God Among Us
When the Lord walks among us by His Spirit, with kindness and overflowing grace, things we’ve been struggling with for years can vanish in an instant. Our hearts can be re-established in grace, taking our minds and hearts off of ourselves and our own waywardness. This is what happened, and so much more, at BroSummit 13 just last week in Girdwood, Anchorage, Alaska.
For sure there are many persons who made it possible, including the wives and families that lent us their beloved husbands / fathers for some three plus days a long plane ride from “The Lower Forty Eight” as the Alaskans call it. I think it’s a term of affection, but I’m not 100% certain. 😉
A few of us were able to get there early to make spending a little time with the Loving family possible, which was a real blessing. Zack and Sarah and their three boys have become friends over these last several years, and we thank God for their lives and service to the Lord and His body.
Zack, Billy Bohannon and myself had been planning and working on all the things for this particular meet up for over a year, and more in earnest these last several months. As is so often the case, Billy and Zack left it all on the field to create and host a time together that would be meaningful to the men who were able to come. I am pretty sure Billy wins the “selfless service” award again this year.
What can I say, Alaska is a great place to get together with a bunch of brothers to grow in grace and depth of relationship with each other and the Lord! It’s beautiful beyond imagination, even though it rained on us off and on the whole time and was colder than I ever remember it being this time of year. Being greeted and surrounded by mountains from the time you leave the Anchorage airport is something that makes this place unique in my experience. Because it’s been a long and cool spring, so much snow is still all around at elevation and on almost every mountain pass.
I want to thank the Lord Jesus Christ, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit for being among us so mightily. I also want to thank each one who prayed for just such a possibility to occur. We were blessed beyond measure. SO many tears overflowing from those who were touched and also those who were blessed by the witness of it. Thank you.
As we often do, we will alternate to an international location for number 14. We are beginning to plan for the fall of next year (2026) to gather in Mexico, and this will be our 4th Summit there since this effort began a decade ago. The fellowship of the Spirit is such a wonderful thing, especially in how it transcends cultures and distances. One feature of our time together that blessed me a lot this time was that five of those who gathered in Alaska were at BroSummit One, and that was near half of the original attendees. Somehow this really makes me happy. As you might imagine, tears were shed and names of brothers unable to attend were called out before the Father, so deeply missed.