The Brigade Blog
Equipping men and women to disciple the next generation through Christ-centered, single-gender mentorship. Stay connected with the latest stories, news, and ministry updates.
News
Published:May 28, 2026Updated:May 29, 20263KViews2Likes0CommentsBy
Michael O'HaraShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditIt was a necktie I couldn’t bring myself to wear all day… one of our children had purchased me a “beautiful” polyester tie she had bought for a few dollars at her school’s pop-up gift shop for Father’s Day. Forget my other ties from Brooks Brothers or Jos. A. Banks, this tie’s highly sophisticated and stylistic design was a marvel to behold; brightly colored footballs, baseballs, soccer balls and more, as well as flames, oh how the flames made this new tie the “pièce de résistance” to my professional attire.Read more
News
Published:May 4, 2026141Views0Likes0CommentsBy
Joel FiscusShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditAs much as some people would lead us to believe otherwise, freedom to do as we please is not true freedom. The perception of autonomy bringing happiness lends itself to addictive practices, loneliness, isolation, and torpedoing relationships. Who likes to be in a relationship with someone who is self-centered?Read more
News
Published:May 1, 2026Updated:May 4, 20263KViews2Likes0CommentsByMichael O'HaraShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditBut what captured my attention most wasn’t the award, the crowd, or the speakers; it was the story behind “Call to Courage” founder Frank Reich. Frank Reich, a man known not only as Jim Kelly’s former backup quarterback, but also for a life and legacy of faith. And, for one of the most thrilling games in NFL history…Read more
News
Published:April 14, 2026Updated:May 4, 20263KViews2Likes0CommentsByMichael O'HaraShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditAs I share these strategic initiatives and plans with you, I want it to be clear that this work is meant to increase the value, recognition, and effectiveness of Christian Service Brigade as a leading ministry in the discipleship of the next generation. We recently began work on a “Profile of a Brigadier” and a “Profile of a Wildflower,” providing better definition to our mission and to what is a godly man and woman. In addition, our board has reviewed and approved slight adjustments to our mission and vision statements:
MISSION – Building a Godly Generation for Tomorrow
VISION – To…Read more
News
Published:April 5, 2026Updated:April 7, 20263KViews2Likes0CommentsByMichael O'HaraShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditIf you’ve heard Christians teach or preach long enough, you’ll recognize the words from Psalm 14:1, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” Conversely, and just as important, is Proverbs 9:10, which says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” The truth is we are all somewhere on the foolish-wisdom spectrum.Read more
News
Published:March 17, 20263KViews2Likes0CommentsByMichael O'HaraShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditIt is my honor to share that Christian Service Brigade has been diligently working to explore how we can meet the comprehensive discipleship needs of both sides of the coin for future generations. Honoring the effectiveness of CSB’s same-gender, intergenerational discipleship model (we should really recognize it as God’s model), this spring, we are launching the piloting phase of a separate and distinctly female programming called Wildflowers.Read more
News
Published:February 27, 20262KViews2Likes0CommentsByMichael O'HaraShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditLiving close to the CSB headquarters in the greater Buffalo area, I am thrilled to welcome March; that means above freezing temperatures, and spring will soon come. Living in one of the snowiest places in the U.S. requires this type of hopeful mentality.Read more
News
Published:February 3, 2026Updated:February 4, 20262KViews2Likes0CommentsByMichael O'HaraShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditScripture repeatedly calls believers to let love shape how we live with one another. The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 12:10, “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.” Love is a commitment to seeking the good of another. In a world shaped by competition, fear, and self-preservation, the Christian message of love stands apart. Read more
News, Stories
Published:January 8, 2026Updated:February 4, 20262KViews2Likes0CommentsBy
Gerald SmithShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditWhen I was 22 and newly married, my Battalion captain came up to me and told me he was leaving our church and had offered my name to the elders to take over as captain of our unit. Honestly, at the time, I felt less a part of an organized transition plan and more like an imposter sitting in the seat of a man who had faithfully chaired our program for several decades. Our Battalion unit reflected my predecessor’s personality in every way. How could I possibly “fill in” for such a man?Read more
News
Published:December 29, 2025Updated:February 4, 20262KViews1Like0CommentsByMichael O'HaraShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditAt some point in your life, if you haven’t already experienced it, you will wonder about your purpose and if you’ve made any difference.
Like many families, the O’Haras worked our way through a list of Christmas movies that we enjoy. A Christmas Story, Home Alone, and Elf’ are always on our short list. But this year we also enjoyed the black and white It’s a Wonderful Life. The angel Clarence gives the main character, George Bailey, a great gift: a chance to see what the world would be like without him. There’s one particular line that struck me and I…Read more
News
Published:December 8, 2025Updated:February 4, 20262KViews2Likes0CommentsBy
Jeff WellsShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditFor Tim, it all began in fifth grade, when his dad, Doug, connected with a local church that hosted a Brigade unit. Doug started to attending with his sons, Jeff and Tim, and that weekly commitment soon became a defining part of their family rhythm. Meetings, friendships, father-son campouts, canoe trips, achievements, these were more than activities. They were shared experiences that shaped the Wells men.Read more
News
Published:December 5, 2025Updated:February 4, 20262KViews1Like0CommentsBy
Christian RosadoShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditFor Tim, it all began in fifth grade, when his dad, Doug, connected with a local church that hosted a Brigade unit. Doug started to attending with his sons, Jeff and Tim, and that weekly commitment soon became a defining part of their family rhythm. Meetings, friendships, father-son campouts, canoe trips, achievements, these were more than activities. They were shared experiences that shaped the Wells men.Read more
News
Published:November 25, 2025Updated:February 4, 20262KViews1Like0CommentsByChristian RosadoShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditThe excitement of Christmas can sweep up most of us. Even when kids grow up, they look back at Christmas as a season when focus and priorities change; energy and effort are put into decorating, shopping, and making plans for getting together with others. But as a kid, let’s be honest, it’s the presents that stir imaginations and desires.Read more
News
Published:November 19, 2025Updated:February 4, 20262KViews1Like0CommentsByMichael O'HaraShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditThe excitement of Christmas can sweep up most of us. Even when kids grow up, they look back at Christmas as a season when focus and priorities change; energy and effort are put into decorating, shopping, and making plans for getting together with others. But as a kid, let’s be honest, it’s the presents that stir imaginations and desires.Read more
