Cross Training Ministries Podcast

What comes to your mind when you hear the term "toxic masculinity"?In this episode, Joe and Evan discuss Nancy Pearcey's book, and talk about the different types of masculinity that have surfaced throughout history.Which type of masculinity is informing the way you treat your family, your work, your vision for life?The 5 types of masculinity we discuss:Charles IngallsElon MuskBear GryllsHugh HefnerHomer Simpson

What is a manly man?This week Joe and Evan read Mansfield's Book of Manly Men - and pulled out key insights for ordinary Christian men. In this conversation they answer:What is manliness?Do we see it in the Bible?Is it a virtue?What is at the core of manliness? What are optional cultural accessories?What are the dangers/distortions of manliness?How do you develop manliness?Subscribe to our newsletter to get more resources on masculinity.

What does it mean to be a man?This week Joe and Evan read Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin, and discuss the insights that are helpful for ordinary men.Subscribe to our newsletter to get blog posts, book summaries, and conversation guides for all of the books covered in this series.

In this episode Joe and Evan discuss J.C. Ryle's book Thoughts for Young Men. Ryle is helpful in urging young men toward godliness. Godliness is not a extra feature of manhood. Men are made for God therefore mature men are godly men. Godliness is both the destination of the manhood journey and the road.Check out Joe's book Surviving the Trenches for more help on the road to godliness.

Is there a pathway out of boyhood and into manhood? This week Joe and Evan interact with Jason Craig's book Leaving Boyhood Behind. Jason says, "masculinity is a gift that is received and responded to". Learn what this means, and how it fits into Joe and Evan's ongoing journey toward a clearer definition of Biblical masculinity.

What are the differences between a boy and a man? What are the roles that boys need to be raised to fill? How can we form boys to become the men that our families, churches, and communities need?These are the questions that Doug Wilson tries to answer in his book Future Men. In this episode, Joe and Evan interact with Doug's book as they continue their journey to bring clarity to the question, "What does it mean to be a man?"Have a book suggestion for us? Email evan@xtrainingministries.com

We're on a journey to bring clarity to the question: "What does it mean to be a man?" Along the way, we are going to read and interact with a variety of books that attempt to answer this question. First up: The Masculine Mandate by Richard PhillipsThis book gives us the opportunity to think about God's design for men as outlined in Genesis. We'll talk about bearing God's image, living in covenantal relationships, leadership, cultivating, and protecting.Email your book suggestions to evan@xtrainingministries.com

During the Christmas season it's easy to be distracted by busyness. We want to help you to break through the overwhelm of this Christmas season, and set your mind on Christ.Download the hymn and follow along.Looking for a guide to more meditations like this? Check out Hymn Workouts

If you've been a Christian for any length of time, then you've likely attended some sort of conference or retreat. And if you haven't, then you've at least seen them promoted online, in a podcast, or through your local church. These events have become a staple in the modern Christian life. So...what's the big deal?? Is it really worth your time and effort to attend a weekend conference?We think so.In this episode, Joe and Evan discuss the importance of conferences and retreats in the spiritual life of a man. We also talk about the differences between the two, and why you may need one more than the other.Join us for one of our Cross Training Conferences in October, and experience for yourself what it's like to spend a weekend being challenged and encouraged alongside like-minded men.Want help planning a Men's Conference in your city? Contact Evan. He can give you a framework for a weekend conference or retreat.evan@xtrainingministries.com

Men need mentors. Every man has a critical juncture ahead of him in life - leaving home, getting married, having kids, career change, mid-life crisis - where he will need the hard won wisdom of another man who has walked with God through the challenges of life. This episode of the Cross Training podcast is all about helping you see the value of a mentor. Joe and Evan are going to show you the pathway to getting a mentor AND becoming a mentor for someone else.Are you ready to be a mentor? Register for one of our conferences to get the training you need to become a spiritual leader.Have you prepared your child for the challenges that lay ahead of them this school year? Join a room full of dads who learning how to be on the frontlines of training their children.

