Well, good afternoon and welcome to another episode of The Covenant Eyes Podcast. I'm your host today, Rob Stoddard. Kieran, our regular host, is out today. But, have a wonderful guest, today, joining us. So I think you'll you'll love this. It's an organization that's been around 95 years and celebrating its 95th anniversary. So I'd like to introduce to you Joe Buckler. He is the vice president of development, marketing and communication with the Christian Businessmen's Connection. Joe, welcome to The Covenant Eyes Podcast. Rob, so good to be here. Thank you for having me. Joe, tell us a little bit about your background and how you ended up at, CBMC, but also, tell us then about about the ministry and what it does. I will, I will, so I will start with the ministry, formed in 1930 around the depression, some in the Chicago area. Burdened, by all the pressures. You can only imagine, that, were occurring in that time, er, in history. And, they got on their knees and they began to pray and lo and behold, that turned into a movement, a movement that, as you mentioned, it's it's 95 years old. So we, we're excited for this long legacy, this organization that is a men's marketplace ministry, has morphed and pivoted multiple times over 95 years, which I think any organization has to do. There's that consistent thread that this is about the gospel. It's about the Great Commission. It's about the marketplace being the greatest, unreached people group. When you think about it in the world. And, it's a place where everyone has to show up, they kind of put their game face on no matter what's going on in their world, in their lives. And, CBMC, Christian Businessmen's Connection, is really about looking at the marketplace as a mission field and a place to connect with anyone. And everyone, no matter where they are in their spiritual journey. So through the years, that's turned into an organization that has really had this vision of, presenting Jesus and developing businessmen, really connecting men to Christ and then connecting men to one another because, as you know, we it's lonely being a leader and being in the marketplace again with all of the pressures that men are under. Any era in history. But right now, in this occasion, in time, it gets pretty lonely. So this idea of first and foremost connecting them to the greatest news in the universe, Jesus, and that transformative power impacting them in community with other men. It's it's what we're about at the core. And that's lived out in several different ways. Predominantly our our our major emphasis is life on life, discipleship through a tool called Operation Timothy. But we, gather men into teams. Typically, men find out about CBMC through events, large events, prayer breakfasts, luncheons and other gatherings. Strategically golf outings, whatever it is, they meet someone from CBMC they get connected, they're invited into one of our teams, and it's there that they find community, and it's there that oftentimes they're invited into this life. On life discipleship experience. And so it's really amazing. One thing I would want to say too, is that we are a men's marketplace ministry, but we believe wholeheartedly in what God is doing in the lives of women in the marketplace. There are some amazing women leading strong in the marketplace. So we do everything possible to share our tools and leverage, what we can to support women's marketplace ministries as well. So there's a lot of collaboration going on out there. It's really exciting. So, Rob, that's the kind of big picture for CBMC Yeah, for me, my story of getting involved is interesting. My first cvac experience was when I was 15, going on 16, I, I was, going through a tough time in life. My dad, died due to a set of unfortunate circumstances with his health. And he had a friend who worked in Atlanta, at Georgia Tech who took me under his wing after. After my dad passed away and loved on me, encouraged me, helped me learn how to drive. Just tried to be there for a teenager who had just lost his father. So, lo and behold, that gentleman follower of Jesus was an active part of CBMC. I actually didn't learn that until 30 years later. So, we've reconnected and, he's become a major champion for me personally in this ministry, but. So Cassie touched me, and I didn't even know it back when I was 15. But then the next time was when I was, in my late 20s, I was actually in a church. So I went to seminary, and I was working in a vocational ministry, and I was engaging young professionals and as much theological training as I had, there was a gap in my ability to help a young professional, really kind of progressed in their understanding of faith. And the guy these guys from CBMC I met marketplace leaders. They coached me in how to share your faith in a highly relational way, where you meet people, where they're at, and help them progress, and their understanding of Jesus. So then that was my first kind of official CBMC moment. And then, gosh, again, almost like 25 years later, I was, engaged by, this ministry to consider, getting involved on a fundraising and marketing and development capacity in the role I’m in now. And of course, there's a lot of story in between. How did I get from working in a local church to being a part of a men's marketplace ministry? That's probably another story for another time. But, it was a fun journey to get to where I am now. Yeah, I bet. Well, thanks, Joe. And I love the fact that really at the heart of this ministry is really about evangelism, about sharing the gospel and spreading that, that that's