The Naked Party Time Podcast

In this episode, we answer a listener question by talking about Jesus and the Next Generation.

The question was, "How do we teach our children to love Jesus and not just the Church or it's programs?"

We share three principles to keep in mind for us to help lead the next generation to love and follow Jesus, not just the Church.

We're back for more in this episode by answering a listener question: How do you deal with grown children who aren't followers of Jesus?

The principles we share are ones that can be used whether you have kids or not, with anyone you lead or are in a relationship with.

1. Meet them for where they are

2. Make the first move

3. Model for them a full life in Jesus

3. Mute your mouth

In this episode, we talk about the last three best marriage decisions we've ever made.

In this episode, Sabrina and I share the first three of the 6 best marriage decisions we've ever made.

In this episode, our daughters Makalah and Jaydah takeover the podcast to answer some great questions that you, our listeners, turned in. They do a great job and are already asking for another appearance.

Makalah is our 3rd child, 19 years old, and engaged to be married at the end of this year.

Jaydah is our 4th (last) child, 16 years old, and just finished her sophomore year of High School.

In this episode, we share some insights from our recent trip to Israel and reveal the dates and details of our next trip in 2025.

We also share a recording of one of my lessons while in Israel. I taught about Jesus calming the storm and He and Peter walking on water, all while we were on a boat on the Sea of Galilee.

If you want to see the lesson, we provided the video of it in our video version of the podcast on YouTube. Just go to www.youtube.com/jeffmaness to view it.

2025 Tour Dates: Monday, March 10th - Friday, March 21st

Watch my website, www.jeffmaness.com, our social media channels, or The Harbor website at www.theharbor.life for registration information.

In this episode, my twin brother Jeremy joins me as we answer some questions from our listeners. Really, we spend about 40 minutes making fun of each other, but either way, I think you'll enjoy.   

Go back to Episode 017 to see Jeremy's first appearance on the podcast.

In this episode, we talk about our wishes for humans in 2023. Things we wish we could all get better at doing.

1. Conversation instead of condemnation

2. Unity without uniformity

John 17:20-23 20 “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.

3. "Both and" instead of "either-or"

4. Faith over fear

"Live No Lies" by John Mark Comer

5. Winsome, instead of winning

1 Peter 2:12 Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.

1 Peter 3:15-16 Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.

Colossians 4:5-6 Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.

In this episode, we talk about four principles to remember in planning for the new year and how you can increase your chances of succeeding at your goals by three times. 

Episodes mentioned - 012 and 013, as well as 033

1. Be real about where you are
2. Be realistic about where you’re going
3. Be reasonable with yourself in the process
4. Be relational in your accountability

In this episode, Sabrina and I talk about the best parenting decision we ever made.

Creating moments over giving momentos. Good times over gifts. Our presence over giving presents. 

We talk through how we chose to honor our kids on their birthdays with this decision, doing some big things on milestone birthdays as well. 

1. Plan

2. Prepare

3. Participate 

In this episode, we talk about the rhythm of our spiritual relationship.

Being with Jesus and becoming more like Jesus are the desired outcomes of today's podcast.

We talk about the "why" behind 5 key spiritual practices. What you do will only be as strong as why you do it.

The purpose of spiritual practices is to be with God, hear from God, and become more like God.

Five Key Spiritual Practices:

1. Being with God in the Word
2. Being with God in prayer
3. Being with God in Truth
4. Being with God in corporate worship
5. Being with God in community

In this episode, we talk about taking care of our bodies and physical health.

In every season of life it is easy to put our physical health on the back burner. Poor eating habits, lack of exercise, and choppy sleep patterns are hard enough without a major life transition.

Maybe we need a perspective shift on our physical health in order to change what we do.

This episode is not a “how to” as much as a “why do.”

Romans 12:1-2 1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you.  Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

In this episode of The Naked Party Time Podcast, Jeff and Sabrina talk about the what, why, and how of a spending fast, and extend a challenge for all the listeners to join them on a spending fast, starting on October 1st.

If you want to join the spending fast challenge you need to commit to at least 30 days, and sign up before October 1st by emailing your Facebook name to hello@jeffmaness.com. If you're married, and your spouse is doing the fast with you, let us know their name as well.

