Wood to Arrows Podcast

Wood to Arrowss

5.0 (1)
Christianity
Monthly

Men’s Discipleship Conversations

Oct 26

W2A 8 - Chad Arnold - Burn The Ships

Founder, Chad Arnold, shared a message with Life Changers Christian Center titled "Burn The Ships".
Sep 8

W2A 7 - Russell Board - From Professor to Pioneer: One Missionary's 40-Year Yes to God

Opportunity to Partner with Evangelists in India via Bicycle Project: https://give.iphc.org/project/india-north-bicycles Key threads throughout the conversation: Pioneering in a closed culture. Building relational trust in Japan through student ministry and an on-campus English club — teaching about American culture (and by extension, Christianity) opened doors that direct evangelism couldn't. One of those relationships led to his daughter's marriage.Discipling kids in a non-Christian culture. The Boards homeschooled their three daughters, citing the Japanese cultural pressure to blend in ("the nail that sticks up gets hammered down"). Russell's core point: discipleship is the father's responsibility, not the church's — kids listen to what you say but watch what you do.Fighting isolation on the field. Cross-denominational friendships with other missionaries carried them through early loneliness; Russell ties this directly back to evangelism — trust has to be built relationally before anyone will listen to the gospel.Spiritual disciplines. Russell shared his personal Bible reading plan (New Testament yearly, Old Testament every two years, alternating history/prophetic books, plus a daily Psalm) and a structured weekly prayer schedule (a day devoted to each daughter's family, a day for missions, etc.). He and Sandra pray together every evening.Hearing from God / decision-making. Writing out pros and cons, enlisting others to pray, relying on Sandra's different perspective (he sees risk, she sees opportunity — they don't move until they agree), and staying open to God speaking through unexpected means (a song, a stranger, a thought).The "beyond content" challenge. Asked what one thing a man could do in the next 7 days, Russell pointed to family first — protective guardrails plus real time and open communication with each child — and then the value of brotherhood and shared service projects with other men.Favorite Bible story: Philip in Acts 8 — his willingness to obey God into unfamiliar, uncomfortable territory (Samaria, then the Ethiopian eunuch) and the fruit that came from that obedience. Russell can be found and followed at his Facebook page, and his books are available through LifeSprings Resources and True Potential Publishing.
Aug 25

W2A 6 - Gregory McClerkin - From Comfort to Calling: One Missionary's 20 Years in South Sudan

At 45, with no international travel experience, Gregory McClurkin took a 3-month mission trip to South Sudan that turned into a permanent calling. Nearly 20 years later, he and his wife Latoya oversee a hope compound, primary school, health clinic, seven cell churches, and a satellite campus of the East Africa Bible College. In this conversation, Gregory shares: How years of visions and dreams prepared him for a calling he didn't fully understand until he arrivedWhat it's like managing 27 full-time staff, importing medicine, and raising funds for major projects like fencing six church compounds and building a secondary schoolThe cultural weight of 700 years of nominal Catholic influence in the region, and what it looks like to introduce real discipleship into an "unengaged" populationHard realities of traditional life in South Sudan, including why many men don't live past 50 — and the generational shift he's starting to seeA story of God's provision when his son was born prematurely with a serious eye conditionHis challenge to American men: you don't have to go overseas to be on mission — there's real need at home tooGregory closes with a challenge for listeners to read Romans 12:1–21 as a personal check-up on how they're using their gifts in service to God.
Aug 13

W2A 5 - Missionary Ben - Smuggling Bibles, Learning Chinese, Getting Deported

Missionary Ben became president/CEO of Mission Catalyst International in early 2026 after two decades of cross-cultural ministry in Asia and Latin America — including 15 years living among unreached peoples in the foothills of Tibet. At 19, he learned Chinese using nothing but a Bible, a dictionary, and conversations across 120 cities in 11 months. In 2018, he was deported from China after being caught red-handed with gospel literature. In this episode, Ben and Chad talk about: The prayer at 16 that set his life's trajectoryLearning Mandarin from scratch by living itWhat real persecution looks like for Chinese believers (and how it differs from what we call persecution in the West)The full story of his 2018 arrest and deportation — the ruse, the trunk, the 25-day countdownWhy he came back to serve unreached peoples through Mission Catalyst InternationalLinks: PrayGiveGo.us — Ben's books (including Unbeaten, his deportation memoir), Substack, and China Compass podcastMCI3.org — Mission Catalyst International; support the September training conference for Chinese pastorsFollow Ben: "Missionary Ben" on Facebook, @ChinaAdventures on X
Jul 25

W2A 4 - Brent Phillips - Milk & Honey - Rejected or Redirected: God's Goodness Through Loss

Brent Phillips built Milk & Honey Ranch from nothing — literally. After co-founding a medical tech company with his brother (born out of his niece's stroke as an infant) and selling it for what felt like a lottery ticket, Brent watched the stock crash in the middle of the night, waking to check his phone before he thought to pray. He describes collapsing in the dark 400 feet from his house, certain he'd lost everything — and the shame of realizing he'd quietly traded God for the security of a stock price. What followed was 45 job rejections, cleaning toilets, working multiple jobs, and slowly turning a converted garage — first built to house Ukrainian refugees — into an Airbnb listing he wasn't sure anyone would book. That listing became the seed of Milk & Honey Ranch, now over 40 stays built almost entirely from ideas Brent says weren't his own. In the middle of the rebuild, his wife Daniela was in a near-fatal car accident. Brent walks through the phone call, the moment he told his kids "we are going to see the goodness of God" — without promising an outcome — and why he experienced none of the panic he'd felt the night the stock crashed. This is a conversation about entitlement, rejection as redirection, raising kids in the trenches instead of comfort, and holding everything — money, ministry, even outcomes — with an open hand. https://milkandhoneyranch.com https://www.brentgphillips.com
Jul 21

W2A 3 - Bryan Nix

Bryan Nix — Director of People to People, teams, and interim regional director for Central America at World Missions Ministries. Spent 3 years in Lesotho leading counter-trafficking work, rescuing 68 victims, helping plant/grow what became the largest Protestant church in the country, and building a children's home. Later led the COVID-19 International Relief Fund (~$1M distributed across 69 countries). Ordained IPHC minister, 50+ countries ministered in, lives in Oklahoma City.
Jun 17

W2A 2 - Chris Friend

Conversation about the importance of prayer and spiritual warfare/mental health.
May 25

W2A 1 - Harold Presley

Men's discipleship conversation with Harold Presley, Regional Director NW Europe IPHC, about calling, faithfulness, and accountability.

8 Episodes

Men’s Discipleship Conversations

Creator

Wood to Arrowss
Years Active

2026
Episodes

8
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© Wood to Arrowss
Show Website

Wood to Arrows Podcast