Force gets results fast and breaks things quietly. Power moves slower, stays present, and builds something that lasts and that difference shows up everywhere from marriage arguments to leadership decisions to the private battles men fight alone.

We sit down with Garth Haslem, author of Power Over Force and founder of Manalizing, to get specific about what “real power” actually looks like in a man’s life. We talk about why so many men default to pressure, control, withdrawal, or manipulation when they feel insecure and how self-governance becomes a higher form of masculine strength. Garth shares a striking contrast between force in the home and power in the home, plus practical ways to respond to conflict with calm, curiosity, and connection without becoming soft or passive.

The conversation also goes straight at men’s mental health and isolation. When three out of four suicides are men, “handle it yourself” is not a virtue, it’s a trap. We unpack why brotherhood matters, what honest conversation can do that surface-level friendships cannot, and how shared community helps distribute the load. Garth ties it all together with a structural engineering lens: load paths, foundations, rebar, and the need to let God carry what we were never meant to carry alone.

If you want a clear, grounded take on Christian masculinity, leadership, marriage conflict, men’s groups, and building resilience without force, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a friend who’s carrying too much, and leave a review with the biggest takeaway you’re putting into practice.

To learn more visit his website at:

https://www.poweroverforce.com

Chapter Markers

• 0:00
• Power Versus Force In The World
• 1:40
• Why Men Feel Alone
• 4:52
• How The Host Found Podcasting
• 8:06
• Defining Force And Real Power
• 9:09
• Agency Versus Control In Genesis
• 12:25
• Powerful Marriage Conflict Looks Like This
• 20:44
• Engineering Loads As A Model For Life
• 28:30
• Self Governance As Masculine Strength
• 32:40
• Brotherhood That Can Hold The Truth
• 35:20
• Building The Stone And Pine Retreat
• 38:19
• Where To Find The Book
• 41:10
• Final Message 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.

Truth doesn’t usually get rejected because it’s obviously false. It gets rejected because it gets repackaged, renamed, and blended with just enough Bible language to feel familiar. That’s the tension we sit with here, especially as we mark America’s founding ideals while admitting how many of us have grown intellectually lazy, outsourcing conviction to feeds, algorithms, and talking heads.

We’re joined by Mark “Moose” Bright, director of the Relational Discipleship Network (RDN), to talk about discipling in the age of deceit. Moose lays out RDN’s core claim: you cannot divorce the methods of Jesus from the teachings of Jesus and expect the results of Jesus. We dig into what relational discipleship looks like in practice, why pastors must know the audience they’re speaking to, and how “presumption” becomes poison when culture no longer shares Christian assumptions.

Then we take the hard turn toward discernment: false teachers, incomplete pictures of Jesus, and the hidden appeal of any worldview that removes personal responsibility. We talk about Marxism’s oppressor-oppressed framing, why repentance is non-negotiable for salvation, and how America’s ideas of rights and self-government only hold together when conscience and moral formation stay strong. We also get practical about cognitive dissonance, limbic fight-or-flight, and how to have conversations that actually lower defenses instead of building walls.

If you want a clearer biblical worldview, stronger spiritual warfare habits, and a discipleship model that produces resilient men and families, press play. Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

You can learn more about the Relational Discipleship Network by visiting their website at www.rdn.org

Chapter Markers

• 0:00
• Welcome And The Inner Fight
• 0:40
• Founding History Meets Modern Deceit
• 1:51
• Meet Moose And RDN’s Mission
• 4:02
• Why Culture Changes How We Hear
• 11:23
• Marxism And The War On Repentance
• 17:00
• Rights Self-Government And Greed
• 23:28
• Hermeneutics False Teachers And Truth
• 26:02
• Cognitive Dissonance And Limbic Defense
• 29:15
• Where To Find RDN Resources
• 30:39
• Self-Awareness Mentors And Next Steps
• 32:39
• Closing Prayer
• 33:09
• Outro And How To Reach Us

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.

Loving your enemies sounds simple until you’re face to face with betrayal, disrespect, or the kind of hurt that doesn’t go away. We sit with Luke 6:32–36 and ask the uncomfortable question it raises for every Christian man: am I really living by the mercy I claim to have received, or am I still letting my flesh call the shots when I feel wronged? If you’ve ever thought, “I can’t love that person again,” this conversation is for you.

I’m joined by Dr. Aaron Thomas, senior pastor and longtime friend, to unpack what grace looks like when it’s not theoretical. We talk about why the gospel flips the world’s logic from “change then you’ll be loved” to “you’re loved, and that love changes you,” anchored in Romans 5:8. Aaron even uses a surprising Beauty and the Beast analogy to show how love can meet someone in their worst condition and still be the beginning of transformation, without pretending sin is no big deal.

Then we get painfully practical. We dig into how to separate a person from their behavior, how to look past surface anger to the wounds underneath, and why losing your “first love” for Christ often shows up as coldness toward people. Aaron shares a raw personal story about wrestling with unforgiveness after a devastating family tragedy, and how God used remembrance, repentance, and time to move his heart from revenge toward mercy.

