How ONE Phone Call From JAIL Saved Weston Brann's Life

Most people think that if they just make better choices, their life will get better.

They focus on fixing their behavior. But what happens when you hit rock bottom? What happens when your identity gets stripped away and you are left wondering, "Who am I, and why am I here?"

Weston spent years wearing a mask. He thought he was just the "party guy" until he flipped his dad's truck on the interstate and ended up locked in a jail cell. It took hearing the raw exhaustion and heartbreak in his mom's voice over a phone call to realize something:

He did not just need to fix my behavior. He needed to become something entirely different.

Are You Living Under This Massive Lie?

In this discussion, Weston flips the script on how real change happens and busts the biggest myths about personal growth and purpose.

• The Identity Trap: Why the world is dead wrong when it says, "You are what you do." Learn why behavior never determines identity—and why identity always drives behavior.
• The Danger of Comfort: Why our modern obsession with pursuing comfort at all costs is creating a generation crippled by anxiety, panic, and a lack of purpose.
• The Mud Burrito Moment: How losing a tarp in a monsoon storm and sleeping in the mud proved that hardship is the only path to building real hope and confidence.

What if the very challenges you are running away from are the exact tools designed to build your character? Are you making the fatal mistake of chasing convenience over true growth? Watch the full interview right now to get the complete truth on finding your identity and stepping into your purpose.

Click here to watch the full inspirational people interview on the Share Life podcast.

P.S. If you are sitting at the bottom looking up today, feel lost, or feel like you are just grinding away playing video games, know this: your past choices do not define you. Your rock bottom might just be the exact starting point for your real story.

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• Watch: Click here to watch this discussion on YouTube directly, or click play on the embedded video below to begin streaming the interview. Click here to subscribe to my YouTube channel.
• Listen: Click here to listen on Spotify directly, or click play below to immediately begin streaming. You can also find this discussion on Pocket Casts, iTunes, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts under the name Share Life: Systems and Stories to Live Better & Work Smarter or Jason Scott Montoya.

Thank you, Jessica Lalley, from Voices to Connect, for introducing me to Weston.

Connect With Weston Brann

• Connect with Weston |  LinkedIn
• Explore Narrow Gate Foundation | Website - YouTube - Facebook - Instagram

FAQ

Podcast Episode Transcript

Jason Montoya (00:00.962)
Welcome to an inspirational people interview on the Share Life podcast. I'm Jason Scott Montoya and today I'm here with Weston Braun. Is that how, have I pronounced it right? Braun, or is it Bran? Bran, okay, Weston Bran. Now in a world full of leadership influencers, it's a rare to find someone who actually builds what they preach. Today's guest, Weston, is a multiplier.

Weston Brann (00:11.406)
Brand, Yeah.

Jason Montoya (00:26.4)
As the director of leadership at Narrowgate, he's forging leaders not in a classroom, but in the day-to-day grid of facility management and craft teams. If you're not familiar, Narrowgate is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating, inspiring, and empowering Christian discipleship. They equip and train young men, develop business discipleship platforms, and serve the church locally and globally. And Weston is actually someone who's gone through the program himself, so he'll share a bit about that.

So Weston, tell us who are you and where do you come from and a little bit about your story.

Weston Brann (00:57.262)
Sure.

Weston Brann (01:01.646)
Man, honestly, whenever I tell my story, it almost feels like I'm like the first half of it is somebody else's story. You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, like I'm just so almost so unfamiliar with that. But I grew up in Franklin, Tennessee, and grew up in a Christian home. My parents were both Christians. We went to church all the time. I went to the youth groups. I went to the church camps and did all that.

Jason Montoya (01:12.344)
Hmm, like who's that man?

Weston Brann (01:30.798)
But really, I think it was not really my faith. It was just something that we did. And I went to the church camps and the youth groups just to hang out with friends and meet girls. That was kind of my motivation for that. But I think I would always say that I believed in Jesus and I was a Christian. But my life didn't really reflect anything that a Christian's life should reflect. So after high school, I...

graduated and went to college and moved in with a couple of buddy buddies of mine in Murphy's, bro, Tennessee at MTSU and You know, I when I was in high school, I played a lot of sports, you know, I was pretty athletic I was team captain my football team team captain my wrestling team I did pretty good, you know, and I decided that I wasn't gonna play sports in college because it wasn't that good, know, but when I got when I got to college and I wasn't playing sports anymore, I sort of

Maybe subconsciously realized, okay, well, if I'm not the athlete, if I'm not the sports guy anymore, who am I gonna be? Like what's my thing? What do I, how do I, what do I?

Jason Montoya (02:44.376)
Was it more broad or was it specific to like working and your job?

Weston Brann (02:48.558)
No, I don't think it was, it wasn't, you know, a job because I was just going to school, you know, just going and getting a, you know, work on my gen ed credits. I, you know, I had a job as a server at a PF chains. So I wasn't really very career focused at that point. I was just trying to figure out what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go. Um, so I didn't really have the athlete thing to sort of give me my sense of worth and significance and esteem. So I had to find another avenue. So I got into, you know,

drinking and partying and using some drugs and, you know, meeting people and doing all sorts of stuff.

Jason Montoya (03:24.206)
it something you sought out or did it just kind of organically unfold that way based on your friends?

Weston Brann (03:27.662)
You know, I I've done a little bit of, you know, partying in high school, you know, after football games, things like that, hang out with friends, maybe some field parties. I think what I would say, you know, an appropriate amount of, you know, full shenanigans. when I went when I moved to Murfreesboro and got an apartment with a couple of buddies, they were they were buddies that I'd gotten into some trouble with. And we just sort of found like, OK, we can party every weekend, you know, and then

Jason Montoya (03:40.174)
Yeah

Weston Brann (03:58.072)
from Sunday to Saturday kind of felt too long. So we just figured we'd break it up and do Wednesday nights too. And then the time from Sunday to Wednesday was too short. So it just kind of became like a every time, every night, all the time sort of lifestyle. And I think at some point...

Jason Montoya (04:12.28)
Yeah. So you figured out how to master partying.

Weston Brann (04:16.652)
Yeah, yeah. And my, you know, my grade point average was a joke because I just never even went to class or nothing. I think I had a 0.25 GPA my first year. they stuck me in second place. My old, parents. Yeah. Yeah, they were, they loved that. So that was, that was thrilling. but you know, I think looking back at maybe my first year of college or my, you know, first 16 months, I would say I would probably categorize it as like,

Jason Montoya (04:21.112)
Yeah.

Jason Montoya (04:26.39)
wow, so who is paying for it then? Yeah.

Weston Brann (04:45.728)
recreational drug use, you social drinking, just sort of like the normal, I'm kind of on a little party streak. But at some point, at some point it shifted into something else, shifted into a, like a need for it. You know, it wasn't just something that I did for fun. It was something that I did because that's what I do. And

Jason Montoya (04:59.352)
Mm.

Jason Montoya (05:06.978)
Was it the elements like alcohol and the drugs or was it more of a social thing? Like you needed the social connection or as a combination of things?

Weston Brann (05:15.736)
So honestly, there was a pivot point for me. I had been dating this girl, she was a little bit older than me. It didn't work out really well. And so I think that the way that that ended, it was my first time experiencing real betrayal and rejection in my life. And it just wrecked me. It was like the worst feeling ever. And so I think I decided sort of internally that

Jason Montoya (05:38.862)
Yeah.

