Steve Cruz: The importance of being physically fit, eating healthy, & knowing your weapon! DMW#222

Opening Banter and Show Introduction

Exploring theology, doctrine, and all of the fascinating subjects in between, broadcasting from an undisclosed location, Dead Men Walking starts now. Hello everyone, welcome back to another episode of Dead Men Walking Podcast.

I'm your host Greg Moore. You can find us at www .dmwpodcast .com. Find out more about the show, you can even check out our merch which does help support the show. We've got a couple of popular t-shirts selling right now.

That's always a popular seller. And we just put up the Job 13 .5, how about you shut up and let that be your knowledge. People seem to like that one. But like I say, you've got to quote scripture to the pagans even if they don't like it.

Sponsors and Upcoming Conferences

But guys, first of all, before we start the show, I've got to tell you about our three sponsors we have right now. Jacob's Supply, you've heard me talk about them before. They're in Midwest United States, Temperance, Michigan.

40, 50, 60 off building supplies, flooring, appliances, metal roofing, barn projects. I mean these guys have it all. I've got guys coming from 8, 10, 12 hours away just to get their punch list done.

You've got to check them out. Jacobsupply .com, he's a reformed brother in the Lord. Runs a spectacular, fantastic, phenomenal in all those adjectives business. He's got some decking deals right now, some vinyl flooring deals.

I mean, I can't even say the price. We actually got a cease and desist. I know that sounds gimmicky. But they came to us and said, can you stop saying, the competitor said, can you stop saying the price?

We can't get it that cheap. He's about 60 cheaper than we are because he buys wholesale, buys it all out, gives it to you guys at a discounted price. Jacobsupply .com or call me at 734 -224 -0978. Couple conferences I want you guys to know about coming up in the next 60 days.

Thank God for Bitcoin 2024. Jordan Bush and those brothers absolutely love them. They've been on the podcast before. Had a conference last year in Miami. It was unbelievable. This year they're in Rockettown, Nashville, July 24th and 25th.

Get your tickets in the description below this episode. They got guys like Michael Foster, C .R. Wiley, Dr. Ben Merkle, Dr. Glenn Sunshine, Nate Fisher, and of course, Jordan Bush and many, many more speakers talking about the economy of money within the Christian worldview, how you can use digital currency, investing, all those things.

That's going to be a great conference. Check it out. And then one more is Works Slash Base. They call it Works Base. I do like that play on words there. Kyle Hessler has been on the podcast before too.

He organized this. It's in June 28th, 29th. It's in the Hilton, downtown Fort Worth, Texas. They're going to be talking about what it means to be a man and what it means to work and build things. It's also a very good networking event.

If you're a business owner or influencer at the place you work, go to this conference. You guys are going to meet some crazy, crazy good entrepreneurs that are also believers. Guys like David Bonson. I mean, he manages like, I don't know, $2 billion worth of portfolio.

CR Wiley, Pastor Steve Jeffries, who's also a physicist. We've had him on the podcast before. That was fun. David Reese, Armor 500, talking about guns and Second Amendment. Andrew Krapischatz, Red Balloon.

I mean, the list goes on and on. Once again, you can find the link in the description of this episode. That's coming up in June 28th and 29th, so not too much time left for that. But now that we got the business out of the way, I want to introduce our guest today.

Introducing Steve Cruz and The Regular Man Podcast

I'm not going to belabor me talking and ranting anymore because we want to get to the guest. Steve Cruz is a Christian husband and father of three. He spent six years in the USAF before returning home to Oregon.

Did I say that right?

Oregon?

Oregon?

I don't know. Oregon.

It's always Oregon. It's never Oregon.

Come on.

Well, my Midwest wanted to say Oregon.

Unless you leave your Oregon.

Gone.

Steve has been in law enforcement for two decades and graduated summa cum laude from Liberty University with a Bachelor's of Science in Religion and Theology. He's the host of The Regular Man podcast, which we're going to talk about for a little bit today, where he discusses real-world issues like faith, family, finance, fitness, and everything else that The Regular Man deals with in the light of biblical masculinity.

