Band of Brothers

These guys…

A pastor (me). A mechanical engineer. An anesthesiologist. A retired small business owner who now drives a school bus for fun (and who happens to be the father-in-law of the anesthesiologist). And a guy with two Master’s degrees in Acoustical Engineering who does analytics for a global corporation. (Hope I got that right…none of us really knows what he does all day!)

This is my Band of Brothers.

These are my go-to guys when I need to be “off the clock” as a pastor. When I just need friends to hang out with who see me as a man first, a husband second, a father third, a friend fourth, and a pastor last.

These are the guys I get together with to talk about life, marriage, parenting, manhood. Obviously, we talk frequently about work but more often we encourage & challenge each other in the things that really matter — integrity, honor, humility, being a good husband & father, living out our shared faith.

We cheer each other on when we see one another make sacrifices to put our families first. We point out moments when one of us succeeds at loving his wife & children well. We serve as Second Fathers to each other’s kids. We celebrate moments of character & morality. We also challenge each other when we see gaps between who we say we are and who we actually are.

There is an ancient proverb that states, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” These guys are my iron. This is my Band of Brothers.

Do you have guys or girls like these? Do you have other men or other women who walk alongside you to help you win at the things that matter most?

We all have co-workers & acquaintances. We all have friends & family. But do you have people by your side who are closer than your own brother/sister?

I learned a long time ago that I need men by my side on this journey. This life is too tough not to have a support system. This world is too cruel not to have people you can lean on. The reality is that I could easily insert a dozen other men in the picture above.

The friend who is a chaplain at a local hospital. The friends who were co-pastors with me at my last church. The friend who is a bodyguard for the governor. The accountant. The financial advisor. The other engineers (there are a lot of engineers where I live!). The salesmen. The millenial who hates being called a millenial.

The list could go on & on.

And yes…because I know you’re thinking it…my wife is at the top of this list, but that’s a post for another day. This post is about my boys. My guys. The ones I spend more time with outside of my family.

Who is your Band of Brothers?