Ep. 137 | 50 Years in Men's Ministry Taught Him This

Aug 4

With Bob Johnson

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

What if the thing making your marriage, your prayer life, and your walk with God feel stuck isn't a lack of knowledge, but a lack What if serving other people isn't a burden, but the thing that actually sets you free?

In this episode of the 100xLife Podcast, Rob Dayton talks with Bob Johnson, a man who recently completed the 100xLife Challenge and has spent decades building men's ministry, from the early days of Influencers in Bakersfield to gatherings that now draw over a thousand men into the mountains each year.

Bob shares his story candidly: a ten-year detour chasing baseball and softball around the world, an altar moment in 1989 that changed everything, and decades since spent building men's community rooted in service, honesty, and freedom. He and Rob dig into what actually galvanizes men, not performance or machismo, but the freedom to stop hiding, to be real, and to serve instead of posture.

The conversation moves through some of the most memorable moments of Bob's ministry life: cleaning toilets before ever being handed a microphone, the difference between having to serve and getting to serve, and a simple but piercing insight about Holy Spirit that reframes prayer entirely. Along the way, Bob and Rob connect the dots between freedom, servanthood, and Rob's own recent revelation that everything in creation exists for one purpose: inviting us to choose love, and giving us a place to practice it.

Bob has now become a 100xLife Coach himself, and shares what excites him most about bringing this process to the men in his life, including a group he's launching in January.

You'll Hear

Why Bob says freedom, not effort, is the real key to lasting transformation
What actually gets grown men to open up and be honest with each other
The story of choosing to clean toilets instead of taking the microphone
Why "you get to" changed Bob's whole posture toward serving others
A piercing insight about why the church often treats the Holy Spirit like "Uncle It"
How Rob's new thinking on love as the purpose of creation lines up with Bob's own journey
What "AI: Available and Intentional" means as a simple, doable practice of evangelism
Why Bob calls the process, not the destination, the actual point

Journal Prompts

If I could bring one thing from heaven to earth right now, in my imagination, what would it be? What am I most excited about?
Holy Spirit, how do I put that into practice? How do I partner with you in bringing that aspect of heaven I'm most thrilled about to earth?

About Bob Johnson
Bob has spent decades in men's ministry, including foundational years with Influencers, and now serves as a 100xLife Coach. He's currently preparing to launch a new coaching group in January.

🌐 Influencers → https://influencers.org

Interested in Coaching?
Bob is one of a growing number of 100xLife Coaches bringing this process to the men and women in their own communities. If this conversation stirred something in you, you can learn more about becoming a coach yourself.

🔥 Become a 100xLife Coach → https://www.100xlife.com/coaching

Links
📘 100xLife Book → https://www.100xlife.com/book
🚀 Take the 62 Day Challenge → https://www.100xlife.com/challenge