It's Steve Cruz. Steve, thanks for coming on the podcast today.

Thanks for having me, man.

I appreciate it.

I really appreciate being on the Dead Men Walking podcast.

I love it.

Absolutely. Ephesians 2, dead in our sins, but now high in priestly places with Christ because of his righteousness. We love it.

Amen.

And if you guys are watching this on YouTube or any of the other socials and not just listening, I absolutely love Steve's backdrop. He's got this thing on his podcast where you sign the wall, and he even does it remotely too.

So if you're on his podcast and then you can send him a signature, he puts it up there. And I saw it on Twitter about a week ago, and I was telling him before we started recording, I said I knew it was a good idea when I instantly got jealous and thought, why didn't I think of that?

What a cool idea. Just something kind of small but neat. And you can see everyone's signature on the wall behind him and his backdrop and his video. So cool idea, man.

Yeah, I appreciate that.

I got a couple names that are familiar to our Reformed circle. I really enjoy having all the guests who are, you're included, right? Me being on your podcast is the same. I mean, I'm a guest, you're my guest.

Having the opportunity to sign the regular mantel wall. And I also have, I don't like, everything I do is for free. Everything, I don't like people hustling with, they charge some money for a podcast, this episode or that episode.

But I do recognize that some people really, really want to be bigger, like a bigger part of a podcast. So I thought, hey, why don't you open that up to everybody else who listens to it so they can go to Patreon and subscribe for five bucks and I'll put their name on the wall too.

And it's just super cool. Something that everybody's like, hey, that's my name right there.

Yeah.

No, it's a cool idea. I mean, it engages the guests and the listeners and I really do like it, but we didn't want to talk about your wall all hour. I do want to talk about the podcast a little bit because it intrigues me.

Biblical Masculinity Applied to Everyday Life

We have quite a movement within Christianity, especially within reformed Christianity with biblical masculinity and things like that. And I see a lot of the theological side of it, but I don't see too much of like the everyday stuff that guys have to do want to do or created to do their interests.

And that's kind of where, I mean, you're theological. Don't get me wrong. You know what I mean? Talk about doctrine and theology and all that. But also too, it sounds like you're doing a little bit more of like the everyday guy stuff and like how we apply scripture to, you know, when we go to the gun range, when we go hunting, when we're building something, when we're doing home repairs, when we're meeting with a colleague, like these types of things where, you know, God created us to be builders and providers and all in protectors and all these things.

I find it very interesting that you're kind of cornering that market on that. Can you talk a little bit about how that pod, how the podcast got started, the regular man podcast and what it is that you actually do focus on?

Yeah, of course.

Yeah.

You hit it right on the head. You have a lot of people who some amazing, some okay, some horrible that, that talk about all K all things theology, right? I love the guys in Ogden. I love Michael Foster.

I love the guys in Moscow and, and they're really good at their niche, right?

What they do.

And it's some of it is more heady than others. Some of it's more application, but most guys just don't want to talk about transubstantiation and consubstantiation and memorialization and, and hypostatic union and all these theological terms that, that are meaningful.

They're important. They're super, super important, but man, I've got a job. I work construction. I'm a mechanic. I'm a plumber. I'm a CEO of a fortune 500 company. I don't have time to sit here and, and investigate what all of that means to me.

It's,.

And it's not like they don't care. It's that I don't have time in my day to be a pastor or to be a theologian. I need to know what that means to me. I have real world stuff.

I got to deal with,.

I got a, I got a wife.

I got a family. I got kids. I got a dog. I got a mortgage. I got a business. I got all these things that take up my time.

And it's the,.

So what,.

Right?

How do we,.

How then do we live now?

Right.

And so I thought,.

Man, I don't,.

I don't,.

I don't do well with someone who presents themselves in a, in a ivory tower, talking about high, you know, theology from,.

I don't,.

I would much, much rather someone just spell it out to me, write it in crayon.

I don't care.

I'm super simple.

I love it.

I would keep it simple, stupid,.

Right?

Kiss it.

