We discuss Mike's top questions he has had, as he looks to disciple people via his blog by sharing his journey of faith, he wants to give them the proper answers.

  Q1: How do you know when it is actually God talking to you?
  Q2: How does  the devil use the world to get us to question God or God's existence?
  Q3: How do we find our calling in life?
  Q4: What if you feel you are too bad of a person for God to want to save you?

Mike, our guest, recently began attending our church and is a self-declared newer believer, joined us and asked several very good questions that we discussed.

Mike, Chad and some of their neighbors have been doing the Every Man a Warrior men's Biblical discipleship program  for the last 7 months or more. Mike has been transparent about his growing faith in God and is willing to ask questions as he grows.  Mike realizes other people also have questions and has started  his own blog as a way to process his thoughts and help others.

Here is Mike's blog:  www.iamtheimperfectchristian.com

"Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Do everything in love.."
1 Corinthians 16:13-14 ESV

The New Testament book of Ephesians gives us many good aspects of what biblical Disciple Making looks like.  Dr. Michael Cooper, author of the book Make Disciples - Discovery the Spiritual Journey of a Christ-Follower outlines more the topic of "what is a disciple".

Discipleship is not something that is done just one day a week, it is done every day of the week. We always have opportunities to either disciple others or be discipled ourselves and it is just a matter of what we are choosing to be disciple by. Sometimes these are negative things or positive things.

Michael challenged us to regain our identity with Christ as part of being a disciple. "to obey all he has commanded" means there is to be no distinction in what you believe and how you behave.  Our doing should flow out of our being.  One key way to do that better is to get back to knowing who Jesus really is, as it is He that we are imitating as His disciples.

"Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Do everything in love.."
1 Corinthians 16:13-14 ESV

The end of a year, the start of a new year. 
In this time of transition, join us as we share some resources that we read or listen to - books and podcasts.  As you prayerfully consider how and where to invest your time and grow in the year ahead, consider choosing 1 or more of these to check out for yourself!

"Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Do everything in love.."
1 Corinthians 16:13-14 ESV

Boys to Men: What does a man of God look like - as compared to being a boy?
What defines manhood? What are the blessings and joys of being a man? It seems our culture today has eroded much of the common historical understanding of this.

Listen in as we reflect on a list of comparisons between boys and Biblical men, and what we have seen in our own lives and those around us. We hope and pray this is not just something you listen to, but perhaps there are some things that convict you and call you into being more engaged as a Biblical man.

"Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Do everything in love.."
1 Corinthians 16:13-14 ESV

Caleb Jones from West Michigan Wellness joins us and talks about Addiction. He shares his personal sobriety story, things that helped him find recovery and some of the dynamics in facing and finding freedom from addiction.

Addiction is anything that you place as an idol above God.

Alcohol gave him an escape - a way to avoid facing/answering the question that faces every man, "Do I have what it takes?" After several years of his journey, thankfully during an onsite treatment God revealed to him that he did not need a substance to have a meaningful and full life. He is now three years sober and training to be a professional counselor.

Some things we discuss are: emotions, the brain, biblical allies, authentic allies, the Word of God and common factors that can impact one's addiction or addiction level.

Be encouraged that you are not alone, and God wants you to find healing. We pray something in Caleb's story will grab you and give you a foothold for you or to share with someone you care for. 

"Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Do everything in love.."
1 Corinthians 16:13-14 ESV

FEAR  or FEAR NOT
As follow up to S2/E13, fear is a primary emotion. The secondary emotions surfaced from fear are feeling anxious, insecure, inferior, panic.
Fear often comes from possibly losing something: love, identity, meaning, purpose (or the chance to express oneself), or life.

"Do not fear" and similar phrases are mentioned OFTEN in the Bible (365 times or more, depending on how you search for similar words/thought). It is a primary theme.

God's command/invitation for us to "Not Fear" is to be taken in view of the reality of who God is and who we are as his children.            

God spoke "Do Not Fear" to the leaders He called into mission with and for Him. 
We are well served when we stop looking at things from our perspective, but from God's perspective. Are the things we may be afraid to lose really ours to lose?  These are all gifts from God and in God's Kingdom we cannot lose His love for us, our identity in Christ, meaning or life.

God gets that we have a tendency to be afraid, so he is reminding us regularly about the spiritual reality and keep our focus on God/Jesus and who He is, not the "surrounding waves" around us and what we feel that we lack.    We should not be controlled by our fears, but to give them to God, or Heavenly Father. After we give our fears to God, we need to leave those fears with Him  - and not pick them back up to try handle or deal or dwell on with them with ourselves.

"Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Do everything in love.."
1 Corinthians 16:13-14 ESV

Pride and praise, when is it healthy? When is it unhealthy? What does Scripture say about this? What is appropriate for us to do as followers of Christ?  Join us as we reflect on this and draw on some of what Scripture says about it.

As a Christian, you are given everything by God, so that you can work out of the gifts you have for God’s glory. Work well for the glory of God. When we deflect, minimize or steal the glory of God that is sinful pride.

From the book The Intentional Father: a man is an image bearer and son of God entrusted with the power and responsibility to create, cultivate care and defend for God’s glory and the good of others.

Men, we are capable of so much. God has built us and designed us to achieve anything he calls us to. We are to remember it is for God’s glory and the good of others, not to bring the glory to ourselves.

"Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Do everything in love.."
1 Corinthians 16:13-14 ESV

Our guest, relationship counselor Jim Brazel from West Michigan Wellness group talks about four typical stages conflict can progress through that lead to disaster - and helpful ways you can learn how to master conflict in communication to bring about healthy resolution. We can all learn from this powerful episode!

One of the common areas that impact relationships is conflict. Conflict is going to happen in all relationships. How you deal with that conflict is a real strong indicator of whether your relationships will survive or not. Your initial response, e.g. a soft start up versus criticism is an essential first step. Listen to learn the additional steps.

"Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble."  - 1 Peter 3:7-8

"Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Do everything in love.."
1 Corinthians 16:13-14 ESV

Scott shared some of the challenges or hopes he has for others by stepping out and going on a mission trip, having recently gone on one with Paradise Bound to Guatemala.  

• See the people as people, not the poverty
• Dare to go out on mission, and once you go, do it again
• See God more clearly by looking intently

Many times these can be done best when we get out of our comfort zone. Staying in our comfort zone may limit our ability to see, experience and share God with others.

"Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Do everything in love.."
1 Corinthians 16:13-14 ESV

Drift: to slowly move off course
What causes us to drift in our spiritual disciplines and walk with God?

We all, at times, find ourselves getting out of regular, life giving rhythms - mentally, physically, schedule, etc. that can cause us to drift spiritually.
Join us as we talk about how this happens, and some key remedies:
     1 - TARGET/VISION
     2 - INTENTIONALITY
     3 - COMMUNITY
     4 - PRAYER

"Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Do everything in love.."
1 Corinthians 16:13-14 ESV