Why Men Matter and Have Purpose - Neil Tomba - The MakeReady Podcast #29

Why Men Matter and Have Purpose - Neil Tomba - The MakeReady Podcast #29

From The MakeReady Podcast by Bryan Sims

December 9, 2025 · 1h 15m · Season 1 · Episode 29

About this episode

Neil Tomba discusses the importance of listening to men and the challenges they face in faith and life.

Neil Tomba has pastored in Dallas for nearly three decades, but the lessons that shaped him most didn’t happen behind a pulpit—they happened on a bicycle. What began as quiet solo rides in the Colorado mountains turned into a cross-country journey from Santa Monica to Annapolis, 100 miles a day, stopping to talk to strangers about their lives, their faith, and their pain. What he discovered was simple and devastating: many men have never been truly listened to. From a Native American man in the desert handing him a $1,600 piece of pottery because “you listened,” to a businessman weeping while riding around White Rock Lake, Neil learned that men everywhere are carrying invisible weight—comparison, pressure, loneliness, and the gnawing suspicion that their ordinary faithfulness doesn’t matter in a world obsessed with fame and platform. He opens up about the toll ministry takes on pastors, the cultural boulders they’re expected to juggle, and the quiet crisis happening in church pews where men feel more isolated than ever. He shares stories of Cuban pastors quietly sustaining entire communities, and the way one spiritual mentor changed his life not with sermons, but by seeing him…

People in this episode

Guest: Neil Tomba

Topics covered

  • men's purpose
  • listening
  • faith
  • loneliness
  • ministry
  • brotherhood

Keywords

  • pastoring
  • Cuban pastors
  • spiritual mentor
  • ordinary obedience

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Dallas, Colorado, Santa Monica, Annapolis, White Rock Lake

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