The Known Disciple Project

Mark Hummel
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Christianity
  • Weekly

Welcome to The Known Disciple Project Podcast, a show for believers ready to stop drifting and start living fully aligned with who God says they are. If you’re done with surface-level faith and want to grow in mindset, habits, discipline, and spiritual clarity, without separating your faith from your ambition; you’re in the right place. We don’t do shallow here. This is where Scripture meets strategy. Whether you’re leading a business, raising a family, or chasing a God-given vision; this is your space. This isn’t motivation. It’s spiritual formation.

  1. Oct 15

    You Can't Follow Jesus Until You Do This First

    What does it really mean to follow Jesus? Jesus tells us to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow Him. But what does that actually look like for Christian men trying to grow in faith, discover God's purpose, and live as true disciples of Christ? In this episode of The Known Disciple Project, Mark Hummel breaks down one of Jesus' most powerful teachings on Christian discipleship from Matthew 16, Mark 8, and Luke 9. If you've ever wondered how to deny yourself, what it means to take up your cross daily, or how to follow Jesus in everyday life, this conversation is for you. Many Christian men believe in Jesus, read the Bible, pray, and attend church, yet still struggle with surrendering control, letting go of personal ambition, and putting God's will above their own. Mark shares how a performance-driven mindset affected his walk with Christ and why denying yourself must come before taking up your cross. You'll discover how biblical discipleship requires more than simply claiming to be a Christian. It's about surrendering your desires, embracing God's calling, serving others, and becoming more like Jesus every day. You’ll Learn: → What It Really Means to Deny Yourself: Discover why Jesus places self-denial first and how surrendering your goals, comforts, and personal ambitions makes room for God's will. → How to Take Up Your Cross Daily: Understand why carrying your cross involves both a willingness to suffer for Christ and faithfully walking in the mission God has placed before you. → Why Christian Men Struggle With Performance-Based Faith: Learn how relying on willpower, achievement, and personal strength can keep you focused on yourself instead of Christ. → How to Follow Jesus in Everyday Life: Explore practical ways to grow in biblical discipleship through Scripture, prayer, journaling, loving your neighbor, and serving your family, church, and community. Want to learn more about Mark Hummel? Check out the links below. Facebook LinkedIn Instagram Want to learn more about The Known Disciple Project? Check out the links below. Facebook Instagram TikTok YouTube Website Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  2. Sep 24

    The Discipleship Lie Most Christian Men Believe

    What if one of the biggest lies Christian men believe is that salvation is mandatory, but discipleship is optional? Jesus didn’t call us simply to believe in Him and then squeeze Bible reading, prayer, and church into whatever time is left. He called us to follow Him. In this episode, Mark Hummel explores the biblical connection between salvation and discipleship, the dangerous “10-minute discipleship” trap, and what it really means to take up your cross daily and follow Jesus. If you’re a Christian man who wants to grow spiritually, become a stronger spiritual leader, build consistent Christian habits, and develop a deeper relationship with Jesus, this conversation is for you. We’ll look at Jesus’ teachings on discipleship, Luke 9:23, Romans 12:2, the vine and branches, and examples of people who encountered Christ in the New Testament. More importantly, we’ll turn those biblical principles into practical steps you can begin using today. Christian discipleship isn’t about becoming perfect overnight or adding an impossible religious workload to your life. It’s a lifelong journey of submitting yourself to Christ, resisting sin, renewing your mind, learning the teachings of Jesus, and increasingly putting those teachings into practice. You’ll Learn: → Why salvation and discipleship shouldn’t be treated as two unrelated stages of the Christian life, and why following Jesus begins when you respond to His call. → How the “10-minute discipleship” trap can turn Bible reading, prayer, and church attendance into boxes you check instead of part of a life surrendered to Christ. → What taking up your cross daily actually means for a growth-minded Christian man navigating work, family, leisure, distractions, temptation, and spiritual leadership. → How to begin a practical discipleship journey by studying Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, asking who Jesus is, what He taught, and what you will do in response. Want to learn more about Mark Hummel? Check out the links below. Facebook LinkedIn Instagram Want to learn more about The Known Disciple Project? Check out the links below. Facebook Instagram TikTok YouTube Website Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  3. Sep 17