Welcome to the 100X Life Podcast, where we activate people who desire to live the words of Jesus and experience the abundant life He promises. I'm your host, Rob Dayton, and I hope this podcast inspires you to put in the work of following Jesus.
Rob Dayton (00:36)
Hey, 100X Lifers. Welcome back to the podcast. really excited about a conversation with Bob Johnson today. Bob Johnson just recently completed the 100x Life Challenge with a group of men. In fact, next week we're going to have the coaches on to talk about how the challenge went. This was our midsummer challenge. There were three or four coaches who were engaged in that.
But Bob Johnson went through it and gotta see some of the interaction on the channel. Bob and I have spoken a couple of times, but we're new to each other. So Bob Johnson, welcome to the podcast.
Bob Johnson (01:11)
Thank you. Happy to be here.
Rob Dayton (01:14)
So tell us a little bit about your background, kind of the story with Jesus and where you find yourself prior to the Hundred X Life Challenge.
Bob Johnson (01:22)
Well, in a nutshell, I'm I'm a blessed man. Been married to my wife, Jimmy, for forty years. We have two daughters, Darcy and Lacey, three grandkids, Christian, Brindley, and Emmett, and two son-in-laws. I always have to get them in or I'm in trouble. you know, they're great guys. I'm blessed. you know, Rob, my journey I grew up in a little small town outside of Bakersfield, California.
little farmer town out there, great life. the church we went to was literally a rock throw from our house. Every time the front door was open, my mom was there. The other side of the coin was my dad was a local bar and pool hall owner. So I got to see both
Rob Dayton (01:58)
wow.
Bob Johnson (01:59)
sides, right? I I I I'm right there, man. I and but I grew up tip you know Sunday school camps
Missions trips at a young age, had some really cool people pour into my life. Went to a Christian university and then took about a 10 year left turn would not even be a good term for it. it was pretty rough. Traveled kind of around the world chasing a little white ball and doing other crazy stuff. So white ball
Rob Dayton (02:26)
What's the white ball that you were
chasing?
Bob Johnson (02:28)
Well, it was baseball in college, then it became fast pitched softball after that. I traveled back and forth New Zealand, America, Canada. It was kind of big time back then in the eighties. a lot of money involved with supposedly an amateur sport, but somehow we survived. But it wasn't I don't talk about it much because it's kind of my Egypt, if you want to know the truth. I don't want to go back.
Rob Dayton (02:49)
Totally, yeah.
Bob Johnson (02:50)
You know, hear these guys, hey man, I want to go back to No, I don't.
But in 1989, November nineteenth, nineteen eighty-nine, my wife and I, we had both been raised in church. We weren't living for God. We went down to the altar at our uncle's church there in Ventura, not too far from you. And from November nineteenth, nineteen eighty-nine to now, here we are. we've served the Lord in know, voluntarily in several capacities been big time involved with some stuff you know about in influencers. Yeah,
Rob Dayton (03:18)
Yeah, tell us about influencers. You're
wear you're wearing the shirt and
Bob Johnson (03:21)
Yeah.
Rob Dayton (03:22)
influencers, I've been through that. And then John Van Linton, who's is, you know, one of my closest friends, also a purveyor of influencers. Tell tell us how that has impacted your life.
Bob Johnson (03:34)
Well, influencers was awesome. And it's a crazy story because John and I worked together for many years. And
Rob Dayton (03:39)
Really? So in what capacity did you work together?
Bob Johnson (03:42)
well, John was an engineer and then a manager over in Santa Barbara. I eventually,
Rob Dayton (03:47)
Mm-hmm. For granite.
Bob Johnson (03:48)
yeah, for granted, I eventually became the vice president of safety for granted. So I took care of the whole company or country. And John got transferred over to Bakersfield. And I was allowed, even though I was corporate up in Monterey.
I was allowed to keep my office in Bakersfield all those years because I was you know that was that was where family was. And so I invited John to influencers when he got over there. He was yeah, he was in my first journey group. And
Rob Dayton (04:10)
You're the one Were you at the bridge at that time?
Bob Johnson (04:16)
yeah, yeah, yeah. We were all we were all at the bridge and in the early days we didn't know what we were doing, man.
We were and it was running and I mean we had like a hundred guys show up one morning at six AM to get started, Ra. It it was
Rob Dayton (04:28)
Wow.
Bob Johnson (04:29)
it it was crazy. And it just grew and grew and John branched off
Rob Dayton (04:32)
Would you say
would you say that felt like a Holy Spirit move of God right there when all those guys showed up?
Bob Johnson (04:37)
without
without a doubt. I mean, it was I don't want to say crazy because it was the Holy Spirit and men were looking
Rob Dayton (04:45)
Well, he can be crazy in my experience.
Bob Johnson (04:48)
Yeah. It it it was one of those deals where you know I I mean I'm old enough to have seen the the Jesus Revolution. I didn't have to watch the movie, right? I I was right down the street from the tent that Chuck Smith had going to college
Rob Dayton (05:01)
Wow.
Bob Johnson (05:02)
and then the Promise Keepers movement, man, I was hundred
Million Man March, all that, right? But as influencers began to come, men are looking for stuff, right?
Rob Dayton (05:12)
Yes.
Bob Johnson (05:13)
And and you come out of wild at heart where you gotta go, you know, shooting a bow and arrow and all that. And the neat thing about influencers, and Rocky, you know, just a guy that wrote a book, didn't want it, didn't know where it was going. We didn't have a manual the first year we started. Les Pearcy in Bakersfield, one of John's mentors and dearly friend.
Dear friend of mine, he finds quote unquote finds this ministry and we threw it out there and it just went crazy. And men began to abide. It's all, for those that don't know, it's all based on John 15, abiding in Christ. And mean, in a crazy sort of way, we began to dominate the town. I mean, we we had a float in the Christmas parade, bunch of guys sitting on hay bales just singing Christmas songs and and Christian songs and
I'm a barbecue guy, my buddies are. So we began to take barbecues down to the to the poor people downtown. sleeping bags, We just began to serve the town in in in so many ways, Rob. And that was our passion. And from there it just grew. We started this thing called M24 for 24 hours in the mountain, right? First one I
Rob Dayton (06:20)
I've I've been
to it. It's amazing.
Bob Johnson (06:23)
Have you yeah, okay. Well you would have I was one of the cooks up there almost every year. I last year I I
Rob Dayton (06:28)
Gumbo, did you do the gumbo
thing where you put it all out on the table with the
Bob Johnson (06:32)
the shrimp? Yeah. yeah.
Rob Dayton (06:34)
that was so good.
Bob Johnson (06:35)
We had to stop doing that because it got so big and out of control. It was just too much. 'Cause last year, like I drive over I live in Idaho now and I still drive over for it. Last year we had eighteen hundred guys up there. Started with a
Rob Dayton (06:47)
Unbelievable
