Ascent for Men

Jesse Carstairs, Adam Tyler Free
  • 5.0 (6)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Weekly

Most men aren't failing because they're weak. They're failing because nobody told them who they're supposed to be. Ascent for Men is a weekly podcast hosted by Jesse Carstairs and Adam Tyler Free, two faith driven coaches committed to helping men stop coasting and start leading. Every week they sit down for raw, unfiltered conversations about faith, identity, marriage, fatherhood, and what it actually looks like to become the man God made you to be. No fluff. No performance. Just truth. New episodes every week. Subscribe and join the ascent.

Episodes

  1. 17h ago

    Every Area of Your Life Where You Still Have Anxiety Is an Area You Haven't Given to God

    You say you trust God. But on Saturday morning your mind is already at Monday. You're physically in the room with your kids and mentally gone. Your finances are solid on paper and you're still awake at 2am. Jesse and Adam have a name for that: unsubmitted. In this episode, Jesse Carstairs and Adam Free get into what submitting to Christ actually means, not the churchy version, not the bumper sticker version, but the emptying that has to happen before God has any room to work in your life. They cover why you cannot be full of yourself and full of Christ at the same time and what it looks like to actually make room, why anxiety is not a personality trait, it's a diagnostic that tells you exactly which areas of your life you haven't surrendered, why submission is a process and not a light switch and why that's not an excuse to keep holding on, why your wife won't submit to you if you won't submit to Christ, Jesse's own process of realizing he was trying to control his wife, his finances, and his future and what changed when he let go, and the Lee Strobel story: a Yale-educated atheist who picked up the Bible to disprove it and never came back the same. Every area of your life that still has anxiety is an area that still has you in it. New episode every Tuesday. Send this to a man who says he trusts God but can't stop white-knuckling his life.

  2. Jul 21

    Your Kids Are Watching You Not Do What You Tell Them to Do

    You tell your son to be disciplined. He watches you skip the gym. You tell your kids not to lie. They watch you make excuses. You tell your family to eat clean. You're feeding them Jolly Ranchers and Cheez-Its at church. Your audio and your video don't match. And every person in your home knows it. In this episode, Jesse Carstairs and Adam Tyler Free are done being polite about it. The dad getting out of the minivan, lighting a cigarette while his kids pile out. The father yelling at his son at baseball practice about discipline while he can barely breathe sitting in his chair. The overweight pastor handing out junk food and calling it a leadership tool. Jesse and Adam have seen enough and they're naming it. They get into why your kids will follow what you do and ignore everything you say, why being physically out of shape is a theological problem, not just a health one, why the church has a fork and knife problem nobody will say out loud, Matthew 7:5 and why you don't get to tell your son to be disciplined until you are, why your business isn't working, your marriage is struggling, and your kids don't respect you and why the answer to all three is the same man, and why Jesse and Adam are not going to apologize for saying any of it. If your feelings are hurt by this episode, that's your sign. Go stand in front of a mirror long enough to be disgusted by what you see, then call us. Your life starts at that moment. New episode every Tuesday. Send this to a man whose audio and video don't match.

  3. Jul 15

    Pornography Is Not a Small Sin, It's an Open Door You Don't Know You Left Unlocked

    You post about Epstein on Instagram. Then you open Pornhub on the same phone. Jesse and Adam are done pretending that's not happening. This is Pillar Four of the Five Pillars of Biblical Manhood and there is no soft way to say it: pornography has to stop. Not because it's embarrassing. Because it is spiritually, neurologically, and maritally destroying you and you have invited something into your home that your wife and your daughters will pay the price for. In this episode, Jesse Carstairs and Adam Tyler Free get into the neuroscience of what pornography does to the male brain and why the dopamine crash after is your body telling you the truth, why the sex in your marriage feels dead and what pornography has to do with it, why men who rage about human trafficking and watch pornography on the same phone are not the righteous men they think they are, Adam's account of the moment he felt demonic presence in his home and what he knows now that he didn't know then, why November 2022 was the last time Adam watched pornography and what changed, Jesse's 75-day challenge for any man ready to find out what he's actually made of, and why the day you quit is a date worth writing down. Your daughter is growing up in the home you are building right now. Build accordingly. New episode every Tuesday. Send this to a man who thinks it's not that big of a deal.

