Spiritual dryness has a way of sneaking up on you, especially when you’ve spent years pushing, producing, and pretending you’re fine. We sit down with writer and father Eli Brackenbury to talk about what happens when a man hits that wall in midlife and finally admits the old ways of coping are not working. Eli shares how an unexpected spiritual awakening at 50 came after divorce, grief, and decades of trying to steer his life alone and how one ordinary moment became the start of real healing.

We dig into identity in Christ and why “surrender” is not weakness for men, it’s strength. Eli explains how spiritual warfare often shows up as performance, control, and numbness, and why returning to faith is less about polishing your behavior and more about letting God rebuild you from the inside out. We also talk honestly about church hurt, skepticism, and how to speak to seekers without preaching, using story and lived experience instead of arguments.

The conversation turns practical when we unpack what it means to be equally yoked in a Christ-centered relationship: communication, conflict, healing, and trusting God’s timing. We also explore Eli’s vision for “the restoration of man” and the difference between being successful and being whole, especially for men asking big questions about purpose in their 40s and 50s.

If this resonates, listen all the way through and share it with a friend who’s been living in the desert. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us what part of the conversation hit closest to home.

Chapter Markers

• 0:00
• Welcome To The Ring
• 0:35
• Naming Spiritual Dryness
• 4:55
• Identity After Failure And Drift
• 11:26
• When Church Leaves A Bruise
• 18:17
• Telling Your Story Without Preaching
• 25:03
• What Equally Yoked Really Means
• 32:48
• The Midlife Wall And Purpose
• 36:46
• What A Restored Man Looks Like
• 42:44
• Where To Find Eli And His Books
• 43:56
• Come Home And Be Present
• 44:55
• Closing Prayer And Sendoff

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Visit www.thesavagepath.com for more on David, his book The Savage Path: A Memoir of Modern Masculinity, and the Savage Path Ministries Corp.

Deception doesn’t usually kick the door down. It whispers, flatters, quotes Scripture just a little crooked, and then watches us sprint through the maze. That’s why this conversation with Tom Snow hit so hard for us: the fight isn’t only “out there” in culture, it’s right here in the mind, where competing voices battle for our attention every day.

Tom shares his personal story of trauma, miraculous healing, long wilderness seasons, and a near-death congestive heart failure moment that brought him back to the sweetness of “Papa God.” From that lived experience, we dig into spiritual warfare and discernment with a practical framework: four voices we hear constantly, how our old training makes us vulnerable, and why we can become our own worst enemy when we default to emotion, pressure, or ego. We also unpack the spiritual masquerade showing up in modern language, including New Age spirituality, energy healing, manifestation, and the law of attraction, especially when they get repackaged with Christian terms.

We end with battle-tested anchors you can use right away: knowing God’s Word for yourself like a Berean and learning the difference between a temporary “peace” and the peace of God that guards your heart and mind in Christ (Philippians 4:7). If you want clearer thinking, stronger spiritual boundaries, and a deeper walk with the Holy Spirit, this one is for you. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs discernment, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.

Chapter Markers

• 0:00
• Welcome And Why Deception Spreads
• 2:48
• Tom Snow’s Story And Calling
• 6:40
• Early Charismatic Years And Warfare
• 8:38
• The Wilderness Season And Heart Failure
• 12:33
• Walking In Christ Means Anointing
• 16:44
• Four Competing Voices In The Mind
• 22:56
• Yielding And The Danger Of Wrong Prayers
• 26:25
• Spiritual Mazes That Trap Believers
• 30:46
• New Age Wellness And Church Infiltration
• 35:18
• Manifestation And The Law Of Attraction
• 42:18
• Two Tests Word And Peace
• 48:28
• Where To Find The Books
• 51:02
• Final Charge And Closing Prayer

Website: https://just2beclear.com/ [to learn more about Tom’s current and upcoming books]

Substack: https://just2beclear1.substack.com [for blog posts and podcasts Tom’s been on]

"The Daily Stand" on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DPNFRW3T

"Set the Captives Free" on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FCJ2Z2LN

"Set the Captives Free Too" on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GK5GZ2W9

@just2beclear FB: https://www.facebook.com/just2beclear

@just2beclear1 IG: https://www.instagram.com/just2beclear1

Send us Fan Mail

Visit www.thesavagepath.com for more on David, his book The Savage Path: A Memoir of Modern Masculinity, and the Savage Path Ministries Corp.

Your life can look successful on the outside while your mind is drowning on the inside. I sit down with Kirk Kuykendall, a Houston energy executive and father of three, to talk about what happens when anxiety, grief, and family fracture start writing the story in your head and you believe you’re alone in it.

Kirk walks us through the “fragmented glass” moments that shaped him: his parents’ divorce as a child, bullying, and the devastating loss of his mother to suicide. Those wounds didn’t just hurt, they left cracks where shame, self-doubt, and fatalistic fear could settle in. When his own marriage began to collapse, the pressure to be the strong husband and dad turned into panic attacks and dark thoughts, and the accuser’s voice got louder: you’re a failure, it’s over, there’s no way out.

Then comes the turning point: a pre-dawn walk, a mind racing with worst-case outcomes, and a question that stops him cold, “Don’t you trust me?” We unpack what surrender actually looks like for Christian men, why isolation fuels spiritual warfare, and how brotherhood and support groups can become a lifeline. Kirk also shares the practices that helped him rebuild from the inside out: Scripture that anchors the heart (Psalm 40, Isaiah 43, Isaiah 61), learning discernment, and showing up for men’s ministry through Freedom groups and Wild at Heart.

If you’re battling anxiety, depression, divorce, loneliness, or relentless self-talk, this conversation offers real hope and practical next steps. Subscribe, share this with a man who needs it, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.

Chapter Markers

• 0:00
• Anxiety, Regret, And Worry
• 2:15
• Meeting Kirk And His Mission
• 4:05
• Childhood Divorce And Fragmentation
• 7:55
• Loss, Bullying, And Feeling Alone
• 16:05
• Marriage Collapse And Dark Thoughts
• 19:40
• Don’t You Trust Me Moment
• 24:20
• Surrender And The First Steps
• 31:15
• Men’s Groups And Spiritual Warfare Tools
• 37:10
• Daily Gratitude, Freedom, And Closing Prayer

Send us Fan Mail

Visit www.thesavagepath.com for more on David, his book The Savage Path: A Memoir of Modern Masculinity, and the Savage Path Ministries Corp.