Elder My City, with Tim Schmoyer

Your wife already knows the man you are. The question is whether you're brave enough to ask her. We discuss three questions to ask your wife that can turn your marriage into a training ground for eldership.

Most men make decisions by asking, "What's the smartest choice?" But what if your decisions aren't just problems to solve, they're training for something you haven't been shown yet?In this episode, I walk through three real decisions I'm facing right now — an investment property, relationship priorities for a family of nine, and whether to compete in a BJJ tournament against my doctor's advice — and why I stopped treating them as problems and started treating them as formation.I break down the difference between how most men approach decisions and how an aspiring elder thinks about them, and I introduce a framework I've been developing that changes not just what you decide, but what your decisions are actually for.If you want the full six-question framework, subscribe to Elder My City at read.timschmoyer.com and you'll get "The Elder's Decision-Making Framework" guide in your welcome email.✉️ Subscribe to get my free guide, "The Elder's Decision-Making Framework: A Step-By-Step Guide for Godly Leadership."📝 Read ⁠⁠the full post for this episode⁠⁠ and leave a comment on my Substack.🎙️ Leave ⁠⁠a voicemail for a future episode⁠⁠.CHAPTERS00:00 - Welcome & The Challenge of Decision Making01:00 - Example 1: Investment Property Decision03:25 - Example 2: Family Time & Relationships04:53 - Example 3: BJJ Tournament vs Doctor's Advice05:30 - How Most Men Make Decisions06:36 - A Different Operating System for God-Fearing Men08:49 - The Elder's Questions vs Common Questions12:16 - Decisions as Training for Kingdom Responsibility15:19 - Applying the Framework to Real Decisions17:33 - The Elder's Decision Making Framework (Free Guide)19:40 - Being More Than a "Good Dad"21:15 - Closing & Call to Action

A jacked 23-year-old put me in a chokehold last Friday. I'm 45. Most people call Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu a hobby. I've started seeing it as elder training.Eldership isn't formed in a seminary classroom or a church board meeting. It's formed in the ordinary rhythms you refuse to quit — the budget meetings, the bedtime Bible readings, the conversations with your kids you'd rather avoid.In this episode, I walk through five weekly habits that are shaping me as I steward my home today and prepare for the authority I'll be trusted with in the Kingdom to come. These aren't theoretical. They're what my family actually does, including the parts I'm still figuring out.If you're a man who senses God is calling you to more than just "being a good dad," this is where that journey gets practical.📝 Read ⁠the full post for this episode⁠ and leave a comment on my Substack.🎙️ Leave ⁠a voicemail for a future episode⁠.CHAPTERS00:00 — Introduction00:46 — A 23-year-old put me in a chokehold02:10 — Eldership is formed in rhythms you refuse to quit03:34 — Passivity is the greatest disqualifier05:12 — Five weekly habits for elder formation05:54 — Habit 1: Lead your family in reading the Bible together10:05 — Habit 2: Have a weekly check-in with each person in your home14:25 — Habit 3: Study scripture with other men17:18 — Habit 4: Hold a budget and calendar review meeting21:53 — Habit 5: Exercise as body stewardship26:18 — Lead what's been entrusted to you27:40 — Set your hope on what's coming

Most Christian men have a fuzzier picture of the Kingdom than they do of their next vacation. Clouds. Harps. Maybe endless singing. But Jesus talked about the Kingdom over 100 times and what He described looks nothing like that.The prophets describe cities. Governance. Land and property. Work that actually lasts. And Revelation says we'll reign forever. Not floating around with equal status, but actually reigning. With varying levels of responsibility based on something that happens now.In this episode, I dig into what Scripture actually says about the age to come and why your daily grind as a father and husband might be training for something far bigger than you realized.📝 Read the full post for this episode and leave a comment on my Substack.🎙️ Leave a voicemail for a future episode.CHAPTERS00:00 Welcome00:55 What I used to think heaven was02:26 The Kingdom is a real place06:27 Micah 4: A Kingdom you can walk through10:21 Zechariah 14: My favorite chapter in the Bible12:44 Why Sukkot is our family's favorite holiday16:47 Revelation: The New Jerusalem18:25 The city has a government19:22 Jesus talked about this 80+ times19:59 The parables of stewardship22:35 What this changes about today24:58 The Lord's Prayer trains us to long for it28:15 A fuzzy heaven doesn't motivate sacrifice30:07 Isaiah 65: Work that finally lasts32:55 Our Sukkot tradition with Hebrews 1134:00 What are you doing with your training?37:05 Closing

Comment on the full post here: https://read.timschmoyer.com/p/i-found-my-job-description-in-scriptureQuestions? Thoughts? Comments? Leave me a voicemail message to use in a future podcast episode: https://www.speakpipe.com/timschmoyerSubscribe to get new blog posts and podcast episodes in your Inbox: https://read.timschmoyer.com/subscribeFollow Tim on the socials:- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timschmoyer- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timschmoyer- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timschmoyer/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.timschmoyer.com