Weekly meetings available to you are as follows:
Tuesdays at 6:00 PM, Foundry Church - 3010 Lakeland Cove, Flowood. Call Matt Flint at (601) 260-8518 or email him at matthewflint.makes@gmail.com or Lance Bowser at (601) 862-8308 or email at lancebowser@msi-inv.com.
Wednesday at 6:00 PM, First Baptist Church Jackson - Summit Counseling Suite - 431 North State St. Jackson. Call Don Waller at 601-946-1290 or email him at don@wallerbros.com.
Monday at 6:30 PM , Vertical Church - 521 Gluckstadt Road Madison, MS 39110. Mr. Roane Hunter, facilitator, LifeWorks Counseling.
Sunday night at 6:00 PM, Grace Crossing Baptist Church - 598 Yandell Rd. Canton. Call Joe McCalman at 769-567-6195 or email him at cookandnoonie@gmail.com.
Thursday, September 17, 2020
Wednesday, September 16, 2020
Monday, September 14, 2020
Rob's Anticipatory Recharge
An old friend, who also attended the Samson Society Fall Retreat last year, reached out to me last week to inquire if I would be attending this year's November 6-8, 2020 retreat in Eva, TN. I said yes, and this short exchange served as a reminder of what I have to look forward to.
Attending this retreat for Rob is akin to stepping into paradise on Earth. And that experience is centered around me not having any relational responsibilities whatsoever relative to Samson Society, taking into consideration those involved within the ministry here in Mississippi.
For me, it's not unlike attending an annual family reunion where it's super easy to simply sit back and people watch the +/- 100 men who'll also be attending.
Too, I love allowing the Holy Spirit to simply lead, and from there, connect / introduce myself to guys whom I've never met prior to asking to hear their stories.
Considering pragmatics, the drive up to Eva isn't necessarily short, but it's worth the jaunt.
Samson Society, for those like myself who've found so much timely value in it as a men's ministry, is an opportunity for men to serve each other via relational accountability, and this is akin / in line with my temperament. I do love that part of it.
The retreat is a celebration of that yearlong service, and therefore a time to recharge.
I can't wait!
Saturday, September 12, 2020
Talk Is Cheap. When A Loner Wants To Stay A Loner.
"I've been involved in Samson Society meetings for two years now. I know it's time to actually begin to follow The Path."
I hear this statement from a Samson brother, and my heart rejoices. For it was right at one year before I began to take The Path seriously (back in December of 2015). In fact, I relayed to the men at this past Wednesday night's meeting that I was very close to making a discreet exit from the Jackson, MS Samson Society before turning the corner in this regard.
Attending meetings / after-meetings (meals at restaurants) is exciting. The comradery, in particular, is energizing, but before long, there's this text in the Samson Society charter that's continuing to stare each of us in the face.
And most men, I would argue, do not walk through the entire procedural narrative baked into The Path (though some very much do). And that's fine. But, at a minimum, we should obtain a Silas and detail our story to him - in all its gory detail - "warts & all" - prior to working out the specifics of walking forward together.
Unfortunately, it's this Silas connection that can be such the stumbling block for loners. Because firstly, they have to actually ask another man to be this for them. And this, of course, runs counter to how a loner typically operates.
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Hiding my true self from everyone around me was simply the de facto approach I was forced to take, growing up here in Mississippi. I wasn't one to have dreams of greener pastures elsewhere as I aged into manhood. Therefore, never did I consider an out-of-state college career, nor, following college, looking for work beyond the boundaries of Mississippi. Hence, I learned to make peace with the notion of being alone with who I truly was on the inside here at home.
And this worked well 'till I fell in love with my soon-to-be wife at the tail end of my college career. For I didn't want her nor my parents to be in the dark as to what I was truly dealing with internally; all during this joyous occasion (first romantic love) that was killing me on the inside.
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I think too, overall, I really do now enjoy vetting individuals via how they react to my story. Truth can moderate really well, and I'm all about attempting to gauge where other people stand in relation to hard / uncomfortable realities. For me, I did this with Bob & Darlene initially, and they reacted beautifully. From there, it's been all downhill.
So, loners unite! Move forward with The Path soon, and make a point to find a Silas today. You won't regret it.
