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:

1. Charles Ingalls
2. Elon Musk
3. Bear Grylls
4. Hugh Hefner
5. Homer 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?

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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 [email protected]

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 Phillips

This 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 [email protected]

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.
[email protected]

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.