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June 17, 2026 · 53 min · Rhythm of Life
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The Call to Community 0:01 Well, hello and welcome to the men's global live stream. My name is Dusty Davis with Everyman Ministries and we're stoked. We're stoked to be kicking off 20 25, with you. Now whether you're watching this or listening0:13 to this by yourself, with a group of close forever brothers or with all the men in your church, I want you to do a couple things. Grab a Bible and make sure you download this session's notes. The link is right on the0:24 screen. You can also find it in the description for this video and it's probably in the email that you received. But the fill ins are gonna have notes for you and they're gonna have all of the passages of scripture that0:34 we go over in today's session. So you're gonna wanna print that out before we get started. 20 24 was an incredible year of very exciting growth and discipleship here at Everyman Ministries, and we're0:46 already sprinting into 20 25 with some very exciting new opportunities for you to get involved with. I wanna share a couple of them with you because here at Everyman, we have a passion for providing community and0:58 promoting growth for every man. And today we've got a unique and a new opportunity for you to step into. Everyman Ministry Discipleship Cohorts. At the end of 20 24, we1:10 launched a brand new initiative in partnership with promised land living in order to offer you a life changing discipleship encounter. It's a season of1:21 journeying along with other brothers, with other forever brothers into the type of promised land living that Jesus Christ offers. So I'd encourage you, step in.1:34 Jump into the journey, of that process that's gonna walk you through identifying wrong ways of thinking. Places that lies from the enemy have wrapped themselves around your heart, keeping you from that1:45 abundant life that Jesus has for you. And if you wanna take a serious and significant step forward in your pursuit of Jesus this year, sign up for the next cohort. We have a cohort1:57 launching February fourth and you can sign up on the link on the screen. There are still some spots available and the best part is it's on Zoom. I'm a part of a discipleship cohort right now with brothers from2:09 across the country. My partner is in Tennessee, and so you'll meet incredible brothers from across the country as you follow after Jesus together. So click the link and sign up for Mark's2:21 cohorts. It's at the bottom of the screen. You will be glad that you did. Alright. Grab your Bibles. Grab your notes. And let's go. Welcome2:33 to session 3 in our brand new series, LifeRhythms. And in this series, we've been trying to answer the question, practically, what does it look like to follow Jesus2:44 today? How do we really return to Christ's life and earth shattering invitation to us to follow him? I mean, moving us beyond2:56 just appreciating his words or believing that he was who he claimed to be or just living in agreement with his precepts, how do we start to pick up the type of life that Jesus lives?3:08 In our first session, we looked at the importance of daily connecting with what is true. Not just what culture holds to be true, not looking within ourselves to find out what we'd like to be true,3:20 but connecting with the 1 who himself is truth as a life rhythm, as a daily way of being. Because remember, those daily rhythms, not rules, not restrictions,3:33 that's what's gonna govern our lives as we follow after Jesus. And so our first daily rhythm was to set aside that first part of our day in the morning, before the day and the world and our own3:44 plans and the calendar starts to call for our time and our affection. We start our day anchoring ourselves in the immovable 1. So that we might enter our day walking3:56 step by step with Jesus. In our last session, in session 2, we unpacked what it looks like to then follow Jesus out of those morning spaces of truth out onto the road where we4:08 work. To start to live out, the truths that we've taken in during our time before the Lord in the morning. And we answer that question, what does it look like to follow Jesus into what I do for work every day,4:20 into the spaces that we occupy for work? How do we honor Jesus with those those everyday hours of our lives that make up the majority of our life? Making Jesus known in4:32 the very common places that we go to every day for work. How do we bring that salt, that light, that hope, and that life that is Jesus into the boardrooms and operating rooms and4:43 courtrooms that we occupy every day for work? How do we allow our identity as sons of the king to direct how it is that we work? Whether we're working as salespeople or coaches or mechanics or teachers or4:55 chefs or whatever. Treating everyone just as Christ would, leading with our integrity even when it costs us. All the while brothers, knowing that no matter what we do to earn money,5:08 building God's kingdom is