News
Published:November 4, 2025Updated:February 4, 20262KViews2Likes0CommentsBy
Amy LairShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditIn 2022, our family was forever changed. My husband passed away after a 10-month battle with cancer. One thing on my heart at this time was the need for my youngest son to have godly men in his life, to have role models. I knew he already greatly respected the men involved in the CSB summer camps he had gone to with his Dad for several years. My other children were older, but Ben was at a crucial age where he needed a godly man’s input into his life and growth.Read more
News
Published:November 3, 2025Updated:February 4, 20262KViews3Likes0CommentsByMichael O'HaraShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditA generation is rising to respond to ideologies that have minimized and confused the understanding of what a man is and the role men are called to play in our society. I want to clearly share with you the need and urgency for Christian Service Brigade to rise and respond to the brokenness of both our current cultural moment and the future of our world.Read more
News
Published:October 21, 2025Updated:February 4, 20262KViews3Likes0CommentsByMichael O'HaraShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditn 1937, Wheaton College sophomore and CSB founder, Joe Coughlin, was assigned a boys’ Sunday School class at a Methodist church near Glen Ellyn, IL, as his Christian service assignment. Coughlin developed his own programming and called this boys’ group the Christian Service Squad.Read more
News
Published:October 16, 2025Updated:February 4, 20262KViews1Like0CommentsByChristian RosadoShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditChristian Service Brigade celebrates and honors the role of the local church! This Pastor Appreciation Month, we want to bless your church and pastor by helping new families in your community connect with your church.Read more
News
Published:October 1, 2025Updated:February 4, 20262KViews2Likes0CommentsByJoel FiscusShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditIn April 2025, the FBI began using the term Nihilistic Violent Extremist (NVE) to describe a new and deeply troubling type of attacker, someone who harms or kills simply because they believe nothing really matters.Read more
News
Published:September 30, 2025Updated:February 4, 20262KViews1Like0CommentsBy
Tony StephensShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditMark Fiscus started our battalion 10 years ago with three young men. He faithfully discipled them and his adult leaders, and God blessed them with a thriving ministry within our congregation and community. You can replicate this in your own congregation. Invest in men and young men through Christian Service Brigade, and like me, you will see God do amazing things!Read more
News
Published:September 30, 2025Updated:February 4, 20262KViews1Like0CommentsByMichael O'HaraShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditIn my estimation, to be worthy of the name Christian, an organization must be able to tie its own mission statement to the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20 to make disciples. I am truly thrilled to lead an organization whose mission is a discipleship ministry! The mission statement of Christian Service Brigade is, “Building Godly men of today and tomorrow.”Read more
News
Published:September 21, 2025Updated:February 4, 20262KViews1Like0CommentsByMichael O'HaraShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditGrowing up, my mother was a wonderful example of a Godly woman, but my father was non-religious. He was raised in a strict home with loose associations to a dead mainline denomination. My father joined the Navy as soon as he could, traveled overseas and left religion behind.Read more
News
Published:August 15, 2025Updated:February 4, 20262KViews1Like0CommentsByChristian RosadoShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditChristian Service Brigade is pleased to announce the appointment of Michael O’Hara as our new president. Mr. Michael O’Hara brings a wealth of experience in organizational leadership, executive account management, strategic planning, development and advancement, and marketing and communications.Read more
Stories, Transformed Lives
Published:June 23, 2025Updated:February 4, 20262KViews1Like0CommentsBy
Dave GreggShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditWhat started as a simple email from Christian Service Brigade turned into a 430-mile, five-day biking adventure across Michigan—with my granddaughters by my side. From flat tires to unexpected angels on the trail, each mile brought challenges, joy, and unforgettable memories. This was more than a ride—it was a God-given journey of purpose, family, and faith.Read more
Stories
Published:June 17, 2025Updated:February 4, 20261KViews0Likes0CommentsBy
Sam VandykeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditWe’re excited to share a short but powerful video featuring two young men from CSB Unit 2760 in downtown Pittsburgh—Acelan and Zach. In their own words, they describe why they love being part of the Battalion program.Read more
Stories, Transformed Lives
Published:June 5, 2025Updated:February 4, 20262KViews1Like0CommentsBy
Christian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditMy dad grew up in a broken family. He was the type of kid that got into fights, and even gave a kid a bloody nose. But God changed him. We want to tell you a bit about the man he became.Read more
News, Stories
Published:June 2, 2025Updated:February 4, 20261KViews0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditWe’re excited to share a short but powerful video featuring two young men from CSB Unit 2760 in downtown Pittsburgh—Acelan and Zach. In their own words, they describe why they love being part of the Battalion program.Read more
Stories
Published:May 20, 2025Updated:February 4, 20261KViews1Like0CommentsBy
CHris DowShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditI pedaled, as cars whizzed by me, entirely too fast. I was a thirteen-year-old boy on a bike, fully convinced of my own immortality, and I was riding the nine and a half miles across Modesto to the mall. The Mall! That fabled place of Tilt Arcade, fast food, and girls! What storied adventures would my buddy and I have that day? Who would we meet? As I panted and pumped, a new question arose in my deluded adolescent brain: How long WAS this ride, exactly? What had I signed up for?Read more
News
Published:January 29, 2025Updated:February 4, 20263KViews0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditStrengthen the bond between fathers and their children at Fathering Adventure Day! Christian Service Brigade provides the coaching, resources, and support you need to plan and run this unforgettable, meaningful one day event.Read more
Stories
Published:January 9, 2025Updated:February 4, 20262KViews1Like0CommentsByDave GreggShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditStrengthen the bond between fathers and sons through mentorship and honest communication. Discover how opening up about struggles with things like pornography can transform fear into love and build a deeper, Christ-centered relationship.Read more
Stories
Published:December 30, 2024Updated:February 4, 20262KViews1Like0CommentsByChristian RosadoShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditLooking for a ministry to help raise boys into godly men? Christian Service Brigade provides mentorship, life skills, and spiritual growth through Christ-centered programs like Battalion and Stockade. As a mom, I’ve seen my five sons thrive, develop meaningful friendships, and grow into servant-hearted men with the guidance of godly mentors. CSB is a blessing for families seeking to raise boys who honor God and lead with character.Read more
News
