Building Brotherhood Through Love, Respect, and Community

Insights from Love and Respect and How Seven24 is Helping Men Grow in Faith and Relationships.

A few of us have been reading Emerson's book Love and Respect. As we wrapped up the book last week, we all commented on how impactful the message was, specifically how we view marriage in God's eyes. We won't spoil the message, but we have a few takeaways we wanted to share, especially for those who can't join us tomorrow. The general premise of the book is based on teachings from Paul's letter to the Ephesians.

Emerson can articulate much better, but in the book, he shares insights on how men and women are designed in the image of God but often see the world through two different lenses:

1. "Blue Glasses" (Men)

2. "Pink Glasses" (Women).

Men often view the world through a lens of "respect." They appreciate it when their spouse shows respect to them. Usually, women view the world through a lens of "love." They generally prefer it when men are more loving towards them. That doesn't mean that men don't appreciate love and women respect; just that often, we men prefer being respected.

It got us thinking about how we engage with other men through Seven24. After all, we aren't a women's group 😉. A verse we have up at our office and one you guys are familiar with:

Through Seven24, we want to help support guys to build trusting relationships by:

1. Community through social time with each other: Through quarterly social events, where we can enjoy a beverage of our choice, spend time with other Christian men, and hear an encouraging and sometimes challenging message, we hope to walk away with new and impactful relationships. Whether it's our event tomorrow night or one of the four events planned for '25, we look forward to seeing you!

2. Working/Serving alongside each other: We have enjoyed connecting with you guys to bless the Hope Community Center with much-needed supplies. We're extremely grateful to the guys who have signed up to buy presents for 18 families this Christmas! We look forward to this coming year when we will have 6 – 8 serving opportunities to build relationships by serving alongside each other!

3. Worshipping/Studying/Kingdom building with each other: We are excited about this upcoming year and bringing back group devotions for those interested. Starting in January, we will connect guys for devotional studies led by a Seven24 guy.

Guys, we look forward to a great year ahead for Seven24. If you haven't tried the GroupMe app, check it out here: https://groupme.com/join_group/104106441/qA5vupV5

It gives you instant access to the yearly calendar, updated information, fist bumps, and chatter in the group.

Have a great week, Men!