You’ll leave with clear takeaways and weekly action steps: pause before reacting, pray for a difficult person for seven days, do one undeserved act of kindness, guard your tongue, and spend ten more minutes with God each day. If this helped you, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs it, and leave a review so more men can find honest conversations about forgiveness, spiritual warfare, and learning to love like Jesus.

Chapter Markers

• 0:00
• Welcome To The Inner Fight
• 0:37
• Luke 6 And A Hard Command
• 2:06
• Why Loving Enemies Matters
• 3:51
• Beauty And The Beast As Grace
• 7:10
• Look Past Behavior To Pain
• 15:27
• Abide Deeper Stay In First Love
• 16:09
• A Real Test Of Forgiveness
• 21:43
• Three Truths And Weekly Practices
• 30:49
• Final Charge And Closing Prayer
• 34:07
• How To Connect And Next Time

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.

Betrayal, disaster, career loss, family crisis, the slow grind of grief, they all create the same gut-level question: why, and what do I do with this pain now? I sit down with Tony Stoltzfus, a veteran Christian coach and author who has spent decades helping leaders navigate painful transitions, to talk about why “try harder” and pure self-discipline often fail when the real struggle is happening in the emotional brain.

We dig into how Jesus uses stories and questions to reach the parts of us that logic can’t reach, including a powerful retelling of Judas through an honor-shame culture lens that makes the betrayal feel painfully human. From there we move into the heart of Christian inner healing: unmet desires. Tony explains how longings like peace, belonging, security, and significance drive behavior, and how sin is often an attempt to fill emptiness. When those desires get handed to circumstances, money, control, or people, we get stuck. When they get handed to Jesus first, real change becomes possible.

You’ll also hear a practical tool we try live on the mic: “praying your desire” using the Questions for Jesus method, plus insights from Job, valley seasons, and what Tony’s work on heaven suggests about a future where evil is no longer even an option. If you want Christian coaching insights, emotional health, and faith-based tools for healing after betrayal, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share this with a friend who’s in a hard season, and leave a review with the one desire you’re ready to bring to Jesus first.

Chapter Markers

• 0:00
• Welcome To The Fight Within
• 0:33
• Why Painful Transitions Shake Us
• 1:53
• Retiring From The Need For Significance
• 3:12
• Reading Scripture With The Emotional Brain
• 5:42
• Judas And The Power Of Shame
• 13:43
• Desires That Drive Behavior And Sin
• 18:28
• Betrayal Healing And Shared Destinies
• 26:54
• Praying Your Desire With Jesus
• 39:07
• Job, The Fire, And Valley Seasons
• 46:51
• Heaven Where Evil Ends
• 51:41
• Tools, Free Books, And Closing Prayer

https://www.likeahumanbeing.com/

https://www.amazon.com/Questions-Jesus-Conversational-Deepest-Desires/dp/1492177350/ref=sr_1_1

https://www.heavenexperience.net/

https://www.youtube.com/@TonyStoltzfus

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.

“Separation of church and state” gets thrown around like a trump card, but most of us have never been shown where that idea actually comes from, what the First Amendment really says, and why the founders cared so much about protecting religious liberty. We’re heading into a major national anniversary, so we slow down and do something rare: we trace the history instead of repeating the slogan.

We talk with documentary filmmaker Andrew Linn, whose film Church and State: Roger Williams and the Founding of Freedom of Religion spotlights a name many Americans have never heard, even though his ideas helped shape the future of freedom of religion in the United States. We walk back into 1600s England and Europe, where government-backed churches fuel cycles of persecution, then watch the same coercion reappear in the New England colonies. That backdrop makes Roger Williams’ “liberty of conscience” stand out as more than a theory, it becomes a working model in Rhode Island for people who just want to worship without the state enforcing religious uniformity.

From there we tackle today’s friction points: whether faith belongs in the public square, how to think about leaders praying publicly, and how Jefferson’s Danbury Baptists letter produced the famous “wall of separation” phrase without rewriting the Constitution. We also get practical about civic engagement, local politics, and speaking up with courage while relying on the Holy Spirit. If you care about constitutional history, religious freedom, and the real meaning of the First Amendment, this conversation is for you.

Subscribe for more, share this with someone who still thinks the phrase is in the Constitution, and leave a review so more people can find the show. What part of “separation of church and state” do you think most Americans misunderstand?

Chapter Markers

• 0:00
• Welcome And The Inner Fight
• 0:38
• Why First Amendment Origins Matter
• 2:26
• What Separation Of Church Means
• 4:50
• Europe’s Persecution And Puritan Flight
• 8:20
• Roger Williams And Rhode Island Liberty
• 12:56
• Faith In The Public Square
• 17:33
• Jefferson’s Letter And The Wall Myth
• 20:11
• Filmmaking For Truth And Unsung Heroes
• 24:55
• How Christians Engage Without Fear
• 27:47
• Books To Go Deeper And Prayer

https://churchandstatedoc.com/

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.