Published:December 30, 2024Updated:February 4, 20261KViews0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEdit2024 has been a year of growth, leadership, and unforgettable moments as men and boys came together to shape their futures and impact generations for Christ. Watch our recap video to relive the inspiring workshops, hands-on activities, and transformational stories that are building a legacy of faith and leadership.Read more
News
Published:December 19, 2024Updated:February 4, 20261KViews0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditLooking for a ministry to help raise boys into godly men? Christian Service Brigade provides mentorship, life skills, and spiritual growth through Christ-centered programs like Battalion and Stockade. As a mom, I’ve seen my five sons thrive, develop meaningful friendships, and grow into servant-hearted men with the guidance of godly mentors. CSB is a blessing for families seeking to raise boys who honor God and lead with character.Read more
Stories
Published:December 17, 2024Updated:February 4, 20262KViews0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditLooking for a ministry to help raise boys into godly men? Christian Service Brigade provides mentorship, life skills, and spiritual growth through Christ-centered programs like Battalion and Stockade. As a mom, I’ve seen my five sons thrive, develop meaningful friendships, and grow into servant-hearted men with the guidance of godly mentors. CSB is a blessing for families seeking to raise boys who honor God and lead with character.Read more
Stories
Published:December 11, 2024Updated:February 4, 20261KViews0Likes0CommentsByDave GreggShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditDiscover how generations of faithfulness are possible in your family through the transformative power of discipleship. Read the inspiring story of three generations impacted by Christian Service Brigade, where faithful mentors turned a fatherless boy into a legacy builder. Watch Josh’s journey as he starts a battalion near Sacramento, continuing the mission to disciple men and boys for Christ. Explore how God’s faithfulness can overflow into your family and community.Read more
Stories
Published:December 11, 2024Updated:February 4, 20261KViews0Likes0CommentsByDave GreggShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditDo you believe that generations of faithfulness are possible in your family? I do. I believe it because I cling to God’s promises. I was taught to do this by the men who discipled me through Christian Service Brigade. I saw the faithfulness of the godly, though imperfect men serving me. They served in faith. With human eyes, one would see no reason to think that their effort would pay off. Yet I saw the way their faithful, hopeful service changed me, a fatherless boy growing up in poverty. And their faithfulness has overflowed its banks, transforming my own son, Josh,…Read more
News
Published:November 28, 2024Updated:February 4, 20261KViews0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditDiscover fun Thanksgiving facts about food traditions, like whether turkey was served at the first feast, the marshmallow debate, and how Swanson’s TV dinners were born—all while celebrating gratitude and God’s blessings this holiday.Read more
News
Published:November 20, 2024Updated:February 4, 20263KViews1Like1CommentByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditWe are excited to welcome Mike Fitzgerald to the Christian Service Brigade team! After a 30-year career as a medical doctor, Mike answered God’s call to serve as the new Field Representative for the North Central region. With a rich history of leadership in CSB and a heart for intergenerational discipleship, Mike is passionate about fostering revival and strengthening communities for Christ.
Read more about Mike’s journey, his vision for ministry, and how you can support his work in the North Central region.Read more
Materials
Published:October 21, 2024Updated:February 4, 20261KViews0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditEngage your homeschooled boys with Christian Service Brigade’s faith-based curriculum, featuring hands-on modules like a robot-building project that integrates biblical lessons, leadership development, and practical life skills.Read more
Materials
Published:September 3, 2024Updated:February 4, 20262KViews0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditEmbark on an Unforgettable Adventure with the new Tree Climber Program: Inspiring Biblical and Outdoor Exploration for Christian Dads and Their First and Second Grade Boys
Thanks to the success of the Tree Climbers Guild beta test, we’re thrilled to announce the release of our updated curriculum for the upcoming season. Rather than waiting for everything to be finished in a year or two, we’re embracing continuous improvement and delivering the best materials as soon as they’re ready.
This season, you can expect to see brand-new units like:
Rocks
Chess
Treasure Hunting: Artifacts of Ancient America
The Birds…Read more
Stories
Published:June 14, 2024Updated:February 4, 20261KViews0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditChristian Service Brigade is as much a ministry to families as it is to boys. Men who join to help boys are often equipped to be better husbands, fathers and friends. Erin Jones, the wife of one of our Brigade leaders shares the many ways God used Brigade not only in the lives of her boys but her husband as well.Read more
Stories
Published:May 29, 2024Updated:February 4, 20261KViews0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditI grew up without a father, thrust into a life of uncertainty and hardship. My beautiful mother, even with her best attempts to love and raise me, could never fill the void I had for a male role model and a father’s love. I began to attend the battalion nights with my son Michael, now 15, and God used it to strengthen my purpose and resolve to teach my sons to be godly men and to discard the futile and shallow definitions of masculinity the world throws at them.Read moreStories
Published:May 23, 2024Updated:February 4, 20262KViews0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditMany men don’t know where they fit in at church. They feel the war on men even in their congregations or they simply don’t know how their skills, interests, and experiences can be used within the church. Brigade provides a natural place for men to use their gifts without feeling like they need to give up part of who they are.Read moreStories
Published:May 10, 2024Updated:February 4, 20261KViews0Likes0CommentsByDave GreggShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditMen have often abused their strength and authority. It is a mistake to respond to this sin by ignoring the necessary leadership to which God has called men. The answer is men who know how to serve, BY LEADING. That’s what Brigade helps men to teach boys.Read more
Stories
Published:March 30, 2024Updated:February 4, 20261KViews0Likes0CommentsByDave GreggShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditWhat if things don’t workout? What if I fail? What if I die? All of the most important “what ifs” are put to rest in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is what we get to teach our boys and young men as we celebrate Easter.Read more
Stories
Published:March 5, 2024Updated:February 4, 20261KViews4Likes0CommentsByDave GreggShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditBuilding antifragile boys through adventure: raising resilient, capable young men.Read more
Stories
Published:March 5, 2024Updated:February 4, 20261KViews5Likes0CommentsByDave GreggShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditThey’re bombarded from all directions with examples of anything but a godly lifestyle. Studies show that boys learn how to behave as men by what they observe around them. With television, music and even their peers, they spend much more time exposed to bad examples than ever before.
