Purpose On Tap

To wrap up 2018 we got to hear from our very own Tucker Yates. He shared his thoughts around overcoming fear to find Community and Purpose. Here are some thoughts he shared: 1) The Community you choose will have a huge bearing on your ability to find your Purpose. You are the average of your 5 closest friends. 2) He shared the story of Esther. You have been placed in a strategic place at a strategic time, what are you going to do about it? 3) Ice Metaphor. Ice cubes will last longer when surrounded by other ice cubes. You must surrounded by the proper elements/people to live your best life. Tucker's challenge is for all of us to look past our fear and be willing to investigate growing in a Community. We have vetted all of these outlets and encourage you to explore at least one of these.

This week we got to hear from a local hometown hero, John Smoltz. He had some incredible wisdom that he gained through his 21 years in the Big Leagues. Here are some thoughts he shared: 1) If your not with me you're against me. Know your Purpose and pursue it relentlessly. Don't let others get in your way. 2) Don't be afraid of failure. 3) Who are you performing for? Release the burden of trying to please people. 4) As men we don't always listen or ask for directions, but man it's way easier if you do! 5) Grace is so far greater than anything we deserve. 6) John wanted us to walk away with this acronym - Failure Fear And Insecurity Leave Un Realistic Expectations

Last night Jeff Hilimire shared some life lessons he has learned from rolling up his sleeves and leveraging his success to positively impact our Community. Here are some thoughts he shared: 1) After you identify your Purpose in life, everything becomes more clear on where to invest your energy. 2) Recognize you have the ability to make a difference in the world. 3) Staying true to goals that you have set, makes it easy to say no to activities that would otherwise be enticing. 4) Challenge Question: - - - - How are you treating your community? #dogoodtogether

We had the privilege of hear Mike Moye share life lessons he's learned from working with professional athletes and trusting God's plan. Here are some things he shared: 1) There is nothing new under the sun. Take the time to learn from what has and hasn't worked. The answers to life is in the page of the Bible. 2) You need a code or creed. What are you getting out of yours? 3) Men and women are different. Your responsibility is to be the leader of the household. 4) There are 3 things that get in our way. Ourselves, the worlds systems, and the true enemy at work. However if God is for you, nothing can be against you.

On Wednesday we had the privilege of hearing from Bryan Dunagan, current head Pastor of Highland Park Presbyterian in Dallas, Tx. Bryan was vulnerable enough to share with us lessons he's learned and how he is being shaped and molded more through his failures than his accomplishments.  He hammered home on a few main points:  The lost virtue of Honor.  In today’s world it’s not often we see people being honored.  It’s important to distinguish between honor and respect. You do not have to respect someone to honor them. Think about the difficult question of how to honor your enemies? Are there people in your life you need to learn how to honor?  These are EGR people (extra grace required…). Everyone is worthy of value and dignity. Who in your life can sit across the table from you and ask you, How is your Soul?  Not how is work, or how is your day, but how is your soul? Do you have someone in your life who you can truthfully answer that question to?  What’s going on with you below the water's surface? Our challenge for you is to try and identify this person or people in your life. Lastly, it’s important to know that no matter what season of life you are in, no matter where you are, God is always pursuing you. We are excited you are a part of the Purpose on Tap community and can’t wait to be with everyone again in August (we are not meeting in July due to America day).

Last night we had the privilege of spending time with Todd Sandel. What a powerful message and amazing communicator! Todd has decades of experience as a relational counselor and has also used his wisdom to coach corporate clients as they seek clarity and direction. He shared with us the disruptive concept of “drift”. How our crazy lives can become unintentional and we drift away from what is important. A few thoughts he shared with us that are key: 1. Being hurried is an internal problem that manifests itself externally by being busy. 2. Satan can’t make us sin, but he can make us busy. And overtime, that will erode your soul. 3. What matters most is the person you become, not what you achieve. 4. Where are you potentially at drift? What claims your attention and energy? 5. Think about 4 areas where you can be more intentional. Spiritually, Physically, Emotionally, and Mentally. We are excited to hear from Bryan Dunagan in June and look forward to seeing everyone then!

We had the privilege of hearing from Hunter Hill last night at Purpose On Tap.  Hunter spoke about how his faith in God has lead to his success as a leader in the military, business, and now in his pursuit in the political realm.  He defined leadership as 'moving a diverse group of people towards a achieving a common goal'. There are three aspects of this.  1) Having a vision or a goal. 2) Assimilation of the group. Getting them buy into the vision.  3) Implementation of the goal. He also shared his values to approaching life in general & summarized it with 4 C's: Character, Competence, Confidence, Care.  Scripture that has had an impact on his life are Proverbs 3:5-6, Ephesians 2:10, &  2nd Timothy 1:7.  If you could take away one thing, trusting in the Lord gives you great confidence & great humility.

Last night we heard from Jim Reese, CEO of the Atlanta Mission. He shared with us what he has learned as he transitioned from the corporate world to the non-profit world interacting with homeless men daily. 1) God can use you wherever you are. It doesn't matter what path you are on, don't be surprised by how God can and will use you in a unexpected way. 2) Christ was with unexpected people all the time. Who in your life is unexpected? How can you spend more time with that person? 3) Jim talked about homeless men have Relational poverty not Financial poverty. As men we can have all the riches in the world, but are we relationally poor? 4) The most unexpected relationship is our relationship with Christ and the unexpected grace that He gives us. 5) Do not underestimate the power of your example. Someone is always watching you.

John Woodall brought the heat last night on what we as men need to survive! His authenticity resonated with every man in the room. John spoke about 7 different questions each of us need to be able to answer. At the surface they appear to be easy questions . . . 1) Where am I? 2) What is my story? 3) Who am I? 4) Why am I here? 5) Where am I going? 6) What about women? 7) Who can I trust? All of us are spiritual beings on a masculine journey and the guy who dies with the most toys does not win! God designed us to be in community so that we do not have to 'do life' on our own. Begin with the end in mind - what is your origin? where do you live? what is your purpose in life?

1) Regarding Christianity & faith. Jesus's message isn't rules & religion, but wisdom. Practical advice for anyone to live by. 2) "In short, there are no bad habits or good habits that can make our heavenly father love us less or more. Don't get caught up on either side of the fence thinking you have done too many bad things for God to love you or that you are doing 'all the right things' to earn God's love. Both types of men are loved the same"3) You don't get a practice lap with life. You get one lap, make it count. 4) As men, the hardest thing to do, is let go. If you can realize you're not in control, there is a ton of freedom in letting go. 5) Don't just be here, be valuable. Rain grace on people. 6) We were meant to live in community with one another. Life is too hard to go through it alone. Who are the men you can surround yourself with to do life together?

1) What is your identity wrapped up in? Direction determines your destiny. 2) Who are you? Not your name or what you do for a paycheck, but who are you as a man? 3) A rich man leaves an inheritance for his children's children. The inheritance is not necessarily money. 4) God created you with a purpose to have positive impact within your community. God did not create you to live isolated outside of your community.