David Calavitta opened the men’s session this afternoon by leading the men in a loud roar. Literally, the entire arena erupted with the loud screams of all the men gathered at the conference. He then called the men to lean into Christ’s message during this session.
David opened with telling the story of the 40 Holy Martyrs of Sebaste. These men were sent into a frozen lake to die – and, being holy Christians – died together as brothers. He said, “I want to be that kind of man that lives and dies together with his brothers.”
He then pointed out that as men when we come together God reminds us of our dignity and our strength. After being reminded of this we have to have the ability to be bold and take these out to the world in order to change it for the better. David then told the men, “Your masculinity is a gift from God, and you are meant to be a gift to the world.”
David then introduced authentic friendships to the men, telling them that in order to continue to grow they must seek out friendships that will inspire greatness. The people that we surround ourselves with will mirror how we will act in our daily lives.
“You will never be great accidentally.”
There are two key concepts in order to have an authentic friendship; Intimacy and Vulnerability. David pointed out that as men we don’t really like to talk about our feelings, but the devil takes this as an opportunity to attack.
David said, “There is power in the ability to care for each other. Intimacy is powerful, that’s why the devil seeks to distort or destroy it.” This is seen most in the attacking of those who are weak; commonly known as bullying. We must surround ourselves with friends who will truly push us towards excellence.
As a man of Christ, I know that authentic friendships may seem like a daunting task. But know that the friendships that you form now will push you towards excellence and away from worldly desires that will leave you broken. So I leave you with just a few thoughts. What kind of friend are you? Are you surrounding yourself with friends that will push you towards excellence?
Peace.
Leave a Comment