We answer a listener question in this episode about politics: My question is a little odd and almost embarrassing to even ask but here we go.  Politics is tearing my family apart to the point where family members are willing to not associate with other family members because they vote/believe something different than they do. Each day more hate is shown towards each other over something so silly. My question is how would you manage this issue being in the middle of it? It seems no matter what is said it doesn’t make a difference. It’s overwhelming, to say the least. Thanks in advance!

1. What is a spending fast?

A spending fast is choosing to not spend money for a specific amount of time for a specific goal or reason.

2. Why do a spending fast?

If you don't know your why you will give up very quickly!

Maybe you're going to pay down debt, save for a big purchase, go on a vacation, get ready for Christmas or just practice the good discipline of not spending.

3. How do you do a spending fast?

Choose what areas of spending you are going to stop and then put everything you save toward your why. Obviously, you need to keep paying your bills and for your necessities  (mortgage, utilities, groceries, insurance, debt payments, etc.).

4. What did we learn?

A. How freely we spend money on crap we don't need!

B. Delayed gratification works. Things we thought we wanted to spend on in January we didn't even think about or remember wanting when we were done.

C. Amazon Prime is a trap! (We continue to have it and use it, but man, it is so easy to buy something just because you get that "free" 2-day shipping.)

D. The realization of how important it is to have savings.

So, here’s our challenge: A two-month spending fast starting on October 1st and going through the end of November. (To be included in our challenge you have to choose to do the fast for at least 30 days) If you join the challenge you’ll be added to a private Facebook group with us. You’ll receive three updates in the group each week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday), including one Facebook Live video with us each week. The updates might be a word of encouragement, a tip, a suggestion, a tool, etc. Plus you’ll be in an online community where you will receive support, accountability, and encouragement.

To sign up for the challenge, email your Facebook name to hello@jeffmaness.com   Tell us if you’re married or not, and if you are and your spouse is joining you, make sure we know both of your names.

Episodes Mentioned:

Episode 003: I don't want to go back to normal because normal wasn't working. (Part 2) https://jeffmaness.com/episode-003-i-dont-want-to-go-back-to-normal-because-normal-wasnt-working-part-2/

Resources:

www.iwbnin.com

www.josephsangl.com

Monday Money Tip Podcast

Everyone experiences transitions in life. Some we choose while others are forced on us. Some are larger than others, but every transition creates distractions that can derail us. That’s why we must be intentional on key rhythms in our life, that keep us moving in the right direction.

And that’s what Sabrina and I talk about in Episode 039 of the Naked Party Time Podcast which we are calling The Rhythms of Transition.

Other Episodes Mentioned — Episodes 010 and 011

Each of these rhythms we will be doing a full episode to dive deeper into some other content.

1. The rhythm of relationships

• Faith
• Family
• Friends

2. The rhythm of recreation

• Exercise
• Eating
• Energizers

3. The rhythm of rest

• Sleep
• Solitude
• Sabbath

In this episode, Sabrina and I bring to a conclusion our unintended series on relationship myths with Episode 038: Busting more myths about singleness, marriage, and sex!

Other episodes mentioned:

Episode 036 - Celebrating Singleness

Episode 037 - Busting some marriage myths (and a few single ones too)

Episode 021 - Let’s talk about sex, baby!

Episode 022 - Let’s keep talking about sex, baby!

Myths:

God won’t give you a spouse until you trust Him completely!

Sex is NOT important in a marriage.

Sex is the reason TO get married.

Sex confirms we SHOULD get married.

Quotes shared:

Sex is about physical touch, to be sure, but it is about far more than physical touch. It is about what is going on inside us...sex becomes a form of physical prayer --- a picture of heavenly intimacy that rivals the shekinah glory of old. Our God, who is spirit, can be found behind the very physical panting, sweating, and pleasurable entangling of limbs and body parts. He doesn't turn away. He wants us to run into sex, but to do so with his presence, priorities, and virtues making our pursuit. If we experience sex this way, we will be transformed in the marriage bed every bit as much as we are transformed on our knees in prayer. --- Matt Krieg (Impossible Marriage)

Sex in marriage is a metaphor inside the metaphor itself. Marriage between a husband and wife is a metaphor of God’s desire to be one with humanity. It points to the ‘marriage' between Christ and the Church. The covenant of sex in marriage is modeling what Christ bodily did for us on the cross. Jesus saying, 'I am holistically giving and covenanting myself to you on the cross.' So, we say that through our sex. But we also say to our spouses through sex, 'This is how God wants to be one with you. He is the completer of you. He is the one who pursues you and desires you.' We’ve over emphasized sex, but completely diminished it by not holding it up as this theological dance.” — Laurie Krieg

Singleness is not a season to endure, it’s a status to celebrate!

