The Lion Within Us - Leadership for Christian Men

Send us Fan Mail A promotion falls through, the disappointment hits hard, and then comes the sentence many of us avoid: “God, I don’t know what you’re doing, but I’m going to give you full control.” That’s where Michael Dickson’s story gets real, because trusting God’s timing isn’t a slogan when you’re trying to provide, lead your family, and keep your faith strong. We're headed to the 1613 M...

Send us Fan Mail Blindness is not a plot twist most of us plan for, and Pastor Chad Roberts didn’t either. One mission trip, one terrifying moment on a mountain, and a chain of medical decisions later, Chad goes from fully sighted to completely blind. What happens to a man’s faith, marriage, and leadership when the prayers are loud, the support is real, and the outcome still doesn’t change? We&apo...

Send us Fan Mail Quicksand is a pretty good word for what a lot of us feel right now. You’re still showing up, still trying to lead, still trying to be steady, but underneath the surface you’re sinking and you don’t know how to get out. We open Psalm 40:1-3 and follow David’s path from the pit to the rock, because he doesn’t write this from theory. He writes it from pressure, fear, failure, and th...

Send us Fan Mail A 20-year-old can sound like a kid on paper, but Pablo Munoz shows what happens when a young man stops drifting and fully surrenders his will to Jesus. He grew up in Hemet, California without really knowing God, chased approval through other people, and watched his goals collapse under bad influence and undisciplined choices. Then one friend’s dramatic life change and one opening...

Send us Fan Mail One night on a porch, a burned-out pastor stopped talking long enough to listen and that quiet decision set off a chain of events he never could have planned. We’re joined by Pastor Robby Gallaty, senior pastor of Long Hollow Church, to unpack a story that runs straight through the hard places: religious routine without relationship, a devastating car accident, prescription drugs,...

Send us Fan Mail Comfort makes for easy religion. Colossians 1:28-29 doesn’t leave room for that. We read Paul’s words and feel the weight of his mission: proclaim Christ, correct and teach with wisdom, and aim at one outcome, spiritual maturity. Not a polished image. Not cultural approval. Fully mature believers who can stand firm when truth gets costly.  We're headed to the 1613 Men’s Confe...

Send us Fan Mail A life can look “spiritual” on the outside while it quietly falls apart on the inside. Brian Cordova joins us for a raw member spotlight that traces his story from early church exposure and baptism, through decades of same-sex attraction confusion, addiction, and searching for belonging in the wrong places, and into a season of New Age spirituality, pagan practices, and even Satan...

Send us Fan Mail Your daughter is listening to more than your rules. She’s listening to your tone, your timing, and the story your life tells when nobody’s clapping. I’m Chris Grainger, and I’m sharing what I’ve learned as a Christian dad raising daughters, including the wins, the gut checks, and the moments I wish I could replay with a better voice. We're headed to the 1613 Men’s Conference!...

Send us Fan Mail Fatherhood can hit you like a single sentence in a doctor’s office: “You’re having a girl.” One moment you feel strong, the next you’re staring at your limits and wondering if you’re actually equipped for what’s coming. I open Psalm 127:3 and challenge the common story dads carry around, that children are a problem to manage instead of a gift from the Lord to steward with purpose...

Send us Fan Mail I sit down with Lion member Michael Hamblin, a husband, dad of four, and tech professional, to talk about the kind of faith that lasts beyond a childhood church background. Michael shares what helped him avoid the common “fall off” when young adults leave home: a real prayer life, a clear identity in Christ, and a core group of believers who kept each other sharp on a secular camp...

Send us Fan Mail If praying with your wife feels awkward, you’re not broken, you’re normal. But avoiding it might be the quiet decision that keeps your marriage stuck in distance, misunderstandings, and slow drift. We talk with Brad Mitchell, co-founder of Build Your Marriage, and he brings decades of pastoral ministry plus a hard-earned marriage restoration story that’s honest about failure, cons...

Send us Fan Mail Marriage advice gets loud fast, but Jesus gets clear. We open Mark 10:8-9 and sit with the words “one flesh” and “let no one separate,” not as a sentimental quote for weddings, but as Jesus’ direct answer to a divorce question meant to trap Him. That context changes everything. We talk candidly about how marriage is under attack, why so many “reasons to quit” don’t hold up against...

