Leadership | Heartstone Journey

Courage Robbers: The Top 10 Things Men Fear Most

I am amped up to be one of the group leaders for a 10 week series our Men’s Ministry group is spearheading at our church called, “Stepping Up”. I was encouraged to see 80+ men decide to take this journey with us to step up into Biblical manhood, despite the crazy snow storm that was raging on outside.

“Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” -1 Corinthians 16:13-14

After watching the inspiring session one video, which highlighted the courageous story of Red Erwin an airman of the Los Angeles B-29 Super-fortress, I met the five men assigned to my group who will be taking this journey with me. Great bunch of guys with diverse backgrounds and a ton of baggage that most men carry with them, including me. As I was going through the weekly exercises I paused at the section called ‘Courage Robbers’ because so many of us men just get paralyzed by courage robbers.

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.

—Anais Nin

Here is an excerpt from my book Heartstone where I share a snippet of dealing with some of my own courage robbers:

Why We Need More Sheepdogs And Less Hashtags!

My son and I went to see American Sniper with a group of band of brothers and wow what an incredible move! Not only will this movie stick with you for a while afterwards, it’s an important film portraying a true war hero that people should see. I am not on the panel for Oscar nominations or a well known movie reviewer, but American Sniper is absolutely deserving of any and all award recognition. Also, it’s a film that isn’t merely a war movie – it’s a story of courage, conviction, brotherhood and caring.

I won’t give away any spoilers but it was the first time I’ve ever experienced a silence so overpowering you could hear a pin drop at the conclusion of the film. The movie was powerful and the ending created an emotional pause as the credits flew by without the typical music — the audience was stunned to silence. Iv’e always had the utmost honor, gratitude and respect for those who serve our country but with this movie I could feel it in my heart and I could I feel it in my chest!

So, what does this have to do with sheepdogs and hashtags?

Great question, but before we dive into that here is a synopsis of American Sniper:

3 Universal Desires Of Men Revealed by King Arthur

Some of my favorite movies include Braveheart, Gladiator, 300, Lord Of The Rings, Last Of The Mohicans and Lone Survivor. Another honorable mention to this list is the 2004 remake of King Arthur.

Here is a short summary shared by Claudio Carval. In 400 AD, the Roman Empire extends to Britain and the Romans become impressed with the fight skills of the warrior Sarmatian people, which are spared, but have to send their sons to serve Rome in the cavalry for fifteen years. Only after these services, these knights are free to return home. King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table have their last mission before achieving their freedom.

I chose this summary because it ends with a powerful word that is not always connected with authentic manhood and that is “freedom”. This theme ebbs and flows all through out history in narratives of the men who fought in the Revolutionary War and the movies mentioned above. Of course there are endless realities and tales of the bravery of men fighting for the cause of freedom, but I want to stay with this for a minute…for the men of today.

Why is this important for the men of today?

Dealing With ‘Being A Coward’ Once And For All

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.

Finally, A Commercial That Promotes Fatherhood

Have you seen this ad from General Mills promoting the New Peanut Butter Cheerios?

It’s so rare these days to see a commercial that’s positive, uplifting and promotes fatherhood. Glad to see that General Mills stood for pro-fatherhood and pro-family in this commercial because being a dad is AWESOME!

Men, how do you ‘dad’?

Courage Robbers: The Top 10 Things Men Fear Most

Why We Need More Sheepdogs And Less Hashtags!

3 Universal Desires Of Men Revealed by King Arthur

Dealing With ‘Being A Coward’ Once And For All

Finally, A Commercial That Promotes Fatherhood

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Cool Scripture

Never Out Of The Fight!

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