Wrestling with the Inner Man

David L. Savage
  • 4.7 (15)
  • Christianity
  • Updated Biweekly

Welcome to the podcast of “Wrestling With The Inner Man” with Author / Speaker David Savage. David has a passion for Men’s Ministry and Biblical Truth to help build Better Men for our society.  The show title is derived from the first fight we each face every day, the fight with our flesh.  Do we listen to our selfish sinful nature or to our spiritual and divine nature guided by the Holy Spirit?  Contact David at wrestlingwiththeinnerman@gmail.com or go to https://www.thesavagepath.com/.  

  1. Aug 7

    Love Your Enemies

    Loving your enemies sounds simple until you’re face to face with betrayal, disrespect, or the kind of hurt that doesn’t go away. We sit with Luke 6:32–36 and ask the uncomfortable question it raises for every Christian man: am I really living by the mercy I claim to have received, or am I still letting my flesh call the shots when I feel wronged? If you’ve ever thought, “I can’t love that person again,” this conversation is for you.  I’m joined by Dr. Aaron Thomas, senior pastor and longtime friend, to unpack what grace looks like when it’s not theoretical. We talk about why the gospel flips the world’s logic from “change then you’ll be loved” to “you’re loved, and that love changes you,” anchored in Romans 5:8. Aaron even uses a surprising Beauty and the Beast analogy to show how love can meet someone in their worst condition and still be the beginning of transformation, without pretending sin is no big deal.  Then we get painfully practical. We dig into how to separate a person from their behavior, how to look past surface anger to the wounds underneath, and why losing your “first love” for Christ often shows up as coldness toward people. Aaron shares a raw personal story about wrestling with unforgiveness after a devastating family tragedy, and how God used remembrance, repentance, and time to move his heart from revenge toward mercy.  You’ll leave with clear takeaways and weekly action steps: pause before reacting, pray for a difficult person for seven days, do one undeserved act of kindness, guard your tongue, and spend ten more minutes with God each day. If this helped you, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs it, and leave a review so more men can find honest conversations about forgiveness, spiritual warfare, and learning to love like Jesus. Chapter Markers 0:00Welcome To The Inner Fight0:37Luke 6 And A Hard Command2:06Why Loving Enemies Matters3:51Beauty And The Beast As Grace7:10Look Past Behavior To Pain15:27Abide Deeper Stay In First Love16:09A Real Test Of Forgiveness21:43Three Truths And Weekly Practices30:49Final Charge And Closing Prayer34:07How To Connect And Next TimeSend us Fan Mail Visit www.thesavagepath.com for more on David, his book The Savage Path: A Memoir of Modern Masculinity, and the Savage Path Ministries Corp.

  2. Jul 24

    Discipling In An Age Of Deceit

    Truth doesn’t usually get rejected because it’s obviously false. It gets rejected because it gets repackaged, renamed, and blended with just enough Bible language to feel familiar. That’s the tension we sit with here, especially as we mark America’s founding ideals while admitting how many of us have grown intellectually lazy, outsourcing conviction to feeds, algorithms, and talking heads. We’re joined by Mark “Moose” Bright, director of the Relational Discipleship Network (RDN), to talk about discipling in the age of deceit. Moose lays out RDN’s core claim: you cannot divorce the methods of Jesus from the teachings of Jesus and expect the results of Jesus. We dig into what relational discipleship looks like in practice, why pastors must know the audience they’re speaking to, and how “presumption” becomes poison when culture no longer shares Christian assumptions. Then we take the hard turn toward discernment: false teachers, incomplete pictures of Jesus, and the hidden appeal of any worldview that removes personal responsibility. We talk about Marxism’s oppressor-oppressed framing, why repentance is non-negotiable for salvation, and how America’s ideas of rights and self-government only hold together when conscience and moral formation stay strong. We also get practical about cognitive dissonance, limbic fight-or-flight, and how to have conversations that actually lower defenses instead of building walls. If you want a clearer biblical worldview, stronger spiritual warfare habits, and a discipleship model that produces resilient men and families, press play. Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the show. You can learn more about the Relational Discipleship Network by visiting their website at www.rdn.org Chapter Markers 0:00Welcome And The Inner Fight0:40Founding History Meets Modern Deceit1:51Meet Moose And RDN’s Mission4:02Why Culture Changes How We Hear11:23Marxism And The War On Repentance17:00Rights Self-Government And Greed23:28Hermeneutics False Teachers And Truth26:02Cognitive Dissonance And Limbic Defense29:15Where To Find RDN Resources30:39Self-Awareness Mentors And Next Steps32:39Closing Prayer33:09Outro And How To Reach UsSend us Fan Mail Visit www.thesavagepath.com for more on David, his book The Savage Path: A Memoir of Modern Masculinity, and the Savage Path Ministries Corp.

