Men Talking Podcast

Ken Baugh and Dana Jorgensen
  • 5.0 (11)
  • Christianity
  • Updated Weekly

Real talk for men who are done just holding it all together. Dana Jorgensen and Dr. Ken Baugh dig into the stuff most men never say out loud — grief, weakness, vulnerability, and what true strength actually looks like. Christ-centered, honest, and built for men who want more.

Episodes

  1. Sep 28

    Loneliness: The Elephant in the Room

    Loneliness: The Elephant in the Room Episode 10 of the Men Talking Podcast takes on something most men feel and almost never say out loud: loneliness. Dana shares what happened when he asked the guys at his Tuesday morning men's group to check in on their emotions. Seven out of eight said they were feeling lonely, and he wondered how many of them had ever said that word out loud before. Ken and Dana start with a distinction that changes the conversation: being alone and feeling lonely are not the same thing. You can be surrounded by people and still feel it. They talk about why loneliness is really the gap between our God-given need to be known and the connection we're actually experiencing, why "just me and God" isn't a biblical worldview, and how Jesus himself asked Peter, James, and John to stay with him in Gethsemane. The conversation also digs into the research: Pew data showing men and women feel equally lonely, but men are far less likely to reach out to a friend, the Surgeon General's warning about loneliness and health, and why real friendship takes intentional time together. Then it gets practical. They talk about emotional energy and why stress makes us pull away from the very people we need, how to test the waters by sharing something small, and a simple five-sentence tool for sharing what's really going on. Ken also shares a personal story about a walk with his wife that shows what it looks like to say what you need instead of getting defensive. In this episode: The difference between being alone and feeling lonely Why "me and Jesus" isn't enough, and what Genesis 2 says about it Why men have lost the relational infrastructure earlier generations had What loneliness does to your body and your health Emotional energy: why you run out and what it costs your marriage The gift of going second when you share something hard A five-sentence tool for sharing what you feel with someone you trust "Are you looking for comfort or solutions?" and why it matters The research and the five-sentence handout from this episode are here: PDF 1 and PDF 2 If this episode resonates with you, subscribe and join us as we keep telling the truth about the hard things, one conversation at a time. #MenTalkingPodcast #Faith #ChristianMen #Loneliness #Friendship #MensMentalHealth

    Loneliness: The Elephant in the Room

  2. Sep 21

    Is It Okay to Be Angry with God?

    Is It Okay to Be Angry with God? Episode 9 of the Men Talking Podcast tackles a question a lot of men carry quietly but rarely say out loud: is it actually okay to be angry with God? Ken and Dana dig into why so many of us were taught that anger toward God is off-limits, and why that belief often does more damage than the anger itself. Ken makes the case that the whole arc of Scripture can be summed up in one idea: Yahweh desires to draw near. Because God is relational, He wants honesty from us, not a sanitized version of our hearts. That includes the anger, the doubt, and the disappointment. Ken and Dana walk through why a third of the Psalms are laments, why anger is actually one of the most vulnerable emotions we have, and how anger so often functions as a mask for sadness, fear, and grief underneath it. The conversation gets personal, including a story from one of Ken's recent Trinity encounters with a father walking through the unimaginable: losing one son to a rare genetic disease, and watching his second son fight the same disease. Ken and Dana talk through what it looks like to actually process anger with God in a healthy way, and close the episode with a guided prayer offering language for anyone who's been afraid to bring their real heart to Him. In this episode: Why God desires honesty over "cleaned up" prayers The difference between anger and rage Why anger is often a mask for sadness, fear, or grief A real story of walking with a grieving father through unimaginable loss Practical steps for processing anger with God in a healthy way A closing guided prayer for bringing your real heart to God Ken also put together a few resources mentioned in this episode — you can find the show notes and guided prayer here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mx8nPIBfxROg61Zy3GCaqycXRGwmTnBf/view?usp=drive_link If this episode resonates with you, subscribe and join us as we keep telling the truth about the hard things — one conversation at a time. #MenTalkingPodcast #Faith #ChristianMen #Anger #MensMentalHealth #Prayer

    Is It Okay to Be Angry with God?

