No Sanity Required
No Sanity Required is a weekly podcast hosted by Brody Holloway and Snowbird Outfitters. Each week, we engage culture and personal stories with a Gospel-driven perspective. Our mission is to equip the Church to pierce the darkness with the light of Christ by sharing the vision, ideas, and passions God has used to carry us through 26 years of student ministry. Find more content at swoutfitters.com.
No Sanity Required
No One Drifts Toward Holiness
In this episode, Brody shares how to stay anchored in Christ when life’s transitions and cultural pressures tempt us to drift. Drawing from decades of ministry experience, he unpacks the subtle warning signs of spiritual drift and offers practical wisdom for staying faithful through every season. With encouragement from Hebrews 2:1 and 2 Peter 1:10, Brody reminds us that no one drifts toward holiness—spiritual growth requires focus, discipline, and daily dependence on Jesus.
- Spiritual drift often starts with neglecting Scripture and leads to doubt, dullness, and disconnection
- Hebrews 2:1 warns us to “pay closer attention” to the truth we've heard
- 2 Peter 1:10 calls us to confirm our calling through consistent, intentional growth
- Anchoring your identity in who Jesus is—Creator, King, High Priest—keeps you steady
- Lasting faithfulness often comes through relationships with mature, accountable believers
- Expect criticism when you’re making a gospel impact—keep your hand to the plow
- Those who walk away from the faith often first pull away from community and accountability
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Click here to get our Colossians Bible study.
This week's episode of no sanity required. I want to give y'all a just a challenge, a thought uh to to run your race. Well, we've been doing this little series start strong, run hard, finish well. And I want to insert uh, but we still have to do the third and final episode, which is finished well, which is really a challenge, in a word, for people in their fifties and sixties, which is finish well, which is really a challenge, in a word, for people in their 50s and 60s. But I want to pause and, coming out of the episode that was the second in this series, which was a few weeks ago now, run hard. I want to give you a word of encouragement that I shared with our staff today.
Speaker 1:Seems like in the years that I've been in ministry, a lot of people have fallen away or turned away from the gospel, and so, somewhere between running hard and finishing well, it's important that we focus on the task that God's put in front of us, and that task is to walk in a manner worthy of the gospel, remain faithful, rejoice always, pray without ceasing and everything, give thanks. This is the will of God for us. The scripture gives us the will of Remain faithful, Rejoice always, pray without ceasing in everything, give thanks. This is the will of God for us. The scripture gives us the will of God. It says those things, and then it says that the will of God, or the plan and purpose of God in Romans 8, 28 to 30, is that we be conformed to the image of Christ. So God's told us what his plan and purpose for us is Conform us to the image of Christ, and that our task, the task set before us, is to pray and to meditate on his word and to give thanks and everything and to rejoice always. And if we do those things we'll remain faithful. Peter says this in second Peter chapter one, in verse 10,. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities, you will never fall.
Speaker 1:I want to talk today about how we remain faithful. Just kind of a transition in running hard. Now that you're running hard, how do you keep running hard so that you can one day finish well that in between? So we're kind of adding a third piece to this. I'm also going to link a message that I'm building this episode off of a message that I gave to our staff on this past Monday in staff worship.
Speaker 1:We're going into week eight of SWO 25 and really trying to encourage our staff to finish the summer well but to prepare to transition well. We've got staff going into the military, staff going off to college and university, staff headed to seminary, staff going into the workplace, some into ministry, ministry jobs and positions. We've got staff headed to the mission field. We've got staff that are staying right here at Snowbird and going to continue the work that we're doing in our fall stuff and our fall schedule. Wherever they're going, we want them to transition well. That begins with finishing this season well and then transition and into the next season Well. So it's all kind of in that, that second category of running hard from a few weeks back. What I want to do today is share some things with y'all. That uh came from the, the thoughts that I shared with our staff today, and to include it in this series on starting strong, running hard and finishing well, and I hope it'll be an encouragement to you. So hang around and welcome to no Sanity Required.
Speaker 2:Welcome to no Sanity Required from the Ministry of Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters. A podcast about the Bible, culture and stories from around the globe.
