I’ve been concerned about a fella I’ve known for a long time. His ex-wife says she still thinks of him as the smartest person she ever met and always expected him to be a U.S. Senator.

I’ve been concerned. Haven’t heard from him for too long, so I wrote to him.

“How you doing? What’s going on in your world? Be in touch.”

That has always been adequate to provoke him to ask about gas prices, temps and whether the grass was growing in addiction to a massive political report. Several months later, he replied,

“Not much to report”

Not even a period at the end of his response.
I’m still concerned, now more so. He is isolated; he has cut himself off from even his quirky friends.

On a tour, I was invited to a men’s breakfast. About 20 of us showed at a restaurant. The waitress knew the men’s orders by heart. Besides a couple of clergy, the group was made of the communities of military, medicine, education, marketing, inventors, government and men running for state and national public office One man’s wife is running for mayoral election. You might know a couple of them. Several millionaires among them. A man who dressed off the racks of Salvation Army has invented electronics you see in TV newsrooms and military staging areas and the White House.

At least one Jewish man. About 70-80% are Jesus followers. There were no studies or guest speakers, just a serious prayer of food blessing and conversations.

The room was filled with a quality of caring and joy I carried to the car. It wasn’t a Bible study. Nor was it a banter session of put down and muscle flexing. A gathering of gentlemen in an atmosphere of bacon, eggs, oatmeal and testosterone.

I have not been in such a gathering. Just being in that gathering made me feel better about myself. Most of them welcomed me verbally and heartily asked me to come back next time I was in town.

Every time when I have felt or said, “Not much to report,” it was the results of absence of breakfast with such men. Stephen Mansfield calls it a Band of Brothers. Others call it Tribe or Pack. Eating breakfast alone is not good for me and among a couple of other things breakfast with some of the boy is what my friend needs.

I promise you: when Jesus gathered His friends for breakfast on the beach it was one of the most empowering and important times in their lives.

Want to grab eggs and coffee with grits or oatmeal?

Have I got stuff to report!

©2018 D. Dean Benton dean@deanbenton.org