Two kinds of knowing
Do you know a lot about God but still feel stuck? Or have you taken every personality test out there and still wonder why you’re here? In this segment from episode 218 of The Daron Earlewine Podcast, Daron and his son Ty unpack a principle Daron teaches in Rogue coaching, paraphrased from John Calvin: all great knowledge comes from growing in knowledge of self and knowledge of God at the same time. Lean only on knowledge of God and you can slide into judgment and striving for His approval. Lean only on knowledge of self and the journey turns vain and selfish. Grow in both and you start to step into who God created you to be.
Who am I to God?
Daron had Ty go through Jamie Winship’s Identity Exchange this summer because it changed Daron’s own life. The foundation of purpose is identity. Not what your successes told you. Not what your failures told you. Who are you to God? Ty’s biggest takeaway was listening prayer. It comes down to two questions: “What do you want me to know about this? What should I do about it?” He learned he doesn’t have to say the right words or pray for a set amount of time. He can sit and listen. Through that process, Ty heard God call him a “calming nurturer.” He’s not the alpha who drives every room. He’s the one who makes sure everyone is okay and on pace.
Stop borrowing strengths you don’t have
Ty’s second insight hits anyone who has tried to be someone else. You don’t have to keep functioning out of strengths you don’t have because they sound right. He pointed to the top-five strengths assessment used in Rogue. If empathy ranks near the bottom for you, ten years of effort might move it a few spots, and it may not even be genuine. Play to what God gave you. Ty watched anxiety, stress, and fear start to fade this summer. Not gone, but lighter, because he knows he’s not alone. He also dropped his “get it done” mindset. Identity Exchange felt like homework at first. Once he slowed down and let his heart engage, it became something he looked forward to. This isn’t a class with a grade. It’s finding out who you were made to be.
Episode Summary:
Ty Earlewine just wrapped his first internship with his dad, Daron, and it changed how he sees himself, his faith, and his future. In this episode, Daron and Ty sit down to unpack what it actually looks like to grow in the knowledge of God and the knowledge of self at the same time, why chasing spiritual “streaks” can quietly wreck your walk with Jesus, and what it means to discover your God given identity in the middle of an ordinary, uncertain season. If you’ve ever felt like you’re behind in your faith or unsure who you really are, this conversation is for you.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
⚡️ Grow in knowledge of self and knowledge of God together.
⚡️ Your identity comes from God, not your wins or losses.
⚡️ Try listening prayer: What do you want me to know? What should I do about it?
⚡️ Build on the strengths God gave you instead of chasing ones that sound good.
⚡️ Slow down. Spiritual growth isn’t homework.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Watch or listen to the full episode on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts. Got a question about finding your identity or purpose? Email Daron at daron@daronearlewine.com
Connect with Daron on Social Media:
Links to the Daron Earlewine Podcast
YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Libsyn
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Daron: Created on purpose and for purpose. God has given you these gifts and abilities to connect with people and to communicate. Your gifts may be different, but knowing you can be confident in the gifts God has given you, while also asking, “Where are the main things I need to grow in?” We talked about this on the way back from Wisconsin. This will be your first semester diving into classes on theology, and if you’re going to speak or coach in these kinds of ways, one of the growth areas for you is growing in your understanding of God.
One of the things we teach in Rogue coaching is a quote from John Calvin, paraphrasing, something like, “All great knowledge is a combination of continued growth in knowledge of self and knowledge of God.” If we have a ton of knowledge of God but not much knowledge of self, we tend to become a little judgmental, striving to earn God’s approval. If we have a ton of knowledge of self but no knowledge of God, it becomes a very vain and selfish journey. But when we grow at the same time, learning about myself, who God created me to be, and learning a little more about God every day, we start to step into who God’s created us to be, because we know about ourselves and about Him.
One of the things I had you do this summer, and you’ve already mentioned it, is go through Jamie Winship’s organization, Identity Exchange. We’re actually going to have an episode coming up soon with one of their coaches, who was one of my coaches when I went through it. I wanted you to go through it because it was so transformational for me. We talk so much on this podcast about understanding God’s call and His purpose and design for your life, and what’s foundational in that is understanding my identity. Who am I in Christ? Who am I to God? Not what my successes have told me, not what my failures have told me. Who am I to God?
That took you the whole summer to get through, there’s a lot of content and coaching calls.
Ty: I’m still going through it. I just scheduled my one-on-one for September 14th. I have two modules left, the last two on really becoming what you believe, and taking all the knowledge from the earlier ones. I’ll finish that back at school. But the brunt of it, I’ve done about 85 percent throughout the summer. Now I’m just wrapping it up.
Daron: What were some of the cool takeaways from growing in knowledge of self and, at the same time, knowledge of God?
Ty: Probably the coolest takeaway, because it ties into this, is the listening prayers they teach you to do. Asking God, “What do you want me to know about this? What should I do about it?” That’s been huge in my prayer life, learning I don’t have to say the right thing or pray for a certain length of time. I can just sit and listen. That’s been really cool.
The identity stuff too, the true and false identity, like I talked about at Worship on the Water, being a “calming nurturer,” and being able to play to my strengths has been huge. I’m not some alpha who’s going to take over everything and drive it a certain way. I’m much more, “I’m going to make sure everything’s good, make sure we’re on pace.”
I’ve learned I don’t need to keep functioning out of strengths I don’t have because they sound right. I should just use what I have to the best of my abilities. We talk about the strengths test in Rogue, your top five. If you’re a two in empathy, even if you work at it for ten years, you’re maybe going to get to a five, and it might not even be genuine, you might just be letting people walk on you. So knowing I can be a genuine listener, a nurturer for someone, is great. I know what I’m good at, I know what God’s put me on this earth to do, I know what He’s calling me to. I’m learning consistently what my biggest fears are, giving them to Him, and learning I should just keep going, keep fighting them, keep walking every day, not worry about how fast it’s going to happen. If it’s continually part of your life, if you have that conviction, it’s going to start changing.
I’ve noticed that in my own life this summer. Some of the things I was battling earlier in the summer, anxiety, stress, fears, are starting to float away. There’s still a little stress, a little fear, but I know I’m not alone, I know He’s going to be there with me, and I’m going to play to my strengths.
Earlier in the year, I talked to you about how it kind of felt like homework, like, “Dad’s having me take this course, I’ve got to get it done week by week, we should probably finish it by August.” I didn’t want to spend a lot of time on a module because I needed to get it done and move to the next thing. But because they give you a year to do it, I removed that “get it done, get it done, get it done” mindset. It became, “When you’re ready to do it, and your heart’s ready to do it, just do it and do it well.” The coursework part isn’t very long each week, but when I let myself really dive into it, it ended up being a longer experience, but a more impactful one. This isn’t like a science class with tests. It’s meant to better you. There’s no grading system. I realized I could get it done at my own pace, and I enjoyed it so much I’d want to do it, even telling you, “Sorry Dad, can’t hang out, I’ve got to get my Identity Exchange stuff done.” This isn’t homework. This is genuinely finding out who you were supposed to be, becoming what you believe.