I need somebody to, so what does that mean to me? Great.

You can,.

You can preach a sermon on whatever it is and, and dig into two verses and talk about the, the Koine Greek and the ancient Hebrew context and all those things,.

Write a book.

Wonderful.

Amazing.

I support you, but so what,.

Man,.

What does that mean to me? Like I got a mortgage to pay. What does that mean to me? And I think that we have this kind of a gap between what, what scripture says and what, what people theologians for literally two thousands of years, 2000 years have, have gone through and dissected and gone.

And, and, and,.

And the regular guy today, what does that mean to me?

Like there's,.

There's no bridging the gap. So I think that it's important that we have people in that space who say,.

Okay, well,.

This is the actual raw application,.

Right?

The biggest component that's missing. Michael Foster says all the time, the biggest component that's missing from the church today is application. And if pastors just preach application, your church would change overnight.

And I a hundred percent believe that. I think if you just, if you just tell your church what that means to me, how I can apply that, that'll change my life. And that's really what I'm trying to, trying to do.

I'm just trying to give basic principles, kitchen table issues, things that you do, you deal with on a regular day on a regular day, everyday basis that matters to the regular guy. So that's what the podcast is about,.

Man.

No,.

I love it now that that's so good because about a year, maybe a year and a half ago, I listened to the audio book of Michael Foster's. It's good to be a man and listen to it. My wife said, I'm not allowed to say I read the book.

I listened to it. You can't say you read it. If it's an audio book, it's an ongoing joke.

Yeah.

Good for her.

Right.

But,.

But I listened all the way through it.

I went,.

Okay,.

This was really good stuff. It's stuff that I already kind of knew, which I should know. I'm in my early forties. I understand that. And I thought this book's really great. Maybe for a young guy that doesn't understand what men were created for dominion,.

You know,.

Working all those things. But my very next thought was,.

Boy,.

There needs to be a book that then follows it up and goes,.

Okay,.

What's the real world application of being a man? How do I create an LLC?

How,.

Where do I find an accountant? How do I build this?

How,.

You know,.

How do I network? How do I, if I'm an influencer at work, how do I grow my sales to where I,.

You know,.

I can increase my earning revenues and like all these things,.

You know,.

Or yes, I'm a protector. So what does that mean for self-defense? What type of weapon should I carry? If I do carry one, what should I be proficient in health?

You know,.

We're going to talk about that a little bit. What should I be putting in my body? And what's a good,.

You know,.

A physical regimen and all these things.

And I went,.

Yeah, the,.

The theological part of it is great. And I'm not dissing his book at all. I really appreciated that book and it's very popular, but at the same time, I don't see too many guys with the application part of it and going, okay, here are the 10 areas in life that most affect men.

And here, how you apply biblical principles to them every day. And I like that your podcast is doing that because we try to do that a.

Little bit.

I mean,.

We're kind of, I'm kind of a broad spectrum here. I've always said I'm very, it's very,.

Well,.

Thank you. And I like yours, but I'm, I'm selfish. I just go,.

Oh,.

That seems interesting. Let me call that guy up and have him on. And he's much smarter than me. We'll talk about it for an hour, 45 minutes.

And,.

And it's,.

You know what I mean?

It's almost like someone who's a curious person is very self-satisfying. So we've had anywhere from congressmen to comedians to theologians and scholars and everything in between, because it kind of what strikes me or what's going on in the zeitgeist at that.

Time.

So we touch on that a little bit of like the practical things guys can do, but I'm glad you're really cornering the market on that in the podcast and the regular man podcast. Cause I think it's, it's much needed even like I said,.

Physical Fitness, Eating Healthy, and Self-Control

Well,.

Let's just get into it because we were talking about this before we started recording. One thing I've really been thinking about and tell me what you think about this too, is just like the, the control and discipline of being physically fit, eating healthy,.

And,.

And you know, working out or being physical. I just find that a lot of guys are very smart in very many areas. They know how to provide and they'll go to work and they know the theology of, of what a guy does and protect.

But,.

