What We Heard: 

Scott Lehman is a guy God is using. Marrying his love and devotion to Jesus with his passion for sports, particularly golf, into a ministry called “In His Grip.” Using invitational golf tournaments and training, In His Grip equips churches to reach men in the community with the gospel message of Jesus Christ. Statistically, reaching kids and women first will only get you so far. Reaching husbands and fathers first yields a 93% return rate in reaching the entire family. Targeting men with the saving truth of Jesus Christ dying in our place to offer us forgiveness and purpose in life is transformative for them as well as the families they lead and the spheres of influence they are engaged. 

Scott’s own dad left him a powerful legacy of hope-filled encouragement. Hearing words like, “Son, I forgive you,” after a window-breaking childhood mishap powerfully resonate with Scott to this day. “In life, you will hit bad shots, but never stop swinging.” Any golfer man can connect to this metaphor of never giving up as we navigate life.

Men, we’re called to set the spiritual thermostat of faith in our homes. If our overall temperature is cold or luke-warm at best, that will be our family’s too. If we want families on fire for the gospel of Jesus, we have to burn hot for Christ.

What It Means:

To be “In His Grip” is to recognize God’s seat of priority in your life. It’s to adopt His divine plan not only for your forgiveness and salvation but also your purpose in every day relationships and choices. To remain fully connected to Christ, always rooted “in His grip,” we must be committed to God’s word. Scott does this with an acronym for (you guessed it…GOLF). He “tees” up every day by setting a daily time to read scripture and protecting it from interruption. For Scott, he and the men he mentors read a chapter of Proverbs daily following this outline.

G – God’s word [read a passage and identify one verse that really stands out above the rest]

O – observation [what does the verse really say…what is the message God wants me to hear?]

L – life application [how does it apply…what does it mean for me to live in light of this word?]

F – finish with prayer [centering yourself on the truth and committing that verse to heart and mind]

Men are inundated with so many messages from the world about what matters. It’s important to remember that climbing the ladder is great unless you reach the top and realize it was leaning against the wrong building. Our greatest success will be our biggest failure if it’s not done for and built on God’s word and Christ’s kingdom.

What We Do Next:

Many men feel isolated and alone. Thinking along these lines is a fallacy. “I am all alone. I am the only one dealing with this issue, struggling with this sin, failing this problem.” These are the words of our enemy who wants to single us out for an easier target. Surrounded by other men mentoring us and investing in us offers strength. Our lives truly come to life when someone is pouring into us and we are pouring into others. Find a mentor and be a mentor.  It does start at home and by considering what we want our legacies to be. Scott recommends the “rocking chair” test. At 90 years old with your memory and wit still strong, what will you regret when you look back over the landscape of your life? Whatever the answer, direct your focus on that today so you don’t have to mourn the missed opportunity or misplaced priority later in life. With Christ as your focus, there won’t be regrets.