truly the work that we've been entrusted with. So we've had rhythms of truth. We've had rhythms of work. And now today we're gonna look at the rhythm of fellowship,5:20 of true and deep community of connection, of slowing ourselves down throughout the day, often around food, if you wanna hang out with me that is, but often around tables.5:32 Just this is the rhythm of gathering, the rhythm of connecting. This is the rhythm of traveling through this life together. Now we said in our first session, remember that if we want5:44 the life that Jesus lived, we have to be willing to adopt the lifestyle that define Christ's time on earth. We have to seek to imitate him, to take those rhythms in. Right? Remember, what he5:56 modeled for us is meant for us. So we watch him, we take our cues. How did Jesus operate? And then we try to put that into play in our own life. And we see that throughout his time on earth, Jesus rarely walked6:08 alone. Now, I wanna be clear, there was none like him. There is none like him. He was not moving through his time on earth amongst equals, amongst equal peers in6:20 a collective of people like him. This is the God man. His calling, his suffering, his wisdom, his purpose, the salvation brought by Jesus. He is completely singular,6:33 completely unique in that way. Set apart, and yet, he chose to live his life within a community. I mean, Jesus entrusted himself to the 12.6:46 To their fellowship, to their encouragement, to their care, to their support, even though they usually fail to provide any of it. And we're called to choose,6:57 likewise to entrust ourselves to a community. And we live in a very different time and in a really unique generation when it comes to community. Our lives are kind of being7:09 played out in an era that's that's unique to the time that Christ walked the earth because we are living in perhaps the most incredibly connected generation of all time. And yet, we've never been7:21 lonelier. But how is that possible? How are we so connected and so disconnected? We have more friends, more followers, more,7:33 connections through our various digital platforms than at any other point in history. And yet somehow, most people cite lives that are more devoid of true, of meaningful,7:45 and what we're gonna refer to as deep community than at any other time in history. But how can we be so connected and still feel so disconnected?7:57 Simply put, when it comes to the nature of community, we've been lied to. And remember in this series, it's been a common theme that we are going to uncover where culture has told8:09 us something at odds with the truth that Christ speaks to us. Right? That often following Jesus is going to be countercultural. Most of the rhythms that define his life were countercultural at that time and are certainly8:21 countercultural today. Jesus was a man of connection, a man of community with real and authentic relationships. But as our culture has presented community to8:33 us, we've been told some things that aren't true. We've been told that we're better off alone. Right? From a young age, we've been taught that a self8:45 made man, a self made woman is a strong person, is an independent person. This is the type of person to look up to. This is someone whose life you want to8:57 imitate. We've also then wrongly concluded that, so if we're gonna do something great, it's more impressive if we do it alone. Or maybe we believe the more subtle lie that we don't really need9:08 people to accomplish anything. As Americans, we are hyper individualized. Freedom, privacy, independence, individualism, solitude, self reliance.9:21 Right? But really, all of that leaves us most often alone. We've been told the untruth that needing someone, to need someone, to depend on someone is9:33 wrong. Right? Needing someone's help or someone's guidance or even just, someone's support for our emotional well-being, that's a sign of weakness. No. No. Culture tells us to look within for9:45 the strength, for the answers that we need. But not only we've been lied to about the value of relationships and the importance of community, I think that we've received a false picture of9:56 what real community even is. Right? We do we're talking about that kind of digital or one-sided community. I'm afraid brothers that we've started confused being connected10:08 in some app with being known by another brother. We believe our digital connections mean that we have meaningful relationships.10:20 We've also been sold the lie that the cost to true community is just too great when compared to the benefits it offers. Our lives are full and busy,10:33 rightly. Just ask somebody how they're doing today. 