Cross Training Ministries Podcast

Can you relate to any of the following...

• starting prayer and then getting distracted
• starting prayer and then abruptly ending it
• starting prayer and giving up because nothing seems to be happening
•  starting prayer and then giving up for no reason at all

In our last episode of this series, we're going to trouble-shoot some of our common prayer problems with Richard Baxter.

The idea of preaching the gospel to yourself seems to have gained a lot of traction over the past few years. This is, however, an old tactic used by Christians throughout history to fight for a heavenly mind. Richard Baxter is chief among these.

In this episode Baxter coaches us on the work of consideration, wrestling with reason, activating the affections, preaching to yourself, and more.

A few quotes from Baxter...

• Consideration presents to the affections those things that are most important in the most affecting way.
• Consideration is but the reading over and repeating God's reasons to our hearts.
• Meditation holds reason and faith to their work, and blows the fire till it thoroughly burns. To run a few steps will not get a heat, but walking an hour may.
• If you can talk of divine things to others, why not also to your own heart?

In this episode Andy, Joe, and Evan break down Richard Baxter's definition of heavenly contemplation. They also talk about the best time (specific, frequent, seasonable), place (in private), and temper (a clear and solemn mind) for practicing this discipline.

Baxter's definition of heavenly contemplation: the set and solemn setting of all the powers of your soul in meditation upon your everlasting rest.

In Scotland, there are hills full of sheep. If you watch closely, you can see sheep doing a lot of things - but there is one thing I've never seen a sheep do: look up at the sky.  You can have a brilliant sunrise in the sky, or there can be a million shining stars with a glorious full moon, but the sheep never look up - in most cases there faces are always in one position: looking down at the grass.

This is a picture of a lot of men. The Bible pulls back a curtain so that we can lift our mind to glorious realities, but so many of us never do so. We're stuffing our faces like sheep when we could be contemplating the throne of God like angels.

In this episode, Richard Baxter helps us identify the hindrances and helps of a heavenly mind.

Hindrances:

1. Living in known sin 
2. Earthly-mindedness 
3. Hanging out with ungodly 
4. Arguing too much over secondary stuff e.g. theology and politics 
5. Laziness
6. Talking about Christ instead of Delighting in Him

Helps:

1. Genuine Convictions
2. Personal Assurance
3. Proximity to heaven
4. Spiritual Friendship
5. A Sanctified Imagination
6. The Means of Grace
7. Bodily Discipline

Men are passive about their thought life and emotional life. We act as if our thoughts and emotions are like the weather: beyond our reach and out of our control. This is strange. There are a lot of trustworthy Christian guides from the past that indicate that there are ways in which we can direct our mind. One of the greatest of these guides is Richard Baxter. In this series we're going to invite Baxter onto our podcast in order to learn from him how we can begin to live a heavenly life on earth. 

In this episode, Baxter guides us to learn...

• how to live a heavenly life on earth
• the discipline of setting your mind on things that are above
• the benefits of setting your mind on things above

Each generation of men come with their own unique traits and worldview.  How do you take a group of men, men of all ages, and lead them on a path of discipleship?

In this episode, my friend Jason Wood helps me wrestle with this question. Jason is the Pastor at Faith Presbyterian Church in Covington Louisiana, and is on the front lines of discipling men. Listen in as he shares insights about discipling men of different ages and stages of life.

What are the unique challenges and opportunities when discipling Boomers? Joe and Evan discuss strategies that work and don't work when reaching Boomer men for spiritual growth.

If you want help discipling one of your friends - no matter what generation they come from - you can get helpful resources from our website. https://www.xtrainingministries.com/

What are the unique challenges and opportunities of discipling men of Gen X? Listen to find out strategies for reaching men of Gen X for spiritual growth.

If you need help discipling your friends - no matter what generation they come from - check out our website to get resources that will help you along your journey. https://www.xtrainingministries.com/

What are the unique challenges and opportunities that come with discipling men of the Millennial generation? 

Joe, Evan, and Andy discuss the unique characteristics of Millennials, and the best strategies for inspiring them toward spiritual growth.

They also discuss five hard truths that Millennials need to swallow (all taken from Richard Rohr). 

1. Life is hard
2. You are not that important
3. Your life is not about you
4. You are not in control
5. You are going to die

If you need help discipling a friend - no matter what generation they come from - you can get resources that will equip you for your journey at our website. https://www.xtrainingministries.com/

We're kicking off a new short series answering the question: What are the unique challenges of discipling men of each generation? In this episode we'll look at Gen Z. What are the unique traits of this generation? What are the strategies and tactics that will help you disciple Gen Z men? Listen to find out.

Also, you'll hear a new voice this episode. A true Scotsman, Andy Murray, will be joining us for this series. It should be a fun one.

If you need help discipling your friends, no matter what generation they come from - check out the resources on our website. https://www.xtrainingministries.com/