The Valiant Forge

You can stop working and still struggle to rest. Former hospital CEO Bret Kolman joins Mark Osborne to explore the pressure to keep achieving, the difference between distraction and soul rest, and learning to surrender control to God.

Bret shares the cost of stepping away from his career, what years of mini-sabbaticals taught him, and why he encourages people to start with the time and circumstances they actually have. The conversation also explores fear, gratitude, community, and a personal regret that reminds us not to postpone the things that matter.

If you're balancing work, family...

How do you keep trusting God when life gives you reasons to question everything?

Michael Wright joins Mark Osborne for an honest conversation about grief, addiction, spiritual growth, and becoming a better husband and father.

Michael shares the loss of his daughter to a heroin overdose, a house fire shortly after his ordination, and a near-fatal accident he believes he should never have survived. He also opens up about twenty years of alcoholism and the moment he finally admitted, “I need to be a better dad. I need to be a better husband”—and asked for he...

How do you stay grounded in faith while pursuing a demanding career?

Talent agent and author Dr. Albert Bramante joins Mark Osborne for a conversation about faith, the struggles behind public success, and finding purpose through serving others. Albert shares his experiences of childhood illness, isolation, depression, and surviving suicide attempts, along with the unexpected path that brought him into the entertainment industry.

Together, they discuss prayer, shame, forgiveness, gratitude, community, and learning to surrender control. They also explore questions about psychology, hypnosis, and Christian faith.

For the man who feels stuck, the...

At one point, Chris LaFreniere lost touch with reality and believed he was God. Today, he’s a husband, a father, a Christian, and the author of Bipolar Is Who I Am.

Chris joins Mark Osborne on The Valiant Forge to share his experience of bipolar I disorder, substance abuse, hospitalization, and the long process of rebuilding his life. An arrest led to community service. Community service led to a church invitation. That invitation opened a door he hadn’t expected.

Together, they discuss the warning signs Chris missed, finding medication that worked for him, grow...

Has modern spirituality given old ideas a new identity? Author Tom Snow returns to The Valiant Forge to discuss manifestation, spiritual deception, the prosperity gospel, and the difference between trusting God and trying to control outcomes.

Mark shares personal experiences with insecurity, the desire for approval, and a psychic reading. Tom offers his interpretations of psychic knowledge, spirit guides, mentalists, and other spiritual phenomena, and discusses Set the Captives Free Too: Evil’s Great Masquerade: Divine Light or Deceptive Woo?

This episode includes Tom’s personal interpretations. Listeners are encouraged to weigh the conversation against Scri...

Can you know Jesus loves you and still feel you have to prove your worth? Coach and author Tony Stoltzfus shares how devastating loss changed his relationship with God, then guides Mark through a personal coaching conversation about ministry, significance, and bringing the desires of the heart to Jesus.

You can know Jesus loves you and still feel like you have to prove you're worth something.

In this episode of The Valiant Forge Podcast, Mark Osborne sits down with Christian leadership coach and author Tony Stoltzfus to explore faith, loss, and the pressure...

Do you treat sleep as wasted time—or as part of preparing yourself to serve the people God has placed in your life?

Mark Osborne sits down with Dr. Benjamin Long, a physician with dual board certification in sleep medicine and pediatrics, to explore what the Bible says about sleep, rest, and responsibility.

Their conversation covers waking during the night, sleep deprivation, the snooze button, overthinking, doomscrolling, and the pressure to keep producing. Ben shares his own experience with sleeplessness and explains why struggling to sleep should not automatically be treated as evidence of weak fa...

We're constantly told to love ourselves, choose ourselves, and put ourselves first. But Jesus said to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow Him. So does following Jesus mean we're supposed to hate ourselves? Not at all. In this Valiant Monday, Mark shares how putting himself on the throne nearly destroyed his marriage—and why there's a crucial difference between caring for yourself and living for yourself.

“Some of the worst decisions I've made in my life started with one thought: What about me?”

We live in a culture saturated with self-d...

What happens when a Baptist pastor leaves the pulpit for the FBI? Eric Robinson shares the strain that led to that decision, the surprising ways his pastoral experience helped him as an agent and SWAT breacher, and why he saw compassion and justice as part of his calling. Mark and Eric also discuss family, courage, a difficult investigation involving pastors, and Eric’s forthcoming memoir, Irreverend.

Eric’s website: https://preachertobreacher.com/

Content note: Includes discussion of child sex trafficking.

