Jesus People Podcast Episode 24: Ex-SEAL Garrett Unkelbach – Resilient Faith, Transformation & Purpose
Air date: June 23, 2025
Host: Ryan Miller
Guest: Garrett Unkelbach

Episode Overview

This episode features former Navy SEAL and men’s ministry leader Garrett Unkelbach, who sits down with host Ryan Miller for a deep, authentic conversation about Christian faith, personal transformation, masculine purpose, and practical resilience, drawn from both Scripture and his intense experiences in the SEALs. Garrett opens up about his upbringing in a Christian home, how that foundation was tested (and shaped) through military training, and what he’s learned about self-discipline, identity, and God’s purpose through some of life’s toughest challenges. Their discussion weaves together biblical insights, honest self-examination, memorable SEAL stories, and practical advice for anyone seeking greater self-control, spiritual maturity, and authentic masculinity.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Christian Upbringing, Identity, and the SEAL Crucible

• Privileged Origins and Strong Identity

  • Garrett describes his upbringing in a loving, Christian home (01:20).
  • Noted that this was rare among SEALs, who often come from more fractured backgrounds.
  • “I would tell you I’m not at all [ashamed to say I was privileged]. Luke 12:48 says, to whom much is given, much is required.” (01:52)
  • The Navy SEALs were a testing ground to see if his faith-based identity could stand up to real adversity.

• Reputation and Authenticity in the SEALs

  • Reputation is the “currency” in the SEAL teams (03:03).
  • SEAL training exposes a person’s true character: “Am I who I think that I am?” (02:57)

2. The “Heart” – Biblical Desires, Fruit, and Authenticity

• Church Language vs. Military Reality

  • An early correction: “I’m sorry, it wasn’t in my heart for that to happen,” which earned the blunt response: “What the F are you talking about?” (04:16)
  • This incident led Garrett to reconcile theology with real-life results: “Maybe what my parents said is true… but what these guys are saying is true, that what is in your heart has to come out. And that’s exactly what Jesus says. A bad tree does not produce good fruit, and a good tree does not produce bad fruit.” (05:00)

• Both/And Nature of God

  • God is both grace and truth—he cares both about intention and about results (fruit) (06:30).
  • The heart as a “desire container”—not inherently evil, but filled with desires, which God wants to cleanse and renew (07:13).

Notable Scripture References

• Romans 12 (“God wants to change our thinking…”)

• Jeremiah 17 (“The heart is deceitful and wicked…”)

• Ezekiel 36 (“I will give you a new heart…”)

• David as a “man after God’s own heart”—what matters is what/who you love most (09:40).

• Joseph, Purpose, and Ambition

  • Joseph's desire (dream) vs. his ultimate purpose: “Joseph’s purpose… was to save all of Israel from starvation and famine. That was the purpose of Joseph’s life. …God puts in each and every one of us, like in our heart, a dream.” (12:08–14:46)
  • It's possible for actions to look good but spring from wrongful motives—but “you can’t fool [God]. He knows exactly what’s in your heart, right?” (14:21)

3. Transformation, Repentance, and Endurance

• Spiritual Disciplines and Desiring God

  • Ryan: “When I actually get up and… spend time with the Lord… it moves my desires.” (14:52)
  • “We’re ultimately motivated by our desires. But sometimes those desires need to be cultivated.” (15:05)
  • Biblical examples: Saul vs. David – heart posture matters more than failure or success (16:07).

• Faith Through the Process

  • “I had the great privilege of knowing the Lord at a young age ... But… post Navy, …God has renewed my faith in an even stronger way…” (17:41)
  • “Evidence [of faith] means there’s things that lead to it… I don’t need faith today to believe that God is real, but I need faith every day for some of the new things…” (18:03)

• Romans 12: The Process of Transformation

  • Offer your body as a living sacrifice = worship (19:21).
  • “For a man, if a man never divides from his flesh and says, ‘I’m going to stop following my flesh,’ it is the same as a hammer who's never hit a nail. …They're empty. They're wondering what… [they're] supposed to do with [themselves].” (20:29)
  • Transformation/metamorphosis: “A caterpillar puts itself into a cocoon, …liquefies in there… and becomes something else. …That’s what transformation is supposed to be.” (22:38)

4. Suffering, Perspective, and Resilience: Lessons from SEAL Training

• Real-life SEAL Stories
  • Garrett recounts going through BUD/S at 19, outmatched physically, often told by others (especially the class’s #1 athlete): “You have no chance here.” (36:31)
  • His parents’ two refrains became his anchor: “God has a plan for your life” (purpose) and “You can have anything you want in life if you’re willing to pay the price for it” (potential) (36:45).
  • Hell Week: “Do you think you’ll make it? …I don’t think I’ll make it. I know I’ll make it. And then I’m going to go for a run on the beach by myself.” (00:00/43:57 recounting the same story in more depth)
  • The power of perspective: “What the guys were saying about me was true… But that’s not what mattered… For me… I went through on a different foundation than some other guys did.” (44:24)

Notable Moment

“It’s not really about what others see, it’s about what you see. This is what I think so many men have to catch in their life: the power of perspective.” – Garrett (44:39)

5. Endurance, Self-Control, and the Power of the Tongue

• Consider it Joy – The Mindset of Enduring Suffering

  • James 1, “Consider it pure joy when you face trials...”
  • “Consider it” (hegemi) = “lead your thoughts.” We have the superpower to choose our perspective in suffering (28:13).
  • True strength: Not what you can pick up, but what you’ll never have to put down—e.g., the weight of fatherhood, being a husband (29:03).

