Pastor Joby Martin and Denny Thompson sit down with New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin on this week’s episode of Built 4 More. Charles walked on at Georgia Tech until a broken vertebra ended the football dream he shared with his dad. He waited hours to make the call. His dad’s answer: “If I leave right now, I can be there by supper.”

Years later, Charles turned down a six-figure job to pursue writing, while his wife Christy stood with him through 86 rejection letters. He tells those stories, shares how he and Joby began writing books together, and talks about the question behind his new book, *The Reason for Jesus*: Do you know God as your Father? This episode is about what happens when your identity falls apart, what it costs to follow a calling, and why Jesus came to make the Father known.

Preorder The Reason for Jesus: https://www.charlesmartinbooks.com/books/the-reason-for-jesus

CHAPTERS

0:00 Meet Charles Martin

1:52 Walking on at Georgia Tech

7:15 The hit that ended the football dream

10:17 “I can be there by supper”

15:15 When your son’s game becomes your identity

24:52 What happened at Saturated

33:16 Why Charles started writing at 15

39:53 A six-figure offer and a novel in a drawer

46:58 Rejection number 86

55:02 Why Charles almost said no to writing with Joby

1:07:42 “Do you think of Me as your Father?”

1:11:02 What changed when Charles prayed “Abba”

1:13:41 Why Jesus came

1:19:29 How Joby and Charles write books together

1:37:15 What the Father showed Charles about his own heart

1:39:51 No condemnation and nothing can separate you from His love

1:41:36 You are a son or daughter first