That’s what makes CSB Ministries so important. Serving as a light in a dark world, we expose young men to the principles of godly living. We teach and instill in them values and ethics that last a lifetime. To show them what it really means to be a man…..and we’ve been doing it…Read more
Stories, Valor Parents
Published:December 18, 2023Updated:February 4, 20261KViews0Likes0CommentsByDave GreggShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditGod used the death of my wife this past June to produce a stunning plot twist in Zac’s story.. I think I had lost hope. Zac just seemed lost. Stuck. I met him 16 years ago when he was 12 during one of my first years in full time ministry with CSB. There was some good initial fruit in his life, but the past 10 years we hadn’t really even seen or talked and what I heard just made my heart ache.Read more
Stories
Published:May 17, 2023Updated:February 4, 20261KViews1Like0CommentsByChristian RosadoShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditChristian Service Brigade is as much a ministry to families as it is to boys. Men who join to help boys are often equipped to be better husbands, fathers and friends. Erin Jones, the wife of one of our Brigade leaders shares the many ways God used Brigade not only in the lives of her boys but her husband as well.Read more
Stories
Published:April 7, 2023Updated:February 4, 20261KViews0Likes0CommentsByDave GreggShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditAs we watch my wife live her last days I and my family find confidence in the face of cancer and death in large part because of the trust in God’s word that I learned as a boy in Christian Service Brigade. I hope this short video helps you to appreciate with even greater excitement the message of Easter.Read moreStories
Published:December 28, 2022Updated:February 4, 20261KViews0Likes0CommentsByDave GreggShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditMany men don’t know where they fit in at church. They feel the war on men even in their congregations or they simply don’t know how their skills, interests, and experiences can be used within the church. Brigade provides a natural place for men to use their gifts without feeling like they need to give up part of who they are.Read more
Stories
Published:December 14, 2022Updated:February 4, 20261KViews1Like0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditCSB played a vital role in connecting Neo with his friend and now mentor David Gregg. As we celebrate 85 years of ministry to men. young men, and boys, we are excited for you to hear about a good example of the kind of ministry Brigade helps men succeed in.Read moreStories
Published:May 19, 2022Updated:February 4, 20261KViews0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditIn John’s testimony he tells how numerous men “filled the gap” that was left by an absent father. Our culture is full of fatherless boys, even the ones with dads who may be there but are silent about faith. Without a context like Brigade it is that much harder for the gap to be filled.Read more
Fall 2021, Parenting, Slider, Valor Parents
Published:November 4, 2021Updated:February 4, 2026757Views0Likes0CommentsBy
David GreggShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditI don’t really understand depression. God has not yet added that as a chapter in my life, and based on my experiences and temperament likely won’t be. Because of our built in differences some of us are simply more prone, through our natural emotional make-up, our history, or our biology, to experience depression. Because the pain and frustration of depression was outside my experience I had never seriously considered depression in boys until I was sitting across from a young man in the midst of strangling emotional and spiritual pain. “I’ve never heard anyone preach or talk about depression at church.”…Read more
Fall 2021, Parenting, Valor Parents
Published:November 3, 2021Updated:February 4, 20261KViews0Likes0CommentsByChristian RosadoShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditWhen common sense is not all that common
There he stood near the front door, just a few days into his first week of high school. He had all of his school binders and books stacked in his hands, so high I could barely see his face. Pencils and papers were hanging loosely out of his folders. Without any additional hands available, his instrument, a laptop, and his lunch waited impatiently on the table. How was he going to manage to carry them too?
So I asked what I thought was a helpful and innocent question, “Um. . . where’s your…Read more
Communication, Fall 2021, Valor Parents
Published:November 2, 2021Updated:February 4, 2026847Views0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditIt’s probably one of my favorite family pictures of all time. Two little boys, ages 4 and 2, wearing bib overalls, old fashioned caps, and bare feet. One holding a baseball bat, the other holding a baseball. Where did the time go? They look so cute, so much alike, but they couldn’t be more different now. Tommy, the oldest, loves baseball. He’s playing college ball. Tate, the younger, would much rather be holding a fork and a meatball. He could care less about anything sports related. We raised them the same. How could they be so different? It’s just one of…Read more
Character, Fall 2021, Slider, Valor Parents
Published:November 1, 2021Updated:February 4, 2026903Views0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditIn this fallen world, “trouble” feels like an inadequate word to capture the real pain, sadness, or for many, even catastrophe so common in our life experience. But in John 16:33, Jesus says the bittersweet words, “In this world you will have trouble … But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
As a young fellow, my first life altering challenge certainly felt like more than a bit of trouble.
I was just a kindergartner when pain in my legs evolved into a long and nearly fatal battle with Guillain-Barré Syndrome. Feeling “broken” with paralyzed extremities and respiratory muscles, I was…Read more
Transformed Lives, Valor Parents
Published:May 28, 2020Updated:February 4, 20262KViews1Like0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditNow more than ever boys need heroes. Sometimes those heroes swoop in during a moment of crisis, but often heroes are the men who sacrifice everyday investing in the lives of boys. The month of June Christian Service Brigade, the parent ministry of Valor Parent Magazine will be celebrating these heroes through short videos as men share about the heroes that helped shape them. Below you’ll also find a message from our President in which he shares a recent brush with death that revealed a hero in his life.
I should be dead. That’s what the doctor told me last Saturday…Read more
Parenting, Spring 2020 Online, Valor Parents
Published:May 9, 2020Updated:February 4, 2026885Views0Likes0CommentsByChristian RosadoShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditMotherhood took me by surprise. The kind of surprise that happens 9 months after your wedding day. Yes … that kind.
I was never that little girl; the one that dreamed of being a mom and having a house brimming with kids. I was the tomboy. As the second oldest of five, my sister and I were tasked with typical older sibling responsibilities: babysitting, changing diapers, and wiping various body parts. But this early primer on motherhood just made it feel like a burdensome responsibility, not a joy. I hated it. I wasn’t sure if kids would be in my future.…Read more
Character, Spring 2020 Online, Valor Parents
Published:April 20, 2020Updated:February 4, 2026907Views0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditMike stood in the kitchen doorway and held up the detention notice from school. I could tell from the set of his jaw that he expected the worst. I pushed down all the standard phrases that immediately came to mind: You know better! I can’t believe you did this! What were you thinking!
I made eye contact and said, “Tough day, huh?”
He looked surprised, then replied, “Yeah—I guess you could say that.”
“What happened?” I asked. We sat down at the table and I listened without interrupting as he laid out the situation. At the end, I asked, “What…Read more
Fall 2019, Parenting, Valor Parents
Published:November 25, 2019Updated:February 4, 20262KViews0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditEnding the responses that trigger the conflict between you and your children
When your children were young, you spoke words of life into their little beings. They cooed and you cooed back. You had no intention of ever berating your babies. Even if you yourself were raised in a home full of heated arguments, explosive and loud, you never intended to pass that legacy down. In those early years you held great hope that your family would build each other up with your words.
But since the start of those “terrible twos,” a battle of words has raged between you…Read more
Fall 2019, Parenting, Valor Parents
Published:November 25, 2019Updated:February 4, 2026978Views0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditMinutes turned into hours. They’d been gone too long. I hesitated to verbalize my fear, as if doing so would somehow bring the fear to life. And then it happened.