In this episode, we talk about what it takes to celebrate singleness.

1. Change our language
2. Include singles in our lives
3. Lean into the mission

Resources Mentioned:

Breaking The Marriage Idol by Kutter Callaway

Impossible Marriage by Laurie and Matt Krieg

No Longer Strangers by Greg Coles

#Single sermon series at Element Church Fall of 2019

Episode’s 018, 019, 023 “Marriage on Mission Part 1, 2, 3”

Scripture used:

Matthew 19:11-12 11 “Not everyone can accept this statement,” Jesus said. “Only those whom God helps. 12 Some are born as eunuchs, some have been made eunuchs by others, and some choose not to marry for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.”

1 Corinthians 7:32-35 32 I want you to be free from the concerns of this life. An unmarried man can spend his time doing the Lord’s work and thinking how to please him. 33 But a married man has to think about his earthly responsibilities and how to please his wife. 34 His interests are divided. In the same way, a woman who is no longer married or has never been married can be devoted to the Lord and holy in body and in spirit. But a married woman has to think about her earthly responsibilities and how to please her husband. 35 I am saying this for your benefit, not to place restrictions on you. I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, with as few distractions as possible.

Quotes shared:

“God, what is the mode you want me to do the mission of making disciples? Single or married? Kids or no kids?” - Laurie Krieg

​​…When we expect a friend or lover to take away our deepest pain, (or fulfill our deepest longings), we expect from him or her something that cannot be given by another human being. — Henri Nouwen

Lonely insecure single people become lonely insecure married people. Because problems like loneliness and insecurity are not cured by another human being, they are only cured by the infinite love of God. — Pastor J.D. Grear

To understand single life in terms of waiting for a soulmate is to treat one’s imagined future spouse as both a fetish and an idol. It is sub-Christian. Inside this framework, marriage can only ever be an arrangement that caters to the individual needs of the consumer. Its culmination is not self-giving love but rather self-serving love. ---Kutter Callaway (Breaking the Marriage Idol)

When Paul speaks of singleness as a gift, he isn’t speaking of a particular ability some people have to be contentedly single. Rather, he’s speaking of the state of being single. As long as you have it, it’s a gift from God, just as marriage will be God’s gift if and when you receive it. --- Vaughan Roberts

Marriage shows us the shape of the Gospel in that it models the covenant promises that God has made to us in Christ. Singleness shows us the sufficiency of the Gospel because it shows us the reality of what marriage points to—which is our own relationship with Jesus. — Sam Alberry

So marriage and singleness are about more than who to take out on a Friday night or whether sex will or will not follow. It’s about God’s mission in the world. Or, to put it differently, what if the chief criteria for a future spouse were not sexual chemistry, a common set of personal interests and hobbies, or even emotional compatibility, but rather a capacity (and willingness) to collaborate in a lifelong project of caring for the outsider, the marginalized, and the oppressed? --- Kutter Callaway (Breaking the Marriage Idol)

In this episode, we answer several listener questions ranging from our personality types, how we deal with anger, what we've done when we don’t agree on parenting decisions, how we answer the questions of injustice and suffering in the world, and much more.

Helpful resources mentioned:

The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron

The Dispatch news source

All Sides news source and social media

The & Campaign news source, podcast, and social media

The Problem of God by Mark Clark

Christianity for people who aren’t Christians by James Emery White

Confronting Christianity by Rebecca McLaughlin

Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis

The Reason for God by Timothy Keller

"Why I struggle to believe in God, because sometimes it's really really hard" - Sermon series at Element Church in the Fall of 2020

In Episode 033 of The Naked Party Time Podcast, Sabrina and I talk about how you can be intentional with a plan to get the most out of the coming year.

If you aren’t intentional about where you’re going in life, then you’ll just end up going wherever life takes you.

