The Brigade Blog
We love to equip men and fathers to disciple the next generation of boys and young men. Stay connected to the latest news and stories here.
We Help You Plan A Fathering Adventure Day With Your Son
Strengthen the bond between fathers and their children at Fathering Adventure Day! Christian Service Brigade provides the coaching, resources, and support you need to plan and run this unforgettable, meaningful…
My Fear That Dad Would Discover It Is Gone
Strengthen the bond between fathers and sons through mentorship and honest communication. Discover how opening up about struggles with things like pornography can transform fear into love and build a…
Brigade Prepared Me to be a Husband, a Father, and to Serve.
Looking for a ministry to help raise boys into godly men? Christian Service Brigade provides mentorship, life skills, and spiritual growth through Christ-centered programs like Battalion and Stockade. As a…
2024 Highlight Video
2024 has been a year of growth, leadership, and unforgettable moments as men and boys came together to shape their futures and impact generations for Christ. Watch our recap video…
One Meal, One Month, One Big idea!
Looking for a ministry to help raise boys into godly men? Christian Service Brigade provides mentorship, life skills, and spiritual growth through Christ-centered programs like Battalion and Stockade. As a…
Five for Five – A Mom Story
Looking for a ministry to help raise boys into godly men? Christian Service Brigade provides mentorship, life skills, and spiritual growth through Christ-centered programs like Battalion and Stockade. As a…
Building the Next Generation of Men: A Call to Action
Discover how generations of faithfulness are possible in your family through the transformative power of discipleship. Read the inspiring story of three generations impacted by Christian Service Brigade, where faithful…
Generations who know their middle name
Do you believe that generations of faithfulness are possible in your family? I do. I believe it because I cling to God’s promises. I was taught to do this by…
Happy Thanksgiving from Christian Service Brigade
Discover fun Thanksgiving facts about food traditions, like whether turkey was served at the first feast, the marshmallow debate, and how Swanson’s TV dinners were born—all while celebrating gratitude and…
Meet Mike Fitzgerald: Our New North Central Field Representative
We are excited to welcome Mike Fitzgerald to the Christian Service Brigade team! After a 30-year career as a medical doctor, Mike answered God’s call to serve as the new…
Robots, Homeschooling, and Christian Service Brigade
Engage your homeschooled boys with Christian Service Brigade’s faith-based curriculum, featuring hands-on modules like a robot-building project that integrates biblical lessons, leadership development, and practical life skills.
New Tree Climbers Materials for 2024-2025!
Embark on an Unforgettable Adventure with the new Tree Climber Program: Inspiring Biblical and Outdoor Exploration for Christian Dads and Their First and Second Grade Boys
Thanks to the success…
That Night I Went to Bed Torn in Two
Christian Service Brigade is as much a ministry to families as it is to boys. Men who join to help boys are often equipped to be better husbands, fathers and…
I Used to Look Ahead I Fear
I grew up without a father, thrust into a life of uncertainty and hardship. My beautiful mother, even with her best attempts to love and raise me, could never fill…
Join the MOB: Why I Love Brigade – A Mom’s Story
Many men don’t know where they fit in at church. They feel the war on men even in their congregations or they simply don’t know how their skills, interests, and…
Creating a servant leader who actually knows how to lead AND serve.
Men have often abused their strength and authority. It is a mistake to respond to this sin by ignoring the necessary leadership to which God has called men. The answer…
Easter Teaches Our Boys Not To Fear
What if things don’t workout? What if I fail? What if I die? All of the most important “what ifs” are put to rest in the death and resurrection of…
How To Build Antifragile Boys: Let Them Suffer
Building antifragile boys through adventure: raising resilient, capable young men.
It’s hard for today’s boys to become godly.
They're bombarded from all directions with examples of anything but a godly lifestyle. Studies show that boys learn how to behave as men by what they observe around them. With…
I think I’d Lost Hope
God used the death of my wife this past June to produce a stunning plot twist in Zac’s story.. I think I had lost hope. Zac just seemed lost. Stuck.…
How a Husband Found a Bond of Brotherhood
Christian Service Brigade is as much a ministry to families as it is to boys. Men who join to help boys are often equipped to be better husbands, fathers and…
Easter Joy in the Face of our Biggest Trial
As we watch my wife live her last days I and my family find confidence in the face of cancer and death in large part because of the trust in…
You. Man. Where do you fit in?