December 7th 2016 was a routine day for our family serving as missionaries in rural Alaska. Home was a remote village off the road system, so flying in small planes was the only travel option. We finished up chores that day, grabbed last minute items, and hopped onto separate airplanes to head to Anchorage, 150 miles away. Our oldest, Josh, was in Anchorage attending his freshman year of college and…Read more
Fall 2019, Transformed Lives, Valor Parents
Published:November 25, 2019Updated:February 4, 20261KViews0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditHow a kid with buck teeth and a bad stutter experienced Jesus
I don’t enjoy thinking of embarrassing experiences from my childhood, let alone writing about them. But dredging them up is good because I not only remember the pain but also the people God used to help me pass through that pain. It is one of these people that I want to tell you about. He may not have known it at the time, but this young man’s kindness to me, a boy suffering from a crippling speech impediment, showed me a tangible picture of Jesus.
To truly understand the…Read more
Fall 2019, Parenting, Valor Parents
Published:November 25, 2019Updated:February 4, 2026935Views0Likes0CommentsByDavid GreggShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditIt became clear that this ordinary moment in my life was not ordinary for him at all
Shaving is a big deal. It’s a big deal because it’s an annoying hassle and blades are a hugely expensive racket, running a close second to ink cartridges. But when you are a young man it represents a major threshold into manliness. It is easy for me standing so far past that threshold to forget how important this mark of masculinity was to me as a young man.
My own fatherlessness was not a daily part of my thinking, but I can…Read more
Character, Spring 2019, Valor Parents
Published:April 15, 2019Updated:February 4, 20261KViews0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditWhen to Call it Quits.
I’m a dad who values sports. I played professional sports, coached over 20 of my four sons’ youth teams, and saw three of them play Division 3 college football and one make it to a Division 1 team. I wrote a previous article, Knowing the Goal, to encourage the right use of youth athletics. But many of you reading this know the way that the demands of modern youth athletics can grow to dominate the individual and family lives of those participating. You’re tired, and you’re sensing that your priorities have gotten turned upside down, but…Read more
Parenting, Spring 2019, Valor Parents
Published:April 15, 2019Updated:February 4, 20262KViews0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditWhen I took the job I had no idea how badly I would mess things up.
The summer after I graduated high school, I took a temporary job working at a small radio station. Typically, I did simple tasks like answering phones and typing letters, but the most important job I had was in the station’s headquarters, where I set up the sequence of songs for the day. Back then, the station’s songs were still on large reels, like big round cassette tapes, and every morning I switched numbered buttons on a huge machine to determine which of six reels to…Read more
Spring 2019, Valor Parents
Published:April 15, 2019Updated:February 4, 2026891Views0Likes0CommentsByDavid GreggShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditOur only hope was in hearing the bad news
The E.R. doctor called me over to look at the computer monitor on which an image of my wife’s brain was displayed. He pointed to a big blob in the middle of her brain and simply said, “That shouldn’t be there.” It was very bad news. My wife was given three months to live.
No one likes bad news. The worse the news, the more we want to avoid it. Sin is like that. The Bible’s message is like a doctor pointing to the sin growing out of our heart and saying,…Read more
Character, Spring 2019, Valor Parents
Published:April 15, 2019Updated:February 4, 2026847Views0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEdit“I buried my anger, and then it buried me.”
I want to tell you about my friend. He’s still in jail; guilty of laundering money. He’s got another seven years left. Before it all crumbled this guy had more money than I will probably have in three lifetimes. He didn’t launder money because he wanted money. There was something deeper going on inside that it took a jail cell to unlock.
Until the day they placed handcuffs on him and then drove him away in a police car, my friend was always in church. He would sit there sincerely giving…Read more
Character, Parenting, Valor Parents
Published:February 8, 2019Updated:February 4, 2026905Views0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditI have many fond memories of growing up in the Brigade ministry. A personal highlight for me was the annual StocKar derby at my church. My dad would work with me cutting, sanding and painting our masterpieces for the race. I learned a lot through the entire experience from preparation to race day. The process taught me valuable lessons that would carry me through to be the man I am today.
We’ve all seen the handy-man father reliving his childhood through his son’s derby car. The dad spends hours in the basement hunched over a tiny wooden block, while the son…Read more
Character, Communication, Fall 2018, Valor Parents
Published:November 1, 2018Updated:February 4, 2026846Views0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditI learned that I have a maniac inside of me on February 3rd, 2002. Six years into our marriage we were still living in the “15 cent dinner, ramen noodle years”, where you have no money at all. But we’d splurged on a TV. It was the first major purchase of our marriage and we’d sacrificed a lot to get it. The beast was about 17,000 times heavier than current TVs, but we’d purchased the best of the best.
I was trying to enjoy the Super Bowl (Patriots vs.the Rams) and things had turned around for the Rams as they…Read more
Culture, Fall 2018, Parenting, Slider, Valor Parents
Published:November 1, 2018Updated:February 4, 20262KViews0Likes1CommentByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditA tale for dinnertime conversation
Ideas for discussing this story with your boys, and suggested answers, can be found here.
The unbelieving world tells you a story: that you are the result of a cosmic “BANG!” That you are an animal. You have no purpose. You are not special. There is no God in whose image you could be made. But God tells a better story, and His story just so happens to be true. I encourage you to find a time very soon to tell this story to your sons. It’s the kind of story boys like, with a dragon to…Read more
Culture, Fall 2018, Parenting, Valor Parents
Published:November 1, 2018Updated:February 4, 2026897Views0Likes0CommentsByDavid GreggShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditBoys love stories! And stories are a powerful medium with which to communicate deep truths to the heart. Below you will find questions and potential answers we hope will help bring about good conversation between you and your sons after you’ve read the article to them, A Better Story, a tale for dinnertime conversation
The questions are simply ideas. Embrace healthy and enjoyable “rabbit trails.”
The answers or responses are provided to give you ideas for how a boy might respond of how you can respond.
Starter Questions:
Questions(Q): What are some things you have created? How did…Read more
Fall 2018, Parenting, Valor Parents, You’re Not Alone
Published:November 1, 2018Updated:February 4, 2026924Views0Likes0CommentsByDavid GreggShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditHave you ever noticed that most of the Bible is comprised of stories? These stories tend to come in two flavors: God giving impossibly weak people the ability to do impossibly big things, and deeply sinful people being forgiven by God’s amazing grace. These are not fables concocted from men’s imaginations to make a good point; they are historical accounts of real people, in real need, and the real God who saved them.