Benjamin Franklin said, "If you fail to plan you are planning to fail." And sadly, that's how many people approach each new year. We fail to plan. And having a plan is what this podcast is all about. Being intentional as we go into the new year of how we're going to make progress in some specific areas of our life.

The process we walkthrough on this podcast is the exact thing we do as we end each year and as we approach a new one.

Annual Planning Process:

1. Schedule a Rendezvous

Literally, schedule the time where you're going to do this. Put it on the calendar. Don't say you're too busy to do this. You might be too busy BECAUSE you don't do this. This helps get your priorities in order.

2. Review the previous year

A. What were the wins?

If you had goals for the year, which ones did you accomplish? How did you do? Even outside of your goals, what were things that went well? What did you enjoy? What were you thankful for? Start with the wins because it’s encouraging.

B. What do we wish would have been different?

Again, if you had goals that you didn’t accomplish, talk about why. What happened? What could we have done differently? Were they in our control or out of our control? You talked about the wins but talk through the losses too. They are real. How will we move forward from those losses?

3. Refocus your priorities

Based on your wins and wishes, what do you need to work on? What areas of life rose to the top that you recognize need to change, be improved, cut out, let go of, or whatever?

If you're married, use a shared note on your phone to do this. We share four main goals as a couple: Financial, Relational, Family, and Bucket List goals.

In our personal lives, we also have spiritual, physical, and professional goals.

4. Reorder your life

Make the adjustments that need to happen to accomplish the goals you set.

If you don't do this step of re-ordering your life then you don't have goals you have wishes.

5. Return to your plan regularly

Set specific times throughout the year that you are doing this plan on a mini-scale.

If you don't go back and look at your goals and review them then you'll never accomplish them.

You have to do the things you don't want to do in order to make progress.

Schedule a rendezvous, review the previous year, refocus your priorities (set new goals), re-order your life around them, return to your plan regularly.

Other Episode's Mentioned:

Episodes 012, 013, 014, 015

In this episode, we talk about how to know when you're called to something. We also unpack in further detail our decision to resign from Element Church effective January 10th, 2022. 

In this episode, we continue our conversation about mental health and what we can learn from the Simone Biles situation. In Episode 028, we focused on those who are currently facing a mental health struggle of some kind. In this episode, we focus on those who are walking with someone or know someone who is struggling. How should we respond to them?

We share a real-time story from one of our listeners who is being real, taking risks, and doing whatever it takes for them to get healthy, and God is doing some amazing things in and through them. "My depression may not ever be taken away, but God is giving me victory in it." 

According to Johns Hopkins University, about 26% of American adults suffer from a diagnosable mental health illness. So one out of every four people you interact with is dealing with a mental health illness of some kind. So, how should we respond to those who are battling it? 

1. Respect how they feel

2. Give them room to heal

3. Return to them with your presence 

Resources:

Where is God when it hurts? by Philip Yancey

www.bethe1to.com (Suicide Prevention) 

On this episode, Sabrina and I take another dive into the mental health conversation as Simone Biles recently brought it to the forefront again. 

1 in 5, or 20% of American adults suffer from a diagnosable mental illness. 

Every day, 123 Americans die by suicide and there is one death by suicide every 12 minutes. 

If you want to go back and listen to Sabrina share her story of walking through severe anxiety and depression, you can go back to Episode 004 and part 3 of the "I don't want to go back to normal" series. 

We looked at three things we can learn from what Simone Biles did: 

1. You have to be real!

2. You have to take the risk! 

3. You have to resolve to do whatever it takes! 

--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

In this episode, we continue the celebration of our Podcastiversary!

We announce the winners of the $100 and $50 gift cards and we answer the remaining listener questions.

Questions: 

• Is it harder now that some of your daughters have started dating and why?

• Do you believe Catholics know Jesus? When I tell my boyfriend (who is Catholic) about my relationship with Jesus he seems to understand and says he has one too. Is that possible growing up in a Catholic home? Is there a good way to make sure he knows the REAL Jesus?

• How do you juggle your ministry at home (your family) and starting your own church while having young kids?

• What is the most powerful blessing this podcast has placed in your life?

