In this episode, Marty sit's down with with AJ and David who are involved in F3, a free, peer-led men’s workout group focused on fitness, fellowship, and faith. They both share how its early-morning outdoor workouts and tight-knit community have transformed their physical health and built lasting friendships.

AJ is a men's health, leadership, and accountability advocate, who has been involved with the F3 organization for six years. When he's not running around at unusual hours of the morning, he works in knowledge management and industrial education. AJ, his wife, and their three kids live out their adventure in southeast Tennessee.

David is Married and father to 17-year-old twin boys. He is a supporter of men's ministry in local church and Blueprint for Men. He works as a financial advisor with his wife Mindi and says, “I want to do God's will every day in my life and make the lives of others around me better. Proverbs 27:17.”

You can find the local Chattanooga website here, and the national site here to find a local workout. This is the article mentioned in Men's Health.

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Jay McElroy was born and raised on a small farm in Cuba, AL, where he spent his childhood roaming the fields and woods surrounding his home. He attended Bass Memorial Academy in Lumberton, MS, graduating in 1984, and then pursued higher education at Southern Adventist University, where he earned his degree and married Stefanie in 1987. After college, he worked for two years before enrolling at the University of Alabama with Stefanie, where he earned an MBA alongside her. Following graduation, he moved back to Cuba, AL, with Stefanie, joining the family trucking business, where he remains today. Jay and Stefanie have two married sons, four grandchildren, and a fifth grandchild due soon. Growing up in the rural South laid the foundation for his love of the outdoors, which evolved into a passion for ultra-distance endurance events. He has completed three Ironman races, seven 100-mile races, and two 200-mile events, in addition to dozens of shorter-distance competitions. His passion for endurance sports began with a desire to improve his health and redirect the path he was on.

In this conversation, Marty and Jay explore physical fitness as a core male strength. Jay emphasizes mental toughness over physical limits, sharing tales of frostbite and hallucinations, yet finding God’s awe in nature. Despite a spinal fusion at 40, intestinal surgery, and melanoma, he thrives by staying active. Rest—8-8.5 hours nightly—and Sabbath renewal are vital, rooted in scriptures like Ecclesiastes 9 (“do it with all your might”). With a supportive wife, Jay urges men to set goals, push limits, and embrace trail running’s spiritual rewards. His message: take the first step—whether a 5K or beyond—to unlock God-given potential, blending physical endurance with faith and resilience.

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Keven’s story starts on a family farm in rural Minnesota. His dad was a fifth-generation farmer, raising dairy cows and growing organic crops—quite a sight! Back then, Keven wasn’t aware that he was living what many millennials now dream of. He had a garden full of fresh vegetables, some fruit trees, and fresh milk from his own dairy. Hard times for a small operation pushed both Keven’s parents from a self-sustaining, at-home lifestyle to full-time jobs with a long commute. Keven and his sister went from homeschooling to classrooms, and his entire lifestyle changed drastically. By the time Keven was in the 9th grade, he weighed over 240 pounds with a 40-inch waist. He was constantly getting injured trying to keep up with his peers. Thanks to some teachers and mentors, Keven was introduced to Acro Sport and physical exercise, and he began his personal health journey. Keven has spent over a decade working in the health and fitness field, serving as a personal trainer, nutrition coach, and coordinating corporate wellness programs in Knoxville, TN. Professionally speaking, Keven felt on top of the world. However, he was burning the candle at both ends. Keven’s sleep was poor, he was running on caffeine, and he tried to ignore the stress. After his first child was born in 2021, Keven chose to cut back and stay home with his kid, and that’s when he realized how unprepared he truly was for the real world. Three years later, Keven has added one more child to his resume and is ready to share what he has learned with others. Keven is deeply devoted to helping driven individuals who care about their careers, families, and health to thrive.

