The Sunday Men - Part 1

Several days ago I was doing some clean up in my study at home. I came across a folded piece of paper with several names written in a circle. It took me a few seconds, but then I realized that it was the seating chart that Marc had prepared for me after the first meeting of a group of guys that had gathered for a Bible study they had asked me to lead. I walked into a stranger’s house that morning and only knew 1 person in the entire group.

They are no longer strangers and over the next few posts, I want to share with you some of my thoughts about these men ...

In the Spring of 2007, I had the opportunity to attend the LEAD program at Dallas Theological Seminary. LEAD is an acronym for Leadership Evaluation and Development.

This is an intensive 5-day leadership development retreat that provides coaching for couples in three areas: Marriage, Ministry, and Career. The program requires intensive pre-work that includes a battery of assessments, the preparation of a detailed life map, and a 360 evaluation. One of the outcomes is the preparation of a strategic life plan based on your experiences and your gifts. We had to write goals for the next 5 years of our life.

One of my goals was to begin intentionally investing in younger men.

It was one of those things that I was compelled to write down, but wasn’t sure how it would be actualized or implemented. So, I gave that goal to God in prayer and waited.

In August of that year, I received an email from my friend Marc. He said that he and some of his friends had a desire to start a Bible study. He had contacted our pastor who suggested that Marc contact me to see if he could use my Legacy Leadership study. Knowing my schedule during that season, Marc timidly asked if I might be interested in leading them through those materials.

And then he said that the best – in fact, the only - time that would work for them was Sunday mornings at 8AM!

Yuk! If you know anything about me at all, you know that I am NOT a morning person.

I came downstairs and said to Laura, “You won’t believe the email I just got from Marc.” I told her about his request and Laura’s response was “Sunday morning??? That’s your only downtime.”

And then without any hesitation she added, “But that’s your passion!”

Indeed it is, and it was an answer to the goal I had written down three months earlier at the LEAD session.

So we began a Bible study with a group of men who are executives and key leaders in their organizations – men of position and power who want to use their influence to make a difference for the Lord’s sake in their work, their churches, their communities, and their families.

I call them The Sunday Men.