Ever
have those moments when you are so moved by something that you feel as though
you are floating? This is how I’ve been
feeling since Saturday. This weekend our
church (Crossroads) held its annual Men’s “Advance”. The women of Crossroads hold a Women’s
Retreat each Fall. The Men, unwilling
to accept the term “retreat” instead hold an annual Men’s “Advance”!
Weekend
overview
Early
Saturday morning men from area churches gathered at the East Aurora Theater to
watch a showing of the film Courageous.
After the movie was over, special guest
speaker Rev. Chuck Stecker (retired Army Lieutenant Colonel and current
ordained Minister from Colorado) spoke to us at the theater.
Afterwards
we went back to Crossroads church for a huge lunch and fellowship. Following
lunch, all the men met in the main sanctuary for more words of motivation by
Chuck Stecker.
Sunday
service was the crown on the weekend with the men signing their Resolutions in
the presence of the entire church body.
My personal highlights
(Note, if you haven’t seen the movie, and are
planning on seeing it, the paragraphs below contain spoilers). I personally think this movie should be
required viewing for any man who wants to lead his family in a way pleasing to
God. I won’t recap the whole movie, just
see it and you’ll understand!
This
was my third time seeing the film, but the first time seeing it in the company
of 186 Godly men! I find it amazing that
each time I am brought to tears at different points in the movie. This time the scene that got to me was when the
family was around the dinner table several weeks after they had experienced the
loss of Emily. The father (Adam) was
talking about his day and something funny that happened (remember Snake
Kings!). The family was laughing, and
then a pause. The teen son (Dylan) got quiet, and broke down and cried about
not having been a good enough brother to his sister (Emily).
The
other scene that got to me was when the girl was being chased by the drug
dealers who were looking to use her as a hostage. At the end of that scene, that little girl’s
father who had helped the police subdue the criminals was seen holding her
tightly and her arms wrapped around her dad.
Adam was looking at her as he was lying on the ground in pain after
fighting the drug dealer. I could see he
was thinking about Emily and his loss.
Adam watched as this father held his daughter with her arms around her
daddy’s neck knowing she was now safe and protected.
Chuck
Stecker’s talk at the theater
He
had asked us to think about some things before the movie started, to pay
attention to a few scenes that he reflected on in his talk. The phrase,
“Hanging on to the wheel” is one. Meaning when things in life get difficult, you
don’t let go of the wheel, as in you don’t give in to the temptation (like
Shane did). Immediately after the movie,
Chuck said that there are those who will see the movie and agree with the
message, but won’t stick around to do the “hard stuff”. To do the things that will take this from
just a movie to a movement. It’s a tough
message to hear whether you are a Christian man or not. The movie confronts you and makes you ask
yourself the difficult questions. Am I
the man or father I want to be to my family? I pray for those few who aren’t willing to go
beyond viewing the movie, I pray that they decide to take on the hard
stuff. Perhaps, their hearts will soften
and the seed planted from seeing the movie will grow in them.
Lunch
at Crossroads
Besides
being an amazing meal and a well-organized event, I loved that so many of the
women of Crossroads were volunteering at the luncheon. They were greeting the men as we arrived and
were so helpful for the whole lunch. I
had the feeling that the women were happy and willing to be supportive of what
we men were doing that day. The response
from the women was truly a “God thing”.
I was able to sit and share a meal with men who are twice my age but we
shared the same bond…fatherhood.
Chuck
Stecker’s talk in the main sanctuary
I
loved that Chuck did not stand at the pulpit, but stood in the aisle right in
the middle of all us. It was incredible
seeing the broad spectrum of men in that sanctuary: grandfathers, fathers,
brothers, friends, cousins, teens…everyone!
Chuck stood before us wearing a Courageous t-shirt and began to
challenge us. He inspired us and motivated
us with his no-holds-barred in-your-face message to lead our families as God
designed. He read straight from The Bible
and showed how the themes in Courageous are in fact Biblical and Godly. I won’t go into the details of what he said
out of respect for the privacy and nature of the message as it was intended
only for the men in that sanctuary at that very moment.
The
moment that impacted me the most, was being able to lay hands on a man there
who stood to give his life over to Christ.
There were probably a dozen other men who made that choice at that
moment on Saturday, and I happened to be seated next to one of those humble and
courageous men. He was from another
church and stood when Chuck asked if any man was willing to give his life over
to Christ. Chuck then asked anyone standing
near those men who were making the commitment, to stand with them and lay hands
on them while we prayed and they gave themselves to Jesus. It was amazingly powerful, humbling, and
simply magnificent. I’ll never forget
it.
