Real Men: Fellowship In Discipleship
Caution… potential ”ruffled feathers” disclaimer. But, take the few minutes to read this. My hope is that it invigorates us, not condemn us. This comes from personal experience having been challenged with it myself.
Excuses. We all have them. False arguments that justify how we prioritize the stuff that we do. FinD is no different, and each of our men are under attack in the spiritual battle we face every day. The vast majority of FinD members strongly participate and contribute to the health and vitality of their groups (per their Group Covenant). They PRIORITIZE their group within their work and home calendars.
Yet still, there are a few that don't. By virtue of my conversations with so many groups, I get to see and hear so many classic excuses. What’s amazing is that these excuses are commonly recycled. It should not surprise any of us that Satan provides these false justifications. We can start believing they are legit.
Our Father never intended us to live out our faith in isolation. He made us for iron sharpens iron fellowship. He will expand our margins and resources and help us deflect Satan's excuses and the world's obstacles. Satan’s number one goal is to destroy our intimacy with the Trinity, and he's had thousands of years on billions of souls to perfect his craft. He is the father of lies and is sly and cunning in his approach. He slowly convinces us to start adopting his worldly, me-now priorities and think it is the truth, but it is not.
Aside from the true occasional emergency, being sick, planned vacations, or rarely uncontrollable work travel - it's simply a matter of prioritization to our covenant-based commitment. If this hits home with you, don't get all bowed up and defensive about it. Look inward. Ask our Father to search you and know your ways…bring it into the Light with the help of the Holy Spirit. Ask Him to increase your desire and love for the other men in your group. Your prepared presence at your meetings is your gift to your group members. In addition to receiving love and fellowship, you are also needed to love and feed others. When everyone in the group participates, everyone benefits!
So now the school year routine is back. No more, “we typically take a break for the Summer” excuses. Satan doesn’t take Summer sabbaticals. Being a disciple of Christ is being willing to die - DAILY (Galatians 2:20). Yes, you will have to leave some habits and excuses behind.. You need to love your small group brothers, be there for them, and make sacrifices for them. You will be rewarded by the sacrifices they make for you!
Michael Benes comes to mind. Michael is a member of the FinD group, the SOBs (Sons of the Bible). He’s just as busy as any of us. He owns his own appraisal business. Adores his wife, Laura. Co-raised two amazing children. Stays in shape. Volunteers for leadership roles regularly at his church having been the Men’s Ministry elder and currently the Men’s Life chair. He travels with his family, loves to go fishing … a man’s man. He likely has the highest attendance in our SOBs small group and does a deep dive into the Word and prayer daily. Remember the old Life cereal commercial. The little kid brother named, Mikey. His older brother had him try the cereal first, and then said, “He likes it! He likes it! Mikey likes it!” I can tell you that Michael Benes likes the sacrifices and investments he’s made to his group, and it’s been rewarding to him. (Perhaps this is a teaser about who the next testimonial speaker will be at our next FinD Fire Pit on November 7th at The Powder Keg.)
“For me, reliable and consistent attendance at my weekly SOB small group is a priority. It feeds my need for spiritual connection and study as well as social interaction with other like-minded men (now close friends) of faith. I try to show up prepared, not out of obligation, but out of faithfulness to the material and respect for the other men in our group. Also, I absolutely love it and can’t imagine what my life would look like without my Thursday mornings at ‘Saint Dennys’.” ~ Michael Benes (SOBs – Sons of the Bible).
“I'm here to say he goes every Thursday because he loves his time with his FinD group. He doesn't get that male bonding at work like a lot of men do. He looks forward to it all week. I honestly think your ministry is changing people’s lives, more so than a lot of other non-profits out there. FinD should know how important its work is … truly transforming men's lives." ~ Laura Benes
Love to all you, my bruthas in Christ Jesus. Press on. Fight the good fight. Make the sacrifices and abide in the blessings that will surely follow.
Real men … real discipleship.
YBiC,
Clint
#engagement” a note from Clint Harrington
FinD is so thankful to all the volunteer leaders and financial supporters that make this ministry sustainable. But, there are some who believe that passively receiving the benefits that FinD provides is all that is required... they are caught in the gap between small group attendance and being fully engaged in FinD's ministry & mission. One member described his engagement like this:
“Hey, Clint, you met with me years ago and got me plugged into my weekly small group. I’m grateful for that. What the Holy Spirit has done to transform and grow my intimacy with Jesus Christ through my FinD group has been unbelievable. But we’re kind of on our own now. We don’t really need FinD. I don’t see the need to get engaged (volunteering or financially) in the overall FinD ministry, because we’re doing fine on our own.”
The leadership team and I were very grateful to hear this member’s perspective. We prayerfully digested this information and came to realize this wasn’t limited to just one member’s opinion.