Send us Fan Mail Somebody is shaping you, whether you mean to let them or not. That’s why this Fun Friday member spotlight hits deeper than laughs, even with plenty of dad jokes along the way. We sit down with Doug Mills, a longtime Lion and the familiar name behind our weekly dad jokes, to talk about what actually changes a man over time. Doug shares his story growing up in a huge family, coming...

Send us Fan Mail Some success stories start with a strategy. Buck Jacobs’ starts with surrender on his knees in front of a TV and a simple prayer: “Jesus, if this is real and you want my life, you can have it.” From that moment, everything changes. Buck takes us from an agnostic upbringing and a life that was falling apart into a decades-long journey of following Christ in the marketplace, learnin...

Send us Fan Mail A lot of Christian men say they want to grow, but what we really mean is we want clarity, confidence, and direction without the awkwardness of needing help. That’s why 1 Timothy 1:2 hits so hard: Paul calls Timothy a “true son in the faith,” and that phrase exposes the kind of discipleship most of us are missing. We're headed to the 1613 Men’s Conference! If you’re ready to s...

Send us Fan Mail Comfort feels safe, but it can quietly kill the life God is calling you into. We sit down with Christian Duggan, a Marine veteran, husband, and father of three daughters, for a real member spotlight that doesn’t dodge the hard stuff: job loss, marriage strain, alcohol struggles, and the moment he realized he needed more than “good vibes.” He shares what it looked like to come back...

Send us Fan Mail Stop “working on yourself” as the main project of your life. That message sounds responsible, but for a lot of Christian men it turns into a loop of shame, fear, and constant self-monitoring that never produces real freedom. Chris sits down with purpose-driven author and speaker Mark Delaney to talk about a better path: clarity, calling, and action rooted in freedom in Christ.  We...

Send us Fan Mail Comfort is a great salesman and a terrible king. When we build our lives around avoiding pain, chasing prestige, and protecting a “good” reputation, we can end up successful on paper and hollow on the inside. Today we sit with 2 Timothy 1:8-9 and let Paul’s words cut through the noise: don’t be ashamed, don’t back down, and be willing to join the struggle that comes with a holy ca...

Send us Fan Mail A lot of men can carry a strong exterior while quietly falling apart inside. We talk with Don Yost, an Army veteran whose story cuts through the noise: combat deployments, PTSD and traumatic brain injury, seasons of addiction and anger, broken relationships, and the kind of darkness that led to five suicide attempts. And yet, by God’s grace, he’s still here and he’s building a dif...

Send us Fan Mail Overwhelm has a way of dressing up like responsibility. You tell yourself you’re providing, protecting, and pushing through, but under the surface you’re exhausted and carrying more than you were meant to hold. We get honest about that pressure and why so many Christian men quietly believe the lie of self-sufficiency, even when they love God and want to lead well. We're heade...

Send us Fan Mail Overwhelm has a way of convincing us that the whole world rests on our shoulders and that if we slow down, we’re failing. We go to Matthew 11:28-30 and take Jesus at His word: weary men are invited to come to Him and receive real rest, not just a break, not just a nap, but rest for the soul. We're headed to the 1613 Men’s Conference! If you’re ready to stop floating through l...

Send us Fan Mail Anxiety has a way of convincing us that if we just plan harder and grip tighter, we will finally feel safe. Jonathan Adkins shares what happened when that strategy stopped working and he hit a low point that forced an honest admission: control is not the same as peace, and it never was. His story will resonate with a lot of Christian men who grew up around church, drifted in colle...

Send us Fan Mail A lot of Christian men are carrying a quiet sentence in their chest: “I don’t feel like I’m winning anywhere.” Work might be moving, but home feels tense. Faith feels inconsistent. Confidence feels thin. I sit down with Pastor Josh Smith of Prince Avenue Baptist Church to name that discouragement honestly and then challenge it with something better than hype: biblical manhood buil...

Send us Fan Mail Barnabas is not the loudest name in the New Testament, but Acts 11:23–24 shows why his leadership still shakes the ground. When he steps into Antioch and sees the grace of God moving among outsiders, he doesn’t tighten his grip or try to control the moment. He rejoices, he encourages, and he calls people to stay true to the Lord with a steady, resolute heart. That kind of quiet ob...

Send us Fan Mail A towboat captain spends his nights staring out a wheelhouse window, pushing massive barges through narrow channels, fog, and storms and he learned the hard way that drifting just a little can shake everything. That’s why this conversation with T.R. Lavespere hits so deep. We talk about what it looks like for Christian men to stay “in the channel” spiritually, and what God’s warni...