An Unorthodox Train Wreck! (An Interview With John Ruhlam)

Unorthodox Train Wreck

Unorthodox Man Podcast: An Unorthodox Train Wreck! (An Interview with John Ruhlam) Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Welcome back to the Unorthodox Man Podcast! This week, I get to sit down with a new friend, John Ruhlam. John grew up in a small town in North West Washington and is a fifth generation pastor. I’m talking very small – only about 800 people lived in his hometown. John grew up thinking that religion was all about rules – do this / don’t do that. He basically grew up thinking religion was all about rules. He missed the concept of a merciful, graceful God. So, like too many PK’s (pastor’s kids), John rebelled and ran away from God.

But, then, when he was 20-years-old, John gave his life to Jesus and moved from “religious rules” to a “relationship with God”.

However, that’s just the very, very beginning of John’s story.

Here is a sample list of bulletpoints that John shares about his life (although, you really should hear the story from John, himself by pushing the play button above!)…

Moved to Southern California for college and learns about a loving, grace filled, compassionate God
Gets involved with student government, serving his community
Starts a job as a football coach and history teacher
His pastor tells him he wants him to be a youth pastor
Turns him down then gets offered triple his pay and accepts
Served as a youth pastor for 11 years and then left to plant a church in Temecula
Church explodes and life is great – awesome time to be in ministry
Motorcycle crash and breaks neck, whole right side was paralyzed but left side still works
4 months of rehab he gets full use of his body
This starts 10 years of pain medication addiction
Wife of 22 years leaves him because of his addiction combined with his over commitment to ministry
2 years later he is completely out of ministry
No wife & no ministry leads to deep depression
In depression a friend introduces him to Meth
That starts 6 months strait of meth use
Meth changes you emotionally, spiritually, physically
Friend dies of drug overdose and decides to get clean
Starts an outpatient rehab and recommits to Jesus
Sobriety starts but consequences keep coming
Gets arrested at church for violating a restraining order
Car is broken into while in jail
Goes to the police – no help
Goes to arresting officers house – gets arrested for 3 felony charges
Gets remanded in court and is sent to jail
Sits in prison for 6 months when released from jail the judge mandates rehab and John happily accepts
While sitting in jail he realizes where life went sideways
Decided to work on himself before ever working on others
Advice for guys who aren’t taking care of themselves:
- Knew all the right answers, but didn’t really live the truth
- Don’t look to blame others, accept your faults
- Realized that God was stripping everything away to get his attention.
- Told God he has nothing left and was now was willing to follow
- Now in recovery with nothing to his name he says, “I am a happy man – with nothing”.
- When you start with nothing all you can get is a blessing