Lead by Dr. Corey Carlisle, Christian Therapist & Guide for Men
The RISE Crucible
A 6-Week Formation Cohort for Christian Men Seeking Clarity, Authority, and Depth
Something is Off – But You Can’t Yet Name It
Most men don’t wake up thinking something is wrong. They wake up carrying a quiet tension they can’t quite explain.
Life works – on the surface. Responsibilities are met. Roles are filled. But underneath, something feels misaligned. The explanations that once held no longer satisfy. Familiar ways of understanding masculinity, authority, and purpose begin to thin.
The RISE Crucible exists for that moment.
Not to fix what is broken, but to apply the pressure necessary for clarity—to strip away what is false, and to recover a grounded sense of strength, authority, and depth.
This is not a “men’s group.” It is a crucible.
Why a Crucible?
A crucible is not meant to comfort. It is meant to reveal. Under pressure, what is false cannot remain hidden. What is real endures.
This work will cost you:
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familiar self-images
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practiced ways of hiding
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assumptions about how life works
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the version of masculinity you learned to perform rather than inhabit
What emerges is not a “better version” of you. It is a truer one—more grounded, more authoritative, and more capable of offering strength without needing to prove it.
What is the RISE Crucible?
The RISE Crucible is a small, high-trust cohort experience for men who are already carrying responsibility—and sense that something deeper is being asked of them.
Over six weeks, we work through the R.I.S.E. framework—not as a program, but as an orientation:
Recognize
Seeing clearly—your desires, your false narratives, and the places you’ve learned to hide or compensate.
Initiate
Taking responsibility for your direction without waiting for permission, affirmation, or crisis.
Sacrifice
Discerning what must be relinquished so your strength can be offered cleanly rather than spent reactively.
Enjoy
Recovering a grounded enjoyment of life, work, and embodiment that flows from authority—not escape.
This is not about fixing, managing, or being taught new techniques. It is about reorienting what is misaligned.
Each week, men gather to:
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Engage structured teaching rooted in masculine formation
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Reflect on their inner life and leadership posture
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Be seen and sharpened by other serious men
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Practice carrying themselves differently—in work, marriage, and vocation
Christian Men's Formation Cohort
Who This Is For
The RISE Crucible is for Christian men who:
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Carry real responsibility—for others, for outcomes, for direction
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Sense they are living beneath their weight
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Are weary of surface-level men’s work
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Can tolerate pressure, reflection, and being challenged
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Desire clarity and authority more than comfort or reassurance
Many participants are pastors, leaders, professionals, and husbands. Titles are not the qualification. Capacity is.
Who This Is Not For
This cohort is not appropriate if you are:
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In acute marital or personal crisis
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Seeking therapy or emotional processing
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Looking for accountability or behavior modification
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Working through addiction recovery
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Unwilling to self-reflect or be confronted
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Hoping for comfort, reassurance, or motivation
There are good places for that work. This is not one of them.
The Crucible Structure
The Six-Week Arc
Week 1 — The Threshold
Recognize
A clearing moment. Men turn toward desire and name the patterns that have kept them functional, productive, yet subtly divided.
Week 2 — The Doorway Step
Recognize → Initiate
Insight gives way to movement. A first, visible step is taken—small, real, and no longer private.
Week 3 — Crossing with a Pack
Initiate
Action becomes steadier. Risk, recovery, and repetition begin to form confidence rather than intensity.
Week 4 — The Crucible’s Edge
Initiate → Sacrifice
Men discern a meaningful cost—an offering shaped by intention, limits, and purpose.
Week 5 — Into the Forge
Sacrifice
The offering is given. Cost is named and witnessed, allowing strain to be integrated rather than absorbed in isolation.
Week 6 — The Table
Enjoy
The journey culminates in reception. Men practice rest, nourishment, and enjoyment—and are oriented toward what comes next.
About Your Guide
I’m Dr. Corey Carlisle — a licensed marriage and family therapist, certified sex therapist, and Christian guide for men.
My clinical work has trained me to recognize:
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where men hide
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where illusions protect them
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and where pressure, applied wisely, produces clarity rather than collapse
The RISE Crucible draws on that training — but it is not therapy. It is formation.
A Final Word Before Applying
If you enter this crucible, you should expect to feel disoriented at times.
That is not a failure. That is the mask dropping.
What waits on the other side is not ease — but authority:
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a clearer sense of who you are
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a truer relationship to your strength
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and a deeper capacity to offer your life rather than manage it
If that summons you, you may apply. If it does not, honor that.
