Just got back from Kensington - Troy's Saturday evening service and felt compelled to share something here that connects some dots in my life. Writing it down helps crystallize it in my memory. It's about authenticity.

Recently at work, I was asked if I would be willing to talk about the topic of authenticity to a group of people during a company sponsored event called "Diversity Week." More specifically I was asked to answer the question "How do you bring your authentic self to work?". I immediately said yes to the invite without really thinking about it. But as I got to thinking about the topic I was like "Whoa, wait a minute here, how do you talk about THAT?"

Let me get one thins out of the way first before I go deeper (but not too deep) on this. It felt completely inauthentic to be talking about how to be authentic. Hard to explain (for me). My initial internal premise on the subject was simply this, you are either authentic or you are not. Of course we all know that it is much more nuanced than that when it comes to living in many of the artificial constructs we find ourselves in.

Anyhow, I spent quite a bit of time preparing for this presentation after it hit me how hard it would be talk about it. I won't bore you with what I presented, but I do want to share with you a couple of things that came to light for me after I had given my presentation that really helped me understand the topic more (I wish they had come to light before I presented!).

First was an article in Esquire that I completely stumbled upon a couple of days after I presented. It was a recent interview of Bruce Springsteen and for whatever reason (probably because I listened to him in the 80's), I decided to take a quick glance at it. It was a lengthy article that I scanned really fast when I landed on this following excerpt:

"In the arc of your life, there are so many places where you reach milestones that add to your authenticity and your presentation of who you really are. But I find myself still struggling just for obvious things that I should’ve had under my belt a long time ago."

That really resonated with me. I would say that one of those milestones in my life was in 2009 with this Band of Brothers when we did the Wild at Heart series. It was then when my eyes were beginning to be opened to how I was posing in my life (and still do but hopefully to a lesser degree). There are many other milestones for sure but I won't get into those.
Anyhow, check out the article some time...it's pretty good.

The second was Kensington's service tonight. Danny Cox was preaching on their current series "The Road Home" when he referenced the following quote from Brene Brown, a well known University of Houston research professor on the main topic of leadership, and more specifically, courage, empathy, shame and vulnerability.

"True belonging is the spiritual practice of believing in and belonging to yourself so deeply that you can share your most authentic self with the world and find sacredness in both being a part of something and standing alone in the wilderness."

That one hit me even harder and was really the catalyst for me to want to try and write this out. You know where this heading...I'll keep it simple...the ONLY way you can believe in yourself and belong to yourself so deeply is if "yourself" is anchored in Christ. Think "In Christ's Image Training" 101. Full stop.

Ok, I'll end this with a challenge to you all. When you get up in the morning, look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself this question..."Who are You?" After you verbally answer that question to yourself and with Holy Spirit in you, go out and be that person.  Live your answer no matter what the cost.

This is a test of our blog.
Does it work?

WHAT A YEAR!!  Last January a group of us traveled to Iceland and had no idea what was coming our way.  As a matter of fact, we joked that we would still be there today because shortly after we came home a winter typhoon shut the country down for weeks and then Covid-19 took over from there.  Well, it’s good to be home and there is so much to be thankful for.

Thank you for supporting the Band of Brothers.  Here are some highlights from 2020, and a glimpse of what is coming up next.  God has blessed us in many ways during a year of heightened loss, isolation, and division.  We had to get creative and learn how to use the outdoors and remote technology to stay connected, and it’s incredible to see how God stuck with us.  From the song, Reckless Love, by Cory Asbury, “There’s no shadow you won’t light up, mountain you won’t climb up, wall you won’t kick down, lie you won’t tear down, coming after me”.

The Band of Brothers Michigan is a 501c3 Christian Men’s Group dedicated to helping men discover their identity in Christ, so their hearts can be set free.  Why?  Because in God’s Kingdom there is a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and others to help rescue, starting with the beauties in our life.  

Thank you for being part of this movement and we welcome you to join us.  If there is anything below you want to know more about, please contact us via the website and we will respond.

2020 HIGHLIGHTS:

GATHER (Fellowship)

Bill Bass organized a Dinner and Mitch Albom “Finding Chika” Event at Kensington Church.

Jamie Winship Live Zoom Event on March 30th – Bill Bass was instrumental in pulling this together and it was a big leap of faith for the BoB.  Jamie delivered a powerful message about living out of our identity in the midst of chaos.  We were blown away by an estimated 225-250 attendees.

2nd Season of the Band of Brothers Golf League at Twin Lakes.  Congratulations to our new champ, Pete Kalaj.

Band of Brothers Golf Outing – June 26th at Bruce Hills.  Thanks Jeff DeNio for your leadership as we gathered 56 golfers for a safe and successful event, one that we thought might be cancelled.

Family Picnic on August 23rd at Rochester Municipal Park.

Family Movie Night – We watched a great faith & family movie “Overcomer”at Antoniou’s Town Square Pizza in Rochester.

GROW (Discipleship)

Steve Hunt led a successful Wild at Heart 10 Week Boot Camp with a new crew of graduates.  