Speaker 1:Well, June 16th we dropped that last episode, part two. We've had a couple episodes since then. We've actually had three episodes since then. So we're coming back to that and we want to get the third episode in that series Start Strong, Run Hard, Finish Well. We covered the starting line, we covered the middle miles and we will get to that third category, which is finishing well.
Speaker 1:But I want to share with y'all some thoughts that I shared with our staff today. Man, we've had a couple thousand people serve on staff here over the last 28 years staff here over the last 28 years and so I want to share with y'all some things I've learned from watching people remain faithful and from watching people fall away and turn away. This past week we had gosh. We had multiple groups here. Who? This was in week seven, who the leaders, whether that was a youth pastor or some parents or one pastor's wife all former SWO staff. And it's so encouraging. Anytime I get to talk to people that remained faithful, have remained faithful, they've stayed the course. Their hand is still fixed to the plow. One hand grips the plow and they're, they're, they're, they're, they're doing the work, they're plowing forward and doing the work, and then another hand grips the sword, the sword of the spirit, the word of God, and they're being faithful and it's encouraging because a lot of people um, not a majority, but a lot of people have turned away. The Bible says, uh, that that there is in the last days, many will turn away and uh, the, the word that the Bible uses is apostasy. People like to use that word deconstruct that's kind of a progressive Christian word deconstruct and we don't use that word because we use Bible words and the Bible says apostasy. But the idea is that people turn away. Last year we did an episode on Demas, someone who turned away and fell in love with the world and abandoned the ministry calling God seemed to have placed on his life. It was an encouragement last week to fellowship and gather with folks that have remained faithful. Even here, their encouragement to us that we've remained faithful has been an encouragement to them. Hear their encouragement to us that we've remained faithful has been an encouragement to them.
Speaker 1:This is where I want to pause and say I've not on on the NSR podcast. I've not talked about the book. The book is out and it's it has flown off the shelves at SWO in the gear store. I don't know how many NSR listeners have, uh, have ordered a copy. Um, but, uh, man, we, we. This is the second full week that we've got the book and last week and part of the week before, man, it was like I couldn't believe how many people picked up a copy.
Speaker 1:The book is called uh, no sanity required the visionary story of snowbird wilderness outfitters. It's an easy read. Um, it's a hundred, about 150 pages. Um, some cool endorsements.
Speaker 1:Dr Jamie Dew, the president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He says Snowbird is a phenomenal ministry. It's been used by God to impact thousands upon thousands of teenagers with the gospel Lance Bingham, who many of you will know that name. He's kind of the man that I patterned my life after in terms of how I wanted to be a husband and a father when I was a young husband, been married about gosh just a few months when I met Lance. He's the director of track and field and cross country at Liberty University. Snowbird has impacted me, my family as well as thousands of others. The exponential influence of Snowbird for the kingdom cannot be measured. And then Will Graham, executive vice president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Will said I love telling people about Snowbird, its humble beginnings and what God has done there through Brody and Little.
Speaker 1:Those are just some of the endorsements and this just tells the story. But it doesn't just tell the story of SWO. It helps you understand our culture and our DNA. We get into our core values and where the mission statement came from and um sort of how we approach um, how we approach our, our staff training and equipping. And so in in that book you'll see our heart for um, remaining faithful and then training up those that remain faithful and continuing to equip and encourage.
Speaker 1:And I think about the early church and how frustrating it must have been for Peter when he wrote. Listen to what he wrote in second Peter, chapter one, verse 10, therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent, all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, For if you practice these qualities, you will never fail and he's speaking to believers to remain faithful to the end. I encouraged our staff today and we're linking that last talk that I gave to our staff. We're linking it here in the notes to this episode. We'll link that message that I gave the week eight message from Monday's message that I gave to this episode. We'll link that message that I gave the week eight message from, uh, from Monday's message that I gave to our staff, but but he's telling us that we need to be diligent to confirm our calling and election. If we do that, we won't fail. So what does that mean? It means it means every single day when my feet hit the ground, I'm going to confess that Jesus is Lord. It means every single day that I walk out the door of my house, I'm going to confess that Jesus is Lord and I'm going to fix my eyes on Jesus and I'm going to focus on him and think about him. I'm going to remember he's the one that called me. This was his idea. I didn't save myself. I was saved by grace, through faith in Jesus, and he was the one that gave me that gift.
