The CruciFit Pod

Are you seeking God—or seeking control?

Zach Renner returns to CruciFit for an honest conversation about trusting God when you can’t see the whole plan. Through his experience of grief and a growing understanding of daily dependence, Zach shares how he’s learning to bring God into the small decisions, release his grip on the outcome, and take the next faithful step.

Aaron and Crystal join him to unpack the difference between asking for direction and waiting for certainty. Drawing on Proverbs 16:9, David’s relationship with God, and the wilderness journey, they explore discernment, patience, and the responsibility to act on what God has already shown us.

The conversation gets personal as Aaron shares how a prayer for humility exposed a deeper desire for recognition beneath the behaviors he’d been trying to change. Together, they discuss confession, repentance, and the freedom and joy that can follow when we stop hiding and surrender our need to be seen.

What step of obedience are you postponing while asking God for more clarity?

Key topics:
• Seeking God’s direction while surrendering control
• Proverbs 16:9: making plans and trusting God with our steps
• Learning from David’s practice of asking God before acting
• Daily dependence through wilderness seasons
• Discernment through Scripture, the fruit of the Spirit, and practical wisdom
• Grief, patience, and making room for joy while waiting
• Humility, pride, and the desire for recognition
• Addressing the root beneath recurring behaviors
• Bringing hidden struggles into the light through honest confession
• The unseen impact of everyday obedience

Arielle Gallagher is back in the ring.

When Arielle first joined CruciFit, she shared her testimony and the journey that brought her to Jesus. Now she returns to talk about what God has been doing since—and how He’s calling her to help others follow Him.

In this episode, Arielle joins Aaron and Crystal for an honest conversation about discipleship, sharing your faith, and learning to trust God with the outcome. She explains why we’re called to be vessels, not reservoirs: receiving what God gives us and being willing to pour it into the lives of others.

Drawing from her experience as a boxing coach, Arielle explores the importance of knowing who’s in your corner, speaking truth with discernment, and helping people take their next step without trying to do their reps for them.

The conversation also touches on surrender, pride, vulnerability, Scripture, and the courage to reach out when someone is on your heart.

God has brought you through something. Who might need to hear your story?

Key topics

• From testimony to discipleship
• Being a vessel, not a reservoir
• Sharing your faith and asking good questions
• Planting seeds and trusting God with the growth
• Speaking truth with discernment and love
• Boxing, coaching, and having someone in your corner
• Surrendering control and pride
• Vulnerability and letting others see God’s grace in your story
• Listening, praying, and reaching out to others
• Scripture, spiritual growth, and reflecting Christ

Keywords

CruciFit, CruciFit Podcast, Arielle Gallagher, Back Into the Ring, Christian podcast, Christian discipleship, sharing your faith, Great Commission, Christian testimony, faith in action, Christian evangelism, how to share your faith, vessel not a reservoir, spiritual growth, Christian boxing, faith and fitness, Christian community, prayer, surrender to God, discipleship and mentorship, speaking truth in love

Faith is easy to talk about when life feels steady. What happens when unexpected news brings you to your knees?

This week, Aaron and Crystal share an honest conversation just days after Crystal’s youngest daughter received a type 1 diabetes diagnosis—the second of her three daughters to face it.

There’s no neatly wrapped ending. Crystal is still processing the grief, the questions, and the daily realities of caring for her family. Through tears, prayer, and moments of unexpected peace, she shares what it looks like to keep turning toward Jesus while the pain is still fresh.

Together, we wrestle with surrender, the limits of our control, and trusting God when the future looks different from what we imagined. We also reflect on the support of Christian community and the love that shows up through practical acts of care.

If you’re walking through something you didn’t choose, we hope this conversation encourages you to bring it honestly to Christ. You don’t have to wait until you have the words—or until the tears stop—to come to Him.

Key topics:
• Trusting God through unexpected hardship
• Parenting through a child’s type 1 diabetes diagnosis
• Grief, questions, and honest prayer
• Surrendering control and expectations for the future
• Experiencing peace while circumstances remain difficult
• Receiving prayer and support from Christian community
• Following Jesus in the middle of an unfinished story

Lift heavy. Pray hard.

Does Jesus get your best - or what’s left after everything else?

Guy Duplantier returns for his fourth appearance on CruciFit, joining Aaron and Crystal for an honest conversation about putting Jesus first in the middle of everyday life.