  4. Jul 7

    She Already Knows You're Lying, She Just Stopped Caring Enough to Say It

    You bought the gun anyway. You bought the shoes anyway. You told yourself she didn't notice. She noticed. She just stopped telling you. In this episode, Jesse Carstairs and Adam Free get into the lie most men are living, not the big dramatic betrayals, but the small daily promises broken so often that your wife has quietly decided it doesn't matter what you say anymore. And that silence isn't forgiveness. It's surrender. They cover why a woman's silence on your broken word is the worst place you can be in a marriage, why lying about small purchases is the same as lying about big decisions and she knows it, why medieval knights considered breaking their word an act of treason and what that means for the man you're supposed to be, why deflecting and omitting are feminine communication patterns and what masculine honesty actually looks like, and how Adam went from hiding shoe purchases from his wife to walking into her office like a kid asking permission and why that's not weakness, that's winning. You want her respect. She wants your honesty. It turns out those are the same thing. New episode every Tuesday. Send this to a man who thinks he's been getting away with it.

  5. Jun 30

    You'd Burn Tom Brady's Jersey for Doing What You Do to Your Wife Every Day

    You would burn Tom Brady's jersey if he stood at the podium after a bad game and blamed his offensive line, his receivers, and his coaching staff. You'd call him a bad leader. You'd be done with him. So why do you walk through your front door every night and do exactly that? In this episode, Jesse Carstairs and Adam Free get into what King David actually looked like as a man, not because he was perfect, but because of what he did when everything went sideways. No excuses. No deflection. No yeah-buts. They cover why David is the clearest biblical picture of manhood outside of Jesus, what it means to have your identity in God when the army is literally at the gate, why men who build their confidence on ego get their legs cut out the moment life hits them, the fat coach who tells his players to go the extra mile and why that's you with your kids, why "happy wife, happy life" is one of the most emasculating phrases in the English language, and why you praise accountability in athletes and punish it in yourself. You are the quarterback of your home. Right now, your team is telling you how the game is going. New episode every Tuesday. Send this to a man who blames everybody but himself.

  6. Jun 23

    Your Kids Are a Mirror And Most Dads Won't Like What They See

    Your kids didn't become who they are on their own. You built them, for better or worse. In this episode, Jesse Carstairs and Adam Tyler Free get into the parenting conversation most men avoid: that your children's behavior, confidence, emotional reactions, and standards are a direct reflection of yours. They cover why "be careful" is one of the most damaging phrases you can say to your kid, how children control emotionally weak parents and know it, why two and three year olds are the most confident humans alive and what we do to kill that, treating your children like adults and why it works, the cause-and-effect parenting framework that eliminates the need for punishment, and why if you're not buttoned up, you have no business trying to parent your kids right now. This is Part 1 of a multi-part series. Part 2 is coming and it's the one nobody in the church wants to have: why spanking is a leadership failure, and how men justify it by ripping scripture out of context. The rent is due every day, dad. New episode every Tuesday. If this hit you, send it to a man who needs it.

  7. Jun 16

    We Put a Room Full of Christian Men on the Spot, Their Answers Were Alarming

    Jesse asked the room: if your wife and your job were gone overnight, would you know who you are? Every man said he'd be lost. Every single one. These were Christian men. Church going men. Men who thought they had a foundation. In this episode, Jesse Carstairs and Adam Free break down what actually happened at the Ascent for Men Summit, the moments that hit hardest, the questions that exposed the real problem, and why the biggest takeaway wasn't what either of them expected. They get into why so many men are living in their roles instead of their identity, what Matthew 7:24 has to do with why your life keeps falling apart, why you can't love your wife and kids past what you're willing to give yourself, the difference between a man building on rock and a man who doesn't know he's on sand, and what pod coaching is, why it exists, and why it should cost you something. The summit is over. The pod is open. The work is the same either way. New episode every Tuesday. Send this to a man who would have said he'd be lost.

