Last night, I went to participate in a ministry known as "33 the Series" for men. I'll leave a link to it at the end of this posting for any others who are interested.

Unfortunately, I was editing pics right up until the time it started so I was late arriving but the content was so engrossing, I could have come in at any hour and received great insight.

The focus was on men having "teammates" in their lives. Teammates are other men who are providing accountability and true friendship. They provide the blessing and energizing that God desires among us. We're not just talking about a few guys hanging out together to talk about Monday Night Football or the latest BCS ranking (although that is always an available topic for later discussion). They described a deeper, more meaningful relationship, one where you get down to the needs, frailty, temptations, successes, blessings and prayers of another brother.

It specifically described how most men have a ton of "acquaintances" but less than 1 of 20 of those people are deeply involved in their lives past meager social talk. We spend our days in conversation with other guys and it may take an hour to get through the chatter while we are comparing sports, favorite cars, hunting performance, TV shows, politics, restaurant selections or even worse, wife bashing. All of this may come up but we never get to the heart of another man to see where God has him today. Where is he in his prayer life, his spiritual walk with Christ, his dedication to guiding his family to God's kingdom agenda.

When a person that I consider a friend asks me, "How's it going?" What do I reply? I don't mean you have to gush out every time someone walks by, but I am talking about those true moments when I have a chance to speak to a friend about a sincere mental weakness or spiritual temptation. Do I just let that issue slide?

For me, it took a moment to recount how many true friends I could identify within the categories. Don't get me wrong, this isn't just about who I knew, but who really knew me and in which category was I weak? Who could I say really knew the burdens of my heart and the challenges within my soul. It made me think long and hard about how I manage my relationships.

The guide broke it down into segments for us to categorize. The types of friends we really need:

1. Mentors - These are men who may or may not be older than us but they are more spiritually mature than us. They may be different men who serve to develop us in a variety of areas whether that be in faith, business, family, etc. Their purpose is steadfast. They have chosen to be our guide in both encouragement, development, wisdom and accountability to maturity and growth.
2. Partners - These are men who walk side-by-side with us; accountability partners, people who are there for us through our good and our bad. They stick with us because they love us. They love us enough to encourage us when we need it. The also love us enough to call us out and confront us, in love, when we are going against God's plan. They are there to help us see ourselves according to the filter of God's glasses.
3. Proteges - We have to give back. When we have made up our minds to do God's will in our lives, we will find the need to share the wisdom with someone else. Have we taken the challenge to be a mentor for someone? The trials and obstacles we overcome in life are not meant to  be trophies for us. These are life lessons that we learn from God's chiseling us for the benefit of others. This can be true wisdom that is imparted to someone younger or older. As men, we are to step up and make sure someone is blessed by our encouragement and guidance. It's our job to take a proactive step, to make ourselves available to help someone and be committed to the task.

Some have said that true wisdom doesn't come from personal experience but by watching other's experience. If we can avoid making the same mistake without having to experience it, then we have reached a new level of wisdom and maturity.

Can you identify your mentor, partner, protege?

~~
twh

33 the Series33 the Series

33 the Series: Interview with LeCrae an amazing music artist