Bands of Brothers
Scenes from the recent food-and-fellowship festivities at West Shore's Man2Man breakfast. To learn more, contact Nate Winters at 717.697.0226, x124.
Ready To Serve
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400+ Hungry Men
Okay, women, we'll fill you in on what Pastor Phil told the men after they woofed down pancakes and sausages at the two Man2Man breakfasts because we know they, being guys, didn't give you much detail. Here's the blow-by-blow story. 
Phil asked them a ridiculously simple, terribly difficult question: Why are you here? He didn't mean that morning; he meant, "Why are you here-on earth?" Wow!
Big question, yes, but Phil had a lot of big things to say. The answer to that question is, said Phil, you're here to reflect and live out the image of God. And that means what? It means, like Adam, "to participate in the miraculous privilege of creating other persons," and, indeed, to parent them to become wise. To be in God's image is to be a good husband and a good father.
From there, the message got real specific. To be a good husband and a good father - to be in the image of god - Phil told the guys, you need two things: a band of brothers and a spiritual father.
Go on: what did Phil say next? He didn't. He stopped and let the men talk among themselves at the tables about this needing a spiritual father and a band of brothers.
Then, after awhile, Phil moved in. He said, "we canceled men's ministry this fall and canceled men's Bible Study Thursday morning" (okay, forgiven) and "we canceled our Monday Night Football study" (forgiveness pending) to "stop and ask ourselves: what do we really need?" And the answer is not another church program or sermons telling us what we should be. "What we need is men developing relationships with other men that will enable them to become better men."
 Phil got nitty-gritty at this point. Here is what we are going to do, he said. We are going to form - he really meant, the guys would form -- bands of brothers and get together once a month in a large group meeting to eat, hear some teaching, and talk through how it applies. Then, at least one other time during the month the bands of brothers would gather and hammer out how to become more like Jesus, more like men in the image of God.
To be continued, for sure ...
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Man2Man
A Sermon by Pastor Phil Thorne 11.1.09
At the end of this message I plan to issue an invitation -- an invitation to every man in this room. And most of what I say, therefore, will be addressed to men.
So ladies I ask you, please do not misunderstand. You may be tempted in the next 20 or 30 minutes to think that I believe men are more important than women in the spiritual life of the family or the church. I do not.
- I believe men and women share equal responsibility before God for the family.
- I believe both men and women have vital roles of servant leadership to play in God’s kingdom.
- I believe a careful reading of the New Testament will show that Jesus and the Apostles were liberators of women in their day.
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