• Sabrina, you have talked about your truth statements but I don't believe we have heard them all do you feel comfortable sharing all of them?  How did you end up starting or even finding these statements?

• If in a marriage there has been hurt and betrayal and I've done so much work to let go and let God, but I struggle with triggers that just throw me off in an anxiety attack that I cant even think right. In your podcast you talk about overcoming these hurts in God’s Word, but I’m just stuck in the sexual part of trusting and I do good on some days and then he does something that just throws me back. How do you overcome that? I know intimacy is huge, but we have none and that's a problem. How do we fall in love again?

Resources Mentioned:

“Interviewing Your Daughter’s Date” by Dennis Rainey

Scripture Used:

James 2:19-20 19 You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. 20 How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?

1 John 2:3-4 3 And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. 4 If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth.

1 John 3:9-10 9 Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. 10 So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.

Happy anniversary...actually, Happy Podcastiversary to The Naked Party Time Podcast!!
⁠
⁠In this celebration episode, Sabrina and I talk about the last year on the podcast, answered questions from our listeners, and shared some comments that were made about the podcast as well. ⁠
⁠
We also announced the first two winners of a total of $250 in gift cards and we shared how you can win $50 and $100 yourself. ⁠
⁠
To enter to win a $50 gift card, tag someone else in the comments of our social media post of this episode, or any upcoming posts about this episode as well.
⁠
To enter to win a $100 gift card, you need to create your own post about this episode and tag me and Sabrina in it. @jeffgmaness on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. @sabrina.maness on Instagram and @sabrina.akersmaness on Facebook. In your post, all you need to do is point people to where they can listen to the podcast and share a positive comment about it. ⁠⁠

Questions answered on this episode: 

What is your favorite episode and why?

Why was Katrina, then Anderson, your favorite ever person you had in youth group?

What tips do you have for noncampers to enjoy camping? I doubt it will happen but maybe next year. We’ve taken up kayaking/paddleboarding too so who knows!

Who is your favorite kid? What's it like parenting kids so close in age?

How did you know that Sabrina/Jeff was the one?

What are some new things you want to implement into your marriage or bring back from the past? 

What’s is your biggest day-to-day challenge?

If you had to sum up human nature in 3 words, which one's would you choose? 

Where do your messages come from?

How do you keep the fire going in your marriage?

Do y'all follow the 5 Love languages? If so how do y'all learn to do love languages that are outside your own?

I want to know if you think there is a correlation between Enneagram numbers, love language and or spiritual gifts? I’ve asked this all over and no one has answered me.

We didn't get through all the questions so on the next episode, we'll finish out the questions that were asked. That episode drops on June 22nd. 

⁠

Coming up on Tuesday, June 8th, we will be launching our Podcastiversary episode and giving away up to $250 in gift cards to some lucky winners. 

You can enter to win the first two ways BEFORE the podcast releases and the last two AFTER the podcast releases. 

Enter to win by:

#1 For a $25 gift card, ask a question for us to answer on our podcastiversary episode. Ask your question through a comment on our social media, email us "hello@jeffmaness.com" or call 307-222-9592 and leave a voice mail.

#2 For a $75 gift card, comment on how the podcast has impacted you, something you've enjoyed about the podcast or even something you don't like. We'll take it. You can leave your comments in the same way as your questions.

The deadline is Monday, June 7th at 4 PM (Mountain)

After the podcast releases, there will be two more ways to win, one of them being a grand prize of $100. No limit to the ways to enter.

Please help us celebrate our one-year Podcastiversary by asking some questions, sharing how it's impacted you, and also SPREAD THE WORD! Please share our podcast with your friends, family, and even...nay especially your enemies. 

On this episode of the Naked Weekly, we just talk about my girls. They said, "Why don't we do a podcast just about us?" So this week, that's what we're doing. We are indulging the prideful nature of my kids and just talking about them.

We talk about coffee, because duh! And we talk about who is the favorite. Doesn't every family? 

Questions answered: 

1. Do you all love coffee as much as your dad?

2. Is there anything you feel like you have to hide from your parents? (No details needed)

3. Do you feel extra pressure to avoid things like parties, alcohol, sex, etc, or do you feel everyone else your age is under the same pressure to avoid those things?

6. Do you practice the Sabbath along with your parents? What does a Sabbath look like for a teen?

7. What are your future plans after high school?

What is it like to be a pastor's kid?