Wednesday, September 9, 2020
Holding My Breath For Stan & Harmony
Angie and I are a middle-aged white couple (married close to 25 years) who attend Lakeside Presbyterian Church every Sunday / Wednesday (pre-pandemic regarding the latter) like clockwork. The church is only a mile from our house, and our consistency there is tied to just how comfortable we've both become (as well as our three daughters) within the setting. We were both reared within a Southern Baptist church, and continued to invest / worship within that denomination (moving between two specific churches) during the first decade of our marriage. But once our oldest two daughters were preschool age, we transitioned to the reformed faith via Lakeside. Thankfully too, the location of the church was super convenient for us as a family. Both of those attributes made for good timing for us.
What changed (church experience) was primarily the rigor relative to the Scriptures. And this was most evident from the pulpit (sermons), though whilst looking back, the Sunday School environment also divested itself into that rigor as well. In contrast to that, there was much less commentary overall as well as few, if any jokes - at least from the pulpit. Overall, there was a heavy emphasis on the Bible as the Word of God - all 66 books of it (equal weighting between the Old & New Testament). And we really appreciated that change.
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I can remember my 'rents, when I was a teen, attending commentary classes at our Southern Baptist church. These classes were often taught on Sunday evenings, and were based on books like MasterLife or Experiencing God. You'll never find anything of the sort at Lakeside Pres, though they are at the present, sponsoring a once-a-month book study on reformed theology via The Wonderful Works of God by Herman Bavinck.
Ultimately, the purpose of the Southern Baptist church is to get bigger. Month to month, year to year. Therefore, the church experience they offer paints with as wide a (culturally "relevant") brush as possible. And this often results in heavy, heavy commentary being doled out which is usually eye-opening, humorous, off-putting, and so forth. It's entertaining stuff for sure. Angie and I both have heard some weird shit expunged from those pulpits over the years, and this is par for the course relative to these churches primary goals. 'Till we'd experienced another approach, we just assumed there weren't other options out there to explore.
Overall, no doubt, church attendance (from a parishioners point of view) - no matter where you go - is a commitment chore. Therefore, the weight of that monotony can be lifted as such. Considering that, we simply wanted more relative to where we were with our personal walk with God, even if it meant less entertaining and more enriching.
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I've often joked that Presbyterians are like graduate degree Christians. And this harkens back to the fact that they love God's Word first and foremost, and aren't as impressed / entertained as easily as other Christ followers.
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Taking all of that into consideration, our church is no doubt biased, in terms of membership, towards the middle-aged to older crowd. Yet, there are a small handful of young couples, and it's one of those that I'd like to focus on here, going forward within this post.
We'll dub them, for sake of anonymity, Stan & Harmony.
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But first...
During our newlywed years, a slightly older couple who'd been married 2 or 3 years longer than we, worshiped with us during our aforementioned Southern Baptist church days. Their names were Dan and Melody.
These two were so complementary of each other. Moreso, I believe, than any other couple we'd met up to that point in time. Dan was Type A, highly intelligent, and charming. Melody was equally as intelligent, but no doubt a Type B. Her demeanor was sweet and loving, if a little quiet.
Eventually, Dan and Melody quietly divorced to everyone's disbelief. They did this prior to procreating, and it coincided with Dan's obvious, though held close to the vest, problem with alcohol.
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Shifting gears back to the present, let's wrap this up by discussing preconceptions. Especially as they pertain to being young and green. One of the biggest weaknesses, if not the biggest weakness, relative to being young/er is naivety. And that naivety is tied to our perceptively greenish view of the world as we know it.
You may believe you've seen the ideal Christian couple. One whose marriage is rock solid whilst blessing everyone around them. The duo look fantastic together and seem inseparable.
Seeing the aforementioned Stan & Harmony sitting in the pew at Lakeside Pres on Sunday mornings, I sometimes believe I've seen them too, but it's a ruse. Just as Dan & Melody were.
Every couple is just one or two steps away from their marriage being on the rocks, and more often than not, it's related to that fleshly pull towards sexual sin or drug (alcohol is a drug) abuse. Therefore, do the work you need to do, find the support you need to find to keep your less than ideal marriage intact and strong.
Thursday, September 3, 2020
When The Happiest Man I Know Is Not So Happy / Identity Through Politics - Part Two
I attended a men's retreat (pre-Samson Society involvement) back in February of 2014 outside of Jackson, and my big takeaway from that particularly grueling 48 hours was being dubbed "flamboyant" by the retreat leader. And he adjudicated this label to me immediately following me pouring out my heart (telling my story) for 20 minutes in front of everyone in attendance (+/-30 men). It truly was the most derogatory insult I've experienced in recent memory, doled out by a respected local Christian counselor.