Weston Brann (05:44.162)
that I'm never going to feel that way again. You know, so I started using more, started drinking more, started, you know, kind of keeping people at arms distance and just sort of wearing this, this facade, this mask of like, you know, I'm the party guy. I'm the guy that has fun. I'm the guy that's wild, you know, and, you know, and that's, yeah, just laying all the way into it. And eventually, you know, as you can imagine, you know, those, those lifestyle choices, they don't work out so well in the end. So I ended up getting in trouble.

Jason Montoya (06:02.348)
Lean into it, yeah.

Weston Brann (06:13.67)
A few times I got a couple of DUIs, got a public in talks all within like 18 months of each other. I was driving, I don't remember much of it. I don't remember much of that season, but I was driving in Nashville and I was just probably blackout drunk. I fell asleep at the wheel at a stoplight in downtown Nashville at like three in the morning and had my window.

down in my arm out the window and a police officer walked up and like shook me and woke me up and that was that was DUI number two and so when I took me to jail

Jason Montoya (06:52.718)
So the first one didn't really faze you much, it sounds like.

Weston Brann (06:55.756)
Which should have, but no, it didn't. Cause that one, actually wrecked my dad's truck on the interstate, flipped it. You know, shouldn't have survived, but I did. But evidently, you know, I'm more of a, you three strikes until it takes kind of guy. So that was a, think, I think probably the first time I got in trouble was like, okay, I got to get more careful about not getting caught, you know? And then.

Jason Montoya (07:00.483)
wow.

Jason Montoya (07:08.611)
Yeah.

Jason Montoya (07:16.322)
wasn't like you didn't want to stop doing the thing. You just want to get better at getting away with it.

Weston Brann (07:19.818)
Right, right. I just didn't want to get in trouble for doing the thing. But the last time that I got arrested for my second DUI, they took me to jail and I got my phone call and I called my mom and I said, hey, I need you to come get me. And she said, she said, where are you? And I said, I'm in jail in Davidson County. And she said, for what? And I said, another DUI. And just the, just the.

the sigh that she made, like the desperation, the exhaustion, the disappointment, just in that, you know, that noise that she made. And it just, did something to me. just like clicked something, broke something in my heart. was like, man, I am, I am wrecking the people's lives that care about me, you know, and I'm, this is, this is not the life that I want. This is, I don't want to do this anymore. I don't want to be this guy anymore. Cause I was looking at

you a life full of jail time or no life at all, you know, and, and so my.

Jason Montoya (08:26.328)
So, real quickly, I assume your mom had said things or interacted with you on that basis before. How come none of the prior interactions made a difference?

Weston Brann (08:37.634)
You know, I think because mainly because I'm stubborn and I was very selfish, just kind of doing what I wanted to do. And if I stopped too long to think about, you know, people that I love and care about, then it would, you know, maybe cause me to stop doing what I wanted to do. And I wanted to keep doing what I wanted. You know, that was just.

Jason Montoya (08:59.192)
So the timing and then also the fact that you were in jail, you had to literally be stopped and then you had to be forced to hear your mom.

Weston Brann (09:06.784)
Yeah, I mean that was it. And I think in that phone conversation with her, something clicked. They had, my parents had both, their attorney who was my attorney at the time, he's actually on the board of Narrowgate Foundation. So he had pitched the idea of Narrowgate to me before because at that time I was in the age range and he'd mentioned it a few times and this would have been, so my first DUI was in 2000 and

Jason Montoya (09:32.024)
What year was this?

Weston Brann (09:36.654)
nine and my second one was at the very beginning of 2011. End of 2009, beginning of 2011. Yeah. And so he had mentioned it before, but you know, the idea hearing about Narrowgate for the first time, it sounds crazy. You know, it sounds weird. It's like you go and you live out in the woods for, know, for eight months and you know, you, you get rid of your phone and your computer and you don't

Jason Montoya (09:42.018)
Okay.

about 15 years ago then, yeah.

Weston Brann (10:03.758)
see or talk to anybody and you just learn about Jesus. And I was like, you know, I don't, I'm not interested in that. You know, I don't want to go to a weird church camp in the woods for seven months. but after that, that phone call with my mom, thought, you know what? I have to, I have to, I don't just have to do, something different. I have to be something different, you know, like I, I don't, I don't need to just fix my behavior. need a lifestyle change, you know,

And, and so I told her on the phone, you know, I think, you know, I think I'll, do whatever I need to do, you know, like I'm done with this. And so, got to, you know, I got bailed out that night. and then I ended up having to go back into jail for like 10 days, which was, which was wild how it actually happened. I got put on these, bi-weekly drug tests. So I had to get drug tested on Mondays and Fridays for the time period until my court date.

so that they could give me my charges. It was like a pre-trial drug, for drugs, yeah, because I had gotten several charges in my rap sheet for that second DUI. had like five charges, open container, simple possession, paraphernalia. I even got criminal impersonation because I had a fake ID because I was 20. And I thought it would be a good idea to try to go to jail as that guy.

Jason Montoya (11:05.934)
Were they testing for alcohol or for anything? Okay.

Jason Montoya (11:20.907)
wow.

Jason Montoya (11:28.27)
wow.

Weston Brann (11:32.172)
on my ID and they were like, you know how fingerprints work? Anyways, that was kind of embarrassing. But all that to say, it did put me on this pre-trial probation period where I had to do these drug tests for like a couple of weeks until my court date where they would then, you know, I would get charged and then probably go back to jail. I...

Jason Montoya (11:36.23)
Ha

Weston Brann (11:56.29)
I actually, I wasn't doing any drugs. I'm not stupid. You know, I did plenty of stupid things, but I'm not a stupid person. So I didn't do drugs where I had these drug tests, but I did go over to a buddy of mine's house and I smoked out of this tobacco pipe. And I smoked tobacco out of a tobacco pipe that I didn't realize that he used it for other things. And so he got me on the drug test and they took me to jail right then. And I was like, you know, of course I tried, you know, was like, I'm sure you hear this all the time, but I actually didn't do.

Jason Montoya (12:12.91)
but he used it for other things.

Jason Montoya (12:18.99)
Wow.

Weston Brann (12:25.368)
drugs. He's like, yeah, well, your drug test failed. So you go to jail. So they took me back to jail for 10 days and I was talking back and forth with my lawyer. And he told me, he's like, man, you've got so many charges racked up over the last 18 months that you're probably looking at six months jail time, if not a year. And I was like, that's a long time. And I said, okay, I deserve that much.

Jason Montoya (12:29.23)
You

Weston Brann (12:54.924)
I'm going to go to narrow gate, you know, after I get out of here. And so,

Jason Montoya (12:59.562)
How much of like being in jail 10 days made it made part of that decision for you or did they have no effect on it?

Weston Brann (13:06.294)
It was hard because I was in jail waiting on my court date. So I was in jail waiting to know how long I would be in jail. So it was bizarre and I might as well have been in there for 10 years.

Jason Montoya (13:14.775)
Yeah.

Jason Montoya (13:19.166)
So it felt like a eternity.