  3. Jul 10

    How To Move Through Painful Transitions With God

    Betrayal, disaster, career loss, family crisis, the slow grind of grief, they all create the same gut-level question: why, and what do I do with this pain now? I sit down with Tony Stoltzfus, a veteran Christian coach and author who has spent decades helping leaders navigate painful transitions, to talk about why “try harder” and pure self-discipline often fail when the real struggle is happening in the emotional brain. We dig into how Jesus uses stories and questions to reach the parts of us that logic can’t reach, including a powerful retelling of Judas through an honor-shame culture lens that makes the betrayal feel painfully human. From there we move into the heart of Christian inner healing: unmet desires. Tony explains how longings like peace, belonging, security, and significance drive behavior, and how sin is often an attempt to fill emptiness. When those desires get handed to circumstances, money, control, or people, we get stuck. When they get handed to Jesus first, real change becomes possible. You’ll also hear a practical tool we try live on the mic: “praying your desire” using the Questions for Jesus method, plus insights from Job, valley seasons, and what Tony’s work on heaven suggests about a future where evil is no longer even an option. If you want Christian coaching insights, emotional health, and faith-based tools for healing after betrayal, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share this with a friend who’s in a hard season, and leave a review with the one desire you’re ready to bring to Jesus first. Chapter Markers 0:00Welcome To The Fight Within0:33Why Painful Transitions Shake Us1:53Retiring From The Need For Significance3:12Reading Scripture With The Emotional Brain5:42Judas And The Power Of Shame13:43Desires That Drive Behavior And Sin18:28Betrayal Healing And Shared Destinies26:54Praying Your Desire With Jesus39:07Job, The Fire, And Valley Seasons46:51Heaven Where Evil Ends51:41Tools, Free Books, And Closing Prayerhttps://www.likeahumanbeing.com/ https://www.amazon.com/Questions-Jesus-Conversational-Deepest-Desires/dp/1492177350/ref=sr_1_1 https://www.heavenexperience.net/ https://www.youtube.com/@TonyStoltzfus Send us Fan Mail Visit www.thesavagepath.com for more on David, his book The Savage Path: A Memoir of Modern Masculinity, and the Savage Path Ministries Corp.

  4. Jul 4 ·  Bonus

    How Roger Williams Shaped America’s Freedom Of Religion

    “Separation of church and state” gets thrown around like a trump card, but most of us have never been shown where that idea actually comes from, what the First Amendment really says, and why the founders cared so much about protecting religious liberty. We’re heading into a major national anniversary, so we slow down and do something rare: we trace the history instead of repeating the slogan.  We talk with documentary filmmaker Andrew Linn, whose film Church and State: Roger Williams and the Founding of Freedom of Religion spotlights a name many Americans have never heard, even though his ideas helped shape the future of freedom of religion in the United States. We walk back into 1600s England and Europe, where government-backed churches fuel cycles of persecution, then watch the same coercion reappear in the New England colonies. That backdrop makes Roger Williams’ “liberty of conscience” stand out as more than a theory, it becomes a working model in Rhode Island for people who just want to worship without the state enforcing religious uniformity.  From there we tackle today’s friction points: whether faith belongs in the public square, how to think about leaders praying publicly, and how Jefferson’s Danbury Baptists letter produced the famous “wall of separation” phrase without rewriting the Constitution. We also get practical about civic engagement, local politics, and speaking up with courage while relying on the Holy Spirit. If you care about constitutional history, religious freedom, and the real meaning of the First Amendment, this conversation is for you.  Subscribe for more, share this with someone who still thinks the phrase is in the Constitution, and leave a review so more people can find the show. What part of “separation of church and state” do you think most Americans misunderstand? Chapter Markers 0:00Welcome And The Inner Fight0:38Why First Amendment Origins Matter2:26What Separation Of Church Means4:50Europe’s Persecution And Puritan Flight8:20Roger Williams And Rhode Island Liberty12:56Faith In The Public Square17:33Jefferson’s Letter And The Wall Myth20:11Filmmaking For Truth And Unsung Heroes24:55How Christians Engage Without Fear27:47Books To Go Deeper And Prayerhttps://churchandstatedoc.com/ Send us Fan Mail Visit www.thesavagepath.com for more on David, his book The Savage Path: A Memoir of Modern Masculinity, and the Savage Path Ministries Corp.

