Real Men: Fellowship In Discipleship
“Life is not a bowl of cherries!”
This is what my grandmother (Nana) used to tell me when things weren’t going my way. She was a beautifully spiritual woman who was tough but nurturing, and she was trying to teach me, in a way I could understand at a young age, what Bob Goff says, “God isn’t trying to make our lives easier; He wants to make them more meaningful.” Well, you know what isn’t easy, being a faithful disciple of Christ and truly loving others. But guess what – Jesus is love! And He wants us to love “everybody, always!” I promise Bob Goff isn’t the only author we have read.
We need a lot of help to do that, especially as men. These FinD small groups help us develop that personal, authentic relationship with Christ that we all desire, and they do it in a way that hopefully fills our spiritual tanks each week so that we have some love to hand out – to our families, to our friends, and even to strangers! And I know that is meaningful! From everything I experience with my group, the GAIMers (God bless these guys!), to everything I hear from other groups, the FinD model helps men develop strong and real fellowship!
But, let’s face it, it’s easy to get passive about almost anything and that is why the weekly commitment works so well – it keeps us active and coming back for more. Look, if we want to become good at anything else in life, we commit to it, do it often, and do it with all our heart. In other words, we practice. And what’s better than practicing to be more Christ-like? Sure, we fail at it all the time, but it sure helps to have other men on our side to help us get back at it, to be accountable.
That’s a team we all want to be on – and the FinD groups are those teams! In mountain climbing circles, it’s called a rope team, the people you trust with your life while you’re hanging off a cliff. When you are climbing the mountain of life toward God, with all the dangers along the way, these are the guys you want on your rope team! And it’s not like we weren’t given an example – Jesus set up the greatest men’s group of all – the Disciples! Ultimately, Christ calls us to this example of discipleship and all that it means to – “Come, follow me.” (Matthew 4:19). In the end, my group challenges me to quiet the worldly distractions that are all around us and listen to the whispers of the Holy Spirit. They are always there when I need them. Maybe in some way, in this difficult world, they are like a bowl of cherries!
Steve is an active member at St. John Vianney Catholic Church, husband to Jeanie, dad to three amazing kiddos, an orthopedic surgeon with UT Physicians (Memorial Herman), and a graduate of the University of Notre Dame. He also generously serves on the FinD Board of Directors, and previously served on the FinD Discipleship Council.
FinD seeks to transform men through Jesus Christ in authentic, weekly Fellowship in Discipleship.
This testimonial and many others from FinD men can be found at https://finddiscipleship.org/testimonials/
UPCOMING EVENTS...
Real Men…Real Discipleship.
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