Sunday
service
Chuck
Stecker preached on Sunday to the entire church, but this time he was dressed
in a suit and tie for the occasion. To
me, this represented something significant as well. I’m not sure if it was intentional or
not. Saturday we were all dressed down
(including Chuck) t-shirts, jeans, etc. and he spoke to the men from the floor
of the sanctuary. It was a raw message
that was not masked by any kind of ceremony or visual distraction. Sunday, wearing a suit signified to me that
we’ve received our marching orders and have stepped up to do the hard stuff, to
take on the battles that were in front of us and we were going to do it as
men. We were suited up!
During
the service, a moment came where we all read aloud the Resolutions. We did this in front of our families, friends
and church. Afterwards we each signed
our Resolutions and had two witnesses sign them for us. I asked my friend in Christ, Tim who was next
to me to be a witness and sign my Resolution.
I did not take this lightly and neither did Tim. He asked me to sign his as well. Tim has had his copy of the Resolution for
quite some time now and had said during a Men’s breakfast that he was waiting
to sign it with the rest of the men. I
know this movie meant a lot to him and signing this Resolution was important to
him. How honored and humbled I am to
have Tim ask me to sign his Resolution as a witness knowing that this is going
to be framed and hanging on a wall in is home.
After
the sermon, I was still in the sanctuary and was contemplating who to ask to be
my second witness, when my friend Tom came over. He and his wife are new parents and we’ve
become friends over the past two years since working together in the REACH ministry
for young married couples. Tom asked me
to sign his Resolution as a witness and I immediately knew I wanted Tom to be
my second witness. I wanted two
Christian men who I knew would help me be accountable to the Resolution. These two men I knew I could look to for
support. God provided those two men for
me on Sunday.
Sunday’s
sermon finished with an amazing circle of prayer for the women and children of
Crossroads. We ended with a shout of
celebration that I pray was heard beyond those walls!
Postscript
Knowing
that our young boys weren’t going to be part of the Sunday Resolution signing
and that my wife was teaching Sunday school to the 2nd and 3rd
graders (bless her!), we decided to do something special for our family Sunday
evening. Crab dinner! The boys love crab legs. So we marked the day and had a very special
dinner. Afterwards, as we ate our
dessert I showed them two clips from the movie.
The first was the scene where the men signed their Resolutions, and the
second clip was the ending scene here Adam calls out all men to be men of
courage and he proclaimed “I WILL!” I
then showed them my signed Resolution and they asked me to read it to
them. I did and we talked about each
one. Of course...after we were done with
that, they wanted to watch the “Snake Kings” scene! So we did that too! An amazing weekend that’s moved me in so many
incredible ways!
Below
are some references from the movie
Resolution ceremony
Final scene
“Courageous”
– Casting Crowns
We
were made to be courageous
We
were made to lead the way
We
could be the generation
That
finally breaks the chains
We
were made to be courageous
We
were made to be courageous
We
were warriors on the front lines
Standing,
unafraid
But
now we're watchers on the sidelines
While
our families slip away
Where
are you, men of courage?
You
were made for so much more
Let
the pounding of our hearts cry
We
will serve the Lord
We
were made to be courageous
And
we're taking back the fight
We
were made to be courageous
And
it starts with us tonight
The
only way we'll ever stand
Is
on our knees with lifted hands
Make
us courageous
Lord,
make us courageous
This
is our resolution
Our
answer to the call
We
will love our wives and children
We
refuse to let them fall
We
will reignite the passion
That
we buried deep inside
May
the watchers become warriors
Let
the men of God arise
We
were made to be courageous
And
we're taking back the fight
We
were made to be courageous
And
it starts with us tonight
The
only way we'll ever stand
Is
on our knees with lifted hands
Make
us courageous
Lord,
make us courageous
Seek
justice, Love
mercy, Walk
humbly with your God
In
the war of the mind
I
will make my stand
In
the battle of the heart
And
the battle of the hand
In
the war of the mind
I
will make my stand
In
the battle of the heart
And
the battle of the hand
We
were made to be courageous
And
we're taking back the fight
We
were made to be courageous
And
it starts with us tonight
The
only way we'll ever stand
Is
on our knees with lifted hands
Make
us courageous
Lord,
make us courageous
We
were made to be courageous
Lord,
make us courageous