and that's camping out in kind of a farmland field with some hills and
Bob Johnson (06:53)
It's it's in the mountains now up in Tehachapi. They moved it. If you went earlier, you we were literally in a cow pasture with a with a trailer for our our stage
Rob Dayton (06:59)
Yes. Yes.
Bob Johnson (07:02)
and it's it's a lot nicer now. There's a little lake up there and there's better s you know, some stuff you
Rob Dayton (07:07)
Is it the same a
place you do solely business?
Bob Johnson (07:10)
No, no. It solely businesses your way almost, you know, going up I f or going up ninety-nine I five. This is Tehachapee up on
Rob Dayton (07:17)
Okay. Got it.
Bob Johnson (07:19)
the mountain the going east. And but it's still guys sleeping on the ground, you know, the whole night. I call it murders to millionaires. Cause that's literally what you will run into there. And you know, John's a big part of it. Bunch of guys just came together and it's
Kind of my passion over here. Also, we the the M6 they do once a month. We started in a guy's backyard with, I don't know, 30, 40 guys. They get three or four hundred now every month. they're doing it over in the coast now, Central Coast, all up and down. We'll probably get 80 to 90 guys here in Idaho tonight. RM6 is tonight.
Rob Dayton (07:55)
wow.
Bob Johnson (07:56)
And so we're we're getting about 80 or so, getting guys to blend in a little bit, you know, trying to get people to kind of
get out of their own little corral and come hook up. over here's been a little tough, but it's it's good. It's really good.
Rob Dayton (08:09)
So I gotta ask you,
you said you were actually lived the Jesus movement, which meant you were down in the OC area. Did you actually get baptized at Pirates Cove? I'm just so curious.
Bob Johnson (08:21)
No, you gotta hear this this totally opposite. So I'm this great Christian guy from a conservative little town. And Rob, I wouldn't even go over to the tent over there because you know, guys are going to church in bathing suits and people like and I just thought, man, this, you know, I mean, I'd listen to the music. I
Rob Dayton (08:40)
Hippies.
Bob Johnson (08:42)
They were hippies. I I was a you gotta remember, I'm a short-haired baseball player. You know, we cut.
One of the guys on the baseball team that year was in that world and he wants he's we're growing our hair this year. I went down and got a flat top the next day just say, I'm here to play baseball, you know? Yeah, I I I tell people all the time I was afraid to go over there. But I
Rob Dayton (09:00)
So but you saw it. So be you're afraid to go over it, but what did
you what did you recognize about the movement that was attractive? Mm.
Bob Johnson (09:06)
The the freedom. The freedom.
The again I grew up, ninety percent of the people church had ties on, white shirt, tie, you know, dark pants, real strict, you know, type of thing. There were there I there wasn't freedom in in in the way I grew up, you know, it was all what I couldn't do versus what I could do, type of stuff.
Rob Dayton (09:29)
Does it feel like it's a it had a an
essence of a godly freedom?
Bob Johnson (09:33)
I I I think so. Yeah. I mean that's my view of it. Like I say, I wasn't I wasn't meshed up enough with the quote unquote hippies enough to really be in there, right? But
Rob Dayton (09:42)
He didn't know Lonnie Frisbee personally.
Bob Johnson (09:44)
Yeah. So, you know, it but yeah, it it it broke walls down. I mean, I did have a buddy in high school, our senior year, he had a Volkswagen band, man. He was into a gr and we would drive down to what was it, Hollywood and Vine down there. And and now we're coming out of a town of
three thousand, four thousand, Arvin outside of Bak and we would go down there, man, and they would have these, you know, children of the day, love song. There was a rock and roll guy named Larry Norman, I'll never forget, you know, and he just
Rob Dayton (10:14)
Yeah, Larry Norman.
Bob Johnson (10:15)
Yeah, he rocked out Jesus move. So would go to that, but I never participated in any like church situations once I really moved down there. But yeah.
Rob Dayton (10:25)
So of all your all
the kind of men's, you know, and I don't want to make this sound like an exclusive concept for men, but you know, we're talking
Bob Johnson (10:33)
Yeah.
Rob Dayton (10:33)
about men's ministry right now, and
Bob Johnson (10:35)
Yeah.
Rob Dayton (10:36)
you have this heritage in seeing various movements. What would you say is the com out the the the common
essence of bringing men together with Holy Spirit's prompting that really works. What is it about those that is helpful to men or galvanizes men? What do you think it what how would you describe it?
Bob Johnson (11:01)
Man Rob, I being real, I I and I don't want to sound cliche-ish, you know, but you you gotta be real. And and it's not just, you know, hey, we're gonna go to church on Sunday, we're gonna deep like when I kind of when I grew up. And and I think there's a big component of of service that men get together, and when you get together with men,
I I don't run a group that I don't say, hey, you're either gonna go serve or you kinda can't be in the group. You know, we go find people to help because that's buying. We we go on all these missions trips, right? And you come back and you remember the people kind of that you helped, but you really remember the people you went with. That's
Rob Dayton (11:40)
That's right.
Bob Johnson (11:41)
right. And and I believe that men are looking for challenges and and things. And when we're real and get them to really talk about their
Issues. They don't have to be Macho Joe to me. You know, hey, dude, I've already been there, bought the t-shirt on that one. You know, just throw it out there and let's go. we we do something through the journey, which is the influencers material, as you know. we have a a time away where we really talk about our
Rob Dayton (12:06)
Yes.
Bob Johnson (12:07)
life. And and when you get grown men sitting in a circle, eight, ten, twelve guys, and they're bawling their eyes out with some of the stuff that.
That is a I know you now. Like you said, you and I had have never met and you don't know my real deep, and I don't know. But once you go away and you really throw that out there, we're we're bonded together in in a just it it it can only be the Holy Spirit because other than that, men aren't telling you their story. Okay.
Rob Dayton (12:33)
Interesting.
Bob Johnson (12:34)
They're not just I mean, men just I'm not gonna blubber in front of those guys. I mean, but they do.
Rob Dayton (12:39)
Too it's too risky.
Is it like it's too risky? I might be found
Bob Johnson (12:42)
Yeah.
Rob Dayton (12:43)
out, I might be an imposter.
Bob Johnson (12:46)
Yeah, I'm supposed to be a macho man. I'm not
Rob Dayton (12:48)
Mm-hmm.
Bob Johnson (12:48)
supposed to I mean I was raised absolutely if you cry, I'll give you something to cry for. You know what I mean? And we were supposed to be
Rob Dayton (12:54)
Mm-hmm. Right.
Bob Johnson (12:56)
we were supposed to be those guys. And to show weakness and vulnerability and say, Hey, I'll I'll come and serve you. I'll never forget one of the promise keepers deals I went to. I don't even remember who the speaker was. He said instead of going home and
