Cross Training Ministries Podcast

One of the main questions we get asked is how to help guys shift from being a Bible study group to becoming a band of brothers. Guys want a path. In this episode we give you one. My notes: Camaraderie is a special type of friendship shared with fellow pilgrims Extend to men an explicit invitation into friendship, not to your next Men's event. If you want to move from classmates to comrades, g...

There is no way to pursue godliness in a broken world without self-control. Self-control is using all of the internal and external resources God has given us to steer our lives in the direction of godliness. Listen as Joe and Evan dispel the myths that surround self-control, and point Christian men toward the internal and external resources that promote self-control. https://www.xtrainingministrie...

In this episode Joe and Evan discuss one of the 5 dimensions of spiritual fitness: Competence. Questions we answer: What is competence? Why is competence spiritually important? How does a lack of competence affect Christian guys?  Where specifically do men need competence?  What are the limits of competence?  What does it look like for guys to pursue competence together? 

Do you have clear convictions on the big questions of life? A lot of Christian men are in danger of floating through life with no clear convictions - or worse yet - convictions borrowed from the culture around them. Part of spiritual fitness is clarity - a Biblical perspective on life. In this conversation, Joe and Evan help define clarity and help guys grow in it. My Notes: Clarity is a Biblical...

No man will make serious progress toward spiritual maturity until he is captivated by the glory of Christ. In this episode we help guys understand what captivation is, and how they can begin to feed their captivation of Christ. My notes: Captivation is a heart that is fiercely gripped by a vision of unparalleled goodness. Captivation of Christ is often more like a steady bubbling stream than a mou...

You spend a lot of time at work. And when you’re not at work, you’re often thinking about work. The truth is, you are going to spend a large chunk of your life - at work.  Yet, for some Christian men there is a disconnect between work life and their faith. I’m interested in helping you build a lifestyle of putting Christ first - and we can’t do that without evaluating your posture, your diligence,...

Gaming is a multi-billion dollar industry. It’s an industry that is growing in both popularity and influence, yet the response from most Christian leaders has been….silence. Christians have no idea how to talk about gaming. Reagan Rose wants to talk about gaming. Regan is the founder of Redeeming Productivity , a ministry that helps Christians develop a biblically-grounded understanding of persona...

Being a godly dad is challenging. If you're like most dads, you walk around most days feeling like a failure as a husband and father. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Author/speaker/full-time growing dad, Kent Evans,  wants to help men like you. He believes that wherever you are as a father - you can turn around and live as a more confident, godly dad who leads his family - without regrets...

Do you feel like your prayer life is stuck in a rut? Are you the kind of guy who occasionally finds himself paralyzed by anxiety? Trusted friend, Robert Barkerding, knows what it's like to wrestle with God in prayer. In this episode, Robert shares his story of learning to trust God’s sovereignty during the most difficult season of his life. If you’re a guy who feels stuck with a stale prayer...

Satan’s tool belt of lies is diverse. At times he tries to lure us into sin by waxing a shine on forbidden fruit. Other times he tries to keep us in sin by making us believe that God’s arm is too short to save and His ear too heavy to hear. He doesn’t care about how he snares us. The only thing that matters to him is that we end up tightly bound in a web of deception. Want training on lie-detectin...

Irritable, angry, anxious, restless, annoyed - such is the display of a man losing  patience. We're all too familiar with this. But what does it look like for a man to grow in patience? My notes: Patience is enduring evil, pain, or sorrow for the sake of a greater good Hupomone is steadfastness, constancy, endurance in the midst of suffering (Rev 13:10) Makrothumia is the long fuse of anger (...

Guys don't seem to think sin is that big of a problem in their lives. If they are not trapped in porn or doing something scandalous, there is a sense that the battle against sin is more of a skirmish than a violent war. In other words: guys have lowered the bar of holiness and minimized the seriousness of sin. The call of holiness is far weightier than men realize. Guys need to change the way...