While I was a pastor's kid growing up, and technically I still am, at 46 years old a lot of things have changed. So I invited my three daughters on the podcast to talk about what it's been like for them as pastors kids. 

Since we are real and raw on here, they haven't always enjoyed it, and on this episode, they talk about why. They answer questions like:

What’s been the hardest part about being a pastor's kid?

What’s been the best part about being a pastor's kid?

How can people better help and serve pastors kids and pastors in their churches?

Growing up in Element Church, what has been some of your favorite memories or things about it?

If you could choose what I did as your dad for a living, what would you want it to be?

Have you had peers avoid a friendship with you because of your status as "preacher's kid"?

Are you free to decide how much and where you volunteer in the church? Are you ever "voluntold" to do things for the church?

What is an assumption people make about you being the pastor's children that aren’t true? What’s an assumption that is true? 

Are any of them interested in leading a church one day?

I am frustrated with today’s politics, so much so that I feel a bit politically homeless. I don’t fit in their camp and I don’t fit in their circle. Anyone else feel that way?

"I'm a Christian who is theologically conservative & socially compassionate, too conservative for progressives & too progressive for conservatives, pro-life from womb to tomb, politically homeless, & who’s ultimate citizenship is in Heaven not America." - Rondell Trevino

"I'm not allegiant to an elephant or a donkey I'm allegiant to The Lamb." - Pastor Samuel Rodriguez

The three main reasons I am politically homeless right now: 

1. The Perception 

In the cancel culture in which we live, I don’t want anyone finding out, seeing, or knowing that I belong to a certain party and then canceling me or any chance I may have to minister to them, just based on the perception of what I might stand for in that party.

2. The Problems 

It was and is a major problem to me that there seems to be a growing and blind support among many Christians of a Party, its policies, and its politicians without an apparent concern to line up the policies and the politicians under the Authority of Scripture.

3. The Policies

For instance, I am undeniably pro-life. I believe life begins at conception and that God knits us together in our mother’s womb, knowing us before we are born as Scripture says. As a Christian and as a pastor, I can't read the Scripture and not walk away with a pro-life view, but it's pro-life from the womb to the tomb. God is not JUST pro-birth, He’s pro-LIFE. All lives.

That makes me ask some very tough questions of myself, of Christians, and of our parties. Am I as pro-life for the woman who chooses abortion as I am the child who was aborted? What am I, and what are we doing to love, care for, and serve her? Wouldn’t Jesus do that?

I wholeheartedly believe in the historic Christian view of sexuality; that marriage and all sexual activity are reserved for by God as one man and one woman until death do us part. But I also believe in loving, honoring, and protecting the rights of LGBTQ people. I don’t know where the answer is in protecting the rights of religious liberty and LGBTQ people, but there has to be a better way than the extremes we find ourselves at.

The growing racial divide, the criminal justice reform needed, and the existing systems that make it harder for people of color to experience the same advancements in America as I would have as a white male seem to find their extremes in the parties as well. Why is that? Again, I don’t know the answer but there has to be a better way.

In politics, with each of these policies and issues I've addressed, and so many more, I have massive concerns about where we find ourselves, and it’s pushed me to my political homelessness. I’m frustrated and I’m concerned.

If you find yourself politically homeless like myself, don't let that keep you politically silent or inactive. As Pastor Fred Gallop said, "While we may not be lining up on a side, we still need to move forward in Christian action." 

If you’re currently in a party, stay in! Fight. Shine your light! But by all means, don’t just blindly follow or accuse someone else of something without truly knowing where they stand.

Look at the life of Jesus! Let Him be our example and guide in everything, including politics. Because remember, America is not our Jerusalem, it’s our Babylon, and we are God’s exiles in a foreign land. I’m asking all of us who are Christians to be good exiles!

In this episode of the Naked Weekly, I talk about how leadership is overrated. 

What do I mean by that? ⁠⁠

Well, it's been said that "everything rises and falls on leadership." While I understand the sentiment and do believe that great leadership is needed in this life, when it comes to the Church and to Christianity specifically, leadership is overrated. 

If everything rises and falls on leadership, we are in danger of forgetting what leadership rises and falls on. Leadership, true Christian leadership, rises and falls on purity and integrity.