Walking through the door going, Honey, I'm home and I'm here to take care of the family. Walk up and knock on your front door and be on your hands and knees and say, I'm sorry I failed. Can I be more of a husband to you? So it's more of a servanthood. And when men began to give the servanthood side, because we're we can kind of glow onto the macho pretty easy, right? But this I'm here to serve, even in my own home and and and stuff. Yeah.
Rob Dayton (13:37)
So, two things I've taken from the conversation
that seems super helpful, and I really appreciate your heritage. It really feels like that's super powerful. So, one is sounds like a commonality in goes back to your comment on freedom. It's the freedom to be who I really am and not have to hide.
Bob Johnson (13:58)
Yeah.
Rob Dayton (13:59)
And then the second thing is that it feels like what is a man?
Like what is the identity of a man? It feels like that's might, you know, what I'm getting from you is that might be where we're sideways. If my identity as a man is I'm supposed to hide, I'm supposed to cover up, I'm supposed to make sure that you don't see what's really going on. And then that manifested macho or whatever however you would call it, or is being a man being a servant?
Like those are pretty contrasting views. What what are your thoughts? Does does that sound about right? How how would you shape that language?
Bob Johnson (14:36)
that's that's where I would go when I said, so if you would have asked me the question, what's the number one thing that stood out for you at 100X? My one word, it's freedom. You use it several times during this process, and what got me early on was the thirty, sixty, one hundred, right? 'Cause I grew up in a pretty strict deal that if you failed it it was whack a mole, right? All or nothing.
Gotta gotta repent every Sunday. And so when you said, Hey, you haven't sinned, maybe you just haven't been obedient in that area. I've there there's a freedom there. And and once you where the freedom of the Lord is, you know that song, it it it's just where the spirit is, there's freedom. And sometimes you you call it his commands, right? And when I would read John fifteen, I'd say, Okay, you gotta do his commands. I kind of think of the Ten Commandments sometimes, right? And I go, but
In the words of Jesus that you have down, and I've probably read them a thousand times over and over. I never thought I never thought of them as commands. He was just telling me something to do, but they're commands. And we think of commands as controlling and being keeping me in this certain area. When those commands, he just said, if you do this, you do this and I'll do this, instead of if you try this, this might happen.
And so in in America, right, our machoism, you can't can't command me, it's it's restraining, it's restricting. But I see commands and guardrails as he's protecting me and freeing me to go be who I should be, right? So if I live
Rob Dayton (16:11)
So good.
Bob Johnson (16:12)
this way, the the freedom of it, and and and that's that's the whole thing, freedom to be who God created me to be, which takes it to the next point that you made. I believe.
I'm to be a servant. am I the best servant? I you know that and we all have different callings, okay? Mine happens to be through food and and serving people on the streets a lot. foster kids now, because you know, I've I can't tell you how many foster how many good Christian people have told me, Well, Bob, it's been my experience. Some of these people just wanna be there.
Well, the foster care system kicks them out at eighteen. Where are they gonna go if you don't have family? And it's like sixty five percent of the people on the street today start in foster care. So my group has kind of adopted a couple foster groups lately. Now we don't we haven't adopted any kids, but we're supporting what they do. So
Rob Dayton (17:06)
Yes.
Bob Johnson (17:06)
that's service to me. And and however it is for you, I mean it
The the the verses that drive me, and I'm kind of a driven person sometimes, maybe to a fault. Matthew, you know, in 20 when he talks about the sheep and the goats. Hey, when did you do this? and I you don't hear very many sermons on and if you don't. And I'm going, Whew, that's that's kind of serious, I think. so yeah.
Rob Dayton (17:32)
100%. And then I'll I'll take it one step further.
Like, for me in that passage, I'm going crazy going, wait a minute. The people who there's some people who did it and they didn't know they were doing it. They they respond later like, when did we give you something to drink? When did we close you? Like the the the really crazy outlandish thought I have when I read that, Bob, is were they crazy?
Labeled Christians? Or were they just people who were doing what Jesus said to do, not knowing who Jesus was? Like I know that's an outlandish, out-of-bound
Bob Johnson (18:07)
No, it
Rob Dayton (18:08)
thought, but it that is what goes through my mind when I read that passage.
Bob Johnson (18:12)
Yeah, I it the before I kinda went off the deep end, one of the men that kind of raised me in the faith as as a he was a youth guy in Southern California, he pushed us to serve all the time. I'll never forget the one thing he told us. We were coming back from Mexico and I mean I I'm kind of a talker as you can tell. I I got to speak in these Mexican prisons. Now this is in the 70s. It's pretty rough and we're a bunch of
White Southern California kids, you know, going in.
Rob Dayton (18:38)
Clean cut.
Bob Johnson (18:38)
Yeah, exactly. And so we go in there, but on the way back, Paul says, Hey, when you get back, your pastor is going to call you up on Sunday morning and put a microphone in front of you to tell about the great experience you had being a missionary. He said, Before you do that, I challenge you to go to church on Saturday and clean the toilets with the janitor.
I forbid you to go up there. You know, he couldn't stop you, I mean, but he says, basically I'm forbidding you to get the microphone until you've cleaned the toilets. So I was I I I've actually been blessed. I've had people like that in my life that I mean we do these monthly things. I get guys all the time saying, Hey, I want the microphone. Can can I tell my story? Well, journey with us a while and and we'll then we'll talk about that. And so I I I'm blessed, man. I was raised that way.
Rob Dayton (19:29)
Did you clean the toilets? Did he give you did the pastor give you the mic? And how do you
Bob Johnson (19:30)
I did. I I I've yeah. I mean I
Rob Dayton (19:35)
feel like that exercise transformed the way you spoke to the congregation?
Bob Johnson (19:40)
If you want to know the real truth, Rob, that was when I
Rob Dayton (19:43)
Always.
Bob Johnson (19:43)
was 18 and I'm 72 now, and I don't even remember anything about getting up there. I had
Rob Dayton (19:48)
Well, you do remember the toilets.
Bob Johnson (19:51)
no, that that that's the part that it but but think about that, how cool that is in my life at least. I
Rob Dayton (19:56)
Yeah.
Bob Johnson (19:57)
remember Paul's words about that's my friend's name, Paul. I remember his words about going to be a servant and cleaning toilets more than I remember, hey, I
I got somebody raised
Rob Dayton (20:09)
Yes.
Bob Johnson (20:10)
their hand when I gave an altar call in Mexico or something. And and that's the part that's yeah, that
Rob Dayton (20:13)
Yes, that's that's beautiful. You you remember