Weston Brann (13:21.23)
Felt like a long time, especially because it was like I was just waiting to figure out how long I was going to go to jail for. And so I was waiting for my court date. They, uh, they, so we had to, I had to transfer from the jail over to the courtroom. So they literally, like I was in my jumpsuit, my orange jumpsuit. They had me handcuffed to the guy next to me sitting on the bus. I handcuffed my, the chain around my feet to the bus. Like, you know, like I'm a prison inmate, you know, on death row, transferring me over to the courthouse.

Jason Montoya (13:25.368)
Yeah.

Weston Brann (13:49.602)
and they put us all in this like little waiting cell. There's me and like probably, you know, eight other dudes. And one by one, these guys start leaving the cell to go to their court dates. And then I'm in there by myself finally. And there were no clocks on the wall. So I have no idea how long I was in there for, but I remember being in there for a long time. Like it felt like something was off, like they forgot about me or something. Finally, this, this, you know, this officer comes in and he pokes his head in and he says, what's your name? And I told him, and he said, all right, hold on a minute.

So he left and came back a few minutes later and he was like, yeah, you don't have court today. And I was like, what the heck? You know, like I do have court today, but so I got back on the bus, went back over to the jail and I called my mom to see, know, what was going on with why my court date got rescheduled. And so she answered the phone and I said, what are you doing? And she said, well, we're waiting on you. And I said, well, what do mean you're waiting on me? Like she said, you're getting out. I said, I'm getting out of jail. And she said, yeah. I said, but I, I,

I didn't have court today. She said, yeah, you did have court today and you weren't in there, but the judge dropped all of your charges and treated your second offense DUI as if it was your first and you're getting out tonight and you don't have to do any more jail time. And I was like, what? She said, yeah, talk to a guard. And so I said, hey, sir, can you check to see if I'm getting out of here? And he went and checked and sure enough, they let me out that night. And so that was a Friday on Saturday.

Jason Montoya (15:11.394)
But what was the reason they let you out and were so generous?

Weston Brann (15:13.934)
Oh, it's just a miracle of God. My attorney said there is no reason that that should have happened. He said that was absolutely incredible. No explanation. And so we're just all confounded. And so that was a Friday night. Sunday, let's see, Saturday, the following day, Bill and Stacey came over to my house and talked to me for a little bit and did what I later found out was an interview.

on Sunday we went to grace chapel and then went out to Narragah kind of tour the place. Monday I went and bought some gear and Tuesday I was an irrigate student. so it was just like wild. God literally plucked me out of jail and dropped me right into Narragah. And I mean, none of us expected that. So I got there day one and you know, I've got these two other guys that are in my class with me and I'm thinking, okay, I guess, you know, we're going to be spending some time together in the.

first thing they do is, you know, we packed up a Kelty bag, a backpack full of clothes for a week and kind of hike up this hill on this property and set up a little A-frame shelter with a tarp and a stick. And, you know, they said, welcome home. You know, this is where you're going to live for the next, you know, several weeks. And I thought, well, man, you know, it's better than jail. And I'll never forget this, my first night, the guy who was helping us set up our tarps.

He said, he said, I don't think it's supposed to rain tonight, but you know what? If it starts raining and thunder and real bad, then you guys can, you know, just come down. And we're like, wait, I don't know what that means. Come down where I'm out in middle of nowhere. I don't have my phone. I've never been here before. I don't know where I am. Come down where? Well, it did start storming that night bad, like a monsoon. Like it was a crazy sideways rain and my tarp blew away in the wind in the middle of the night.

And I'm just getting dumped on with rain just laying there. So I had to jump up, find my boots, run across the field and grab my tarp. And I can't like set it back up again in the pouring down rain. So I just rolled up in that thing, like a burrito and slept in the mud, you know? And I was so mad. I was going home. I was not going to stay, you know, like it was just, I made a terrible mistake. And I woke up the next morning and it was pretty, the sun had come back out. It was a beautiful morning, birds chirping. And I thought, you know what? If I can make it through that, I think I can make it through the rest of this thing.

Jason Montoya (17:07.598)
You

Jason Montoya (17:35.651)
Yeah.

Weston Brann (17:36.278)
man, best decision I ever made.

Jason Montoya (17:39.032)
So how long were you there and how did it unfold?

Weston Brann (17:44.678)
So I was there from early March of 2011 and I graduated in September of 2011. I think there's a lot of memorable experiences and moments that I have from Narragate, but I would say the most memorable was within the first two weeks. I mean, I didn't have my phone, computer, any contact with friends. I could write letters to my family. That's what they allowed us to do is write letters.

You know, wrote letters, sleeping outside, no mattress, no pillow, no toilet, no shower for five weeks. You know, that was, we're, you know, eating our meals. They gave us meals. We didn't have to like hunt squirrels or anything, but, but the, here's what, here was what my mindset was going in. Okay. I need to, I need, I need this to work. I need this to fix me. You know, like I do bad things and I don't want to do bad things. I want to do good things.

Jason Montoya (18:25.582)
Heh heh.

Weston Brann (18:42.442)
And that's what I thought I needed. I thought I needed behavior adjustment. You know, I need to change my life by changing what I do. What I didn't count on, honestly, what I didn't count on was actually having a real encounter with God that was different than anything that I've ever experienced. It was not churchy. It was not lame. These weren't like, you know, youth leaders at a church camp. These were, these were real men.

who were tough and they could build things and they could work on things and they were cool and I kind of wanted to be like them and they loved Jesus. I was like, okay, well, that's pretty neat. And then the Bible studies that we did, we went through the book of John first thing and I got introduced to who Jesus is and what he was like and what Israel was like in that time and just all this context. And one night we sat around the fire and Bill came up and did a...

did a Bible study around the fire on Luke 15, the prodigal son. And the way that he taught this lesson, it was unlike anything that I've ever heard. It just, it did two things. One, it caused me to realize that I am the prodigal son and my father's not ashamed of me. And the second thing is I decided right there in that moment, I want to inspire people the way that that man just inspired me.

Jason Montoya (20:00.482)
Yeah.

Weston Brann (20:11.502)
That's what I want. That's what I want to do. I want to be like that. And everything was different for me. The next Sunday, you know, we went to church and I don't even remember what the pastor was preaching on, but he said, he made this statement. He said, you know what? If you're not absolutely certain that you're going to heaven when you die, you're probably not. And I was like, Oh man, that's me. I'm not certain. I don't know. And he said, if, you need to, if you need to get right with Jesus today, I suggest you come down to this altar and you do that right now.

And then it was like somebody shook me out of the aisle and I went up to the front and I dropped down on my knees and I just started crying and I'm not a crier. So this was like, you know, I'm crying. Something's bad wrong, but in this case, something was bad, right? Because in that moment I just was like, God, okay, I hear you. I see you. If you are who you say you are, then you get all of me. You know, I'm not, I'm not going to do my way. It doesn't work. My way is not working. I need, I need something. I need help.

Jason Montoya (20:42.542)
Yeah.

Weston Brann (21:08.362)
And so right there, I laid it all down and said, okay, I'm not going backwards. And I didn't, everything was different. Yeah.

Jason Montoya (21:14.914)
Yeah. So how do you, when you look back at it now, like how do you make sense of it, that experience?

Weston Brann (21:21.646)
I mean...