  8. Jun 8

    You Don't Know Who You Are And It's Destroying Everything Around You

    Most men can't look themselves in the mirror and say "I love you." They call it hokey. The truth is they don't have the nerve because they've built their entire identity on things that can be taken away. In this episode, Jesse Carstairs and Adam Tyler Free go deep into what God actually says about who you are and why most men are living under an identity handed to them by their performance, their failures, and the enemy. They break down 2 Corinthians 5:17 and Galatians 2:20 line by line, why identity rooted in your role as a husband, father, or career will eventually collapse, the difference between who you are and what you do, why the toughest men in the room are often the most terrified to look themselves in the eye, and the mirror exercise that will either set you free or expose exactly where you're broken. Your wife can't give you what you won't give yourself. Your kids can't fill it. Your job never could. This episode will either confirm who you are or force you to finally figure it out. New episode every Tuesday. If this hit you, send it to a man who needs it.

  9. Jun 2

    Your Wife's Attitude Is a Mirror And You Won't Like What It's Reflecting

    If your wife is short-tempered, checked out, or running the house alone, look in the mirror. She didn't become that woman on her own. In this episode, Jesse Carstairs and Adam Tyler Free break down the conversation most men's conferences are too soft to have: that the woman standing in front of you right now is a direct reflection of the man you've been choosing to be. Jesse tells the story of a random conversation at a homeschool event that turned into a gut-punch diagnosis of what's actually wrong in most marriages and why teaching wives to communicate better is step two when most men haven't done step one. They get into why men hand their responsibilities to their wives and then blame them for the fallout, the JaMarcus Russell analogy that every husband needs to hear, why the tone and temperature of your home is yours and yours alone, and what it actually looks like when a man earns respect instead of demanding it. You didn't get here overnight. She didn't either. But the way out starts with one man deciding to stop pointing outward. New episode every Tuesday. If this hit you, send it to a man who needs it.

  10. May 26

    The Man Your Family Needs You to Be When It Gets Dangerous

    Your family is in the room. Do you know where the exits are? Do you know who the threat is? Most men don't and they've never even thought about it. In this episode, Jesse Carstairs and Adam Tyler Free, retired Green Beret, founder of the Brotherhood, break down what it actually means to be dangerous: spiritually prepared, mentally switched on, and physically ready to protect your family in any room you walk into. They get into situational awareness, carrying a firearm, teaching your kids about weapons without creating fear, the PACE plan every family man needs, and why laziness is the real enemy of every husband and father alive right now. This isn't theory. These are two men who live this way and they're calling you up to do the same. If you want your wife and kids to feel safe because of who you are, not in spite of it, this episode is for you. New episode every Tuesday. Subscribe so you don't miss what's coming.

  11. May 19

    Why Most Men Are Losing (And Won't Admit It)

    Most men are showing up soft, in their marriages, in their faith, in their homes and nobody around them is telling them the truth. Jesse Carstairs and Adam Tyler Free aren't here to be polite about it. Jesse is a men's coach, host of the Lions of Faith community, and a husband and father who has built his life around a faith first standard. Adam is a retired Green Beret, founder of the Brotherhood, a community of over 7,000 men worldwide and a follower of Christ who found the Lord at his lowest point and never looked back. In this first episode, they lay out exactly why they built this show: because men are hungry for someone who tells the truth, lives what they preach, and holds a standard without apology. No fluff. No church performance Christianity. No soft answers to hard problems. If you're ready to stop being average in your marriage, your faith, your fatherhood, and your life, this is your show. New episode every Tuesday.

    Why Most Men Are Losing (And Won't Admit It)
  • 11 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

Most men aren't failing because they're weak. They're failing because nobody told them who they're supposed to be. Ascent for Men is a weekly podcast hosted by Jesse Carstairs and Adam Tyler Free, two faith driven coaches committed to helping men stop coasting and start leading. Every week they sit down for raw, unfiltered conversations about faith, identity, marriage, fatherhood, and what it actually looks like to become the man God made you to be. No fluff. No performance. Just truth. New episodes every week. Subscribe and join the ascent.

Information

  • Creator
    Jesse Carstairs, Adam Tyler Free
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    11
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Jesse Carstairs, Adam Tyler Free
  • Show Website
    Ascent for Men

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