Man Up 2012

I remember my first time seeing Lecrae perform. He was doing a show during an Acquire the Fire conference in Baltimore.  I went with a very dear friend of mine (Mark Willard - aka M-Weezy) and afterwards we were able to meet Lecrae and someone who - at the time - I was pretty unfamiliar with.  A man by the name of Kevin Burgess.  We waited in line for about 30 minutes and as we approached the two of them I began thinking to myself, "What do I say?"


And then I thought about my students at Robious - specifically my Men in Ties.  I thought about how so many of them lacked the fatherly influence which we as men so desperately need.  I thought about how cool these two rappers were  - not because of their self elevation but rather because of their Christ elevation.  I thought, "Man I wish I could bring my boys to see these guys perform..."


So that is what I said to Lecrae.  His reply was simple - "Bring em on man!"


I made it up in my mind to do that.  I began looking for an opportunity to have my Men in Ties see some of the most influential men in my life glorify God with their gifts.






Two years passed.  Nothing had presented itself, and I pretty much gave up hope that anything ever would.  


But the Creator of time operates on His own schedule.  I was on twitter one night and saw a tweet about an upcoming "Man Up" conference.  My heart leaped inside my chest.  Taking my Men in Ties to a Man Up conference couldn't make more sense.


So I enlisted some help (two studs - Cornell and Cameron) and presented it to the boys.  We had nine takers, and so we decided to Man Up.



After a nine and a half hour trip and hotel fiasco, we finally made it to the conference.  We were greeted by 1800 other men all there ready to learn how to man up.  That night, the tone was set.

There would be no dancing around issues.  There would be no posturing or pretending.  This would be a place where we would go from being boys II men.  No mamas necessary.




We were challenged from the onset and celebrated the end of the first night with a concert by Trip Lee in honor of the release of his latest album, The Good Life.  I almost peed my pants when he performed the song "One Sixteen", because that same dude from two years ago (Kevin Burgess - better known as KB) and a man by the name of Andy Mineo straight worked it on the track.  Which means it was really good and I was pretty geeked up.



The next day began with a talk about avoiding Sexual Temptation and continued with seminars covering four of the most pivotal topics we as men struggle with - Authority, Responsibility, Envy and Courage.  The final talk was on Repentance, and I was reminded once again of my constant need to rely on and confess all of my wrong-doings to a perfect and forgiving God.  



And then God showed up on the scene - no joke.  I never questioned His presence the whole weekend, but when Lecrae came out and performed his song "Just Like You" I found myself sobbing because of the sobering reality that so many of the men in that room (and elsewhere) lacked an Earthly father but have a very real and very loving Heavenly Father that wants us when He doesn't need us enough to sustain His own Son's life as he suffocated on the cross of our shame.  



Real talk.



So as we went to get dinner I found myself anticipating the opportunity to celebrate the truths we had learned and the weekend we had experienced at the concert scheduled for later that evening.















That concert was one of the best experiences of my life.  Being able to go dumb with Cornell, Cam and all of the boys as we jumped in the mosh pit and celebrated an awesome weekend was amazing.  Esai with his hand in the air, Frank and CJ "Going Hard" and the swagg team (Eari, Darrell and DeRon) starting a "Riot" are memories I never want to forget.

We got up early the next morning ready to get back home and make the things we learned a reality in our lives.  Well, at least the leaders did.  The boys didn't seem so awake...

Looks like a prison photo...

And that was confirmed later....

We left VA as boys - we returned as men.  Core, Cam and I were sitting in our hotel room after Saturday night's concert ended and we all agreed we might have gained more from the conference than the boys did.  My hope is that everyone was impacted, and that everyone at least saw real men who have made real commitments to the only perfect Man this world has ever seen.  I was reminded once again that Jesus was who He said He was and did do what He said He did.  So I have unashamedly committed my life to glorifying Him in everything that I do - because that is what a real man does.  Because seriously, what else am I doin' right now?