#13 - I’ve REALLY Messed up - Now What do I do?

Act Like Men – Men’s Leadership Podcast

Sponsored by Men’s Ministry Catalyst

Podcast Script

Guest:  Craig Cato - LPC

The Reality:  If you live long enough, chances are you are going to mess up somewhere along the line.  Many people blame Adam for messing up the world, but I am here to tell you that if he had not messed it up, I would have.  With the divorce rate in America the same both inside and outside the church, with more than 50% of men struggling with pornography,  with the infidelity rate as high as it is today, with things at work happening that may cause you to lose your job, with serious health issues arising out of not taking care of ourselves over the years, and over spending, there is plenty of things that we helped create in our life that can cause us to say:  “I’ve Really Messed up – now what do I do?”  

I want to say we are not going to beat anyone up today – make anyone feel guilty about your past – men get enough abuse during the course of time as it is.  Today is all about offering a path forward for you, your men, or someone you know who has really messed up.   

We are honored to have with us:  Craig Cato - Craig Cato’s identity is disciple of Jesus. His vocation is licensed counselor, primarily focusing on marriage and family issues. Craig walked away from his computer engineering career 23 years ago to write a book on surviving depression in your spouse, something Craig experienced for 3 years in the mid 1980’s. Today Craig lives in Hayden Idaho (north of Coeur d’Alene) and is involved in his church’s marriage mentor ministry. At 68, Craig says retirement is nowhere on the horizon.

Today we are going to get real where many of us have been, or unfortunately where some men (pastor’s, men’s leaders or not) are headed right now.  We live in a fallen world, and we are prone to sin, prone to offend, tempted to take shortcuts, and we desire to be self-serving.  I am reminded in Ephesians 6:12: For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  If we fight this battle alone without God, without friends, and without humility, we will fail at some point.   

Today, since our guest is primarily a marriage and family counselor, we will focus our time on close family relationships.  

Intro questions for Craig:  

Tell us a little more about you:  Your Family?  What motivates you?  What is your passion?  Hobbies? 

Stepping back for just a moment:  Beyond what was mentioned in our introduction, what other thoughts do you have that help us better understand why men (which is our topic) mess up?   

  Building a path forward: 

• What is the first things a guy should do if he messes up badly?
  1. Confess to God - Authentically, single mindedly, and ask God to forgive and provide a pure heart regarding this particular sin.
  2. Recommit to abiding in Christ by reading the Bible daily and being active in Christian fellowship
  3. Remember that God’s response to fully turning from the sin is to forget you ever committed the sin. Guilt after being forgiven by God is either from Satan or from ourselves
• Anything else he should do on the spiritual front?