<![CDATA[How God Forms Men]]>This is a show for men who’ve built a lot and still feel stuck.

You’ve done the work. You are building something significant. And the grind is still paying you. Only less each time. Same hours, same hustle, smaller payoff. You find yourself pushing harder and wondering if you're the problem. It’s not.

You were trained in one skill set: perform, secure, and win. It built your success. It also has a ceiling.

How God Forms Men is about the second skill set you were never taught. The harder one. Intimacy with Jesus and a real part in His kingdom as His Son. Not a softer or easier way. It's Harder, and higher.

Each week, Ben Weaver, formation advisor and founder of Bigger Story Advisory, helps driven men see what’s really under the stall and how God uses it to form them.

Find out which ceiling is capping you. Take the free OS Assessment right here.

]]>www.biggerstory.comRiverside.fm (https://riverside.com)Mon, 26 Oct 2026 06:37:59 GMTSat, 10 Oct 2026 15:45:09 GMT60Ben Weaver<p>This is a show for men who’ve built a lot and still feel stuck.</p><p>You’ve done the work. You are building something significant. And the grind is still paying you. Only less each time. Same hours, same hustle, smaller payoff. You find yourself pushing harder and wondering if you're the problem. It’s not. </p><p>You were trained in one skill set: perform, secure, and win. It built your success. It also has a ceiling.</p><p><b><strong>How God Forms Men</strong></b> is about the <i><em>second</em></i> skill set you were never taught. The harder one. Intimacy with Jesus and a real part in His kingdom as His Son. Not a softer or easier way. It's Harder, and higher.</p><p>Each week, Ben Weaver, formation advisor and founder of <a href="https://www.biggerstory.com" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Bigger Story Advisory</a>, helps driven men see what’s really under the stall and how God uses it to form them.</p><p>Find out which ceiling is capping you. Take the free OS Assessment <a href="https://biggerstory.com/os-assessment/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">right here</a>.</p>episodicBen Weaverben@biggerstory.comno<![CDATA[003: The Adventure Your Heart Was Made For]]>When they tell the story at your funeral, what will they say? Nobody stands up to talk about your quota or how many businesses you built. They’re looking for a richer, more human story. A bigger one.

In this episode, Ben Weaver lays out a map for the kind of life your heart was made for. Building on John Eldredge’s work in Wild at Heart, Ben walks through three kinds of adventure every man is offered. Casual adventure fills your cup and keeps the lights on. Crucial adventure is the risk-taking our culture applauds, like starting the business, buying the house, chasing the exit. It’s good, but it has a ceiling built in. Critical adventure is the one your heart actually longs for. It’s the kind where, if God doesn’t show up, you’re cooked.

Ben ties those three adventures to three stories. The small story is control, where you run everything yourself. The big story is surrender, where you hand it over to God. The bigger story is union, where God hands it back and you build it together. Ben shares a moment from a men’s gathering in St. Louis when his heart was pounding before he stepped up to speak, and how he realized later that God was inviting him into something critical.

You’ll also hear why a little fear isn’t a sign you’re on the wrong path. It may be the sign you’ve found the right one.

This week’s practice: take out a journal and write one sentence that names the critical adventure God is inviting you into. It might be one you’re on right now, or one He’s been in your ear about for a long time.

Next week: the three ceilings that keep most men stuck in a smaller story.

Find out what’s capping you with the free OS Assessment.

]]>16182c7f-99d7-4ceb-a8fa-a953f61d3194Thu, 22 Oct 2026 20:39:30 GMT<p>When they tell the story at your funeral, what will they say? Nobody stands up to talk about your quota or how many businesses you built. They’re looking for a richer, more human story. A bigger one.</p><p>In this episode, Ben Weaver lays out a map for the kind of life your heart was made for. Building on John Eldredge’s work in Wild at Heart, Ben walks through three kinds of adventure every man is offered. Casual adventure fills your cup and keeps the lights on. Crucial adventure is the risk-taking our culture applauds, like starting the business, buying the house, chasing the exit. It’s good, but it has a ceiling built in. Critical adventure is the one your heart actually longs for. It’s the kind where, if God doesn’t show up, you’re cooked.</p><p>Ben ties those three adventures to three stories. The small story is control, where you run everything yourself. The big story is surrender, where you hand it over to God. The bigger story is union, where God hands it back and you build it together. Ben shares a moment from a men’s gathering in St. Louis when his heart was pounding before he stepped up to speak, and how he realized later that God was inviting him into something critical.</p><p>You’ll also hear why a little fear isn’t a sign you’re on the wrong path. It may be the sign you’ve found the right one.</p><p>This week’s practice: take out a journal and write one sentence that names the critical adventure God is inviting you into. It might be one you’re on right now, or one He’s been in your ear about for a long time.</p><p>Next week: the three ceilings that keep most men stuck in a smaller story.</p><p>Find out what’s capping you with the free <a href="https://biggerstory.com/os-assessment/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">OS Assessment.</a></p>no00:28:253003: The Adventure Your Heart Was Made Forfull<![CDATA[002: The Harder Skill Set You Were Never Taught]]>The conversation explores the contrasting skill sets of performance and sonship in the context of spiritual growth for men, emphasizing the importance of internal transformation over external achievements. It highlights the journey of yielding to God's guidance and the challenges of embracing a deeper relationship with Him.


