Send us a text Mike Hatch is launching a new Pittsburgh-focused podcast this fall and we wanted to take a moment to share the introductory episode with you. Since many of you (our listeners) are from Pittsburgh, we would love to get your feedback and input about this new endeavor. The purpose of this new podcast is to promote a more sustainable, kingdom-focused approach to revitalize the Pittsburgh region through entrepreneurship. Our economic activity is being used for God's redemptive purposes...
May 29, 2024•24 min•Season 3Ep. 177
Send us a text What’s your favorite Bible translation? Does it really matter which one you choose? Sometimes it does. In fact, the translation – or mistranslation – of a single word of the Bible can make a big difference. It may even skew your view of God in a critical area, such as restoration. This week's Bible passage: Job 42:10-17 Podcast resource: 52 Weeks of Strength for Men ( ebook , paperback , study guide ) Other resources: Chris Bolinger’s other devotional: Daily Strength for Men Mike ...
May 27, 2024•13 min•Ep. 176
Send us a text One of every 10 American adults struggles with an addiction to drugs or alcohol. Dan Gregory isn’t one of them. But his son was, so Dan learned all he could about addiction treatment. What he found was a broken system with few options other than short-term outpatient programs that have a poor track record of keeping addicts clean. So Dan created Restore Addiction Recovery , which provides a holistic, Christ-centered, year-long program that’s free of charge. Restore opened its door...
May 22, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 175
Send us a text If Jesus is the Good Shepherd, then what are we? That's right: we're the sheep. And like real sheep, we have a tendency to wander . . . even when we're in the perfect environment, the green pasture to which our shepherd has led us. This week's Bible passage: Luke 15:1-10 Podcast resource: 52 Weeks of Strength for Men ( ebook , paperback , study guide ) Other resources: Chris Bolinger’s other devotional: Daily Strength for Men Mike Hatch’s book: Manhood: Empowered by the Light of t...
May 20, 2024•11 min•Ep. 174
Send us a text If you glance at the homepage for the ministry he co-founded, you may think it’s just another men’s study. You’d be wrong. When the COVID pandemic isolated men in the heart of Pittsburgh, Donnie Gray co-founded Digging Deep Ministries to provide a place where men could meet, be open, and be vulnerable to discuss real-life issues such as pain, hurt, and rejection. Four years later, DDM is a vibrant community of men – young and old, black and white – who meet together regularly to w...
May 15, 2024•43 min•Ep. 173
Send us a text Faced with a choice between something that is urgent and something that is important, you're likely to do the urgent one. When you make that same choice over and over, you find that you rarely, if ever, have time for what's truly important. The problem isn’t a lack of time or even a lack of effort. The problem is priorities. By setting the right priorities, you'll pursue what's truly important. But how do you know what that is? This week's Bible passage: Philippians 3:12-16 Podcas...
May 13, 2024•15 min•Ep. 172
Send us a text The key to sustained church growth is reaching and discipling men, says David Murrow. His first book, Why Men Hate Going to Church , has sold over 200,000 copies because it "calls the church back to men" and provides practical steps on attracting and retaining men. David's latest initiative, the Online Preaching Coach, trains pastors on providing compelling online content, which is critical to reaching young adults, especially young men. This episode is highlights from two previou...
May 08, 2024•52 min•Ep. 171
Send us a text When they reached Emmaus, Cleopas and his friend asked Jesus to stay with them. But Jesus left. 40 days later, Jesus ascended to heaven, leaving all his followers behind, staring at the sky. His leaving was the best thing for them. And for us. It forced all of us to pursue a new mission. This week's Bible passage: Isaiah 40:1-11 Podcast resource: 52 Weeks of Strength for Men ( ebook , paperback , study guide ) Other resources: Chris Bolinger’s other devotional: Daily Strength for ...
May 06, 2024•13 min•Ep. 170
Send us a text He’s leading missions trips to deliver humanitarian aid and provide trauma medical training in some of the world’s most challenging environments, including Iraq, Ghana, and Nepal. In The States, he’s taking on the absence of young men (ages 18-35) in the church. His headquarters: a fight club eight miles from Hershey, Pennsylvania. At 5 Stones Fight Club – which offers boxing, mixed martial arts, wrestling, and strength training – Shane Manney uses a team atmosphere to grow trust ...
May 01, 2024•56 min•Ep. 169
Send us a text The Bible tells us that hope, real hope, never disappoints. But what if you're in prison, and you've lost all hope? Eric Genuis has visited 1,000 prisons. To every one of them, he's brought hope . . . in a surprising way. This week's Bible passage: Psalm 33:16-22 Podcast resource: 52 Weeks of Strength for Men ( ebook , paperback , study guide ) Other resources: Chris Bolinger’s other devotional: Daily Strength for Men Mike Hatch’s book: Manhood: Empowered by the Light of the Gospe...
