Training4Manhood

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Training4Manhood episodes

October 30, 2023The Building Blocks of Our Country’s Greatness
Guest: Mike Johnson, Congressman from District 4, Louisiana and newly elected Speaker of the House of Representatives

Guys, I’m replaying an episode that I record with Congressman Mike Johnson about a year ago - he’s sharing his Seven Core Principles of Conservatism and I want you to know what an incredible godly man Mike is and listen to him speak about the guiding principles that helped shape our nation into the great country it is today! Join me in praying for Mike and his wife Kelly and their children as Mike takes the mantle of leadership in the House. Also find Mike’s podcast Telling the Truth if you want to listen to a great podcast about government from a biblical perspective!

Seven Core Principles of Conservatism
Individual Freedom
Individual liberties should be protected against the imposition of government intrusion - life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
Purpose of Government is to secure our God-given rights
Limited Government
When government expands, liberty contracts
Legitimate government exists only by the consent of the governed
The Constitution provides important safeguards - separation of powers, federalism, etc..
Best protection against government largesse - involved and informed electorate
Rule of Law
No king above the law, everyone subject to the law
Law must be implied partially and fairly to everyone
Each branch of government must perform their function, but not overstep its boundary
Peace through Strength
Provide for the common defense - citizens, property, interests abroad…part of the Preamble of the Constitution
Must remain the strongest power
National security includes border security
Fiscal Responsibility
Most significant threat to national security - our national debt
Free Markets
Allows for innovation and expansion - gives people the liberty to take risks and pursue their dreams
Competition should be encouraged
People and the private sector outperform government every time
Human Dignity
Everyone created in the image of God and has intrinsic value
People should be measured by the content of their character
Hard work should be the pathway out of public assistance
Protect the life of the unborn - from womb to tomb
T4M guys - just a reminder that Training4Manhood is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) ministry and you can make donations either via Zelle ([email protected]) or by visiting the Training4Manhood website.

Huge thank you to Jared Wood for allowing T4M to use his music in our intro and outro selections.
37 min
October 23, 2023The Blessing of Making Disciples for Christ
Guest: Trog Trogdon, Kingdom Focus Coaching
Email: [email protected]

Trog - if you had a Ferrari in the garage, would you be content with reading the manual or would you rather drive it?! The walk of obedience, with God, is better and more exciting than driving the Ferrari!

5 Question Method of Discipleship
Bible study - what passage of Scripture have you been memorizing or meditating on this week?
Bible Reading Plan & Study Material - what questions or thoughts do you have from your Bible reading time this week?
Prayer & Journaling - what else has the Holy Spirit been speaking to you during your quiet time with him?
Serving Others - how have you loved or served your neighbor this week (and what impact did it have on you)?
Sharing the Gospel - how have you shared your faith in Christ this week or planted gospel seeds?

First three questions are about the development of your inward men, the others are about building community and impacting the world around you!

Know…where you are in your walk with Christ.
Grow…in Him.
Go…teach others.

Trog - You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. Yes, but I can salt the oats and walk him on a hot day!!!
Trog - if you really want to experience God, go and make disciples (Francis Chan).

T4M guys - just a reminder that Training4Manhood is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) ministry and you can make donations either via Zelle ([email protected]) or by visiting the Training4Manhood website.

Huge thank you to Jared Wood for allowing T4M to use his music in our intro and outro selections.
28 min
October 16, 2023 The Purpose of a Man’s Heart is Like Deep Waters
Guest: Trog Trogdon, Kingdom Focus Coaching
Email: [email protected]

Proverbs 20:5 - The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.

What is God doing in your heart? Trog calls this process “Directed Discovery.”

Trog - “If you stop learning, you stop living.” We are always being discipled, it’s just a question of who is discipling/training us.

The Bible is the only book that reads you while you read it! The Bible is the only book that when you read it, the author is there with you!

Trog - are you wanting to get high from the world’s standpoint, or are you wanting to be with the Most High?!

Psalm 16:11 - “...in your presence there is fullness of joy…” Why are you looking for joy in the temporary things of the world that won’t satisfy? It’s like eating rice cakes - God is the sustainer of life, He can fill the deepest void and longing of your life!

Trog - “rejection is God’s protection.” God loves us enough to not let us stay where we are - when God wants to move us, at times it can be painful - but it’s worth it!

Discipleship is us helping others discover God’s plans for their lives - “directed discovery”!

T4M guys - just a reminder that Training4Manhood is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) ministry and you can make donations either via Zelle ([email protected]) or by visiting the Training4Manhood website.

Huge thank you to Jared Wood for allowing T4M to use his music in our intro and outro selections.
34 min
October 09, 2023Seeing God’s Promises, Providence, and Presence in the Midst of Suffering
Guest: Shea Sumlin, Lead Teaching Pastor, Northway Church, Dallas, TX

Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. Habakkuk 3:17-18

So many in our generation are averse to suffering. But suffering is coming. What can you do to best prepare for suffering and learn from the hardships you’re going through?

“Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” C.S. Lewis

When suffering comes, rest on these Biblical principles:
God’s Promises to His people that He will work out all things for the good of His people
God’s Providence that demonstrate that He is in control of all things
God’s Presence that He will never leave you or forsake you

Generations: The Real Differences between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents - and What They Mean for America’s Future by Jean M. Twenge, Ph.D.

Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices by Thomas Brooks

One of the purposes of suffering is that you’ll be able to take the comfort that God has shown you and share that with others going through difficult times. Read 2 Corinthians 1 for more on this.

How to best prepare for suffering:
Get in the Word so that you can draw close to God and gain an eternal perspective on things
Build deep Christ-centered community
Prayerfully seek God and His Promises, His Providence, and His Presence in the midst of tough times.

T4M guys - just a reminder that Training4Manhood is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) ministry and you can make donations either via Zelle ([email protected]) or by visiting the Training4Manhood website.

Huge thank you to Jared Wood for allowing T4M to use his music in our intro and outro selections.
25 min
October 02, 2023Real Talk about Relationships (Part 2 of 2)
Guest: Dan Panetti

Guys, we have an incredible opportunity to do relationships well - the way that God designed and intended for them to be done - and to get the incredible results that God designed - that our relationships would enhance and empower our lives and better those around us! But, it will come at a cost - we have to be honest about what it will cost and be willing to invest our time, talents, and treasure into meaningful and significant relationships!

In this episode, we talk about the strategies to walking out these meaningful relationships:
We have to be willing to be counter-cultural. While others are settling for self-serving relationships, we are going to be working for God-honoring, self-sacrificing relationships.
We have to put to death the deeds of the flesh - as John Owen wrote, “Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you.”
We have to go slowly in our relationships, establishing proper boundaries that honor, respect, and cherish the other person and God’s design.
We must work to protect our sisters in Christ.
We must walk with the wise if we are wanting to grow wise.

T4M guys - just a reminder that Training4Manhood is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) ministry and you can make donations either via Zelle ([email protected]) or by visiting the Training4Manhood website.

Huge thank you to Jared Wood for allowing T4M to use his music in our intro and outro selections.
29 min
September 25, 2023 Real Talk about Relationships (Part 1 of 2)
Guest: Dan Panetti

“This book will keep you from sin, and sin will keep you from this book.” John Bunyan

Holiness is the goal.

Sin separates. God has a design for sex - and God’s way works BEST!

Purity protects - men, you are called to keep, cultivate, love, cherish, nourish, sacrifice, honor, and protect!

If you’re in a dating/marriage relationship, and the woman you are with is not getting better because of being with you, then you’re not doing it right!!!

Holiness costs - you were created for deep, intimate, meaningful relationships. Lust short-circuits and short-changes what God has intended. Love costs.

Satan lies - don’t believe the bill of goods that the world is trying to sell you! Sin will take you farther than you wanted to go, keep you longer than you wanted to stay, and cost you more than you wanted to pay!

T4M guys - just a reminder that Training4Manhood is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) ministry and you can make donations either via Zelle ([email protected]) or by visiting the Training4Manhood website.

Huge thank you to Jared Wood for allowing T4M to use his music in our intro and outro selections.
32 min
September 18, 2023Ten Powerful Principles for Progress in Life (Part 2 of 2)
Guest: Cory Butler, Lead Students Minister, Citizens Church

Numbers 1-5 are on last week’s episode with Cory, this week we are looking at numbers 6-10.

6. Long obedience in the same direction
Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society by Eugene Peterson
Hebrews 12:10-11 - For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

7. Awareness of how culture disciples (trains/teaches/shapes) us
Reminder to connect yourself first to Christ, then children to your parents - not their peers - if children are connected primarily to their peers, their growth and development will be limited and lack creativity
8. Feelings are good servants and terrible kings (so many boys don’t know how to feel)
One of the good things that has been brought forth from the COVID crisis was the increase in people seeking professional licensed counseling - remember that as Christians, we should be seeking BIBLICAL counseling!
The Place We Find Ourselves, a podcast from Adam Young, LCSW, MDiv.
Proverbs 12:15 - The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.

9. Hard things aren’t necessarily bad things (some of the best things require the most work)
Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations by Alex and Brett Harris
Serious Times: Making Your Life Matter in an Urgent Day by James Emery White
The only thing that grows without work is weeds. If you want to cultivate a garden, it will take effort.
Catching Foxes: A Gospel-Guided Journey to Marriage by John Henderson

10. You can be humble and strong (Biblical paradox, concept of “meekness”)
Humility: The Journey Towards Holiness by Andrew Murray
From Humility: No tree can grow except on the root from which it sprang - if your root is humility, then humility will be the fruit of your life. The chief mark of counterfeit holiness is its lack of humility.
Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers by Dane Ortlund

10(a) - put Biblical definitions on things - don’t look with the world’s eyes, but through the Word of God - this is the development of a “Biblical worldview.”

