Why You Need to Learn to Fail by The Well Said Podcast

Where have all the good men gone? I understand that it today’s politically charged culture, that question itself can be seen as offensive and controversial. But here’s an observation that I’ve seen lately. For all the ways that christians today seek to stand against the progressive push in sexuality, we are have largely failed to articulate and model and powerful vision of biblical masculinity. As a result, the younger generations of men are left without model or example, and become sitting ducks to the weak and pessimistic manhood of modern culture.

Our goal in this conversation was just to plant the flag for the beauty, power and joy of biblical masculinity. We understand that we are both young men in process. We need to grow in wisdom, understanding and strength ourselves. And yet we see that there is no future to the community of the saints around us without a compelling call to biblical masculinity. Enjoy the episode!

Here is the link to the article we mention on the show:

- https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/not-safe-but-good

After we finally put the kids down to bed, my wife and I decided to sit down and finally put down some thoughts about what we've been learning over the last six years of marriage and family. One of the first things that we wanted to start with is to challenge our modern expectations of the good life.

So here's the key question that will shape the most significant portion of your life: what do you expect from love, marriage and family? More specifically, what part does pain and trails play in your theology of progress and growth. Whether we realize it or not, most of us will often resort to the common assumption that, though discomfort is unavoidable, we need to work as hard as we can do avoid it.

The great plot twist of the gospel is that God accomplishes victory through situations that feel like defeat. Through death, he gives us life. And it is through our daily embrace of death that we grow in wisdom, maturity and richness of heart. This idea puts a completely different spin on what we expect from love, marriage and family. Enjoy the show!

Dealing with our insecurity by The Well Said Podcast

What does genuine faith look like? This past weekend we had the great opportunity to attend Reality Conference at Word of Grace Bible Church in Battleground WA. Dr. Matthew Jones spent the weekend unpacking this awesome and practical topic. This episode we take a moment to sit down and talk about the highlights and our favorite moments.

- Check out the conference Q and A at - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRE7Y8fzDx0

- Check out Matt Jones sermons at - https://www.delreychurch.com/sermons

Living as a follower of Jesus in our modern political storm by The Well Said Podcast

As we open the episode on this dense and complex subject this week, one of the things we try to show is that all politics are merely an extension of the personal world into the public sphere. There is no such thing as a perfect public/private split. The reality is that all politics is a battlefield of the gods - our deepest personal desires and values coming out into the open and colliding head on. Enjoy the show! Check out the links and show notes below!

Links:

- "Them" by Ben Sasse - https://www.amazon.com/Them-Hate-Each-Other-Heal/dp/1250193680/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=sasse+them&qid=1552969831&s=gateway&sr=8-1

- "How the Nations Rage" by Leeman -https://www.amazon.com/How-Nations-Rage-Rethinking-Politics/dp/1400207649/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=how+the+nations+rage&qid=1552969909&s=gateway&sr=8-1

- Almohler.com

More surrounded than ever. And more alone than ever. That is what we are as a culture. Technology, sexual ethics and personal freedoms all feed into a cultural tide that is hard to shake, even if you say that you believe in a different way. As christians, we are constantly bathed in the mindset of radical individualism, a message that tells us that our greatest joy is found when every possible option is left open.

And yet the only way to keep all the options open and hold on to every freedom is to commit to nothing and no one. The moment you commit to a job, a person, a truth, you are by nature closing the door to the freedom you had before. To stay in the world of choice is to be stuck in limbo. Today we are surrounded by people who are trapped in their own personal freedom, their own little island in the cosmos. And more than ever we long for a rediscovery of true friendship.

The night before he was killed, Jesus said, “No greater love is this, than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” The one who shaped the world into being, the one who upholds all things, entered our broken world to give his life to us and to call us his friends. This is the rediscovery of friendship at its source. And it this is the only thing that has the power to fuel true friendship in every season of life. Enjoy the show!

Show links:

- Tim Keller's message on friendship: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/friendship/id352660924?i=1000353131441&mt=2

- Ben Sasse's latest book -https://www.amazon.com/Them-Hate-Each-Other-Heal/dp/1250193680/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3683CT8SRSKOJ&keywords=ben+sasse+them&qid=1551769263&s=gateway&sprefix=Ben+Sasse+%2Caps%2C218&sr=8-1

In one of his recent songs titled “Family Photo", Andy Mineo recounts the painful experience of his dad not showing up to his wedding. The song goes on to powerfully explore the pain and challenge of emotions that we try to bury with time, only to have them rise up even stronger later in life. This is particularly true in our challenges and tensions in the relationships that we have with our parents. One of the toughest challenges of transitioning into adulthood is rebuilding our relationship with our parent from that of a dependent child, to an independent adult.

This process is often full of tension, conflict and pain. And this is something that follows people deep into their adult life. Contrary to the common cultural assumption, we cannot just break out and start a new life. We are the people the we have been made to be by our surroundings. The beautiful thing is that, when we look at the gospel, we see the power the Christ gives us to not only face our challenges, but also to work through them and grow in deeper faith. Check out the link below for the song from Andy Mineo, and detailed show notes below. Enjoy the show!

Is there any aspect of your humanity that has more power to bring either pleasure or pain than your sexuality? I think that’s a tough question to answer. Probably not. Our sexuality is that aspect of ourselves that is inseparably tied to almost every aspect of our life - physical, spiritual, emotional, relational and psychological. This is why when we look at a spiritually broken and confused culture, we also find profound sexual brokenness and angst. Without a proper understanding of this aspect of ourselves, we will struggle in every other aspect of our identity.

So how do we as christians properly understand and relate to this world’s sexual brokenness? More in this week’s show.

Show links:

- Support us at https://www.patreon.com/wellsaid