  3. Sep 8

    Ready for the Storm: Why Men Need to Prepare Before Hardship Hits

    Ready for the Storm: Why Men Need to Prepare Before Hardship Hits Episode 8 of the Men Talking Podcast tackles a truth every man eventually faces: you're either coming out of a storm, going through one, or heading into one. Ken and Dana talk about why it's so easy to coast when life is calm — and why that's exactly the time real preparation needs to happen. They dig into why resistance and hardship aren't the enemy but part of how God designed growth to work, and why trying to bypass suffering altogether only leaves men less resilient when the next season of difficulty comes. Using the picture of Noah building an ark under a clear blue sky, and a scene from Saving Private Ryan where soldiers walk through peaceful countryside knowing the enemy is still out there, Ken and Dana make the case that preparation isn't pessimism — it's wisdom. The conversation gets personal, too, touching on parenting moments that reveal what kids (and adults) really need in hard moments, why so many men believe the lie that "your pain doesn't help anybody," and why sharing your own story is one of the most powerful gifts you can give another man walking through the same fire. They close with a picture from the gospels — the friends who carried a paralyzed man to Jesus through the roof — as a reminder that when you don't have the faith to keep going, you can borrow someone else's. In this episode: Why growth requires resistance, and why bypassing hardship backfires The difference between healthy stress and unhealthy stress Why presence and rest matter as much as preparation Why "your pain doesn't help anybody" is a lie worth rejecting The gift of "going second" — sharing your story so others don't feel alone What it means to borrow someone else's faith when you don't have your own If this episode resonates with you, subscribe and join us as we keep telling the truth about the hard things — one conversation at a time. #MenTalkingPodcast #Faith #ChristianMen #Resilience #MensMentalHealth #Preparation

    Ready for the Storm: Why Men Need to Prepare Before Hardship Hits

  4. Aug 31

    Toxic Shame vs. Healthy Shame

    Toxic Shame vs. Healthy Shame Episode 7 of the Men Talking Podcast tackles a question every man wrestles with, even if he's never said it out loud: what does true strength actually look like? Ken and Dana dig into the cultural lie that strength means stoicism — nothing gets to me, I'm a rock, I hold it all together — and why that facade is quietly costing men their relationships with God and with others. At the center of the conversation is a distinction that reframes everything: the difference between toxic shame and healthy shame. Toxic shame attacks your worth and value as a person made in the image of God. Healthy shame is something entirely different — it's the humble acceptance of your own limitations, the recognition that you were created as a dependent being, not a self-sufficient one. Ken walks through Paul's thorn in the flesh from 2 Corinthians 12 as the clearest biblical picture of this: strength that's actually made perfect in weakness. Ken and Dana also get practical, talking about the pressure senior pastors and leaders feel to be equally good at everything, the exhausting persona that creates, and why the greatest gift you can give the people you lead is permission to have limitations — starting with giving yourself that same permission first. In this episode: Why stoicism isn't strength, it's a facade The real difference between toxic shame and healthy shame What happens in your body and mind when you deny your weaknesses Paul's thorn in the flesh and what it teaches about strength in weakness Why leaders and pastors especially struggle to embrace their own limitations What it looks like to give others "the gift of going second" If this episode resonates with you, subscribe and join us as we keep telling the truth about the hard things — one conversation at a time. #MenTalkingPodcast #Faith #ChristianMen #Shame #Masculinity #MensMentalHealth

    Toxic Shame vs. Healthy Shame

  5. Aug 24

    Grief Heals What Silence Hides

    Grief Heals What Silence Hides Episode 6 of the Men Talking Podcast tackles a topic every man will face but few know how to walk through well: grief. Ken and Dana open up about recent personal loss — Dana's uncle's celebration of life and Ken's own experience with death — and have an honest conversation about why grief is so messy, and why so many men try to carry it in silence. They talk through why you can never fully prepare for loss, no matter how much warning you get, and why grieving well starts with something most men resist: letting themselves feel sadness instead of pushing through it. Even Jesus didn't grieve with a stiff upper lip — He wept at Lazarus's tomb and sweat drops of blood in Gethsemane. Ken and Dana make the case that grieving in isolation only prolongs the pain, while grieving in relationship — with God and with others — is how healing actually happens. The conversation closes with a powerful reminder from Revelation 21: that grief, while real and necessary, isn't the end of the story. For those who know Christ, sorrow is anchored in the hope of resurrection — a day when every tear will be wiped away for good. In this episode: Why you can never fully brace yourself for loss The difference between grieving alone and grieving in community What Jesus' own grief teaches us about permission to feel Why empathy and mirror neurons are part of how God designed us to grieve together The difference between grieving with hope and grieving without it A closing reflection on Revelation 21 and the hope of resurrection If this episode resonates with you, subscribe and join us as we keep telling the truth about the hard things — one conversation at a time. #MenTalkingPodcast #Faith #ChristianMen #Grief #Hope #MensMentalHealth

