Living a Radical Life
The church is obsessed with the glamor of organized religion. Many are concerned with the size of their” church”,
how polished their services look, the showcase of their worship music. They check the boxes of ritual religion, and
this makes it easy to miss the heart, what Yeshua called us to do: serve the least of these. Following Jesus is not
about maintaining religious rituals or building impressive productions. It’s about surrendering everything — even our
reputation, our comfort, and our ambitions — to love and serve those who are forgotten, broken, and overlooked.
Jesus makes it clear in Matthew 25:40:
"Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."
If our lives are filled with church attendance, charitable donations, and public prayers, but we ignore the hungry,
the orphan, the widow, the outsider — we miss the very heart of Christ.
It doesn’t matter how big your ministry is, how many Bible studies you lead, or how beautifully you sing in the choir.
If you’re not living a life poured out for others, you’re not living like Jesus. True discipleship is dirty. It's inconvenient.
It's radical. And it’s the kind of life Christ calls each of us to embrace. Let’s stop worrying about appearances and start
asking harder questions:
Are we laying down our lives for others?
Are we showing up for the hurting, the poor, the outcast?
Are we loving sacrificially, even when it costs us something?
Because if we aren't — no matter how religious we seem — we aren’t truly serving Christ.
Tim Vibbert
Iron Sharpens Iron: Building Relationships with Christian Men
Brothers in Christ,
It’s all well and good to talk about iron sharpening iron in theory, but in reality,
you have to have commitment, patience, humility and be strong during the process. These
mentoring friendships have to be concrete, not with a cavalier attitude. If you’re going
to make disciples, we have to understand what each person needs to make them sharp. We also
must have specific goals in mind and targets at which to aim.
If you are wanting to be discipled (and you should), think about which areas of your life need
to improve. Where are you dull? Is it knowing how to read or understand the Bible? Maybe letting
go of a particular sin? Define your next step is to becoming closer to God and work from there.
Sharpening a blade is hard work. It takes forging to make it strong and filing to scrape off the impurities.
Proverbs 20:30: “Blows and wounds scrub away evil, and beatings purge the inmost being.”
God uses our life journey and forging to sanctify us.
2 Corinthians 5:17 states, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away;
behold, the new has come" …which is what He wants us to become… Christ like!
Dennis J. Falconiero
Band of Brothers
Secretary
Living out the Mission of the Church: So that the WORLD may know
In Chapter 17 of John, on the night before his crucifixion, Jesus is praying with His disciples. This is His final prayer with His disciples. What is He praying for; but that we all may be one in Him. John 17:20-21 reads, "I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me."
So, what does this all mean?? Jesus is praying that through His Holy Spirit, we may be one in Christ, so that the WORLD may believe in Jesus.
Please note that Jesus is praying "That they may be in us". John 15:5 tells us that if we abide in Him, we will bear much fruit, for without
Him, we can do nothing. We are called to abide in Jesus, and He in us, so that the WORLD may believe in Him. Read Chapter 17,Verse 11: He prays
for us to be of one. In Verse 13, He prays that His joy may reside in us. In Verse 17, He prays that we may be sanctified. In Verse 22, He prays
that we are given His glory so that we may be one.
Colossians 6:18 says that Jesus is the head, and we are the body. The body can do nothing without the head, just as we can do nothing without Jesus.
The Church needs to be united, not in a man, but in Jesus. Jesus is using us to reach the world. I ask you all to please pray for the Church, that we
may return to unity in Christ. Pray that he softens our hearts to allow the Holy Spirit to work in us and change us, so that we, individually as well
as the Church as a whole, may ABIDE IN HIM; and through us, the world may believe in Jesus.
Soli Deo Gloria.
Jesse Harris
Band of Brothers
Prayer Minister
Standing in the Gap
Ezekiel 22:30 (KJV) says, “And I sought for a man among them, that should make
up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.”
By the time that Billy Graham, one of the greatest evangelists ever, passed away at the
age of ninety-nine, he had spoken to hundreds of millions across the entire world in
person and on television, leading millions to salvation with the simple Gospel message of
the love of Christ and His payment in full for the sin of all that will accept His free
gift of salvation. Graham ministered to six U.S. Presidents, yet he never sought personal
glory but honored God by standing in the gap to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the lost.
Graham’s fame was worldwide yet how many of us ever heard of Albert McMakin, the simple farm hand on
the Graham family dairy farm, who coaxed the reluctant young fifteen-year-old Billy to finally agree
to attend evangelist Mordecai Ham’s crusade? After one service, Billy was hooked and on November 1, 1934,
just six days before he turned sixteen, Billy Graham accepted the invitation to accept
Christ as his personal Savior, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Graham lived a Christ centered life by standing in the gap to fulfill the great commission command of Jesus Christ.
Where do you and I stand? We may never be called upon by God to spend our entire lives preaching to hundreds of millions
of people across the world, but if we received such a call, would we be willing? If not another Billy Graham, would we at
least be willing to be another Albert McMakin, who invited that one young boy to a revival and, by doing so, became forever
influential in the lives of all those whom Graham reached. Isn’t that what living a Christ centered life is
all about? He wants each of us to stand in the gap for Him. Are we willing to do so? Will He find even one? Think about it!
Still on the Potter’s wheel, yet in His service,
Michael More’
Band of Brothers
Founder/CEO
Living at the Edge of WOW!
Living at the edge of WOW means embracing a life of awe-filled wonder at what God is doing in and through us. It’s waking up every day with the expectation that the Creator of the universe has
something extraordinary planned—even in the ordinary. In Ephesians 3:20 (NLT), Paul writes,
“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power
at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think"
This is the “WOW” life—a life that believes God can exceed every expectation when
we surrender to His will.
But living at the edge of WOW isn’t about chasing thrills or hype. It’s about walking in faith, even when the path is unclear. It’s trusting that God is present in the quiet moments,
the hard seasons, and the daily steps of obedience. In Habakkuk 1:5, God says, “Look around at the nations; look and be amazed!
For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it.”
This kind of living requires spiritual eyes to see God’s hand and a willing heart to follow wherever He leads.
When we commit to a life of Christian service, humility, and purpose, we begin to live on the edge of WOW—where heaven touches earth and the miraculous becomes our norm. Whether we’re leading, giving, teaching, or quietly praying, each act of obedience becomes an opportunity for God to show up in powerful ways. Let’s lean in, live boldly,
and expect God to move—because life at the edge of WOW is life lived fully for Him.
A'HO
Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ (All Are Related)
Tim Vibbert
Band of Brothers
President
Iron Sharpens Iron: Building Relationships with Christian Men
Brothers in Christ,
This saying “Iron Sharpens Iron” comes out of Proverbs 27:17 NIV, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”
After much thought of my personal journey I realized that this topic is what ultimately led
me to the Band of Brothers.
The concept that Solomon was sharing implied that when you commit to being around another
believer, you yourself will be refined and they will also be sharpened by you. These friendships will
lead to wholesome Christian conversations, leaving both encouraged by one another and better because you were together.
In other words, if we desire to be strengthened in our faith, we need to spend intentional time with that modeled like person you want to become.
The ultimate goal of course is to live a Christ like life.
Get to it!
He who hesitates is lost.
Dennis J. Falconiero
Band of Brothers
Secretary
The Church's Mission
DISPENSING FRUIT!
How many of us know the purpose of the Holy Spirit? Oh sure, we all know that He is one third of the Trinity, and I am pretty sure we all know that Jesus sent Him to be our Helper, and that He will guide you into all the truth (John 16:7,13). Yet there are many other purposes of the Holy Spirit, and a Bible study I encourage you to investigate, John 16:14, says, “[The Spirit of Truth] will glorify
me, …”
So, now you may be asking, “What does that have to do with the mission of the Church?” Well Romans 8:9 and 2 Tim 1:14 confirms that the Holy Spirit dwells within those who put their faith in Jesus. So, if the Holy Spirit dwells within us, then it stands to reason that part of God’s purpose for the Church is to glorify Jesus Christ by the way that the Church lives, and by what it does. Christ designed His Church to represent His life-saving work to the world in order to bring Him glory. He gave us the Holy Spirit so that we may dispense the fruit of his blessings: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal 5:22).
Galatians 5:25 says, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” Christ expects the Church’s lifestyle to reflect His character (2 Cor 6:14—7:1), and glorify Him. So, walk in the Spirit, share generously the fruit of the Spirit with others, GLORIFY Jesus!
Soli Deo Gloria.
Jesse Harris
Band of Brothers
Prayer Minister
Living a Christ Centered Life
I prayerfully considered what I should write on this topic, “Living a Christ Centerd Life,” and how that goal could best be summarized so that each of us would be motivated. In doing so, Micah 6:8 almost immediately came to mind: “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” (I just love the King James Version.) Perhaps, each of us should commit that Verse to memory and ask God to let it live in us.
You see, what Micah 6:8 really does is connect our faith with our actions. Even though the word “require” is used, following God’s instructions in the Verse is not a requirement for salvation, but what God expects from us because we are saved. As Ephesians 2 points out clearly, we are saved only by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ and not by works. Our merciful and loving God gives us the grace of His forgiveness even when we fail to follow the instructions of Micah 6:8, and in return for His grace, He wants us to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.
I see a simple conclusion here i.e. that being, walking humbly with our God provides the basis for doing justly and loving mercy. I leave you with this as a challenge: “How can you and I say that we love and seek after the God Who saved us if we are not willing to submit and walk humbly before Him?” Yet when we do submit and walk humbly before God, living a life centered on Christ will be the result. Think about it!
Michael More’
Band of Brothers
Founder/CEO