9 out of 10 of them will say, busy or tired. Right? We don't have the time needed or the bandwidth that's required for10:44 real relationships. Now, it shows that we truly believe in our hearts, right? Because it's put to proof by how we live, right? What we do proves what we really believe. And the10:56 way that we kind of shy away from community shows that we've also counted the cost of community and decided that that's a losing equation. But remember brothers, we're exposing untruths. We11:08 have to recognize we've been lied to. Because our culture has modeled this type of false community. Our flesh has really questioned the importance of the purpose of community. And I think we're even confused as to what11:20 God's original intentions for community was. The blessing that is found only in community. But to counter lies, remember we have to connect with truth.11:32 What's God's heart on community? What did Jesus model to us about this life for them? Remember we're gonna have to continually confront our flesh and our culture whenever they are steering us away from what is true.11:43 We have to search for untruth in our hearts and replace it with truth, with Christ's truth. And when it comes to relationships and community, to this life rhythm of intentionally11:56 gathering, of sharing our experiences. Let's start with a foundational truth from God's word. Something that we have to submit to, to trust is true and right and then incorporate into our lives. And it's this,12:08 you and I, we were designed for community. God's man was designed as in intended for, planned for, uniquely12:20 equipped in order to be in community with other human beings, who were also uniquely equipped to be in community with us. Community and connection12:31 were not some afterthought after sin entered the world. Right? This the rhythm of gathering is not some type of coping mechanism because of the state of the world today. It's not just an escape.12:44 Neither is it a suggestion or a way to kind of enhance your life and live life to the full. This wasn't God's plan b or some kind of oh shoot moment after he saw just how bad off we were alone. Community12:56 was always God's plan for us. You wanna know why? Because our great God is a community. Our God does not just simply love13:08 or do relationships and community. He does not simply value them. God himself is a community. More accurately, our triune God is the13:20 perfect and loving relationship between the father and the son and the Holy Spirit. And if you turn back to the left hand side of the bible, in the garden, before sin came onto the scene, God looked at his13:32 newest creation, Adam. He just breathed life to him and he says, there's something there that's not good. And that was that Adam was alone. Now, God did not see that Adam wasn't good.13:44 God didn't say, you know, community would actually be better, would probably be a blessing. But God also didn't say, this is sinful. This is evil for Adam to be alone. He just says, this isn't good.13:56 This is not yet complete, because God's intention was he designed Adam to be in a community. So very quickly, God solves that and gives Adam Eve. But our God isn't just14:08 a relationship in himself. God has a history of modeling for us a heart and efforts that show incredible pursuit of relationship. Just look at his14:20 relationship with his people. God modeled long suffering, faith filled, intentionally pursued relationships with his people for generations. God14:32 pursues relationship with his people. The story of the nation of Israel is all about this gathering, is about them becoming a people, a community.14:44 There really is no story about God. No teaching from his word. There's no modeling that we see in the life of Christ that doesn't lead us towards 1 another.14:55 But if this is what's good, if this is what's God's intention, then why is true and deep and meaningful community so rare today? I mean, if the need in our lives is so15:07 obvious, if the benefits are so intuitive to us, in scripture so clear, why do we choose to go it alone? Even within the church, even within the body of Christ,15:19 we're so tempted to individualize our faith, to compartmentalize parts of our life, really to even seek Jesus all by ourselves. Now maybe not physically, you know, kind of15:30 removing ourselves, but certainly emotionally in our in our sin or our shame, or maybe in our pride and our reluctance to obey. We opt for a life, a spiritual life alone.15:43 Yet, Jesus connected even our faith to the calling, to the need, to the invitation to live it out in a community. Jesus actually15:55 put living out our faith in the context of living within a community. Jesus was asked, what sits atop our lives aim? Like, what what should we16:07 pursue above all? How do we ace the test, Jesus? Give me the cliff notes. Give me give me the behind the scenes look here. And Jesus said this in Matthew chapter 22, you must love the Lord your God with all of your16:18 heart, with all of your soul, and all of your mind. Now this is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important. Love your neighbor as yourself.16:30 When he's asked what we should do, Jesus starts off by rightly placing God where he should be in our lives atop every pursuit. With every ounce that we have within us,16:42 with our our hearts, our souls, our minds, our efforts, our attitudes, our intentions. We should pursue