Bill and Rich answer listener questions on Collars & Calluses, inviting more submissions via collarsandcalluses@gmail.com and on X (@wrs2_, @Vicar1973). They discuss how the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23) is relational and manifests differently in masculinity and femininity, arguing the church and culture have often privileged feminine expressions of virtue; they illustrate this through distinct motherly and fatherly forms of love and through sex-specific challenges in self-control. They address video games, saying gaming isn’t inherently wrong but can delay maturity, foster addictive habits, and substitute “virtual dominion” for real-world skills, so it should be bounded like other entertainment. Finally, they consider whether young men should enter pastoral ministry, urging a slower path with apprenticeship, maturity, external confirmation of calling, real-world work experience, and awareness of the unique pressures on pastors’ wives and children, while also noting a pastoral shortage.

The hosts of “Collars & Calluses” introduce a Q&A backlog and address whether the U.S. war with Iran is just and whether CREC pastors should rebuke Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, noting he is in the CREC and that critics want public denunciations. They argue Christians should avoid dogmatism because citizens lack full information, the history is messy, and this issue shouldn’t divide friendships or churches; they express skepticism based on prior Middle East wars, unclear public justification, questions about Israel, and concerns about escalation, urging prayer for leaders. They then define patriarchy as “father rule” rooted in creation and applicable across life, versus complementarianism as a 1970s–80s adaptation focused mainly on roles in marriage and church, often lacking rationale, diluting male authority, and tending toward egalitarianism; they describe marital implications of headship/submission and warn against cultural rebellion against created order.

Contact us: collarsandcalluses@gmail.com

X handles: Bill: @wrs2_ Rich: @Vicar1973

Bill and Rich return to their Proverbs theme of wealth, focusing on how Solomon teaches that generosity—especially toward the legitimately poor—can lead to true riches, connecting giving to the biblical pattern of death and resurrection and to Paul’s “sowing and reaping” in 2 Corinthians 9. They warn against prosperity-gospel manipulation and stress discriminating charity that avoids enabling idleness or vice, emphasizing relationship-based help, the gleaning principle, and Paul’s rule that those unwilling to work should not eat, critiquing indiscriminate welfare systems. They argue Scripture is not anti-wealth, citing Abraham, Job, and the parable of the talents, and distinguish Jesus’ warnings about wealth as aimed at elites who extract wealth from others. They present wealth as power for dominion and encourage disciplined tithing, benevolence, and seeking God’s kingdom first; show notes: collarsandcalluses@gmail.com, @wrs2_, @Vicar1973.

Taken from Bill's series on Proverbs: https://www.cornerstonereformedcrec.org/proverbs

Bill's full series of sermons on Proverbs can be found here: https://www.cornerstonereformedcrec.org/proverbs

In this episode of Collars & Calluses, Bill and Rich begin a Proverbs-based discussion on wealth for young men, rejecting both the prosperity gospel (wealth equals godliness) and a “poverty gospel” (poverty equals godliness) in favor of a biblical call to productivity, fruitfulness, and dominion. They argue wealth is good yet dangerous and powerful, and should be pursued lawfully, enjoyed with gratitude, and used generously for building families, churches, institutions, and civilization. They broaden “wealth” beyond money to include children, peace, wisdom, and eternal riches, and explain that wealth comes from wise labor applied to God’s creation. They stress honoring the Lord with possessions through tithing as an abiding baseline rooted before Moses, discuss practical questions about tithing, and emphasize giving as worship rather than “paying God off.”

Bill and Rich continue their discussion on appetites by focusing on the abuse of substances—alcohol, food, and drugs—framed in Proverbs as gluttony and drunkenness. They explain Proverbs 20:1 (“wine is a mocker”) as a warning that alcohol and other mind-altering substances can master a man, impair judgment, lower inhibitions, and lead to sin, irresponsibility, and loss of trust. They emphasize personal responsibility, masculine self-control, and stewardship of the body, arguing that using substances to escape problems is effeminate and destructive. They contrast lawful enjoyment of God’s gifts (wine) with sinful misuse, warn that appetites can be exploited through “deceptive food” and “wine and dine” manipulation, connect addiction to sloth and poverty, critique cannabis as inherently impairing, and describe drug abuse as opening people to demonic influence.

Books mentioned in this episode: Devoured by Cannabis by Douglas Wilson The Return of the Dragon by Lewis Ungit Pharmakeia: The Biblical View of Drug Use by Robert A. Orem Jr.

Bill and Rich introduce a Proverbs-themed discussion on alcohol, drugs, and how substance abuse can derail a young man’s mission, citing 2024 U.S. data on widespread alcohol and drug use disorders and describing visible local impacts in Carbondale, Illinois and elsewhere. They argue modern therapeutic culture reframes sin as “disorder,” obscuring responsibility. They stress starting with God’s good creation: appetites, food, drink, and feasting are affirmed throughout Scripture, while rejecting God’s gifts can be a “doctrine of demons.”