    Why Christian Men Feel Lonely—and What Brothers Miss

    Christian men are often great at solving problems—but sometimes your brother doesn’t need another solution. He needs someone willing to slow down, listen, ask better questions, and draw out what’s really happening beneath the surface. In this episode of the Known Disciple Project podcast, we unpack Proverbs 20:5: “The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out.” You’ll discover why Christian men can slip into loneliness, isolation, avoidance, performance, shame, and the grit-and-grind cycle without ever naming what’s actually driving them. You’ll also hear the story of a successful faith-based entrepreneur who had money, family, health, and multiple businesses—but eventually admitted that what he was really battling was loneliness. This conversation is about Christian brotherhood, biblical discipleship, spiritual growth, listening, asking powerful questions, and becoming the kind of man other men can trust with what they’re carrying. You’ll learn a simple coaching technique inspired by the Five Whys, how to go three questions deep in conversation, and why becoming a man of understanding requires curiosity without expecting anything in return. If you want stronger Christian friendships and deeper discipleship conversations, start here. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN → Why men can default toward avoidance, performance, isolation, shame, and pushing harder instead of revealing what they are actually carrying. → How the Five Whys technique can move a conversation beyond surface-level goals and reveal the deeper purpose or desire underneath them. → How to use one broad, open-ended question followed by two or three deeper questions to create stronger conversations with your brothers, spouse, children, coworkers, or people you disciple. → Why biblical listening requires humility, patience, curiosity, and no expectation that the other person will immediately give the same attention back to you. #ChristianMen #ChristianDiscipleship #MensMinistry #ChristianBrotherhood #SpiritualGrowth Want to learn more about Mark Hummel? Check out the links below. Facebook LinkedIn Instagram Want to learn more about The Known Disciple Project? Check out the links below. Facebook Instagram TikTok YouTube Website Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  4. Sep 10

    Nobody Prepares You for What Comes After the Summit

    Brad Williams trained for months to climb Mount Rainier, but reaching the summit wasn’t the hardest part. Coming back down nearly broke him. In this episode of The Known Disciple Project Podcast, Brad shares the leadership, faith, discipleship, resilience, and personal growth lessons he learned while climbing Mount Rainier. What started as a mountaineering challenge became a powerful lesson about trusting God, preparing for adversity, handling success, accepting pain, asking for help, building the right team, and staying present when life gets difficult. For Christian men, entrepreneurs, leaders, husbands, fathers, and anyone pursuing ambitious goals, Brad’s story exposes an easy mistake: we spend our lives preparing to reach the summit without preparing for the descent. What happens after you achieve the goal? What happens when motivation disappears? What happens when your strength runs out? And who is standing beside you when you finally hit zero? This conversation explores how faith in God, strong Christian brotherhood, intentional preparation, disciplined routines, humility, and the willingness to receive help can carry you through challenges that enthusiasm alone never will. Sometimes the greatest lessons aren't found at the summit. They're learned on the way back down. Highlights: → You’ll learn why the summit is often only the halfway point and why accomplishing a major goal can actually become one of the most dangerous moments for a driven man if he hasn’t prepared for what comes next. → Brad explains what happened when his body finally reached zero on Mount Rainier, how anxiety and exhaustion changed his ability to perform, and why accepting the reality of pain helped him stop fighting his circumstances and start moving forward again. → You’ll hear why Christian men need the right people around them—not simply people who encourage them, but people willing to carry the load when they have nothing left. Brad also explains why asking for help may give someone else an opportunity to find purpose through serving you. → Finally, the conversation breaks down why discipline and cadence beat feelings and enthusiasm. From scheduled water and food breaks on the mountain to spiritual disciplines, leadership, business, and everyday life, a good plan keeps working long after motivation disappears. Want to learn more about Mark Hummel? Check out the links below. Facebook LinkedIn Instagram Want to learn more about The Known Disciple Project? Check out the links below. Facebook Instagram TikTok YouTube Website Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  5. Sep 3