you remember the toilets more than the talk, and that stuck with you, and that's made all the difference for the way you view servanthood. Let's go back to something you're saying about in Howder Next Life, which I think is really key that a lot of people miss, and I want to make sure I heard it right. And that is that Jesus is asking you to do stuff not because he's a cosmic killjoy and wants you to sacrifice. He's actually in
Inviting you into the abundant life. He is the designer of what it means to live. And so these commands are, you know, what went through my mind when you were talking about it is my yoke is easy, my burden is light. Like this is the pathway of ease. And servanthood is included in that umbrella. You know, what is it,
I think it's James and John's. I might have that wrong, but the the brothers who went to Jesus and said, hey, how do we sit to the right and the left? He didn't say shame on you for asking the question. He told them how to be great. Not, you know,
Bob Johnson (21:16)
Yeah.
Rob Dayton (21:17)
like just be a servant of all. That's the greatest position you can take. Is
Bob Johnson (21:22)
Yeah.
Rob Dayton (21:22)
is that what you're saying? Is that how you would, you know, had the same feeling? Is like, hey, these commands, these instructions for life are just for the best life ever.
Bob Johnson (21:32)
They're inviting me into this abundant life we talked about. And what I loved too is I was going through this, it's not just in heaven, it's on earth as it is in heaven. So I get to have, I tell my guys all the time, and I I like shocking people, as you could probably guess. I
Rob Dayton (21:47)
Woo!
Bob Johnson (21:47)
say, Hey guys, we have to go do this. No, yeah. I go, no, we don't, we get to. That's something I've always through my other career, I would say, you don't have to wear this gear. You get to so that you get this, right?
And so that's the way I look at the faith. I thank God every day. He's it he includes me in his mission. I I get I get to go feed some guys tonight. I don't know the end result of it. That's his job. But I get to go serve some people, and other guys are coming around now that want to go serve some people, that want to go serve some people, and we'll create a network at at some point.
And we'll just go help people. And so that yeah, we get to. It it's not we have to. And again, from the hunter X and and one of the things that I've I've really been driving home to a couple of my buddies on earth as it is in heaven. I think we miss that sometimes. I think we you know, hey heaven's gonna be cool, I guess. I don't know what it is. I haven't figured that one out yet. I'm not I'm not smart enough for
I tell people all the time I just want to get through the back door. You know, I I I don't I'm not gonna tell you I I grew up with, you know, we're throwing boards up to build our mansion. Every time we do something good, this lady would tell us that and I said, I don't know anything about that. I take a little tin over by the river, man, as long as I'm there. Yeah. Yeah.
Rob Dayton (23:08)
Just hope I get in. That's all I'm looking for. Just let me in. Yeah, but
that is totally true. I love that prayer. And and let me just camp on that again, because that it like that is so helpful in Jesus' strategy of repentance. Change the way you think. So he's inviting us to change the way we think. And this if we change the way we think, not only will we do the commands as behaviors of love, but we'll have this incredible life. And so what you're
What you got out of it in terms of that prayer that maybe you hadn't recognized is that he's actually inviting us to imagine what it is like in heaven and invite him to do that work so that we can experience heaven here. Well, I'm so curious. Like, what are some of the things for you? Like, if if what's the biggest thing for Bob Johnson that if this came from heaven to earth, you would be the most excited about?
But this was true about Earth. It's just like heaven. This is just your imagination. What are you most excited about?
Bob Johnson (24:11)
Well, I I I guess I I think for me personally it it's just the aspect of everybody actually loving and and and understanding who we are through love. And I'm not always that guy, right? I wanna thump you upside the head versus hug you. And and yeah, I I guess what I feel right now is just this love that we know we're gonna have there, right? And we struggle with it so much here, even with our quote unquote brothers.
We get frustrated with each other. But yeah, that would be it for me where there's just that no levels of because you can tell the way people look at people and and it's the proverb about the the poor guy comes into the church, you know, and I I you know, you tell him to sit back there and and we do that, you know, here on earth and and and that won't be happening I think that's the key, even for me. When I see guys walk up like tonight.
There'll be some of that are pretty different, maybe leave him a little weird. And sometimes I man, that dude's here again, you know, and he but yeah, that won't be there anymore. No.
Rob Dayton (25:16)
It won't like there won't be a judgment. You're not
you're not gonna have to defend yourself against the internal judgments that are rising up against, you know, in your mind. You know,
Bob Johnson (25:25)
Yeah.
Rob Dayton (25:26)
that guy, like, you know, I I remember at House of Prayer we had this one guy who who was clearly an alcoholic and you know, and he would worship a little loud. And and I was just like, Yeah, I mean, just bless him. Like his heart
Bob Johnson (25:39)
Yeah.
Rob Dayton (25:39)
was so pure, he couldn't conquer his addiction.
But his heart was so pure and loving Jesus. And to have a room full of people embrace him where he was
Bob Johnson (25:51)
Yeah.
Rob Dayton (25:51)
sounded like heaven.
Bob Johnson (25:53)
Yeah.
Rob Dayton (25:53)
That's amazing. So I'm may I'm connecting the dots here and the love thing, because I've thought so deeply and so much in the last two months about love. I I feel like it's all consuming me.
As I'm writing this new book and and and God has just like downloaded all this stuff about love that's just crazy. It sounds to me like you're really helping me in your journey and what you've rooted in through these movements, this core ingredient of freedom, first of all, that brings transparency and people can be who they are. And then you're connecting that with your heaven to earth experience, which is that's just normal. We don't judge each other because we
Love each other. So I want to run this by you just to get your thoughts. This is completely self indulgent on my behalf, but like here's the thought that I've felt like God is downloading to me over the past two months is that the whole entire purpose of our creation, his creation, you know, earth, universe, stars, time,
Birth, death, marriage, procreation, the cross, the fact that he designed us in his image, that we're a triune being. Every single thing is solely squared at the purpose of doing just two things. One, inviting us to choose love with our superpower that's you know in his image, we have choice, inviting us to actually choose love, and then two.
Giving us a zone to practice love, to grow our ability and superpower of love. How does that, how does that does that square with what you're thinking and what you're passionate about in terms of heaven coming to earth? What how do you respond to that? Push back all you want.
