THE NO BULL BRIEFING - June 2023

Join Us for a Texas-Sized Party!

In honor of our tenth national retreat, Samson is throwing a party! Join us the first weekend in November for our annual retreat, featuring The Place We Find Ourselves podcast host Adam Young.

When: November 3-5, 2023
Where: Sky Ranch in Van, Texas
Bunkhouse spots are $350
Group Discount available! Bring 4 guys who have never attended a Samson retreat and receive 50% off your registration fee. Bring 8 and come for free! When you share about the summit to friends, be sure to tell them to list your name on the registration form under the field "I'm coming to the summit with." We will take care of the rest.

July 5 is Silas Appreciation Day

Give your Silas a shout out, a giftcard to their favorite store (Starbucks, Home Depot, Amazon, etc.), a special something from the Samson Swag Store, or just a personal "thank you" call to let him know how much you appreciate him being your traveling companion.

Don't have a Silas? The best way we have found is to start attending meetings, then commit to the same meeting each week to develop relationships with the men there. Find a guy who you seem to connect with in that same weekly meeting and ask him to be your Silas.

Aaron Visits The Addicted Mind Podcast

In a world that often feels dark and heavy, Aaron reminds us of the importance of love, fun, and understanding the “person and work of Christ” in Christianity. They discuss the need to balance work and self-reflection with joy and play, and how slowing down can help us cultivate a deeper sense of self. Aaron also shares his thoughts on the power of language in shaping our identity, as well as the usefulness of tools like the Enneagram in understanding our natural tendencies. Don’t miss this engaging and insightful conversation with Aaron Porter, co-host of the Pirate Monk podcast.

LISTEN

Virtual Meeting Host Informational Meeting

If you host a virtual Samson Society meeting, we highly encourage you to join us Tuesday, July 25 at 7 PM ET for an important informational meeting to discuss updates and steps to validate your meeting as an official Samson Society meeting.

The meeting will be recorded for those who are unable to attend since vital information will be shared.

Slot Car God

By Jaimie

When I was little I had a slot car track. If you don’t know what that is, it was a plastic race track you put together piece by piece. It had two lanes on each piece that snapped together forming a raceway to battle an opponent head to head. One of the things I really enjoyed about this was configuring the track. If you had more than the base set you could come up with some fairly unique tracks to traverse your little electric cars through. As long as the track was all connected it would function correctly because this completed the circuit…no pun intended. Once the track was installed you would plug it into an outlet for power, connect a controller that regulated the electricity that pushed the little car that sat on the metal strips. These metal strips served two purposes, one providing electricity to power the tiny engine inside the car and two they were magnetic so they held the car on the track…in theory. My brother and I would race these cars for hours sometimes. We would try to find the sweet spot on the controller where we were providing enough power to propel the car, but not too much because that would make the car fly off the track. Truthfully, there were times we would see how far off the track the cars would go too, sometimes causing them to break.

I had an epiphany recently while talking with some guys. I said that I used to view God as a cosmic being waiting for me to fly off the track like that little car. He was there waiting to tell me what I did wrong and how to get back in line, aka back on track. The reality is that He was and is the electricity in the track and I can either take the controller and try to do it myself to regulate the power or I can hand him the controller to guide my life through the twists and turns on the track in His perfect way. Not just to win the race, but also to enjoy the experiences along the way. You see I found as much joy and satisfaction in repairing a crashed car successfully as I did in racing them and beating my brother or dad was just an added bonus the few times it happened.

Trust the Heavenly Father completely to provide the power necessary to stay on track. He’s not waiting for you to fail, He’s waiting for you to give Him control so you can succeed and maybe even beat the course record. Now when I think about or do fall off the track I see God picking me up examining me for anything broken and lovingly placing me back on the track to continue the race.

Subscribe to Samson House

Beginning on June 1, 2023, Samson House will be offering a low-cost subscription to all members of the Samson Society. This subscription is not mandatory. As you know, there are no dues or fees for Samson Society membership. Samson meetings — online meetings as well as local ones — will always be free. However, resources and services that up until now Samson House has made available at samsonsociety.com will be moved to a subscribers-only Samson House website, along with new resources.

We are asking ALL current members to subscribe to SamsonHouse.org (use password NoBullBrotherhood to access this website) at the modest monthly rate of $7.95.

We will be grateful if you can commit more, of course, and whatever you contribute above the small monthly subscription amount will be fully tax-deductible.

JOIN SAMSON HOUSE

Regional Retreat Opportunities

Planning a regional Samson retreat? Let us know at samsonhouseoffice@gmail.com or drop it on the #upcoming_event channel on Slack so we can help you spread the word!

Come enjoy the community, honesty and vulnerability of sharing your story with other Samson brothers who are looking to connect and heal. The cost for this retreat is $425. This price includes lodging for three nights, excellent food and beverages, training materials, an opportunity to hear other men’s stories, as well engage your own story in a safe and attuned way.

For more information, contact Chris Inman at chris@np-recovery.com

LEARN MORE

Monthly Resource Corner

Each month, Samson Society will promote a resource that you may find helpful on your journey. Feel free to share any podcast episodes, blog posts, books, or documentaries that you find enlightening!

Fight Pornography As a Healing Church

The Church has a choice. It can ignore the problems of pornography because they are too unseemly. It can chastise, rebuke, and cast out, which sends more people into hiding. Or it can lead people through a grace-filled process to the foot of the cross, where strongholds are crushed and where stronger servants arise. 

The Healing Church, written by Samson member Sam Black, cuts through the confusion.

Discern how porn undermines ministry in your church.
Understand how porn affects men and women differently and how to help them.    
Discover how generations of Christians are becoming more comfortable with porn.    
Learn why sex isn’t the real problem in pornography.
Find out how to effectively deal with pornography while spending less time counseling.

LEARN MORE