Takeaways

  • Performance vs. Sonship
  • The importance of internal transformation


Chapters

  • 00:00 Introduction to Spiritual Growth
  • 05:05 The Performance Mindset
  • 09:59 Embracing Sonship
  • 15:11 The Cost of Transformation
  • 19:50 Invitation to Surrender
]]>bcc17328-3cef-4627-b000-b1c5f81fa8cdFri, 16 Oct 2026 14:59:13 GMT<p>The conversation explores the contrasting skill sets of performance and sonship in the context of spiritual growth for men, emphasizing the importance of internal transformation over external achievements. It highlights the journey of yielding to God's guidance and the challenges of embracing a deeper relationship with Him.</p><p><br /></p><p>Takeaways</p><ul><li>Performance vs. Sonship</li><li>The importance of internal transformation</li></ul><p><br /></p><p>Chapters</p><ul><li>00:00 Introduction to Spiritual Growth</li><li>05:05 The Performance Mindset</li><li>09:59 Embracing Sonship</li><li>15:11 The Cost of Transformation</li><li>19:50 Invitation to Surrender</li></ul>no00:22:542002: The Harder Skill Set You Were Never Taughtfull<![CDATA[001: Why What Built You Is Now Holding You Back]]>This first episode sets up the central idea of the series: many men are living by a performance-based operating system that can get them to "base camp one," but not to the deeper formation God intends. Ben Weaver shares the story of his 30th birthday breakdown, the loneliness behind outward success, and the shift that began when he admitted, "I need help." In this episode, Ben explains why external wins can feel hollow, why grinding harder often produces less, and why spiritual maturity requires a different internal framework. He lays the foundation for future conversations about formation, character, and becoming a man who can be entrusted with more.

Key topics

  • Ben Weaver opens with a personal story from July 22, 2013, his 30th birthday, when outward success collided with deep loneliness.
  • He contrasts being "known everywhere" with feeling unseen and isolated, even while speaking on stages and carrying a public identity.
  • The episode defines the show’s purpose: not how men form men, but how God forms men.
  • Ben argues that most men are running on a performance-based operating system built around proving themselves, looking fine, and climbing socially or professionally.
  • He describes the feeling of "grinding harder for less" as responsibilities stack up across work, marriage, kids, church, and community.
  • He uses the Mount Everest analogy to show that the tools that get you to base camp one are not the tools that get you to the summit.
  • Ben says coaching, Bible studies, and male community can help, but they are not enough without internal transformation.
  • He identifies the turning point in his own life as saying three words: "I need help."
  • He shares that real change began when he started walking with other men in similar seasons instead of staying isolated.
  • The core shift was moving from a life organized around what he does to a life shaped by who he becomes.

Timestamps

00:00 - The birthday that exposed hidden loneliness
00:46 - Crying on the couch despite public success
01:28 - Realizing life was built the way men form men
01:51 - Introducing the series: how God forms men
02:27 - The culture of performance, proving, and looking fine
03:22 - Why this show is about your internal formation
04:05 - Success, houses, companies, and the pressure to keep building
05:14 - Grinding harder for less across every area of life
06:20 - When big wins still feel flat
07:15 - Questioning whether you are the problem
08:14 - Why the real issue is the operating system
09:26 - The Mount Everest analogy: base camp versus summit
10:55 - Settling for less because the old system breaks down
11:51 - Why coaching and Bible studies alone are not enough
12:20 - Ben’s dashboard lights: Iron Man, businesses, and family pressure
13:44 - The moment he said, "I need help"
14:13 - Finding community with other men in similar seasons
15:15 - A new operating system based on formation, not performance
16:17 - From chasing dreams to becoming the man God is forming
17:12 - You are not broken, but your current skill set has a limit
18:33 - A closing prayer for entrusting desires to God
19:25 - The promise of a life marked by love, adventure, and peace

Notable quotes"I need help.""The same thing that got you to base camp one cannot get you to the summit of Mount Everest.""You’re not broken. The skill set that you have been handed has a limit."Action items

