Seven weeks after speaking at the 2024 Columbus Catholic Men’s Conference of how encountering Jesus brought him personal redemption, John Edwards of Memphis returned to the city to talk to men about Christ’s impact on their own lives.

Edwards, who has developed a national ministry as a speaker, author and podcast host, was invited back by the diocesan Catholic Men’s Ministry for a leadership summit on Saturday, April 13 at Westerville St. Paul the Apostle Church. 

He delivered two morning talks on restoring identity and developing a personal relationship with Jesus, then spent the afternoon training those in attendance on how to start and develop a parish ministry. He has helped start or revive more than a dozen such programs nationwide.

He said the first talk was designed to answer the question “What’s the purpose of my life?” which one young man asked him after a men’s conference presentation. The questioner described his life as “a never-ending ‘Groundhog Day’” with the same thing seemingly happening over and over again. The man said he had a good job, a loving wife and family and went to church regularly, but it didn’t seem to matter.

Edwards said the answer to that question was “to recognize that ‘I’m a beloved son of God’ and mean it from your heart.”

“There’s a battle raging within the culture every day and you’re in it,” he said. “There is a lack of men taking responsibility. Instead, we believe all the lies we’ve been told. All of us need to fight. We’re no good in worldly battles if we’re not fighting the battle in our hearts.” 

He used the Old Testament story of David and Bathsheba as an example, noting that King David sent his men to fight while staying home, with this lack of personal commitment leading to adultery with Bathsheba and ultimately to the downfall of David and Israel. 

“David chose not to fight,” he said. “What if we make the same choice and we sit around waiting and no one does anything? God made each of us to do a unique job.” He said the importance of parish men’s groups such as That Man Is You! comes in helping discourage men from the idea that they can’t do anything against the evils of today. “It’s the power of relationship with men who don’t let each other slack off,” he said.

“I have to reorient myself every day to listen to the right voices within me, for who you listen to is the man you’re going to be,” Edwards said. “The purpose and mission of the devil in our lives is to break our relationship with the Lord and he does it in many little ways.

“Always remember the devil is real and he hates you. Sometimes we get discouraged and say ‘Oh, I just had a bad day.’ No, it’s that the devil was laying snares for you all day. So often we listen to the wrong voices all day, saying ‘I’m not a good husband or a good father or a good person.’ When you’re doing that, you’re agreeing with the enemy.

“We think God and the devil are on the same platform, but the devil is a creation like you and me. He can’t hurt God, so he hurts us. When he gets you and you decide to quit, he takes all the influence you have on your family, your friends, the church and the world and uses it for his own ends. Ultimately, this is why everything attacking the strengths of our culture today is an attack on the family.”

“Your relations with your father always control how you see God,” he said. He noted that the difficulties in this relationship in his own life helped contribute to his addiction to drugs and pornography and a selfishness that threatened his marriage and ultimately put him into jail on probation. 

Small group discussions were part of the leadership summit. Photo courtesy John Endres

He had become Catholic before marrying and, as he explained more fully at the February men’s conference, he rediscovered Jesus when he went to Mass for the first time in years, received the Eucharist and was overwhelmed by the realization that he really was receiving the body of Christ.

Edwards said this dramatically changed his life but by no means ended his self-doubt. “I did drugs when I was young and had to remember that didn’t mean I’d always be a dope addict,” he said. “With each of us, it’s a different story, but we always have to work on our own conversion. It’s a lifelong experience, but in the end, it will be worth it to stand in front of Jesus and hear him say, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’”

“John’s words really had an impact on me,” said Matt Yoder of Marysville Our Lady of Lourdes Church, one of about 200 men attending the conference. “He made me realize I have to be true to myself before I can lead other men. Unless I can show how my faith has made a difference in my own life, I can’t tell others what to do.”

“I recognize that as good Catholic and Christian fathers, we’re engaged in battle for a worthy cause,” said Dameon Faulkner of Columbus St. Andrew Church. “Hearing John’s reminder that I’m a beloved son of God, realizing it and trying to live that identity every day is a message I want to keep remembering.”

Edwards expanded on the theme of encountering Jesus in his second talk. He said one of the things most people don’t appreciate about the late Pope Benedict XVI was his constant emphasis on personally knowing Christ.

“‘We are only Christians if we encounter Christ, even if He does not reveal Himself to us as clearly and irresistibly as He did to (St.) Paul (on the road to Damascus),”’ Edwards quoted Benedict as saying. “‘We can also encounter Christ in reading Holy Scripture, in prayer and in the liturgical life of the Church. … And it is only in this personal relationship with Christ … that we are truly Christian.’”