  5. Jun 26

    From Workaholic To Redeemed Father

    He chased success hard enough to build a global career and still ended up empty. Mitch Guinn joins us to tell the truth about what it looked like to spend years hunting for acceptance in all the wrong places: performance, sex, alcohol, and the constant need to be seen as “a man.” The cost was real: three marriages, five daughters growing up with an often absent father, and a level of guilt that nearly ended his life. We walk through the roots of that pattern, including an absent dad, the craving for affirmation, and the way workaholism can masquerade as responsibility while starving your family of presence. Mitch shares the moment he first heard the gospel clearly, why it reshaped his understanding of worth, and how change can be both immediate in the heart and painfully slow in daily habits. The conversation also goes where many Christian podcasts avoid: what do you do when your past echoes into your children’s choices, and you cannot fix what they decide? We talk about loving adult kids with clear boundaries, resisting constant arguments, and staying faithful to your “part” while trusting God with what you cannot control. Mitch explains the discipleship model that grounded him, the one Jesus laid out in his stories, plus the simple practice he credits with keeping him alive and growing for decades: opening the Bible daily, establishing direct contact and a living relationship with the God who created you, and maintaining communication with the source of all power. If you are carrying a prodigal past, feeling disqualified, or trying to rebuild after divorce, addiction, or failure, this is for you. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs hope, and leave a review with the line that challenged you most. Send us Fan Mail Visit www.thesavagepath.com for more on David, his book The Savage Path: A Memoir of Modern Masculinity, and the Savage Path Ministries Corp.

  6. Jun 21 ·  Bonus

    A Dad’s Rite Of Passage

    A kid doesn’t need a perfect dad, but they do need a present one, and the window to shape a heart doesn’t stay soft forever. Father’s Day sets the tone with a simple poem, “The Sculptor,” and it lands like a warning and a gift: the impressions we leave on our sons and daughters tend to last. If you’ve ever looked at middle school years and thought, I don’t have the tools for this, you’re not alone. We sit down with Matt Hanson, president of the National Rite of Passage Council, to talk about Aion Path, a three-year Christian rite of passage built for 12 to 14 year olds and the fathers who walk beside them. We get into why male discipleship is struggling, why outsourcing faith formation has not worked, and why the solution is often simpler than we think: warm conversations, shared time, and a clear structure that makes leadership doable. Matt explains how Aion Path starts with “30 conversations” (five to ten minutes a day), how kids choose “30 skills” they want to learn, and why an overnight adventure can become a turning point when your child gets real ownership. We also unpack the power of tangible milestones like challenge coins, the role of a pastor as a “shepherd,” and how three trusted “guides” (financial, vocational, spiritual) create the intergenerational relationships that help faith stick. If you want a practical framework for raising resilient teenage boys and teenage girls, strengthening father-child connection, and building lifelong Christian faith at home, this conversation gives you a clear next step.  Subscribe, share this with a dad who needs a playbook, and leave a review with the one rite of passage you wish you’d had growing up. Go to www.aionpath.com to learn more Chapter Markers 0:00Welcome And The Inner Fight0:33The Sculptor And A Father's Weight3:16The Hunger For Rites Of Passage6:31Year One Building Real Connection18:14Coins Skills And Trusted Guides27:30Letting Your Kid Lead The Journey32:00Year Two Faith Foundations And Year Three35:41How To Find Aion Path And Closing PrayerSend us Fan Mail Visit www.thesavagepath.com for more on David, his book The Savage Path: A Memoir of Modern Masculinity, and the Savage Path Ministries Corp.