We see both kinds of stories being told about David. Early in the story of David’s life we are introduced to him as a young man who impossibly planted a rock…Read more
Fall 2018, Parenting, Valor Parents
Published:November 1, 2018Updated:February 4, 20262KViews0Likes1CommentByDavid GreggShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditI found my anger in a broken drawer
Do I get a pass because no creature can awaken anger and frustration like a 14 year old boy? We homeschool. My dear wife had taken the primary mantle of responsibility for this calling until they reached high-school. At that point she passed the baton to me. I thought I was prepared. She’d managed it so effortlessly, so I entered the gauntlet like a well intentioned fool. I did everything wrong. I planned to cover too much and chose content too advanced for a freshman high school student. Any spectator could have…Read more
Fall 2018, Sex Topics, Transformed Lives, Valor Parents, You’re Not Alone
Published:November 1, 2018Updated:February 4, 2026940Views0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEdit“You Are Not Alone: Stories from young men” is a series of personal stories we are collecting by young men to encourage peers and parents alike to pursue Jesus. Paul sought to encouraged us in 1 Corinthians 10:31 we are not alone in our temptation, and we want to continue that tradition by giving a voice to young men who want their peers to know that they too are not alone. View all the stories in the series
From Fear To Faith
Connor, age 17, tells how his fear of God’s judgement was transformed into love for God’s kindness.
My…Read more
Transformed Lives, Valor Parents
Published:November 1, 2018Updated:February 4, 2026918Views0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditOriginally printed in Brigade Leader eMagazine, a magazine for equipping Brigade Leaders
Joe was small. One of two city kids who were on the trip. He was the only black fellow in the group. This was probably the first time he’d ever been out in the wilderness … yeah … I’m sure it was. And it was immediately obvious that he had a lot of fear in his life. This short backpacking trip was placing him in a context ripe for producing fear.
On the second day we went on an excursion. Our purpose was simply to see how far we could get,…Read more
Character, Spring 2018, Valor Parents
Published:May 21, 2018Updated:February 4, 20262KViews0Likes1CommentByDavid GreggShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditAutism often leaves young men and women with profound thoughts but without the ability to share it or the audience to listen. Philip Reyes, 12 years old, is our youngest author to date and is autistic. His autism prevents him from communicating verbally, and until recently this meant the world of his thoughts, brilliant and profound as they are, were hidden behind his silence. New technology has allowed him, however, to discover his voice in the written word. In this short article Philip describes from his on experience how you can encourage your sons to engage young men like him, just…Read more
Character, Spring 2018, Valor Parents
Published:May 21, 2018Updated:February 4, 2026869Views0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditYouth athletics can be a powerful tool to shape the godly character of both children and parents, but anyone who’s spent much time in the world of youth athletics can recount the uglier side of this sub-culture. We are excited that Jeff Kemp is authoring this two part series regarding the question of youth athletics in the life of Christian families. Part One deals with the aim of youth athletics: the goals we should have for our children and ourselves. Part two will focus on knowing when it’s time to pull back or call it quits.
We hope you enjoy part 1…Read more
Parenting, Spring 2018, Valor Parents
Published:May 21, 2018Updated:February 4, 20262KViews1Like1CommentByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditFeature Art By Brian Marshall Jr.
In my previous Valor article, I wrote about the principle of building a boy “backwards.” The idea being that if you can picture what your son should be like when he’s, you can work backwards to significant milestones that will help direct your efforts and focus your limited energy. I chose last time to talk about the vision of your adult son possessing a pure heart and exhibiting the Fruit of the Spirit. In this article I want to extend the vision of that twenty year old young man to include: My adult son will…Read more
Character, Spring 2018, Valor Parents
Published:May 21, 2018Updated:February 4, 20262KViews0Likes1CommentByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditPhilip Reyes, 12 years old, is our youngest author to date and is autistic. You can read his thoughts on showing kindness here. In this article Philip’s mother shares transparently the difficult journey of joy she has walked with Philip.
Autism. When our three-year-old son, Philip, received the diagnosis it was overwhelming. The word made me feel scared, sad … desperate. Words like ‘epidemic’, designed by the media to generate alarm did just that, and we were devastated that our special son was now a victim. If I knew then what I know now life would have been a lot different. We…Read more
Parenting, Sex Topics, Spring 2018, Valor Parents
Published:May 21, 2018Updated:February 4, 20261KViews0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditWe want to protect our children from those who would seek to steal their innocence, but we don’t want our children to live in fear. How do we balance these seemingly competing demands? How do we nurture healthy views of sexuality, relationships, affection, and boundaries? We have sought out the voice of a mother who has raised two young adults who are bearing the beautiful fruit of the investment she and her husband made in their son and daughter. We are excited to give her an opportunity to share her story with you.
When our daughter, Jessica, arrived home from pre-school the day…Read more
Communication, Fall 2017, Sex Topics, Valor Parents
Published:September 1, 2017Updated:February 4, 20261KViews0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditThree steps to take when your child sees porn.
Pornography has become a major front in the spiritual battle for the hearts of our sons. Unfortunately, parents today need to operate under the assumption that your child seeing porn is inevitable. My experience and the statistics make this clear. A recent university study* showed 90 percent of boys and 70 percent of girls have accessed sexually explicit content online. Sadly, depending on the study, the average age of first exposure to pornography is between the ages of 9 and 12 years old. The first exposure isn’t just nudity, instead, it’s often…Read more
Communication, Fall 2017, Sex Topics, Valor Parents
Published:September 1, 2017Updated:February 4, 20262KViews0Likes0CommentsByDavid GreggShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditA young man’s plea to hear his father’s voice.
Brad is one of those young men poised to do great things. In a couple of years gaggles of grey-headed grandmothers will be dragging their bewildered granddaughters across crowded church fellowship halls in hopes of sparking a romance. He is a godly young man and I can hardly blame those well-intentioned octogenarians. But I must ask those blue haired matchmakers to plug their ears for a moment because I am about to remove the rose-colored glasses.
Brad is a sinner AND he’s a young man. Combine these two volatile substances and the explosion…Read more
Fall 2017, Parenting, Transformed Lives, Valor Parents
Published:September 1, 2017Updated:February 4, 20261KViews0Likes0CommentsByChristian RosadoShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditA Mother’s Journey from Fear to Faith.
