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Culture keeps shouting two bad options for men: shrink your strength or dominate with it. We want to share something truer and more human —a third way shaped by Jesus, the one who washed feet, wept with friends, and laid down his life. This conversation explores how Christ-shaped masculinity can transform recovery from a project of behavioral control into a path of formation, where shame is faced, strength is refined, and love prevails.

If you’re ready for a path that turns shame into strength, clarifies desire, and forms a man who gives his good for others’ good, this one’s for you. Listen, share with a friend, and tell us: where do you want to grow in Christ-like strength today? And if this helped you, subscribe, leave a review, and pass it on to someone who needs hope.

Resources:

Forming Men

Join us for the Awaken Retreat, a weekend designed to help men step out of isolation and into deeper honesty, healing, and connection.

October 9th -11th | Early Bird Registration Available More Information & Registration

Free Resources to help you on your journey to Becoming Whole:

👉Men's Overcoming Lust & Temptation Devotional
👉Women 21-Day Prayer Journal & Devotional - (Women overcoming unwanted sexual Behavior)
👉Compass 21-Day Prayer Journal & Devotional - (Wives who are or have been impacted by partner betrayal)

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Do your desires feel like enemies to be conquered, or could they actually be signposts pointing toward your truest fulfillment? In this conversation with Christopher West, we discuss how our hungers—even our unwanted sexual behaviors—reveal something beautiful about our design.

Christopher shares his journey from the "starvation diet gospel" of his Catholic upbringing through the "fast food gospel" of cultural gratification to discovering what our souls truly crave. His insights on John Paul II's Theology of the Body offer a radical reframing: we're not just called away from sexual sin but toward glorifying God in our bodies.

Whether you're struggling with unwanted behaviors or simply wondering why your faith hasn't eliminated your deepest longings, this episode offers a life-changing perspective. Your hunger isn't your enemy—it's your heart's compass pointing home.

Listen in and discover how to transform your yearnings into prayer and your dissatisfactions into signposts toward genuine fulfillment.

Resources from this episode

Theology of the Body Institute:

The Ask Christopher West podcast:

Our Bodies Tell God's Story by Christopher West:

Peter Gabriel's "Blood of Eden": YouTube or Spotify

Florence and the Machine: "Hunger": YouTube or Spotify

Join us for the Awaken Retreat, a weekend designed to help men step out of isolation and into deeper honesty, healing, and connection.

October 9th -11th | Early Bird Registration Available More Information & Registration

Free Resources to help you on your journey to Becoming Whole:

👉Men's Overcoming Lust & Temptation Devotional
👉Women 21-Day Prayer Journal & Devotional - (Women overcoming unwanted sexual Behavior)
👉Compass 21-Day Prayer Journal & Devotional - (Wives who are or have been impacted by partner betrayal)

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A simple sentence could transform your recovery journey: "I feel ___ about ___ because ___." In this conversation with Sue Moore of Forgiven Much Ministries, we dive deep into an advanced technique for processing emotions that can break cycles of unwanted behavior.

Whether you're struggling with unwanted sexual behavior, processing betrayal trauma, or simply wanting deeper emotional awareness, this conversation offers practical tools for becoming whole. For parents and caregivers, these techniques represent an opportunity to equip the next generation with emotional resilience skills that could prevent future addiction struggles.

Ready to transform how you process pain and emotion? Download the reflective listening resources mentioned and begin your journey toward authentic healing today.

Resources:

TED Talk about addiction

FMM Reflective Listening Workshop

Boundaries by Cloud and Townsend

FMM Gospel Centered Sexuality Course kicking off this fall

Join us for the Awaken Retreat, a weekend designed to help men step out of isolation and into deeper honesty, healing, and connection.

October 9th -11th | Early Bird Registration Available More Information & Registration

Free Resources to help you on your journey to Becoming Whole:

👉Men's Overcoming Lust & Temptation Devotional
👉Women 21-Day Prayer Journal & Devotional - (Women overcoming unwanted sexual Behavior)
👉Compass 21-Day Prayer Journal & Devotional - (Wives who are or have been impacted by partner betrayal)

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On this episode of the Becoming Whole Podcast, we welcome Sue Moore, the founder and CEO of Forgiving Much Ministries. Sue walks us through a basic emotions reflection exercise to help us process negative emotions and overcome unwanted sexual behaviors. Learn about her personal journey and how emotional health is crucial for dealing with betrayal, parenting challenges, and personal addictions. Discover practical steps to cultivate emotional resilience by pausing to reflect on your feelings, understanding their origins, and seeking healthier ways to meet your emotional needs. Don't miss this episode filled with hope and actionable advice.