such a wonderful ministry. Joe, you know, I've spent 20 years in business as a Christian before I went to the mission field and then joined Covenant Eyes. So I know somewhat about the challenges of of guys trying to live out their faith. In, in the marketplace. Can you share a little bit what are some of the biggest challenges you see Christian business leaders or men facing today out, in, out, in the world, out in this culture today? We there's two ways to tell this, right? There's the there's the narrative that's very sobering in that, statistics tell us that men are struggling. The, the level of isolation, in this digitally native environment where, men and women are being inundated with content, and content that is, is destructive. To be perfectly honest. To be in the pressure cooker of the marketplace and the ebbs and flows of what's happening with our economy. Trying to face all the pressures of what's going on at home, what's going on at the workplace. We see men that are struggling with, an assortment of issues that are holding them down. You know, one of the ones that I know, Covenant Eyes is, is attacking directly is this challenge of pornography. It's, it's an epidemic. It is a it is a threat. It is epidemic. And it is, it's something we run into quite often with our men. Our men are, are really struggling because of just the, inundation of digital media that is, pointing them in a direction that is, that is very destructive. So we encounter that quite often. And, in addition, again, it's what, what kinds of things lead to behaviors and outlets that are destructive in a man's life. And we oftentimes try and get to the heart of what is it that is causing the struggle? For a man. And a lot of times, again, we're coming into the marketplace with that mask on. We, we don't want to show what's really going on inside of our lives. So instead, we show up, we do our job, and we leave behind that mask. There's all sorts of addiction struggles and, struggles at home. Struggles in life. So that's one way to tell the story, Rob. The other way that I like to tell the story is that CBMC we really don't want to come into a man's life and say, hey, do you know you're struggling? You know, you're like, really like failing at this, idea of being a man. Because typically that's there's a lot of messaging around that for men. Instead, what we're trying to do is come in, into the conversation with a man and say, did you know that God has this unbelievable planned cause and purpose for your life that will lift you from so many of the things that you feel like are suffocating you and holding you down? Did you know that God has, like, wired you for something amazing? Do you want to step into that? Are you ready? Do you want to circle around with other men who just like you, and they're putting their pants on one leg at a time? They're. They've struggled. They've been through ups and downs. We can help each other with the overlay of Jesus guiding and informing us. Do you want that? Do you want to step into this place of empowerment that gives you a freedom from a lot of the things that are holding you back? So honestly, that's our pitch. Because the other pitch is such a loser and a downer. But, we start there with men and we find that, they men want to thrive. They want to win. They want to win at home. They want to win in business. They want to win in their communities, and they want to win in life. And and so if we can start there and say, okay, the key is Jesus. Let's start with that. That's really exciting. Yeah, absolutely. I think you nailed it. Men are longing for that kind of help in that. Seeking those kinds of things. I know a couple of key principles for you are really discipleship and accountability relationships. How do you see those principles kind of playing out, and how important are they in helping guys begin to that walk in that faith journey? Yeah. At work? Yeah. From a very practical, theological perspective, we know that we were designed for community. They're designed to be connected to other people, and there's really good tension in that. There's good tension when we circle up with other men and, and be able to just to get transparent and deal with the real issues of life. Something really liberating, right? When the spotlight of truth shines in on our lives, and we look at the guy to our left and our right, we go up there, they're struggling. Just like me. Or, you know, that gentleman's dealing with that issue, and I've got my. And all of a sudden there's it's ironic that our freedom is in this disclosure of how things really are and how much we we do struggle, because that's where the gospel works in the midst of the the struggle and the mess and so life on life, discipleship is crucial. And so for us, we do we organize ourselves around this notion of teams where men come in and they seek to work the problems that they're facing in life. We have a team called a Trusted Advisor Forum, which is really designed for men that are kind of mature in their business experience. They may own a business. They may be an executive or, you know, running a business. They're typically in their 40s and 50s, and these guys are coming in and they and they each take a turn, bringing an issue to the table. And it could be about business. It could be about family. It could be about raising teenage kids. It could be about struggling with pornography or addiction or whatever, whatever the battle is, all these battles that are so common to our men and, they bring it in. And what they find is they find men that are willing