Bob Johnson (27:46)
No, there there's no pushback. I don't know if I'm there, you know, kinda i in in in that sense. I
I wish I could, but what you said is great and I wish I could be that guy. You know, and I I always pick on my shortcomings, right? I'm the guy that you go three for four and I all I do is gripe about the one hit you don't get, right? That you that's jarring about me. I'm I'm that guy. I'm always something we did wrong. I'm the guy that drives back from one of the big M24s and we did this and I think about the two or three things we did wrong, right? So I
Rob Dayton (28:17)
Totally.
Bob Johnson (28:18)
I'm trying to lose that guy, but he
Rob Dayton (28:20)
He keeps coming back.
Bob Johnson (28:20)
He loves to jump on
the monkey jumps on my back every now and then, you know? But yeah, that that where that whole love thing goes, and I think what we struggle with, this whole thing is for his glory. I mean, when you read the book of John and my wife's I I know you talked about your wife one of the my wife's been cured of of cancer. And
One of the first things we did when she first got diagnosed, I mean, it was the real bad stuff, the aggressive stuff, you know, boom, boom, boom. People say all the time, Well, did she have chemo? And I'd go, Well, yeah. Well, then what do you mean she was healed? I said, Well, thousands died of the same stuff. So I but the first thing we did, Rob, was in the book of John, it talks about healing over and over and over. And it says over and over and over for his glory.
So around the corner over here in my office, there's this massive sign, show us your glory. And that's what we wrote on our bathroom windows. And so there's where that perfect love goes. And I think we struggle with it because, you know, in America, we don't want it to all be about him or we, you know, it's kind of, come on, I gotta have a little bit of this. And and to say I'm a slave is really messed up here. So what you said, I think is a hundred percent right.
I think even in my case, I think it's hard for me to chew the whole banana right there in that because he wants me to give, he designed me for a certain purpose to give these other things, you know. so yeah, I I like what you said. I don't know that I can totally get my in a five minute conversation, I don't know if I can totally wrap my whole arm around it, but that's where the freedom for me and the show us your glory comes in.
Rob Dayton (30:00)
I appreciate that feedback. And I'm I'm trying
Bob Johnson (30:00)
yeah.
Rob Dayton (30:02)
to, you know, my only goal is to figure out how to transform people who say they're believers. You know, like how do you how do you have in the same person they say I'm a Christian and their life is full of joy, full of peace, full of love, undeniable patience, kindness, self-control, and then you know.
my opinion is the church is the reputation of Jesus. So the reputation of the church is all that Jesus brings. Like I'm looking for that. So the reason why I think that this has been powerful to me is like if if you know the purpose of a thing, I think it works. If you if you try to misuse something and it and you're using something for the wrong purpose, it doesn't work. You know, I was repairing a an ABS waistline at a house, my house.
And I was just doing a quick repair and I forgot the rubber hammer. And so I'm, you know, of course, when you're doing a mid-pipe section, you've got to do a lot of bending to try to get it to go into the joints. I'd I'd apply the glue and I'm trying to put it together and it will I can't do it physic. I'm not physically strong enough to bend the pipe and put it in there. So I needed the rubber hammer hammer, which I did not have. So I reached for the reciprocal saw with the battery and started pounding on it with the battery. And then the
Bob Johnson (31:15)
Yeah.
Rob Dayton (31:16)
battery flies off, the whole saw is broken.
The glue's dry and it's completely wrong. And I'm like, this was an expensive, this was an expensive mistake. All because the purpose of that reciprocal saw with the battery is not to be a hammer. So if we knew the purpose of who we are and we really flowed in purpose, how much better would it be for us? And then, and my curiosity is how much of the things that frustrate us.
Would be ameliorated, would be right sided. So I was I was actually on the c a call with a guy who just finished the 100x life thing, and he's I'm a truck driver, but I hate being a truck driver. And I'm like, what do you hate about being a truck driver? And he's like, Everyone's a crazy driver, and they just they're all nuts. I'm like, okay, I share some beliefs with this guy, share some beliefs. and I said, What if your truck driving job, what if you're getting paid to truck drive.
To teach you how to love. What if you what if if the purpose of you is to become just like love, just like Jesus? You know, God is love, just like love. If the if that is your purpose, what if you're getting paid to go to the school of love? And and he just was startled. He's like, my gosh. It's like he just found a gold mine. He's like, what? He's like, cause it resonated with him. So
does that how do you tell me what you're feeling about as I'm talking about all this purpose than love? Like, how does that mix with your witness of how men transform?
Bob Johnson (32:45)
Well, I think the purpose is you know, it's the old one what once you know the why, the how's easy. You know, and I know that's some of the talkers I I started teaching that at Granite 30 years ago in safety, in that we gotta know why we're there. And then the how be you know, why I'm fixing something. The how you know how, but you go, okay, I'm gonna take the shortcut. It it it's just a
thing in life. And so if our purpose is really to glorify God and and be a part of his mission, I it it's I've been in Idaho three years.
I've been connected and talked to more men in three years that I didn't know than any other place I've ever been in my life. Because I'm here by myself. I don't know anybody but my son-in-law when I get here, right? And I'm I'm thinking, okay, I'm gonna go play golf two or three days a week. I have got a new fly rod. I'm and God goes, No, that's not why you're here, man. You you need to, and so
Rob, I didn't even go to Costco when I lived in Bakershill, okay? And I'm in Costco at least once a week. You know, you talk about the grocery store ministry. I have met more guys at two different car dealerships getting my oil changed, and I'll just throw a little influencer shirt on or a hat. And I've never done that. I've never been the guy that wears Jesus shirts and stuff. And
Less the guy over the baker show talks about being, you know, available and intentional. So I've I've written this thing on AI, and AI is available and intentional. And if you're just intentional about it and available, I mean I've prayed with people at Costco now, I've done this.
And and it's just finally at 72 years old, I kind of get my purpose a little. And I was a leader over there and I led groups and I, you know, people would say he did good stuff. But I got over here by myself. And it's like, okay, it's me and you, God. Am I am I really gonna do this or am I just gonna shrink back and get me a cabin up by the lake or something? I don't know. But yeah, that's the that's that process
Rob Dayton (34:48)
