This is Part 3 of the Ignite the Flame series. Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here. Listen to Mike introduce this incredible story in a video here.
From a Casting Crowns concert, to an Iron Sharpens Iron Conference, to a Leading Men’s Ministry equipping workshop, Brian Dalrymple finally had his answer.
After Mike Young outlined a strategic process for discipling men in his men’s ministry leadership workshop, Brian knew this was his “very next thing.”
Brian felt the Lord calling him to lead a men’s small group. The voice he wanted to be attentive to was clear. The only problem was he wasn’t sure where to start. He had just learned about the strategy of a healthy men’s ministry, but actually starting that fire was more difficult than simply talking about it.
“I hashed it around for about a week thinking ‘Do I hand pick these guys to meet with?’ But eventually, I thought of about four or five guys in that group who didn’t want to stop meeting.”
Brian approached the men individually and told them he believed they were being called to get together. The men were excited about gathering, but finding a time to meet was hard. All of the men are involved in church activities, work, have families, and get home late.
They decided to wake up a few minutes early and meet at an unlikely location: a Bojangles. No man can resist chicken and Bo-Berry Biscuits®! Brian and his group meet at 6:00 a.m. every Tuesday. The group was consistent and began meeting every Tuesday, but they were still unsure of where to begin. That’s when Brian decided to call Mike Young, director of Noble Warriors.
“I called Mike and talked to him about it. He recommended Point Man by Steve Farrar.”
Brian lead the group through the book for several weeks. The men were really digging into the study and Brian saw the change taking place in the hearts of his guys as well as himself. Maybe he was a leader after all?
Before they knew it, the study was over and once again, they weren’t sure where to go. Brian gave Mike another call and then met with him at the Noble Warriors office to discuss moving forward.
“Mike really encouraged me. That’s what Noble Warriors is there to do. Not to go out and get the men, but to support the little guy like me, and that’s what they did. He supported me, encouraged me, and pointed me to some studies. He gave me the tools to help me move forward.”
From there, the men dove into the book of James. They read it as a group out loud, talked about it, and gleaned truth from each section they read. They have since transitioned to the book of John and are chipping away chapter by chapter no matter how long it takes them. Brian says leading a group isn’t without it’s difficulties, because life happens. People get sick, work-related things come up, but Brian has still seen the Lord’s faithfulness even when some mornings don’t go as planned. This is exactly why men get together regularly and do things this way.
“The other day only one guy showed up. I wondered if I should just cancel and I was a little discouraged, but I was able to have a great one-on-one with this guy. We didn’t skip the lesson and I was able to have an hour with him and see how the Lord was working in his life.”
Brian is still learning what works for his group and still can’t believe the Lord is using him in this way. He’s learning to be adaptable and accessible to the men in his group. And overall, he’s thankful.
He had be wrestling for so long with whether he could even lead, and now he has hindsight to see how the Lord had been preparing him and equipping him this whole time.
“It’s been good for me. All the things I told myself, ‘I don’t have these gifts,’ ‘I’m not my wife,’ but God is giving me these gifts. I can’t take any credit for that.”
Stay tuned for more.
Check out A Point Man Legacy to learn how Steve Farrar’s book has influenced Mike Young and the ministry.
Partners of Noble Warriors helped ignite this change in Brian. YOU can ignite the next man. Partner with us.
Read the full story at noblewarriors.org/BriansStory.
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