Metro Roundup: Mending men’s hearts
When Randy Hemphill was in fourth grade, his teacher gave him his first journal and told him one day he was going to be a writer.
As it turned out, she was right. Hemphill published his second book, “The Restored Man,” in 2019, which details his journey from being a religious man to a restored man and provides a process to help men grow both spiritually and emotionally.
The Highland Lakes resident founded LIFE Ministries in 2010, and when he is not writing, he spends his time speaking at retreats and conferences, partnering with churches to provide teaching and also offering spiritual direction through counseling.
In December 2003, while working as the marriage pastor at the Church at Brook Hills, Hemphill learned of his wife’s infidelity. They would later co-author two books to help other couples going through a similar situation. “Every Marriage Needs a Divorce: The Pathway to Healing and Hope” was published in 2010, followed by “30 Days of Hope For Hurting Marriages” in 2016.
“When my marriage fell apart, I realized how closed off I was emotionally,” he said. “Suddenly I was forced to look inward. I was determined I was going to do it, deal with myself and my baggage, and whether my marriage worked out or not, I was going to work on me.”
Hemphill said he has had a passion for helping men that comes through his own growth and counseling. “The Restored Man” uses the imagery of restoring an old car and compares it to the spiritual imagery of restoring a man’s heart. It is intended to provide a practical, life-changing path for men to experience a deeper relationship with God and others.
“I laid out the process for men to walk through four phases that include digging into their story to experience spiritual and emotional healing,” Hemphill said.
Knowing two core fears of men are failure and vulnerability, Hemphill said it is through brokenness where they have to be willing to be honest about some of his hurts.
“A lot of men think of emotions as feminine or weak, but it’s actually the opposite,” Hemphill said. “Men are able to connect more deeply with their emotions and God is a source of strength.”
“The Restored Man” made the top 100 Christian Men’s book list on Amazon, and Hemphill said he has plans to write more books.
“Writing has always been a way to touch people and minister,” he said. “This book had a lot of my own journey in it, and that was intentional. I wanted guys to get to know me through the book.”
“The Restored Man” includes a 10-week study guide that can be used for individuals or small groups. A six-part video series is also available at therestoredman.com that features videos recorded in an old garage, discussing the book along with the process of an old car being restored.
For readers, Hemphill hopes he can help men realize that there while there is brokenness, they don’t have to stay there.
“There’s a path and a process where they can grow and expand,” he said. “There is restoration and healing and freedom that really is available.”