Frat House Rewind- week 4

Guest post by Jeremiah, aka The Freak

Iron Sharpens Iron

As men, we a prone to falling on our own sword strictly because of pride. It is this pride that also sends us into defensive mode when we are confronted with things or events for which we know we have sinned. But as Christ followers, we must be open to constructive feedback and correction from those we know and trust. As we study Galatians 6:1-3, we need to know that confronting, or being confronted by, a fellow [man] follower of Christ is the only way to truly set paths straight on their way to God.

But, there can be any number of reasons why we hold back from talking to someone about their misgivings or shortfalls.

Why is it so hard to call someone out and why do we hold back?

One thing we must avoid when we are confronted by a fellow believer is the act of comparison. I have fallen victim to this many times. Someone points out a flaw in my life or attitude and I will immediately go into defense mode and point out how I am better than this or that person. It justifies us in our own minds and tries to shift the focus from the bad to the good. Galatians 6:4-5 says it the best: we must pay attention to our own behavior without comparing.

It’s difficult to avoid, but where do we tend to compare ourselves favorably to other?

Proverbs 27:17 gives us the best analogy for testing our mettle as men and as believers. We must focus on helping one another straighten out our crooked paths and sharpen one another’s skills as Truth spreaders.

We must continue beyond just Frat House to engage one another. When we do engage, we must be straightforward, yet humble. We must point out the weakness, but help strengthen our fellow man. We all struggle and fail. It’s the bumpers around us that help us stay up or, lack there of, that let us fall.

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Week #3- Frat House Rewind

“Leadership is action, not position.” –Donald McGannon

This title is a very provocative quote. And leadership within our families and future families was the focus of this morning’s Frat House. Ephesians 5:21-24 shows us the definition of the roles of husband and wife in the marriage God created for us.

Submit, as defined by Webster’s, can mean “to defer or consent to abide by the opinion or authority of another.” But this can be such a hard word to live out as men, husbands, boyfriends, and fiancés. Our views of being submissive to our wives are so twisted that we sometimes cannot get over the difference between submission and leadership. They aren’t that much different.

Why do men have trouble submitting to their wives? (v.21)

Why would a wife have trouble submitting to her husband?

Leadership as husbands means submission to God’s will, submission to the ultimate service of our wives and children, and submission to the leadership role we have in our families. This means dying to ourselves and our needs. As we read Ephesians 5:25-29, we see that we must give up our own lives for our wives and our families, just as Christ did for the church.

Why is dying to our own needs so hard? Be truthful with yourself………..

Ephesians 5:33 sums up our role in our families perfectly. We must look for ways to build up our wives, serve her wholeheartedly, and not give up on our marriages no matter how far gone we think they may be. Next week is our last meeting in this run- hope to see you there.

Summary sunmitted by; Jeremiah McBride, aka- The Freak

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FRAT HOUSE MEN

Frat House is on this Thursday! See you there.

Feetball Saturday

Football @ 7:30 a.m. this Saturday, Oct. 25^th

***Bring a DARK shirt & a WHITE shirt (that says white, not gray)***

Email back if you ARE playing.

Westwood Lakes fields:

From Veterans Expressway / 589:

WEST on Linebaugh, cross Sheldon Road into Westchase subdivision

RIGHT on Countryway, go about 1.2 miles on Countryway

STRAIGHT - Cross over Racetrack Rd., name changes to Nine Eagles Road…go 0.7 miles on Nine Eagles Rd.

LEFT on Westwood Lakes Blvd. into Westwood Lakes subdivision.

LEFT side will be fields (and a playground) as you enter Westwood Lakes Subdivision

Week #2- Frat House Rewind

Here’s your 2x4, now hit yourself!

We woke up with coffee and a 2x4 this morning. The biggest struggle that we face as men, is women. No, not the battle of the sexes type struggle, but of our lust for those who a) are not our wife, or b) we are not married to. We saw it with King David. Look in Acts 13:22 and you will see how favored he was in God’s eyes. But then look in 2 Samuel 11:1 and see how David put himself in the wrong place on purpose, contributing to his own moral decline. Now, ask yourself this question:

What places do we need to watch out for?

As we keep reading in 2 Samuel 11, we see that David’s eyes began to wander. Sound familiar? Affairs don’t happen overnight, yet they hit like a linebacker coming around the O-line and we are the QB. Great, blindsided. Our guard was down. It starts when we let our eyes wander.

What areas do we need to lock out visually so we won’t go there? How can we do it?

The road to victory lies in the relationships we have with other Christian men. James 5:16 gives it to us no uncertain terms. We must be accountable to those other men.