• Testing, Docemos, and Authenticity

  • “Testing” (docemos): Like a coin being tested for authenticity. “You may look like a Roman coin, but… [God] will determine if you’re real or you’re not.” (31:16)

6. Deep Vulnerability: Breaking Points and Mental Health

• Everyone Breaks: Even the Toughest
  • “Everyone is human, myself included… Elijah [after miracles] sits down in the desert and says, God, just kill me, right?” (46:29)
  • “The lesson of doing hard things… you tell yourself: I don’t have to do this forever, just for right now.” (47:26)
  • Feelings vs. thoughts: “God didn’t say he wants to change my feelings. God wants to change my thinking.” (48:26)

Key Mental Health Insights

• Men must process their struggle, but must not curse themselves with their words.
  • “Sometimes… I’m not always capable of controlling my emotions, but I’m capable of keeping my mouth closed, because what I am capable of… is I won’t give ammunition to the enemy.” (49:16)
  • “The enemy … hears everything that I say. … What I am capable of … I won’t let [wrong thinking] come out of my mouth.” (51:08)
  • Safe processing is essential, but do not adopt negative identities via your words (e.g. “I have anxiety”; “I guess I’m just not what people are looking for”) (52:41).

7. Beliefs, Authority, and Practical Takeaways

• Beliefs Drive Reality

  • Your beliefs, even unproven, will shape your life’s outcomes (61:48).
  • Example: If you believe you’re lucky, you’ll notice wins; if you lose, you’ll say, “that’s weird” (61:49).
  • “If you’re not willing to die in an instant for what you believe in, it’s probably not what you should spend the rest of your life living for.” (62:32)

• Worldview: God Wants Maturity, Not Just Comfort

  • Prosperity gospel mistakes God’s desire: “What God wants most for us is our maturity and so again, that comes back to, like, my anchor belief is God has a great plan for my life. …The hail can come in and destroy your crops. …What God cares more about is the lesson that you’re going to learn from [it].” (64:45)

8. Distinguishing Confidence, Resilience, and Delusion

• Definitions
  • Confidence: Based on positive experience (“I’ve made 99 free throws, so I can make another”).
  • Resilience: “I’ve missed 99 free throws, but I’m going to make the next one” (67:48).
  • “Resilience is strong identity, strong beliefs, plus humility. …Where resilience turns into delusion is with pride.” (69:31)

Notable Quote

“Resilience is… how quickly can I get back to what God's word says, not what my experiences say. …A lack of resilience means that you go through experiences and they turn you into something that scripture has not made you to be.” – Garrett (66:06)

Memorable Quotes with Timestamps

• “Am I who I think that I am?” – Garrett (02:57)
• “What is in your heart has to come out.” – Garrett (05:00)
• “You can’t fool him. He knows exactly what’s in your heart, right?” – Garrett (14:21)
• “The heart… is a desire center… what he wants most is that we would desire him.” – Garrett (07:13)
• “I want to have a pure heart before the Lord, but I keep letting the wrong things in.” – Garrett (10:27)
• “If you don’t love me most, you don’t love me at all.” – Garrett on Jesus’ question to Peter (10:23)
• “I thought I was a good athlete until I met some [real ones].” – Garrett (35:41)
• “Do you think you’ll make it? …I don’t think I’ll make it. I know I’ll make it.” – Garrett (00:00 & 43:57 retelling)
• “It’s not really about what others see, it’s about what you see. …The power of perspective.” – Garrett (44:39)
• “Consider it joy… when you go through struggles, you choose.” (28:13)
• “Strength… is not what you can pick up. Strength is what you’ll never have to put down.” (29:03)
• “Testing is… you may look like a coin, but I’ll determine if you’re real or not.” (31:16)
• “God didn't say he wants to change my feelings. God wants to change my thinking.” (48:26)
• “The power and life and death is on the tongue. I treat my tongue the same way that I treat a loaded firearm.” (49:16)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Intro to Garrett and connection to SEALs: 00:33–01:20
• Upbringing and faith foundation: 01:20–02:56
• Identity and reputation in the SEALs: 02:56–05:00
• Bridging faith and fruit in the real world: 05:00–07:13
• Desire, ambition, biblical heart theology: 07:13–14:46
• Spiritual disciplines & cultivating desires: 14:52–16:07
• On transformation and faith post-SEALs: 17:41–22:38
• Metamorphosis analogy and mental transformation: 22:38–24:02
• Perspective in Hell Week and life: 43:57–45:30
• On masculine vulnerability and Elijah: 46:29–47:26
• Processing difficult emotions and speech: 49:16–53:32
• Beliefs and why they matter: 61:48–62:32
• Confidence vs. resilience vs. delusion: 67:48–70:42

Tone and Takeaways

Throughout, the tone is candid and brotherly, with authentic admissions of weakness and imperfection, but also a consistent thread of confidence rooted in faith, not self or circumstance. Garrett and Ryan normalize the struggle, dispel Christian clichés, and call listeners back to theological depth, practical self-examination, and genuine transformation. The practicalities of mental resilience, the power of perspective, the importance of the words we speak, and anchoring our lives in scripturally grounded beliefs emerge as lasting challenges and encouragement.

Where to Find Garrett

• The Impossible Life Podcast (weekly episodes)
• Instagram: @garrettunkelbach
• For men’s ministry leadership or business: LinkedIn (Garrett Unkelbach)

Summary prepared for the Jesus People Podcast community.