Men's Breakfast + Connection/Growth Opportunities + Chesed (?) >> MCG News | March 2024
News, Information, Opportunities and Inspiration for the Men's Core Groups brotherhood at Bethel
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Newsletter Quick Summary
Calendar - Bulletproof Family Man April 9 | Men’s Breakfast April 20 (invite a friend and register together today!) | Couples Connect Marriage Enrichment Experience April 20 | BraveCo Men’s Conference June 12-14, 2024
⭐ Chesed: A Core Value for Men’s Core Groups - A Hebrew word with a big impact and the potential to help us better serve one another in the brotherhood.
Making Big Decisions - It was a BIG fail for me. Here’s how I don’t make the same kind of mistakes.
Connection Opportunities - Here are Men’s Core Groups with openings.
Famous Last Words - Our hearts can embrace things that our heads can’t.
Calendar
Bulletproof Family Man - MCG leader CJ Ellis is leading this new equip class on Tuesday evenings April 9 - May 21 at College View. Here’s the description: “Dive into our one-of-a-kind, 7-week Building A Bulletproof Family class, meticulously crafted for married male leaders in ministry, business, and entrepreneurship. This transformative experience is not just about leadership—it's a journey for men to become extraordinary husbands and dads.” CJ says the class is filling up, so be sure to sign up soon to reserve your space. Click here for details and registration information.
Men’s Breakfast - Saturday, April 20 from 8 to 10 am. Free, but registration is needed for everyone so we can plan for food and seating. Invite a friend, register together today, and join us! Here are more details and a link to register. If you would like to help with cooking or serving, please contact me: menscoregroups@bethel.com
Couples Connect - Saturday, April 20 from 8 am until 8 pm. This is a single-day marriage enrichment retreat offered by Known Journey at The Summit about 45 minutes east of Redding in the Cascade Mountains foothills. Linda and I and some other MCG leaders went through this in February. It was well worth the time and cost. An upscale lunch and a memorable gourmet dinner for couples are included. Here are more details and a link to register.
BraveCo 2024 Conference - Wednesday-Friday, June 12, 13 & 14, 2024 at Bethel Redding. This year we build our own battle plans for moving into righteous and powerful Kingdom manhood. Registration is open now!
⭐ Chesed: A Core Value for Men’s Core Groups
Our Men’s Core Groups ministry board decided this month to make explicit a fifth core value. Chesed, often translated “loving kindness” from Hebrew, is a value that has always been implicit among us, but it is a value in which we can grow and thereby deepen our impact as we serve the brotherhood. Let me explain in more detail, in the context of the whole statement of core values.
First of all, we flow within Bethel’s core values https://www.bethel.com/core-values We also have core values unique to our purpose:
This is our new core value:
Chesed: This Old Testament Hebrew word describes the deep and multi-faceted loving kindness in which we live in our relationships with other men in our groups. See “Why add this now?” below👇Authenticity: being real about who we are and what we think, including our unique spiritual identities.
Vulnerability: openness about our weaknesses, mistakes and fears, and willingness to be impacted by our brothers.
Safety: confidentiality that holds in trust the deep places of one anothers’ hearts, respect that does not push for disclosure, and honor that loves even in unlovely places.
Commitment: individually prioritizing consistent connection during the season of participation.
Why add this now?
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another, Jesus said. Love is higher in Christian churches than it in the surrounding culture. It feels higher yet in our Bethel community. But there’s more: we are commanded to love one another as Jesus loved us! I know I haven’t arrived at that high bar. Why the high bar? Jesus explained: By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. The love of Jesus followers has always drawn people into the Kingdom, and as our love grows, so will our witness as His people.
The word chesed ( חֶסֶד in Hebrew and pronounced HES-ed) is used nearly 250 times in the Old Testament, referring to both God-to-man and man-to-man relationships. It is the Hebrew word that Jesus probably used as he gave this command to the disciples, or perhaps its Aramaic equivalent.
