Relational Discipleship

May 2025

Dear Leader,

If you’ve been following along, you may have noticed it’s been a few months since our last edition of The Leader Letter. Back in December, I encouraged us all to seek silence and solitude—to carve out space for God in the midst of our busy lives. In January, I started digging into John Mark Comer’s The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry. As I dove deeper into Comer’s challenge to slow down, I realized just how much I needed to practice what I was preaching.

In many ways, this season has been about taking that advice to heart. Rather than rushing to fill every moment or produce content for content’s sake, I’ve been intentionally investing my energy in what matters most: walking alongside churches and leaders who are committed to building sustainable, life-changing discipleship pathways for men. My focus for 2025 is clear—go deep, not just wide. I want to be fully present with the churches and leaders who are embracing the No Man Left Behind model, helping them build lasting systems that will impact men for years to come.

This intentional slowing-down hasn’t meant inactivity—in fact, quite the opposite! The past few months have been full of meaningful ministry and personal growth. I’ve participated in advanced leadership training that’s sharpened my skills as an Area Director. We hosted a powerful SoIN Leader Retreat, creating space for leaders to connect, recharge, and strategize together. And we’re gearing up for our annual SoIN Scramble golf outing—a chance to build relationships and ignite passion for men’s ministry across Southern Indiana.

So, while The Leader Letter has been quiet, the work has been anything but. I’m grateful for the opportunity to walk this journey with you, and I’m excited to share some of the fruit that’s come from this season of intentional investment.

Let’s continue to pursue depth, not just activity, as we seek to disciple men and build God’s Kingdom—one relationship at a time.

In Christ,

Insights from the model

"PROVEN"

Recently, I stepped into the Men's Discipleship Leader role for my own church. As I have started equipping my leadership team members with No Man Left Behind, one of the men commented about this model being proven.

This isn't just something we cooked up in a backroom. It has seen decades of implementation with thousands of churches and was built upon research, experience, and work in the trenches with hundreds of churches.

The key to success is when this model is understood and fully implemented. Knowing that a system has been proven to work can provide a lot of confidence to start the process, but we must put the work in to see the results.

It is easy to fall back on our own experience and understanding about how "men's ministry" should be done, but that's where I see leaders burning out and ministries failing to be successful.

This is why I make it my mission to help leaders and churches understand and fully implement the concepts and strategies that are proven to make disciples of their men.

Learn More

Ministry Highlight

The excitement coming across the table was palpable. As if they were picking juicy red apples off a tree they had tended from a small seed, Pastor Rich and his men’s leader Eric were full of contagious exuberance.

We’ve had lunch meetings like this for several years. We’ve done trainings, equipped leaders, prayed hard, and persevered together. There were times of uncertainty, temptations to quit, moments of doubt, and questions of how to proceed.

Yet, through it all, they never gave up.

One of the first things we discuss with our No Man Left Behind model is that it can take a long time to create a sustainable ministry to men. Along the way there are pitfalls, off-ramps, and shortcuts that can derail the process. The churches that succeed are the ones that “work the plan” because “the plan works.” They don’t give up, and they do the right things the right way.

I was thrilled to listen to Pastor Rich as he described the shift in the culture of their church. The mindset of his church, Safe Harbor, used to be that Sunday service was all there was to church. The leaders thought that if they could just “put on a big enough show” on Sundays to get people in the door, the pastor would take care of the rest.

The old culture placed all the pressure on the pastor to sustain the growth. Now, they have a culture of discipleship that places trust in and provides opportunities for other disciples to make disciples.

They have a strong men’s leadership team, multiple small groups, and over two dozen men engaged in one-on-one mentoring! After an impactful book study, the local fire chief bought copies of the book for his fire house and is discipling men there!

When I first began working with Safe Harbor years ago, they wanted to do a big men’s event. It hasn’t happened yet. But Pastor Rich acknowledged that it would have been a lot of work for a small blip that likely wouldn’t have created lasting change. He said, “I wouldn’t trade what we have now for having had that big event.”

The beautiful thing is, Safe Harbor now has the culture and system to invite men in and have a BIG impact!

Annual Report

Impact for a New Day

In the midst of societal darkness—racial unrest, political division, and cultural wars—it’s easy to lose hope. But remember, “It’s always darkest before the dawn.” Man in the Mirror believes rays of light are breaking through, signaling the dawn of A New Day.

Get the Report

Your Action Step:

Join The Fellowship

______________________________

This month, I want to invite you to take a cue from our recent SoIN Leader Retreat. During this intentional time together, we re-centered ourselves on the foundations—including the need for relational discipleship. My purpose was (and is) to invest in leaders so they can invest in their few: a team who will carry out the vision and shape the culture of discipleship in their church.

In these relationships we’re fostering, we seek to be authentic, deeply rooted, battle-tested, and Spirit-led. We’re building a community of leaders across Southern Indiana—co-laborers for Christ with a shared mission to reach men and see lives transformed. The common bond among us is a commitment to intentionally work together, implementing a thriving ministry to men utilizing the concepts and strategies of No Man Left Behind.

Out of this retreat, “The SoIN Fellowship” was born—a collaborative network of leaders who are intentionally pursuing men’s discipleship in their churches. The camaraderie, encouragement, and shared wisdom within The Fellowship will allow for growth and connection far beyond what I could provide alone.

If we’re already working together, I encourage you to be part of The Fellowship’s quarterly call—an opportunity to both receive and provide value, support, and accountability as we pursue this mission together.

If we’re not yet working together, I’d love to connect. Let’s have a conversation about how you can join this mission to equip Christian men to engage in meaningful relationships that change lives and build the kingdom of God—right here in Southern Indiana.

Let's Connect

3rd Annual SoIN Scramble Banner (Facebook Cover)

Join us for the 3rd Annual SoIN Scramble

Be a Ministry Partner < > Register your team!

Our outing is about more than golf. We're bringing together like-minded individuals throughout Southern Indiana to Ignite Passion for men's discipleship.

We want to shine a light on kingdom-impacting ministries and organizations through our Ministry Partnership.

Do you know of golfers in your church or ministry? Invite them to play in our scramble and help us reach our goal of 30 teams!

Not a golfer but want to be part of this exciting event? Sign up to be a volunteer!

Help us grow the SoIN Scramble into a premier event that is furthering the kingdom in Southern Indiana!

GO DEEPER WITH THIS POST FROM THE MAN IN THE MIRROR BLOG

A Passion for No Man Left Behind

We believe God has entrusted us with a Biblical discipleship model, not because we are so special, but because it is a collection of principles and practices that has been proven...