All movies and stories aren't created equal. They tell us about the nature of reality, form how we see the world, and shape our souls in both good and bad ways. Most people embrace one of two extremes when it comes to story. They either passively consume any and all content, oblivious of how it's affecting their worldview. Or they withdraw from any stories other than those with overt Christian messages. Sam and Blaine suggest a better way—the practice of engaging story by both being aware of what we're taking in while also understanding how God speaks to us through the language of story.

211 | How Stories Shape Us

In their second AndSons livestream, Sam and Blaine look at how today's culture encourages people to see themselves as permanent victims. Yet how does that view align with the teachings of Jesus? By his own definition, he came to heal the brokenhearted and set the captive free (Isaiah 61). And we're no longer captive once we (along with our hearts) are set free. Here's a counterintuitive look at how we can name real pain and trauma for the sake of healing without claiming those wounds as our primary identity.

216 | Captive or Free?

A hyper-vigilant, high-alert life may sound wise, but all it ultimately brings is higher anxiety, depression, and exhaustion. A life of meaning, on the other hand, places a higher value on loving well rather than simply knowing more. The goal isn't endless information but true wisdom...the kind that only comes from a relationship with God. Sam and Blaine describe ways to add wonder and awe to our days, the role evidence and language play in our decisions, and how "the collapse of testimony" shapes how we see our story...and reality.
Show Note: For more information regarding the sugar and fat research referenced in the podcast: https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/09/13/493739074/50-years-ago-sugar-industry-quietly-paid-scientists-to-point-blame-at-fat

217 |  A Life of Meaning

Your heart needs a different gear for summer—one that creates space for sabbath, play, and risk. What does that look like? Sam and Blaine offer ways to feed your soul this summer with a mix of experiences that: 1) are kind and refreshing, 2) lead to adventure, newness, and make for really good future stories, and 3) develop your capacity to dream and anticipate. Listen and see what stirs your heart. Then make time for that kind of summer.

218 | Summer Strategies

What is Jesus inviting you to experience more—or less of—in this season? Whatever it is, you'll never fully achieve it being 99% in. Why? Because even just 1% uncertainty leaves the door cracked to opt out when the going gets tough. You aren't called to do everything, but when something really matters, it helps to embrace the "no eject" option. To paraphrase author Annie Grace, "99% in is brutal but 100% in is a breeze". If you'd like to start feeling the wind at your back in an area you'd like breakthrough in, draw a line in the sand and be all in.

220 | 99% In

No sane person enjoys conflict. When things go wrong, we quickly try to make up and move on. While that may work for minor disagreements, it isn't nearly as helpful for long-term conflicts in marriages and close relationships. Resolving these issues requires us to slow down and see what's really going on. Sam and Blaine share stories (both the good and the bad) of ways they've dealt with long-term conflict, how to name the pain in healthy ways, and the steps of forgiveness most needed in these moments.

221 | What Conflict Reveals

We long to share meaningful experiences with others. It's in those times that we feel most seen and heard. Yet what about when there's no one to witness our victories, struggles, and eternal moments with? In the third AndSons livestream conversation, Sam and Blaine share why these longings matter even when they can't be fully met, the importance of being known—and of knowing others, and why being a witness is one of the greatest dignities we can ever offer or receive.

223 | Can I Get a Witness?

In this foundational episode, Sam and Blaine are joined by trauma therapist and bestselling author Dan Allender for this candid conversation about depression and suicide. As an entry into this weighty topic, Sam shares his personal story of wrestling with depression during high school and college—and how that tied to his deep desire to be an advocate for the underdog. Just as in Sam's story, God seeks to restore what's been broken or stolen in all our lives. That hard but hopeful process begins with discovering how to name, understand, and seek help for the shame, anger, despair, depression, or even agreements with death that come against us.