The moment we focus more on our leadership ability than we do on our purity and integrity, we’ve failed. We are setting ourselves up for a fall.

Scripture used: 

2 Samuel 12:9 Why, then, have you despised the word of the Lord and done this horrible deed?

1 Kings 10:8 “How happy your people must be! What a privilege for your officials to stand here day after day, listening to your wisdom!”

1 Kings 11:9-11 The Lord was very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. He had warned Solomon specifically about worshiping other gods, but Solomon did not listen to the Lord’s command. So now the Lord said to him, “Since you have not kept my covenant and have disobeyed my decrees, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants.

Titus 2:7-8 7 And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching. 8 Teach the truth so that your teaching can’t be criticized. Then those who oppose us will be ashamed and have nothing bad to say about us.

The Naked Party Time Podcast is all about being real and raw but also it's about having fun. Today we do just that. 

In this episode, Jeff's twin brother Jeremy joins him for some Q & A about their lives. This episode is filled with tons of laughter and light-hearted moments. They answer questions like: 

Has Jeremy always been a Chiefs fan? 

How much do you really despise Tom Brady?

Did your parents know they were having twins? (That's a fun story) 

Did you ever switch places in classes or try to trick people with how much you look alike? 

Can your mom tell you apart?

What was the best Christmas gift you received or gave as a child?

What’s something you appreciate about each other that you haven’t shared?

At the end of the episode, we answer some rapid-fire questions about who we are. 

Do you have a plan for your life? That's the question we're asking on this episode as Jeff walks through how he developed and is pursuing a life plan.  

Zig Ziglar, a well-known author, and communicator said this: "If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time." 

Sadly, that is how many of us live our lives - aiming at nothing. We're just letting life happen to us. And If you let life happen to you, you may end up living a life where nothing worthwhile happens.  

Now, you don't have to have a life plan In order to succeed in life. I think It creates some focus to succeed, but this isn't a requirement to live a successful life. If you want to see what my life plan looks like, I've provided a sample portion of it as a download below. 

I've also included a template for you that follows the process I used. You can use this blank template, which includes all the instructions you need, to build your own life plan.  

Jeff's Sample Life Plan

Life Plan Template

Daniel Harkavy --- https://www.buildingchampions.com/who-we-are/coaches-and-staff/daniel-harkavy/ 

Becoming A Coaching Leader Book  

Building Champions --- https://www.buildingchampions.com/ 

Eddy Shigley --- https://www.indwes.edu/academics/faculty/edward-shigley 

Seven Steps To Creating Your Life Plan: 

1. Schedule the time --- This is where so many people get derailed when it comes to goals, dreams, bucket lists, and life plans. They simply don't schedule the time to do it.  

2. Seek God in prayer --- A bucket list is one thing, but this was a life plan. This is what my life was going to be focused on for the next 20 or so years, I didn’t want it to be just about things I love to do. I wanted this to be about my legacy. What would I leave behind? What would be the lasting impact of my life?   

3. Set the length of your life plan --- Now, there is no set length of time you have to do. I would suggest no shorter than ten years and no longer than what is humanly reasonable. Ten to thirty years is probably the most common range. 

4. Start with Scripture --- I wanted a Scripture that would guide my Life Plan. Again, I didn’t want this to be just about things I love in life, but about my legacy. What I wanted to leave behind. Because of that, I wanted Scripture to be the foundation for it all. 

Proverbs 19:21 Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that will prevail. 

Psalm 92:12-15 But the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon. For they are transplanted to the Lord's own house. They flourish in the courts of our God. Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green. They will declare, “The Lord is just! He is my rock! There is no evil in him!” 

5. State your values and your vision --- If you write down values but don’t live them out, they are just words on paper. They aren’t values, they are aspirations.  

Values are not just the words that we say, they are the way we live, born out of what we believe, because of who God is. 

6. Set your goals --- I loved the idea in Harkavy's book of accumulating net-worth in each account. When you think in terms of net-worth, you are thinking of the long game. That’s what I wanted to do in these accounts. 

So often, we make decisions based on what will make us feel good on Friday, not what will be best for us and others in the future. Net-worth is future thinking, not Friday thinking. 