Growing up in the '80s, the role models for homosexual men were flamboyant. And for me personally, this included my high school science teacher. All of this played a significant role in me understanding that I had no place within that community. Flamboyant, in my mind, equated to one being completely at the mercy of their emotions.
Today, I still see a lot of this flamboyance, and it positions me to be that much further resolved in never, ever embracing / honoring the homosexual lifestyle.
Why?
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I'm definitely a sexist. It's impossible to be a complementarian Christian and not be.
Also, living with four women has made me that much more of one.
Now to return to my question of worthwhileness from my last post.
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For women, emotional responses are absolutely worthwhile. It's in and through their emotions that they experience so much of life. And this complements their husbands who typically do not put nearly as much stock in feelings as they do.
Within our western culture, men and women are equal. It's all 50/50. He can do everything equally as well as she can and vice versa. I hear this from my teenage daughters who're just as eat up with culture as any.
The Bible runs counter to this and so does logic, but logic is often ridiculed within our culture and the Bible discounted.
One of the most sizable weaknesses women wrestle with is the relationship they have with their emotions.
Let me repeat that statement.
One of the most sizable weaknesses women wrestle with is the relationship they have with their emotions.
To be more specific, women can be easily manipulated in and through their feelings. And, of course, feelings are just that. Feelings. They come and go. Rise and fall. Intense. Diminished. And on and on.
And this is why women should depend on their man as it relates to this particular attribute / character trait.
But what if her man is a dumbass? Or simply isn't where he needs to be to lead in this regard? What if she's "been there, done that" and only ended up getting screwed by her man (whose taken advantage of her emotionally)?
Those are valid questions, but we're going to have to assume here that she has a solid, reliable husband, pastor, brother, friend next to her who's looking out for her best interests.
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I watched my mother, whilst growing up, disregard her emotional beauty completely due to my father being quite inept as her man. It wasn't that he wasn't a great looking guy with an optimistic outlook. That he was. What was missing was that steadiness that most all young wives crave. In its place, my dad was an overgrown boy (at 18) who really had no business, at that time, being dubbed a husband - to anyone.
So, she became that steadiness herself within our threesome. And she'd seen this stopgap solution lived out within her own family as she grew up in the Mississippi Delta.
This attribute of steadiness is the polar opposite of flamboyant, and it's what I gravitate towards relative to the true joy of being a man. And as weird as it sounds, I learned it from my extremely feminine, strikingly beautiful mother. Therefore, it's due to her that I'm not / never will identifying myself as a gay man living a gay lifestyle with a pro-gay outlook.
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In closing, social media and cable TV are designed first and foremost to incite an emotional response from everyone who consumes it. And it pits all of us against each other whilst doing so. Otherwise, no one would devote the countless wasted time glued to all forms of it.
Because women bank their emotions as worthwhile (remember Part One of this post), these two (social media / cable TV) are optimized to the nth degree for the female consumer. And along those same lines, it's a fact that men and women consume social media very differently due to their wiring.
Mark Zuckerberg is leading the technological charge in exploiting the attributes of both sexes and our now cultural norms (men and women are 50/50). Brilliant guy, he is.
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Where to go to shore up ourselves as men, on behalf of our wives / daughters and otherwise (who need us to be their steadiness)?
Samson Society, of course. It's as simple as that.
Wednesday, September 2, 2020
When The Happiest Man I Know Is Not So Happy / Identity Through Politics - Part One
I've only met two men during my lifetime who epitomized a steady, consistently happy demeanor. That proves that this temperament is a rare find. And I'm not referring here to happyish men who're not bright enough to recognize the realities related to the unhappiness of this life. No. Not those. Instead, these are intelligent, godly men who're articulate and quite devout (yet not earnest in the least) who're always, always in good spirits - no matter what.
One of these I see every week at our church. He's an elder who's just a few years my senior, and I deeply respect this man, particularly as it relates to his compassionate, selfless heart as a Sunday School teacher, leader, husband, father, and amateur missionary.
Therefore, when I recognize that his demeanor has shifted from typical to atypical (for he himself), I grow deeply concerned. For it's unusual, and though a lot has become unusual these days, this still is quite unexpected.
