Life Planning is like a stick of dynamite. It's undeniably useful if used in the right way, but horrifically dangerous if played around with hastily. For this reason books by life coaching gurus like Michael Hyatt and David Allen ought to include a warning label. Unless filtered through a spiritual colander they easily lead to an achievement based,…

Picture a guy wanting a more focused life. He hears a podcast on how to draft a plan for his life, then he sits down with a notebook and pen and begins to attempt to write a vision for himself. He takes inventory of his roles and responsibilities. He budgets his time and creates space for new things. Will this result in focus? Sadly, the answer mig…

We're in a series on the Disciplines of a Focused Mind. This week we're covering the fourth discipline: prayer. Prayer ought to focus the mind of a man, but often times prayer is a time when men are most easily distracted. In this episode, Joe and Evan talk about 6 ways to pray that won't lead you to focus, and then they give you 7 elements of pray…

Wouldn't it be wonderful if understanding and transformation were identical. They are not. There are lots of pastors and seminary teachers who are spiritually distracted and lifeless. How can this be? They know the meaning of 1,000 different Greek words, and they have read 100s of different books. The problem isn’t in the understanding but in the h…

Information doesn't naturally stick in the mind - the mind is a sieve and billions of bits of data pass through all of the time. Think about how terrible it would be if we had to understand and process every piece of data that we encountered. The problem with this system is that sometimes important stuff passes through the sieve. Think of reading t…

"Focus" is what CS Lewis calls a "halo word". Everybody wants focus, but no one really knows what the word is referring to. We think that focus will come naturally if we eliminate distraction. That's a joke. Cutting out distraction will no more produce focus than cutting out dessert will produce muscle. Focus is something that must be cultivated. B…

Do you want to learn what it means to be a loving dad? Look to the example of Jesus, Everlasting Father (Is 9:6). 1) Protect your family 2) Lead your family in worship 3) Teach your children to follow Jesus Other Cross Training Christmas resources: Blog: Help for Men Who Struggle to Make Much of the Incarnation Video: The Incarnation Transforms Our…

Imagine you could spend an afternoon with the 65 year old you, what do you hope to see? What do you hope to have accomplished at this point in your life? In the last two chapters of Hudson Taylor’s autobiography we get a glimpse of what it looks like to finish strong. It should be no surprise that finishing strong has very little to do with his wor…

You’ve spent six weeks considering this question: How would my life change if I were friends with Christian hero Hudson Taylor? You are the sum of your 5 closest friends, and by now we’ve read enough of the life of Hudson Taylor to know that his presence in our friend group would challenge our faithful obedience to God. This week we want to take th…

How would you describe the ordinary Christian man? Busy, exhausted, distracted - these are all fair descriptions that capture at least a small piece of the struggles of modern man. But here’s one word that keeps coming to my mind as I look at myself and my friends…waiting. And by this I don’t mean that men are waiting on the Lord. Rather, most men …

How do you describe God? Does what you think about God change, when your circumstances change? Our friend Hudson Taylor described God as the One Great Circumstance. This view of God seemed to give him confidence, bring him comfort, and spur him forward. A friend like Hudson urges us to ask the question: how would my life change if I believed God to…

When Hudson Taylor landed in China, he was greeted by danger, disappointment, and discouragement. In fact, not long after landing in Shanghai he sent his family a special Christmas present: a 5 pound cannonball - the very cannonball that almost took his life while navigating through war-torn China. As you listen to Hudson’s stories about his early …

Being friends with Hudson Taylor is an exercise in humility. Hudson is the kind of friend who you catch pleading with God - constantly. When he’s weak he pleads with God for physical strength to persevere. When no one else sees a way of escape, he pleads for a timely rescue. When he meets someone with a hard-heart, he pleads for their salvation. Hu…

Hudson Taylor has unbelievable stories of receiving generous provision. He also has unbelievable stories of giving generously to others. Hudson’s stories scream this one truth: God is faithful to provide. This is week 2 of the HeroChallenge. You can follow along here: Week TwoBởi Cross Training Ministries

This is week One of the Hudson Taylor HeroChallenge. When you read about the early years of Hudson Taylor’s life, you get the sense that his household was full connection points to the gospel. His mother and sister kept prayer journals. His dad invited missionaries over to the house regularly. His family had a bookshelf full of Bibles and books abo…

It's been said that a man is the sum of his 5 closest friends. If that’s true, what would it be like to have Hudson Taylor as one of those friends? How would your life change if you began to mimic the man who left a legacy of trusting in the faithfulness of God? Let’s find out. For the next 8 weeks we are going to challenge you to trust God with ev…

"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit." - Romans 8:5 Habitual distraction, misdirected desire, disordered love, stupid life planning - these are the symptoms of a mind that is set on the flesh, not the spirit. Don'…

Is your daily devotional stale? Do you feel like your mind constantly distracted? Learn how to renew of life of prayer, meditation, and devotion with Hymn Workouts. In this episode, Evan reads the introduction to the book that gives distracted men 100 spiritual exercises.

