My name is Alexei! I’ve joined the forge tribe not understanding fully what is coning ahead! I’m very interested and thankful for the opportunity!

New podcast is live: Control, Surrender, and What We Actually Trust This episode came directly from the questions you guys posted in the community during the first half of the Crucible. A lot of what surfaced wasn’t just about discipline, silence, surrender, or hearing God. Underneath all of it was a deeper tension: What are we actually trusting in? God… or our ability to control, perform, and hold everything together ourselves? In this conversation, John, Pete, and Joe work through the real questions you asked, including: - How do I know if I’ve actually surrendered something to God? - How do I hear God in silence without just listening to myself? - What’s the difference between discipline and dependence on God? - How do I live this out with real responsibilities like work, family, and pressure? - What actually lasts after the 40 days are over? This was not a polished Q&A. It was an honest conversation around the things many of us are wrestling with in real time. If you’ve been walking through the Crucible, this episode should help put language to what’s been happening beneath the surface. If you’ve been following from a distance, it will give you a real window into the kinds of questions and transformation this journey is stirring up. Give it a listen, subscribe, and let us know how we can do it better next time.

What's the hardest thing to go without so far?

A lot of it centered on control. I’ve spent most of my adult life in environments where control worked. Take ownership. Drive outcomes. Execute. That mindset has produced results for me in the military, in business, in investing. But this week exposed how easy it is to carry that same posture into faith and relationships. I realized I often confuse clarity with responsibility. If I see a better move, I feel responsible to fix it. If I see potential, I feel urgency to optimize it. That isn’t always love. Sometimes it’s control dressed up as care. Day 7 with Lazarus reframed everything. If the resurrection is true, if the tomb is empty, then history is split in half and neutrality is impossible. If death lost, then the battle has already been won. We are not fighting for victory. We are fighting from victory. That changes how we live. It means faith can’t be inherited or cultural. It can’t just be “I was raised this way.” It has to be conviction. The disciples ran when Jesus was arrested. Then after seeing Him resurrected, they spent the rest of their lives preaching the gospel and died for it. Men don’t die for something they know is a lie. That reality forces the question: if this is true, what in my life becomes unnecessary? What fear loses its grip? What idols lose their power? For me, the big takeaway has been surrender. Not surrendering drive or intensity, but surrendering control. Acting boldly, but from security. Leading, but without trying to architect everyone else’s life. Still processing it. Grateful to be in it with you guys.