My good friend Randy posted this over on his blog...
"Several summers ago a few friends and I started what we called “Man Night”. We met once a week through the summer. At these gatherings we would eat meat (preferably cooked over an open fire) and talk theology. It was a simple concept. But, to this day, it is one of the best things of which I have been a part. We all loved it. It was a forum to learn and enjoy what it meant to be a man..."I encourage you to click the link and read the rest of his post. Man Night for me was one of the most forming experiences, outside of my immediate family, that has happened to me over the past 5 years. It was such a time or encouragement, growth, and laughter that all of us came away changed. Part of the glory of it was that the format was so simple. There never was any complex flow charts as to who was leading that week, we never had to run a formula to figure out when we were meeting, and there never was any discipleship manual outside of scripture that we followed. Yet out of the simplicity we grew.
I'd venture to say that one of the key reasons we grew was that it struck a nerve in us all to answer fundamental questions. What does it mean to be a man? a leader? a person God has called? a husband? where do we go from here? How do we handle conflict? Huge life shaping questions discussed over cooked meat.
This was not the drinking buddies, they were not the gentleman's club of old, nor were we all looking for escapism. We understood that the result of us intentionally doing life like this resulted in us sharping one another. In Randy's post he mentions some great quotes from G. K. Chesterson. Again I'd encourage you to read them. All this to say...
Recently God has brought in my path man after man who quietly is asking big questions. Big questions that have trajectory altering answers. I wonder what it would look like if just for a summer a group of men would meet with the determination to grill meat and sharpen each others lives. For a season, for our lives, for our wives and children, for our church and our savior perhaps God is calling us to grow some N.U.T.S. (non-negotiable, unalterable terms)
Perhaps more to come...
2 comments:
Great post, Dave. I plan on checking out Randy's post after this but I wanted to comment on your's first.
I like the way you worded what the purpose of the meetings was. All too often men's group become a way to escape the wife and fam, not strengthen us to go back to them. That, I see, as the most important purpose of a men's group. And I really like that it wasn't about structure or formality. You know I've been leading a guy's group for a few years now, and I gotta admit I get worried about the structure. It's in my nature to want clear plans, I know that, but there's a more real, energetic intensity when it's not. I think there's something for me to learn in that. Thanks, Dave.
Dear Friend,
Sounds like you and your friends got a good thing going. It's important for men to get together to discuss these issues. And what better way to do it than over an open fire, roasting and sharing a big piece of meat - Now that's manly!
Keep up the good work.
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