T4M guys - just a reminder that Training4Manhood is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) ministry and you can make donations either via Zelle ([email protected]) or by visiting the Training4Manhood website.

Huge thank you to Jared Wood for allowing T4M to use his music in our intro and outro selections.
57 min
September 11, 2023Ten Powerful Principles for Progress in Life (Part 1 of 2)
Guest: Cory Butler, Lead Students Minister, Citizens Church
Embracing limitations - learning to rest and cease striving
Understanding and appreciating the importance of Sabbath rest!
The cultural pull is “to do more” - this will be connected to #3 - your commitment to one thing means a rejection of something else!
Good resource to address the place of technology in your family is The Tech-Wise Family: Everyday Steps for Putting Technology in Its Proper Place by Andy Crouch
Listening to the HS and obeying Him - which means prioritizing time to listen
Distraction is the greatest threat to our spiritual lives right now. Prayerlessness is us thinking that can we do the things that God has called us to on our own - not possible!
Saying yes to something means saying no to something else
Your Life…Well Spent: The Eternal Rewards of Investing Yourself and Your Money in Your Family by Russ Crosson
You need to say yes to reading - develop a reading plan and have others hold you accountable to reach your reading goals.
Modeling/Imitating the life of Jesus
Be “interruptible” - look for God-moments and divine appointments!
Habits of the Household: Practicing the Story of God in Everyday Family Rhythms by Justin Whitmel Earley
The beauty of discipline - enjoying that self-control that comes from the HS
Don’t look at fasting as a lack of something good, but preparation for something great!
T4M guys - just a reminder that Training4Manhood is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) ministry and you can make donations either via Zelle ([email protected]) or by visiting the Training4Manhood website.

Huge thank you to Jared Wood for allowing T4M to use his music in our intro and outro selections.
49 min
September 04, 2023 Your Identity Shapes Your Attitude
Guest: Coach Jeff Clarkson

Guys, who were the most influential coaches in your life? What character qualities do you admire the most about them and their influence?

Coach Clarkson - it’s often said that sports builds character, but they also reveal character!

How do you walk the line between the competitiveness of athletics and the walk of the Christian to “think of others as better than yourself” (Phil. 2:3). The issue here is identity - do you find your identity primarily as an athlete or a follower of Jesus? Your identity will shape your attitude.

A great rivalry on the court/field and great respect for each other off is the goal of athletic competition.

If your identity is as a follower of Christ, remember that you take that with you on the court - you never put your identity on hold. What you do reveals your identity. In athletics, most of what is measured has nothing to do with a person’s character. You’re going to improve in the things that you measure - remember that! If you become a better basketball player and a worse person, that’s a bad trade-off in life!

There are things that happen in sports…and life…that are not “fair.” The question is what are you going to do with those things - they can either defeat/deflate you or you can learn from them and move forward. Coach Clarkson - it’s not the mistake, it’s what you’re going to do after - “What’s next?!”

T4M guys - just a reminder that Training4Manhood is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) ministry and you can make donations either via Zelle ([email protected]) or by visiting the Training4Manhood website.

Huge thank you to Jared Wood for allowing T4M to use his music in our intro and outro selections.
32 min
August 28, 2023 Men, Own Your Mistakes. Period.
Guest: Dr. Justin Hillhouse, Missions/Men’s Ministry Pastor, Cottonwood Creek Church

Men, we need to learn to own our mistakes, take responsibility for our actions, admit when we’re wrong - just call it like it is!

Guys - we are our own biggest fans - we love us some me! Funny, the Bible actually calls us to love others like we love ourselves!

A good friend is the one who tells you the most truth - are you a good friend to others…do you have good friends who are willing to tell you the truth?!

What we do affects others.

To read more about the fascinating story of King David numbering the people and his consequences, look at 2 Samuel 24. To read more about the story of King David owning his actions against Nabal and Abigail’s stepping in and calling David out, read more about it in 1 Samuel 25. David, like us, at times owns his mistakes (sins), and at times he doesn’t. But when confronted with his sin, David repents of his actions and turns back to God.

HOW do I own my own mistakes? Start small. Own the little things and you’ll develop the habit (and character) to own larger ones!

Are we honest people - think about the amount of TIME you “steal” from your employer! Most people work an average of 20 minutes a day. That is unacceptable. Men, do you work as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23) - which means that we need to work hard and with integrity, regardless of who is watching or what we’re being paid.

T4M guys - just a reminder that Training4Manhood is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) ministry and you can make donations either via Zelle ([email protected]) or by visiting the Training4Manhood website.

Huge thank you to Jared Wood for allowing T4M to use his music in our intro and outro selections.
43 min