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I've read about marriages being torn asunder relative to politics, but mostly, despite the implied risks, it comes down to willful respect if faced with opposing points of view. In fact, I worked with an architect years ago who used to decree that his vote "cancelled out" the vote of his spouse during each election - year after year after year. And he'd say this smugly yet with nobility / respect towards his wife.
Today, political points of view are becoming identifiers. Identity is the word I'm focusing on right here. Like sexual orientation or race is tied to identity. Religion, even. And you wrap that up inside the auspices of the pandemic that we've been experiencing, and it promulgates this notion of identity through politics that much further. And the weird thing is, this is happening to really smart people. Not just the dumbasses who have not the grey matter to think outside of their (incessantly overbearing) feelings.
Therefore, my aforementioned always happy friend, whilst faced with the emotions of this private, relational defeat (as I've implied above), has definitely lost his happiness. And it's all centered on his wife situating her identity outside of her relationship with Christ. For this is a binary move. There's no co-mingling. It's either 1 or 0. You're either in Christ or not.
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Years ago, I had a pastor friend whose wife stopped attending the church that he pastored in lieu of her decision to frequent her best friend's ("her soulmate" - his words) church down the street. Needless to say, this brought on much negative speculation which eventually boiled over prior to my friend resigning his position at the church.
But his wife was "following her heart" or somesuch, therefore this was no doubt a weirdmo isolated incident.
Today however, this kind of weird relational shit is prevalent. Prevalent.
Now, for me to say that means the following: Christians are relinquishing their true identities for something else. Something rooted, I believe, in emotions - namely anger / outrage.
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So what's the root of all this anger / outrage, and are these emotions worthwhile?
Let's talk about the meaning of the word worthwhile, and from there, I'm going to segue into how this pertains to the benefits of being involved within the Samson Society. Stay tuned and thanks for reading.
Is It Acceptable To Be Critical Of Your Spouse During A Samson Society Meeting? / Where (In The Grand Scheme of Things) Is The Importance In Marital Sex? / Why Is Fornication / Adultery So Prevalent?
Let me address the first question.
There's a difference in being critical and being derogatory. Derogatory comments / critiques aren't respectful of the absent (or not) individual, therefore they're not welcome regarding anyone else but oneself (if you feel so moved).
Strictest confidence brings about safety relative to any subject matter one would like to introduce within a Samson Society meeting, therefore bring it on. So long as it's not derogatory.
One rule Angie and I have abided by as a married couple is our refusal to speak negatively about each other to anyone besides each other...under any circumstances. Since we've stuck to this for close to 25 years, it's almost impossible to talk about her at all in any sort of negative light. Even within a Samson Society meeting. Considering that, we do not shy away from being critical of each other when deemed necessary.
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Question Two.
I've only had intercourse with Angie a few times in 2020, and only once after May 29 (post-stroke).
Vaginal intercourse is the ultimate expression of complementarian marriage. In particular, the yielding of the wife relative to penetration by the husband.
I personally know men who've been married for longer than I have, and who've only had vaginal intercourse with their wives two or three times over the decades past. And these two individuals (within that marriage) are perfectly healthy, physically attractive human beings. They just choose to not have any sexual intimacy. Ever.
Hence, as you can imagine, the desire for sexual intimacy wreaks havoc within this icy arrangement, and from there, the marriage becomes nothing more than a roommate situation. Progressively though, couples who choose to allow this amount of massive abstinence to occur within their marriages can't help but grow bitter and resentful of each other (as well as themselves). For they know that marriage is marriage is marriage due to the implied regular, natural sexual intimacy involved. It would be like owning a beautiful manual transmission convertible sports car but having to leave it forever garaged.
Meeting couples like this has been eye opening to Rob relative to the fundamental importance of regular hot sex in the marriage bed.
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Question Three.
Sexual intimacy isn't discussed by persons of respect / authority to teenagers. It simply isn't. Ever. Never. Never.
Therefore, teenagers are left to cope with puberty amongst all the relational high school / collegiate madness that comes with it, and most of them end up in bed as a default. And this is not surprising.
