Had the honor of being invited to be the keynote guest of the 2014 Great Men’s Adventure Weekend founded by Russell Shiebler. Russ is a brother in Christ with a passion for missions and equipping men to discover what it means to be a Christian man in this generation.

Our journey began with a majestic ride to northern New Hampshire, deep off the beaten path where technology simply doesn’t work. Yes, a place where cell phone coverage and Internet access have yet to invade.

The purpose for the weekend was to provide a place where men can come together in a non-threatening environment to discover their true nature and the way God created them as uniquely masculine beings. A place to discover their authentic manhood in Jesus Christ. The weekend included man food, shooting events, horseshoe tournaments, fishing, whacking some golf balls, movie night, fellowship and a deepening bond of brotherhood. As Russ shared, “Come prepared for life changing stuff. Come with an open heart and prepare to do some surgery.”

The men, young and old, were just awesome and yes…I did get to share some Hearstone Journey thoughts with the men individually and for fellowship on Sunday morning.

I want to share a bit more about the movie choice for the event. Saturday night we setup a huge outdoor movie screen that was hung between two trees and our band of brothers watched Lone Survivor. This screen would rival most theaters…it was awesome!

In Lone Survivor, Mark Wahlberg plays the role of real life Navy Seal Marcus Luttrell. The mission is for his team to capture or kill Taliban leader Ahmad Shah. The turning point of the movie is when Marcus and his team makes the difficult and ethical choice of letting an old man and two younger men go, knowing that this decision may lead to heavy sacrifices. Sacrifices that end up telling the story of one of the most valiant efforts of modern warfare many have seen.

The movie is marked by an array of virtues that should humble any viewer, however for me, the theme of brotherhood jumped off of the screen.

Here are some thoughts that I took away from the weekend with this band of brothers.

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