Wow. What a great lesson.
Bob Johnson (34:50)
of knowing.
I I I would say I know more now than ever. I know the why. I thought I did for 2030. I mean, yeah, I went, you know, did all the stuff and I wasn't a bad guy, but you know, now when people tell me, well, I'm a believer, I say, Well, yeah, so so's the devil, but where are we going from there? Nobody believes in God more than the devil.
Rob Dayton (35:11)
Amen.
Bob Johnson (35:12)
So I I don't I struggle with calling myself a believer. that's that's the easy part.
Like you said, it's easy to say yes. It's now we gotta go
Rob Dayton (35:21)
That we gotta walk.
Bob Johnson (35:22)
now we gotta go walk the walk and you know, and so yeah, that's the I don't know, that that's why it's a process. I I love the deal on perfect. It it's the journey, it's the process. It's not gonna be perfect every day, you know. I'm gonna I'll probably screw up tonight while I'm serving guys or something. I'll I got a mouth. I'll probably say something smart ass or something to somebody, you know.
Rob Dayton (35:44)
Yeah, the de the destination is the
Bob Johnson (35:44)
Got the translation.
Rob Dayton (35:46)
perp the process is the destination.
Bob Johnson (35:49)
Yeah.
Rob Dayton (35:49)
If we can get that, then we're not waiting for anything. We're enjoying the the workout
Bob Johnson (35:55)
Yeah.
Rob Dayton (35:56)
of learning how to love. one of my close friends on the podcast said, I don't know how long ago, but it really struck me. And this is an another thing I've been thinking about. He said, I think the only thing we really take to heaven is our ability to love. And I was like, Wow, if wow, if that's true.
Or if even that's close to being true, and I'm still not sure what I feel about it, but like, yeah, that's we're just the you're like you said, if if the why is very clear for us to learn how to love on planet earth and we track with that. I love your j your story about going to a place where no one knows you. And you know, you wouldn't put the Jesus signpost on your shirt otherwise or think to do it for certain reasons, but now you're like, hey.
and and I love the analogy of AI. I think it's absolutely beautiful. And it's my experience. AI is so available for me. AI would never said I'm, you know, say I'm I'm busy. Sorry. Sorry, Rob, go back, you know. Not only available, but wants to engage. Love wants to engage. What love looks like is availability.
Bob Johnson (36:57)
Yeah.
Rob Dayton (36:58)
And you're just saying, hey, I'm putting that out there in Costco.
And praying with people, right? That is availability. That is how love is defined. So amazing.
Bob Johnson (37:07)
Yeah, yeah.
It's crazy. The other day I had a went to get my oil change, wearing a shirt from one of the ministries in Bakersville for the one they reach out to people. And I saw this guy sit down with his Bible. And Rob, I almost just walked by and rubbed it in his face because he was down reading his Bible just to get his attention. I wanted I don't know. I needed to talk to him. And he gets up and walks off, and a few minutes later he comes over and he engages me and
He's gonna be there tonight. And I'm gonna let come to find out. He came from California, he's part of the Calvary Chapel movement that they're trying to get a conference going over here. And I said, dude, I'm in. And so it I walked by once and just said that and a lady that was so obnoxious in the waiting room with her Zoom meeting that, but when I came out of the red, she's the one who said, Hey, I read your scripture.
And he never looked up and I go, You read my scripture? Just so I could say it loud. And then he looked up and now we've hooked up. I've met with him for coffee. And like I say, he's coming tonight and I'm gonna let him and his group announce their big conference they're having at the fairgrounds. Those are God hookups. I I I can't
Rob Dayton (38:11)
Come on.
Bob Johnson (38:12)
I can't do that on my own.
Rob Dayton (38:13)
So good. Yeah. One of my
favorite phrases I is to say is, I think there's only one body of Christ. It probably is only one. So so denominations just got nothing on that. Like and
Bob Johnson (38:25)
Yeah.
Rob Dayton (38:25)
and and I love that in your story that you're, you know, truly are. Like you're not minding anyone else. Like this is who they believe. That's fine. You can believe this. And something that Jacob Reeves said on the podcast, I think it was last week, he's he said a lot of
This really struck me. I'm still thinking about it as you know, theology can't save you. Only Jesus can save you. Which is,
Bob Johnson (38:47)
Yep.
Rob Dayton (38:48)
I'm like, wow, that is quite the statement because we run towards, hey, this is the right way, this is the wrong way. And really, it's just Jesus. okay, well,
Bob Johnson (38:56)
Well you know.
Rob Dayton (38:56)
this is just really helpful for me. What would you say now? You've become a hundred X life coach, you know, you're you're thinking about rolling out a group,
January two, which is a lot of people do that in January too. What is the thing you're most excited about in terms of y the your gifts, talents, what you bring to the table, and that mixing with a hundred X life as a coach? Where do you think that you're what what's most thrilling and exciting for you?
Bob Johnson (39:23)
It it it's that day to day, and again, as you know, in influencers, we really push the self feeding and the mornings journaling, that type of thing. And and I just don't think there are enough men that get that. And I think, to be honest with you, this is an easy way, I don't want to say sneaking in with some guys that just you know, when I talk to about an eight month, we're gonna dive in and I
The thing I loved about and and I'm not a podcast guy, okay, and here I am doing one. I I never listened to an hour-long podcast in my life until I got on 100x, right? Because the word the words in the book are awesome, but then to go here, you talk to somebody about them resonates. But the thing I like about it, it was it it it's a very easy, non-guilty freedom way to get men. And if ladies come along, that's fine. I'm just
I'm better with men than
Rob Dayton (40:16)
What's your focus?
Bob Johnson (40:17)
I am women to coach. I can coach them and see how important that word is. Because we've just we've let guys off the e and I don't want to be this guilt-ridden, beat, slave driving Christian guy, but there are certain criteria out there that we need to meet.
And by you putting it in these words each day like that, I mean they can spend five minutes on it or they can spend five hours on it, right? And and it's but even if even if all they do is just read it that day, they're better off than they were yesterday. Okay. And so I'm I'm pretty excited because I've met a lot of really good people over here, very dedicated to their church, to their conservatism.
but the fire for the scripture, the day-to-day scripture, and and I what we had in Bakersfield was unique, Rob. the way men and and I understand that doesn't always replicate itself right off. And and and if it did, it would probably I would have probably took credit for it if if if if we would have already took, you know, thinking, hey man, look what I did in that first year. We I I was ahead of Bakersfield. But