A kid doesn’t need a perfect dad, but they do need a present one, and the window to shape a heart doesn’t stay soft forever. Father’s Day sets the tone with a simple poem, “The Sculptor,” and it lands like a warning and a gift: the impressions we leave on our sons and daughters tend to last. If you’ve ever looked at middle school years and thought, I don’t have the tools for this, you’re not alone.

We sit down with Matt Hanson, president of the National Rite of Passage Council, to talk about Aion Path, a three-year Christian rite of passage built for 12 to 14 year olds and the fathers who walk beside them. We get into why male discipleship is struggling, why outsourcing faith formation has not worked, and why the solution is often simpler than we think: warm conversations, shared time, and a clear structure that makes leadership doable. Matt explains how Aion Path starts with “30 conversations” (five to ten minutes a day), how kids choose “30 skills” they want to learn, and why an overnight adventure can become a turning point when your child gets real ownership.

We also unpack the power of tangible milestones like challenge coins, the role of a pastor as a “shepherd,” and how three trusted “guides” (financial, vocational, spiritual) create the intergenerational relationships that help faith stick. If you want a practical framework for raising resilient teenage boys and teenage girls, strengthening father-child connection, and building lifelong Christian faith at home, this conversation gives you a clear next step.

Subscribe, share this with a dad who needs a playbook, and leave a review with the one rite of passage you wish you’d had growing up.

Go to www.aionpath.com to learn more

Chapter Markers

• 0:00
• Welcome And The Inner Fight
• 0:33
• The Sculptor And A Father's Weight
• 3:16
• The Hunger For Rites Of Passage
• 6:31
• Year One Building Real Connection
• 18:14
• Coins Skills And Trusted Guides
• 27:30
• Letting Your Kid Lead The Journey
• 32:00
• Year Two Faith Foundations And Year Three
• 35:41
• How To Find Aion Path 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.

A lot of men carry a quiet ache they can’t quite name, then spend decades trying to outrun it with work, wins, and willpower. On this Father’s Day, we sit with that ache head-on: the father wound, the craving for approval, and the lifelong impact of a dad who is physically present but emotionally absent. We don’t treat it like a psychology trend or a sentimental story. We treat it like spiritual warfare in the heart, because what happens with dad often shows up everywhere else.

My guest, Buddy Griffin, is known around the world for his music and his leadership, but he tells a deeply personal story about growing up with a hard father who never hugged him, never affirmed him, and never said the words he needed. A moment from Robert Lewis’ Better Man teaching forces Buddy to face one brutal question: will he someday stand at a casket with everything still unresolved? That question leads to action and to an awkward first visit in a retirement center where Buddy asks directly for love and a hug and keeps coming back until the dam finally breaks.

We also talk about what to do when your father is already gone, how forgiveness can start with honesty, and why reconciliation changes not only a man’s peace but his parenting, marriage, and drive. If you’ve ever felt fueled by pressure but starved for approval, this conversation offers a clear path forward.

Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs it, and leave a review. What’s one conversation you know you’ve been putting off?

Chapter Markers

• 0:00
• Welcome To The Inner Fight
• 0:35
• Father’s Day And Why Dads Matter
• 3:00
• Growing Up Without Warmth At Home
• 4:43
• The Photo That Forced The Question
• 8:45
• Asking For Love And A Hug
• 12:58
• Final Words In The ICU
• 16:12
• Taking Other Men To The Grave
• 20:55
• Forgiveness, Action, And Closing Poem

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.

A single email during COVID turned into a paternity test, a flight to an empty LAX, and a face-to-face meeting with a 46-year-old son Rick Wertz never knew existed. That’s the kind of story that sounds impossible until you hear the details, and it opens a bigger question many men carry quietly: what do you do with the father-wound, the love deficit, and the years you can’t get back?

We sit down with Rick, the founder of Faithful Fathering, to trace the path from a childhood marked by violence, alcoholism, and untreated wartime trauma to a life rebuilt through faith, Scripture, and intentional fatherhood. He shares the moment he realized his work and travel had made him a stranger in his own home, and how that wake-up call pushed him toward accountability, spiritual discipline, and a mission to equip churches to encourage dads rather than only critique them.

Then the “COVID curveballs” hit: first, discovering and blessing an adult son who had been searching for decades, and second, learning through DNA results that he also had a half-brother and that long-held family secrets were revealed. We talk adoption reunion, genetic mirroring, forgiveness, boundaries for kids and parents in a world of social media and pornography, and why knowing the Heavenly Father changes how we handle every part of the story.

If this conversation helps you, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs hope, and leave a review so more men can find it.

Here is a link to Rick's website to learn more:

https://faithfulfathering.org/

Chapter Markers

• 0:00
• Welcome To Wrestling The Inner Man
• 0:34
• Valentine’s Day And The Love Deficit
• 1:33
• A Childhood Shaped By Violence
• 4:31
• Chasing Approval Through Work
• 6:52
• Faithful Fathering And A Biblical Worldview
• 9:48
• The DNA Email That Introduced A Son
• 14:43
• A Second Curveball And A Half-Brother
• 20:11
• Boundaries, Redemption, And Real Fathering
• 22:46
• Final Counsel 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.