One of my favourite movie genres is the whole superhero thing. I just love the message that these movies tend to send out. One of my all-time favourite movie quotes is “…with great power comes great responsibility!” I am probably never happier than settling down for an evening to watch ‘Man of Steel’ or the ‘Dark Knight’ franchise.

Now, the reason for this is very simple—something inside me is stirred by the theme of using our strength to make the world a better place.

I remember when I first read ‘The Code’, it was Code X that caught my attention: “I will use my strength to protect the weak and stand against the abuse of power”. In fact, this Code has made it into my personal list of values to live by. So, the sixth principle I want to share with you is:

I will use my strength to make the world a better place!

When I was just a boy growing up the Welsh Valleys, me and my mates always loved going out onto the Graig behind our houses. For those of you who have no idea what ‘the graig’ means, it was a piece of common land that went from my village of Aberbargoed across to the next village called New Tredegar. Every summer we would literally leave our homes after breakfast and not get back till the early evening was drawing in. It’s weird but the summers just felt so much better in those 80’s years (Ed – try the 70s).

One of the essential tools that we kept in our pockets was a magnifying glass, it meant that we could burn stuff whenever we wanted. It’s funny but not much has changed over the years, insomuch as every year I smile when I hear the chants of ‘burn him’ at The Gathering. As you can imagine, me and my mates started so many fires I would not be able to number them. Most of these fires we just about managed to contain, but just occasionally we would temporarily lose control and, man, how quickly those fires would gain strength and momentum.

Now, before I go any further please do not view me as a pyromaniac, but as followers of Jesus I believe we need to get much better at starting some fires.

So, in this series of blogs, where I am sharing the ten principles by which I am endeavouring to live, I now come to the fifth principle:

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Since I first committed my life to following Jesus Christ, the one thing I have found most difficult to do is PRAY! Particularly in the early days it just felt like I was doing nothing when I should have been doing something. I can remember the frustration of asking people, much more mature in their faith, for advice and hearing them say “…let’s pray about this!”

“Just give me some advice that I can act on, will you!”

I now know that much of that reaction came from a deep inner belief that I needed to come through on stuff, make life work, sort things out myself. I really believed that this was all part and parcel of what it meant to be a real man.

But solving every issue in life, and constantly being the answer for everyone around me is just an impossibility and I’m sure God wants to keep it that way.

Why?

Because the life that God promises us depends on us walking closely with Him. It flourishes when we depend on Him.
So, the fourth rule by which I am endeavouring to live life by is “I will pray as though my life depends on; because in truth it does!”

In this series of blogs that I am writing, I am sharing with you the 10 Rules for Living that I am endeavouring to forge into my lifestyle. I am convinced that what the world needs most is men who not only decide to follow Jesus in the sense of making a decision for Him, but who are also willing to do whatever it takes to live like Christ. The result being an epic change in the world where they live. So, a quick reminder of the first two rules:

1. I will relentlessly pursue God; and when I lose sight of Him, I will hunt Him down.
2. I will study His Word and let it shape my life!

The third rule or principle by which I am trying to live is all about the decisions that I make regarding my behaviour (when I am seen by others, but also when no-one is watching). ‘I will not let sin have mastery over me.’
Now, let me be clear before I go any further, following Christ is never a matter of ‘behaviour-management’, in the sense of if I just try harder, and do better God will think more of me’. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we are grafted into the family of God, and our God is a good, good father who loves us to bits (and crucially loves us for who we are). So, the whole idea of not letting sin have mastery over me is not about seeking approval. It is literally the way my life will go from average to world-changing, from typical to hugely significant. And, I know that deep down, all of us want to live properly significant lives.

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Positive Male Role Models

This week is International Men’s Day and the theme for 2018 is about ‘Positive male role models.’ So let’s explore it.

I love watching the actor Terry Crewes, if you are not familiar who Crewes is he is a former American Football player and now a Hollywood mega star. He has done some really funny Old Spice adverts too, well worth checking out. Anyway, he is also ripped, now we are talking massive, he has taken bodybuilding to the next level. He is big.

So, you have this bloke who just looks like a beast and if we want to suggest a sort of framework for being able to identify a ‘positive male role model’ thing, then he is my candidate. Let me explain.

When we look at guys and ask the question ‘is this guy a positive male role model in society?’ initially we do a quick scan of the outside, the stuff we see. Healthy, in good shape, cares for his hygiene, appearance, dresses well, whatever right? We make a few quick assessments and start to formulate our views. Then we might ask ‘what do I know about him, what have I seen, experienced or what do others say about this guy etc?’.

Ok, so by now we should have a good picture of this potential role model and whether they are looking to be a positive and inspiring one! We might even latch on to certain aspects in their lives where they have been successful or have helped others, inspired change or been influential in a certain positive way.