Many men don’t know where they fit in at church. They feel the war on men even in their congregations or they simply don’t know how their skills, interests, and…
An Example of Mentoring as We Celebrate 85 Years of Minsitry
CSB played a vital role in connecting Neo with his friend and now mentor David Gregg. As we celebrate 85 years of ministry to men. young men, and boys, we…
They were ‘Gap Men.’ They filled the gap where my father wasn’t.
In John’s testimony he tells how numerous men “filled the gap” that was left by an absent father. Our culture is full of fatherless boys, even the ones with dads…
Depression in Boys: How I discovered I was a harmful helper
I don’t really understand depression. God has not yet added that as a chapter in my life, and based on my experiences and temperament likely won’t be. Because of our…
Sometimes it just takes a little time
When common sense is not all that common
There he stood near the front door, just a few days into his first week of high school. He had all of…
Don’t Make My Mistake. Have the Conversations.
It’s probably one of my favorite family pictures of all time. Two little boys, ages 4 and 2, wearing bib overalls, old fashioned caps, and bare feet. One holding a…
Forging Key Values Through Trouble
In this fallen world, “trouble” feels like an inadequate word to capture the real pain, sadness, or for many, even catastrophe so common in our life experience. But in John…
Boys Need Heroes: A Message From the Christian Service Brigade President
Now more than ever boys need heroes. Sometimes those heroes swoop in during a moment of crisis, but often heroes are the men who sacrifice everyday investing in the lives…
Mother’s Day was My Day for Disappointment
Motherhood took me by surprise. The kind of surprise that happens 9 months after your wedding day. Yes ... that kind.
I was never that little girl; the one that…
Turning Conflict Into Cooperation
Mike stood in the kitchen doorway and held up the detention notice from school. I could tell from the set of his jaw that he expected the worst. I…
The War of Words
Ending the responses that trigger the conflict between you and your children
When your children were young, you spoke words of life into their little beings. They cooed and…
Rescue: When the answer to all the prayers for rescue is a heart crushing “No”
Minutes turned into hours. They’d been gone too long. I hesitated to verbalize my fear, as if doing so would somehow bring the fear to life. And then it happened.…
More of “That Guy”
How a kid with buck teeth and a bad stutter experienced Jesus
I don't enjoy thinking of embarrassing experiences from my childhood, let alone writing about them. But dredging them…
Thoughts on Shaving
It became clear that this ordinary moment in my life was not ordinary for him at all
Shaving is a big deal. It’s a big deal because it’s an…
Youth Sports Part 2
When to Call it Quits.
I’m a dad who values sports. I played professional sports, coached over 20 of my four sons’ youth teams, and saw three of them play…
Wipe Out
When I took the job I had no idea how badly I would mess things up.
The summer after I graduated high school, I took a temporary job working at…
That Shouldn’t Be There
Our only hope was in hearing the bad news
The E.R. doctor called me over to look at the computer monitor on which an image of my wife's brain was…
Anger: Nowhere To Run
“I buried my anger, and then it buried me.”
I want to tell you about my friend. He's still in jail; guilty of laundering money. He’s got another seven…
My Dad Built Me While I Built a Little Wooden Car
I have many fond memories of growing up in the Brigade ministry. A personal highlight for me was the annual StocKar derby at my church. My dad would work with…
Four Reasons Anger Makes Me Smile
I learned that I have a maniac inside of me on February 3rd, 2002. Six years into our marriage we were still living in the “15 cent dinner, ramen noodle…
A Better Story
A tale for dinnertime conversation
Ideas for discussing this story with your boys, and suggested answers, can be found here.
