super Bowl Sunday for the last four years. Joel’s story, I just feel like could be so many stories in this room. And if that’s you, I hope you would see the humility that was displayed before you, and you would see the hope that exists in a God who loves you. And you would stop by your head today and allow us to just pray with you and talk with you, and to walk this road with you. And as Jill said, I tell our athletes all the time that if if the Lord decides to put the sun in the sky and breath in our lungs, then we’re gonna praise him, and we’re gonna thank him that this is the day that he’s made and we’ll rejoice.

Pastor Bronson Stewart:
So however hard it may be for you, if there’s anything we can do, stop by there. We would love to do that. I’m gonna pray for us, and then we’re gonna give away our helmet and then you’ll be dismissed. Father, thank you just for the honesty in this conversation this morning, that as fun as it is to talk about the highlights, and as much as we impress through our strengths, thank you for the humility and connection that comes through our weakness, the moments where our earthly strength is all worn out, and all we have is you. And so thank you for showing up, time and time again in my life. Thank you for showing up time and time again in Joel’s life. And Father, I pray for the one in this room this morning. Maybe there’s just one who just needed to be reminded. You are near to the broken hearted. You are near to the crushing spirit. That is true, that is in your very character. That is who you are. Father, thank you for that today. Thank you for the chance that we get to just know you and worship you. Father, I pray the takeaway is that someone would wake up tomorrow morning, anxious to enter through the narrow gate and to know you more. Thank you, Jesus, for the hope that we have. It’s in your name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen.