Proverbs 16:3 – “Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.”
A few years ago, I received a phone call from a pastor in Michigan. He kindly introduced himself, informed me of his church’s interest in Strong27™, and asked a lot of questions. The conversation sparked excitement inside of me when I learned his father-in-law was a protégé at Victory Church (Lancaster, PA).
“I don’t know what happened to my father-in-law, but he’s a changed man. The man I once knew is gone. What the heck is going on down there?”
I assured him neither Men of Iron or Strong27™ were the sole reasons for this radical change. God gets all the glory for using a mentor to change this man’s life. Was this protégé in a great church? Absolutely! Was he involved with and committed to Men of Iron & Strong27™? Absolutely! However, the church and the ministry are just the platforms. God used those platforms to portray this protégé’s transformation to the rest of the world.
I hung up the phone and thought to myself, “Why did this protégé have such an incredible breakthrough?” I was curious to know more about this protégé’s journey. I believe God honors individuals who take initiative in their lives. That’s what I wanted to know—was this protégé taking initiative, or were all of these blessings just “happening?” I wanted to hear from him personally, so I decided to look him up and give him a ring.
The protégé shared with me several key aspects of his journey. I believe the cause of his success lies in the things he is initiating in his journey.
“The first thing I do is create an agenda and send it to my mentor a few days before our scheduled meeting.”
Strong27™ is unique because it was designed to be a protege-driven ministry. The protégé is expected to lead the charge. He must be willing and committed to growth. This is why we stress the importance of protégés creating agendas for each scheduled meeting.
I love what Howard Hendricks states in his book As Iron Sharpens Iron.
“If you are trying to get somewhere, you’ve got to know where you are going and how you are going to get there. If you are trying to grow, or to help someone else grow, you have got to know what the learning objective is, and how you are going to accomplish it. That’s what an agenda is. A statement of purpose, and a plan for achieving it.”
The concept is very simple, men. God allowed this protégé to make huge strides because he took initiative with creating an agenda every other week.
If you are a protégé, I encourage you to follow the lead of this protégé. Tell your mentor what you want. Tell him what your hopes are. Tell him about your fears, uncertainties, and doubts. Tell him what he can do for you. Approach him with questions. Supply him with consistent updates.
It takes intentionality, men. Have courage. Be bold. Rise up to a Godly standard of leadership and strength.
Sample Agenda
Below is a sample agenda I received from my Strong27™ protege a few weeks ago. He created this agenda on his own and texted it to me. He took ownership of his growth and led the meeting in conversation.
Meeting 1 Agenda
- Time & Location – 7:30 pm @ Your House
- Review & Discuss the Iron Covenant (20 Minutes)
- Review & Discuss the Personal Survey (30 Minutes)
- Biblical Standards of Manhood Assessment (15 Minutes)
- Establish areas of weakness – set out a plan for building my foundation (15 Minutes)
- Prayer, Schedule Future Meetings (10 Minutes)
- Total Meeting Time – 90 Minutes
Garret Barbush, Executive Director
Follow @garretbarbush