Envoy Rally Point - Month 2, Week 4
Theme: The Blessing of Obedience
Guest Speaker: Rich Graham
Quick Recap
This week’s Rally Point closed out Month 2: Obedience and prepared us to step into Month 3: Servanthood in our 12-month Envoy journey.
Over the past two months, we’ve learned that identity is our foundation and obedience is our response, that to follow Christ truly means to trust before we understand and to love through action.
This week, we were joined by guest speaker Rich Graham former U.S. Navy SEAL and founder of Full Spectrum Warrior and a number of other epic organizations. He is a man passionate about developing leaders who live with integrity, resilience, and purpose.
Rich has trained warriors, law-enforcement officers, and everyday men and women to lead with discipline and humility, helping to build the muscle across our nation of strength under control.
Rich shared powerful insight from his years of military and leadership experience, speaking on what it means to lead with strength that serves, courage that submits to God, and humility that builds others up.
Through stories of training, warfare, and faith, Rich reminded us that true greatness isn’t found in power or recognition, but in surrender - in taking up the towel instead of the throne, following the example of the Servant King.
Highlights from the session
Servant Leadership Program Overview
The meeting began with Sam introducing the format and purpose of the call, including a prayer and overview of the 12-month program. Rich shared his background as a former U.S. Navy SEAL and his passion for developing leaders with integrity. The group discussed the transition from months one and two to month three, which focuses on servanthood and mimicking the servant king. Sam highlighted the importance of serving others for the glory of God, referencing Matthew 23. The conversation ended with Sam introducing Rich’s experience and expertise, setting the stage for a discussion on leadership and servanthood.
Journey to Authentic Christian Identity
Rich shared his journey from a high-achieving background in sports and the Navy SEALs to finding his identity in Christ after a life-changing medical incident. He described how his achievements in the military initially left him empty and angry, but his experience with a blood clot led to a spiritual awakening. Rich emphasized the importance of character traits over titles and accolades, drawing parallels between mining for gold and discovering one’s true worth. He concluded by explaining how God uses even low points to build and shape individuals into their best versions.
Divine Guidance and Personal Purpose
Rich shared his personal experience of how God’s guidance helped him recognize his true potential and purpose, using the analogy of how the Navy identifies and trains individuals for specific roles, similar to how God shapes and refines people to fulfill their divine calling. He emphasized the balance between recognizing individual worth and understanding that all people are equally valued in God’s eyes. Rich also recounted a challenging personal experience where he had to make a difficult decision, highlighting the cost of obedience and the importance of aligning one’s life with God’s will.
Mountain Dream and Faith Journey
Rich shared a personal story about a transformative experience at a Colorado retreat with Operation Restore Warrior, where another guest had a dream about him climbing a mountain and then the story of Rich going to climb a mountain where he encountered God through a series of reflections and revelations. The story culminated in a powerful moment at church where Rich overcame his fear and sang with his hands raised, leading to an emotional breakthrough with his atheist mother-in-law.
Spiritual Growth and Effective Communication
Rich shared his personal journey of spiritual growth, emphasizing the importance of submission and obedience in allowing God to work through him. He challenged the group to focus on being effective rather than always being right in their communication of God’s word, especially on social media. Rich encouraged understanding others’ spiritual journeys and finding ways to communicate that are less confrontational. Sam agreed, highlighting the importance of casting seeds efficiently and trusting God to do His work.
Spiritual Warfare and Warrior Mindset
Rich shared his experience with Operation Restored Warrior, explaining how they frame spiritual warfare in military terms and helped him develop a warrior mindset to combat spiritual attacks. He described how acknowledging attacks, understanding enemy tactics, and breaking free from spiritual bondages lead to stronger relationships with God and better decision-making. The discussion concluded with Rich accepting the invitation to close the meeting with prayer, which he did, focusing on discernment, guidance, and building God’s kingdom.
Closing Prayer
“Father, thank You for this time together, thank you for the example of Jesus, our Servant King. Teach us to lead with humility, to serve with love, to love what you love and to hate what you hate, and to find strength in surrender. Lord Bless Rich on his mission and his team and the people he coaches, and every person here tonight, we have members here going through struggles, going through cancer treatment, may they feel you close to you Father, draw them near - and give us the strength so that we may live lives that point others to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
God is with us.
Thank you for drawing near. May the Lord bless your obedience, steady your heart, and fill you with joy as you walk in His ways this week.
I’m glad you’re here.
Let’s run the race - Eyes Up, Chin Up!
Grace and peace,
Sam Johnston