Most guys want to date their wife, but their calendar is too full, their wallet is too empty, a babysitter is too hard to find, and they're all out of new ideas. In this episode, Joe and Evan encourage ordinary men to push past these obstacles by focusing on the three essentials for dating your wife:Genuine CuriosityCurated ListPredetermined RhythmsFor a copy of Cross Training's guide to dating your wife, email Evan. evan@xtrainingministries.com

Modern culture is setting men up for burnout. Men are being shaped in a world where achievement is the god, and productivity is the cult. And the expectation to be a disciple-making, family-leading, neighborhood-evangelizing, church volunteer…doesn't make it any easier.In this episode of the Cross Training Ministries podcast, Joe and Evan walk you through 9 questions that will help you avoid burnout and keep a lifestyle where Christ comes first.Get help at menneedhelp.org

Life Planning is like a stick of dynamite. It's undeniably useful if used in the right way, but horrifically dangerous if played around with hastily. For this reason books by life coaching gurus like Michael Hyatt and David Allen ought to include a warning label. Unless filtered through a spiritual colander they easily lead to an achievement based, self-centered lifestyle. More than one Christian man has left the straight and narrow due to having some life coach affirm the favorite lie of Satan - that the center of the universe is me.In this episode, Joe and Evan give you 5 steps for making a Christian Life Plan.Want more help with life planning? Check out Challenge 5 in the Decathlon - or email evan@xtrainingministries.com

Picture a guy wanting a more focused life. He hears a podcast on how to draft a plan for his life, then he sits down with a notebook and pen and begins to attempt to write a vision for himself. He takes inventory of his roles and responsibilities. He budgets his time and creates space for new things. Will this result in focus? Sadly, the answer might be yes. It's entirely possible that this guy will figure out a way to more strategically pursue idol worship - he will be better at serving secular gods than before.Focus by itself is not a virtue - focus is only good if we're focused on the right things. What will help you focus on the right things? Perspective - the 5th Discipline of a Focused Mind.In this episode, Joe and Evan guide you on the path to perspective, and show you some of the challenges along the way.

We're in a series on the Disciplines of a Focused Mind. This week we're covering the fourth discipline: prayer.Prayer ought to focus the mind of a man, but often times prayer is a time when men are most easily distracted. In this episode, Joe and Evan talk about 6 ways to pray that won't lead you to focus, and then they give you 7 elements of prayer that help with focus and alignment.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if understanding and transformation were identical. They are not. There are lots of pastors and seminary teachers who are spiritually distracted and lifeless. How can this be? They know the meaning of 1,000 different Greek words, and they have read 100s of different books. The problem isn't in the understanding but in the heart; they do not take the time needed to apply the truth to themselves so that it adheres and affects them.Men, be warned: it's possible for you to understand a doctrine or a Bible verse without that truth adhering to you in a way that changes you.In this episode we talk about the third discipline of a focused mind: Adhesion. Listen as Joe Barnard gives you 4 steps to adhesion.https://www.xtrainingministries.com/

Information doesn't naturally stick in the mind - the mind is a sieve and billions of bits of data pass through all of the time. Think about how terrible it would be if we had to understand and process every piece of data that we encountered. The problem with this system is that sometimes important stuff passes through the sieve. Think of reading through John 17 - this is Jesus' great prayer - you read it and walk away without anything sticking with you or transforming you. This begs a question - how do we turn the sieve of the mind into a container that holds and stores vital spiritual truth?In this episode we give you three ways to improve your understanding.Join the Focus40 Challenge

"Focus" is what CS Lewis calls a "halo word". Everybody wants focus, but no one really knows what the word is referring to. We think that focus will come naturally if we eliminate distraction. That's a joke. Cutting out distraction will no more produce focus than cutting out dessert will produce muscle. Focus is something that must be cultivated. But what do we need to be doing to strengthen focus? That's the subject matter of this podcast season. We're going to look at the disciplines of a focused mind.Discipline One: MemorizationThis is the discipline everyone wants to skip - a lot of guys want to reduce the high bar of memorization to the low bar of reflection. In this episode we give you six reasons memorization is a vital discipline for Christian men who want to be focused on Christ.Join the Focus40 Challengehttps://www.xtrainingministries.com/

Do you want to learn what it means to be a loving dad? Look to the example of Jesus, Everlasting Father (Is 9:6).1) Protect your family2) Lead your family in worship3) Teach your children to follow JesusOther Cross Training Christmas resources:Blog: Help for Men Who Struggle to Make Much of the IncarnationVideo: The Incarnation Transforms Our Knowledge of Godhttps://www.xtrainingministries.com/