Are we struggling with the wrong place or uncontrolled eyes?

We must be honest with ourselves before we can be honest with others. Take the weight of, find that other man, and “confess your sins to each other.” Check out this blog from Perry Noble: it’s not just for pastors.

Guest Blogger: Jeremiah McBride
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Frat House- Let's Roll

Frat House This Thursday

6:15 AM- Davidsen Middle School Cafeteria!

Be There!

Week #1: We are Armor Bearers

Each week our guest blogger, Jeremiah aka The Freak will provide us a summary...

This week we focused on the battles that we face as men, whether it be the struggles we may have in our jobs, working to make a difference for Christ there, or whether we are at home alone, surfing the Internet on the wrong sites. Look in 1 Samuel 14:6-7 and imagine how we can be armor bearers.

As men, we also tend to escape our problems through other means: brain draining with the TV, shutting down emotionally, or just plain anger and aggression. Ask yourself this question: Under pressure-if you don’t engage and fight for what is right…..What do you typically do?

As we all know, Frat House is a safe place to enter into a deep discussion with other men so that we can work to be those armor bearers for them, and vice versa for us (and what is said at Frat House stays at Frat House). Who needs you to help them fight or encourage them to go for it? Read James 5:16 and you will see why Frat House is so vital to us as men.

Lastly, find an armor bearer, trust that they are there for you, and then begin to open up. But what about? If you just ask these 2 questions, you will begin taking your first steps towards letting that armor bearer, or bearers, stand behind you:

• What battle are you in or need to fight?
• How can we, the armor bearers, pray for you?

Until next week...

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Glory to God in 6:15 HD

Our resident guest blogger- Jeremiah McBride is in the House!
So now the time comes, in October 2008, to separate the men from the, well, let’s call a spade a spade, and just say the girls. Tampa Frat House kicks off for the Fall and it’s high time we start showing our masculinity for God. I would like to quote Morgan Freeman’s character in the Civil War movie Glory just before the big battle scene: “It’s time to kick in like men…….LIKE MEN!”

Over the next four weeks, those who attend Frat House will experience something not many other groups can boast about: connection and trust. When we come into this unique meeting, we have the opportunity to engage with those who are facing the same challenges, and to those who can understand our every struggle. We can then connect, because as men walking with God, we all face the same “lions”: leading our families, spreading the Truth in a world full of doubt, and the list can go on and on.

With this connection, comes trust. Trust in the fact that what happens in the Frat House, stays in the Frat House.

I hope that those who cannot attend for work or illness will stay plugged in with this blog. There will be a weekly update so that the call of duty will not hinder your connection to Frat House. For these men as well, we will be praying for your safe journey and hasty return so that we can all come together again as brothers and men in Christ.

Godspeed and we will see you at the House.


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Guest Blog

Guest Blog by Jeremiah McBride- (AKA- Mr 8 Track- he wasn't alive when this song was written)

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Tampa Frat House starts this week and, as men, we need to man up. So, as a tribute to the awesomeness of this group of men manning up to what God has called us to be and do, The Commodores rewrote their famous song for us. Wanna hear it, here it goes: (funk playing in the background)

Tampa Frat----House

Mighty Savior, calling us at 6:15 AM

Tampa Frat----House

The men are back and that’s a fact

Ain’t holding nothin’ back.

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Tampa Frat----House

It’s the one, the only one

That’s built on the solid rock

We’re together, everybody knows

And here’s where the coffee flows

(Verse 1)

We’ve given up on sleep

To come and get……our Dunkin on

How can He use, the lack of sleep

Jesus, Lord, God, please hit the snooze!

(Chorus)

(Verse 2)

The coffee box, the awesome flops

Make a man wish for more caffeine

We know we’re tired, but we know how to praise

Sure enough to knock a strong man to his knees.

(Chorus)

So Blaine could probably polish it up a little more, but I think it about sums up the awesome mornings we have at Frat House. It’s thought provoking, yet compelling, even at 6:15 in the morning. And we get to see Hal before he has taken his shower. It’s an awful sight sometimes, but we still love him.

God is moving a great deal of men these days to stand firm in their faith and begin to lead lives for Christ. Frat House is one of the best ways I know of to get together with those other men looking to impact this world for God’s kingdom. He pushes, he prods, he cuts deep to our core as men, but as he cuts, he heals and mends our hearts so we can go out and be a strong voice for His word, both in our families and in our workplaces. I look forward to seeing you all there with a Boston Crème in one hand, and a 32 oz. java in the other.

Jesus Freak Out!