Equipping Blog Posts

  • Husbands: BURN THE SHIPS - Avoiding Digital Infidelity

    Message in a Bottle Men, when I think about this week’s Equipping Men in Ten Episode and the temptations men self-inflict upon themselves, I th...
  • Overcoming Shame: A Porn-Star-Turned-Pastor’s Perspective

      Sex, Drugs, Rock ‘N Roll, and Emptiness Every so often you have an interview you know you will never forget, even after 540 episodes and becomi...
  • How to Identify and Avoid a Plane Crash

    Arena Men, As the husband of a flight attendant who spends 90 hours a month (not to mention the countless hours in airports, on layovers, and com...
  • Objectively Identifying Your Soft Spots

    You are Soft. I am soft. We are soft. Men in the Arena Podcast Episode 436 is one of our most popular episodes.  Responses varied greatly and clearly hit a nerve, which is why we revisited the topic with this week’s episode, You Are STILL Soft.
  • WHY PROTECTING INTEGRITY IS IMPORTANT TO MASCULINITY

    Men, be warned. If you lack integrity, you lack everything. You’ll never become the man God designed you to be. Pack your life with all the characteristics needed to be a whole man, complete and lacking nothing (James 1:4). Commit to being impeccable in your integrity. Climb through your life without excess baggage, having to resupply, or getting killed (or killing someone else for that matter) somewhere on the way!

  • Avoid Falling into Old Addictions During COVID-19: Six P.E.A.R.LS. of Wisdom for Living in Victory

    Social Distancing, Isolation, and Addiction
    We have been on varying levels of shutdown in the USA due to COVID-19 since March, and the weight of these shutdowns is not only weighing on our economy and the education of our children but for countless men, it has resulted in domestic abuse and addiction relapse. At some point, the government must weigh the cost of countless lives lost in the wake of these shutdowns.
              According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, spikes in drug and alcohol abuse use have been recorded since March. In late April/early May, the Addiction Policy Forum (APF) conducted a survey of 1,079 people with addictions nationwide on how they were being impacted by the pandemic. Twenty percent of the respondents reported that their own or a family member’s substance use had increased since the social isolation was put in place. 
              Three-quarters of the APF survey respondents reported emotional changes since the beginning of the pandemic, especially increased worry (62%), sadness (51%), fear (51%), and loneliness (42%). These emotions increase the risk for relapse and unfortunately circumstances since the pandemic has made peer support, for instance in 12-step meetings and similar groups, much more difficult.
              An analysis of a nationwide sample of 500,000 urine drug test results conducted by Millenium Health also showed steep increases for cocaine (10% increase), heroin (13% increase), methamphetamine (20% increase), and non-prescribed fentanyl (32% increase).