While FinD can’t be all things to all people, we aspire to provide a conduit for men to get plugged in and follow Jesus Christ with one another. It seeks to unite Christian men on the fringe into fellowship and discipleship with other like-minded men.
At some point, we, as FinD members, were all on the outside looking in. Maybe we heard about FinD through a friend, our church, an email, social media or even a car window decal. Regardless of the source, current members found their way to FinD or vice versa and, collectively, we need to pay it forward. Many men are trapped in this epidemic of loneliness and they are searching for this community. They want to be transformed in an iron sharpens iron environment. They want to feel the warmth and accountability that comes from fellowship with believers. They want to dive into the Word and ruminate over various interpretations to help find the Truth. They want to get plugged into service and outreach opportunities, and group prayer needs, and fire pit nights, and annual retreats, and other meaningful men’s ministry events … and FinD wants to be there for them, but we can’t do it without the support of our membership.
It’s hard to fathom how much work goes into producing a newsletter, organizing a fire pit night or clay shoot, or the hundreds of Shepherd meetings, health checks, and kick off meetings FinD conducts each year. While FinD supporting current groups and reaching more men who are seeking Christ requires volunteers … volunteer leaders and volunteer participants … it also requires generous donations of time and financial resources. For example, FinD desperately needs a full-time administrative assistant. We have costs for website and social media management, accounting support for financial and tax reporting, meeting space costs, SWAG for new members and outreach events, CRM software, etc. If you want more detailed information, reach out to me and I’d be happy to run you through the full budget.
Engaged men are passionate men who know the mission, serve in it, and live it out. Member engagement is the difference maker between incremental and exponential growth. Yes, only God can bring growth, but He uses engaged men to do it. FinD’s future depends on engaged members who believe in our mission AND men on the outside who are ready to jump in the river’s current. Building a better, cooler, and more attractive ministry is one approach to growth; however, we need engaged men who are passionate champions of our mission … men who aren’t satisfied as passive consumers … men who give generously and serve selflessly … men who are on a mission because they believe in FinD’s mission.
I truly hope these words have enlightened your understanding of FinD’s mission and vision and inspired you to fully engage as a member, volunteer, and financial supporter because FinD needs you.
YBiC,
Clint
Supporting FinD in 2021
We prayerfully request your support of FinD's vision of developing disciples and serving our community. Please consider a recurring gift to support FinD in 2021.
| “The measure of a man’s greatness is not the number of servants he has, but the number of people he serves.” ~ John Hagee |
Over the years, FinD has been heavily focused on reactive service and outreach. Following Hurricane Harvey in 2017, we formed a FinD Navy with over 50 “vessels” that entered the floods in our own neighborhoods to rescue people from their homes. In the aftermath, the FinD Army mucked 62 homes and provided food and shelter to some of those displaced families. Last year, when Hurricane Laura ran over Southwest Louisiana in August, FinD made four separate trips to Grand Lake, LA to provide caravans of supplies and food and an army of men to help clean up some of the damage and destruction.
| “Your most powerful testimony is how you treat others after the church service is over.” ~ Unknown |
FinD has also been proactive in its service. For the past six years, FinD has had 30-50 families volunteer on the Saturday before Thanksgiving at the East Spring Branch Food Pantry creating thousands of Thanksgiving meal boxes for local families in need. We’ve also had several FinD small groups volunteer at the Fuente Food Pantry on Saturday mornings and typically feed 400-600 families every Saturday morning. We’ve also formed massive prayer teams for these service and outreach endeavors, and these are just two of the bigger programs that FinD has rallied around.
| “How Christian service is accomplished takes many different shapes and forms, but it all begins with God and ends with others.” ~ Rev. Chris Kirwan |
For the last few years, FinD has been intentionally praying over the development of an Annual Day of Service (ADOS). Our board and committee have poured over a lot of ideas and beneficiaries, but time and again, we kept coming back to an organization that needs our help – and it’s right in our own back yard. Family Point Resources falls in the center of the FinD member community. Its mission, very aligned with FinD’s, is to engage neighbors in supportive relationships that meet needs, build hope, and transform lives. (http://www.familypointresources.com/)
So, on Saturday October 23rd, FinD will be rallying its troops for a day of service benefitting this wonderful organization. Our Annual Day Of Service (ADOS) will be a family friendly event, very close to where we live, and will provide opportunities for a full or half day of service. We hope that everyone can share time together and enjoy a free lunch and prayer in the middle of the day.
| “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.” ~ Hebrews 6:10 |
We hope that you will join us for FinD Annual Day of Service (ADOS) as we partner with Family Point Resources to serve our community on Saturday, October 23rd. For further event details, visit our website, finddiscipleship.org/event/annual-service-day-w-familypoint-resources.