to lean in, ask questions, and be a champion for them to help them lift up. So the team, the team sport of accountability there is great because, Hey, what what gets our attention gets measured. So we know that if we're talking about the things that are, kind of at the forefront of the wars internally inside of us, there's an opportunity to to get better. Now, the icing on the cake, Rob, I'm going to tell you, it is that one on one discipleship. That's really where we, we say, you know, teams are amazing, but if we can get, two men to get together and start a discipleship relationship, and then over time, make that a multiplier. So, for example, my disciple, his name is Gary. Gary is about, 15 years in front of me in life, I love it. You know, I, I love listening to him and bringing questions to him about what I should anticipate. And then midway through my discipleship journey with Gary, he said, all right, who are you going to disciple? So then I went and engaged a friend of mine I've known for a while, and they met. Now Matt is in our discipleship relationship with me, and Matt and I are already talking about who he's going to begin discipling. And the way we do that is we use a common tool operation. Timothy, developed in the 1970s, and it's a wonderful track to run on. It's not nothing's perfect. Right. Except for looking at the Word of God. But it's a track to run on. It's three books that really are a terrific way to create conversation and help someone figure out how to take the next step and progressing in their faith, and also take the next step in helping someone else progress in their faith. So, to me, that life on life discipleship moment. I mean, I'm, I'm talking about things and those connections that I really wouldn't even bring to a team, to be perfectly honest. And so having that healthy kind of, variety is really meaningful for our men. And that's that's wonderful. That heart of that discipleship, it's it is one so biblical, but it is so transformational. And, you know, it's really at the heart of what we're trying to do with, our accountability and our software. And, so if I can just talk a little bit about that, you mentioned that, you know, obviously today it's a much different landscape than it was. Ten, 20. Yes, 30 years ago. And that we're in a digital world now, and it's almost impossible to escape being on the internet. And being on, on some social media is in some different things. So the struggles that come along with that, I'm sure you mentioned you're seeing a lot of that. So how as a ministry, are you able to come alongside and help men guard against these kinds of temptations? You know, like pornography and really maintain that that strong moral foundation? I, I think that if there is a crisis in culture globally, it's probably around this issue. I mean, I think it's that critical. The, the, the the damage to society, the damage to to the minds and the hearts of men and women because of what is coming in through digital channels. Obviously we make the choice, right? We pick up the device, we choose, and it's a neutral device to a degree. So we can choose good. We can choose not so good. But, I will tell you that it is, it is normative. And and I know Rob, you guys know this all too well. It is normative to sit in a circle with men now. And for every one of those men to say, yes, I've been touched by pornography. It's become it's it's a part of my story. It's a part of my my story. And I'm raising my hand because I'm struggling. I'm raising my hand because I'm I'm climbing out of it, or I'm getting out of it, or I'm. I'm raising my hand because, frankly, my wife and I are in counseling because I'm having to kind of deal with what it's doing to me. It's and that's within the faith context. So then you kind of 100,000 x what's happening outside of the faith community. So we're dealing with an issue that, the businessman that we reach at all ages, they are wrestling and it's it's a place of shame for them. I know the enemy. I feel like, uses that all too often to, determine, you know, gosh, you you and you alone are the ones struggling with this when the reality is made. Not the minute a man speaks up and is courageous to say, hey, this is where my battle is. It's amazing how others go. Yeah. Me too, me too, me too. So, we cannot have enough tools and resources to battle this issue alone. And to to be able to mitigate against the damage being done in relationships and marriages, and, frankly, and, and men and women's world view of human sexuality. Right. It's distorting everything. So we're talking about a critical, critical issue. And again, I do I believe that this is shaping culture. Well, we'll read history books. 50 years from now, potentially, you know, if I'm around and and we will we will we will be reading about the tectonic shifts in culture as a result of what's happening in a digitally native world. That's just the reality. So what are we going to do? How are we going to how are we going to navigate this? And, so this is a pivotal moment. It really is. You've nailed everything there. We agree with all of that for us. Really, though. I mean, it does come down to that discipleship. You know, tools are great resources, education, those are all needed pieces. But really, you know, we need a closer walk with Christ. And that's where that discipleship piece comes in. So just love what you guys are doing and how you can really begin to, lean into this issue. Because you're right. I, we we believe also, this is the biggest issue, I think, facing men and facing men in their in