Speaker 1:Hebrews, chapter two, verse one, says we must pay closer attention to what we have heard lest we drift away from it. What is he talking about? He says, therefore, we must pay closer attention. Therefore, comes at the beginning of chapter two, which means he's reflecting back on chapter one. This is something you'll see the writer of Hebrews do. A lot of teachers will do it in the Bible. He turns from chapter one, which was exposition, to chapter two, which is exhortation, and that's something that's real common. Where you'll see a shift from that word, Therefore, will be a shift from we've exhorted and proclaimed truth and declared certain things, and now, um, uh, I mean, I'm sorry, we've given exposition of, of doctrine and theology and biblical truth, and so now we exhort and proclaim and declare truth and then charge you to go act accordingly, like let that truth motivate you. He's saying that based on rich theology which he unpacked in Hebrews, chapter one. We should react to that appropriately, and so there's an exhortation, and that'll keep us from drifting away.
Speaker 1:So how do people not drift away? How do you, while you're running hard, how do you transition towards finishing well, especially for those of you that are, you know, my age, you're in your fifties how do you continue to run hard so that you will one day finish? Well, as I'm recording this, John MacArthur is in the hospital and they brought his family and friends in and, I guess, primarily just his family together around him, because the word is that he's probably going to going to go be with the Lord soon. And I think, man, I want to finish the way that man has finished. You know, I want to finish well, but. But finishing well means running well to get to that finish line. And so what happens with so many people? I wonder, and I feel so bad for people that that apostatize or deconstruct and turn away. What are they going to do as the years wane on and on, and they've? They've abandoned the thing that they were once contending for, They've stopped confirming their election and calling and they're no longer fixing their eyes on Jesus. I don't want to be like that. I want to finish well, having run well.
Speaker 1:And so the writer of Hebrews is saying hey, here's how you finish well, here's how you keep from drifting anyway. And he goes into and listen to everything he says in Hebrews, chapter one. He says that Jesus is the final prophet through whom God has spoken. He says he's the creator through whom God has spoken. He says he's the heir of all things. He says the he's the exact representation of God's glory. He says he's the upholder of all things. He says he's the high priest who's made purification for all things, and he says he's the king of Kings all those things about Jesus. So he says in Hebrews, chapter two, verse one pay attention to that, Pay attention to those seven things about Jesus, and so pay close attention to what we have heard.
Speaker 1:It's so easy to read and learn about the Bible in an informative way. It's easy to have emotional appeal during corporate worship, you know. But it's so critical that we grow in our knowledge of who Jesus is and to be reminded of who Jesus is. And so he's warning us not to drift, and he's saying the way you don't drift is by paying attention to the things we've said about Christ we're being. Essentially, he's challenging us to consider and examine deeply the person and work of Jesus.
Speaker 1:Fix your eyes on Jesus, Be reminded of who Jesus is. Think about what Jesus has done. Look to the cross, Look to the tomb, Look to the throne Shoot, look to the manger and the incarnation, Look to the kingdom that Jesus is establishing John 14,. He says I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go to prepare a place for you, I'll come again. Jesus is going to bring us to be with him. In one way or another.
Speaker 1:The work of Jesus on earth is finished in one sense, in terms of, you know, when he said it's finished, to tell us that he's completed the work of providing salvation. But, man, there's still so much to come, and so we've got to keep our eyes on Jesus so that we don't drift. No one ever drifts toward holiness. We'll say that again. That's a John MacArthur quote that we use here a lot. That's one of the first quotes that I ever remember, quoting from a pastor that really started to shape this ministry and identify sort of this ministry. No one ever drifts toward holiness. It's a fight. If you just, if you just get in the current, you'll drift. You got to swim against the current to remain vigilant and to pursue Christ.