That's such a great question. I don't know that I do make sense of it. I think that when I look back at all the different seasons of my life, you know, even before I started getting in trouble, you know, and doing things that, you know, I regret, I can see how, how God was just working everything into his plan to get me where I needed to be on that day, you know.

because I did have a good foundation. I did have a familiarity with the gospel and with God and the Christian faith. And I had supportive parents and a good family. But I didn't have maybe what is the most important thing to have as someone who is truly close to God. I didn't have a need for him.

I never, I never thought that I didn't need him. I like things were good, you know, until they weren't. And I realized, this is what my life is going to be like if I'm in charge, you know, if I'm in the driver's seat. And so getting to that place of like rock bottom, like just, don't even, I don't know who I am. I don't know why I'm here. Like the things that I set out to do and the things that I've been pursuing when I finally get them like,

It's hollow, it's empty, it's nothing, it's not fulfilling, it's not rewarding, it just leaves me you know, unfulfilled and shameful and, you know, like I can, I've got more to offer. I just don't know what it is and I don't know what it's going to take to draw it out. And yeah, I mean, when you're sitting at the bottom looking up, it's like, the only way out is up. And so I got all of it. I said, all right, get me out.

Weston Brann (23:13.826)
I'll do whatever you want me to. Yeah.

Jason Montoya (23:15.65)
Yeah. So how do things unfold from that experience to today?

Weston Brann (23:21.646)
Yeah, man, in a way that still just blows my mind, you know, after I graduated Narragate, I went back home for a little while and started, you know, working and doing some home theater installation. I got a, you know, got a job. knew immediately that the thing that I was going to need was community. You know, I had, I had gotten a new phone, new email, got rid of social media. Like when I went to Narragate, I

You know, I went all in, you know, I didn't like come back out and start hanging out with the same people that I did before and have all the same contacts because I know myself, you know, like I would, I would go into those circles thinking that I'm going to influence them, but then I would be the one, you know, influenced. And so I just, cut everybody out and I knew that I needed a solid community because I just spent the last, you know, eight months in this really tight knit group of men who are all pursuing, you know, the same thing.

And I was growing and I was, you know, was just this built in, you know, accountability of community. And then graduating, I was going back out into the world where that didn't just exist, you know, at every corner. So I knew I needed to plug back into community. So I was doing everything I could. was going to, you know, random church, small groups. I was going to visit churches. got, you know, plugged into this men's breakfast at a restaurant in Columbia. And, um, and I bumped into a guy who was serving, who's a server there at the restaurant.

who I used to work with before I went to Narragate at P.F.Shane's. And he said, man, know, had, he'd, you know, turned his life around. He was, you know, following the Lord and he invited me to his men's discipleship group at this church called the Refuge Church in Spring Hill. And so I went with him and I couldn't drive because I could get my license suspended because of the DUI. So he had to like drive me around and I showed up to this, you know, kind of smaller church and went to this

Jason Montoya (24:52.451)
wow.

Weston Brann (25:14.476)
men's group and like the people were awesome and we got to talking about I met I met the worship pastor there that night got to talking about how I play guitar and you know could play bass guitar and he said man we need a bass player for our worship band and I was like well I can do that and so I came back the following Sunday and played bass guitar and and I came back the next Sunday and played bass guitar and now 15 years later I'm still at that church on the worship team but I along the way I started

dating the youth pastor who was also the senior pastor's daughter, married her, had a few kids. And after that would have been 2014. So yeah, a couple years after I graduated in Narragate, we got married. It was pretty interesting. I knew that, I knew God had confirmed something in me towards the end of Narragate and that was.

Jason Montoya (25:49.774)
What year was that?

Okay.

Weston Brann (26:06.494)
So we do something in the final phase of Narrowgate called a vision and purpose exercise. And it's where every guy goes out in the woods by himself for 24 hours. And we go out with a list of questions that we ask God. Because we spent the last several months learning about who God is, what his voice sounds like, how to understand what he's saying to you. And so we got these list of specific questions, questions like, God, what words do you use to describe me?

talents and gifts and strengths have you given me to accomplish your purposes? What do you have set for me? These questions that are specific and intimate, and the coolest thing about the exercise is that you go and you ask these questions and then you get answers. And you write these answers down and then you use those answers to consolidate into what we call a vision and purpose statement. And what it turns out to be is essentially a letter from God about who you are and why you're here.

And in my vision and purpose statement, God confirmed to me that my role, my purpose is, you know, it's not like you're going to do this and then you're to do this. You're going to do this. It's more about who you're going to be. But it made very clear that my part of my purpose was going to be influencing, you know, young men who had gone through similar circumstances as me using what I've learned to, you know, to create the same opportunity and experience for other guys who are searching for the same things that I was.

And so, um, so I took that to the bank. And when I went to, uh, when I went to the refuge, I immediately got plugged in with the youth group there, you know, cause there was a few young guys, you know, 14, 15, they were in there and I was like, that's, there they are. Those are my guys. And so I spent four years on the, on the, on the youth team, um, with those guys as they, you know, went freshmen, sophomore, junior, senior, but my wife, who is now my wife, gal who was the student pastor at the time, uh, I came on as a,

volunteer. And so I essentially worked for her for, you years. And then eventually we got married and then we started doing it together. And then, and then I became the discipleship pastor there at the church. And I had a, started a handyman business on the side. So I was sort of doing, you know, two things, a little bit of craftsmanship, a little bit of, you know, maintenance and construction, along with, discipling at the church, leading men's groups, you know, helping out with youth as well. And,

Weston Brann (28:32.686)
And then 2017, I got a call from Bill Spencer, founder of Narrowgate. And he said, you know, essentially something like, Hey man, I know things are going really well for you. You know, you got your, you know, your business and you know, you're pastoring at the church and sounds like it's all going really great. Do you want to drop all of that and come work at Narrowgate? And I was like, yes, I do. And so in 2017, March of 2017, which was actually six years to the month that I

started as a student at Narragay. came back to work on staff as the property manager and the, and a discipleship lead at Narragay, which is, it was just a dream come true, you know? And so I've been.

Jason Montoya (29:15.042)
And why did he reach out to you? Had you guys been staying in touch and he knew that you were interested?

Weston Brann (29:20.218)
Yeah, yeah, I probably I bugged him a lot, you know, just emails and stuff like that, because he was, you know, he became like the mentor of all mentors for me, you know, looked up to him. You know, he taught me a lot. I learned a lot from him. And so just wanted to stay connected. mean, I knew that he he had an obligation to stay primarily involved with the students that were there and interrogated at the time. And so I was respectful of that. But any chance that I could get to like hang out with him or talk to him, you know, I do that.

And so he just, you know, he would tell you today that he was just watching from afar to see what I would do with my life. you know, when saw me progressing and moving forward and developing and, you know, character and capacity and, um, and then God presented a need that narrow gate where a door opened up that I could come in and, you know, fulfill a position that was needed. And, and it was cool because what I was doing was sort of a

I was bivocational, right? was the discipleship pastor at the church and I knew discipleship and teaching were things that God had put in me that I was passionate about, but also like craftsmanship and working with my hands, you know, that was the handyman business and the pastoral role. And then here, Bill was offering me a role that was discipleship lead and property manager in one location. So it was like God was developing me over those six years in two different areas that he was preparing to combine in 2017 in a role that was needed there. And so that was a

Yeah, that was a really cool thing. I was excited. I actually got the job on my birthday in 2017. And so, yeah, I mean, I've been working here ever since. I'm not the property manager anymore. We've got a new, we got guys for that now. And somehow, some way, I thought that it was a good idea for me to be the senior leadership director now, which is just nuts that that would be where I ended up compared to where I thought I would.