    I Climbed Mount Rainier and Learned How to Trust God

    What does climbing a dangerous mountain teach you about faith, leadership, and trusting God when life gets hard? In this episode of The Known Disciple Project Podcast, Brad Williams shares the powerful lessons he learned while climbing Mount Rainier and how that experience revealed deeper truths about discipleship, preparation, trust, and following God through uncertain seasons. This conversation is for Christian men who are carrying responsibility, leading families, building businesses, and trying to stay faithful without burning out. Brad explains why trust is not built during moments of crisis but through daily obedience, consistency, and faithfulness when life feels ordinary. Through stories from the mountain, he reveals how leaders can stop getting too far ahead of the people they serve, how disciples can learn to follow God’s footsteps, and how preparation creates peace when storms arrive. Whether you’re navigating business pressure, family challenges, spiritual growth, or a season where you need more peace, this episode will challenge you to rethink how you build trust and live with purpose. Highlights: → You’ll learn why putting a challenge on the calendar creates commitment and forces growth instead of allowing goals to stay stuck in the “someday” category. → Brad shares the leadership lesson he discovered while following footsteps on Mount Rainier and explains why great leaders move at a pace others can actually follow. → You’ll discover why trust is built during low-stakes moments through consistency, reliability, and daily habits before it is ever tested during difficult seasons. → This episode explores Christian discipleship, spiritual growth, trusting God in uncertainty, and how everyday faithfulness prepares you for life’s biggest challenges. Want to learn more about Mark Hummel? Check out the links below. Facebook LinkedIn Instagram Want to learn more about The Known Disciple Project? Check out the links below. Facebook Instagram TikTok YouTube Website Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  6. Aug 27

    Waiting on God? Here’s What You Should Be Doing

    Are you waiting on God, or could God be waiting for you to take the next faithful step? Understanding God’s timing can be confusing, especially when you’re praying for direction, trying to hear God’s voice, or wondering whether you should take action or simply wait on the Lord. In this episode of The Known Disciple Project, Mark Hummel explores what the Bible actually teaches about waiting on God, spiritual formation, Christian discipleship, hearing God’s voice, abiding in Christ, and taking biblical action while trusting God’s timing. Waiting on the Lord was never meant to be passive. Scripture shows us that Christians are created for good works, called to renew their minds, commanded to follow Christ daily, and invited to remain connected to Jesus as the true vine. You cannot force spiritual growth, but you can position yourself where God can form you. If you’ve been feeling spiritually stuck, impatient with God, unsure about your purpose, or confused about your next step, this episode will help you understand the difference between passive waiting and actively waiting on God. Highlights: → Discover why being created for good works doesn’t mean earning your salvation, how Ephesians 2:10 changes the way you think about Christian purpose, why waiting on God should involve active spiritual formation, and how renewing your mind through Scripture helps you recognize God’s voice. → You’ll also learn what Jesus’ teaching about the vine and branches in John 15 reveals about abiding in Christ, why God, not your performance, is responsible for producing spiritual fruit, and how prayer, Scripture, Christian community, obedience, and patience can position you for God’s formation. → Most importantly, you’ll walk away with a practical question to ask yourself this week: Am I actively waiting on God, or am I avoiding the discomfort of faithful patience? Want to learn more about Mark Hummel? Check out the links below. Facebook LinkedIn Instagram Want to learn more about The Known Disciple Project? Check out the links below. Facebook Instagram TikTok YouTube Website Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  7. Aug 20