their faith walk. And so, so I love what you guys are doing. If you had to say you know, what's your biggest hope and prayer for this ministry? You've been doing it 95 years. Hopefully there's another 95 years. Where are you at? What? Where are you hoping this goes? Right. It's the next generation. I think that's what we we. I literally came from a, strategic annual planning event with our national leadership, and we we articulated that point. It was that, the the brilliance of when you get men in the room of all different ages and they can cross-pollinate on ideas, there's there's something really powerful. I mean, we have men in their 80s that are showering wisdom on those that are coming, that are following them along. We've got guys that are in their 20s and 30s that are hungry, trying to figure stuff out, and we want more of that because we realize that. Can I can I just like the book of Deuteronomy, where, you know, it's a retelling of the law for the generation that's going to go into the Promised Land. It's how do we how do we shape ourselves and retell the story, of the gospel and leverage the platform of Xbmc so that we can we can engage this, these generations that are coming up and candidly, given the new landscape, the new challenges, the technology that's informing the way we think and feel and act, we we want to really be sharp and smart about how we're engaging this next gen, that's that's at the heart of what CBMC is thinking about quite often. So tell us a little bit more about how, how men would get involved in what that what does that look like? Is that, more face to face. Is it, pretty much all, you know, connection through, you know, through digital means, how does how does somebody connect and, and do this life with you? Well, the easiest way always is go to CBMC.com, and you can, go to that page. You'll learn about where CBMC’s located near you, or you fill out what we call a Connect Me form. And if there's not a location near you, we have virtual solutions where we can tie you into connections with other businessmen. So that's something that we are consistently offering. Again, CBMC.com if you go to that website, you can also learn about our advanced platform, which is free. By the way, there are people using this platform and 148 countries. It's really cool. So there's no no limit to where this tool can go. And it has our discipleship tools, evangelism tools, and other resources to help men. But we also have designed the tools so that they're, there they reach out to women, to churches, to all types of ministries. So the advanced platform is a really great free resource. Highly encourage, folks to jump in and explore that sign up for an account. But that's the easiest way to kind of get a sense. The funny part is that when I interview men, kind of the marketing cap on and I think about like, tell me your cmmc story. It's always there's this pivot or transition point where they say, and then I met someone from CBMC, and it's really interesting how that as a game changer and and the participants lives of engaging joining a team. So however we can help, your listeners learn about CBMCI, get connected and have that introduction to a CBMC member, maybe through one of our prayer breakfast or through our luncheons or special events. We do however we can do that, ultimately connecting them to someone who can help them get involved. It's it's key. We're we have 611 teams across the United States. We're located in around 38 states in the United States. But that doesn't necessarily limit our virtual reach, which is really good. We're in 99 countries officially, our international organization. And then our tools, of course, are used in that broader expanse of countries. So we try and create as many options as possible. Yeah. That's wonderful. And we want to help you get the word out to our listeners. Please, share this information. Get this to your men's ministry. We'll share this in our show notes. The connection. And, please get get this out to people. But, Joe, before we head off, I'd love just to from your heart one one last message to the men that are listening or church pastors who are listening. What would you what would you share with them? I think it goes back to the to the pitch that I think is rooted in Jesus. I would say to the men who are listening, especially pastors. And by the way, pastors, thank you for your courage to lead in a very challenging space. And then, to our business leaders that are courageously living the faith in a post-Christian world, you need to know God has so much more for us.

20. Immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine. So if you're ready to step into that promise, to step into what God promise for a bigger, better life of purpose and meaning, to be lifted up from whatever is oppressing or suffocating or holding you down. Then, CMBC might be the right place for you. We'd love to have you. So, take up the challenge. Let's go for more. Yeah, absolutely. Well, Joe is a wonderful ministry. Thank you for joining us today and sharing about this ministry, and will certainly try to help, help you get the word out. But, again, thank you. And, just God bless the work you're doing. Rob, thank you for what you and the Covenant Eyes teams are doing. You guys are amazing. And you're leaning in in the hard spaces, so we're very grateful. Know we appreciate that. Well, great. To our listeners. Thanks again for for listening. Please. Like I said, share this. Pass this on, but look for our next episodes. Again, thanks for joining us. Take care and God bless.