Mick Wienholt survived an avalanche that caused severe head injuries and required emergency brain surgery. He called his survival a miracle, but says he gave God only “intellectual credit.” He still wanted no relationship with Him.

Years later, Mick and his wife learned that their son Luke had died shortly before his due date. Mick had always been able to solve problems through determination and hard work. This time, he couldn’t fix what had happened. On his knees in a hospital hallway, he cried out to God.

In this conversation, Mick s...

“Become the man God has called you to be.”

It’s a phrase we hear at men’s conferences, in church, and on Christian podcasts—but what does it actually mean?

In this Valiant Monday, Mark breaks the phrase down piece by piece: become, the man, God, and called you to be.

You are becoming someone whether you mean to or not. If you don’t allow God to define the man you are becoming, the world around you will. But becoming a man of God isn’t about building a platform, earning recognition, o...

Fear, lust, anger, and pride can disguise themselves as ambition, strength, and success. Dr. Dave Jones explains how Christian men can identify these toxic motivators, build guardrails, develop genuine mental toughness, and pursue a vision grounded in God.

What’s really driving you?

Fear, lust, anger, and pride can look like ambition, strength, discipline, or success from the outside. But when these toxic motivators remain unrecognized, they can distort a man’s vision and keep him from becoming who God has called him to be.

Mark sits down with Dr. Dave Jones—former profes...

For years, Alex Horton described himself as a chameleon. He adapted to whoever was around him because he didn’t know who he really was.

His earliest understanding of Christianity was rooted more in fear than love. He initially turned to Jesus for the wrong reasons, then walked away when those reasons disappeared. Meanwhile, isolation, bullying, depression, anxiety, and PTSD led Alex into several moments of suicidal desperation.

In this deeply honest conversation, Alex shares what happened during one of his darkest nights, how a friend helped him receive the care he needed, and why Ro...

What does surrender actually look like? And what does biblical masculinity mean?

Those are two questions I get asked regularly, and I’m beginning to think they may have the same answer:

Take responsibility for what God has entrusted to you—and surrender the outcome to Him.

In this Valiant Monday, I wrestle with the difference between surrender and passivity, responsibility and control, and why saying “God is in control” can either be an expression of deep faith—or an excuse for avoiding something we already know we need to do.

From Israe...

When Dustin Kleinschmidt could no longer see a path forward as a lead pastor, God gave him one clear instruction: “You serve and trust Me to provide.”

After more than 25 years in vocational ministry, Dustin Kleinschmidt resigned as lead pastor without knowing what came next. In this honest conversation, Dustin shares how the wilderness stripped away performance, challenged his identity, and taught him to trust God without demanding a clear outcome.

Mark and Dustin discuss pastoral burnout, surrender, feeling as though you missed your moment, the importance of trusted men, and the message behind Dustin’s book...

Why are so many men confused about who they're supposed to be? David Savage joins Mark Osborne to talk about biblical manhood, pride, isolation, renewing the mind, mentorship, and finding your way back to God's path.

Why do so many men feel lost?

David Savage believes confusion is one of the biggest crises facing men today. Without a clear understanding of who they are, what they're responsible for, and where they're going, men can drift away from their commitments, relationships, community, and faith.

David joins Mark Osborne to talk about The Savage Path—hi...

What can 250 personal testimonies teach us about the character of God—and what happens when obedience requires us to surrender something good?

This week, Valiant Monday looks a little different. Mark is joined by returning guest and friend Jonnie Taverner, host and producer of Refuge Freedom Stories and author of ‘One Thing’ About God.

Jonnie created the book from answers given by 250 podcast guests to one question:

“What’s the one thing you would tell people about God?”

Their answers reveal recurring truths about God’s love, relational nature, and trustworthiness. But this conve...

At 23, Weston Brandon lost his wife while their premature son was still in the NICU. Weston shares how he wrestled with anger toward God, recognized his emotional distance from his son, and began rebuilding his life one committed step at a time. A NICU nurse’s simple challenge became a turning point: “Your son needs you, and you need your son.”

In this conversation, Weston shares how that moment helped awaken him from emotional shutdown, why healing required intentional action, and how his experience now shapes his work with widowed fathers and men carrying struggles alone.

We d...

How do you know when someone claiming to speak for God is actually speaking for God?

Jason Johnson joins me for a conversation about biblical discernment, false teaching, prophecy, and why Christians need to know Scripture well enough to recognize when something doesn't line up.