Speaker 1:So let's consider the causes, patterns and effects of drifting. This is what we talk about in the message to the staff today. The pattern is that a person who stops paying attention to the word of God Hebrews 2.1, and stops confirming their election and their calling, that person begins to drift. They become careless. The pressure of culture. When I say pressure, maybe it's not pressure like when we think of I'm under pressure, but just the gentle push of the current of culture. There's a constant pressure. So if I'm left to the current or the flow, then I'm just going to drift, and so that comes from not paying attention to the word of God and becoming careless. That's Hebrews 2.1.
Speaker 1:Now if I do that, the next thing that's going to happen is I'm going to begin to be controlled or consumed by doubt. Begin to compromise and avoid the word of God. Hebrews, chapter three, verse 12. He says take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart leading you to fall away from the living God. So begin to doubt, begin to fall away. So drifting leads to doubting leads to falling away. So I drift away until I fall off the cliff, you know, fall over the edge. And then he says in Hebrews 5.11, I become callous, we become callous, we abandon the word of God, and when that happens, we grow dull. So drift, doubt, and then we dull, we dull, we lose the edge. We lose the sharpness, the gleam in our eye for the gospel, the excitement over being in a relationship with Jesus and on mission with Jesus. So we drift, we doubt, we dull, and then next is that we drop out. We cut off fellowship and relationship with people that we know will hold us accountable to the word.
Speaker 1:The effect of this it's broad, it's all encompassing, it's like a person who is dropping out of the faith, who's turning away, who's becoming apostate. They cut off fellowship and relationship with the people that they know will push and challenge them. Have you ever noticed this? A person who turns away from the faith and drops out of it. They don't maintain those relationships. They build new relationships with unbelievers or with progressive, liberal, secular-minded, professing Christians that drop out, and what that then leads to.
Speaker 1:The fifth and final thing is defiance. They become defiant, become angry at the word, angry at those that represent the word. They become angry and mean-spirited towards those that represent Christ. And so we challenge our staff today hey, listen, if you'll finish this summer well and transition into the next stage of life, well, you'll continue to run hard. You've been running hard. Don't stop running hard.
Speaker 1:And I think the answer to this is found in Hebrews 2.1 and 2, Peter 1.10. So here's how you keep from drifting, so that you don't doubt and dull and drop out and become defiant. You pay close attention to what we know to be true about Jesus. Look at Hebrews 1. Let me read that again. Hebrews 1, Jesus is the final prophet through whom God has spoken. Hebrews 1, verse 2. Also Hebrews chapter 1, verse 2, but also verse 10.
Speaker 1:Jesus is the creator through whom God has spoken. In Colossians 1 it says in him all things are created. Hebrews chapter 1, verse 3. He's the heir of all things. That's verse 2, rather. He's the heir of all things. His's verse two, rather. He's the heir of all things, his inheritance we are the reward of his suffering. The inheritance of the saints and glory. That's Jesus's inheritance, the kingdom he's building. Number four Jesus is the exact representation of God's glory. That's in Hebrews, chapter one, verse three. Number five. He's the upholder of all things, so he doesn't just create it, but he upholds and sustains it. Hebrews one, three and 10. And then he's the high priest. We are priests of God because Jesus is our great high priest. And then last, he's the king of Kings. That's in Hebrews, chapter one, verses one through four, is the king of Kings who sat down at the place of honor, in verses eight and nine. So Hebrews, chapter two, verse one.
Speaker 1:Simple little exercise for not falling away, drifting away. Pay close attention to what we've heard. Pay attention to these things, Consider these things. Consider Jesus, who he is, what he's done, and there's a host of other things we could consider about the incarnation of Christ. Um, so many things. You could consider his humanity. You can consider his deity, his virgin birth, consider his miracles, consider his, his passion and his compassion. And then the second verse is that.
Speaker 1:Second Peter, chapter one, verse 10,. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent. So be diligent, Don't be lazy, Don't be lackadaisical, lackadaisical, lackadaisical I don't remember how you say that word, but you know the word I'm talking about. Don't be passive. Be diligent to confirm your calling and election. How do you confirm your calling and election, your salvation and what God's called you to?