    Grief Heals What Silence Hides

  6. Aug 17

    Vulnerability Heals What Isolation Hides

    Here's a YouTube description draft: Vulnerability Heals What Isolation Hides Episode 5 of the Men Talking Podcast tackles a topic most men actively avoid: vulnerability. Ken and Dana unpack the real difference between transparency, vulnerability, and intimacy — and why so many guys settle for the first without ever risking the second. Using a simple four-quadrant framework of known/unknown and accepted/rejected, they walk through the ways men protect themselves from being truly known, and the cost of that protection. Isolation feels safe, but it's a slow, agonizing death — like a flower kept in a box, cut off from what it needs to survive. Rejection feels like the ultimate risk, but Ken and Dana make the case that it's actually the fear of rejection, not rejection itself, that's doing the most damage. The conversation gets real about the stakes: a period in Williamson County where suicide disproportionately affected men in their 20s through 50s, the exhausting toll of image management for pastors, athletes, and public figures, and the church's own pattern of "shooting its wounded" instead of embracing them. Ken shares candidly about the first time he was vulnerable from the pulpit about a past abortion, and how that honesty became a lifeline for someone else who needed to know that grace was real. In this episode: The real difference between transparency, vulnerability, and intimacy The four quadrants of being known and accepted (and why isolation is the most dangerous one) Why vulnerability is a gift men give each other, not a weakness The link between isolation and Williamson County's men's suicide crisis Why the church needs to stop "shooting its wounded" What it actually looks like to lead the way in a group of guys If this episode resonates with you, subscribe and join us as we keep telling the truth about the hard things — one conversation at a time. #MenTalkingPodcast #Faith #ChristianMen #MensMentalHealth #Vulnerability #Healing

    Vulnerability Heals What Isolation Hides

  7. Aug 10

    A Theology of Emotional Pain: Why Your Feelings Are Part of the Journey

    A Theology of Emotional Pain Episode 4 of the Men Talking Podcast tackles a topic most men actively avoid: emotional pain. Ken and Dana dig into why so many guys can't answer a simple question — "what are you feeling?" — and why that struggle isn't just a personality trait, it's often a survival skill men were taught a long time ago. Using Chip Dodd's framework of the eight core emotions from The Voice of the Heart, Ken and Dana walk through why emotions function less like a threat and more like a dashboard — signals pointing to what's really going on beneath the surface. They dig into the cultural and theological reasons men resist their own hearts, why God himself is an emotional being, and why suppressing emotion isn't strength, it's a denial of how we were made. The conversation gets personal and heavy in places, touching on the extremely high suicide rates among first responders, veterans, and law enforcement — professions where shutting off emotion is trained as survival, but rarely untrained once the danger has passed. Ken and Dana make the case that living "undefended," while it opens you up to pain, is also what equips you to actually process it instead of carrying it alone. In this episode: Why most men default to only two emotions: anger and happiness The eight core emotions and why they matter Building a real theology for emotion, not just tolerance of it Why God's own emotional nature validates ours The connection between suppressed emotion and high suicide rates in high-stress professions What it means to live life "undefended" instead of walled off If this episode resonates with you, subscribe and join us as we keep telling the truth about the hard things — one conversation at a time. #MenTalkingPodcast #Faith #ChristianMen #MensMentalHealth #EmotionalHealth #Vulnerability

    A Theology of Emotional Pain: Why Your Feelings Are Part of the Journey

  8. Aug 3

    A Theology of Physical Pain As A Part of Spiritual Formation

    What Physical Pain Teaches You About Needing Others Episode 3 of the Men Talking Podcast dives into a topic most men avoid talking about: physical pain, and what it reveals about our pride, our dependence on God, and our need for other people. Ken and Dana talk through the reality that pain isn't just something to survive — it's something God uses. They dig into why some of the most trustworthy, respected leaders are the ones "leading with a limp," why Satan's first move in pain is always to attack our view of God's character, and why A.W. Tozer's words still ring true: God rarely anoints a man greatly whom he hasn't crushed severely. Ken also shares a personal story about breaking his wrist right before a men's retreat, refusing surgery so he wouldn't miss the trip, and the humbling week that followed — unable to buckle his own belt or carry his own coffee — that taught him one simple, hard truth: nothing is wasted, and admitting you're needy isn't weakness, it's honesty. In this episode: Why pain is woven into the story of nearly every biblical figure What Satan's temptation in the garden and Jesus' temptation in the wilderness have in common A.W. Tozer's words on suffering and anointing Ken's story of a broken wrist, a canceled surgery, and a week of forced dependence Why "nothing is wasted" isn't just a nice phrase — it's a discipline Why the men who help everyone else are often the ones who refuse help themselves If this episode resonates with you, subscribe and join us as we keep telling the truth about the hard things — one conversation at a time.

    A Theology of Physical Pain As A Part of Spiritual Formation

  9. Jul 27

    What Do You Do When You Can't Fix It: Dana's Story of Grief, Faith and Letting Go

    Men Talking Podcast

    What Do You Do When You Can't Fix It: Dana's Story of Grief, Faith and Letting Go

  10. Jul 20

    Leading With A Limp: Ken's Story of Transformation and Grace

    Men Talking Podcast

    Leading With A Limp: Ken's Story of Transformation and Grace
  • 10 Episodes

5
out of 5
11 Ratings

About

Real talk for men who are done just holding it all together. Dana Jorgensen and Dr. Ken Baugh dig into the stuff most men never say out loud — grief, weakness, vulnerability, and what true strength actually looks like. Christ-centered, honest, and built for men who want more.

Information

  • Creator
    Ken Baugh and Dana Jorgensen
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    10
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026
  • Show Website
    Men Talking Podcast

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