7.  Systemize the review --- If you aren’t going to review it, don’t do it. Like for real. This is way too much work and too important to do it once and then not review it. Reviewing it is going to get it connected deep into your heart.

In this episode, we tackle the practice of creating, maintaining, and pursuing a bucket list. "You don't have to retire to live your dreams!" 

A bucket list is simply a list of places you want to go, things you want to do, or something you want to accomplish.  

1. Set a time to come up with your list.

Use these four categories as the lens for your bucket list: 

Faith

Family (relationships)

Finances

Fun 

2. Share it with someone. (If you're married, this should be your spouse) 

3.  Schedule or plan which ones you will pursue this year.  

4. Review it annually to add or remove goals you accomplished or no longer want to pursue.  

Resources Mentioned: The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson

In Episode 013, we finish out our discussion around planning for the new year with part two of, "Are you ready for 2021?"  

If you haven't listened to part one of the podcast you can go back and catch up with that. In this episode, we share the final two steps to an annual planning process we follow. You don't have to follow this process, but we do challenge you to do something.  

We don't want life to just happen to you, we want you to happen to life! To do that, you need to be intentional about where you're going. That's what this process is designed to do. You will never live the life you want by accident.  

In this episode, we share the 2020 goals that we had based on this process we follow. It's a real-time look at what our plan was for the year, and how we did. Then we share the final two steps to this process, which may be the two most important steps of all.  

Annual Planning Process:  

1. Schedule a Rendezvous 

2. Review the previous year  

3. Refocus your priorities 

We choose to set goals in four main buckets as a couple: Financial, relational, family, and bucket list goals. Individually we also have spiritual, physical, and professional goals.  

4. Reorder your life  

Make the adjustments that need to happen to accomplish the goals you set.  

If you don't do this step of re-ordering your life then you don't have goals you have wishes.  

5. Recurring reviews  

Set specific times throughout the year that you are doing this plan on a mini-scale.  

If you don't go back and look at your goals and review them then you'll never accomplish them.  

You have to do the things you don't want to do in order to make progress.  

Schedule a rendezvous, review the previous year, refocus your priorities (set new goals), re-order your life around them, set up your recurring reviews.

In Episode 012, we ask the question "Are you ready for 2021?" 

Benjamin Franklin said, "If you fail to plan you are planning to fail." And sadly, that's how many people approach each new year. We fail to plan. And having a plan is what this podcast is all about. Being intentional as we go into the new year of how we're going to make progress in some specific areas of our life.  

The process we walk through on this podcast is the exact thing we do as we end each year and as we approach a new one.  

Annual Planning Process:  

1. Schedule a Rendezvous 

Literally, schedule the time where you're going to do this. Put it on the calendar. Don't say you're too busy to do this. You might be too busy BECAUSE you don't do this. This helps get your priorities in order.   

2. Review the previous year  

A. What were the wins? 

If you had goals for the year, which one’s did you accomplish? How did you do? Even outside of your goals, what were things that went well? What did you enjoy? What were you thankful for? Start with the wins because it’s encouraging.  

B. What do we wish would have been different?  

Again, if you had goals that you didn’t accomplish, talk about why. What happened? What could we have done differently? Were they in our control or out of our control? You talked about the wins but talk through the losses too. They are real. How will we move forward from those losses? 

3. Refocus your priorities  

Based on your wins and wishes, what do you need to work on? What areas of life rose to the top that you recognize need to change, be improved, cut out, let go of, or whatever?  

If you're married, use a shared note on your phone to do this. We share four main goals as a couple: Financial, Relational, Family, and Bucket List goals. In our personal life we also have spiritual, physical, and professional goals.  

Resources Mentioned: 

Strengthsfinder by Gallup --- https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/252137/home.aspx?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Strengths_ECommerce_Brand_Search_US&utm_content=strengthsfinder%20gallup&gclid=CjwKCAiAq8f-BRBtEiwAGr3DgZg2Sxw14xR2OFuKCA_CwUu8ETLWvGBNT8j-Gq0wYODvG8JKEmxdnRoCGEwQAvD_BwE 

Two-word purpose statement --- www.onpurpose.me  

Jeff's Life-Plan Process --- https://jeffmaness.com/do-you-have-a-plan-for-your-life/