Watermark Audio: Men's Channel: Recent Episodes
Watermark Community Church, Dallas, TX
This podcast is a production of Watermark Community Church in Dallas, Texas, USA. Watermark exists to be and make more fully devoted followers of Christ, looking to God's Word as our only authority, conscience and guide.
The primary tool our enemy uses to keep us from applying truth and moving forward in manhood is isolation, the idea that we only need to depend on ourselves or on ourselves and Jesus. Discouragement, setbacks and painful consequences are inevitably the result. While the previous four episodes have identified the four wounds that can prevent men from understanding the glory of godly manhood and thwart the greatness that He has called us to, Todd discusses in this final episode God's answer to isolation and the error and destruction that come with it.
"We are so completely broken that there is nothing we can do in and of ourselves to correct our course. The reason we are struggling as men is that we keep looking within ourselves to correct the problem, or to our world - which has been created by broken men - to correct our problem. Unless something outside of us greater than the world we create intervenes, it ultimately won't get any better."
The damage an overbearing or enabling mother can cause is typically less obvious and yet just as significant as the wound from an absent or abusive father. This third wound can be yet another obstacle on the path to manhood. Todd discusses factors that can lead to this unhealthy mother/son relationship and steps we can take to move back toward a healthy, God-honoring relationship with the mothers He gave us.
The damage caused by absent or abusive fathers can have far-reaching effects and consequences. Even good dads who try to meet God's standard for parenting can never completely meet all their sons' needs or perfectly pass along an noble vision for manhood. In this episode Todd discusses what happens when we fail, how to work through our failures, and what it looks like to be parented by the only Father who will never fail us.
"Dangerous, self-indulgent, abusive, sex-crazed, unreliable." While this is the unfortunate perception of today's man, too few men realize that they can pursue a greater, more glorious, more noble, more purposeful vision of manhood. Todd explains some of the reasons for the erosion of this vision over time and what it's going to take to recapture it.
As a man, have you ever wanted to be ?that guy?? Ever wondered where true greatness comes from? On the flip side, ever wonder what makes the women we love rebel against us and the children we love resent us? Todd Wagner talks to men about what it means to be real men. Even with our brokenness and imperfection God can use us as mighty men of valor. Learn to lean into life and make our world a better place because you are a leader in it.
Kyle Kaigler discusses 5 spiritual leadership principles set forth in Proverbs. Spiritual leadership is key if Christians want to take more ground for God's kingdom. Kyle stresses that it is more about the state of your heart than any activity you will ever perform for God.
"HP+CP=MI" Gary Stroope discusses the importance of relationships and community. Specifically, how God has called men to mentor and encourage each other, younger men, and anyone in their life. Deep relationships allow men to speak truth into each other's lives. HP (High Potency) + CP (Close Proximity) = Maximum Impact.
Kyle Thompson, a Watermark elder, describes the characteristics of the successful husband.
Wondering how God defines a successful businessman, husband and father? Join Todd Wagner for the first in a 4-part series on what makes a real man.
In the final message of this series, Todd discusses the importance - and general lack of - mentors for men, and stresses the importance of being in authentic community with people who know you.
Even if their parents and their homes are perfect, men still find it difficult to "act like men". We all have depraved hearts that turn away from God. Just like Adam and Eve, we do not trust that God has our best interests in mind and seek our own paths to happiness. Todd explains that one of the most prevalent ways men seek their own happiness today is through indulgence in pornography.
Owing in part to the number of absent fathers, many men have grown up with enabling or overbearing mothers. Todd discusses the effects of the "mama wound" and how men should deal with it.
Many hurts and bad habits among adult men can be the result of growing up with an absent or abusive father. Todd talks about how to deal with the effects of the "father wound" and how men can break the cycle and avoid perpetuating parenting mistakes.
"The Bible instructs us to ""act like men"". But what does that mean? In a culture where men are portrayed as either macho buffoons or passive pushovers, how is a Christian man supposed to act? Todd discusses this question, and explains what it means to be a confident Christian man."
Each of us has an opportunity to be faithful where God has placed us and we can finish well by living with reckless abandon and ruthless discipline. God doesn't condemn our longing for significance, He simply corrects our strategy. Greatness comes through serving and giving: We're not here to get something out of life, we're here to add something to it.
We all want to live lives of purpose, not lives that we wish we could do over. All of us want to do better still, but often we go about it in the wrong way. It's a spiritual myth that wanting to be Godly is all it takes; we must participate in the process by trusting God more. Here is a challenge to take action on the truth that God has revealed to each one of us.
Life is all about relationships; you can't love Christ and not love his people. At the end of our lives, we will be evaluated by our love. Here is a challenge to expose our lives, so that we can grow with the help of others who love us enough to speak truth into our lives, even when that truth may be uncomfortable.
We are all looking for meaning in life, for something to hold on to. God isn't bothered that we seek after pleasure and purpose, but He does care when we seek it wherever we can get it. God wants us to worship Him by being in relationship with Him, and He created us for that purpose.
This life is not about me, but it's about God and His glory. You can discover your purpose either by speculation or by revelation, and living on purpose is the path to peace. Consider the driving force in your life and how it directs your decisions.