    Most Christians Can’t Answer This Identity Question

    If someone asked you, “Who does God say you are?” could you answer without relying on your feelings, failures, accomplishments, career, or past? Many Christians know what the Bible teaches, yet still build their identity around fear, inconsistency, shame, failure, business struggles, relationship problems, or what other people think about them. That gap between biblical identity and the way we actually see ourselves can affect our spiritual growth, leadership, marriage, business, confidence, purpose, and even our willingness to share the gospel. In this episode of The Known Disciple Project Podcast, Mark Hummel explores what Scripture says about your identity in Christ and how knowing who God says you are can transform the way you show up in every area of life. Through Psalm 139, Philippians 1:6, and 1 Corinthians 12, you’ll discover that you are intimately known by God, created with purpose, given gifts to serve others, brought into His family, and part of a good work God is continuing in you. If you’ve ever struggled with Christian identity, purpose, self-doubt, failure, spiritual growth, calling, or knowing God’s plan for your life, this episode will give you a practical place to begin. You’ll Learn: → Why your identity controls how you show up. Mark explains how defining yourself by failure, inconsistency, fear, business results, or past experiences can create a gap between what you say you believe and how you actually live. → What Psalm 139 reveals about how deeply God knows you. You’ll explore the biblical truth that God knew you before birth, knows your thoughts and words, and is present with you wherever you go. → Why your life has purpose even when you’ve failed. Philippians 1:6 points to God continuing the good work He began in you, while the episode connects that work to spiritual growth, service, and your God-given mission. → How your gifts become an act of worship. Through 1 Corinthians 12, Mark explains the picture of one body with many gifts and challenges you to identify how your abilities can be used to love God and serve other people. Want to learn more about Mark Hummel? Check out the links below. Facebook LinkedIn Instagram Want to learn more about The Known Disciple Project? Check out the links below. Facebook Instagram TikTok YouTube Website Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  8. Jul 2

    How to Stop Giving God and Family Your Leftovers

    Are you a Christian man who feels busy all the time, but still feels like your faith, marriage, family, health, and purpose are getting the leftovers?  In this episode of The Known Disciple Project Podcast, we talk about margin, Sabbath rest, burnout, busyness, discipline, Christian leadership, spiritual growth, and what it really means to build a life that has room for God. If you are a driven man, business owner, husband, father, leader, or disciple of Jesus who keeps saying yes to good things but feels too exhausted to say yes to the best things, this conversation is for you. Margin is the space between your load and your limits. Without it, men burn out, isolate, neglect relationships, drift from God, and lose sight of their mission. But margin is not laziness. Sabbath is not weakness. Rest is a spiritual discipline that helps you reset, hear from God, protect your priorities, and show up stronger for the people who matter most. Highlights: → You’ll learn why margin matters for Christian men who are trying to lead well without burning out.  → Justin and Mark unpack how Sabbath rest helps men resist hustle culture, rebuild spiritual discipline, and stop living at max capacity every day. → You’ll hear why saying no to good opportunities can create space for better callings, stronger relationships, and deeper faith.  → The conversation also covers how busyness can become a form of control, why Jesus modeled solitude, and how men can start small with daily rhythms of rest. This episode also challenges the other side of margin: passivity, laziness, and the lack of purpose many men feel when they are not pursuing a God-given mission. Want to learn more about Mark Hummel? Check out the links below. Facebook LinkedIn Instagram Want to learn more about The Known Disciple Project? Check out the links below. Facebook Instagram TikTok YouTube Website Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Welcome to The Known Disciple Project Podcast, a show for believers ready to stop drifting and start living fully aligned with who God says they are. If you’re done with surface-level faith and want to grow in mindset, habits, discipline, and spiritual clarity, without separating your faith from your ambition; you’re in the right place. We don’t do shallow here. This is where Scripture meets strategy. Whether you’re leading a business, raising a family, or chasing a God-given vision; this is your space. This isn’t motivation. It’s spiritual formation.

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