God above all. Pursue God with all that you are. Right? With all of your wisdom and all of your strength, all of16:52 your efforts. Serve him Wherever you are, all the places you find yourself. But then he very quickly added a follow-up to that. Oh, and you need to love people.17:05 You need to go be with people, connect with them, and you need to make the choice to love them. You see, for Jesus, being his follower meant following in17:17 a community. Being his follower meant following in a community. There's no such thing as the solo Christian. To be a17:29 disciple is to join the generations of witnesses. To follow Jesus means to follow Christ along with other followers of Christ. And Jesus wasn't just saying, you should. I17:41 I mean, you really shouldn't go it alone. He was saying, you can't. Not if your desires to do what pleases him. Jesus always connected our connection with our community to our17:53 ability to follow Jesus. Second Timothy says this in, chapter 2 verse 22. Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace,18:05 along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. He's saying, pursue the things of Christ. Righteousness, faith, love, avoid the things of this18:17 world. Oh, and do all of this along with others who are moving in the same direction. He says, join a herd. Join a tribe. Lock arms with forever brothers.18:29 1 another ing 1 another. You know, Jesus spoke all the time about 1 anothers. We got a long list of 1 anothers from the scripture. Love 1 another. Be devoted to 1 another.18:41 Honor, forgive, bear with 1 another. Accept 1 another. Serve, pray for, confess your sins. Be patient with 1 another. And you know what? It's not possible to18:52 1 another yourself. Christianity is a team sport. Now it's the mark of maturing faith that pursues life19:05 in community. Right? It's not just about us by ourselves, efforting and seeking after Jesus and trying to do what's right between me and him. Galatians 5 6 reminds19:17 us that obedience to the law doesn't mean a whole lot. What is important is faith expressing itself in love. It's implied that my faith is expressed when I show19:29 love to another. And in doing all of this, in pursuing and gathering, we're gonna have to recognize this is gonna run counter to our19:41 flesh. And certainly to what culture has modeled to us with all those things that we started off with saying. But so does every other rhythm that defines the life of Christ. Have you noticed this? I mean, this is a19:52 common theme for us here at every man ministries that, if we're gonna follow Jesus, it's most often gonna be against the tide of culture and usually in opposition to the desires of our our flesh.20:04 So we pursue connection because Christ pursues connection. So we value community because we follow Jesus who valued community. We have to realize brothers that20:15 his call into community is not a burden. It's a blessing. Community is a gift. It's wonderful. It's life giving, but it is not20:27 easy. It's important and it'll make us strong and healthy, but it's also really really hard. So as we look at the importance of community and of God's design for it, we're gonna look at some of the benefits for it, but20:39 it's also important to recognize that there are challenges. And as we step into the water, we're gonna have to spot the rocks as I call it. A lot of the places where good waves break20:51 in the world are coastlines that are covered in either rock, or or coral, large rocks, reefs, and coastal growth. They have a really great effect on surf. They have a really bad effect21:03 on your body. Right? They produce great waves. They destroy your body if you run into them. So when you're surfing a new spot, you keep an eye open in order to spot the rocks. Find places where the21:15 water is shallow. Where is the water draining off of a reef? Where is it boiling showing there's something underneath? Where might it get tough or dangerous or painful? Right? We just gotta be honest and aware.21:27 Like scripture tells us, be wise as serpents similarly. As we start to encourage each other to step into community, to seek out other brothers and gather, let's spot a couple21:39 of the rocks when it comes to wading into the waters of community, some of the pains of gathering. Because 1 of the first rocks to spot is the simple reality. We already said it boys. Community is often21:51 messy. Really messy. We've often had to remind and encourage each other in this series that as we start to pursue Jesus, as we want22:02 those life rhythms that he, modeled for us, we have to remind ourselves. Right? That we're broken people having to go in this broken world. Which means as we enter relationships,22:14 we're going to be entering relationships with broken people. I mean, 1 of the reasons a community gets so messy is actually 1 of the most beautiful benefits of22:26 community. Because community exposes us, all of us. Community reveals the things that we wanna be known for, the stuff that we're good at, the stuff that's impressive. It also exposes22:39 the stuff we want no 1 else to see. Spend enough time with somebody in community and their worst parts are gonna leak all over you. That is if we're spending real and intentional22:51 time together. Because you see, we can gather and still hide. We can be in a large crowd and be unknown. I mean, we can be in huge groups of friends, right, on social media23:03 like we just said. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of connections. We can even hide in the pews on Sunday, sharing fellowship with many other believers.23:15 But to risk being known, to invite people in, now we're exposed. Deep community will reveal the places that you and I have not yet become holy. The places that23:28 become holy. The places that have not yet been fully submitted to King Jesus. The places in our life where there's a large, please forgive the mess, under construction, new things coming23:40 signs hang, and it reveals those places that we're still incomplete. But this is also part of the beautiful power in community. Really where the power of community lines23:52 up perfectly with the danger of community. Because in this place of community is where we're gonna be seen and known. Where we're gonna be valued and validated. And this is the24:03 point when many men recoil and retreat. And this is either because well meaning and ill equipped or ill meaning and very well equipped members of our communities of24:15 the past have stepped into this place where they have new vision, where they have new knowledge of us with less than holy intentions, many of us have just been hurt.24:27 And this is 1 of the reasons we avoid community. Community often hurts. President Snow, in the Hunger Games book says to Candace24:39 Aberdeen, it's the things that we love the most that destroy us. And I don't think that's always true, but I do think in our context, it is true that it is those who know24:51 us the most, who've seen us and experienced us the most, who can hurt us the most. And unfortunately, all of us have been hurt deeply25:03 at some point by someone that we've loved deeply. And this is where the enemy is really showing us his best opposition while also revealing his25:15 hand. Because the enemy opposes community so much because it's so incredibly valuable. Guys, just like with anything, our enemy's level of25:26 focus on something in our life and his opposition reveals the potential impact of that thing. All good things are opposed, and community is no different. Since the beginning, our enemy has25:38 sought to drive a wedge into the middle of deep and God honoring community. Since the very beginning. Just look at how the enemy sought to disrupt Adam, Eve, and God's community. He kind of25:50 inserts himself into their relationship, slithers up onto the scene and starts lying. And in every lie, he tries to destroy the relationship, to break up the26:01 community. Hey Eve, maybe you're not who you think you are. Identity stuff. Maybe God's not who he says he is. Maybe he can't be trusted. And maybe you 226:13 aren't really as close as you thought you were. Right? Sowing doubts about the relationship seems like he's holding out on you. Can't you see it? Isn't it obvious? With that picture in26:25 mind, can't you recount when the enemy has slithered into your garden? And spouted similar lies to you and gotten in the middle of your relationships? And what really hurts is that we're not just26:37 talking about perceived hurts or misunderstandings. Terrible things have been done to us by those that we entrusted ourselves to. And this can just drive us away from community.26:50 Even though there are obstacles to to developing real community, we're gonna have to recognize brothers, it's going to be painful. It's going to be messy,27:02 but there is so much value in it. And beyond the pain, you know what happens a lot of times guys? We don't slow down long enough. We're so often too busy for deep27:14 community, aren't we? I mean, we got a lot of stuff going on. We've got important stuff going on. Now we may get together. We may talk to people, may shoot the breeze. We may even take vacations in groups or gather27:25 around shared interests and activities that we share, with 1 another. But 1 of the real reasons people never find deep community is that deep community takes time. Time, always such a precious27:37 commodity. 