Men's Fraternity
Part of the "covergence" occured for me at the funeral of a dear friend. All of this was going on with the reading of the Why Men Hate Going to Church and meeting Bill Shorey and re-reading Eldredge's Wild at Heart and suddenly, I find myself sitting at this funeral by a friend I haven't seen in a while. We had been members together at another church and both had left for similar reasons. Suddenly, we find ourselves sitting next to each other and he says, "What has been happening with you?" Usually, you say, "Oh, everything is fine, how 'bout you?" But, I hit him with it all - "let me tell you what God is doing in my life..." and I proceeded to tell him about Call of the Wild, Wild at Heart, etc. He says, "Oh really, well, let me tell you about Men's Fraternity..." Is that a coincidence? Hardly. Can you explain it? Yes. I can explain it because it can't be explained. When God is moving, man has a hard time explaining it. That is exciting.

A lot is happening in Columbus in the lives of men. There is a real convergence of events. My friend Keith Cowart at Christ Community has already started a Men's Fraternity and has 30-40 men in regular attendence. This friend from the funeral told me that First Presbyterian is "all over" Men's Fraternity and is hoping to get one up and running downtown soon. Chuck Hasty is a good friend, a good man and a brother and he is very excited about Men's Fraternity.

He has shared the first 2 DVDs with me and here is the takeaway for me so far:

• Manhood is in a state of confusion. (Amen)
• Confused men create problems. (We see it all around us)
• Confused men settle for less. (Mediocrity abounds)
• There is no lofty vision of manhood today that is compelling to men (This one is crucial in my mind).
• The Bible has insights and solutions to all the above.

The 2nd DVD focuses on the 4 faces of a man

1. The King - usually men get this through parents or heros but it is a love of the right, strong convictions, a servant spirit, righteous leadership.
2. The Warrior - the warrior in a man says "Let's roll" - the warrior is the most honored face of all the man's faces - the warrior is what stirs a man's soul.
3. The Lover - this part is unnatural to men - here we pick up our wife's needs, we drop our front and open up and share our feelings (it's hard for us to do).
4. The Friend - most men don't have true friends because we don't have the time to give to build friendships but this one is important - "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another" Proverbs 27:17

Men's Fraternity is coming to Columbus in a big way and it is, in conjunction with everything else happening, going to make a real difference in the lives of men.

We have lost our lofty vision of what we are supposed to be. Where are our heros? Men need other men they can look up to, men they aspire to become. Men of driven, Godly purpose. Men of deep integrity, deep character. Men of deep faith who teach their sons how to hunt, how to fish, how to throw a curve ball, shoot a basketball, how to respect women, how to always strive to do the right thing.

This is what is churning in me - this is what God is calling all of us to become and it is very exciting. Soar.