Through stories from a month of bowhunting, we explore how good things - our passions, careers, success, and even ministry - can become idols. Guy shares his struggle with returning to something he loves without letting it take God’s place, and how scripture, prayer, and fellowship helped him find a new purpose within the hunt.

We also get personal about people pleasing, pride, and wanting recognition. What happens when even the things we do for God become opportunities to seek approval for ourselves?

From conversations at camp to the daily reps of building a relationship with Jesus, Episode 41 challenges us to examine what gets our best attention—and offers a simple place to start.

KEY TOPICS
• Putting Jesus first in everyday life
• Recognizing idols in good things
• Faith, ambition, and success
• People pleasing and seeking God’s approval
• Pride and recognition within ministry
• Building a daily relationship through prayer and scripture
• Obedience, surrender, and fear of backsliding
• Christian brotherhood and fellowship on the mountain
• Using your passions to serve God and others
• Bowhunting, faith, and lessons beyond a successful hunt
• Shadow reps: the unseen habits that strengthen your faith

What’s one thing you could put down this week to spend time with Jesus?

Subscribe to CruciFit for honest conversations about faith, discipline, and becoming who God has called you to be. Share this episode with someone who needs the challenge.

#CruciFit #JesusFirst #ChristianPodcast

Train hard. Stay humble. Love people.

In Episode 40, Aaron and Crystal sit down with Hannah Blair Jansen, CrossFit athlete and co-owner of Train HUMBL on Australia’s Gold Coast, for a warm conversation about faith, fitness, and the people who make life richer.

Hannah shares her journey from professional ballet to CrossFit, the unexpected beginnings of owning a gym with her husband Theo, and their desire to build a place where people feel welcomed, encouraged, and loved. She reflects on how everyday kindness can open meaningful conversations about Jesus.

After a serious knee injury at the Torian Pro, Hannah found herself learning a different kind of strength: patience, asking for help, and allowing others to care for her. Through meals, visits, and practical support, the community she helped build showed up for her—and a slower season created more room for prayer and Scripture.

An honest, joyful conversation about staying humble, receiving love, and living your faith through the way you treat people.

Key Topics:
• Hannah’s journey from professional ballet to CrossFit
• Building community at Train HUMBL
• Sharing faith through kindness and everyday actions
• Recovering from a serious knee injury at Torian Pro
• Learning to ask for help and receive support
• Making room for prayer, Scripture, and patience

Subscribe to CruciFit for honest conversations about following Jesus, training hard, and living your faith.

#CruciFit #ChristianPodcast #CrossFit

This week, Aaron and Crystal trade the guest interview for a conversation on the couch, answering questions sent in by CruciFit listeners. They begin with one of the hardest: If I believe God has forgiven me, why do I still feel guilty?

Aaron shares a story from his past to explain the difference between justice, mercy, and grace. Together, they discuss why accepting forgiveness can take more than understanding it intellectually. They talk about repentance, bringing hidden shame into the light, forgiving yourself, and the daily practice of praying and returning to Scripture when your feelings haven’t caught up with what you believe. Crystal also shares a personal moment that makes their conversation about forgiving others more than a theoretical question.

Then they move into the questions people often hesitate to ask out loud: Why believe in Jesus when other faiths hold their beliefs just as strongly? How can you tell whether you’re feeling God’s presence? What do you owe a partner spiritually? Why does Christianity treat sex as sacred? Does science leave room for God? They also discuss right and wrong, modesty, evil, and a few unexpected rapid-fire questions.

Aaron and Crystal don’t claim to have every answer. They share what they currently understand from Scripture, where their own experiences have shaped them, and where they’re still learning. If you’re wrestling with grace, carrying a question about faith, or wondering whether you’re allowed to ask it, this conversation is for you.

Have a question for a future couch episode? Send it to CruciFit or leave it in the comments.

Key topics: grace versus mercy; guilt and forgiveness; faith and other religions; recognizing God’s presence; right and wrong; relationships, sex, and modesty; and whether science leaves room for God.

Are you running ahead of Jesus, or holding back when He’s asking you to move?

Brandon Shook joins Aaron and Crystal to talk about what it means to follow Jesus at His pace. Brandon shares how he came to faith, why he stepped into ministry with college students, and what it has taught him about trust, patience, and obedience.