Resources:

• Forgiven Much Ministries (FMM) 
• FMM Reflective Listening Workshop
• FMM Gospel Centered Sexuality Course kicking off this fall https://forgivenmuchministries.org/gcs-class/gcs/ 

Join us for the Awaken Retreat, a weekend designed to help men step out of isolation and into deeper honesty, healing, and connection.

October 9th -11th | Early Bird Registration Available More Information & Registration

Free Resources to help you on your journey to Becoming Whole:

👉Men's Overcoming Lust & Temptation Devotional
👉Women 21-Day Prayer Journal & Devotional - (Women overcoming unwanted sexual Behavior)
👉Compass 21-Day Prayer Journal & Devotional - (Wives who are or have been impacted by partner betrayal)

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What kind of legacy are you leaving in your home? For many men, this question cuts deep. They're physically present but emotionally absent—buried in work, numbed by addiction, or simply disconnected from their own hearts. Meanwhile, their families feel the void: wives longing for connection and children navigating life without the emotional safety they desperately need.

In this powerful conversation, Aaron Tagert sits down with Joel Warneking, Executive Director of 423 Communities, who shares his journey from sexual addiction to wholeness. Joel's story follows a familiar pattern—childhood exposure to pornography that developed into a full-blown addiction lasting through Bible college and ministry positions. Living a double life of public ministry and private shame eventually led to a breaking point that became his pathway to healing.

The heart of this episode explores how men's healing transforms entire family systems. When fathers engage with their own emotional wounds and develop sexual competency, they create safe spaces where rupture and repair can happen naturally. Joel explains how understanding our physiological responses to stress—what happens in our bodies when we feel triggered—allows us to respond thoughtfully rather than reactively to our spouses and children.

Perhaps most powerful is the discussion about parenting teens through sexual development. Before parents can effectively guide their children through conversations about sexuality, they must first do their own work. Creating an emotionally safe home where children can bring their struggles without shame becomes the foundation for healing across generations.

Whether you're struggling with your own unwanted sexual behaviors, trying to build a healthier family system, or wanting to guide your children through today's hypersexualized culture, this episode offers both hope and practical wisdom. The journey begins with allowing yourself to be fully known so you can be fully loved—by God, others, and even yourself.

Resources:

• 423 Communities  
• Awaken Retreat 
• Sacred By Design Retreat
• Treading Boldly

Join us for the Awaken Retreat, a weekend designed to help men step out of isolation and into deeper honesty, healing, and connection.

October 9th -11th | Early Bird Registration Available More Information & Registration

Free Resources to help you on your journey to Becoming Whole:

👉Men's Overcoming Lust & Temptation Devotional
👉Women 21-Day Prayer Journal & Devotional - (Women overcoming unwanted sexual Behavior)
👉Compass 21-Day Prayer Journal & Devotional - (Wives who are or have been impacted by partner betrayal)

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Ever feel completely exhausted despite getting enough sleep? There's a reason for that—and it goes beyond physical fatigue. In this second episode on rest, we dive deep into four often-overlooked forms of restoration that are essential for wholeness and recovery.

Continuing our exploration of Dr. Sandra Dalton-Smith's seven types of rest, we move beyond the physical, mental, and emotional to discover spiritual, social, sensory, and creative rest. Each offers a unique pathway to restoration that many of us desperately need but rarely recognize.

For anyone on a recovery journey or supporting a loved one through betrayal trauma, these forms of rest aren't luxuries—they're essential practices for healing and growth. Join us as we discover God's multifaceted invitation to find rest for our weary souls.

Ready to experience deeper restoration? Subscribe now and discover which form of rest might be your missing piece.

Resources:

Sacred Rest

Rest Quiz

Healthy, Holy Alternatives from Awaken 360

Boundaries by Cloud and Townsend

Lectio Divina

Free Resources to help you on your journey to Becoming Whole:

👉Men's Overcoming Lust & Temptation Devotional
👉Women 21-Day Prayer Journal & Devotional - (Women overcoming unwanted sexual Behavior)
👉Compass 21-Day Prayer Journal & Devotional - (Wives who are or have been impacted by partner betrayal)

Send us Fan Mail

What if the missing piece in your recovery journey isn't more discipline or accountability, but specific kinds of rest you've been overlooking? 

Dr. Sondra Dalton-Smith's concept of "sacred rest" offers a framework for understanding why many of us remain stuck in cycles of unwanted sexual behavior despite our best efforts. Kyle Bowman and I explore how three distinct types of rest—physical, mental, and emotional—directly impact our ability to heal from sexual brokenness.

This conversation challenges the subtle Gnosticism that pervades Christian thinking—the idea that physical limitations are spiritual weaknesses rather than divine design. Even Jesus slept! Your recovery journey might transform not through trying harder but through resting more intentionally in the ways your body, mind, and heart truly need.