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I wanted to reflect a bit about the UFC, Ultimate Fighting Championships.
Now, this may be a divisive subject, I get that, because for lots of men out there the idea of watching guys fight like this just isn’t something they care to see. Some men on the other hand will appreciate the UFC for a variety of different reasons.

Ok, with that out of the way, I enjoy UFC. I am not a regular fan, I do not pay for fights or stay up late to watch but I do watch replays on YouTube and follow current news and updates about UFC. What do I like about it? I like the battle, the unknown outcome and the way two marital artists can showcase their technical and physical abilities from a particular path of training. In this moment of battle they are called upon to carry the name of their background, training and school of martial art with them. A loss does reflect poorly on a martial artists style, technique and ability and perhaps there is an unwritten process here of never knowing which martial art is ultimately the best, so the battles continue.

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Red or white? There has been a lot of debate about the colour of poppies this year. Not sure where you stand on this issue, especially on this 100th anniversary of the end of WW1, but I would like to throw something else into the mix: red, white or …. a tomato?

Now stay with me on this .. all will become clear I promise you. In 1979 I joined the Royal Navy and served until 2007 (that’s over 28 years). I married a serving Naval Nurse and have a son serving in the Royal Marines Band Service. My father was in the Royal Navy and my Grandfather a Warrant Officer in the Military Police during WW2. I have a reasonable military history … I lost good mates during the Falklands conflict, and many others over the years whilst serving. I have been involved in repatriations from abroad and comforted widows at memorial services … I have cast many wreaths into the sea over wrecks and war graves of ships from WW1, WW2 and the Falklands. I restored a memorial to guys who died when their helicopter from HMS Brilliant went down off the coast of Kenya … I could go on. I say all that simply to put some context to what I am about to say. I personally am not that fussed what colour poppy you wear to remember. But remember we must … men, women, children, animals, serving or civilian who have died in wars and conflicts over many, many years. It may seem obvious but I believe that remembrance is simply about that … remembering, BUT also teaching a new generation of the horrors of war and conflict alongside the sacrifices made when serving others. Be that serving in military uniform in times of war or emergency services in peace time and of course those sacrifices made by families and friends ….. the list goes on. What helps you remember, red or white ?

Such a gripping headline right? Well it was for me.
This blog is about the organisation who work behind the great marketing of Movember, the art of men growing moustaches for the month of November. But it’s lots more than that and I wanted to share some of this with you all.
Movember is basically the charity tackling prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention. They use their voice, network and reach to raise funds, awareness and support to tackle these silent killers of men in the UK.
I have to admit I have never taken part in Movember, but I love the idea of a movement forcing this stuff into the public world. Its helping to smash stigmas and fear in men who are tackling issues of physical and mental health in their lives.

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Life goes by so quickly, next year I will be a young 50 year old, I can’t actually believe this and you know what, I’m finding it hard to accept.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the word ‘legacy’. A legacy is something you leave behind and for the most part in Western society it’s about money, house, assets etc.

Just a couple of weeks back, my youngest daughter Rachel played in the Scottish Cup semi final with her football team and they managed to win. So now we have a final to look forward too! So it’s a story and achievement that she will be able to pass onto her own kids and grandchildren.
For me as a Dad, I hope to pass on a house and some money to help my children on their own journey, but the most important Legacy I will leave, will be faith. Something that is eternal and not just temporal.
The world we live in is consumed by ownership and we strive for more things, we are a consuming society, we never seem to be satisfied.
The verse in the Bible that speaks to this is Matthew 6 v 21 ‘For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also’.

In my last blog, I shared the first of ten values that I am endeavouring to live by. That was to relentlessly pursue God, and in those moments when we lose sight of Him purposefully choose to hunt Him down. In my experience, and in so much of my reading, I have learned that God wants to be pursued and the harder we pursue Him the more of himself he wants to reveal to us.
So here is the second of my ten values which, incidently, is the primary way of pursuing God. This is ‘I will study His Word and let it shape my life’.
There is a guy who I meet up with fairly regularly, who is a great friend, and a profoundly ordinary bloke! But what stands out to me is that he always has his pocket-sized Bible with him. No matter what we have arranged to do together, whenever we sit down he pulls this small Bible out of his bag and sets it down in front of him. Invariably then, as we talk, he opens it to a page that he has highlighted and shares some wisdom that is so often relevant to our conversation.
This guy epitomises a lifestyle of reading the Word and letting it shape his life.
At one point, I kid you not, I went onto Amazon and bought a pocket-sized Bible in an effort to live in the same way. I am not sure that I managed to carry the Bible with me for more than a week. That said, as I have developed a stronger faith in God, I too have also developed a greater dependence on His Word.

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