Imagine you could spend an afternoon with the 65 year old you, what do you hope to see? What do you hope to have accomplished at this point in your life?In the last two chapters of Hudson Taylor's autobiography we get a glimpse of what it looks like to finish strong. It should be no surprise that finishing strong has very little to do with his worldly success, but rather the legacy he leaves after a lifetime of trusting in the faithfulness of God. This is the final week of the HeroChallenge. As you and your friends bring this spiritual exercise to a close, make sure to finish strong. Encourage one another to continue trusting God. Help your friends see what their life will look like, if they become the kind of man who believes the promises of God.Follow along with the HeroChallenge

You've spent six weeks considering this question: How would my life change if I were friends with Christian hero Hudson Taylor? You are the sum of your 5 closest friends, and by now we've read enough of the life of Hudson Taylor to know that his presence in our friend group would challenge our faithful obedience to God.This week we want to take that question, and scale it up: How would my church change, if Hudson Taylor became a member? In week 7 of the HeroChallenge, we want you to see yourself as the man in your church who leads with humility and trust - like Hudson Taylor would.Join the HeroChallenge

How would you describe the ordinary Christian man? Busy, exhausted, distracted - these are all fair descriptions that capture at least a small piece of the struggles of modern man. But here's one word that keeps coming to my mind as I look at myself and my friends…waiting. And by this I don't mean that men are waiting on the Lord. Rather, most men are waiting on someone else to act first. Waiting on the perfect circumstances before they commit. Waiting for life to slow down, before they get serious about growing in godliness. Waiting, waiting, waiting.Our friend Hudson Taylor was terrible at waiting. He lived with a sense of urgency. If you are friends with Hudson, you better get used to going.In week 6 of the HeroChallenge, we want to urge you to stop waiting - it's time to follow through. Trust in the strength of God to carry you.Join the HeroChallenge.

How do you describe God? Does what you think about God change, when your circumstances change? Our friend Hudson Taylor described God as the One Great Circumstance. This view of God seemed to give him confidence, bring him comfort, and spur him forward. A friend like Hudson urges us to ask the question: how would my life change if I believed God to be the One Great Circumstance?In week 5 of the HeroChallenge, we want to challenge you to keep your mind on the One Great Circumstance. Trust Him. Know His peace.Join us on the HeroChallenge.

When Hudson Taylor landed in China, he was greeted by danger, disappointment, and discouragement. In fact, not long after landing in Shanghai he sent his family a special Christmas present: a 5 pound cannonball - the very cannonball that almost took his life while navigating through war-torn China.As you listen to Hudson's stories about his early years in China, you discover that he's is the kind of guy who can't help but quote scripture and hymns. Cannonballs, death threats, hunger, loneliness - all produced the same result in him: recite the promises God. Hudson is the kind of friend who is always ready to remind you of God's faithfulness.In week 4 of the HeroChallenge, we want you to join with your friend Hudson in believing the promise that God will uphold you, strengthen you and help you - especially during times of adversity.Join in here: HeroChallenge

Being friends with Hudson Taylor is an exercise in humility. Hudson is the kind of friend who you catch pleading with God - constantly. When he's weak he pleads with God for physical strength to persevere. When no one else sees a way of escape, he pleads for a timely rescue. When he meets someone with a hard-heart, he pleads for their salvation.Hudson is the kind of friend who is convinced that a man's faith can be strengthened through complete dependence on God - and he has stories to prove it. Each story reveals the thesis of Hudson's life: God can be trusted.This is week three of the HeroChallenge. Follow along here: HeroChallenge

Hudson Taylor has unbelievable stories of receiving generous provision. He also has unbelievable stories of giving generously to others. Hudson's stories scream this one truth: God is faithful to provide.This is week 2 of the HeroChallenge. You can follow along here: Week Two

This is week One of the Hudson Taylor HeroChallenge.When you read about the early years of Hudson Taylor's life, you get the sense that his household was full connection points to the gospel. His mother and sister kept prayer journals. His dad invited missionaries over to the house regularly. His family had a bookshelf full of Bibles and books about the Bible. All of this, by God's grace, fostered an environment where the young and skeptical Hudson grew to become  a man who believed that prayer works and God can be trusted.Do you need help learning to trust God?Join the HeroChallenge