Resources:

Sacred Rest

Rest Quiz

Healthy, Holy Alternatives from Awaken 360

Boundaries by Cloud and Townsend

Lectio Divina

Join us for the Awaken Retreat, a weekend designed to help men step out of isolation and into deeper honesty, healing, and connection.

October 9th -11th | Early Bird Registration Available More Information & Registration

Free Resources to help you on your journey to Becoming Whole:

👉Men's Overcoming Lust & Temptation Devotional
👉Women 21-Day Prayer Journal & Devotional - (Women overcoming unwanted sexual Behavior)
👉Compass 21-Day Prayer Journal & Devotional - (Wives who are or have been impacted by partner betrayal)

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Recovery fatigue is a rarely discussed but a common experience for men trying to rebuild after betrayal. What happens when all the meetings, check-ins, and recovery work start to feel overwhelming or—worse yet—like they're not making a difference?

Dan Drake, a licensed marriage and family therapist and certified sex addiction therapist with over 20 years of experience, joins us to unpack this challenging reality. He shares insights on how recovery motivation makes all the difference: "If I'm checking boxes trying to do these things to get my wife back and stop her from pestering me, that's going to be a different motivation than 'I get to do these things to thrive and become a better human being.'"

Resources:

Awaken Retreat

The Intimacy Pyramid

Kintsugi Recovery Partners (Find a Disclosure Guide)

Books:

Surviving the Holidays

Building True Intimacy

Full Disclosure (For the Disclosing Individual)

Full Disclosure: Seeking Truth After Sexual Betrayal Vol 1 (For Partners)

Full Disclosure: Seeking Truth After Sexual Betrayal Vol 2 (For Partners)

Full Disclosure: Seeking Truth After Sexual Betrayal Vol 3 (For Partners)

Join us for the Awaken Retreat, a weekend designed to help men step out of isolation and into deeper honesty, healing, and connection.

October 9th -11th | Early Bird Registration Available More Information & Registration

Free Resources to help you on your journey to Becoming Whole:

👉Men's Overcoming Lust & Temptation Devotional
👉Women 21-Day Prayer Journal & Devotional - (Women overcoming unwanted sexual Behavior)
👉Compass 21-Day Prayer Journal & Devotional - (Wives who are or have been impacted by partner betrayal)

Send us Fan Mail

Caught between exploding and imploding? You're not alone. This episode uncovers the hidden connection between acting out (through behaviors like porn, alcohol, or overworking) and acting in (through withdrawal, passive-aggression, and emotional shutdown). What looks like self-control on the surface might actually be self-contempt in disguise.

Ready for transformation? Join us for the men's Awaken retreat (October 3-5) or the women's Sacred by Design retreat (November 7-8). Space is limited, so reserve your spot today through the link in our show notes.

Resources:

Retreat links

Dr. Nathanson on Shame

Minwalla Model

Brene Brown's Ted Talk on Shame

Join us for the Awaken Retreat, a weekend designed to help men step out of isolation and into deeper honesty, healing, and connection.

October 9th -11th | Early Bird Registration Available More Information & Registration

Free Resources to help you on your journey to Becoming Whole:

👉Men's Overcoming Lust & Temptation Devotional
👉Women 21-Day Prayer Journal & Devotional - (Women overcoming unwanted sexual Behavior)
👉Compass 21-Day Prayer Journal & Devotional - (Wives who are or have been impacted by partner betrayal)

Send us Fan Mail

What if your recovery from unwanted sexual behaviors could be strengthened by simple physical practices you've overlooked? In this episode, we dive into often-forgotten physical disciplines that transform spiritual recovery. From breathing techniques that calm the nervous system during moments of temptation to the profound impact of proper hydration on decision-making, we explore how our bodies are designed to function optimally through specific practices.

Whether you're just beginning your recovery journey or have been walking it for years, these physical disciplines offer practical tools for creating the optimal conditions where spiritual transformation can flourish. 

This is part 2 of this podcast, and we encourage you to listen to part 1 if you haven't already.

Resources:

Harvard Prof Arthur Brooks

Join us for the Awaken Retreat, a weekend designed to help men step out of isolation and into deeper honesty, healing, and connection.

October 9th -11th | Early Bird Registration Available More Information & Registration

Free Resources to help you on your journey to Becoming Whole:

👉Men's Overcoming Lust & Temptation Devotional
👉Women 21-Day Prayer Journal & Devotional - (Women overcoming unwanted sexual Behavior)
👉Compass 21-Day Prayer Journal & Devotional - (Wives who are or have been impacted by partner betrayal)