#41 - "Preacher to Breacher" | Eric Robinson on Faith, Brotherhood, and the Cost of Getting it Right

Send us Fan Mail Eric Robinson was a pastor who planted a church in his twenties, built it to 200 people, and gave himself daily stress headaches for years because he didn’t think a pastor was allowed to need help. So he left the pastorate and joined the FBI at 32, having never fired a gun, to lower his stress. It worked!! This is a Brotherhood & Faith episode, and Eric has lived both sides of it. He found brotherhood twice: in a church where men prayed together and on a SWAT team where they kicked in doors together. He’s blunt about which one felt more real. One wears a mask. The other one puts its body between you and a threat and never mentions it. We get into: Why he was the least-qualified guy in his FBI academy class at 32 — and why 12 years of ministry gave him a leg up on the cops and soldiers anyway How you get a sex offender or a terrified 16-year-old to open up (it’s the same skill a pastor uses, and it’s not what you’d think) A SWAT operation two years ago that ended in a fatal shooting — 90 seconds that felt like five minutes, his heart rate at 178, and the teammate who wasn’t even there but still felt he’d let everyone down Why men who don’t sit down and talk after hard things end up drinking, kicking the dog, or starting an actual riot — Todd’s got a Camp Lejeune story for that one The reexamination of faith that came from working domestic terrorism, and the moment his beliefs collided with his family — what he calls his "first blasphemy" Straight advice for a guy with no squad, no church, no mentor, and a Tuesday night to fill If you’re a man who suspects you’re missing something you can’t name (the squad, the congregation, the table of older guys who’ve been there) this is the episode. _____________________________________ 🎯 About Eric Robinson Eric Robinson is a retired FBI special agent with 24 years of service — white-collar crime, counterterrorism, crimes against children, gangs, drugs, and public corruption. He spent 15 years as a SWAT operator and served as a firearms and tactics instructor. Two of his cases won the Attorney General’s Award. Before the FBI, he spent 12 years in Christian ministry, including planting and pastoring a Baptist church in Western New York. His memoir, Irreverend, releases later this year. 🌍 Learn more: preachertobreacher.com _____________________________________ Resources from This Episode: Irreverend by Eric Robinson (releasing later this year)   As an Amazon Partner, our podcast earns from qualified purchases at no extra cost to you.  _____________________________________  ⭐ Want to be a guest on The Cluttered Path? Send Todd Carswell a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/toddcarswell ________________________________________________________________ 📫  Where to Find Us: Web: https://clutteredpath.com/ Patreon: https://patreon.com/clutteredpath Questions/Comments:  [email protected]  _________________________________________________________________ 🔥 Follow us on Social Media: YouTube Instagram Facebook X (Formerly Twitter) TikTok