To Equip & Encourage

Resources and articles to help you in your journey to becoming a better father, husband, and leader in your home, business, and community.

The Power Of Friendship With Strangers

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“I can’t be really vulnerable with my church friends.”

The other day at our IMPACT Breakfast in Charleston I was in a breakout group with a few men discussing the theme, “Every Man Needs A Band Of Brothers.”

One of the men shared a very counterintuitive and paradoxical perspective -

It’s hard to get vulnerable with people you know and who know your wife and family.

The truth is, I knew exactly what he meant, but felt a little uncomfortable nodding in agreement.

Isn’t the church supposed to be a place where you can crack open your soul and bear your deepest struggles and darkest sins?

You can answer that how you would like, but the reality is many men don’t want to share their deepest pain or problems with the people they worship with weekly. They don’t want to-

Embarrass or expose their wives.
Cause people to think less of their children.
Cause division in the church… or,
Worry that someone in their church will use their struggles against them.

Whether you agree that these points are valid (or Biblical), the reality is that this is how many men believe and behave in church relationships.

On the flip side is the power of friendship with strangers. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard a man say in one of our cohorts- “I have never told anyone this before…”

Sharing with a group of men who have not known you for years, or will not be interacting regularly with your wife or family is actually quite freeing.

Being in a band of brothers that is intentionally focused on authentic friendship from the beginning can be the “fresh start” that many men desperately need.

This is a common experience in IMPACT Players. Men show up to a group of strangers, who quickly become authentic friends. As I shared in my talk the other day,

The only way to be a true friend is to be a truthful friend.

IMPACT Cohorts are a place for men to be truthful… often with total strangers. Within a short time frame, those strangers become friends and those friends become brothers.

To join a band of brothers click here. To launch an IMPACT Players group in your community, click here.

Join the Movement

If you’re ready to be part of what God is doing in the lives of men, we invite you to take the next step.

Visit impactplayers.org to:

Find or start an IMPACT Cohort in your community
Host a Men’s Breakfast and start an IMPACT Chapter
Partner with us to reach and raise up men across America

To Equip & Encourage

The Power Of Friendship With Strangers

“I can’t be really vulnerable with my church friends.”

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