Speaker 1:By practicing these qualities, which never fail. What qualities are those? Second Peter, chapter one, verse five for this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, virtue with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with steadfastness, steadfastness with godliness, godliness with brotherly affection and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he's blind, Having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Right there, people, that's how you don't drift, you hold you, you, you practice these qualities. So, second Peter, chapter one, verses five through 10 practice these qualities and in then, in verse 11, you'll receive entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1:It breaks my heart to think of the people that have walked away or turned away and that now criticize us, Even here at SWO, that criticize us for the way we do ministry. It breaks my heart. I don't get mad, I get heartbroken. And it's because they've turned away, They've fallen away. So pay close attention. It was funny today. I'll tell you, I'll tell you a funny story, Um, and then I'll wrap this episode up a little bit shorter than normal episode because we're going to follow it with another episode. So you get to this week, but about the same total time, probably as a normal one.
Speaker 2:Um.
Speaker 1:I met with a mom. I won't say any names, but I met with a mom of a young man who's serving on staff here and she had heard she had heard things about this ministry. I mean absolutely crazy things, laughable insanity. I mean just crazy. Like, uh, that we were a militia, that that. And I said, what does that mean? She mean she said, well, that you guys train in firearms and then you smuggle firearms into other countries but you do it under the guise of missions. And I was like, okay, that is hilarious, but let's don't correct that, let's just let people think that that might that might.
Speaker 1:That's worth giving people entertainment. I said now, to be honest, I've never smuggled a gun into any country and I've never known anybody that did outside of the military. But and then I don't think that's smuggling, I don't know anybody that has. And then I was like, oh no, I do know. I know a guy, a good friend of mine. One time his son was going to the mission field and he was going to a pretty difficult place and he, uh, the dad who's a good friend of mine, it is a good old boy, this was about probably 15 years ago. He smuggled a pistol, he hid it in the container that all the, all the uh like their, their, their kerosene powered refrigerator and then their, their little gas range and everything that they were sending. They had a little oven, a little stove and oven, a little kerosene powered refrigerator.
Speaker 1:You're going to the third world, some African country, and this guy hid a pistol in, like one of the metal appliances and when it got off the container it made it through and he told his son he said, hey, when that, when that stuff gets there, tear out the insulation in the back of that. I don't remember if it was the range or the little refrigerator or whatever. He tears it. I slept him a nine millimeter pistol. He said that's in case you need some self-defense. And that boy, he took that gun and destroyed it. He's like, oh my gosh, I'd have gotten in so much trouble if I got caught with that. It's the only, that's the only missionary gun smuggling story I know.
Speaker 1:But anyway, I I was laughing about that. And then I said what else? And she said, oh, you know, it was just kind of like silly silliness. Um, and you know, you're, y'all are a cult because, and I said, well, what makes us a cult? And she said, uh, because you all believe the same thing. And I was like, we're Southern Baptist, essentially where our partnerships are. I said we hold to the 2000 issue of the Baptist faith and message. We're non-denominational, but you gotta. You gotta determine where you align. And so we align. Now we have our own statements of what we believe, but then we pretty much align with the Southern Baptist. We're not a formal Southern Baptist ministry, but that's where we line up. And then also I told her, I gave her a copy of the book no Sanity Required. I said read this, you'll know who we are and what we're about and you'll probably enjoy the stories in here. But then also I explained to her that every sermon we've ever preached at least as long as we've had the technical ability capability has is posted. We have a log of thousands of hours of content. To go listen to the sermons, go read the blogs. Heck, just come up, uh, anytime, and come to a worship service. Uh, you can follow us on social media and you'll see what we're about.