Vaginal intercourse is perfectly pleasurable and absolutely desirable. For men, it is truly an effective means for experiencing an emotional / physical release that's unlike any other experience he'll ever have. For ladies, it's that awesome sense of security that's baked into allowing a man into themselves. Security which says to them, "I'm safe and secure within the arms of this man. His masculinity is what I desire first and foremost during this moment of connection. He will protect and take care of me."
Every adult somehow navigated through puberty themselves, and most did so as every generation behind did. It happened on their own with little to no help from anyone else. Therefore, there's little, if any, desire to "give back" or "return the favor" to the next generation since there's no favor to return.
It's a bad situation that's ripe for narratives being put into play early on from which dictate individuals' lives far into the future. And within most of those narratives is shame and regret, confusion and discord. Sometimes even assault, sexual abuse, and rape. All of which are only there to isolate us from God's love and concern, forgiveness, and clear direction relative to his plan for our sexual selves.
Tuesday, September 1, 2020
Recommended Viewing - "My Brother Jordan"
Saturday, August 29, 2020
High Performance Christian Men
The Bible warns repeatedly about going into debt, therefore Christians should be fully aware of those risks. Therefore, reducing debt to $0, as quickly as possible, should be a goal.
Marriage is clearly not a goal for Christians, according to God's word, though many Christians choose to marry. The Bible is clear that you as an individual will be a more effective Christian if you're not hitched.
The Bible cites working out your salvation with "fear and trembling" which obviously takes a lifetime. That's no doubt a goal.
But here's the biggie:
We're to emulate Christ who's the closest personification of God that we have access to (through the Scriptures), and too, we hold within us the Holy Spirit. The latter empowers the former along with that whole "working out your salvation bit" by convicting and supernaturally transforming. This is sanctification. And this should be our ultimate goal.
As a Christian you should be focusing on these goals exclusively, and steer clear of any others that might replace or add to.
In closing, if you're clueless as to how best to emulate Christ, my recommendation is to firstly read the gospel of Mark. It's like a graphic novel in terms of its pacing and energy.
Wednesday, August 26, 2020
Sunday, August 23, 2020
Friendly Contrast
I was having lunch with a pastor friend many years ago, and he heard me boast regarding my parenting confidence. The Turner children were small then in contrast to my friend's children (who were a few years older overall). From there, he wanted to know where I had found the anticipatory goods to have the confidence I did. I stated blithely that I'd analyzed what my own parents had done well and not so well before taking the best ideas and discarding the rest. He sort of looked at me weirdly in response. But what I said was the honest truth. Analyzing important relationships from my past has always come naturally for me, and I think this is rooted in my inability to see my own innate self with any real clarity.
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I am indebted to God for bringing my high school best friend, Pete, into my life in 9th grade. Pete was one year older than I, and over the course of that first year, he ended up absolutely taken with Rob. I didn't realize this at the time, but whilst looking back as a young adult, it was apparent. His behavior was really unusual for a awhile there prior to everything eventually leveling out. Pete, I understand now, really needed a male friend that he could relate to, and I just happened to walk into his life at the right time to fulfill that need. Both of us had a shared love for music which is why we were both within the high school marching band, and it was through that extracurricular activity that our friendship was seeded.
Pete was (externally) the nerd of all nerds, and like so many nerds (by definition), he absolutely loathed himself in secret. On the surface though, he was masterful at playing the intellectual aloof, and it was this ability that I so admired / respected in him. Pete's only close friend was a girl named Dana (who was also the personification of teenage aloofness), and this had been the case for most of his life. Dana lived a few streets over from his own within their respective 'hood in suburban Madison county. These two were inseparable 'till Rob came along.
Dana came from a healthier (& younger) family dynamic than Pete (whose parents were considerably older), therefore the two of them spent the majority of their time at her family's abode listening to music, watching TV, and playing board games. Dana secretly had a crush on Pete all the while, but Pete masterfully kept the relationship strictly platonic. It was uniquely entertaining to observe this dance between the two of them, especially taking into account all of the aloofness between the two of them relative to anything and everything.
My friendship with these two abruptly shifted during my senior year in high school since they'd already left the Magnolia state (the year prior) to pursue their respective college degrees.
I kept in touch with Pete my freshman year via US mail, but all in all, it was in college that I began to further make decisions about how I spent my time that began to work against my friendship / admiration with / towards this slightly older yet still decidedly young man. That being said, had I not known Pete as well as I did, these perfunctory choices likely wouldn't have come to fruition.