228 | Dan Allender: Surviving Depression

John Eldredge joins Sam and Blaine for this episode of the recent AndSons live stream. It's no secret that humanity is hard-pressed and beat up. But if we're going to recover from the current global trauma and understand the spiritual forces in our world, we need to first realize an essential truth. As Christians, we actually live in two worlds—the natural and the spiritual. And just as amphibians can transition easily from water to land, we need to discover how to tap into the strengths of God and his kingdom right here in the natural world around us.

234 | Body and Spirit: Christians as Amphibians

We live at a crazy moment in human history. The veil of modernity has fallen away and the re-spiritualization of the world is occurring. Once again, people are being drawn to the spiritual side of things. But having one's spiritual senses opened up without allegiance to Jesus and the covering of Christianity is disastrous. The good news is we can learn how to operate in this age really well. Jesus has everything we need. But we must ask him to teach us how to respond to these sorcerers, magicians, and spiritual anarchists as they reemerge from the shadows with these ancient strategies.
Show Note: This is an AndSons MetaDragon Episode. Our team calls these sorts of episodes "MetaDragon" due to their meta-focus, their intensity, and because we misunderstood something our sound engineer said one day. Esoteric? A little. But now that you know, welcome to the MetaDragon.

235 | The Second Age of the Sorcerer

After more than 230 AndSons podcasts—that's around 14,000 minutes—on practically every topic imaginable, how could anyone distill it all down to a few main points? That was the herculean challenge given to Sam and Blaine. They accepted, and the results may surprise you. They each created a list of "3 Do's and 3 Don'ts" they felt was essential for guys in their 20s and 30s. So lean in, listen well, and do this...but not that. 
Show Note: Language Warning.

236 | Do This, Not That

This episode features a big announcement about what's ahead for AndSons. You'll want to find some space to be fully present for this recent live stream where Sam and Blaine share what this new season looks like for them and the future of this podcast series.

237 | All Good Things

In this listener-requested topic, Sam and Blaine enter the deep waters of how to know the will of God. Most arrive at this question through the problem of pain, the desire to make choices that please God, or seeking his seal of approval on an outcome we want. But what if something more is at play that requires us to ask additional questions? Like how do free will and the issue of evil factor into the equation? Does God have a single vision for our lives (so we better not blow it)—or is he inviting us to co-determine the future with him? Finally...if the Creator really does care enough to engage with us in both the daily and the major decisions, how do we enter into that with him?

238 | God's Will?

The Wild at Heart men's team recently gathered for a new mission—to share insights gleaned from the ups and downs of their twenties. To start the conversation, Sam and Blaine invited the guys over forty (John, Bart, Allen, Morgan, Alex, JD, Justin, and Barry) into the podcast studio one at a time and asked them this question: "Looking back, what do you now wish you could tell the you of your twenties"? The advice is timely and timeless. Because every man feels both overwhelmed and underqualified during this demanding season. So imagine being around a fire-pit with these men as you take in these personal, powerful stories of those who have traveled the miles, earned the scars, and, along the way, discovered what matters most.

239 | Sage Advice for Your Twenties

The AndSons podcast is drawing to a close but AndSons is NOT ending. In this conversation, Sam and Blaine share what's next for each of them. Sam reveals plans for the future print volumes of the magazine as well as a 2022 live AndSons event that will become a long-term video resource for young men. And Blaine introduces his new focus, named Mount Vigil. Completely distinct from AndSons, Mount Vigil is a platform to help men and women interpret the movements of the story of God and discover how to enter into a deep and alert experience of Jesus in this significant time. For more on Mount Vigil—including podcasts, articles, and videos—visit www.mountvigil.org

240 | What's Next

Blaine Eldredge introduces an episode of his new venture, The Mount Vigil Podcast. www.mountvigil.org

BONUS: The Mount Vigil Podcast

How do you know when it's time to end a good thing? As the AndSons podcast nears its final episode, Sam and Blaine reveal how they knew this was the right moment to bring the series to a close. They also share how beautiful and hard it's been knowing this decision may disappoint others, facing the risk of what's next, grappling with the difference between leaving and arriving, and processing their own grief as this chapter comes to a close.
Show Note: The poem excerpted at the end of this podcast is "The Journey" by David Whyte.