1, if you're anything like me, you never feel like you have enough of. But so many friendships and entire communities, remain at surface level, or even27:49 start to kinda crack and break up because they don't receive that nourishment of time. Deep community needs time to develop. It's like cooking.28:01 It's like cooking a stew or or reducing a sauce or trying to make a soup. It takes time to render real flavors, to develop good flavors. Sure. You could28:13 microwave, jet boil, insta pot, but the depth of flavor is not there. And deep community is the same way. And it's hard because the world has told us you have to be28:25 number 1 at work. Right? Excess equals success. You got to amass a bunch of stuff, but you also need to lower your golf handicap. You should be volunteering at your kid's school, but you also need to go to the gym and28:35 get in shape. And you should only be eating locally sourced organic food that you prepared by hand. You should also be well read and yet you you should also be relaxed and really walk at a slower pace. Oh, by the way,28:45 you should also have some really deep friendships. Oh my gosh. It's daunting. Guys, friendship, community,28:58 deep relationships. This is the stuff of slow smoked barbecue that takes time. But if your community feels more like a microwave dinner,29:11 It's because the time that it requires hasn't been spent. And often we don't pursue it because we don't believe in the benefit of it. It's not just that we're too busy. It's that29:23 we choose not to open up our schedules. How often do we react, and make decisions without ever considering the impact that that has on our community? I mean, how many men have chosen a job across country29:35 without ever thinking about the community that they're leaving behind? Sure, they say it's hard, but I have to move for work. Shouldn't the opposite be true? Shouldn't we value relationships enough that even if it29:47 costs us at work, the value of relationships sits above that. Even the fact that as I'm29:52 saying this, many of you are recoiling29:53 going, that's just not realistic. It reveals some deep hard our30:08 We often make the people that God entrusted to us some type of secondary commodity. As if it's nice to have, but it's okay to overlook. They don't govern where we live,30:21 or where we choose to work or how we spend our time. If you look at our life decisions, it's very clear that the money we have or the homes that we desire or any other selfish desire is really what's calling the30:33 shots. And it really is hard when you take a look at that because it feels as though we're trapped. Community is going to cost us. But what if the life God intended30:45 you, your most God honoring future was not a result of your next job, but rather it's gonna be found in the community that God is surrounding you with. Boys, community, even with all its30:56 challenges, is so good. And God modeled it for us. I mean, what does good and godly community look like? Let's go back. Let's go back to the very beginning of31:08 God's family, of God's people, the original community. As the church started to birth in the New Testament, we said that Jesus chose to roll around with 12 men as his community. He31:20 chose. He protected. He prioritized the relationships that he had with his community of forever brothers. Jesus modeled to us the value of relationship.31:32 I mean, it's easy to see what real community, what relationship means to Jesus and means to our God. Jesus Christ chose the cross. He chose to be separated from his31:44 father. The breaking of that perfect connection. He died a torturous death in order to restore the broken relationship between us and our father in heaven. To restore31:57 our community with him. That's how much relationship means to our God. He's literally willing to die in order to protect it and restore it. And if you look back at the early church, we see32:09 this beautiful example of this same type of heart, the same value of community. And it was this beautiful mess, right, that we already said that that the Christian church can often be. It's wonderful. The32:20 early church was no different. Misfits, outcasts, criminals, fishermen, everyday people, everyday men and women who purposed to gather together and then to take the message of Jesus out to32:32 the world that desperately needed it and to do it all together. Dearly church is this beautiful picture of real community, of deep community. The32:44 Greek word koinonia is what's often used. And it's a beautiful aspiration. It's a beautiful goal for us because the word koinonia is the type of community that we want. And this is far greater than32:56 people with shared interests. This is far deeper than people who casually connect with 1 another. Koinonia denotes fellowship. A group of people with that shared in common what they33:08 own. It's it's a shared life. It's a shared endeavor. It's this we're all in, all hands to the middle. We have an intentional universal goal and it's gonna require33:20 all of our participation and all of our contribution. Koinonia is not passive. It's not a 1 time decision to friend someone on social media. It's the far more33:31 active work of committing your life to the life of another. And what did they do? Right? What can we take away from this community as we're looking to create that type of community life? What did33:43 they do together? Everyday stuff. They ate together. They chose to prioritize meals together. 