I know fear. In fact, for over 20 years fear was my best friend. I lived in it. I was controlled by it. I made decisions based on it. My whole worldview was saturated in fear … and I didn’t even realize it. One of the many experiences God used to loosen fear’s grip on my heart took place as a young parent. It was, in fact, a moment of deep fear that God used to begin to show me that in His hands I no longer needed to fear … for myself or…Read more
Communication, Fall 2017, Valor Parents
Published:September 1, 2017Updated:February 4, 2026835Views0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditTools for communicating with young men.
I know the voices of our culture make it hard to believe, but a son really does want to communicate with his parents, and he really does need to hear your voice. This is the way God designed us. God has made parents to be His representatives to our children and so in a real sense our boys learn from us who God is by how we live and speak in front of them. This doesn’t make communication easy, but it should give you hope.
To increase the likelihood that our communication with our sons will…Read more
Spring 2017, Valor Parents
Published:April 1, 2017Updated:February 4, 20262KViews0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditI was standing over a frying pan, spatula in hand, slowly moving scrambled eggs over the heat. Two of our little boys sat on stools behind me at the kitchen counter waiting for their breakfast. Gratefully, the baby was still sleeping.
My younger son suddenly asked, “Mom, will I ever be in a war?”
I whipped my head over my shoulder just long enough to see the blank, curious stare of his brother barreling down at him.
“Babe, what do you mean?” I responded, assuming he had scenes of tanks and fighter jets in his head.
His expression was authentic . . . concerned, even.…Read more
Parenting, Spring 2017, Valor Parents
Published:April 1, 2017Updated:February 4, 20261KViews0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditMasculinity has been in crisis for some time now. What used to be common-place has become radical and what was radical is aggressively being normalized. Sadly, even some of the language of the Bible is now recognized by our culture as hate language. One Biblical idea that has taken quite a hit is the idea of a husband and father as a patriarch (defined in the dictionary as the male head of a family or a tribe).
But in the face of growing opposition, as our team at the Iron Sharpens Iron Conference Network comes alongside church leaders across the nation, we…Read more
Spring 2017, Valor Parents
Published:April 1, 2017Updated:February 4, 2026856Views0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditPlaygrounds are, for the most part, a safe place. But not always. Sometimes a school playground can set the stage for bullying. Almost every boy has either experienced being bullied or has witnessed it firsthand. But when it comes to children with disabilities, the rate of bullying is increasing significantly.
I’m thinking of James who is in the 5th grade and has a severe learning disability. Because James is slow on the playground and in the classroom, he is the subject of much teasing. Some of the kids at his school make faces and call him Slowpoke. But not everyone tries to…Read more
Character, Spring 2017, Valor Parents
Published:April 1, 2017Updated:February 4, 2026979Views0Likes1CommentByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditWhat do you think is the best part of being a grandparent? What’s that well-worn quip? “The best thing about being a grandparent is that you can spoil the grandkids then send them home to their parents!” Really? That’s it? That’s the best thing about being a grandparent? I hope not! Who wants spoiled children running around? There’s got to be something better.
I think for most of us grandparents, our “enjoyment quotient” is high. You know, “If I had realized having grandchildren would be this much fun I would have had them first!” That’s great. I’m glad you’re enjoying being a…Read more
Culture, Fall 2016, Valor Parents
Published:September 30, 2016Updated:February 4, 2026838Views0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditAs we near the end of a very turbulent election cycle we have important decisions to make. The right to vote is the right to choose to whom we will hand the reigns of significant power; a power that impacts real people. How do we prepare our sons for the great responsibilities of voting and of citizenship in general?
Human beings live in community. God designed us this way and cares about how we choose to live within our communities. As a means of helping us live together God also gave us institutions that bear real authority. Scripture identifies three of these…Read more
Fall 2016, Parenting, Valor Parents
Published:September 30, 2016Updated:February 4, 2026950Views0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditIt was two decades ago, but I vividly remember the week my husband “surprised” me, his very pregnant wife, with an untrained, chewing, whining, fence jumping, five-month old puppy. It had been a rough few days when I finally reached my limit. The whining from our unhappy pup had driven this hormonal mother of 2 toddlers to the brink of a mental breakdown and when our three-year-old Kevin began playing the drums by banging a pot with a wooden spoon and son number two began “singing” loudly at the top of his lungs, the noise became unbearable. Blessedly, with the racket…Read more
Fall 2016, Parenting, Valor Parents
Published:September 30, 2016Updated:February 4, 20261KViews0Likes2CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditFeature Art By Brian Marshall Jr.
When I was in high school my parents decided to build a house. They thought carefully about what they wanted the home to look like as a finished product then worked backwards to determine how much square footage would be required for each room, what utilities would be needed, and the type of materials that would be used. Before they ever started the house, they had detailed plans on what the foundation would look like and how sturdy it would need to be to support everything that they wanted in the finished product.
Parenting our boys…Read more
Fall 2016, Transformed Lives, Valor Parents
Published:September 30, 2016Updated:February 4, 2026836Views0Likes0CommentsByDavid GreggShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditRemember choose your own adventure books? I loved them as a kid. When I read them I felt like I was an active participant rather than a passive observer. The Bible is supposed to be like this. When we sit down to read, we are placing on our lap a living book that bites back. But the Bible is powerfully “relevant” not because we are in charge but because God wields the words that confront us like a master surgeon wields a scalpel. Forgetting this is dangerous. And a few months ago I forgot.
I sat down on the couch that morning,…Read more
Parenting, Spring 2016, Valor Parents
Published:April 26, 2016Updated:February 4, 20262KViews0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditHelping our boys respond with courage when people hurt them.
We have a natural tendency to cause each other pain. The reality of pain in a fallen world should not shock us. Christian parents must communicate this reality to our boys in such a way that they will not be surprised when they are on the receiving end of a painful blow. We must also help them learn to respond to pain in a healthy way that will ultimately honor Christ.
One of the unique ways that human beings deal with pain and fear is by assigning meaning to try to make…Read more
Communication, Parenting, Valor Parents
Published:April 26, 2016Updated:February 4, 2026851Views0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditIn our previous article Telling the Truth, Carole McLeod tells the story of her son’s problem telling the truth and how she and her husband sought to tackle that sin in his life. But teaching our sons that they should love truth and helping them learn to love the taste of truth are two different (though related) parenting tasks. You can read the story here and below Carol outlines a few things that she and her husband did to help highlight for her son the truly beautiful contours of truth.
