Can’t Make It to Michigan? Join the 2026 Samson Summit Online

 

You may not be able to make it to Michigan this year—but you don’t have to miss the Summit. The 2026 Samson Summit, Written in Grace, will be available virtually, bringing together voices from across the recovery community to explore what happens when we begin to see our stories through the lens of grace rather than shame. We’re especially excited to welcome John Lynch as this year’s keynote speaker. John is an author, speaker, former pastor, and longtime voice on grace, identity, trust, and the freedom that comes when we no longer have to hide or perform to earn God’s love. Throughout the virtual Summit, we’ll also explore some of the deeper questions that emerge as recovery becomes more than simply stopping unwanted behaviors: Why are we so deeply wired to matter, belong, and be known—and what happens when we learn to hide those needs? How do rationalization, minimization, denial, and other forms of self-protection keep us trapped in the very patterns we're trying to escape? What does it look like to remain emotionally present with a grieving partner instead of defending, explaining, fixing, or withdrawing when things get uncomfortable? And what if recovery isn't another heroic project we have to succeed at, but an invitation into a more embodied, relational, and faithful way of living? These conversations move beyond simply asking, “How do I stop?” and toward a much larger question: “Who am I becoming?” If travel, schedules, finances, or life make joining us in Michigan impossible this year, join us virtually. You can still hear these conversations, wrestle with these questions, and be part of a community of men discovering what it means to have our stories Written in Grace. We’d love to have you with us. Learn More Register today and receive 5 FREE BONUS SESSIONS to help you continue growing in your faith and online integrity, long after the conference is over. Meet Your Speakers John Lynch is a nationally-recognized speaker, author, and former pastor whose work embodies radical grace, honest storytelling, and genuine transformation. After serving 27 years as the teaching pastor at Open Door Fellowship in Phoenix, Arizona, he joined Trueface in 1997 and began speaking and writing on a national level. John is the author of On My Worst Day, a collection of forty fresh stories about vulnerability, shame, and the liberating power of Christ-like love. He also co-authored works such as The Cure and TrueFaced, and co-founded Sharkey Productions, a theater troupe that staged gospel-anchored productions for people still seeking Jesus. At his core, John’s message is simple yet profound: you’re loved on your worst day, and that love can change you. As he says on his website: “My name is John Lynch. I am completely undone by what Jesus has done in me. And I continue to be overwhelmed at the wild, unbridled love He has for you and me.” VIRTUAL WORKSHOP CONTRIBUTORS JIM CRESS Jim Cress is a counselor who has spent years helping men and couples work through sexual addiction, betrayal, shame, trauma, and the deeper wounds beneath destructive behavior. His approach goes beyond simply trying to stop a behavior and helps people understand the story underneath it so they can move toward healing, connection, and freedom. "Rebuilding from Ground Zero: 16 Steps and 4 Key Questions for Ongoing Recovery from Nehemiah" Drawing from the Old Testament book of Nehemiah, Jim explores what it means to walk honestly within our stories as an essential part of ongoing recovery. Using Nehemiah’s journey of confronting what has been broken and undertaking the work of rebuilding, Jim identifies 16 steps and four key questions that help us examine our own stories—from ground zero to the “red dot.” Along the way, he invites us to consider where we have been, where we are now, and what it looks like to continue moving forward with honesty, intention, and grace.   NICK STUMBO Nick Stumbo leads Pure Desire Ministries and brings both professional training and personal experience to the recovery conversation. After years in pastoral ministry, Nick became a trusted voice helping men move out of secrecy and shame and into honesty, grace, healthy relationships, and lasting change. He is also the author of Setting Us Free and Safe. "Lies and Excuses We Make in Early Recovery: Moving from Self-Protection to Grace, Acceptance, and Healing" Most of us enter recovery after years of rationalizing, minimizing, denying, or explaining away our behavior. Even after recovery begins, those patterns do not simply disappear. Our brains are wired for self-preservation—to move away from what feels threatening, uncomfortable, or painful—and many of the lies and excuses we tell ourselves began as attempts to protect us from something we did not know how to face. But what begins as self-protection can eventually become self-destruction. When we continually avoid pain, shame, fear, vulnerability, or uncomfortable truths, the very strategies meant to protect us can keep us trapped in the patterns from which we are trying to recover. In this presentation, Nick explores what lies beneath the rationalizations and excuses common in early recovery and how understanding these behaviors can change the way we approach them. Rather than continuing to run from the things we have spent a lifetime avoiding, recovery invites us to turn toward them with honesty, curiosity, and courage. In doing so, we create space to experience a level of God’s grace we may never have allowed ourselves to receive, acceptance from other men we did not know was possible, and the deeper healing that avoidance has kept just beyond our reach.   