It's been said that a man is the sum of his 5 closest friends. If that's true, what would it be like to have Hudson Taylor as one of those friends? How would your life change if you began to mimic the man who left a legacy of trusting in the faithfulness of God? Let's find out.For the next 8 weeks we are going to challenge you to trust God with every area of your life. By adapting some of the disciplines of Hudson Taylor, you are going to become intimately familiar with the faithfulness of God. This Hero Challenge is designed to disrupt a lifestyle of apathy and uncertainty. Over the course of this challenge, you will be exposed to eight unmissable promises of God. You will be confronted with unbelievable stories of what happens when an ordinary man trusts God. You will be challenged to pray fervently, and act boldly.Men need help strengthening their faith, learning to rely on God at all times and in all situations - that's what this Hero Challenge will do. Get ready!Sign-up here: HeroChallenge

"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit." - Romans 8:5Habitual distraction, misdirected desire, disordered love, stupid life planning - these are the symptoms of a mind that is set on the flesh, not the spirit.Don't you wish you had the ability - in the midst of a busy life - to keep your focus and mind on God. You can.Listen as Joe trains us in the discipline of spiritual mindedness.

Is your daily devotional stale? Do you feel like your mind constantly distracted? Learn how to renew of life of prayer, meditation, and devotion with Hymn Workouts.In this episode, Evan reads the introduction to the book that gives distracted men 100 spiritual exercises.

One of the main questions we get asked is how to help guys shift from being a Bible study group to becoming a band of brothers. Guys want a path. In this episode we give you one.My notes:Camaraderie is a special type of friendship shared with fellow pilgrimsExtend to men an explicit invitation into friendship, not to your next Men's event.If you want to move from classmates to comrades, get out of the church building. Men's Bible Study groups meet in church buildings, but friends meet any number of places.Want spiritual friends? Keep growing. You don't so much seek for spiritual friends as much as you find them along the way. But you must begin to go the way.https://www.xtrainingministries.com/

There is no way to pursue godliness in a broken world without self-control. Self-control is using all of the internal and external resources God has given us to steer our lives in the direction of godliness. Listen as Joe and Evan dispel the myths that surround self-control, and point Christian men toward the internal and external resources that promote self-control.https://www.xtrainingministries.com/

In this episode Joe and Evan discuss one of the 5 dimensions of spiritual fitness: Competence.Questions we answer:What is competence?Why is competence spiritually important?How does a lack of competence affect Christian guys? Where specifically do men need competence? What are the limits of competence? What does it look like for guys to pursue competence together? 

Do you have clear convictions on the big questions of life? A lot of Christian men are in danger of floating through life with no clear convictions - or worse yet - convictions borrowed from the culture around them. Part of spiritual fitness is clarity - a Biblical perspective on life. In this conversation, Joe and Evan help define clarity and help guys grow in it.My Notes:Clarity is a Biblical perspective on lifeClarity protects us from a secular, me-centered mindset.Men need Biblical answers to fundamental questions, like: What is the purpose of life? What are the metrics of a life well-lived? What are the greatest dangers in life?Men need to bring their biggest questions to the Bible.Men should be aiming for a "point of view" in life, that is not borrowed from someone else.Subscribe to our mailing list, and get 5 questions for guys pursuing clarity.Get more spiritual fitness training at xtrainingministries.com

No man will make serious progress toward spiritual maturity until he is captivated by the glory of Christ. In this episode we help guys understand what captivation is, and how they can begin to feed their captivation of Christ.My notes:Captivation is a heart that is fiercely gripped by a vision of unparalleled goodness.Captivation of Christ is often more like a steady bubbling stream than a mountain torrent. If you are uninspired by Christ now, what makes you think you will be in awe of him when you see him face-to-face?You can begin to feed your captivation by reading biographies of Christian heroes, meditating on the person of Jesus, and pursuing friendship with other men who are captivated by Christ.Get more training in spiritual fitness at xtrainingministries.com

You spend a lot of time at work. And when you're not at work, you're often thinking about work. The truth is, you are going to spend a large chunk of your life - at work. Yet, for some Christian men there is a disconnect between work life and their faith.I'm interested in helping you build a lifestyle of putting Christ first - and we can't do that without evaluating your posture, your diligence, your character at work.In this conversation with my friend Seth Stiles, we talk about faith in the workplace.How should Christian men think about their work? How can you be a Christian witness in your workplace? How do I work heartily without allowing work to become my identity? Seth serves as the pastor of Adult Ministries at his church, and recently received his doctoral degree with his dissertation on faith in the workplace. You can connect with Seth and find out more about the videos and seminars he offers by emailing him: sethstiles@gmail.com