241 | The Journey

This is it. The final AndSons podcast. In this profoundly heartfelt conversation, Sam and Blaine look back at how this podcast came to be, what this journey has meant to each of them, and how their understanding of success has shifted over the years. This episode, originally a livestream, includes past AndSons podcast guests speaking a blessing over your life. Come, raise a glass, and celebrate the hard but timely end to this amazing chapter.

242 | Finale

If we haven’t defined success for ourselves, the world will define it for us, and a misunderstanding of success can cripple a young man. Too often, we think of success as achievement, applause, and a reasonable cash prize. In this conversation, Sam and Blaine look at the roots of success, virtue, and mastery, in order to uncover some coordinates a man can use to understand his work.

01 | A Young Man’s Success: Competency, Virtue and the “Bitch Goddess” of William James

This episode is an experiment. What happens when you sit three young(er) men around the table and start riffing on life? What stories feel important, what motivators rise to the surface, is it encouraging or intimidating to hear from the lives of those around us? Blaine and Sam sat down with an old friend, Jesse Barkalow, to talk about what's current, what's on the horizon, and what we need to know to become better chefs.

14 | A Young Man's Story: Jesse Barkalow, The Classics, and Cooking

Dan Allender is no stranger in the And Sons world, nor is he a stranger to listening to people's stories. Rather than give the quick steps to better remember names and influence people, the process of learning to be a better listener demands the same intention and commitment that it takes order to use.

16 | Dan Allender: On Learning to Listen, Presence, and Wholehearted Quitting

We love hearing about the creative journey here at And Sons, something that each of us acts out in our own unique ways. How someone chooses to pursue a calling, what choices they make, and how they keep their passion alive after a decade of plugging away all make up the story of Justin Rizzo. Part songwriter, part worship leader, part director, Rizzo's story of creativity and calling intertwine in this episode.

20 | Justin Rizzo: Worship, Calling, and IHOP

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 sexual addiction, this conversation completely reframes sexuality and offers some direction for the guy looking to be an alive, whole-hearted man whose sexuality directs him into deep union with God.

44 | Michael John Cusick: Sex, the Soul, Addiction, and Longing for God

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.

47 | Five Agreements that are Killing Millennials (Part 2)

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 and worlds of horror. In this wide-ranging conversation, we talk about Bart’s youth in slums in Ireland and London, his experience visiting 60 countries in 5 years to make films—during which he witnessed a deaf and dumb school healed en masse, met child soldiers in Sierra Leone, and entered the worst orphanages in the world—and his life passing up on fame to pursue intimacy with God. Sometimes, it takes a storytellers eyes to help you see your own story afresh. This is a conversation to give you a new vision of the world.

53 | Bart Gavigan: How to See Miracles and Keep your Day Job

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, we’ve got six. Maybe seven. Or eight.

60 | The Meanings(s) of Life (and Time, Economy, Community)

When Justin Lukasavige began running he didn't imagine going for 100 kilometers let alone down the block. But then Dave Eitemiller came along and offered his guidance, and an ultrarunning partnership was born. It's not just about handling the miles, or learning how to pace, or how to deal with suffering. Sometimes what we need is a mentor who we can learn from and be invited by into new and previously impossible adventures.

69 | Ultrarunning: The Suffering Master and Apprentice

Many of our conversations with friends have been around the subject of the cost of "really" following God. There is a sort of understanding that we are not completely there yet, and to take the leap to full-fledged followers would usher in a high cost. 

Yet, as Peter said, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."