Apr 29, 2024•16 min•Ep. 168
Send us a text At first, he dragged his feet. Minister to guys in prison? He wasn’t trained for that. God should tap someone else, someone with special skills and experience. But God changed David Derry’s attitude by changing his heart. After all, God sent his Son to die for everyone. Including thieves. And murderers. And other guys in prison. Ministering to the incarcerated doesn’t take special skills or training. It just takes saying “yes” to God. Once you do that, says Derry, there’s no limit...
Apr 24, 2024•49 min•Ep. 167
Send us a text Why should you forgive other people? Jesus gave us a very clear reason: if you don’t, then God won't forgive you. But there's another good reason: it sets a prisoner free. That prisoner is you. This week's Bible passage: Colossians 3:11-14 Podcast resource: 52 Weeks of Strength for Men ( ebook , paperback , study guide ) Other resources: Chris Bolinger’s other devotional: Daily Strength for Men Mike Hatch’s book: Manhood: Empowered by the Light of the Gospel Relational men’s disci...
Apr 22, 2024•14 min•Ep. 166
Send us a text A little over a decade ago, as he was struggling with a crisis in his faith, Richard Ramsey was given the opportunity to write and direct a feature film that presented the life of Solomon in a modern-day context. He threw himself into the project and delivered what he thought was a solid film, The Song . When it lasted only two weeks in theaters, Richard felt like a failure. And he spent the next seven years in a wilderness of projects that never came to fruition. Then came the ch...
Apr 17, 2024•54 min•Ep. 165
Send us a text Jesus said that, if you have a tiny amount of faith -- faith like a grain of mustard seed -- then you can tell a mountain to throw itself into the sea, and it will happen. So, why aren’t you moving mountains in your own life? Do you lack the faith? This week's Bible passage: Hebrews 12:1-3 Podcast resource: 52 Weeks of Strength for Men ( ebook , paperback , study guide ) Other resources: Chris Bolinger’s other devotional: Daily Strength for Men Mike Hatch’s book: Manhood: Empowere...
Apr 15, 2024•14 min•Ep. 164
Send us a text What are you doing to take care of your soul? After 14 years as a Navy Chaplain and stints as a pastor in an addiction recovery program and local church settings, Greg Woodard has found that caring for your soul is the key to long-term effectiveness. Soul care involves not just having a healthy spiritual life but also developing consistent rhythms, or practices, to boost your physical health, your emotional health, and your relationships. Get Greg’s insights on how to take your le...
Apr 10, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 163
Send us a text Evil can be difficult to recognize and even tougher to fight. A big part of the battle occurs in the spiritual realm, and most of us are not intimately familiar with that place. Fortunately, we have powerful allies, and God has equipped us for battle alongside them. This week's Bible passage: 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 Podcast resource: 52 Weeks of Strength for Men ( ebook , paperback , study guide ) Other resources: Chris Bolinger’s other devotional: Daily Strength for Men Mike Hatch’...
Apr 08, 2024•11 min•Ep. 162
Send us a text For nearly two decades, David Dusek has been speaking to and speaking with men around the world. Men want and need authentic friendships with other men, says David, but most men are afraid to open up about what's really going on in their lives. In these highlights from a 2022 interview with David, he explains that, to build trust with men, you need to be real about your own life, including your struggles and failures. Then you can point them to Jesus, the author and perfecter of y...
Apr 03, 2024•37 min•Ep. 161
Send us a text 40 days after Jesus rose from the dead, he gave his disciples a radical mission that would be opposed by nearly everyone. Then Jesus ascended to heaven, leaving his closest followers -- a ragtag group of ordinary young men -- without a leader. How would these followers gain the courage to fulfill their mission? This week's Bible passage: Joshua 1:5-9 Podcast resource: 52 Weeks of Strength for Men ( ebook , paperback , study guide ) Other resources: Chris Bolinger’s other devotiona...
Apr 01, 2024•12 min•Ep. 160
Send us a text Tim Brown has worked with many successful men. Men who are movers and shakers in their communities. Men with power and platforms and influence. These men are in positions of leadership, but most of them are not leading – or, at least, not leading well. They have few or no close friends and no real accountability. And they are miserable. Why? They don’t know who they are, outside of their accomplishments and status. They have no identity. Tim started the REUP Men’s Movement to help...
Mar 27, 2024•59 min•Ep. 159
Send us a text Every time we say the Lord’s Prayer, we ask for God’s will to be done, on earth as it is in heaven. So what is God’s will? Specifically, what is His will for you? This week's Bible passage: 2 Peter 3:8-10 Podcast resource: 52 Weeks of Strength for Men ( ebook , paperback , study guide ) Other resources: Chris Bolinger’s other devotional: Daily Strength for Men Mike Hatch’s book: Manhood: Empowered by the Light of the Gospel Relational men’s discipleship programs: CLC...