Here’s where you can learn more about how to work with Keven on your own wellness journey:

• https://kbcoaching.net/
• (320) 267-1166
• KCoach@kbcoaching.net

We referenced NEWSTART, an easy to remember approach to your health. Each letter is:

Nutrition, Exercise, Water, Sunshine, Temperance, Air, Rest and Trust in God

The book Morning Summit was also talked about, which you can find here.

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A long time friend of the ministry, Dave Ketelsen is an avid runner, he has completed 64 marathons, and has qualified for Boston 64 times. Besides running he loves to focus on Jesus and looks for opportunities to share what a wonderful Friend and Savior He truly is.

Dave once fell off a 45 foot waterfall and survived, he came face to face within two feet from a bear at Yosemite, and scaled a 6 ft high fence narrowly escaping a charging bull. An interesting fact about Dave is that he has been doing 100 push-ups every day for the past 30+ years.

Pastor Dave is married to his beautiful wife Debbie and has four amazing children, Austin, Myles, Jayla and Collin. And don't forget Gizmo their awesome Golden/lab. His main goal in life is getting sinners into heaven and saints out of bed, to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.

To keep up with the latest events at Blueprint for Men, go the events page.

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In our final episode on mental health for men, we spent time with Gabriel Trujillo. He is another for student of Marty and is doing great kingdom work to help those in his community through his expertise in counseling and therapy.

Over the past decade, Gabriel has embarked on a counseling journey, earning a Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling in 2013. He has since provided mental health services across diverse settings, including university campuses, community clinics, churches, and through his private online practice.

Following licensure, Gabriel specialized as a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist (CSAT), a role involving advanced trauma treatment expertise. As a CSAT, he assists clients in addressing deep-seated wounds, experiences, patterns, and trauma often overlooked by untrained clinicians, particularly in the context of sexual addiction.

Additionally, Gabriel focuses on treating depression and anxiety using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).

Here are two ways to learn more about or reach him:

• Renewal Counseling (not taking new clients for now)
• Email - counselorgabetrujillo@gmail.com (but he would love to help and point you to some resources)

To learn more about small groups where you can also grow together with other men, including our Men of Integrity groups, click here.

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Dr. Jason Dedeker, a former student of Marty's is our guest as we continue our series on men and mental health. He currently serves as a practicing psychiatrist in southeastern Tennessee.

Here are the questions he poses toward the end of the episode if you feel like your life is stuck:

• Is your life in a place where you want it to be?
• If no, what parts of my life are where I want them to be?
• In an ideal world, what would those things look like?
• Is there something about me that you might change?

If you are interested in participating a small group with Blueprint for Men, click here.

If you are interested in participating a small group with Blueprint for Men, click here.

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Blueprint for Men is a ministry that empowers husbands, fathers, and leaders to live like Jesus. Sign up for our weekly newsletter here.

This week’s interview is with Craig Lounsbrough, a Licensed Professional Counselor in Colorado. He strives to bring an effective blend of experience, expertise, clarity, concern and action to the counseling process in order to maximize outcomes and provide genuine healing and wholeness to individuals, marriages and families. Craig has over thirty-one years counseling experience with a wide range of patients in a variety of treatment settings.

Click here to get to Craig’s website if you want learn more about him, including the books he’s written and published, some of which were mentioned in the show.

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Blueprint for Men is a ministry that empowers husbands, fathers, and leaders to live like Jesus. Sign up for our weekly newsletter here.

Our February theme is men and mental health and to bring a woman’s perspective for men’s issues, we talked to Charla Christy. Charla is a co-founder of Four Streams Coaching, a coach training organization as well as a biblical counselor and executive director of Denver Counseling & Coaching a nonprofit biblical counseling ministry based in Denver, Colorado. You can find out more about how to work with Charla here.

Here is Marty’s guide 7 Steps to Launching Your Men’s Ministry This Year.

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Blueprint for Men is a ministry that empowers husbands, fathers, and leaders to live like Jesus. Sign up for our weekly newsletter here.