Matt Darnell and Dan VanderSluis led a Bible 101 “Sword of the Spirit” Training, leveraging home-grown BoB material along with the Bible Project.

Phil and Mare Munroe led a BE Strong Devotional Group that met twice daily for 4 months during the Covid-19 lock down, and continued throughout 2020.

Our Monthly Open Houses continued to be a welcoming way to gather and grow.  Thanks Phil Andrews for leading this ministry. Open Houses last year included a visit from Brad Russ/Paul Nasibedo from Overland Missions in Zambia, Phil Andrews Wild at Heart journey to Nepal, and Cam Underdown did a teaching entitled “Living in Exhile”.

Our Open Houses took a unique turn in the 2nd half of 2020 as racial and political division grabbed the attention of our nation.  After much discussion and prayer, we decided to launch a 5-part Unity Series and incorporate a group of panelists.  Steve Kramer kicked off month 1 with the theme of “Influence”, the next month was Jalen Seawright - “How did we get here?”, then Dennis Paryaski - “The Emperor’s New Clothes”.  In January, Herman Shelton will cover “Creating Positive Race Relations” and Loren Siffring will bring us home with “Unity in Christ” in February. Very thankful for this group of panelists and to Matt Darnell, Steve Kramer, and the Open House team.

It’s also been inspiring to see other leaders like Chris Tillotson (First-15 Devotional) and Bob Wekwert (Alpha), stepping up to the plate to disciple others.

GO (Outreach)

Family Giving – Supported multiple families and individuals this year with urgent needs such as car repairs, living expenses, gift cards, food deliveries, and other resources.

Pontiac Relief Fund – This has been a remarkable partnership in Pontiac/Oakland County with multiple organizations including Kids Empowered and MyCovidResponse.org, with the purpose of responding to urgent needs for low-income families.  

Family Christmas Sponsorship – Participated in a program that helped over 100 low-income families in the Pontiac area with gifts and needs over the Holiday season.

Continued existing child sponsorships with NoChild.org (Kenya, Nepal).

Contributed to the Refugee Bible Project and Global Virtual Discipleship Training with Val Prest and Ancient Future Ministries.

It’s been a challenging year for the Detroit Lions Academy, and we had limited visits due to Covid-19. With Dave LeBay’s passion and leadership for the DLA, we developed creative ways to stay engaged with the staff and students and are committed to this relationship.

”Bring Our Men Back” (BOMB) Squad in Detroit – Hoping this partnership grows stronger and stronger.  Phil Munroe and Phil Andrews have been active with this group, we have served together, and the BoB recently donated sponsorships for new members going through the program.

Anti-Human Trafficking – Ongoing support for EPIK/ABIDE (Bryon Rossi) and OurDaughters International (Ramesh Sapkota)

WHAT’S NEXT?

More Wild at Heart Boot Camps planned for 2021, starting in February/March.

More Bible 101/Sword of the Spirit Trainings.

Unity Series Continued – Herman Shelton – “Creating Positive Race Relations”, Loren Siffring “Unity in Christ”.

”Battle of the Bulge” Winter Serve – A BoB mobilization initiative to deliver supplies to the homeless in our nearby communities (stay tuned for ways you can assist).

Hope Warming and Hospitality Center in Pontiac – Plan to get back in 2021 for another dinner serve and BBQ.

2021 Summit Planning – Leadership/Strategy planning to review our Vision/Mission and explore where God wants us to go next.

Loren Siffring Unity Video – Wrapping up a video interview with Loren on this topic.  Will be unveiled at February Open House.

“How to connect” Resource Guide – Will be posted on the BoB website and be a reference guide to plug into the various discipleship groups that are available in this area as part of our network.

“Creating Positive Race Relations” Book – Thanks to Herman Shelton and the “Black & White” team for co-authoring this book. The BoB purchased a shipment and have distributed copies to BOMB Squad, Detroit Lion’s Academy, Open House Participants, and others.

Detroit Lion’s Academy – Students and Staff will be attending January/February “Unity” Open Houses and doing a break-out session after.  

Special thanks to the Officers of the BoB (Matt Darnell, Dave LeBay, Ari McEntire, Brad Miller), the best group of servant leaders and high character men you will find.  We also have an amazing group of leaders/advisors that helped make everything above possible, like Phil Andrews, Bill Bass, Jeff DeNio, Steve Hunt, Steve Kramer, Marty Kubiak, Steve MacDonald, Ken Maciejewski, Don McGinlay, Phil Munroe, Rick Rosen, Ralph Schwartz, Herman Shelton, Loren Siffring, Chris Tillotson, Dan VanderSluis, and Bob Wekwert.  

For those of you that contribute to the Band of Brothers financially and join us in faith and fellowship, we thank you and appreciate you greatly.  

Here is to a “Hearts Alive & Free” 2021 and may the Grace and Peace of Christ be with you.

Dave Halsey
President, Band of Brothers Michigan
Proverbs 27:17 TPT – “It takes a grinding wheel to sharpen a blade, and so one person sharpens the character of another.”