Jason Montoya (30:50.04)
Wow.

Jason Montoya (31:11.758)
So if you were going back in time 20 years and tell yourself all this, what do think you'd say?

Weston Brann (31:19.218)
no, I think, I think I would have said I must be, you know, I must be on an acid trip because there's no way in the future. Yeah. I think that, like I said before, you know, to talk about my story, you know, before narrating the life that I was living then, when I tell stories about that time of my life, it's, it's literally like, I'm, I'm talking about somebody else because I'm so far removed from that. Like, like my

Jason Montoya (31:23.734)
huh

Weston Brann (31:47.68)
Obviously my behavior is different, but it's not just that it's my mind is different. My, my heart, my character, the way that I think like to navigate didn't just teach me about the Bible or how to work with my hands or how to, you know, how to camp outdoors. taught me how to think, how to think for myself, that I make decisions, how to, you know, you know, critical thinking skills and all these things that I just didn't expect. And yeah, I'm, I very much look at my life in

through the lens of pre-naregate and post-naregate.

Jason Montoya (32:21.474)
your BC and A80. Anything else about your story worth highlighting that you haven't already mentioned?

Weston Brann (32:23.19)
Yeah, exactly. We got it.

Weston Brann (32:33.291)
Weston Brann (32:37.056)
I think those are probably the highlights. know, I mean, you know, everybody's got more that they can say about their life. But, you know, that's I'm just I'm grateful, you know, grateful for that. I think, you know, I've made a lot of mistakes. I've made a lot of bad choices both before and after Narragate. And and God is is good and gracious and kind. And I'm thankful that he doesn't waste those things. He actually redeems them. And so I can look back at a lot of bad choices that I've made.

Jason Montoya (32:45.667)
Yeah.

Weston Brann (33:04.558)
and just watched how God has actually turned those things into good things, you know. And that just, you know, continually impresses me about the character and the nature of God that he would be that intentional with each and every one of us that he could weave such a story. Like I still have a hard time believing it, but it's why I love what I do. It's why I love being here. I love, you know, being in this place because

I get to watch that same thing happen with other guys, young men every day here. Now I'm a little bit further removed now than I was then. I'm not 18, 20 years old anymore, but I still have something to say to that demographic, that group of young men. I think that luckily, I don't think I'm too far removed where they're unwilling to hear it. I think I'm still pretty relevant.

Jason Montoya (34:00.002)
Yeah. So when you're talking to them and you're thinking, what does it mean to live better? What is it you're telling them?

Weston Brann (34:10.698)
And live better. What a good, what a good phrase. I can tell you what, what live better doesn't mean to me. it doesn't mean do better things. You know, it doesn't mean, it doesn't mean make better choices so that you can live well or live better. I think to live better means

Live with the life that Jesus offers. Live the life that God intended you to live. Be the man that God has called you to be and designed you to be. Walk in the things that he created you to walk in. Those sorts of things are like, it's so not about the doing. I think so many people are so concerned with what does God want me to do? God, what are you calling me to do next? Or what am I supposed to do here?

I think that we're all going to get to heaven and we're going to realize God is not nearly as concerned with what we do as he is with who we're going to be. Be kind, be loving, be gentle, be strong in your faith, be faithful, be these things, be joyful, be close to him, be someone who is walking.

in a closeness with him that he just lives his life through you. And so if you do that, if you just be who he calls you to be, walk in your identity in Christ, then you'll do the things that you're supposed to do. know, like, it's a crazy thing. Yeah, I think, think honestly, one of the things that this world gets backwards a lot is it says that you are what you do, you know.

Jason Montoya (35:52.014)
Yeah, it'll be natural to do those things.

Weston Brann (36:04.11)
Like if, thank you. If you play football, you're a football player. You know, if you are, if you run, you're a runner, you know, if you do drugs and you're a drug addict, if you drink, you're an alcoholic. But the reality is no, like behavior doesn't determine identity. It is the opposite way around. Like you will, you will behave according to who you believe you are. If you believe that you are a failure.

then you will act like a failure. If you believe that you are, you know, a disappointment or a screw up or, you know, a waste, then you'll act like that. But if you believe that you are redeemed, that you are, you know, that you are called, that you are worthy, that you have value, that you are significant, that you have purpose, then man, the behavior that follows that belief system is one of confidence, is one of hope, is one that will cause you to walk.

you know, in this, in this life with your head up and your shoulders back, knowing that nothing can touch me, you know, because whatever happens to me, I'm not freaked out by it because you take away everything. You take away the job, you take away the car, you take away the money, you take away the house, you take away all of it. At the end of the day, none of those things define me. So you're not going to break me like that kind of confidence in yourself and unstoppable at that point. And I think so many people are missing that. And that's why, that's why what

what we're doing here is so important. I want every, not just the students, want staff, leaders, and anybody that I come into contact with to walk away from their encounter with me feeling more confident in themselves because they can. There's so much value in people that just goes unrecognized, they don't see. And I want to be able to drop that out of people.

Jason Montoya (37:52.579)
Yeah.

So your Narrowgate is dealing with a lot of young men. What would you want people to understand about that this generation's, the struggles they're facing, the challenges they're dealing with that may be cross-generational but also unique to them? Like what would you want us to know about that, about them?

Weston Brann (38:00.909)
Hmm.

Weston Brann (38:17.71)
Hmm, I would say two things. One, you know.

We're not looking for a specific, you know, type of young man in a sense of like, this is not a rehab. Nargade is not a, you know, it's not a place for troubled youths, you know, though we do have those of course, you know, but

We've had guys that have struggled with addiction or alcoholism or getting in trouble with the law or things like that. But we also have just as many guys that have never smoked a cigarette or drank a beer in their life. They just don't know what to do next. They're lost. They have no confidence. They have no direction. All they know is living with mom and dad playing video games or just grinding away trying to figure out what's next, going to school to get a degree that they don't even know what they're going to do with.

But they come from all different experiences and backgrounds and know, life circumstances. But they're all in agreement in one thing. They're all searching for the same answers. And that's to the questions, who am I? And why am I here? know, whether they're troublemakers, whether they're not, whether they're wild, whether they're quiet, it doesn't matter. They're all looking for identity and purpose.

Because I think a lot of people are. They just want to know what their role is, what their purpose is, what their life is supposed to be about. And if you can answer those questions, if you can answer, who am I and why am I here, then you just know it in the core of who you are. And life becomes so different because now you are living on purpose. Your life has a reason.

Weston Brann (40:03.918)
for existing and that's worth getting up every day. That's worth, got things to do, you got people to influence, you got, you have a life to live. And so I would say that, I would say that, from the ages of 18 to 25, that's a pretty big range. You think about an 18 year old today and a 25 year old today, they're, they can be super different, polar opposite ends of the spectrum, but they can find some common ground.

because they are searching for the same thing. They're searching for direction and transformation in life and identity and all that. The second thing that I will say is with this generation specifically, am noticing, because I've been here for 15 years since I came through as a student, and I can notice a difference, I think, in this particular generation here in 2026 as to say, back compared to like 2011.