But we let that lack. I see so many out of shape,.

You know,.

Reformed,.

Non-reformed Christian. I'll just say Christian in general brothers. And we just kind of let that go to the wayside and go,.

Well,.

You know,.

Don't really judge me there. Don't really call me to repentance in that area.

You know,.

All these other things I'm working on,.

But you know,.

I need my 1130 midnight snack and I need to,.

You know,.

Lay lay around when I should be getting up early and maybe running three.

Miles.

And,.

And I'm talking to myself here too. I could use the lose 20 to 25 pounds. And it's, it's strictly because I don't have the discipline or self-control to do it. I know I can do it. I have done it three years ago.

I was a different weight and I was healthier and I was eating different. So I'm, I'm putting this on me too. It's not like I'm preaching down to people, but I really do see it as a self-control issue and a discipline issue.

Why don't we let that kind of go to the wayside and not talk about. What are your thoughts on that?

Well,.

I mean,.

Frankly,.

Man,.

It's we're,.

We're fat and lazy. It's easier to, it's easier than taking responsibility for ourselves.

Right.

We put,.

I'm,.

I'm by far not the most physically fit person,.

But I can,.

I can definitely handle what I need to,.

Uh,.

For my responsibilities. I can protect my family.

I can,.

I can deal with whatever comes my way. I'm a sheepdog,.

Right?

There's, there's wolves,.

They're sheep and they're sheepdogs. And then there's whatever else, purple haired, green haired,.

Whatever.

Uh,.

And a Christian man is supposed to be sheepdog.

They're supposed to,.

That's what meekness is,.

Right?

The ability,.

The power,.

The,.

The power, the ability to destroy someone.

That's what Jesus was.

He could destroy someone like that, but he had it under control. Meekness literally means power under control.

Uh,.

So I firmly believe every single man must have the capability under their own control. And if, if you don't, and that means everything that,.

Right.

That means your physical abilities. That means your emotional,.

Your spiritual,.

Your mental. You have to be able to control yourself. And if you have that, that ability under control, then you are meek. And that is exactly what we're called to be. And I mean, we need to take ownership.

Um,.

Most guys just don't take ownership. We want the privileges of being a man, but the responsibility of being a boy,.

Like we're just cowards. We don't,.

We don't mean what we say. We say we want to be the man of the house. We're in charge.

Okay,.

Great.

Do it.

Mean it.

Take,.

Take ownership of your body and your, your mental state and your spiritual state. Like be a man.

Own it.

I don't, I don't care what you say. I want to see what you do. So it's easier to take responsibility.

It's easier,.

Uh,.

To make excuses than to take responsibility. You know, you have the fat pastor in the pulpit,.

Right?

I'm not trying to be a jerk, but it's just true. Especially the great big evangelical garbage nonsense. You got a fat pastor in the pulpit,.

Uh,.

That shoves another slice of pizza and Mountain Dew in their mouth. But they condemned men in the church for lust and for greed, but they never talk about gluttony. They never talk about self-control.

They never talk about all those things. And that's exactly what the women,.

I mean,.

The majority,.

Uh,.

I'm going to get you banned. I'm going to get you to lose,.

Lose people because people hate me.

Uh,.

Liberal women,.

Uh,.

Hate me.

Um,.

The construction guys love me.

Uh,.

Cause just tell the truth.

Uh,.

And if,.

And if you want me to dial it back,.

Man,.

Let me know because,.

Um,.

I'm,.

I'm usually pretty fiery.

Uh,.

That's what you're here for.

I've been suspended from YouTube like three times. So I've got like 12 followers now on YouTube because it's,.

I gotta,.

I gotta start a new one every, every single time.

But the,.

Most of the church,.

Right.

It's,.

It's full of middle-aged liberal women.

Uh,.

And that's exactly what the pastors, the big fat pastors,.

They,.

That's who they, that's who they preach to, to loosen their purse strings. They never address a woman's sin. They address a man's sin.

Uh,.

And the whole time they're this big fat,.

Effeminate,.