The Greek word agape is familiar to most of us, and could also be used here. We chose to use chesed instead so that it clearly stands out as the ideal for the foundation for our inter-relationships within our groups.
“The word [chesed] is used only in cases where there is some recognized tie between the parties concerned. It is not used indiscriminately of kindness in general, haphazard, kindly deeds….The theological importance of the word chesed is that it stands more than any other word for the attitude which both parties to a covenant ought to maintain towards each other.” - Norman Smith in “A Theological Word Book of the Bible”
Making Big Decisions
It was a big fail for me. You don’t have to repeat my mistake….
We all make many decisions every day; many small, a few larger. But some are important enough that we do well to consider carefully before finally deciding. I learned this the hard way.
When I was working as a wildlife biologist supervisor in Alaska years ago, my wife and I decided to move from Juneau to Anchorage so she could go to nursing school. There was next level supervisor job opening in Anchorage. I applied, and was appointed to the position. We moved.
It was a bad decision.
I was not ready for the position and there were other problems. I was in the job for a year. I finally took a demotion to a newly-created position that fit me well. It was humiliating and hard on my heart. I also did not serve well, even though I gave it my best. I simply wasn’t the right man with the right leadership skills for that job at that time of my life.
I learned two powerful lessons:
First, I learned that just because a door opens doesn’t mean I should walk through it. There had been an open door and I walked right through it. There’s a flip side to this of course: just because a door is shut doesn’t mean I shouldn’t force it open. The key to the question of doors is not to decide based on circumstances, but rather to use wisdom.
The second lesson is this: big decisions are best made with the wisdom that comes from counsel. Proverbs tells us this:
Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed. Proverbs 15:22 ESV
As it relates to the job in Anchorage, I took my own advice and leapt in “where angels fear to tread.” It was a fail.
Contrast that with another decision some years later when considering whether to retire from the wildlife agency. I talked for hours with my man friends and family about the issues involved. I prayed about it. When I finally had peace, I retired. Even with some financial costs, that turned out to be the best decision for our family, and for me as a person.
My advice is simple: when making important decisions, seek counsel from the Lord and from brothers. When making really important decisions, seek even more counsel.
Current Men’s Core Groups Connection Opportunities
Looking for a group of brothers? If you are not yet part of a Bethel Men’s Core Group here are our current openings, along with a link to more information about the group. Group information pages include email contact information (click the green “Contact” link on the group page to enquire):
Mornings
The Wild Ones - Tuesdays, 7:00-8:15 AM
Champion's Breakfast Core Group | Steve Garl - Wednesdays, 7:00 - 8:15 AM
Ken Strong - Wednesdays, 8:00 AM
Godly Masculinity - Thursdays, 8:00-9:00 AM
Evenings
Jon Stern & Charley Hatch & Tim Saunders - Mondays, 6:30 PM
Kingdom Business | Adam Turner - Tuesdays, 6:30 - 8:00 PM
Zach Newbold - Tuesdays, 6:30-8:30 PM
Men of Honor - Wednesdays, 7:00-9:00 PM
Men of Valor | Paul Chilson - Sundays, 7:00-8:45 PM
Sons of the King | Harlin Cook - Wednesdays, 6:00-8:00 PM
Online
Globally Connected | Online | Frank Reijns - Fridays, 9-10:30am
Also…..some of you may have a heart to serve the brotherhood by leading a new Men’s Core Group. If that’s you, please let us know by contacting us here. 😊
Famous Last Words
Our hearts can embrace things that our heads can’t. Our hearts will lead us where our logic would never dare to go. No one ever attributes the traits of courage and valor to the intellect or the strength of human reasoning. Courage rises up from within and gives influence over the mind. In the same way, true faith affects the mind. Faith does not come from our understanding. It comes from the heart. We do not believe because we understand; we understand because we believe. We'll know when our mind is truly renewed, because the impossible will look logical.
— Bill Johnson in Mornings & Evenings in His Presence
Shalom…..David Johnson
Deacon | Connect Pastor for Men’s Core Groups