1 of the most intentional ways you can pursue community this week33:55 is avoid the fast food lunch by yourself. Set aside time to get meal with a brother. Just 1 friend. Just grab a meal together. Set aside 45 minutes to an hour. Eat and talk together. What did the34:07 other church do? They prayed together. Pray with another brother. They served others together. You wanna develop rich community? Gosh. For 10 years, our family led a34:19 team in New Mexico to build homes. Those friendships, that fellowship that was created as we gave, as we served, as we went in the name of Jesus together, it forms a lifelong bond. The early church34:31 says that if anyone had a need, the others would sell the things that they owned in order to get money and help them out. It's incredible. It was God's heart just put on his plate. It wasn't some34:43 strategy. It wasn't a club that people were belonging to. It wasn't a list of rules. It wasn't some group to show up and just take from. This beautiful community was the church.34:55 The community was the goal. And you know what? It was so countercultural and it was so desirable that people on the outside said, I want some of that. Whatever those people are doing, I want in. I35:07 wanna be a part of that tribe. And what's beautiful is they didn't just share their stuff or just their time. It says they shade their very lives together. How35:19 beautiful is this? We loved you so much. We shared with you not only God's good news, but our own lives too. So Paul says in first Thessalonians 2 8, sharing their lives. That35:31 sounds beautiful, doesn't it? Obviously very scary, but wonderful. But why is it so scary? The idea of sharing our lives. Why is the cost of being known so35:42 high? Because I can show up to a group and give of my resources without giving of myself. I can spend time with people without letting them in. Hey, I'm35:54 very comfortable to be followed, liked, even connected without being known. But like we said, being seen and known is not only our greatest fear, it's also our greatest need when it comes to deep community.36:06 Because deep community requires me being known and knowing someone else deeply. It means letting people in. It means sharing honestly what scares you. What moves36:18 you? What do you think about? Where are you struggling? What are the things that you desire? What are you afraid to lose? It means being open to correction. It means making36:29 adjustments. It even means being rebuked. Being told that we're wrong. But we don't want that, do we? In this overly sensitive and overly politically correct culture we live in36:41 now, to say that something is wrong, to say that someone is wrong is so wrong. I think that's wrong. Gosh, men's movements love talk about iron sharpening iron, but we really36:53 get freaked out when the hate and the friction and the sparks start flying. You wanna know if you're in real relationship? If you're in deep community? Ask yourself this, when was the last time someone called you out?37:07 When was the last time someone corrected you in love? When was the last time someone loved you enough to move beyond your outer defenses, right? Talking deeper than sports or whether or politics37:19 to speak honestly about something in your life that was not yet as it should be. Something that's not what it could be if Christ were at the center of that thing, redeeming and transforming it. At37:30 this point in my life, I'm not really interested in surrounding myself with people who agree with me all the time. People who just blindly support every decision I make, every stance I take without ever challenging me.37:42 Our culture has said, the highest form of unlove is to disagree with someone. But nothing could be further from the truth. Scripture says that God disciplines those that he loves.37:54 It's loving to step in. You need friends who love you enough to disagree with you. Rod is 1 of my very best friends. We laugh all the38:06 time. Whenever we're together, our shared appreciation for sarcasm gets us in trouble sometimes. Our kids are best friends. Our families hang out together. We travel together. We surf together. We play volleyball.38:18 We used to play volleyball until our bodies began slowly rebelling against us. We also talk a lot. We process what's going on in the world.38:29 Process what's going on in our own hearts, in our own lives. We process what's going on, what God's up to, in our families, in our country. And you know what? We don't always agree.38:41 Rod asks me tough questions. He lovingly challenges me when I'm wrong. He's always for me. And for that reason, he can't always38:53 agree with me. The margin of victory in your life, the margin of victory in my life is a rod. It's it's 1 man who has the authority to ask the hard39:05 questions. Someone that you've invited in. Someone willing to step in. You're not looking for some jerk to police and call you out. You're looking for a brother to call you up. To39:17 remind you who you are in Christ. To remind you who Jesus is. Not just some guy sitting around with a whistle ready to throw the flag and telling you where you've blown it. You need someone lovinglyShow more In this video 0:00 The Call to Community48:17 The Inner Journey
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