You know, skinny jean wearing Subaru driving dude in the, in the pulpit. And I'm like, I got, I got no respect for you.

I don't even,.

I'd rather watch football,.

Man. I don't,.

I don't,.

Rather than getting angry and being in resent, I just would rather just not go to your church. You know what I mean?

Yeah.

Does that answer your question?

Yeah,.

It does.

You know,.

I have,.

I have some thoughts about it too. I was sitting back and thinking about it and I said,.

Well,.

It's not that we don't have the means in, in the United States to be healthy or to be active or to eat right. We definitely have the means. Okay. If you make over $36 ,000 in the United States as a single person, you are in the global 1 you're a one percenter.

So whether you think you're struggling or not globally, we are very financially secure in this country. So we have the means. So what does that mean that I look back and I look at over everything and I go,.

Well,.

It means that the majority of Christian men don't have enough self-control to say no to the most plentiful temptation that we have, which is either food or lack of physical activity because we don't need to do it.

Right.

And some other countries, you have to walk five miles to get from point A to point B or to your job or to your church.

Or,.

Or whatever, or you might have to run or jog.

Right.

So we have these options to not do certain things because we have such a plentiful country we live in. And I had this realization that when every single person that I've ever met and actually talked to that hat, that struggles with, with their health and their weight and with physical activities has other self-control issues in their life.

Whether it be,.

You know,.

Whether it be work ethic, whether it be porn, whether it be temper,.

Like the,.

The, the, the,.

The beginning of the gate,.

The,.

The start of it is the very first thing. The most plentiful thing we have is food and time in the United States. We have more time and more food than any other country.

Uh,.

Leisure time.

I mean,.

So if we can't get those two things under control, that tells me that most Christian men don't have a whole host of things not under control.

Right. And I'm not saying,.

Oh,.

If you're overweight,.

You know,.

You're a sexual deviant. I'm not, I'm not saying that'd be generalizing. I'm saying every single person that I've talked to that struggles with those things have also struggled with other things because it's not a food issue.

It's not a taste issue. It's not a lack of time issue. It is a discipline and self-control issue. And that will leak over into every single part of your lives.

Right?

So just like you were saying, when you have the, the big fat slobby pastor up there condemning someone for gossiping, but he can't stop shoving food in his mouth or doesn't have enough discipline to get up that morning and, and at least walk a mile.

Well,.

Now we have an issue. And I think some of that, and tell me what you think of this. I think some of that in the Christian church, we've picked that up from the secular world of don't judge. It's like the one thing we can't touch,.

Right?

You can,.

You can literally make fun, like in comedy, it's still cool to make, not cool,.

But you know,.

In secular comedy, you can make fun of trans, you can make fun of gay, you can make fun of all these things. But I was saying like,.

Cool,.

Like, you know,.

You know what I mean?

But,.

But a lot of comics still stay away from fat phobia. You can't talk about people being fat. And it's like this one thing in the secular world where they said,.

No,.

It's not their fault.

It's,.

You know,.

They're,.

They're overweight and they're obese and they're a victim and all these things. And I think the church has taken on some of that, like,.

Hey,.

Let's talk about all these other sins, but the most visible one right in front of me that I can see, and obesity and lack of physical activity, that's the most visible sin that you can look at. I know there's people with medical issues and thyroid and stuff like that,.

Right?

We're not making a generalization. I'm saying the majority,.

That's the most visible one.

And yet we don't talk about it, especially for men. And it just blows my mind. And it feels like we've kind of taken on the secular world a little bit and went,.

Well,.

Don't talk about that one. Let's focus on these other particular sins. But the root of those sins are all self-control and discipline,.

Right?

Proverbs says,.

Uh,.

No self-control. You're like a city without walls. You will be overran. And I'm dealing with that in my life as well.

So,.

Like I said, not preaching down to people, but I'm saying, we really need to get this in check. If we want to talk about biblical masculinity and we want to talk about real world things and protecting our family and going to work and having a hard job,.

Boy,.

We have to be physically fit and we have to be active. I don't know many 275 or 350 pound roofers,.

Right?