    A Dad’s Rite Of Passage

  7. Jun 19 ·  Bonus

    What If Dad Really Is Destiny

    A lot of men carry a quiet ache they can’t quite name, then spend decades trying to outrun it with work, wins, and willpower. On this Father’s Day, we sit with that ache head-on: the father wound, the craving for approval, and the lifelong impact of a dad who is physically present but emotionally absent. We don’t treat it like a psychology trend or a sentimental story. We treat it like spiritual warfare in the heart, because what happens with dad often shows up everywhere else.   My guest, Buddy Griffin, is known around the world for his music and his leadership, but he tells a deeply personal story about growing up with a hard father who never hugged him, never affirmed him, and never said the words he needed. A moment from Robert Lewis’ Better Man teaching forces Buddy to face one brutal question: will he someday stand at a casket with everything still unresolved? That question leads to action and to an awkward first visit in a retirement center where Buddy asks directly for love and a hug and keeps coming back until the dam finally breaks.   We also talk about what to do when your father is already gone, how forgiveness can start with honesty, and why reconciliation changes not only a man’s peace but his parenting, marriage, and drive. If you’ve ever felt fueled by pressure but starved for approval, this conversation offers a clear path forward.   Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs it, and leave a review. What’s one conversation you know you’ve been putting off? Chapter Markers 0:00Welcome To The Inner Fight0:35Father’s Day And Why Dads Matter3:00Growing Up Without Warmth At Home4:43The Photo That Forced The Question8:45Asking For Love And A Hug12:58Final Words In The ICU16:12Taking Other Men To The Grave20:55Forgiveness, Action, And Closing PoemSend us Fan Mail Visit www.thesavagepath.com for more on David, his book The Savage Path: A Memoir of Modern Masculinity, and the Savage Path Ministries Corp.

  8. Jun 17 ·  Bonus

    When A DNA Test Changes Everything

    A single email during COVID turned into a paternity test, a flight to an empty LAX, and a face-to-face meeting with a 46-year-old son Rick Wertz never knew existed. That’s the kind of story that sounds impossible until you hear the details, and it opens a bigger question many men carry quietly: what do you do with the father-wound, the love deficit, and the years you can’t get back? We sit down with Rick, the founder of Faithful Fathering, to trace the path from a childhood marked by violence, alcoholism, and untreated wartime trauma to a life rebuilt through faith, Scripture, and intentional fatherhood. He shares the moment he realized his work and travel had made him a stranger in his own home, and how that wake-up call pushed him toward accountability, spiritual discipline, and a mission to equip churches to encourage dads rather than only critique them. Then the “COVID curveballs” hit: first, discovering and blessing an adult son who had been searching for decades, and second, learning through DNA results that he also had a half-brother and that long-held family secrets were revealed. We talk adoption reunion, genetic mirroring, forgiveness, boundaries for kids and parents in a world of social media and pornography, and why knowing the Heavenly Father changes how we handle every part of the story. If this conversation helps you, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs hope, and leave a review so more men can find it. Here is a link to Rick's website to learn more: https://faithfulfathering.org/ Chapter Markers 0:00Welcome To Wrestling The Inner Man0:34Valentine’s Day And The Love Deficit1:33A Childhood Shaped By Violence4:31Chasing Approval Through Work6:52Faithful Fathering And A Biblical Worldview9:48The DNA Email That Introduced A Son14:43A Second Curveball And A Half-Brother20:11Boundaries, Redemption, And Real Fathering22:46Final Counsel And Closing Prayer Send us Fan Mail Visit www.thesavagepath.com for more on David, his book The Savage Path: A Memoir of Modern Masculinity, and the Savage Path Ministries Corp.

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About

Welcome to the podcast of “Wrestling With The Inner Man” with Author / Speaker David Savage. David has a passion for Men’s Ministry and Biblical Truth to help build Better Men for our society.  The show title is derived from the first fight we each face every day, the fight with our flesh.  Do we listen to our selfish sinful nature or to our spiritual and divine nature guided by the Holy Spirit?  Contact David at wrestlingwiththeinnerman@gmail.com or go to https://www.thesavagepath.com/.  

Information

  • Creator
    David L. Savage
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    147
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Wrestling with the Inner Man
  • Show Website
    Wrestling with the Inner Man