The aim of Christianity is simple: love God and love neighbor. God shows very little interest in a lot of things like success, fun memories, personal fitness, etc. The whole of Christianity is about reshaping us into the image of God's love. But there's a problem - most guys  don't spend much time trying to become more loving. We'd love to be more courageous. We'd love to...

We're surrounded by the following messages: live for pleasure; satisfy your appetites; don't worry about tomorrow . This is the stupidity of anyone being a slave to their appetites. If we as Christian men want to counteract such slavery, we need to grow in the virtue of temperance . Self restraint and moderation give us the freedom we truly want as followers of Christ. My notes: Temperan...

We're all quitters. Sometimes this is not a big deal. You can give up on most of your New Year's resolutions without consequence. But what happens when you begin quitting on your marriage? Or your devotional life? The virtue that enables us to overcome the desire to throw in the towel is diligence. Listen as Joe and Evan help guys who say: "It's too hard" - "I'm...

Chastity is not a weird medieval belt you wear - it's a virtue you pursue.  If you don't understand chastity you won't understand worship, discipleship, love, holiness, or devotion. My notes: Chastity is discipling desire for the sake of love. Chastity is not just what you see but how you see. "Chaste" is a holistic approach to devotion to Christ. Check out Hymn Workout 85...

There is no short-cut to humility. You might be able to temporarily fake humility by pretending not to be proud; but that won't last.  In this conversation, Joe and Evan uncover the misconceptions of humility, give you clarity on what true humility is, and show you how you can begin practicing humility today. My notes: Humility is not merely a tool for career advancement. Humility isn't...

If you want to achieve your goals for 2023, you don't need to be more intentional; you need to establish better habits and routines. Join the CT12 challenge and learn how to break the bad habits that are impeding your spiritual growth, and establish simple routines for growing in godliness. Use the Colossians 3:17 Planning Activity as a guide for setting goals for the new year.

A special episode for the Christmas season. Hymn Workout 13 - a meditation on the incarnation. You know this hymn, but you probably haven't ever meditated on the gospel truths within it. Listen as Joe guides you through how to read, reflect, and pray your way through this well-worn Christmas hymn. Read the hymn here . Watch the hymn workout . 99 more spiritual exercises at www.hymnworkouts.co...

I rarely miss a meeting. This is especially true if it's a meeting with someone important - a boss, a line-manager, an important new acquaintance, etc. If there is a scheduled appointment on the calendar I almost always show up. However, I miss prayer time with God all of the time. I just decide not to show up and feel no guilt about skipping. Other stuff comes up. How is it that I am so fait...

You can't separate the body from discipleship. Some guys scoff at bodily discipline because they confuse effort with legalism. Other guys ignore bodily discipline because they don't want to take responsibility for their lack of self-control. In this episode Joe and Evan give Christian men a Biblical framework for bodily discipline. Go to www.menneedhelp.org to get our free guide on a lif...

More often than not, church services are a ho-hum experience. Sermons are not infrequently uninspiring. The music is never to everyone’s taste. The public prayers are longwinded, abstract, and difficult to follow. So why go? In this episode Joe and Evan talk about why men should go to church, and how they can maximize the benefits of attending church.

Every guy has a stack of books he's been given, but never read. Some guys don't have the time to read. A lot of guys don't like reading. Should Christian men feel guilty for not being readers? In this episode Joe and Evan give ordinary Christian men 5 reasons why reading is worth the hard work . Start your reading habit with Joe's book The Way Forward , a guide for Christian me...

How do you become a guy that has really great friends? We all want to be that guy, but most of us aren't on that path. How do you find the road to great friendship?  You need to grow in the virtues of gospel friendship. In this episode, Joe and Evan guide you through 7 virtues of gospel friendship. You can read about each of the virtues on the Cross Training blog . For more on the importance...

What's the most dangerous object you own? A knife? A gun? A chainsaw? It's your phone. What is the most likely thing to distract you from God? To keep you from paying attention to your wife and kids? Of luring you into porn? Of making you superficial and unable to focus your mind? It's your phone. We all carry a dangerous item in our pocket, and none of us feels the danger. Men who...