On Being a Man
NEW FEATURE: STUDENT EDITION!
Occasionally you'll hear directly from young people themselves who will recommend a resource, provide their perspective on growing up today, share what they wish adults knew or understood, etc.
This week, you're hearing from Zach, a young man who I've known for many years and who graduated from high school a couple weeks ago. His college baseball coach sent him this podcast, and he passed it on to me. Zach is an excellent young leader. When a specific resource has impacted him, I think it's worth passing on to you as well in case you want to pass it on to another young man!
I've added my suggestions on "how to use it" after Zach shares "why it matters."
Worth Your Time!
Resource Recommendations to Help You Parent and Mentor Most Effectively
This Week's Recommendation:
"What Does It Mean to Be a Man?"
Mike Force Podcast Episode 114 with Guest Kyle Thompson
Watch on YouTube Here
or Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify,
iHeart, Etc.
Why It Matters to Zach
"Kyle Thompson's podcast "What does it mean to be a man?" really resonated with me and changed my day-to-day life. I think that there are a lot of things that can be taken away from this podcast, but I grabbed three main keys from it.
The first one was the topic of "preparation," specifically towards your future wife. The time to work on yourself is now, while you are single. A lot of young men think thoughts like, "I hope my wife is this or I hope she's like that," as I 100% think these thoughts as well. But the thing is, we cannot control anyone except ourselves. The real question should be, "What kind of man do I want to be for my future wife and family?"
This idea of "working on yourself" leads to my next takeaway from the podcast: challenging yourself. Kyle Thompson said, "You should be challenging yourself in three different ways on a daily basis: spiritually, mentally, and physically." I then took steps to create a plan where I am challenging myself in these ways on a daily/weekly basis:
Physically - gym time & no soda/energy drinks
Spiritually - one chapter of the Bible per day
Mentally - one early morning workout and cold plunge per week
Some people may look at this podcast and instantly think "toxic masculinity." I think of it as quite the opposite. This goes to my third and final point: "resilience over strength." Having the "strength" mindset is dangerous because thoughts like "I can do it all myself" and "nothing can stop me" creep through your mind. But the resilience mindset is a lot different. Resilience is defined as "the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness." Toughness really sticks out to me in that definition. The "resilience" mindset is knowing that bad things will happen, life will hit hard, and I will get knocked down, but what will I do when I get knocked down in life? Get back up. Strength relies on yourself, and resilience helps remind me that I can't do it on my own because I am flawed and sinful...but I know someone who can help me with that: God."
How to Use it
Based on the title, many people probably have preconceived notions of what Kyle Thompson will say, but you may be surprised! Whether you agree or disagree with him, it's worth listening to either way. Remember, one goal of Worth Your Time is to better understand this generation and what resonates with them - and why.
Consider using it as a springboard for discussion with a young man in your life. Have him listen to it by himself or listen to it together while driving somewhere and discuss what he did or didn't like and what resonated with him. What lessons can he take from it and apply in his own life, like Zach did?
Early in the podcast, Kyle Thompson shares about the time after he became a Christian in 10th grade: "'Cause I'm 15 years old and I'm a Christian now. Okay, well, what does that mean? So I'm trying to figure out what that means... as like living that out. I'm also trying to figure out what it means to be a man because I'm 15, right? My parents are divorced. I don't live with my dad... And so the conclusion I came to was, all right, all the godly men are inside the church doing God stuff, right? Praying and giving you limp handshakes and tucking in their shirt to their khakis. And then all the manly men are outside the church doing man stuff, right? Outdoors... And so I carried that dichotomy until my 20s. And until I started really digging into the gospel accounts of the life of Jesus for myself, I was like, wait a minute... Jesus seems like a super rough, gruff, like intimidating Middle Eastern Jewish construction worker. He's not like how he's depicted in all these pieces of art and things like that, where he kind of looks like a Danish model with soft features. It's like, what are you talking about? Who is this guy?" Before a young man listens to this podcast, ask him, "How do you picture Jesus? What do you think he was like and what do you not think he was like? Does that appeal to you or not?" Then, after listening to the podcast, challenge him to read through the gospels this summer by himself. As he reads, encourage him to write down the specific qualities he sees Jesus demonstrate. Compare those qualities with what he thought before he started reading, and then discuss it.
Watch It Here