They also discuss Sabbath as intentional rest, the difference between introducing someone to Jesus and walking with them as a disciple, and the importance of a community that stays with you as your faith grows.

• Moving when Jesus leads—and slowing down when He does
• Brandon’s faith story and his work with Fusion
• Spiritual growth, repentance, and being shaped over time
• Sabbath, rest, and making room for God
• Following Jesus with intention in everyday life
• Why conversion is the beginning of discipleship
• Helping college students find Christian community
• Raising children who come to own their faith

Dash Wong was born into paradise - but raised through hell.

After a childhood marked by addiction, abuse, homelessness and abandonment, Dash found belonging as a Navy Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewman. Special operations gave him purpose, identity and brotherhood - but it couldn’t answer the deepest questions created by his past.

Then a Christian teammate gave him a simple challenge: stop relying on what other people say about God and ask Jesus directly if He is real.

In this episode, Dash shares his extraordinary journey through military service, supernatural encounters, cancer, losing his identity, surviving a devastating construction accident and learning to forgive the parents who weren’t there.

This isn’t simply a story about everything Dash survived. It’s about the God who was present through all of it - and how our testimony should always point beyond us to the King we carry.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• You don’t have to take someone else’s word for who Jesus is—ask Him yourself.
• God’s silence doesn’t necessarily mean God’s absence.
• Your career, accomplishments and titles are things you’ve done—not who you are.
• Following Jesus doesn’t promise an easy life; it gives suffering purpose.
• Forgiveness can still hurt while being necessary.
• Your testimony isn’t meant to elevate you—it’s meant to carry people toward Jesus.
• People often encounter the gospel through how Christians live before they hear what Christians say.
• What feels like the end of your service may be preparation for a greater assignment.

CHAPTERS

00:00 – A Bible carried through war
05:35 – What a Navy SWCC actually does
07:30 – Born in paradise, raised through hell
17:40 – Homelessness, foster care and abandonment
32:05 – “That’s my son”
43:55 – The zero-option mentality
55:55 – When military service becomes your identity
58:25 – “Ask Jesus if He’s real”
01:01:55 – The first lightning strike
01:05:50 – Confronting God over his suffering
01:09:20 – Finding peace for the first time
01:13:10 – Loss, hatred and becoming a weapon
01:17:20 – Cancer at peak physical condition
01:28:40 – Selling everything and hitting the road
01:30:40 – Breaking down in Aspen
01:36:15 – Christianity as an insurance policy
01:39:50 – The prodigal son changes everything
01:44:10 – A life worth living through hardship
01:46:15 – The donkey carrying the King
01:48:10 – A greater kind of service
01:55:30 – Choosing joy regardless of circumstances
01:57:55 – Becoming the fifth Gospel
02:06:20 – Reconciliation and the bitter cup of forgiveness
02:14:55 – PTSD, adrenaline and losing your identity
02:21:55 – Who are you without the title?
02:25:45 – There is still hope

KEY TOPICS

Christian testimony, Navy SWCC, special operations, childhood trauma, foster care, homelessness, spiritual warfare, encountering Jesus, faith and suffering, military transition, PTSD, identity, cancer survival, forgiveness, reconciliation, purpose, discipleship, Christian leadership and sharing the gospel.

KEYWORDS

Dash Wong, CruciFit Podcast, Christian testimony, Navy SWCC testimony, special operations veteran, military faith story, ask Jesus if He is real, finding Jesus, childhood trauma survivor, foster care testimony, veteran PTSD, military transition, identity after the military, Christian forgiveness, faith through suffering, cancer survivor testimony, spiritual warfare, prodigal son, Christian podcast, Christian men, faith and discipline

CONTENT NOTE

This episode includes discussion of childhood abuse, addiction, sexual violence, suicide, combat trauma and serious injury.

In this episode, we sit down with competitive CrossFit athlete Anna Meredith to talk about the quiet obedience that can change more lives than we ever realize.

During one of the darkest periods of her life, a friend repeatedly invited Anna to church. Anna eventually said yes—and that invitation began a ripple that would later reach Ty Jenkins, Fee Saghafi and many others within the CrossFit community.

Anna shares how her faith carried her through three consecutive years of family loss, moving 13 hours from home at just 18 and learning to separate her identity from her performance as an athlete.

