What God Showed Me at Mar-a-Lago

I was at Mar-a-Lago for the $Trump crypto and gala conference. The room held political figures, legendary athletes, motivational speakers, fintech pioneers, venture capitalists, and business leaders. President Trump was there. A lot of people were. But two speakers cut through for me — and only one of them lit the fuse God was about to strike.

I didn't walk into that room from a place of ease. I grew up in a non-Christian, low-income home — food stamps, not a safety net of wealth or connections. At thirteen I trusted Jesus as Lord and Savior. I went to a Christian university, met my wife, started a family, and spent years wanting to give my kids more than I had. That desire, honest as it was, also became financial pressure. I prayed for years believing God for a miracle of provision. I'd even dabbled in crypto and AI before that weekend, chasing the next open door.

So when Grant Cardone talked about a hybrid real estate model — luxury multifamily apartments whose rental income systematically buys and holds Bitcoin, basically turning complexes into "Bitcoin mines" — it hit a familiar nerve. Think outside the conventional box. Build wealth differently. Useful. Challenging. Still not the moment that changed my life.

Tony Robbins was.

Tony said the world will change more in the next 36 months than in all of human history combined, driven by AI, nanotechnology, and robotics. To thrive instead of getting crushed, he said, you have to master three skills: spot life's repeating patterns so fear loses its grip, use those patterns to gain power, and create new patterns to stay ahead.

Then he got practical. He was already using agentic AI to run daily tasks. His prediction: within 36 months, a significant percentage of people would have an agentic AI assistant in everyday life.

My mind started racing — products, businesses, what-ifs. And then, quieter than the stage and louder than everything else, God put a clear question in my heart:

That question would not leave me.

Not "how do I finally get my breakthrough." Not "how do I ride the wave." How do I take this exact moment in technology and put it to work for pastors, churches, and people who need faithfulness more than they need hype.

I started researching agents almost immediately. That research became the birth of The Forge — a vision for technology that is not just "Christian-friendly," but genuinely grounded in Scripture.

April 25 didn't erase the years I'd prayed for provision. It redirected them. God took a hunger that had been mostly about my family's breakthrough and aimed it at the Church. I walked in thinking about markets and momentum. I walked out carrying a calling.

The tools look different than a yellow church bus and a deacon with candy on Saturdays. The mission is the same. Spot the pattern God has always used — someone shows up. Then build so we can show up too.

That's what The Forge is. Not a verse slapped on a chatbot. Kingdom-first, Scripture-grounded, agentic AI aimed at advancing the gospel and strengthening the people who carry it.

I still answer that Mar-a-Lago question every day I build.