93 | The Cost of Following God

Roger W Thompson is a writer, surfer, entrepreneur and overall outdoorsman. He’s a dad, and he’s got a mobile office in a van. We reached out to Roger because his writing reveals an unusual intimacy with the American West: byways, fishing spots, bars, all that. We wanted to know: what’s it take to develop an abiding relationship with the wild? What if you don’t live near the ocean or the mountains or a river? Lucky for us, Roger has his own take on adventure. It’s not photo-worthy drama. It’s intimate attention, unto an encounter with a place and with God, and you can try that anywhere.

106 | Roger Thompson - Sage of the West

This one feels like the title is the description. So, there you go.

130 | Morgan Snyder: Mentoring and What You're Actually Asking For

Our experience with alcohol varies wildly from person to person. For some, it's an occasional beer or celebratory toast. For others, it ranges from a source of relief to a secret addiction they can't break. Annie Grace, author of The Alcohol Experiment and This Naked Mind, reveals why we reach for what we reach for. She's helped countless people rethink their relationship with alcohol by replacing feelings of shame and guilt with motives of curiosity and joy.

155 | Annie Grace: The Alcohol Experiment

The focus turns to dating in this third installment of the And Sons Summer Series. Michelle Patterson from the Wild at Heart team chose Episode 85 as her favorite past And Sons podcast. In it, Sam, Blaine, and Luke share stories from their experiences in dating from high school to college to, eventually, marriage. You won't find any pat answers or formulas here - just stories offered to help you interpret the challenges and joys of dating, love, and marriage in fresh ways.

169 | Summer Remix #3: The Dating Game

In this final serving of our Summer Series, Wild at Heart staffer Jamie Goudie throws you back to Episode 44. This one features an interview with Michael Cusick—counselor, lecturer, and founder of Restoring the Soul, a ministry addressing sexual addiction through deep, whole-hearted restoration. He reframes where our addictions come from and how the unexpected antidote to sexual addictions isn't more shame...but more love.

172 | Summer Remix #6: The Unexpected Antidote to Sexual Addiction

This week, we head to Hollywood. It's where a lot of stories are brought to life. And where actor, director, and author Nathan Clarkson spends his days. He takes us behind the scenes to discuss the wild world of movies, what it means to be a good man in the midst of it, and how, as an actor, he could more easily lose himself in roles once he found his true identity. God created us with great intentionality. Because of that, we can pursue our creative desires with intention. Doing so makes for the best story of all—the one we were created to live.

179 | Power of Story #2: Going Off Script

Life can turn upside down in the blink of an eye. You receive a "mayday" phone call or need to offer help to someone experiencing trauma. Now what? Dan Allender provides simple, practical counsel on how to engage those in your world who have recently experienced trauma of some kind, suggestions of what's good to do—and not do—in those moments, and how to lovingly walk alongside them over time.

183 | Storms & Shelter #1: Trauma

The question isn't whether we have pain. We have plenty. It's where are we taking it and how are we medicating it? But running from the pain never works. Nor does trying to numb it. Sam and Blaine offer a better alternative. Facing it. Through real life examples, they share how it's possible to press in and grow during the hard times—not after the storm passes, but right in the eye of it. So come on, don't waste your pain.

184 | Storms & Shelter #2: Pain

Most of us are coming into this Christmas having experienced some mix of loss and disappointment from the strange year known as 2020. But the answer isn't to downgrade your hopes for what's still possible this season. Sam and Blaine serve up some much-needed holiday cheer and encouragement while asking a few questions that just may change how you view the past year...and this Christmas.

189 | Christmas 2020

Initiation and the young man’s soul. It’s a young men’s Christian podcast. And it’s a podcast on our cultural moment, post-modernity, the millennial world. 

To become a great man, you have to become a good man, one day at a time. And to become a good man, you have to understand your moment. Beauty, adventure, politics, theology, psychology, and the soul, we have conversations with experts in their own terms and dive deep into topics that, if you understand them, will help you change your life. A weekly podcast.

And Sons

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