Gaming is a multi-billion dollar industry. It's an industry that is growing in both popularity and influence, yet the response from most Christian leaders has been….silence. Christians have no idea how to talk about gaming. Reagan Rose wants to talk about gaming. Regan is the founder of Redeeming Productivity, a ministry that helps Christians develop a biblically-grounded understanding of personal productivity. In this episode, I ask Reagan:Can you be a growing Christian man and  play video games?What are the dangers of gaming?What does gaming have to do with the way men steward their time and attention?How can men decide ahead of time what games to play and when to play them?How can dads help their kids develop healthy gaming habits?If you're looking for thought-provoking, biblically-based training on gaming - get a copy of Reagan's Guide to Gaming.

Being a godly dad is challenging. If you're like most dads, you walk around most days feeling like a failure as a husband and father.But it doesn't have to be this way.Author/speaker/full-time growing dad, Kent Evans,  wants to help men like you. He believes that wherever you are as a father - you can turn around and live as a more confident, godly dad who leads his family - without regrets.In this interview with Kent we talk about :The need for dads who are memorizing scripture.How the key to conversation with your kids is asking better questions.The role that spiritual friendship plays in being a godly dad.Common challenges that dads are facing.Learn more about Kent at manhoodjourney.org

Do you feel like your prayer life is stuck in a rut? Are you the kind of guy who occasionally finds himself paralyzed by anxiety?Trusted friend, Robert Barkerding, knows what it's like to wrestle with God in prayer. In this episode, Robert shares his story of learning to trust God's sovereignty during the most difficult season of his life. If you're a guy who feels stuck with a stale prayer life, then you'll want to pick up his book The Miracle of Matthew.If you need help building a lifestyle of putting Christ first, you can get the training you need at www.menneedhelp.org

Satan's tool belt of lies is diverse. At times he tries to lure us into sin by waxing a shine on forbidden fruit. Other times he tries to keep us in sin by making us believe that God's arm is too short to save and His ear too heavy to hear. He doesn't care about how he snares us. The only thing that matters to him is that we end up tightly bound in a web of deception.Want training on lie-detecting? Get it here: The lies of sinGet training of fighting sin by reading Joe's book Surviving the Trenches - available in paperback, audio, and ebook.

Irritable, angry, anxious, restless, annoyed - such is the display of a man losing  patience. We're all too familiar with this. But what does it look like for a man to grow in patience? My notes:Patience is enduring evil, pain, or sorrow for the sake of a greater goodHupomone is steadfastness, constancy, endurance in the midst of suffering (Rev 13:10)Makrothumia is the long fuse of anger (Gal 5:22)Don't confuse passivity with patienceGrowing in patience requires keeping greater good in viewGrowing in patience requires believing in divine providenceIf you're looking for a guide to help you put off vices and pursue virtues, join the CT12 challenge. www.menneedhelp.org

Guys don't seem to think sin is that big of a problem in their lives. If they are not trapped in porn or doing something scandalous, there is a sense that the battle against sin is more of a skirmish than a violent war. In other words: guys have lowered the bar of holiness and minimized the seriousness of sin.The call of holiness is far weightier than men realize. Guys need to change the way they view their lives by growing in the virtue of godliness. My notes:Godliness is an abiding awareness of God and desire to please God in every thought, word, and deed.The aim of your life is not just to be less worldy, but to be holy.Men need to take on the 'priestly task' of making distinctions between clean and unclean, holy and profane.Growing in godliness requires changing your attitude toward 'small sins' - they are disrespectful and dishonoring to God.Practice growing in godliness today by meditating on Leviticus 10:10. Take on the difficult task of making personal distinctions between what is holy and profane.

The aim of Christianity is simple: love God and love neighbor. God shows very little interest in a lot of things like success, fun memories, personal fitness, etc. The whole of Christianity is about reshaping us into the image of God's love. But there's a problem - most guys  don't spend much time trying to become more loving. We'd love to be more courageous. We'd love to be more creative. We'd love to be more antifragile. But love??In this episode Joe and Evan guide Christian men back to their original calling: Love God above all else.My notes:Charity is loving God above all things and human beings for the sake of GodChristian love is authenticated by internal attitudes and external actionsAll of the virtues of godliness are products of loveAll of the deadly sins violate loveGuys who want to grow in love should enroll in the school of marriage and familyPractice growing in love today by meditating on the cross. Use Hymn Workout 21 as a guide.