She also takes us inside the moment her heart unexpectedly stopped twice just days before competition. After receiving a pacemaker and being unable to lift even 20 pounds, Anna was forced to surrender the plan she had built and trust the one God was writing. Six weeks later, she returned to the competition floor—and somehow hit a new snatch PR.

This episode is about interrupted plans, persistent faith and the extraordinary ripple created by one ordinary invitation.

TAKEAWAYS

• One invitation can influence far more people than we may ever see.
• Sometimes showing up before we feel ready is the first step toward transformation.
• Our performance may reveal areas for growth, but it does not define our identity.
• We can make plans while still surrendering the outcome to God.
• Hard seasons can deepen our faith when we choose to lean toward God instead of away.
• Sharing our faith becomes easier through repetition and seeing its impact.
• God can use interruptions to reshape our priorities, perspective and purpose.
• The next generation is increasingly willing to speak boldly and unapologetically about Jesus.

CHAPTERS

00:00 – Welcome Anna Meredith
04:49 – Discovering CrossFit and competitive training
07:29 – Moving 13 hours from home at 18
10:11 – Learning to trust God’s plan
11:02 – Losing three family members in three years
13:38 – The friend who kept inviting Anna to church
15:39 – Keep showing up, even when it feels mechanical
18:04 – Anna’s decision to be baptized
22:31 – The ripple effect of one invitation
24:57 – Bringing faith into the CrossFit community
26:51 – Building confidence to talk about Jesus
28:32 – Sharing faith behind the competition floor
29:32 – Separating identity from performance
33:08 – The unexpected trip to the hospital
36:05 – Anna’s heart stops twice
36:46 – Receiving a pacemaker
37:51 – Wrestling with “Why me?”
38:55 – When God interrupts your plan
40:22 – Starting over with an empty barbell
41:31 – Returning to competition six weeks later
42:12 – An unexpected snatch PR
43:07 – Why Anna’s dad needed to be there
45:03 – Anna’s upcoming competition goals
47:12 – Helping athletes navigate grief and adversity
50:15 – Trusting God without immediate answers
51:20 – A generation speaking boldly about faith
55:43 – Young Christians gathering at Passion
01:03:38 – Who should join CruciFit next?
01:05:13 – Anna’s current favorite worship music

This episode, we sit down with Adam Everett, founder of the Ndure Project and Desert City Classic, for a conversation that lands right at the heart of CruciFit: faith isn’t meant to make us comfortable—it’s meant to transform us.

We talk about why doing hard things matters, the power of shared suffering and community, and how physical challenges can prepare us to endure the trials life inevitably brings. Adam also opens up about burnout, doubt, marriage, and a season when everything looked successful from the outside while he felt completely empty on the inside.

From faith and fitness to leadership, relationships and learning to stop carrying everything alone, this conversation is a reminder that the testing isn’t always something to escape. Sometimes, it’s exactly where God is building the endurance we’ll need for what comes next.

Faith that isn’t tested can’t be trusted.

• Faith that isn’t tested can’t be trusted.
• Comfort can quietly become an idol—and hard doesn’t mean we’re on the wrong path.
• Physical challenges can train us to endure difficult seasons mentally, spiritually and emotionally.
• We weren’t designed to carry everything alone; community and shared suffering matter.
• Success on the outside doesn’t necessarily mean we’re healthy on the inside.
• Faith and fitness shouldn’t live in separate compartments—how we live matters as much as what we know.
• Strong leadership is less about forcing results and more about stewarding environments that produce fruit.

00:00 — Welcome & Getting to Know Adam
08:00 — Rucking, Faith & Carrying Weight
16:45 — Building the Desert City Classic
20:00 — When Faith & Fitness Collide
30:00 — Brotherhood & the Ndure Project
39:00 — Why Hard Challenges Change Us
43:00 — Adam’s Journey to Faith & Ministry
51:30 — Fatherhood, Leadership & Becoming Better
53:00 — Burnout, Doubt & Feeling Far From God
58:50 — Faith That Isn’t Tested Can’t Be Trusted
1:02:00 — The Idol of Comfort
1:04:40 — The Power of Shared Suffering
1:07:00 — Leadership That Produces Fruit
1:08:00 — Why We Need Hard Things
1:13:00 — Final Thoughts & What Comes Next