They accept responsibility, and lead courageously. Yet looking around at this twisted world of fearful fathers, abusive husbands, and weak-willed men, something doesn’t add up. The only remedy for such corruption is to create men in the world that stand out; to create men after God’s own heart.
We are told in Psalm 119:9 that a young man can remain pure by living in accordance with God’s Word. Yet the path of purity God calls us to is not an easy one to walk, nor can it be walked without Him. Over these past two weekends, the Impact men have been learning what it means to be a real man of God. Heading out to Fort Payne, Alabama, we were given the opportunity to spend a weekend learning from Pastor Greg Brown. Equipping us with wisdom and motivation, he shared stories, scripture, and his time with us. It was a powerful weekend for many of the guys, learning how to deal with the wounded parts of their lives, and how to patch the holes.
Along with the valuable knowledge we gained, the guys enjoyed the company of each other. Whether it was playing pool, cards, or bouldering in the rocky ridges of Alabama, the quality time we had was invaluable. We benefited from learning team-building skills, as well as the presence of each other out in God’s creation.
This weekend the women were away on their Womanhood Retreat, learning about how to be Biblical Woman. While it’s a mystery to the rest of us men what they talked about, we were very excited to have them return! To make things even better, we left them a few surprises in their rooms. (These surprises may have included: stringing yarn around all the cars and into their rooms, Vaseline on every door handle and cabinet, and goldfish in the toilets!) Overall, I’m thankful for the opportunity to have some weekends with the Impact men, learning valuable knowledge from wise mentors, and growing in the relationships Christ has blessed us with.