All and all, Pete was a fixed point for me during my varsity years that made an indelible impression, and I cannot underestimate that.
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Pete's massive consumption of '80s popular culture (TV, music, film) was unparalleled. I too enjoyed much of what he did in this regard, but I had not the capacity to gorge myself as he did. Pete knew every network TV show (sitcom and otherwise) and all its actors (for he watched them all), every popular song and artist (for he listened to them all), and most films (that were within the era of the 1980s) down to the minutiae. On top of this, he played Nintendo video games during the summer months within his parents' den while I was frying chicken filets (for $6 an hour) at the local mall.
Around the time of my sophomore year of college, I decided I'd consumed enough televised entertainment (& commercials) for the life I'd been given, therefore I gave up TV completely. I vividly remember showing up to meet my potluck roommate there at Evans Hall sans a CRT television, and my goodness, was my roomie ever surprised. No TV? No TV.
Now, I didn't announce this decision to stop watching TV to the world. There were no decals applied to the bumper of my 1991 Mitsubishi coupe. I simply did it by declaring internally that TV time is time wasted, therefore I'd put a stop to it for good. I remember feeling vindicated from a huge cultural influence that had shaped / controlled so much of my mindset as a child.
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The other differentiator between myself and Pete was his inability to see anything but the "less than" within other young men. I vividly remember that for a number of years during Pete's college career, he was saddled with roommates, none of which he could ever get along with. Despite his sizable collegiate scholarship, he still had a hefty tuition / room & board bill to stomach each semester at the private institution he attended, therefore roommates within the dorm absolutely softened that monetary blow.
One of Pete's favorite pastimes was degrading his roommates behind their backs. He'd often share with me how he'd spend weeks and weeks never once even speaking to these other young men despite his close proximity. Everything, in his eyes, about them was frustratingly difficult to bear. I distinctly remember him labeling the majority of them as "stupid". At first, I laughed this off, but eventually, I began to realize that Pete was the one at fault here.
Considering that, my freshman year in college came with Rob's first potluck roommate, and reflexively, I unfortunately chose to take this same hyper-critical, negative-lensed approach. And despite the fact that some of my frustrations were genuinely warranted, mostly I was unwilling to compromise even an inch. It was my own arrogance that poisoned any attempt to build even an inkling of mutual respect between myself and Chad (freshman roommate). From there, whilst entering the summer following that year, I vowed to never be so inflexible / judgmental / prideful. And I was not.
Ultimately, I forced myself to learn how to listen and yield in an attempt to gain respect and confidence between potluck guy (there were three overall) and myself. And for the most part, it worked quite well. And still does even today. Men crave respect. It is the ambrosia of their souls.
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When I last communicated with Pete, it was during the early days of Facebook, sometime during 2008. Considering my losing touch with him, I'd set up a Facebook account with the sole purpose of finding / communicating with my old friend. Not surprisingly, Pete would soon earn an honorary doctorate in social media from none other than Mark Zuckerberg himself. For the two men undoubtedly were almost identical in their wiring. No doubt, I was not surprised to see the now results of this longstanding entertainment-centric pattern. Social media was now Pete's ultimate consumable weapon, providing him with a massive platform / sense of control.
My foray into social media went as follows. After locating Pete and obtaining his email address, I eventually encountered my tenth "Friend Request". From there, I bowed out of Facebook, and haven't looked back since, having asked the question of myself, "Who needs more than ten friends?". And again, thanks to Pete's headlong immersion into this new thing, I knew it was so much wiser for me to decouple forever from this massive time waster.
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And that's the greatest lesson from my high school best friend, Pete. It's the asking of the question, "What's the value of Rob's time?". And similarly, "What cultural norm is Rob using or has been tempted to use to hide himself inside of?". The latter question has particular significance for me.
In closing, becoming intimately familiar with other men (of all ages and in various roles), I believe, is the best means to discern what works best and what does not for you yourself. And this realization is achieved via overlapping you over your knowledge / understanding of them. Thusly, this takes time and effort poured into steadfast relationships that are blessed with good, if not perfect timing. Samson Society is a bit of a microcosm in this regard, therefore if you've no experience / know-how actively analyzing men (from all walks of life), here's your chance to understand what's important to you through your relationship with them. Another sizable benefit to being involved within our community of men.
This ain't no Sunday School class gentlemen. It's far more opportunistic than that will ever be.