Speaker 1:Anyway, saying all that to say if you're, if you're running hard and you're doing these things that we're talking about in this, in this series, you run hard and you put your hand to the plow and you, you shine the light in the darkest places. Don't be surprised when there's some conflict, people going to come at you and most people don't have the courage to come talk to you. I could name three or four pastors, local guys, that I know have talked ugly about us, but they've never come and said anything to my face because they don't have the courage to. And I don't mean that, like they're scared, I I would fight them. I mean they don't have the courage to articulate their self and to address conflict. And these are, you know, and this is, these are backwards thinking guys that that hold to some really fundamentalist ideas. Um, but but then on the flip side, for every one of those two or three guys, there's 50 guys who are, who love what we do. I think of a friend of mine who's a pastor of a little country Baptist church and he this guy, lives on my road and he loves what we're about. And so, um, the majority love it. And then there's those that don't.
Speaker 1:And if you're, I've learned it's just a principle of life. If you're making an impact for the gospel, you're living your life in a in a positive and productive way. You're going to, you're going to push some buttons and you're going to face some criticism and some ridicule. Just run hard, get after it every day, keep your hand to the plow and consider these things about Christ and confirm your calling and election and and hold fast to the word of God and keep your eyes on Jesus and confess and proclaim that he is Lord and believe it. And and you'll, you'll not only run hard but you'll transition well in the different stages and seasons of life, particularly as your race begins to wind down and you prepare to finish Well, these are things that'll matter.
Speaker 1:I also told our staff that, uh, ministries that are proven are ministries that you want to hit your wagon to. You know, like a ministry has been around for 18 months. They, they may be faithful and they may be here 20 years from now, but they may not, we don't know. And so if you're going to invest in a church plant, you're going to, you're going to go with a team that's going to plan a church. Um, have a sit down with that pastor, that lead pastor and that plant team. Find out what their strategy is, what their plan is. My buddy, michael Talley, who's a church planner in Denver, colorado Um, you know a guy like that. He went in with a plan, he had a strategy, um, and he's a super faithful guy and he personally already had a proven track record of leadership. And find ministries that have proven, leaders and ministries that, if they've been around long enough, they're proven. Let me tell you something SWO exists 28 years later, thriving, growing and flourishing, because the good hand of God has never been taken off of this ministry.
Speaker 1:I can handle a little ridicule and criticism and not even get upset about it. So run hard, run hard, don't drift. Keep your hand to the plow, keep a hand on the sword. Keep your eyes on Jesus, square your shoulders up, don't mope, don't whine, don't complain, don't play the victim. You're more than a conqueror, and so let's run our race well and let's finish strong. Let's finish well. We start strong. We should finish strong, even if we're worn out and exhausted.
Speaker 1:So I'll circle back and do the final part to this series. We'll drop that later this week, but hopefully you're encouraged by that, and then we'll include that message that I did with the staff today. I like to do that from time to time. I think we've done it once so far this summer. Might have been a message back during staff training, I don't remember now, but we like to link those from time to time. It gives you a glimpse into what we do here with our couple hundred people that are serving here in a full-time capacity for the summer, and hopefully it'll be an encouragement to you go get the book.
Speaker 1:Knuckleheads. We need you to get the book. The more these you, the more these we sell, the more that that this book gets put out, the more it'll confirm that we need to continue putting this kind of content out. We've got some stuff outlined for the next few books, and so I'm excited about that. But, man, if you know, if, if this thing comes and goes and we only move three or 400 books, I'm gonna be like, does it make sense to write more? I think it does regardless, but I'm excited. I'm very proud of the work that we've done on this.
Speaker 1:Um, I'm the longest writer in history. I started this book, uh, more than three years ago. I was going to start it Then COVID hit. We hit pause. We didn't know where it was going to go. We waited until the dust settled, gave it a couple of years, ramped back up in 2022 and told the COVID story as a section in the book. So, anyway, please, please, go to the SWO gear store. Um, jb will link we'll link the where you can buy this book. She'll link it also in this episode. We'll start linking it in the next few episodes. And, yeah, that's what I got for you. It's a shorter episode today, more content coming out this week. Keep your hand to the plow, keep your eyes on Jesus, and we're in it together. Thank y'all.
Speaker 2:We'll see you next time. Thanks for listening to no Sanity Required. Please take a moment to subscribe and leave a rating. It really helps. Visit us at SWOutfitterscom to see all of our programming and resources, and we'll see you next week on no Sanity Required.
