In March of 2004, Dr. Mike Riggins spoke at a men's breakfast at Bethesda Community Church and asked for volunteer leaders for a new discipleship group he called "Band of Christian Brothers." For almost a year, every Monday night starting late, around 9:15pm, a handful of us men showed up to be trained, not only to lead groups, but to become better men, husbands, fathers and Believers.
Although the leaders train year round ever since, enlistments in the groups is for six months only. Numbers are limited and once an enlistment starts, no new members are allowed. Some men have grown leaps and bounds in their walk with Jesus and some men have not made it through an enlistment. Clearly, it's not for everyone.
Which is scriptural. The rich young ruler was not ready to follow Jesus when he came up to the Master. Following Jesus costs everything. And he hadn't counted those costs.
So is the Band a place for encouragement and love? Absolutely. But first define "love" and "encouragement." (See my post on defining love). It's not a place to be encouraged to continue walking in the flesh.
And I speak from experience. I have been very encouraged and loved by my Brothers. When I've strayed, they've been there to seek my highest good. The bottom line... because of BOCB, I'm in a better, more honest walk with God and that impacts what kind of husband and father I am.
And the great thing, is that after a long period of training, the women will start their groups for the first time. So how do you get in? Well, we're having a dinner this Monday night, at Bethesda in North Fort Worth, at 6:30pm. If you have questions, come and ask. If you want to enlist, new six month enlistments are about to begin. And it's not related to just one church. We've had people from other churches involved.
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