No, it's just my passion now. And and I'll tell you a quick story is the minute I started doing 100X, my first thought is I gotta share this. And Holy Spirit, about four days in, says, Why don't you just finish it first for once? Because
Rob Dayton (41:42)
Yes.
Bob Johnson (41:43)
I'm all about learning stuff to teach stuff, you know, and we talk about that. Learn it for yourself, not to go teach it.
But three or four days in, I'm already ready to share it with my journey group that just ended. I want to send the podcast out. And Holy Spirit's going, why don't you actually go through it and finish it before? Now I cheated a little bit. I sent a couple podcasts out to some of my buddies, but to get them a taste. But that's my passion for it is, you know, everybody's gonna be at a different level. But I think this is one, and there's quite a few guys that I've gotten to know that are in really good shape.
And we had talked about something early on. One day I want to do mountain biking, which I don't do, But I know I I actually talked to him at church yesterday. I know I can get him to sign on to do this. And the physical part was easy for me, the all this stuff. But the spiritual part of actually breaking those words down, not just reading the whole, you know, message.
and and stuff like that wa was really cool. And I'm I'm a I'm fired up about that 'cause I I think it'll really hit some guys that I have in mind.
Rob Dayton (42:47)
So cool. And this
the sneaky part I think you're referring to, but just to make sure is and this was actually kind of sneaky on my behalf, is is the actually getting hooked up to the voice of the Trinity through the journal
Bob Johnson (42:58)
Yes.
Rob Dayton (42:59)
prompts and having to do the exercise of journaling the answer to your question from one member of the Trinity in the first person. Is that kind of where you're thinking sneaky? And how did that impact you?
Bob Johnson (43:10)
so again in in influencers we we have them write a letter from Papa to them, right? And that is always just unbelievable. And now it's every day you're asking, okay, what'd the Holy Spirit say? What about and and I struggled with it some days. I I did. And I've done this the influencer site for 15 years. I've journaled before I even knew who influencers was. I was taught to do some stuff. It was more teaching stuff then.
But there was just some days that it didn't resonate from Holy Spirit to me. I just wrote from me talking to him type of thing. So, but I think it's really I I like the I like the separation. And when you talked about prayer one time, you talked about, you know, sometimes we're just we don't know if we Father God, Holy Spirit, thank you, Jesus. No, which one were we really talking to?
All of the ab Yeah. And
Rob Dayton (44:03)
Everybody.
Bob Johnson (44:04)
been there, done that, and bought the t-shirt, right? And and so I began to just focus on because I I'm a guy that has and I've taught my guys over the year to pray to the whole to Holy Spirit. He you know, and some people struggle with that, especially if they haven't been raised in certain denominational looks, and I don't want to go down that road, but some of the guys I've had in journey over the years really struggle with who Holy Spirit is.
And and so to be able to teach them you can pray to Holy Spirit, it it's a big deal if you haven't been around that environment.
Rob Dayton (44:41)
Yeah, totally. And
the way we talk about it in the church, at least this is my experience, is that it's the Holy Spirit, not, you know, a name. It's like this kind of this this other thing out there somehow lives in me, but somehow, you know, we even pray like Jesus, you know, have your spirit. it's like like he's not a member of the Trinity or something like that, or maybe most overlooked person of the Trinity. I don't know. But yeah.
Bob Johnson (45:06)
I call it
I call it sometimes we treat him like Uncle It. It it's it's it's just yeah, it's just Uncle
Rob Dayton (45:10)
Right. Yeah, it's a just an it, not a he. It's he an it.
Bob Johnson (45:14)
It out there. We know we kind of know he's out there, we're not sure what he does. and and you know the sad part about that is don't want to get too deep here, but I think that's the saddest thing I've seen in my lifetime is what Jesus said, I have to get out of here.
So that you can have this unbelievably awesome thing. It's the greatest thing Jesus said. I got I got we all talk about Jesus. Jesus said, I gotta get out of here so you can have this. And that's the biggest argument in the church in my generation of what is this? And I think that that it it's really if there's anything that kind of makes me sad sometime among the denominational type issues, it it it's that. I I had a guy come up in one of my journey groups.
couple years ago asked me if I thought the Holy Spirit was gonna be in heaven. And I go,
Rob Dayton (46:02)
wow.
Bob Johnson (46:03)
what do you mean? I I don't understand. But he was raised by a mom that saw these Pentecostal people as
Rob Dayton (46:11)
Yes.
Bob Johnson (46:12)
crazies. And so basically it was just the father and the son for him. And when we began to talk about Holy Spirit and it being the wind in our sail and and this kind of stuff, yeah.
Rob Dayton (46:22)
And the power, the power.
Bob Johnson (46:24)
He really, I mean
And I'm glad he came to me because he was ready to quit, you know. But and and so that's the trickery of the enemy, whatever you want to call it. I that that's the argument in the church, you know. It's almost like I've got it, yes I do, I've got it, how about you? And you know, the Miller Light commercial of the old days.
Rob Dayton (46:40)
Well and then and then the
concept that Holy Spirit is the OG, the original, the original AI, and also accurate. Jesus says, Holy Spirit will teach you all things. I'm pretty sure that's what we're after in AI. And also more reliable. Like so I think that
Bob Johnson (46:57)
Yeah.
Rob Dayton (47:00)
that's really that's a really good hit. Man,
Bob Johnson (47:03)
Yeah.
Rob Dayton (47:04)
so cool. Bob, I'm so grateful to know you and to have met you.
In this conversation, I'm learning more about you. I'm really excited. You know, I'm thinking from our conversation, if you're a listener, one of the great journal prompts you could have is just to ask yourself, what does it look like? What am I most excited about? If I could pick anything in my imagination from heaven, in my imagination, this is the way it is in heaven, and bring it to earth, what would it be?
the reason I love that question is because I think it really is connected to our purpose. That's the way you occurred to me is that that would that answer, your answer is really connected to your purpose in terms of your specific the Bob Johnson design of God that makes you unique, your unique abilities and strengths and talents. That's your choice. So for our listeners, what would you choose? And then and then so what would you choose to bring heaven earth right now? What would be the most thrilling? And then Holy Spirit.
How do I put that into practice? How do I be a partner with you in bringing that aspect of heaven that I'm most thrilled about to earth? That'd be great, General Prompt. Bob Johnson, thank you so much for being on the podcast.
Bob Johnson (48:19)
Hey man, it's been great. I I've enjoyed this. Thank you.
Rob Dayton (48:22)
So good. And 100x lifers, we will see you next week for a conversation with some 100x life coaches. Talk to you soon.