This is one of those episodes that will leave you wanting more. And maybe there is a part 2 in store for the future. Wendell Moss is a counselor based in Seattle, WA, who specializes in trauma and narrative. The cultural narratives of masculinity and race and trauma are (perhaps not surprisingly) similar and require similar acts of courage and curiosity to enter into. The books Moss recommends at the end are: Just Mercy (Bryan Stevenson), White Awake (Daniel Hill), Roadmap to Reconciliation (Bre...
Jul 03, 2018•44 min•Ep. 63
If we could sit our younger selves down from five or 10 years ago, we would have a few suggestions to share about how to better navigate the realm of friendships and relationships. People are never a blank slate. Jesus is always up to something, and we can partner with him or try to figure it out by ourselves. Are we really after redemption, or do we just want gratification through our friends? There is always something deeper at play.
Jun 26, 2018•35 min•Ep. 62
If And Sons had an FAQ, one question would top the list: What do I do with what feels like Wasted Time? In this episode, we try to reframe the issue, describing wasted time in terms of the desert, the Hebrew name of which just means “God Speaks.” And, because this is And Sons, there’s plenty of distinction-making between our ability to waste time and God’s ability to redeem time, the development of a calling vs the aggregation of achievement, and a comfortable job vs and apprenticeship. It’s all...
Jun 19, 2018•33 min•Ep. 61
It’s not a secret Blaine likes words. Maybe it’s the history with rhetoric. Maybe it’s the writing genes. But still, there it is: words are a repository of human experience. Words reveal the world. They are almost completely unique in their ability to transmit diverse experiences. In this episode, we let Blaine pick a few of his favorites, explain how language works, then explore key concepts relating to time, economy, and community. There’s enough in one word to change your worldview, but today...
Jun 12, 2018•45 min•Ep. 60
Makoto Fujimura is an internationally-renowned artist, writer, and visionary. His work addresses the tension between trauma and creativity, culture creation, and the extravagant wastefulness of God (among a whole host of other themes). We’ve waited a long time for this conversation, chomping at the bit to ask Mako how, exactly, an artist “sees,” what that vision does for the world, and how somebody goes about developing it. Plus, Mako has some pretty unique insights on the way creativity relates...
Jun 05, 2018•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 59
What can look like, and feel like, soul care may sometimes not be that at all. Too many stories end in broken pieces when fueled by the phrase "No one is looking out for me, I am on my own in finding life". We need to care for our joy and our hearts, but the self-arranging life is a trap that doesn't offer what it seems.
May 30, 2018•34 min•Ep. 58
The And Sons introductory playbook on using technology well. From tech calendars to channel-specific goals, it’s all about practical steps to mastering the technology you employ.
May 22, 2018•36 min•Ep. 57
It’s summer. The question is, how do you actually get out more this season? We grabbed Justin and JD from the And Sons team, two men who have ridden motorcycles across the state, mountain biked all over the west, and mastered micro adventures, to answer that question. From asking God to frame your summer to scheduling to structure and rhythm, this is an episode to turn the warm summer days into real worthwhile adventure.
May 15, 2018•36 min•Ep. 56
Joe Steinke is, in a word, an apostle. As a member of the leadership team of the Boiler Room church network, he oversees a growing network of house churches; as a leader of the Antioch School, he’s a real New Testament church wiz. Talking with Joe is like talking with a dad, in pretty much the best way. He’s committed to the growth, maturity, and flourishing of church families under his purview, and he’s been at it for decades. We really like the dude, is what we’re saying, and in this conversat...
May 08, 2018•50 min•Ep. 55
If we are willing to see and to engage, we will find that God is always inviting us into the frontier with him. He is constantly exposing ways that we need to grow or change, but often we don't want to hear about it. When we do engage what is current, we are invited into deeper intimacy and new terrain with him and within ourselves.
May 01, 2018•31 min•Ep. 54
We’re stoked this week to bring you a conversation with Bart Gavigan. Bart is screenwriter, mentor, Holy Spirit-following firebrand. One week, Bart might be hanging with the higher-ups of the BBC, working with the Hollywood A-list, or passing up on a conversation with David Oyelowo at the pub. The next, he might be helping nonprofits with tiny film projects. Best of all, he’s had a chatty relationship with God his entire life, a relationship that’s taken him, as he puts it, into worlds of beauty...
Apr 24, 2018•59 min•Ep. 53
In this episode, Sam and Blaine revisit fathering a year and a half into the game. It turns out, fathering is like most relationships, only more so. It requires a few skills everyone should have, like a method for developing patience, a thorough understanding of repentance, and the ability to pick out strands of joy in the middle of otherwise encompassing work. Sam and Blaine talk through these and other practices, as well as some basic tenants of the relational soul, like the fact relationship ...
Apr 17, 2018•34 min•Ep. 52
From fiction to film to television, cultures across time have been creating a narrative for the public. National identities, hopes and dreams for the future, ways of placing ourselves in history, all are woven into the simple and complex stories that we tell. What stories are we telling ourselves these days, and what does that reveal about our culture now?
Apr 10, 2018•42 min•Ep. 51
You've probably made some assumptions by the title alone, but this episode is around conversations that we seem to keep having. "If only I made a little more... then I would be happy" seems to be a sentiment that, if not always spoken aloud, creeps in and tries to give the verdict on our lives. Happiness, contentment, joy, hope... these are all attributes that take cultivation, rather than waiting around for them to appear because the time is right.
Apr 03, 2018•38 min•Ep. 50
Sometimes the easiest sages to miss are the ones already in your life—we work hard to avoid that mistake, and today we sat down with Sam Ainslie of the RH staff to talk about work. A career, specifically, and how to keep your heart alive in varied seasons of a working life. This conversation also dives into work stress (how much is too much), direction (do you really need to know where you’re going) and purpose (can you develop a vocation inside a career?).
