Month: August 2019

Traits of a GB Relationship: Teachability and Desire to Improve

As I begin to conclude this series on the traits of a God Buddy relationship, I need to include Teachability and the willingness to improve can help you become more Christ-like and help your life in many ways. A desire to learn about improvement often comes by becoming a mentee, student, or disciple of someone you admire. While being a “disciple” is most often used in relation to your faith-life, it can also mean learning from a man that “has been down the road” before you and has the life experiences you need. Discipleship Definition According to Dictionary.com, the literal answer to the question, “What is discipleship?” is “To be a learner”. For example: A person who is a pupil or adherent to the doctrines of another. One who embraces and assists in spreading the teaching of another. Any follower of another person. Sp becoming a disciple – both for

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Traits of a GB Relationship: Prayer and Encouragement

As you read this series on the traits of a God Buddy relationship, I trust these posts are helping you deepen your friendship with another man who will help you become a better man. The second group of traits of GBs that includes Confrontation, Confession, and Accountability coupled with Patience and Kindness, is followed by the traits of Prayer and Encouragement. These and the upcoming traits help your God Buddy relationship thrive.  Encouragement Defined Ask for the definition of encouragement and you’ll get a cliché like “Encouragement is the act of giving individual support used for motivation”. But actually, the French word for encouragement means to give someone else your courage. Courage is like love—the more you give it away, the more you have.  Everyone Needs Encouragement  As we battle the ups and downs of life, everyone needs support and encouragement. Generally speaking, men need as much encouragement as possible

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Traits of a GB Relationship: Patience and Kindness

My series on the traits of a God Buddy relationship sets the foundation for your friendship with another man. As you move deeper with your GB though, you will need to apply the next trait: Patience and Kindness, especially after applying the difficult trait of Confrontation, Confession, and Accountability.  When everything is going fine with your God Buddy, patience and kindness are easy. The true test comes when your GB lets you down or there is difficulty in your friendship. Remember, one of the goals of a God Buddy relationship is to “sharpen” each other (see Proverbs 27:17, which I will write about in more depth soon). The sharpening that comes from the use of these traits helps you become more like Jesus.  Jesus: Our Role Model for Patience and Kindness When we examine the life of Jesus Christ, it’s obvious He was patient with those around Him. He continued

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