Prodigal, Surrender, and Integration – A Conversation with Mike (Video)

What does it look like when surrender isn’t a church moment—it’s the moment you finally stop running? Joe sits down with Mike, a Forge leader at the Cactus campus, to talk about a “radical conversion” that happened fast and hit deep. Mike describes growing up in church, spending years sprinting the opposite direction, and then reaching a breaking point in early 2020 where he fell to his knees and told God he was done. We talk about what it means to be “all in” without rushing into a ministry title, how the Word gives language for spiritual experiences, and why integrating Christ into ordinary work and family life is often the real calling. Mike also shares how Forge became a lifeline—friendships, discipleship, and a place where broken men learn to walk as new men together. Surrender is not losing—it’s coming home. If you’ve been half in, half out, there’s still a way back: humility, truth, and a Father who meets prodigals with grace.