EDDIE CAPPARUCCI Eddie Capparucci is a counselor, author, and recovery specialist known for helping men look beneath unwanted sexual behavior to the emotional wounds and unresolved parts of their story that may be driving it. His work challenges men to move beyond simply managing behavior and become curious about what is happening underneath the surface. "The Stay Engaged Method: 8 Essential Steps for Supporting Your Partner Through the Pain of Betrayal" Recovery is about more than achieving sobriety or changing destructive behaviors. It also requires learning how to remain emotionally present with those who have been hurt by our actions—especially when their grief, anger, or pain is difficult to face. When a partner is hurting, the instinct to explain intentions, correct details, defend progress, or prove what “really happened” may feel protective, but these responses can leave a grieving partner feeling even more alone. Staying engaged requires a different kind of emotional maturity: the ability to remain grounded, attentive, curious, and emotionally available without becoming defensive or withdrawing when things get uncomfortable. In this presentation, participants will learn the Stay Engaged Method, eight essential steps for remaining emotionally connected with a grieving partner during difficult moments. Rather than relying on “I don’t know what to do,” participants will leave with a practical framework for responding to pain in ways that foster safety, connection, accountability, and healing.   MATT WENGER Matt Wenger is the Executive Clinical Director of Begin Again Institute and has worked with more than 1,000 men dealing with pornography, sexual addiction, trauma, and relationship struggles. His work focuses on attachment, honesty, relationships, and understanding the deeper why behind behavior so men can build something healthier instead of simply trying harder. "Failure, Embodiment, and the Manageable Life of Faithful Recovery: A Framework for Spiritual Direction in Pornography Addiction Recovery" What if recovery is not a separate set of practices we perform, but a way of learning to live more fully and faithfully as human beings? Drawing from the novels Gilead and Jayber Crow, Matt Wenger invites participants to expand their understanding of recovery beyond the pursuit of success or the avoidance of failure and toward a more embodied, relational, and sustainable way of life. Through literature and the contemplative traditions of the Church, Matt offers another framework: a manageable life of faithful recovery. Rather than striving to become the hero of our recovery story, we can learn to inhabit the ordinary limits of our lives, make room for failure, and become more attentive to our embodied needs and desires. The contemplative tradition shifts the emphasis from simply knowing about God to experiencing relationship with God, offering ancient practices that closely parallel the slow, relational work of recovery. In doing so, recovery becomes less about achieving an ideal and more about learning to live faithfully, honestly, and fully within the life we have been given.   JEFF SCHULTE Jeff Schulte is the founder of Tin Man and has spent decades walking alongside leaders, athletes, pastors, executives, and everyday men who have become disconnected from their own hearts. His work helps people understand their emotions, face shame and isolation, and learn how to live more honestly and relationally with God and the people around them. "Hard Wired for Connection: Why Our Need to Matter, Belong, and Be Loved Is Part of God’s Design" We were created for connection. The need to matter, belong, and experience secure attachment is not a weakness to overcome but a profound reflection of being made in the image of a relational God. Yet many of us have learned to distrust our neediness, minimize our longings, or believe that changing how we think should be enough to change how we live. This presentation invites participants to reconsider their needs and longings not as liabilities, but as pathways to intimacy and transformation. Love is expressed through needs and the meeting of needs, and our willingness to be known—including allowing others to see what we need—determines how deeply we can experience being loved. By understanding how we are hard wired for connection, we can begin moving away from performance and self-protection and toward the authentic relationships through which we learn to love, be loved, and grow.   Register Today