“I used to have a lot of money when I was a top salesman for NAPA Auto Parts before I found Jesus,” Edwards said. “Now the joy in my life comes whenever I come out of my brokenness to help somebody find God. Your choice to care for guys and help them break through the pandering of the devil and get out on the other side is blessed. But to do that, you have to be like Jesus.

“You have to make disciples, not by building the size of your men’s group but by individually changing men’s lives,” he said, noting that when Jesus called the 12 Apostles, he didn’t go into long theological explanations but just said, “Come, follow Me.”

“People say to me, ‘Tell me about Jesus,’” Edwards said. “I could give them a complicated answer, but the best response is John 14:30-31: ‘The rulers of the world have no power over me. … I do as the Father has commanded me so the world may know that I love the Father.’”

He said that although none of the Gospels quote St. Joseph as saying anything, the silence of Jesus’ time in Nazareth from ages 12 to 30 speaks volumes. “Joseph must have poured himself into Jesus during that time” as an example of fatherhood for Jesus to follow, he said. “If you want to know Joseph, see Jesus.”

“Most Christians don’t know Jesus,” Edwards continued. “If we did, the world would be a different place. If we want to be like Jesus, we have to start knowing Him. Without meeting Jesus, it’s like a hamster being on a wheel that isn’t going anywhere. And this is where the church has a problem.”

Edwards said that when he became a Catholic, it was difficult to retain enthusiasm for the faith because he visited five churches and no one said a word to him.

“If I was looking to find a Protestant church in the same way, they’d be all over me and have me on two or three committees and into prayer groups,” he said. “It’s often the same way in RCIA classes. People want to become Catholic and we do a good job telling people all the rules, but we don’t speak of the person of Jesus Christ.

“This is so backward. There’s nothing to keep them. People get baptized and confirmed at the Easter Vigil and you never see them again. Always in Scripture, God put relationships before ritual. First, He said, ‘I am your God. You are my people.’ The rules came later.

“We’re supposed to obey the commandments not because we fear hell, but because we love God. The God of the universe said, ‘I call you friends, not slaves.’ … Rules are important, but there has to be substance behind what we do.”

“If you just go to Mass, you’re going through the motions, you’re missing so much,” Edwards said. “We forget the beauty of the Sacraments.” He followed with an explanation of the significance of each sacrament: “Baptism, the God of the universe saying ‘I claim you.’ … The Eucharist, God humbles Himself and becomes one with us. … Reconciliation, not punishment but Jesus saying, ‘I love you.’ … 

“Confirmation, God giving you a choice once you reach the age of reason to say you love Him. … Matrimony, God makes a perfect person for you, though that person may not always seem perfect, so together you can make a family and change the world. … Anointing of the Sick, you can be a jerk all your life, but a priest shows up and gives you the chance to live forever with God. … Holy Orders, none of the other Sacraments would have been possible if Jesus didn’t love us enough to call brave young men to give their lives not for themselves, but for everyone else.”

Edwards closed his second talk by having all present close their eyes as he read the 17th chapter of John’s Gospel – Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane on the eve of his crucifixion.

“Jesus prays for the church. On the worst night of His life, being so terrified, the God of the universe went through the worst hell anyone could know and He did it for you,” Edwards said. “To anyone who says ‘I don’t think Jesus understands me,’ you don’t understand Him.”

Charles Martindell of Columbus St. Mary Madalene Church said Edwards’ two talks combined to encourage him as he grows in the faith. “I became Catholic a couple of years ago and am trying to develop a deeper relationship with God and a powerful, meaningful prayer life,” he said. “Lots of times I still don’t feel close to God, but what John said showed that I shouldn’t let those times define me and should remain persistent in prayer.” Martindell attended with his godson, 14-year-old Lucas Reagan of Mary Queen of Peace Church in Cleveland, who is preparing for confirmation later this year.

Conference co-director Todd Treon said that Reagan was among a significant number of attendees from the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and the Dioceses of Cleveland and Toledo and that most of those at the event also attended the men’s conference in February.

Those from out of the area included seven men from three parishes in Fremont, part of the Toledo diocese. One of them, Steve Foos, said, “We are part of a That Man Is You! group and heard John in Columbus earlier. We made the two-hour drive again to help our group avoid getting stagnant. It’s a great opportunity to renew friendships from past events and continue fellowship.”