Stories both biographical and fictional are powerful in shaping the desires of…Read more
Character, Spring 2016, Valor Parents
Published:April 26, 2016Updated:February 4, 2026894Views0Likes0CommentsByChristian Service BrigadeShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditHe Couldn’t Argue With The Chocolate … But He Did.
As the mother of three boys who have grown into uncommon men, I must say, there is nothing like a sprouting, determined boy to challenge the wits out of an otherwise sane woman! When a mother meets an infant son for the first time, the atmosphere is charged with an assignment from heaven itself! But as the spritely little boy grows into manhood, moms often loses focus and forget the importance of our heaven-birthed commission.
One of our sons had a problem telling the truth. Our little boy was known for exaggeration,…Read more
Character, Valor Parents
Published:April 26, 2016Updated:February 4, 2026856Views0Likes0CommentsByDavid GreggShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditWhether it’s bumper stickers about “working to live not living to work,” or the glorified picture of a comfortable retirement as the ultimate goal of American success, our children rarely get a picture of work that paints it in a good light. And yet work was given to Adam and Eve in the garden before the fall, and the Bible speaks of work as a good thing. Here are a few ideas you may find helpful to spark a Biblically informed discussion with your sons about God’s attitude toward work. These could be useful while driving in the car or as…Read more
Character, Spring 2016, Valor Parents
Published:April 26, 2016Updated:February 4, 20261KViews0Likes0CommentsByDavid GreggShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEdit“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!” ― Abraham Kuyper
How silly of us to think that we have the power to shove Jesus into one small room of our lives, even if we’ve tried to dignify that room by hanging a cross on the door. The King of Kings is Lord over the rise and fall of every nation and the rise and fall of every loaf of bread regardless of our stubbornness in recognizing this fact. But humans are good at…Read more
Spring 2016, Transformed Lives, Valor Parents
Published:April 26, 2016Updated:February 4, 2026871Views0Likes0CommentsBy
Brian StebickShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditHow I was transformed by discipleship at Brigade Camp
Friday evening was here and my week at camp was over. As I sat on the grass by the tetherball pole, I looked out over the valley and sobbed. I didn’t know why. Sure it had been a fun week, but at fourteen years old I had a lot of other things I wanted to do before the summer was over. My friends were waiting back home, the county fair was coming up, and of course my TV and video games had been neglected while I was away. Despite all this, there…Read more
Sex Topics, Technology, Valor Parents
Published:October 1, 2015Updated:February 4, 2026892Views0Likes0CommentsByDavid GreggShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditTricks and tips are not the answer to helping our sons use technology in a God honoring way. Any tools, tricks, or fences that we erect to protect them must be utilized in the context of a solid relationship with your son. Even more importantly, we must be pointing our sons to a relationship with God the father, through Jesus if he is to have any hope of having the power to withstand the temptations that so often accompany our technology use: sloth, lust, escapism, idolatry, disobedience, deceit etc. For a more in-depth article take a look at Dealing With Devices
But…Read more
Sex Topics, Technology, Valor Parents
Published:October 1, 2015Updated:February 4, 2026762Views0Likes0CommentsByDavid GreggShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditTechnology in our lives is now unavoidable. That’s not to say that we must put devices into our children’s hasty little hands. It does mean, however, that eventually technology will be unavoidable and so we must train them when they are with us how to guard themselves and how to use technology as a tool to glorify God not as a net into which they will fall (or jump).
So please, be sure that before you give your boys access to technology, that they are ready to learn how to use it well and you are ready to guide them and take…Read more
Fall 2015, Sex Topics, Technology, Valor Parents
Published:October 1, 2015Updated:February 4, 2026870Views0Likes0CommentsByDavid GreggShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditThe mesmerizing reality of modern technology especially in the lives of our boys is impossible to ignore. But before we rip those glowing devices out of their grasping little hands; before chucking it down the garbage disposal listening with frustrated satisfaction as it grinds its way into the plumbing, we must remember an important truth about discipleship: Problems should be viewed not as an obstacle to endure but as an opportunity to be used. A God honoring, moderated and self-controlled use of technology should drive our technology decisions. Below we have chosen what we believe to be some really helpful truths…Read more
Fall 2015, Parenting, Valor Parents
Published:October 1, 2015Updated:February 4, 2026860Views0Likes0CommentsByChristian RosadoShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditWe were on a mission to Target and I was already exhausted. Snacks: check! Stubborn overloaded cart: check! Cranky child: check! Getting myself and two children ages one and two out the door was going to be no small accomplishment.
“I need help” was not part of my vocabulary before I had kids. Independent, self-reliant, emotionally stable, responsible, and punctual, were words I would’ve used to describe myself before these little … bundles of joy … entered my life and changed everything! Though I found it difficult to admit, one word now seemed to describe my life as a young mom: “needy!”
Key…Read more
Character, Valor Parents
Published:October 1, 2015Updated:February 4, 2026945Views0Likes0CommentsByDavid GreggShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditLearning “truths” is good, but this is a far different thing than learning to love truth. Courage is one of the Seven Points of Valor and as such is a powerful character trait to which God calls each of us, but courage is also one of those truths that must have deep roots if it is to survive the moments when it is tested. Mere propositional truths are simply not durable enough when fear and doubt buffet the foundations of a boy’s courage.
If we want our boys to learn to love courage, and to stand faithfully and stubbornly in the face…Read more
Character, Fall 2015, Valor Parents
Published:October 1, 2015Updated:February 4, 2026846Views0Likes0CommentsByDavid GreggShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditPaint for yourself a mental picture of courage and I’m confident it will not involve a man hiding in a hole in the ground. And yet God tells us that when He called Gideon (in Judges, chapter 6), hiding is precisely what Gideon was doing. The context of this story makes it clear that Gideon was far better at making excuses than he was at making history. His heart of fear was exposed as soon as he opened his mouth.
Like a teenager desperate to get out of cleaning the toilet, we hear Gideon grasping at any facts that will buttress his…Read more
Communication, Fall 2015, Valor Parents
Published:October 1, 2015Updated:February 4, 20261KViews0Likes0CommentsBy
Chuck SteckerShareTwitter-newFacebookShare-emailLinkEditAll too often, parents underestimate the power of their voice in the lives of their children. Children of all ages are often desperate for meaningful conversation with their parents. Many studies reveal even when kids pretend not to be listening to their parent, they are actually listening very carefully.
Not only do children, pre-teens and teens listen to their parents, they have high regard for their parents’ input into their lives. Clearly, the manner of listening changes over the years. There are seasons when listening to their parents is not broadcast loudly to their friends, but you can be assured that they…Read more