Jason shares how conflicting beliefs early in his Christian walk forced him to dig deeper into Scripture. He also tells the very personal story of a woman telling him that God had revealed he was supposed to be her husband—and why his own desires made that message easier to be...

The things you've believed about yourself may describe your past or your circumstances—but they don't get the final word on your identity. In this Valiant Monday, Mark looks at Gideon, Matthew, faithfulness, and what happens when the identity we've built for ourselves collides with what God says is true. What has God put in front of you that you're not stepping into because of something you've believed about yourself?

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Terrence Rotering is the author of The Chronicles of Trinian, a ten-book Christian fantasy and science-fiction epic exploring faith, spiritual warfare, duty, legacy, eternity, artificial intelligence, and the battle between God and Satan.

In this conversation, Terrence shares how an unfinished trilogy remained dormant for 15 years before growing into one vast, interconnected story. He also recounts the remarkable “God winks” surrounding the books—including repeated connections to John 3:16 that appeared through a gold coin, a Goodreads review, the final page of one book, and the opening date of a mission church.

Terrence explains why he wanted...

Recognizing an open door is only the beginning. At some point, faith must become courage, and a man must decide whether he will step forward or allow fear to keep him standing still.

Scott Fehrenbacher shares how following unexpected opportunities led him into Christian media, Crosswalk.com, and Worship Road Radio. He reflects on leading Crosswalk during the fear and uncertainty of 9/11, challenges the Church to resist what he calls “virtuous mediocrity,” and explains why innovation does not have to mean compromising the gospel.

Scott and Mark also discuss Christian music as a powerful discipleship tool...

Have you been waiting so long that you’ve started wondering whether God forgot about you?

God isn’t late simply because He hasn’t revealed His timing. But waiting faithfully doesn’t mean sitting still—and not every delay means you’re supposed to keep waiting.

In this Valiant Monday, Mark Osborne examines the difference between waiting, preparing, and moving. Sometimes we try to force open a door God hasn’t opened. Other times, God has already opened the door, but fear keeps us from walking through it.

Your responsibility isn’t to control God’s...

Trauma can shape how a man sees himself without revealing who he truly is.

Yusef Marshall—known publicly as MistaYu—grew up navigating violence, drugs, gangs and instability in New York. Those experiences produced a hardened identity built for survival. After an armed robber held a revolver inches from his head, MistaYu prayed and asked God to show him that He was real.

Nearly ten years later, that prayer was answered through an encounter that changed the direction of his life.

MistaYu joins Mark Osborne to discuss separating identity from trauma, rebuilding a man’...

For 20 years, Wesley Farnsworth hid a pornography addiction while continuing to attend church, serve, and appear to have everything together.

Growing up as a pastor’s kid taught Wesley how to become what he calls a “master chameleon”—someone capable of blending into nearly any environment while keeping his real struggle hidden. He tried to change on his own, but secrecy and isolation continued giving the addiction power.

Everything shifted at Celebrate Recovery when another man stopped and asked him, “Is there anything else?”

Wesley expected judgment and rejection. Instead, he was met with love, a...

You believe God forgives—but why do you keep returning to the same sin?

In this Valiant Monday, Mark Osborne explores the cycle of temptation, guilt, repentance, and relapse. Through Peter’s denial and restoration, the difference between conviction and condemnation, and the practical LIGHT framework, this episode offers a path toward receiving Christ’s forgiveness and taking concrete steps out of bondage.

Learn how to locate the pattern, invite someone into the struggle, guard the doorway, heal what keeps sending you back, and take the next faithful step.

Freedom grows in the light—...

Moral injury is more than guilt over doing something wrong. It is the deep spiritual and emotional wound that can leave someone believing they are unlovable, irredeemable, and beyond forgiveness.

Dr. Larry Brant—a Navy chaplain, combat veteran, former pastor, and board-certified chaplain—joins Mark to explain how moral injury differs from PTSD and why the Church may be overlooking it. Their conversation explores Dr. Brant’s experiences in Afghanistan and hospital ministry, his own diagnosis of PTSD, moral injury within the Church, King David’s path through failure and restoration, and the practical steps that can help wou...

Why do grown men still throw tantrums, slam doors, withdraw, or make everyone around them feel their anger?

Growing older happens automatically. Emotional maturity doesn’t.

In this Valiant Monday episode, Mark Osborne examines why disrespect, correction, and disappointment can trigger such powerful reactions in men. Through the biblical account of Ahab and Naboth, his own failures, and practical teaching from Scripture, Mark reveals what may be hiding beneath our anger: an identity built on respect and admiration.

