VISION & PURPOSE OF IRONMEN

IRONMEN – VISION OF
Are you the sharpest tool in the shed?

“As iron, sharpens iron,
So a man sharpens the counsel of his friend”
Proverbs 27:17.

Or another way to put it, as one of my previous managers would say to me: “Ben, how can you soar like an eagle when you’re surrounded by turkeys...?”
You have to admit, the man has a point.
We all become like the people we engage and include on a consistent basis.

As you and I walk this life out, as men created in the image of our Father, I need the ongoing support and camaraderie of other men. Men whom I can be sharpened by, men whom I can sharpen, men just like me, wanting to walk strong, though stumble and fall, but know that my inner man, integrity and character are in tact and get back up.

You see, I run a connect group for men - I call it “Ironmen”. For those that have completed an Ironman triathlon (3.8km swim, 180km bike, 42km run), you only need to look around your competitors to know that you hope you’ve trained as much, if not more than the guy next to you.
The Ironman event is a long journey, with different disciplines, different stages, and a raft of emotions that track both ends of the spectrum. But as with any distance event, mental toughness and just plain old dogedness, is what’s needed in the final stages to get you home, finishing strong.

Sounds like a life you want to compete in? That’s what Realmen ministry and Ironmen is for. As a man in his mid 30’s, beautiful wife (some would say “trophy” wife, but we’ll leave it at that), 3 fantastic healthy happy kids, church commitments, full time job, hectic schedules, wife that works part time, a little business travel, swimming, dance, art lessons, training for 100KM endurance events, social catch ups, assisting school community reading programs..... you’re trying to synchronise 4 diaries into your iPhone......sound familiar?

Then one day: bang! It all changes because of a stupid decision you made on a business trip in a moment of weakness.... or, you check the bank statement online, your wife’s called saying she can’t buy the groceries because there’s no credit or cash left, the mortgage interest only payments are 10 days overdue... or, you’ve found out your wife has been sexually assaulted years ago and it’s come to the surface 5 years into your marriage and she says, she’s not in love with you any more.....

You know as well as I do, these scenarios, are not fake or trumped up. And where is God in the midst of this?

The purpose of Ironmen, is to get sharpened in my decision making and improve and test my character pillars and be spiritually game ready for when life throws curve balls at my decision making.

Why be wise and sharp after the fact? That’s a “Monday’s expert” Men, let's get pre-emptive here. God says: My son, pay careful attention to wisdom!
As I see it, Ironmen has the following 4 objectives that, play out in the Proverb: As Iron sharpens Iron, so a man sharpens the counsel of is friend.

1. Use the Word of God:
To be used accurately: to use it accurately, we’ve got to digest it and cross examine it
As a fall back position: when our faith is failing, and we’re tired and in a weakened state
As a weapon of mass destruction: It’s our Father’s weapon to building our world

2.Safety
We all need our own solace at times, but too much alone is a pathway to self delusion and then ultimately destruction.
A place for men to have safe harbour from the tempest of life, no judgement, no criticism,
but a place of understanding and rest from issues that only men know about.
A place that doesn’t feel like you’re in the therapy room, but can discuss and work through in confidence. Church is great, but men need spiritual intimacy without having their thoughts and feeling emasculated.

3. Encouragement
No hand holding here, but shoulder to shoulder. Hand on shoulder, encouraging the other, standing with another man: “you’re going to get through this, it’s going to work, I don’t know how, but I know it’s going to work out”. No well meaning, but ill timed motherhood statements or bible passages without context of the man’s personal situation.
Encouragement that build’s another man’s inner man. Only men can impart that to another, usually it’s our fathers, but not stating the bleeding obvious that some father’s have done the opposite. Besides, men need all the encouragement we can get.

4. Hero’s and Champions
Without getting corny, every man has the God given spiritual DNA on the inside of him to be the conquerer, the champion, the hero, the last man standing. We might not say it in words, but we want our wives, kids, colleagues, leaders and friends to publicly state they couldn’t have completed life through without us. Our Father has created us in His Image, His DNA is on the inside of us, there's a reason we want to be the hero, the champion, it's our Father's imprint for crying our loud, we need other men to draw this out, to step up to the plate and take ownership and conquer challenges that others have been shouldering in our absence.

My father took his own life just before my 2nd birthday. My mother found him in the car in the garage. That was in 1977, September 12. Imagine if he'd been involved in something like Ironmen ministry at the time...?
Men today, we're not basket cases, or irresponsible, or juvenile, but we do need to sharpen each other up, keep the next generation on their toes, lift the benchmark of the strength of our inner man. We need each other with our Father's spirit to achieve that. Iron sharpening Iron, sharpens Iron, sharpens Iron.....