There are many stories in the bible of reluctant people who resist their assignment like Moses and Jonah for example. And many of us today still struggle with our own assignment, but God always seems to have His way with us in the end doesn’t He?

My guest today is Dr. James Torkildson, a Clinical Psychologist and seasoned Behavioral Health Professional with a cultural voice that is rooted in Scripture with decades of clinical and spiritual leadership. Dr. Torkildson (known by many as “Dr. T”) has a career that spans over 40 years serving in behavioral health and faith-based organizations. He holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a master’s degree in counseling psychology and a doctoral degree in Educational Psychology & Counseling.

In this episode we discuss his reluctance to accept His assignment from God, to write a book and become a stronger voice for Christian values in a profession where taking strong positions on faith is frowned upon.

Upon retirement he received a more urgent "wake up call" on his birthday in the early morning hours and immediately sat down to begin writing his book titled "Awaken: Exposing The Web of Deception Threatening Our Faith, Family and Freedom."

Today his obedience is being rewarded with the joy one only finds when walking in the true purpose God has given him.

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Servant leadership is a popular term today to talk about, and Christ himself demonstrated it by washing the disciples’ feet. As Christians we should be using our spiritual gifts in volunteer service to advance His kingdom here on earth.

But have you ever heard of Newton's first law of motion, or the law of inertia? It states that an object at rest remains at rest. And the longer an organization has been around the more it resists change.

In this show we will be examining the Catholic Church as an example, rich in tradition and ritual which anchors many to people to their faith in an ever-changing world. As an institution it relies heavily on volunteers who work for free and we are often reminded as volunteers to submit to authority.

My guest today is Dr. Kevin Cummings, a retired dentist after 40 years in private practice and from 1988 until 2012, he was the team dentist for the Kansas City Chiefs. Today he is a Catholic Church Deacon in the Kansas City area leading a new Order he helped establish called Deacons of Hope which Provides dignified housing and support for moms in need.

He wrestled with institutional inertia for several years before finally succeeding in creating a new Order in the Catholic Church which helps unwed and homeless mothers have an alternative to Planned Parenthood.

The Holy Spirit nudges us all, sometimes for decades until we at last act on the purpose he has given us and helps us achieve God's will through His power through us!

A very encouraging episode!

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My guest in this episode is Bruce Wawrzyniak. Bruce has had a lengthy career in sports including ten years working for a National Hockey League team, three years as VP/Public Relations at the League office for the National Lacrosse League and then worked for ten-and-a-half years in the Olympic Movement.

Today, Bruce is a Publicist / PR Professional, Podcaster, Author, Speaker, Blogger and specializes in Sports & Entertainment with a radio show called Catholic Sports Radio and a podcast called Now Hear This Entertainment.

Our wrestling match topic is the pursuit of a "winning edge" in Olympic sports. It often creates immense pressure to seek advantages that go beyond training and natural talent, sometimes leading athletes and teams to cross the line from legal innovation into unethical, or illegal, practices. In the high-stakes environment of the Olympics, where centuries of effort can be decided by a fraction of a second, the temptation to gain an edge is constant.

This temptation manifests in several ways:

• Doping and Chemical Enhancement: Athletes may be tempted by performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) to improve strength, stamina, or recovery, despite strict testing by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
• Technological and Equipment Manipulation: Teams often push the boundaries of regulations with "sartorial" or equipment changes. Examples include modifying Judo gis to be stiffer or shorter, using baby oil to evade measurements, or developing advanced, low-drag swimsuits.
• "Gamesmanship" and Mental Tactics: Athletes may use psychological tactics, such as breaking an opponent's rhythm, faking injury, or creating artificial delays to alter momentum.
• Bending the Rules: In some cases, athletes look for gray areas in the rulebook, attempting to "bend" rules without technically "breaking" them to get an advantage.

Bruce and I discuss these challenges for not only the individual athlete but the team and even the nation they represent in some of the more famous examples where ESPN has even dedicated a 30 of 30 episode to them.

We cover Ben Johnson the sprinter from Canada in 1988, Marion Jones the U.S. track athlete who lost five Olympic medals for steroid use in 2010, and even the Spanish national basketball team in the 2000 Sydney Paralympics.

We also discuss NFL issues like "deflategate" with Tom Brady and the Houston Astros sign stealing scandal.

You can check out Bruce's show at www.catholicsportsradio.net

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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.

It’s early February and we are right smack in the middle of Championship Football Season! College is decided and its Seattle vs New England in the upcoming Super Bowl

Congrats to Curt Cignetti and the Indiana Hoosiers on their undefeated season of 16-0 and the school’s first football national championship. The game had some print dedicated afterwards to the officiating and no calls on some seemingly cheap shots on IU QB Fernando Mendoza.

We don’t ever think much about the “officials” in our lives do we?

They make sure the rules are followed and strictly enforced and their best day is when we never notice them.

Have you ever thought about what is required to become a major college or NFL official?