I think the, I think the big thing today with young men is comfort is king. You know, like whatever I, whatever I have to do to make myself comfortable, that's what I want. Like I will pursue comfort at all costs, which means I will avoid discomfort at all costs. Don't want to do hard things. I don't want to do things that make me feel, you know, bad or tired or, you know, uncomfortable. And the problem with that,

is that one, this world caters to that. You know, this world is jumping at every chance to make sure you're as comfortable and things are as convenient as possible. You know, your cushy bed, know, your fast food, your quick online ordering with Amazon, you know, a world of video games at your fingertips that you can, you know, that you can stimulate all day and night, you know, with just the palm of your hand, smartphone, social media. You don't even have to get out of the house to have a social life anymore.

Jason Montoya (41:40.098)
Good to me.

Weston Brann (41:59.022)
You know, you don't even have to actually speak to talk to people. Like the world that we live in today is very, very, very much focused on creating convenience and comfort. And the problem with that is that, that doesn't produce a life worth living that produces this very like cushioned, sensitive, you know, anxiety written, you know, sometimes depression.

Because when the realities of life hit, you're not prepared for it. And you feel, you feel lost, you feel overwhelmed, you feel burdened, you feel like there's no way out. You feel, like I said, no purpose, no, I don't want to do this anymore. know, it's probably the suicide rate and that injury is so high because, you know, at some point in, in, you know, our, our history of the last, you know, 50 years or so, you know,

used to be if you, you know, if you encountered a difficult circumstance, then you, you know, you had this season of like pushing through it and, and, and try to overcome these challenges and these difficulties so that you could, you know, become stronger and navigate through that. Now it's like you hit, you do something hard and then it just immediately goes into like full blown panic attack or anxiety or, know,

you know, some kind of mental health issue. And I'm not, you know, minimizing mental health as a, as a concept. mean, it's a very real thing, but that, that, that thing that's missing in the middle is that, perseverance, you know, pushing through hard things and, endurance, because that is the very tool that God uses to build character in, in us, you know, Romans five says that tribulation, you know, hardship challenges.

Jason Montoya (43:36.664)
Mm-hmm.

Weston Brann (43:51.106)
produce perseverance. It produces the ability to push through and do hard things and perseverance produces character, which means it produces. This is not just a thing that you're doing. You are becoming a persevere. You are becoming a person that can do hard things and that that that character produces hope and that hope is the confident assurance in who you are and who God is in what your role is in

That hope, that confidence is what we're all after, knowing that we can navigate through this life and face any challenge that comes our way, knowing that we're going to be okay on the other side of it because we've done it before. There's nothing like that kind of life, to be able to look tragedy or trauma or hardship or loss or grief in the face and say, yeah, this sucks, but you're not going to break me. I'm not going to lose myself.

And so the only way that you can get that hope, that confidence is through hardship, is through challenge. And so that's part of the formula. So if your whole goal is like, I'm going to pursue comfort at all costs, then as a by-product, that means that you are avoiding discomfort. You are avoiding challenges, which is the very thing that will give you the life that you want that's worth living, you know? And it's, it's, yeah, it's just a tragedy.

Jason Montoya (44:53.038)
Yeah.

Jason Montoya (45:12.162)
Yeah.

Weston Brann (45:12.972)
That's what we're trying to do here. We're creating an environment at Narrowgate where young men can encounter God in a real way and discover identity and purpose and ultimately a transformed life. That's why we do it outside for the first five weeks because it's uncomfortable. It's challenging. We want our guys to come through and do that hard thing so that they can look back and say, man, I can do hard things. You know, that boost of confidence is, is man, it's, it's like the light bulb moment that I think everybody needs.

Jason Montoya (45:25.356)
Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah.

Jason Montoya (45:35.01)
Yeah.

Jason Montoya (45:42.7)
Yeah. Well, and it's quite ironic that the way you started with your storm and sleeping in a tarp is the opposite of comfort in every possible way.

Weston Brann (45:53.743)
Yeah. And even that moment, you know, you just saying that makes kind of, you know, caused me to realize maybe that's why that concept is so important to me because it literally happened to me. You know, I was, I was going home when it was raining. mean, I was cussing up the storm. was, you know, I was quitting for sure. As soon as the rain stopped and something about that next morning when the sun came out, it was like, man, I'm still okay. You know, like I'm here. Like if I can do that, what else, what else is, you know, I can make through any of it.

Jason Montoya (46:18.242)
Yeah.

Jason Montoya (46:22.818)
Yeah. Well, and I think one, it's being able to be uncomfortable to accomplish something or to do something. It gives us more freedom, you know, in practical sense. But it also, it's, you know, we don't want to necessarily suffer just for its own sake, right? But if you have a goal,

Weston Brann (46:49.432)
Good.

Jason Montoya (46:52.718)
You have a purpose and a vision. Then if that's the consequence of essentially you have to be uncomfortable or you have to suffer, it's worth it for the goal. So if you're running like a marathon, it's tough and it hurts and it struggles, but it's for a purpose. It's for an outcome.

Weston Brann (47:10.808)
Right. Yeah. I mean, I don't, I don't think anybody in their right mind would go out just pursuing, you know, difficult things for the sake of it, you know, go out and just say, Hey, God bring it on, know, wreck my world. but I think it does give us the ability to change how we view challenges and hardship. So when they do come our way, we're not looking at it as something to run away from. We're looking at it as, here's another opportunity.

Jason Montoya (47:24.811)
Yeah.

Weston Brann (47:39.214)
forgot to build and develop something in me. And I know that he'll do that because he's done that in the past through these other difficult circumstances. So it doesn't like make challenges any more fun. You know, it doesn't make tragedy any more enjoyable. It doesn't make hard things any more, you know, like desirable, but it does, it does give you a sense of confidence knowing that, okay, this is here. Jesus already warned us in this life, you will have tribulation. So I knew it was coming. I'm here.

Jason Montoya (47:46.669)
Yeah.

Weston Brann (48:10.398)
Now it's just time to get through it and see what God has for me in it. So instead of asking God, why are you doing this to me? You already know the why. He's building something in you. You need to ask what, what is it that you're trying to build in me so that can pay attention and not miss it? Cause I don't want to go through it again.

Jason Montoya (48:27.02)
Yeah, and that's, know, part of it is also like an acceptance, right? Like if you're dealing with a difficult situation or tragedy, especially if it's a mistake you've made or it's something that's happened to you that you can't change, like we can either go through it the easy way or the hard way, but we still have to go through it.

Weston Brann (48:48.941)
Yeah, for sure. Yeah, you when you get dragged through it, you know, or we can try and muscle through it and you know, some of the some of the best lessons I've ever learned were through very difficult seasons where I thought, okay, God, like, I don't I don't know about this one. You know, you're going to have to do something here because I don't know that I can take this, you know, and those were the seasons that I learned what it what it feels like for God to carry me, you know, as an independent, you know.

Jason Montoya (49:13.656)
Mm-hmm.

Weston Brann (49:15.982)
kind of headstrong, stubborn, do it on my own man. I needed to know what it felt like to not be able to do something and watch God do it for me, you know.

Jason Montoya (49:24.632)
Yeah. So talk to us about that dynamic of the fact that we are dependent creatures.

Weston Brann (49:31.724)
Yeah. Yeah. There's a, there's a concept, that we are telek beings, meaning that we were meant for something. We are, we were designed, human beings are designed to, to worship something, you know, to set our hearts and minds and desires on something, you know, nobody, nobody has no desires. Nobody has, you know, no wants or hopes or things that they focus on.