  • Ask where you are still relying on performance instead of formation.
  • Identify one area where you are "grinding harder for less."
  • Reach out to one trusted man and say, honestly, "I need help."
  • Pray: "Jesus, help me to become the man who can be entrusted with this desire you have given me."
]]>d943af57-cc07-4291-8c2b-09198c56b2d9Wed, 14 Oct 2026 20:48:01 GMT<p>This first episode sets up the central idea of the series: many men are living by a performance-based operating system that can get them to "base camp one," but not to the deeper formation God intends. Ben Weaver shares the story of his 30th birthday breakdown, the loneliness behind outward success, and the shift that began when he admitted, "I need help." In this episode, Ben explains why external wins can feel hollow, why grinding harder often produces less, and why spiritual maturity requires a different internal framework. He lays the foundation for future conversations about formation, character, and becoming a man who can be entrusted with more.</p><p>Key topics</p><ul><li>Ben Weaver opens with a personal story from July 22, 2013, his 30th birthday, when outward success collided with deep loneliness.</li><li>He contrasts being "known everywhere" with feeling unseen and isolated, even while speaking on stages and carrying a public identity.</li><li>The episode defines the show’s purpose: not how men form men, but how God forms men.</li><li>Ben argues that most men are running on a performance-based operating system built around proving themselves, looking fine, and climbing socially or professionally.</li><li>He describes the feeling of "grinding harder for less" as responsibilities stack up across work, marriage, kids, church, and community.</li><li>He uses the Mount Everest analogy to show that the tools that get you to base camp one are not the tools that get you to the summit.</li><li>Ben says coaching, Bible studies, and male community can help, but they are not enough without internal transformation.</li><li>He identifies the turning point in his own life as saying three words: "I need help."</li><li>He shares that real change began when he started walking with other men in similar seasons instead of staying isolated.</li><li>The core shift was moving from a life organized around what he does to a life shaped by who he becomes.</li></ul><p>Timestamps</p><p>00:00 - The birthday that exposed hidden loneliness<br />00:46 - Crying on the couch despite public success<br />01:28 - Realizing life was built the way men form men<br />01:51 - Introducing the series: how God forms men<br />02:27 - The culture of performance, proving, and looking fine<br />03:22 - Why this show is about your internal formation<br />04:05 - Success, houses, companies, and the pressure to keep building<br />05:14 - Grinding harder for less across every area of life<br />06:20 - When big wins still feel flat<br />07:15 - Questioning whether you are the problem<br />08:14 - Why the real issue is the operating system<br />09:26 - The Mount Everest analogy: base camp versus summit<br />10:55 - Settling for less because the old system breaks down<br />11:51 - Why coaching and Bible studies alone are not enough<br />12:20 - Ben’s dashboard lights: Iron Man, businesses, and family pressure<br />13:44 - The moment he said, "I need help"<br />14:13 - Finding community with other men in similar seasons<br />15:15 - A new operating system based on formation, not performance<br />16:17 - From chasing dreams to becoming the man God is forming<br />17:12 - You are not broken, but your current skill set has a limit<br />18:33 - A closing prayer for entrusting desires to God<br />19:25 - The promise of a life marked by love, adventure, and peace</p><p>Notable quotes"I need help.""The same thing that got you to base camp one cannot get you to the summit of Mount Everest.""You’re not broken. The skill set that you have been handed has a limit."Action items</p><ul><li>Ask where you are still relying on performance instead of formation.</li><li>Identify one area where you are "grinding harder for less."</li><li>Reach out to one trusted man and say, honestly, "I need help."</li><li>Pray: "Jesus, help me to become the man who can be entrusted with this desire you have given me."</li></ul>no00:21:02001: Why What Built You Is Now Holding You Backfull<![CDATA[000: A Prayer For This Podcast]]>Nothing of great significance is done without prayer. We consecrate this to you, Jesus. It's all yours. Do with it what you will.

]]>86af0746-b2f3-4826-a7b1-aa850c1a0454Mon, 12 Oct 2026 21:14:29 GMT<p>Nothing of great significance is done without prayer. We consecrate this to you, Jesus. It's all yours. Do with it what you will. </p>no00:04:38000: A Prayer For This Podcastfull<![CDATA[TRAILER: How God Forms Men]]>Welcome to How God Forms Men. A show for men who've built a lot and still feel stuck.

]]>https://biggerstory.com/80440ad2-76b6-43f9-84e8-56f75cca3b6aSat, 10 Oct 2026 15:47:05 GMT<p>Welcome to How God Forms Men. A show for men who've built a lot and still feel stuck.</p>no00:02:06TRAILER: How God Forms Mentrailer