We're surrounded by the following messages: live for pleasure; satisfy your appetites; don't worry about tomorrow. This is the stupidity of anyone being a slave to their appetites. If we as Christian men want to counteract such slavery, we need to grow in the virtue of temperance. Self restraint and moderation give us the freedom we truly want as followers of Christ. My notes:Temperance is not total abstinence.Temperance is the brake pedal for your appetites.Moderation gives us freedom to maximize higher pleasures.Temperance doesn't mean there aren't moments of feasting.Personal thresholds are a great way to practice temperance.Here's the tool I use to get guys started with setting personal thresholds. It's a piece of the CT12 challenge - a spiritual exercise for guys who feel stuck.

We're all quitters. Sometimes this is not a big deal. You can give up on most of your New Year's resolutions without consequence. But what happens when you begin quitting on your marriage? Or your devotional life?The virtue that enables us to overcome the desire to throw in the towel is diligence. Listen as Joe and Evan help guys who say: "It's too hard" - "I'm too tired" - "I don't care"My notes:Diligence is persistent effort in spite of difficulty, tiredness, or boredom.If you quit everything that is difficult - there won't be anything left.Diligence is the virtue that conquers sloth."I can plod and persevere. That is my only genius." William CareyWhen God feels absent, don't be still; run after him.For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.  2 Peter 1:5–7Need help? www.menneedhelp.org

Chastity is not a weird medieval belt you wear - it's a virtue you pursue.  If you don't understand chastity you won't understand worship, discipleship, love, holiness, or devotion.My notes:Chastity is discipling desire for the sake of love.Chastity is not just what you see but how you see."Chaste" is a holistic approach to devotion to Christ.Check out Hymn Workout 85 - The Passion for PurityGet Joe's book Surviving the Trenches to learn how to fight back against lustful desires.

There is no short-cut to humility. You might be able to temporarily fake humility by pretending not to be proud; but that won't last.  In this conversation, Joe and Evan uncover the misconceptions of humility, give you clarity on what true humility is, and show you how you can begin practicing humility today.My notes:Humility is not merely a tool for career advancement.Humility isn't having a low view of oneself.Humility isn't weakness.Joe's definition of humility: Accepting the truth that before God I am nothing, and I can do nothing; therefore, I am totally dependent upon God and totally available to God.Pride can't grow in the soil of humility.With humility, you can hear the truth about yourself without being crushed.Here are two spiritual exercises for guys who want to begin practicing humility:Humility Hymn WorkoutHymn Workout on the CrossJoin our mailing list if you want to learn more about how to get fit for the fight against sin.

If you want to achieve your goals for 2023, you don't need to be more intentional; you need to establish better habits and routines.Join the CT12 challenge and learn how to break the bad habits that are impeding your spiritual growth, and establish simple routines for growing in godliness.Use the Colossians 3:17 Planning Activity as a guide for setting goals for the new year.

A special episode for the Christmas season. Hymn Workout 13 - a meditation on the incarnation. You know this hymn, but you probably haven't ever meditated on the gospel truths within it. Listen as Joe guides you through how to read, reflect, and pray your way through this well-worn Christmas hymn.Read the hymn here.Watch the hymn workout.99 more spiritual exercises at www.hymnworkouts.com/

I rarely miss a meeting. This is especially true if it's a meeting with someone important - a boss, a line-manager, an important new acquaintance, etc. If there is a scheduled appointment on the calendar I almost always show up. However, I miss prayer time with God all of the time. I just decide not to show up and feel no guilt about skipping. Other stuff comes up.How is it that I am so faithful to show up at meetings and so faithless to show up at prayer? Guys need to set a daily meeting with God. To be more committed to prayer, we need to stop thinking of prayer as a leisurely activity and start thinking about it more like a meeting that we can't afford to miss.Need help kickstarting a new prayer routine? Download the Meeting with God template.

You can't separate the body from discipleship. Some guys scoff at bodily discipline because they confuse effort with legalism. Other guys ignore bodily discipline because they don't want to take responsibility for their lack of self-control.In this episode Joe and Evan give Christian men a Biblical framework for bodily discipline.Go to www.menneedhelp.org to get our free guide on a life of simple routines, bodily discipline, and spiritual friendships.