One of the main questions we get asked is how to help guys shift from being a Bible study group to becoming a band of brothers. Guys want a path. In this episode we give you one. My notes: Camaraderie is a special type of friendship shared with fellow pilgrims Extend to men an explicit invitation into friendship, not to your next Men's event. If yo…

There is no way to pursue godliness in a broken world without self-control. Self-control is using all of the internal and external resources God has given us to steer our lives in the direction of godliness. Listen as Joe and Evan dispel the myths that surround self-control, and point Christian men toward the internal and external resources that pr…

In this episode Joe and Evan discuss one of the 5 dimensions of spiritual fitness: Competence. Questions we answer: What is competence? Why is competence spiritually important? How does a lack of competence affect Christian guys? Where specifically do men need competence? What are the limits of competence? What does it look like for guys to pursue …

Do you have clear convictions on the big questions of life? A lot of Christian men are in danger of floating through life with no clear convictions - or worse yet - convictions borrowed from the culture around them. Part of spiritual fitness is clarity - a Biblical perspective on life. In this conversation, Joe and Evan help define clarity and help…

No man will make serious progress toward spiritual maturity until he is captivated by the glory of Christ. In this episode we help guys understand what captivation is, and how they can begin to feed their captivation of Christ. My notes: Captivation is a heart that is fiercely gripped by a vision of unparalleled goodness. Captivation of Christ is o…

You spend a lot of time at work. And when you’re not at work, you’re often thinking about work. The truth is, you are going to spend a large chunk of your life - at work. Yet, for some Christian men there is a disconnect between work life and their faith. I’m interested in helping you build a lifestyle of putting Christ first - and we can’t do that…

Gaming is a multi-billion dollar industry. It’s an industry that is growing in both popularity and influence, yet the response from most Christian leaders has been….silence. Christians have no idea how to talk about gaming. Reagan Rose wants to talk about gaming. Regan is the founder of Redeeming Productivity, a ministry that helps Christians devel…

Being a godly dad is challenging. If you're like most dads, you walk around most days feeling like a failure as a husband and father. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Author/speaker/full-time growing dad, Kent Evans, wants to help men like you. He believes that wherever you are as a father - you can turn around and live as a more confident, godl…

Do you feel like your prayer life is stuck in a rut? Are you the kind of guy who occasionally finds himself paralyzed by anxiety? Trusted friend, Robert Barkerding, knows what it's like to wrestle with God in prayer. In this episode, Robert shares his story of learning to trust God’s sovereignty during the most difficult season of his life. If you’…

Satan’s tool belt of lies is diverse. At times he tries to lure us into sin by waxing a shine on forbidden fruit. Other times he tries to keep us in sin by making us believe that God’s arm is too short to save and His ear too heavy to hear. He doesn’t care about how he snares us. The only thing that matters to him is that we end up tightly bound in…

Irritable, angry, anxious, restless, annoyed - such is the display of a man losing patience. We're all too familiar with this. But what does it look like for a man to grow in patience? My notes: Patience is enduring evil, pain, or sorrow for the sake of a greater good Hupomone is steadfastness, constancy, endurance in the midst of suffering (Rev 13…

Guys don't seem to think sin is that big of a problem in their lives. If they are not trapped in porn or doing something scandalous, there is a sense that the battle against sin is more of a skirmish than a violent war. In other words: guys have lowered the bar of holiness and minimized the seriousness of sin. The call of holiness is far weightier …

The aim of Christianity is simple: love God and love neighbor. God shows very little interest in a lot of things like success, fun memories, personal fitness, etc. The whole of Christianity is about reshaping us into the image of God's love. But there's a problem - most guys don't spend much time trying to become more loving. We'd love to be more c…

We're surrounded by the following messages: live for pleasure; satisfy your appetites; don't worry about tomorrow. This is the stupidity of anyone being a slave to their appetites. If we as Christian men want to counteract such slavery, we need to grow in the virtue of temperance. Self restraint and moderation give us the freedom we truly want as f…

We're all quitters. Sometimes this is not a big deal. You can give up on most of your New Year's resolutions without consequence. But what happens when you begin quitting on your marriage? Or your devotional life? The virtue that enables us to overcome the desire to throw in the towel is diligence. Listen as Joe and Evan help guys who say: "It's to…

