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 to what God can do.

Once you hear our interview with David, you might reconsider how God is calling you.

David and his wife Laurel spearhead, organize, and lead marriage events in prison, and David also works with incarcerated youth and young adults. Email David at davidderry@cru.org and get details on the Derrys’ ministry at their Cru webpage. And catch our first interview with David in Episode 10 of this podcast.

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

Weekly Strength 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

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 chance to co-write and co-direct Unsung Hero, which opens on April 26. As Richard shares in this interview, putting your life together in the aftermath of failure is a main theme in this film . . . just as it has been in Richard’s life.

With a BA in Theatre from the University of Houston, Richard spent his early career impacting the independent film world in Texas. His feature film debut, The Song, was released in 2014 in theaters nationwide. He is the co-director and writer of the upcoming feature film, Unsung Hero. After a six-year tenure as Artistic Director of the award-winning City on a Hill Studio in Louisville, Kentucky, Richard relocated to Nashville where he served four years on the creative staff of Kingdom Story Company. He and his wife live in Tennessee and have five children all named after Beatles songs.

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

Weekly Strength 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

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 leadership to the next level with some disciplined soul care.

Greg has a Doctor of Ministry in Leadership Renewal and Coaching from Regent University. He is writing a book entitled Living the Connected Life: Soul Rhythms for Purposeful Leadership. Email him at greg@gregwoodard.com or visit his website.

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’s book: Manhood: Empowered by the Light of the Gospel
• Relational men’s discipleship programs: CLC

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 your faith . . . and theirs.

David started Rough Cut Men Ministries to encourage and equip men to live their lives for Christ. He utilizes his life experiences — and a strategic combination of action movie sequences, real-world current events, Biblical truth, and fireteam-sized discussion groups — to get men talking about what’s really going on in their lives.

Hear the full interview with David:

• Episode 17: Using Your Failures to Fuel Your Mission
• Episode 18: Military Tactics for Biblical Manhood

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 devotional: Daily Strength for Men
• Mike Hatch’s book: Manhood: Empowered by the Light of the Gospel
• Relational men’s discipleship programs: CLC

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 men discover their identity in Christ and encourage, equip, and empower them to be who God made them to be in their leadership of their families, churches, and communities. In this episode, he shares what he’s learned in working with men.

Email Tim at tim@reupmen.com.

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