Mar 27, 2018•50 min•Ep. 49
What do two decades of friendship look like? How is it even possible these days, with travel, life changes, and the difficulties of keeping in touch with friends? Alex Burton and Morgan Snyder join Blaine and Sam in the studio to talk about male friendship, what works, what hurts, and some practical reorientations on how we should be thinking about ourselves and building a close group around us.
Mar 20, 2018•56 min•Ep. 48
In Part 2, Padre joins Sam and Blaine to finish their conversation on social and personal agreements that are killing millennials, and what is possible by breaking them.
Mar 13, 2018•39 min•Ep. 47
"I fear the worst has happened. You are losing heart, may have already lost it altogether." This weeks conversation with Padre centers around one of the articles written in the Winter '18 issue of And Sons, which we hope conveys the posture of love that it was offered from, rather than some assumed condemnation. As Padre writes: "I believe this loss of heart, now sweeping an entire generation, is deeply linked to some core beliefs that have crept in. I call them “agreements” because they are ide...
Mar 06, 2018•39 min•Ep. 46
We needed something lighter this week, so we thought we'd practice the act of conversation. How to ask good questions and where we go with the answers can separate a bland interaction from a profound one.
Feb 27, 2018•32 min•Ep. 45
Michael Cusick is a counselor, lecturer, and the founder of Restoring the Soul, a ministry addressing sexual addiction through deep, whole-hearted restoration. His work (including two books) centers on a pair of pressing questions: what, exactly, is our sexuality for, and what does sexual wholeness look like? Safe to say we got more than we bargained for - from a definition of sexuality rooted in the Imago Dei and the creative capacity of human beings to a short list of what not to do with sexua...
Feb 20, 2018•1 hr•Ep. 44
It's a simple concept, that when we experience seasons or days or hours that make us uncomfortable or are filled with pain of some kind we have two choices: we can run and medicate, or we can press in and grow. Easier said than done. Where are you taking your pain these days?
Feb 13, 2018•39 min•Ep. 43
This week: a sneak peek into the young men's session at the February 2018 Boot Camp in Colorado. It's the And Sons message all in one place: naming things about our world and experience, offering some counsel on the day to day, and inviting you to come journey with us.
Feb 06, 2018•44 min•Ep. 42
We go a little deep this week, into the roots of why we are the way we are as a social media society, what philosophies got us there, and how our world is effecting us. Inspired by Matthew Crawford's book, "The World Beyond Your Head," Sam and Blaine dive into how we understand ourselves, how we experience the world around us, and how technology has grown and changed for the worse. Hold on to your seat belts.
Jan 30, 2018•53 min•Ep. 41
John Eldredge, also known as "Padre" around the And Sons world, joins Sam and Blaine as they begin the conversation around masculine spirituality. Why are so many men struggling with the typical "church experience"? Does there seem to be more women than men in most faith settings? Why is that? Finding God in the things you love, in adventure and in battle, are some of the ways to step into a fuller spiritual experience.
Jan 23, 2018•40 min•Ep. 40
It's the phone call, the text, the "mayday" from a friend or family member that changes everything. You jump in the car to meet them, or sit down to talk on the phone and wonder, "What do I do now? What do I offer?" Dan Allender is back on the podcast to offer some simple counsel on how to engage those in your world who have recently experienced trauma of some kind, and how we can learn to walk alongside them.
Jan 16, 2018•49 min•Ep. 39
This episode is not an advertisement. Money and budgeting are usually more complicated than issues of dollars and cents, there's often shame and personal growth right in the middle. In our conversation with Jesse Mecham, founder of YNAB, we get to explore what motivates someone to think about budgeting, and what Mecham would want to change about the way people think about money. While there are lots of budgeting programs, styles, and apps out there it's probably best if you stick to the one you'...
Jan 09, 2018•50 min•Ep. 38
There are many things that we need in life, Maslow's Hierarchy and all that, but some things stand out on their own. Initiation is one of the big ones. It's something that probably most of us haven't experienced in our life, either in the small and specific or in the sweeping narrative of our stories. Morgan Snyder, of Ransomed Heart and Become Good Soil, takes us in to the ways that it is needed and offered.
Jan 02, 2018•1 hr•Ep. 37
After the triathlon nerd-out episode, we realized nobody's story of adventure and exercise begins at the starting line. For most of us, stepping out into adventure means working through sometimes decades-long stories of opposition. We asked Luke to come in and share his story of longtime injury, eventual achievement, and overcoming shame. Enjoy a conversation on starting places, breaking agreements, and entering into an embodied life.
Dec 05, 2017•47 min•Ep. 36
There’s an old line in Tozer we’ve come to appreciate a great deal. It’s this: “God is speaking. He is, by His nature, continuously articulate. He fills the world with His speaking voice.” But the layers in and through which He is speaking aren't always obvious on first glance. Mandy Nelson and Scott Morin have spent their lives teaching and learning more about these layers and the implications for our lives. To find our more about Nelson and Morin you can go here: http://www.empoweringranch.com...
Nov 28, 2017•46 min•Ep. 35
There’s nothing like the guys on your own team—Allen Arnold founding the fiction division at Thomas Nelson Publishing, published between 500 and 600 novels as VP of that division, and has a better grasp on story than most people earn in their lifetime. Blaine and Sam jump in to ask about engaging story, how to create while inside conflict, and what it takes to set good stories, lived and read, apart. We like to say that we need to learn to read our lives as stories; that’s well and good, but to ...
Nov 21, 2017•42 min•Ep. 34