Chastity is not a weird medieval belt you wear - it's a virtue you pursue. If you don't understand chastity you won't understand worship, discipleship, love, holiness, or devotion. My notes: Chastity is discipling desire for the sake of love. Chastity is not just what you see but how you see. "Chaste" is a holistic approach to devotion to Christ. C…

There is no short-cut to humility. You might be able to temporarily fake humility by pretending not to be proud; but that won't last. In this conversation, Joe and Evan uncover the misconceptions of humility, give you clarity on what true humility is, and show you how you can begin practicing humility today. My notes: Humility is not merely a tool …

If you want to achieve your goals for 2023, you don't need to be more intentional; you need to establish better habits and routines. Join the CT12 challenge and learn how to break the bad habits that are impeding your spiritual growth, and establish simple routines for growing in godliness. Use the Colossians 3:17 Planning Activity as a guide for s…

A special episode for the Christmas season. Hymn Workout 13 - a meditation on the incarnation. You know this hymn, but you probably haven't ever meditated on the gospel truths within it. Listen as Joe guides you through how to read, reflect, and pray your way through this well-worn Christmas hymn. Read the hymn here. Watch the hymn workout. 99 more…

I rarely miss a meeting. This is especially true if it's a meeting with someone important - a boss, a line-manager, an important new acquaintance, etc. If there is a scheduled appointment on the calendar I almost always show up. However, I miss prayer time with God all of the time. I just decide not to show up and feel no guilt about skipping. Othe…

You can't separate the body from discipleship. Some guys scoff at bodily discipline because they confuse effort with legalism. Other guys ignore bodily discipline because they don't want to take responsibility for their lack of self-control. In this episode Joe and Evan give Christian men a Biblical framework for bodily discipline. Go to www.mennee…

More often than not, church services are a ho-hum experience. Sermons are not infrequently uninspiring. The music is never to everyone’s taste. The public prayers are longwinded, abstract, and difficult to follow. So why go? In this episode Joe and Evan talk about why men should go to church, and how they can maximize the benefits of attending chur…

Every guy has a stack of books he's been given, but never read. Some guys don't have the time to read. A lot of guys don't like reading. Should Christian men feel guilty for not being readers? In this episode Joe and Evan give ordinary Christian men 5 reasons why reading is worth the hard work. Start your reading habit with Joe's book The Way Forwa…

How do you become a guy that has really great friends? We all want to be that guy, but most of us aren't on that path. How do you find the road to great friendship? You need to grow in the virtues of gospel friendship. In this episode, Joe and Evan guide you through 7 virtues of gospel friendship. You can read about each of the virtues on the Cross…

What's the most dangerous object you own? A knife? A gun? A chainsaw? It's your phone. What is the most likely thing to distract you from God? To keep you from paying attention to your wife and kids? Of luring you into porn? Of making you superficial and unable to focus your mind? It's your phone. We all carry a dangerous item in our pocket, and no…

There is no other time of day like morning in terms of freshness of mind, availability before God, and stepping out into the day on the right foot. It's nearly impossible to recover after having missed the first part of the day. Don't miss your opportunity to start your day with God. Redeeming the morning is one mark of being spiritually fit. Liste…

How should Christian men think about sleep? Sleep is a gift from God, and a fundamental element of training in spiritual fitness. This week on the Cross Training Ministries podcast Joe and Evan encourage you to evaluate your bedtime routine. They talk about the benefits of a healthy sleep habit, and answer common questions and objections about slee…

Most guys think that memorization is for elementary school. Kids memorize, not adults. Unless there is a test, why memorize something? The Bible paints a different picture. Memory is a practice. Memorization is a habit. Guys who are spiritually fit memorize scripture - it's a fundamental part of their training. Listen as Joe and Evan guide you to b…

The world around you is pushing you toward immoderate indulgence. Personal thresholds are the guardrails that keep you on the path of wisdom. In this episode, Joe and Evan answer these questions about thresholds: What does the Bible say about personal thresholds? Do thresholds rob us of our freedom? Are thresholds legalistic? What are examples of p…

Every man has seasons in which his prayer life feels rote. You feel stuck saying the same things over and over again, with little enthusiasm or emotion. It's not that you do not know how to express how you feel (just ask the guy sitting next to you while you watch football), but when it comes to your spiritual life you cannot seem to find the words…

The theological education of most Christian men peaked when they were at Vacation Bible School. Part of the problem is that guys don't like to read books. Sure, there is a stack of books on their nightstand - but most of them remain unopened. There is an even bigger problem though: the books they have read they can't remember because they never rea…

Attention is the backdoor of the human heart. Whoever wins the battle for your attention wins the battle for your heart. You can take ownership of your attention and steward it in ways that benefit your spiritual growth. Start exercising your mind today at https://www.hymnworkouts.com/