You know, I think the world's got plenty of, know, people idolize, you know, celebrities or they idolize, you know, their, their, their, their fame or their, you know, how many subscribers they have on, you know, on Instagram or, know, what, what people say about them in comments. People are striving for something. They are, they're serving some, some kind of master, you know, something that tells them who they are, you know, if you are, you know, an influencer on social media.

and you're looking for that as your sense of acceptance and significance and security, then you are looking at the comment sections to say, okay, tell me who I am. Tell me that you love me. Tell me that I'm worthy. Tell me that I'm acceptable. Tell me that I'm special. And that's where you find your worth. The problem is that people are fickle and the answers that the world provides to those questions, then you just always come up empty handed because what happens if, you know,

the thing that has made you an influencer suddenly goes away. You know, maybe you your voice. Maybe you do something and lose your followers. Then all of a sudden, if you found your identity in being an influencer and you lose all your followers, then guess what? You're no longer an influencer. And then who are you? You're a nobody. And that's where the shame spiral comes in and the world spins out of control. And then you just seek and find and try to find your words somewhere else. And that's, you just going to keep doing that, you know, until you end up

you know, not wanting to do anything, not wanting to find anything. And so we being tell it creatures, we were created to worship something. We were created to serve someone. And I think Bob Dylan put it best. said, you're going to have to serve somebody, you know, it might be the devil or it might be the Lord, but you're going to have to serve somebody. So serving and worshiping the only person that has the right and authority and ability to tell us who we are. mean,

Jason Montoya (51:43.342)
Yeah.

Jason Montoya (51:49.922)
Yeah.

Weston Brann (51:59.99)
It's our creator. It's the one who created us. Who else gets to tell us, tell us who we are and what we're for, you know?

Jason Montoya (52:06.339)
Yeah.

So how much, when it comes to narrow gate or just your own experience working with people, tell us about stories and narratives and how much that plays a part in all of this and how you think about it.

Weston Brann (52:21.006)
Hmm, yeah.

Weston Brann (52:26.604)
The thing that makes Nurgate special is not the program itself. I mean, we've got...

You know, we've got some systems in place. We've got some curriculum. You know, we've got like a sort of a way that we do things, but it's not like a it's not like a handbook that says, OK, this is what we do. If this happens, then we go to this page of the handbook and we go down to, you know, paragraph three, you know, subsection four. And this is how we respond. It's not like that. The thing that makes Nargat special is not actually the program itself. It's the it's the relational aspect. You know, all of our staff here at the

Jason Montoya (52:50.798)
You

Weston Brann (53:03.05)
and even a lot of the staff at Narragay Artisans are Narragay graduates. They've been through the program. They've been where these new students are. They can relate. They can empathize. They can coach. So the new students are never out of arm's reach of someone who has been where they are and wants to see them succeed. And I can promise you none of us are doing it for the money. Not a whole lot of money to be made in non-profit work, but...

Jason Montoya (53:27.063)
Yeah

Weston Brann (53:31.47)
What's really remarkable is when you come through Narragate, the things that I remember about my experience at Narragate 15 years ago were honestly not the Bible studies, not the schedule, not the service projects that we did, not the, I don't even remember a lot of like the...

day in and day out. what I do remember are the conversations that I had with, with, you know, leaders in the truck on the way to Lowe's to get supplies. You know, I remember the conversations that I had. remember the, the, you know, the times that, you know, people that I respected and looked up to would just hit me between the eyes with the truth that I needed to hear that nobody else had told me or that I was unwilling to hear from somebody else. I remember those things, you know, it's, it's, it's the in-between moments. It's the space between the programming that, that Narragate really thrives.

you know, because this is not like, you know, it's not like church. It's not like you go to church every Sunday and maybe on Wednesdays and you plug in, you have these touch points once or twice a week. It's like these guys are all living together, you know, for eight months, day in and day out. And for eight months where you're just shoulder to shoulder and heart to heart with these other guys, you can't, you can wear a mask at first, you know, like a lot of guys will show up and be like, okay, who do I want to be here? You know?

But you can't, it's not sustainable because the mask starts to slip off and people start to see you for who you are and you just can't hide. And so the relationships here are the key to all of it. And so that's why we keep it low numbers, know, 36 students a year. You know, we could, we could bring more in, you know, if we wanted, but we want to, we don't want to just say, come one, come all, let's get hundreds and hundreds of guys because the more people we add the,

more programmatic it becomes and the less relational and the less relational it becomes then that's mean that's the bedrock of discipleship right there is relationship. Jesus spent time you three years living with his disciples they got to see how he you know how he operated how he acted how he responded to people that were you know against him and how he how he taught and how he how he ate his food how he prayed how he walked all these things you know they it was modeled for them you know and that's that's the key you know.

Weston Brann (55:39.96)
Like you will, you will become like who you surround yourself with and the best, the hands down most effective way to build character is positive modeling. You know, so that's what we do here. You know, we're, we're, we're not, we're not, you know, mentoring in the sense of like, phone call every week, check in how you're doing. It's like, I know how you're doing. I could see it. No, I saw what you did at breakfast. I saw that comment you made, you know,

Jason Montoya (55:55.075)
Yeah.

Jason Montoya (56:05.112)
You

Weston Brann (56:08.814)
Uh, it's just opportunities to call out things and call people out, call them up, know, remind them of who they are, the truths that they need to, you know, need to know and remember. And also, you know, be able to build enough relationship with a guy where he knows you care about him and he doesn't, he doesn't defend himself or balk or get his feelings hurt when you tell him something that he needs to hear because he knows it's out of love. Cause you've spent the time investing in him, letting him know that I wouldn't tell you this if I didn't love you.

You know, that's what that's what Narrowgate is all about.

Jason Montoya (56:40.13)
Yeah.

Yeah. So what else would you want us to tell us about your story or any wisdom that you have that you've learned along the way that you haven't already shared?

Weston Brann (56:52.174)
Hmm.

Weston Brann (56:55.662)
I think anytime there's just something that I think is important for anybody and you know any Christian really anybody who is walking with the Lord and in in you know working whether they're in a you know in the marketplace or in ministry or in kind of non-profit anybody who is is doing like the Lord's work quote-unquote and it could be very easy to to make the work

the goal or the passion, the thing that is most important. Like I mentioned before, we've got some programmatic elements in Narrowgate. We've got a curriculum, we've got schedules, we've got policies and processes and systems and things. But the thing about processes and systems is they're helpful. mean, you need them. It's how the world works. It creates efficiencies and all that. But systems and processes are not

goal, you know, people are the formation development. That's that's what the goal is. Systems are just a repeatable way to protect the thing that matters the most. And and and when we if if we're not careful, we risk making the system the thing that we're after and make the system, you know, more important than the person, you know, and if the system if we start protecting the system,

more than we're protecting the person, then now the system has become secretly bossed and then we're missing it. So you have to build systems. They're great. Build them, hold them loosely, audit them regularly, and continue to ask, is this still serving the mission today or is the mission starting a system? You know what I mean?

Jason Montoya (58:28.995)
Yeah.

Jason Montoya (58:48.483)
Yeah.

Yeah, and if the system loses sight of the people it's supposed to serve, it becomes tyrannical.