For more details about FinD, visit https://finddiscipleship.org
I’ve just returned from Del Norte, Colorado participating in our inaugural FinD – WayForward Adventures Trip. There are so many things I can’t say to protect the great mysteries of the WayForward journey. As you can imagine, it was an amazing trek with nine other FinD bruthas seeking the summit of intimacy with our Father and uncontrolled fellowship with one another. We were overwhelmed by the unblemished creation all around us. The never ending Aspen forest, the Columbine flowers, the wild strawberries along the trail, the babbling brook that we followed to the mountain’s peak, the marmots, chipmunks and singing symphony of birds throughout our march. From blue skies by day to the early evening fog that rolled over the range and warned us of the powerful thunderstorms soon to fall, it all provided a canvas for our Father to speak deeply into our souls.
The physical crush of the ascent itself is part of the process. Loaded down with 50 lb packs and ever thinning air, most of us felt the pain in every step as we neared the end of each day’s trek. But that served a purpose. It broke us down, cracked our manly pride, and softened our hearts to be better molded by the Potter’s hands. The entire time, our spiritually, physically and topographically trained guides kept us in the dark about our whereabouts, progress, meal plan, and devotional order. Why? So, that we could experience a complete surrender of control that we get so dependent upon in our regular lives by being tethered to our i-Phones and Apple watches. Let it go. Trust the process. Lean in. Just BE WHERE YOUR BOOTS ARE!
Our group included Robert Casteel, Wade Crawford, Devin Galimore (our trip champion), Trevor Harris, David Hock, Dave Oakland, Mickey Peters, Brett Waltz, Tim Wardlow and me. We were guided by Will (“Sweeeeet”) Bywaters and Jeff (“Hooyah”) Legg, the ministry atop the mountain that could not be sustained without the ministry in the valley (Todd & Erin Pinkston – founders/directors, and a staff of 20-25 of the most amazing 20-somethings I’ve ever met from colleges all across the U.S.). I thought I knew my fellow trekkers fairly well, but I got to hear each of their updated life stories including that last fearful 10% that most men are not willing to share. Everyone has their mess and realizing that our Father still loves us in that chaos is so galvanizing and inspirational.
I have a very personal story from this journey that I’d rather share with you in person than try to put in written word here. But, the short version is, I went to the edge, and I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to get back. Our Father gave me a life-view that I’ve never experienced before. I was fiercely challenged to work out my salvation with fear and trembling. As terrified as I was, our Father never left my side, and it has lit a fire in me to know Him far more than I thought I did. I’m so thankful for the brothers on this trip that laid hands on me and prayed encouragement and strength back into my soul as I was forced to make some very difficult decisions.
Tim Keller writes, “If it takes a community to know an ordinary human being, how much more necessary would it be to get to know Jesus alongside others? By praying with friends, you will be able to hear and see facets of Jesus that you have not yet perceived." (Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God).
“You cannot stay on the summit forever; You have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs. One sees. One descends. One sees no longer, but One has seen.
There is an art of conducting oneself in the lower regions by memory of what one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, One can at least still know.”
~ Rene Daumal
YBiC,
Clint
| Learn about what happened with me on the mountain, drop me an email (clint@FinDdiscipleship.org). Ready to plan a WayForward trip next Summer, reach out to Devin Galimore (FinD – FISH small group; galimored@gmail.com or check out the WayForward website at www.WayForwardAdventures.com. For more about the impact of WayForward on FinD members from the 2020 trip, check out the FinD WayForward video at FinD's YouTube Channel. |
“For me, WayForward was the opportunity I had been looking for to completely unplug from the stresses of life. It ended up being much more than that as I got to have uninterrupted fellowship with 10 fellow dads who I'm doing life within my incredible Nottingham Forest neighborhood. The five days we spent on the mountain really helped reset me.
A few months after WayForward (in 2020), I became the final member of a FinD small group - The 23rd. Now two of my brothers in FinD are going on the WayForward trip (one with FinD – Dave Oakland - and one with my neighborhood's second trip – Brandon Brickley). We are hoping to have 10-11 new dads in our neighborhood go on WayForward each year, so it's been a fun discipleship in its own way of sharing the greatness of our time on the mountain.”
| While on the mountain you have a lot of time to talk with each guy. Devin, who was also my new neighbor, shared about FinD. I had been looking for an opportunity to dive into the Bible deeper and this seemed like a great match. |
| As you consider how your group might build deeper relationships with God and each other through a WayForward retreat, you can find more information by connecting with Devin Galimore @ galimored@gmail.com or by visiting 2021 FinD — WayForward Adventures. Our YouTube Channel has personal testimonies from the mountain! |