You’ll learn four practical steps for stopping an immature reaction before it takes control:

Many Christian men struggle with anxiety, depression, grief, and emotional pain—but remain silent because they believe asking for help is a sign of weakness.

Dr. Oluwole Babatunde is a psychiatrist, physician, author, and Christian who brings together professional experience in mental health with a deeply personal understanding of adversity. After losing his mother at age seven and his father six years later, he had to decide whether those losses would define his future or become part of a greater purpose.

In this conversation, Dr. Babatunde joins Mark Osborne to discuss why men often hide th...

Sometimes we call ourselves stuck because it sounds better than admitting we’re avoiding the work.

In this Valiant Monday, Mark honestly examines his struggle with fitness and the uncomfortable realization that knowledge isn’t always the problem. Fear, shame, uncertainty, and the desire for immediate rewards can keep us from doing what we already know needs to be done.

Through Romans 7:15 and Romans 12:2, discover how renewing your mind changes your perspective on discomfort—and learn how to identify the work you’re avoiding, name the feeling behind it, and take one faithful step within the next...

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What happens when a man loses everything... and discovers that the answer wasn't trying harder, but finally surrendering?

In this episode of The Valiant Forge, Mark Osborne sits down with Joe Rooz for an honest conversation about faith, brokenness, and the journey from self-reliance to complete dependence on God.

Joe shares how losing everything forced him to confront a difficult truth: he had spent years trying to fix his life on his own. From growing up in a religious home to questioning everything he believed, searching for...

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What if the most dangerous season of your life didn't look like failure—but success?

In this deeply personal episode, Mark Osborne imagines sitting across from the version of himself from five years ago, just before everything changed. He had lost weight, become disciplined, run marathons, served in church, and looked like he had life figured out. But beneath the surface, he was quietly drifting from God.

This isn't a story about fitness or self-improvement. It's about what happens when good things slowly replace the One who matters most.

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How do you live out your faith at work without becoming "that guy" in the office?

In this episode of The Valiant Forge Podcast, Mark Osborne sits down with Tom Peterson for a relaxed, honest conversation about one of the greatest mission fields many Christians overlook—the workplace.

Together they discuss how to represent Christ in everyday situations, navigate difficult bosses and coworkers, extend grace when you fail, and discover that your greatest witness often comes through your character rather than your words.

Wh...

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Most people think Jonah ran because he was afraid.

He wasn't.

Jonah knew exactly what God wanted him to do—he simply didn't want to do it.

In this episode of The Valiant Forge, Mark Osborne explores one of the Bible's most misunderstood stories and reveals why our obedience is never just about us. Whether God is calling you to lead your family, forgive someone, start something new, or simply take the next faithful step, there are people on the other side of your obedience waiting for yo...

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What happens when a man reaches the end of himself and cries out,

"Jesus, if You're real..."

David Ebel knows.

Born with 21 birth defects, bullied throughout childhood, trapped in alcoholism, and after multiple suicide attempts, David had lost all hope. But one desperate prayer changed everything.

In this episode of The Valiant Forge Podcast, David shares his remarkable testimony of God's grace, the moment Christ met him at his lowest, and how one encounter with Jesus completely transformed the course of his life.

...

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Everyone remembers David defeating Goliath.

But what if his greatest battle came years later... after the victories... after he became king?

In this episode of The Valiant Forge, Mark explores one of the most overlooked moments in David's life: the day he stayed home when kings were supposed to go to war. That single decision set off a chain of compromise that affected David, his family, and his kingdom for years.

This isn't just a story about David.

It's a warning for every...

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Most Christians have prayed the Lord's Prayer hundreds of times. But have you ever stopped to consider what you're actually praying when you say, "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven"?

In Part 2 of my conversation with Dr. David Chotka, we explore one of the most misunderstood phrases in Scripture. Dr. Chotka explains that praying for God's Kingdom is far more than asking for His blessing—it's an invitation to submit to the reign of King Jesus and participate in His mission to...

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Most men don't wake up one morning intending to sabotage their lives.

It happens one compromise at a time.

In this episode of The Valiant Forge, we examine the life of Samson—not just as one of the strongest men in the Bible, but as a warning about the slow drift that can pull any of us away from God.

Through Samson's victories, compromises, failures, and restoration, we discover that God's faithfulness is greater than our failures, and no one is beyond His grace.

Ke...