Strong Men, an introduction.

Today was one of THOSE Sunday mornings.  You know the ones.  My wife and I had been up all night with a tremendous wind storm.  I found myself in my underwear and a raincoat chasing trash cans down the road at nearly three in the morning.  When I wasn't worrying about the branches above the house, or the other myriad of problems 60 mile per hour winds can cause, or the dog's tail thumping the dresser drawers, or the cats knocking something down in the pantry, or sending my four-year old back to bed, a completely different wind storm was crying out from the lungs of our teething six-month old son. 

Strong Men know their children's needs, and how to fill them.

We were late to church.  A pound of AquaNet tamed my eldest son's mane, I wore a sweater to make up for the lack of ironing, and only some of us had eaten a little breakfast.  After fleeing across the rainy parking lot, and composing ourselves at least a little, we burst into the foyer.

Instantly I was calmed as I saw one of my best, and longest friends sitting on the couch with his small son in his lap.  The meeting was nearly over, and somewhere inside, his wife and three other children were sitting.  But, in the hallway, in a quiet moment, Spencer was taking beautiful care of the one who needed him most.  It was so peaceful to see little John playing with his father's tie, cooing, and looking at him with his beautiful deep child-eyes.

I was inspired.  I had to snap a picture.

As the day went on I realized that I had begun to think about a project.  Something  important, and real.  I needed to collect images and stories of Strong Men.

Manhood has taken a beating over the past decades.  Too many times have men been labeled as some kind of secondary citizen when it comes to morality and ethical leadership.  Where were the young men becoming strong like our grandfathers?

The sit-coms, YouTube, and other media only perpetuate these lies: that men are somehow broken, that we all lie, cheat, steal, break hearts, and abandon children.  We all drink to get drunk.  We all coerce women into intimacy by telling them what they want to hear.  We all would rather watch a game on tv than...well, anything else.  All we are able to think about is sex, and every other thought somehow pertains to it also.  Men are emotionless and can be bought with food.  Man is a weak creature bound to his desires.

I don't buy it.  As I walked around church I saw a sea of Strong Men.  Men who had helped shape the lives of hundreds of people.  Men who serve their community with dignity, loyalty and love.

As the day went on I continued thinking about this.  I went back to church for an all-male meeting.  I was called to conduct the music, which gave me an interesting vantage point.  Sitting up on the stand, looking out on the crowd that had come to worship together I watched their reactions.

The meeting's topic was our role as fathers and husbands.  Strong Men stood at the microphone and told stories of fatherhood, and of being a son.  They shed tears, and spoke lovingly at the memory of their father's touch.  They told of serving our world and not abandoning our duty as men.

Coincidence?  I think not.  My idea was born.  So, check back to find stories of Strong Men.  If you have stories, I'd love to hear them.