Weston Brann (58:54.38)
Yeah.

Exactly. Yeah, it becomes the thing that you serve instead of the thing that serves people, you know. So that's, that's, you know, you see that with, you know, hyper religious, you know, like your typical kind of textbook religious fanatics or the Pharisees are a great example. You know, it became all about the system and not about the people. And I don't think that's, I think God is an organized God. I think he's this, I think that there's a systematic theology, you know, but, but don't let the system or the work or the,

Jason Montoya (59:01.624)
Yeah.

Weston Brann (59:25.614)
frame the architecture of the thing that you're serving become the actual thing that you're serving because then it's you know it can it can happen subtly and you don't even realize that you become like the you know like the church at Ephesus where Jesus said hey you left your first love you know you've been working so hard and you're so busy and you're doing all these things they're all good things but I'm not even in it anymore you know so that's something I would say

You know, it's something that I've learned and still learning, know, is nobody, nobody graduates that it's not like a necessarily a problem you solve as much as it is a tension that you manage, you know, so just keeping that in mind. Don't let the, don't let the framework or the system that you've built become the thing that you serve, you know.

Jason Montoya (01:00:13.144)
Yeah. Yeah. So if someone was interested in participating at Narrowgate, like who's a good fit and what would you say to that person?

Weston Brann (01:00:24.27)
Yeah, you know, I like to look at the world, you know, kind of through a glass half full. And I like to think that there are lots of people, lots of guys that would be a good fit. If they are interested, the best thing to do would be to go online to our website, narrowgate.org, and they can fill out an application. We'll get that application, reach out to them, you know, pretty much immediately.

set up some interviews so we can have some conversations to see if they would be a good fit for them, if they'd be a good fit for us, and then try to get them into our upcoming classes. I would say that someone that we're not looking for is someone who doesn't want to be here. Someone that is dragged against their will. It's like, we don't really have a whole lot of hard and fast no's, but if you don't want to be here, then not going to succeed.

It's why we have such a high success rate is because we know kind of, you know, what attributes are necessary in order for a guy to have a successful experience at Narrowgate. And so we're looking for those attributes on the front end so that we can best serve the most qualified, the guys with the highest capacity that just have a desire for more in life that want to deepen their relationship with God. They want to change something about their life. They want more.

know, those kind of guys that are, you know, ready to, you know, take advice, take coaching, you know, do what they got to do, stick it through hard circumstances, learn to stick it through hard circumstances. And I think that, you know, those those attributes exist in a lot of guys. And so we're just we're looking for guys that want more out of life.

Jason Montoya (01:02:08.408)
Yeah, what's the on and off ramp? Do people come and go throughout the year? Does everyone start at the same time and end at the same time?

Weston Brann (01:02:15.346)
So it's class based, so we have probably anywhere with about three to four classes of students at any given time. So, you know, like I said, a class could be from three to six guys. So we could have around 20 students at one time on property and they come, you know, a new class starts every other month. So we'll have a January class and March class and May class, you know, July all the way through the year. And then they'll graduate, you know, eight months through their experience. So then you've got.

Kind of a similar graduations every other month. So it's kind of a we always have students there's, know, for the last 22 years, we've always had students and we've we have we've had, let's see, over 600 guys come through and irrigate in the last 20 years. And some of these guys may have I mean, just the differences that you see, you know, there's that that scripture that talks about, you know.

some plant the seed and some water the seed and some watch it grow and some get to harvest. But I feel like we get to do a little bit of all of it here at Narragate to look at the difference between a guy when he shows up on day one, just sort of like wide-eyed and like, have I done? And maybe a little timid, maybe a little opposite of timid, just to watch them transform over time to graduation day where they're standing up in front of their friends and their families and the people of the community.

Jason Montoya (01:03:23.854)
You

Weston Brann (01:03:38.766)
And we're celebrating them for the commitment that they've made, the accomplishments, the work that they put in, the work that God's done in their life. It's just a night and day difference. And we've had guys that have gone on to do all sorts of things. I we've had guys that have gone on to be lead pastors of churches, know, big churches. We've guys, you know, gone off to be missionaries, go off in third world countries, like in secret trying to rescue kids from sex trafficking circles. We've had guys that...

you know, have stayed local and built businesses. We've had guys that have become bank managers, guys that have, you know, become welders or electricians or tradesmen. We've had guys that have continued on in leadership development in our Bridge Program, which is our sort of internal leadership development internship after, you know, the Lodge Program where they continue in leadership development. And then some guys stay on staff here. Some guys go and work in their gate artisans.

All these guys they what they learn at narrow gate is they learn who they are they learn why they're here They learn who God is and they then take that they take narrow gate with them into wherever they move into next and they are making an impact and a difference in their in their homes and their families in their Workplaces and in their communities, you know, they're they're they're truly living a life is is Different than than they were on day one

Jason Montoya (01:05:01.326)
Yeah. Now if someone loves what you're doing and they'd want to support you, whether it was financially or in some other way, connections, resources, what would you tell them?

Weston Brann (01:05:13.128)
man, have, you know, bring it on, you know, whether it's on our website, we have a contact card. It sort of has like some options on, you know, what are you, what are you looking to do? Do you want to give financially? Do you want to volunteer? Do you want to come and take a tour? Do you want to, know, what do you want to do? You know, like we, we are, the thing that Narrowgate needs is, you know, is, is you, these people, you know, like you're going to be wired in a way.

unique to how God made you and the gifts that you have and the skill sets and the expertise. Maybe you're a craftsman, you know, maybe you're a woodworker and you want come out and work with the guys in the wood shop. You know, maybe you're a blacksmith and you're going to teach guys how to work with metal, you know, in our metal shop or a leather craftsman, or maybe you're a cook and you want to come out and cook meals or maybe you're a whatever. You know, the thing that these guys need is they need interactions with people who, who love God, who love

them who want to invest in their lives because these guys spell love, T-I-M-E. And so we have plenty of opportunities for connection, whether it be financial, whether it be on a volunteer base, whether it be in some kind of teaching capacity. There are so many different ways. And I think the first step would just be come visit, come take a tour, come see what we're about. Let's have a conversation. Let's sit on the front porch and drink a cup of coffee and get to know each other.

Jason Montoya (01:06:37.73)
Yeah, so narrowgate.org is the website. They can learn more there. Anything else you want to say?

Weston Brann (01:06:41.1)
Mm-hmm. Yep. Yes, sir.

No, I I just appreciate the opportunity to get on here and talk about, you know, Narrowgate and the things that have been happening here and the things that have happened in my life. It's, you know, it's funny. We actually have a Narrowgate podcast where we interviewed a bunch of different people that have experienced transformation in their lives. And it's on our Narrowgate podcast on our YouTube page. And I was one of the hosts. I was always the one asking questions.

Jason Montoya (01:07:16.3)
Yeah. Flipping the script.

Weston Brann (01:07:16.338)
But never the one answering them. And so this is the opposite of what it feels like to be on the other side. Yeah, I've enjoyed it, man. I appreciate it.

Jason Montoya (01:07:22.188)
Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Well, I'm Jason Scott Montoya and this has been another episode of the Share Life Podcast. Thank you, Weston, for joining us, sharing your life with us today.

Weston Brann (01:07:35.256)
You bet, Thank you for the opportunity.

Tagged: Podcast - Inspirational People