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You do not have to walk the path alone. Let me be your guide, helping to lead you to a life of recovery and redemption from sexual sin.
Mentoring You To Freedom
Let's start with what it is not. Mentoring is not therapy though I do love therapy! Therapy has been an immeasurable tool in helping me to answer some deeper 'why' questions along my own journey of sexual integrity. If you choose to work with me, I may encourage you to work with one at some point.
Mentoring was explained to me in this simple but powerful example. It's like planning to climb to a very tall peak of a large mountain for the first time. Would you pick someone to help get you there that maybe took some classes on how to climb or had some really good maps showing you how to get to the top? Or would you pick a Sherpa guide who has been up and down the mountain many times successfully navigating others through all the pitfalls and dangers using their indepth experiential knowledge and guidance? Mentors are like this Sherpa Guide.
What is Mentoring?
During my daily spiritual practices, I came across THE WAY reference in the book of Acts. Paul used this term several times as the name for the followers of Jesus Christ in the early church. For many years I sat in church physically present but fully isolated and seperated from Christ and others. My habitual sexual sin kept me in this state for over 30 years. The church was the perfect place for me to hide in plain sight. The place where I cultivated a double life rooted in MY WAY and where I tried to convince others, myself, and God I was doing enough good things to outweigh all the sexual sin I was doing in secret. For over 30 years I lived my way until it stopped working and brought be me to complete despair. From this despair I was given the gift of desperation and surrender. I finally came to a place where I could begin to accept THE WAY.
John 14:6 - Jesus said, 'I am THE WAY, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.'
Matthew 11:28-30 - Jesus also said, 'Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my My yoke is easy and My burden is light.'
The Hebrew and Greek define 'WAY' as the road or journey. My journey began on this new path May 13th, 2017 when I truly accepted Christ as THE WAY for my life. My path of recovery has been a multi-faceted experience that has included many hills and valleys, but it has always remained rooted in the fact that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. Out of this love for what He has done for me has sprung forth the joy of the life that comes through the daily practices of obedience that Christ taught throughout His human ministry on earth. With this new found way of life, I have now been freed to discover and experience all that Christ has always intended for my life. One of those things is being called into ministry to help other men on this same journey of sexual integrity.
Why is the ministry called THE WAY?
MISSION & VISION
To help guide Christian men into a lasting relationship of sexual integrity. Cultivating relationships with men who desire to be honest, authentic, and self-aware. Men who desire to continually grow in who they are in Christ and to share this inward change to positively impact the world around them.
Spiritually Based
H
O
P
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Sexual Integrity
Honest
Confidential
Love in Truth
Experiential Guidance
Shame Free
CORE VALUES
The Way Mentoring is a ministry first and is setup to be as affordable as possible through an agreed upon 'Monthly Engagement'. Each month is paid in advance which then gives you access to schedule weekly appointments and check in calls.
Affordable Mentoring
Though our stories may be similar, our journey to sexual integrity may take different paths. As we discover more about your story within our time together, the curriculum used will be a guide that can be customized to better meet your needs.
Mentoring Services
A customized road map to Freedom
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This is a structured program that takes approximately 12 months to work through and typically consists of weekly 1 hour face to face mentoring sessions and check in calls. Appointment scheduling along with your progress and accountability are tracked through a confidential user friendly mobile application.
Craig
Finding the way together,
I grew up in a fairly large family with my dad, mom, three brothers, and my sister. Church was a big part of our lives, and we went to all the weekly services and anything in between. Around age twelve was when Church and family life became very confusing for me. We had family problems and at twelve I started to become more aware of them. At the same time, I had what I now know to be some misguided feelings that the church was a place where Christians needed to have it all together. So neither family or church seemed a safe place to open up. I also didn't have any real healthy coping skills developed at this time. I avoided my feelings by staying busy, practicing the art of making myself invisible, and trying to live in the hope of tomorrow to avoid all my problems today. Unfortunately, suppression, avoidance, and living in the future worked for many years but they never took that gnawing sense of emptiness inside away. I could feel this hole most of my life even at a pretty young age. I didn't know how these uncomfortable feelings could be filled but life presented itself with some options that I found could give me a temporary reprieve from all of them. At an early age it began with fantasy and over a 30-year period it progressed into compulsive sexual sin that manifested itself through masturbation, pornography, and relationships. My shame progressed as well and was the main driver of my hiding. Later in life I tried to stop multiple times on my own strength, but I would always go back to my sexual sin for comfort.
It took years of honing the craft of lying and manipulation to keep my secret hidden but at age 42 it all finally came crashing down for the last time. But for the first time, I had become so sick and tired of being sick and tired that I finally admitted to myself, God, and others that I had a problem. This was the beginning of my journey into asking for help and taking direction from God and from those that He guided into my recovery path. I began seeking answers to questions that seemed to rise up deep from within my soul on how God truly made me and what His purpose for my life might look like without my compulsive sexual sin in the way.
This new journey started pretty painfully. As my therapist likes to say, I was a man in my 40's with the emotional maturity of a 12-year-old... ouch! And by this time, my sexual sin had not only severely affected me emotionally and spiritually, but it had also branched out into strained relationships with my family of origin, the devastation of two marriages that both ended in divorce and placed both my children in the heartbreaking scenario of growing up in broken homes.
About four years into my recovery, I was continually active in therapy, multiple recovery groups, and being spiritually mentored when I felt God tugging at my heart. As I told my story to more men, God began to reveal to me how so much of it had evolved around the church. How I had sat in church day in and day out for many years with so much shame and guilt never feeling safe enough to trust anyone with these deep-seated secrets. As I sought God's will and continued to seek His tugging on my heart, I felt led to create a ministry that would allow a safe shame free space for Christian men to find healing from sexual sin and begin living a life of Christ-centered integrity. This journey brought me to a Christian based professional mentoring certification program called Bravehearts Ministry where I trained to become a certified professional mentor. From this process... The Way - Christ Centered Sexual Integrity Mentoring... was developed. If you are reading this and can connect with some of my story, then I hope we get a chance to talk soon. Commit this to prayer and when you are ready schedule a free call so we can talk and see if mentoring might be a good fit.
I'm an 80's kid that grew up in the Midwest and tried to look like a cross between Luke Perry and Vanilla Ice. Yes, they were both cool at one time and no, I will not show you a picture of me back then! I love my Jesus, hanging out with my kiddos and friends, fishing, raising chickens, dabbling in gardening, listening to podcasts, reading any kind of self-awareness book, running, remodeling my old 1950's cottage style home, and connecting one on one with others! Oh, and did I mention I love fishing?
About Your Mentor
'Before working with Craig I was at one of the lowest points in my life. Even though I was in a recovery program I still felt lost. I truly believe it was at this time God sent me the help that I needed in the form of Craig and The Way. This journey has been challenging but also extremely rewarding. With his help and guidance I have been able to acheive a length of sobriety I never thought possible. But it didn't just stop with sobriety. It has also allowed me to grow in my relationship with Christ. Words cannot express how truly grateful I am to have Craig as my coach, mentor and friend'
Jared C
'Craig is a walking example of Christianity..... and a connoisseaur of chicken coops!'
Tim R