Certainly, all of us have seen multitudes of sideline shots with a head coach mouthing foul words and stalking the poor official whose job it is to be the side judge and stand right in front of each team’s bench the entire game.

You know what it takes???

Galatians 5:22 calls it fruit of the spirit – and self-control is in extremely short supply these days!

Today my guest is a man with a tremendous resume of officiating experience from Texas High School through Division 1 College, NFL, and even a booth replay official. There’s nothing like hearing some stories from a guy who was on the field with the players and in the booth with the announcers so strap in for a great ride.

Tommy Moore welcome to Wrestling with the Inner Man!

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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.

Wrestlers, I don't often do solo episodes but sometimes I have more that I want to express as my personal view and this episode is one of those times.

The stock market darling for all of 2025 was Nvidia and all things related to AI holdings. For the first two weeks of this year I have consumed content related to AI that stirred my inner man and made me more aware of the wrestling match I am experiencing over it.

This episode connects the dots through each of these stories:

· ChatGPT commercials aimed at young men

· Physical AI in large machines or mining of our health records

· Peggy Noonan’s theory on America losing its melody

· Russian disinformation and denial to sew division within the U.S.

· AI bias skewing outcomes and creating environmental harm

The question put to all of us is: "Are we fully examining the potential unintended consequences of rushing headlong into the AI world?"

It seems like it's becoming our new idol and at the end of this episode I cover two stories from history as cautionary tales.

No matter what your opinion is about AI this episode might be a great one to investigate so that you can step back and see the forest not just the trees and consider your own personal philosophy about this tsunami heading right for all of us.

You also might want to head back to a previous episode I did with Dr Wallace Henley on his book titled "Who Will Rule The Coming 'Gods'?: The Looming Spiritual Crisis Of Artificial Intelligence" That episode is titled "The Moral Hazard of AI"

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How would you like to have a job where everyone you serve is having the worst day of their life??

That is the everyday truth of a career as a first responder; the police, fire, and EMS folks who we call on our worst days.

If it hasn’t really sunk in yet, let me give you a few more specific examples:

How about a traumatic death, a murder or suicide, where organ donor decisions must be made?

How about the death of a child due to a pool drowning or a neglect or abuse situation?

Or how about having to kill a criminal at a scene before he kills you (mass shootings)?

On a previous episode recently, I had the Chaplain from Camp Hope on the show to talk about veterans suffering with PTSD, something we are all more familiar with from news and PR campaigns to assist them. But we hear almost nothing about the PTSD of first responders or ways to help them cope with it.

This show is going to shed much more light on these people and their wrestling match with asking for help.

My guest is Richard Cary, a Fire Chief for 20 years in a volunteer fire department as well as working as a licensed paramedic. He also served his local community in a 39-year part-time law enforcement career as a Master Peace Officer. Give this episode a listen and be grateful for the people who respond when we need them on our worst days.

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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.

As men, the closest we get to participate in creation as image bearers of God is fathering a child. It is a gigantic moment in any man’s life, regardless of age, when he learns that he has gotten a woman pregnant.

It is a moment of overwhelming joy for married couples who might have been struggling to have children.

It can be a moment of mixed feelings for a married couple who thought they were through having children only to learn they have been blessed again with the “oops baby” perhaps a little later in life than they were expecting.

It can be downright terrifying to a young man, perhaps still a teenager himself, who became sexually active outside of marriage and never considered the outcome of a possible pregnancy.

Back in 2000 there was a very popular song by a band named “Third Eye Blind” called “10 Days Late” with lyrics describing what goes on in a guy’s mind when faced with an unexpected pregnancy. Here are a few of the lines from that song:

I’m in trouble now and it cannot wait

She’s ten days late

Boy, your life got complicated

Give me a minute to figure out my state…..

My guest for this show is Greg Mayo, the award-winning author of Almost Daddy: The Forgotten Story and its companion 12-Step recovery guide for healing after abortion. His work centers on helping men find hope, healing, and a restored relationship with God.

As we celebrate the most important birth in history and consider all those fathers who lost their sons to Herod's edict, let's take time to consider our full role in the creation of new life in this episode.

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We all so long for the Norman Rockwell holiday gathering at Christmas, both parents and even grandparents seated with obedient children, heads bowed around an abundant table or cheerfully opening gifts around a Christmas tree.

But the truth is that most families today experience everything from anxiety to sorrow or grief over family member estrangements making the holidays a painful reminder of how far our reality is from the desired state.

One of the problems causing such estrangement is PTSD in the Veteran community. In fact, The Veterans Health Administration estimates that 44 veterans take their own lives daily, a tragedy indeed for the men and women who fought for our freedom.

Now before you tune out thinking this show is a downer, let me tell you that we are here to talk about a place called Camp Hope and the redemption and restoration almost 16,000 combat veterans have found through their outreach and programs since its founding in 2012.

My guest today is Billy Graff whose full time job is Chaplain and Clinical Director at Camp Hope for the PTSD Foundation of America. Listen to how Camp Hope redeems families and fathers!

Here's a link to their website: www.ptsdusa.org

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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.