Mar 25, 2024•11 min•Ep. 158
Send us a text When you experience a significant loss, such as the death of a loved one, you may try to replace your grief and guilt with something that provides meaning and purpose. But replacement isn’t healing. And you need healing. After Tim Tucker’s wife Laura died, he wrote a book, Grief and Grace , to chronicle the six months of deep pain, loss, and grief that he experienced. He then remarried, welcomed a new child to join his three children from his first marriage, and took on a new job....
Mar 20, 2024•49 min•Ep. 157
Send us a text Jesus told Pilate, "For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate responded, “What is truth?” Ultimately, Pilate learned the truth. And the truth set him free. This week's Bible passage: 2 John 1-6 Podcast resource: 52 Weeks of Strength for Men ( ebook , paperback , study guide ) Other resources: Chris Bolinger’s other devotional: Daily Strength for Men Mike Hatch’...
Mar 18, 2024•17 min•Ep. 156
Send us a text At a time when men's ministries are struggling -- and men are struggling -- Christ Led Communities is thriving. Craig Fry, who has led CLC for the past 11 years, explains why. The two keys to CLC's success, he says, are: building brotherhood bonds in small groups of men a call to commitment Get Craig's insight into how and why God will bless relational discipleship at your church. In addition to leading CLC, Craig is the Lead Pastor at Gallatin Church in Gallatin, TN, northeast of...
Mar 13, 2024•49 min•Ep. 155
Send us a text Scholars say that Charles Dickens wrote his most famous work to to alert people to the terrible plight of England’s poor, especially poor children. I say that he wrote it to tell a story of salvation. This week's Bible passage: Matthew 16:24-27 Podcast resource: 52 Weeks of Strength for Men ( ebook , paperback , study guide ) Other resources: Chris Bolinger’s other devotional: Daily Strength for Men Mike Hatch’s book: Manhood: Empowered by the Light of the Gospel Relational men’s ...
Mar 11, 2024•14 min•Ep. 154
Send us a text What role does God play in your personal and family finances? When he lost his job during the financial crisis of 2008, Bob Lotich heard God calling him to do something crazy: make his blog his full-time job. There was just one problem: the blog was bringing in less than $100 a month. But Bob trusted God, and within nine months he was earning more than he had working for a big financial firm. In our interview, Bob shares what God has taught him through that experience and other ex...
Mar 06, 2024•49 min•Ep. 153
Send us a text He had no experience, so he winged it. He had no credentials, so he invented some. He forged documents. He bribed officials. All to save the lives of 669 children he’d never met. Children who, for 50 years, had no idea who he was or what he had done. This week's Bible passage: Romans 3:21-26 Podcast resource: 52 Weeks of Strength for Men ( ebook , paperback , study guide ) Other resources: Chris Bolinger’s other devotional: Daily Strength for Men Mike Hatch’s book: Manhood: Empowe...
Mar 04, 2024•12 min•Ep. 152
Send us a text In these highlights from episode 37, guest Patrick Melder explains: How Bitcoin has clarified and enriched his Christian faith How he is using Bitcoin to enrich the lives of people in Guatemala How Bitcoin can be a "conversation starter" to share the gospel After undergraduate studies at Houston Baptist University and medical school at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Patrick became an Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) surgeon and sleep specialist. He trained at Walter Reed...
Mar 01, 2024•30 min•Ep. 151
Send us a text Tired of seeing your friends sitting on the sidelines with their Christian faith? Tired of waiting for your church to offer something meaningful for men? Maybe you should follow the example of Cody Andrews. Cody had no formal religious training and no experience with men's ministry. But he spearheaded an effort to get men's discipleship going at his small church in a small Pennsylvania town. In this interview, he shares how God has blessed his effort and how God can bless yours. A...
Feb 28, 2024•48 min•Ep. 150
Send us a text No matter how many miracles Jesus performed, the people around him -- religious leaders, ordinary people, and even his closest followers -- kept asking him for another sign that he was the Messiah. So he gave them one. One that they didn't expect. One that would change the world . . . one person at a time. This week's Bible passage: Revelation 5:8-14 Podcast resource: 52 Weeks of Strength for Men ( ebook , paperback , study guide ) Other resources: Chris Bolinger’s other devotiona...
Feb 26, 2024•14 min•Ep. 149
Send us a text Just a few years after his band, Citizen Way, scored its first #1 song, Ben Calhoun left the Christian music industry. He never stopped making music. But his experiences in the industry have shaped how he approaches his craft and inspired him to help other artists who strive to use the gifts and talents with which God has blessed them. Ben’s story and insights will make you take a closer look at how you are using your own gifts and talents to fulfill the Great Commission. The son ...
Feb 21, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 148
