Honor
hon·or
/ˈänər/
noun
high respect; great esteem.
adherence to what is right or to a conventional standard of conduct.
verb
regard with great respect.
fulfill (an obligation) or keep (an agreement).
Being part of a circle of 48 men that I deeply respected was a very humbling experience. Spending 5 days with them as a part of a company of older men to deeply engage 72 younger men that were committing to a decade of excavating their lives and hearts for the sake of “becoming the kind of men that God can entrust his Kingdom” was other-worldly.
Some of the younger men had traveled mere hours to participate, but others had come from thousands of miles away and represented several continents. They were impressive, successful, and many had the potential to be world changers. The world would tell them they had already arrived. That they were already ready. But these young men were committing to a path less traveled.
A decade of excavation and preparation.
Like the older men, they were a curated community from a long list of many more that would have liked to have attended. They were an extraordinary and rare community of younger men. Warriors and young kings on the precipice of their life, leadership, and opportunity to impact the world.
I am not sure what their preparation was like, but ours, as the older men, was extensive:
A dozen or so hours of podcasts, reading, and training videos
Training calls
A complete review of the 4-day weekend’s conference materials
Time spent with younger men in practice for our time there
A full day of time together as facilitators before the younger men showed up in camp
Decades of redeemed brokenness in our walking with God
Intentionality like I have never seen. I can only imagine what the attendee’s prep was like.
I know that we all feasted on four days of content and experiences that I am still processing through a month later. And the phone booked sized workbook we were given wasn’t really even for the weekend, but for the next 10 years!
Before the younger men arrived, we were all given a chance to introduce ourselves and offer what we were feeling about being there. I was overwhelmed emotionally trying to explain what I was feeling in that moment (and I am never lost for words).
I told them that I get to sit around a lot of holy campfires. Campfires where God is being referenced and invoked and the lives of many hang in the balance. Some of those campfires are in the middle of office buildings with glass walls, mahogany tables, and chairs I would probably blush about if I knew the cost.
Some are literal with the smoke and flame providing just enough illumination to let truth flow freely. But anytime two or more gather for His purposes and in His name, it is holy.
But this is the holiest campfire I know.
I also told them that I grieve the loss of an honor culture. Where eldership and experience are honored and celebrated, but also where the truest and deepest potential in younger men/women are identified and cultivated. Not the superficial externals captured in photos with clever captions or short curated video snippets of a person’s life, but where the unique aspects of the Divine’s glory in each of them is celebrated.
This is the best example of an honor culture I know.
I am fighting hard every day to restore an honor culture everywhere I walk. In my family, in my community, and within the dozens of companies I get to speak into directly or through key leadership.
And it is beautiful when it emerges, but it is rare, holy, and needed now more than ever.
Consider
Do you live in an honor culture?
Do you work in an honor culture?
As a leader, how will you cultivate this kind of culture in your home, work, or community?
What is it costing you and others if you don’t?