The unbelieving world tells you a story: that you are the…
A Better Story: Discussion Questions and Answers
Boys love stories! And stories are a powerful medium with which to communicate deep truths to the heart. Below you will find questions and potential answers we hope will help…
Why Our Stories Matter
Have you ever noticed that most of the Bible is comprised of stories? These stories tend to come in two flavors: God giving impossibly weak people the ability to do…
A Well Intentioned Fool
I found my anger in a broken drawer
Do I get a pass because no creature can awaken anger and frustration like a 14 year old boy? We homeschool.…
From Fear To Faith
"You Are Not Alone: Stories from young men" is a series of personal stories we are collecting by young men to encourage peers and parents alike to pursue Jesus. Paul sought…
This Moment Changed His Life
Originally printed in Brigade Leader eMagazine, a magazine for equipping Brigade Leaders
Joe was small. One of two city kids who were on the trip. He was the only black fellow…
Autism: Remembering the Golden Rule
Autism often leaves young men and women with profound thoughts but without the ability to share it or the audience to listen. Philip Reyes, 12 years old, is our youngest…
Knowing the Goal
Youth athletics can be a powerful tool to shape the godly character of both children and parents, but anyone who's spent much time in the world of youth athletics can…
Building a Boy Backwards Part 2
Feature Art By Brian Marshall Jr.
In my previous Valor article, I wrote about the principle of building a boy “backwards.” The idea being that if you can picture what…
Autism: Breaking the Silence
Philip Reyes, 12 years old, is our youngest author to date and is autistic. You can read his thoughts on showing kindness here. In this article Philip's mother shares transparently…
Fearless Grace: How God turned abuse into an opportunity for compassion
We want to protect our children from those who would seek to steal their innocence, but we don't want our children to live in fear. How do we balance these…
Not If, But When
Three steps to take when your child sees porn.
Pornography has become a major front in the spiritual battle for the hearts of our sons. Unfortunately, parents today need to…
Dad, Please Ask!
A young man’s plea to hear his father’s voice.
Brad is one of those young men poised to do great things. In a couple of years gaggles of grey-headed grandmothers…
No Longer Afraid
A Mother's Journey from Fear to Faith.
I know fear. In fact, for over 20 years fear was my best friend. I lived in it. I was controlled by it.…
Helping Him Hear Your Voice
Tools for communicating with young men.
I know the voices of our culture make it hard to believe, but a son really does want to communicate with his parents, and…
Spiritual Warfare: Warriors Disguised as Regular Kids
I was standing over a frying pan, spatula in hand, slowly moving scrambled eggs over the heat. Two of our little boys sat on stools behind me at the kitchen…
Being a Biblical Patriarch: Loving and leading your family tribe
Masculinity has been in crisis for some time now. What used to be common-place has become radical and what was radical is aggressively being normalized. Sadly, even some of the…
Helping boys love those with disabilities
Playgrounds are, for the most part, a safe place. But not always. Sometimes a school playground can set the stage for bullying. Almost every boy has either experienced being bullied…
The Best Part of Being a Grandparent
What do you think is the best part of being a grandparent? What’s that well-worn quip? “The best thing about being a grandparent is that you can spoil the grandkids…
Training our Sons to be Citizens
As we near the end of a very turbulent election cycle we have important decisions to make. The right to vote is the right to choose to whom we will…
Just a Little Peace!
It was two decades ago, but I vividly remember the week my husband “surprised” me, his very pregnant wife, with an untrained, chewing, whining, fence jumping, five-month old puppy. It…
Building a Boy Backwards Part 1
Feature Art By Brian Marshall Jr.
When I was in high school my parents decided to build a house. They thought carefully about what they wanted the home to look…
The Book that Bites
Remember choose your own adventure books? I loved them as a kid. When I read them I felt like I was an active participant rather than a passive observer. The…
Redeeming Pain
Helping our boys respond with courage when people hurt them.
We have a natural tendency to cause each other pain. The reality of pain in a fallen world should not…
Getting a taste for truth from stories
In our previous article Telling the Truth, Carole McLeod tells the story of her son's problem telling the truth and how she and her husband sought to tackle that sin…
Telling The Truth
He Couldn't Argue With The Chocolate ... But He Did.
As the mother of three boys who have grown into uncommon men, I must say, there is nothing like a…
Help Your Son Appreciate Work: Discussion Ideas
Whether it's bumper stickers about "working to live not living to work," or the glorified picture of a comfortable retirement as the ultimate goal of American success, our children rarely…
Honoring God In Their Work
“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!” ― Abraham Kuyper
How silly…
The Calling of a Boy unaware
How I was transformed by discipleship at Brigade Camp
Friday evening was here and my week at camp was over. As I sat on the grass by the tetherball pole,…
Technology Tools and Tips
Tricks and tips are not the answer to helping our sons use technology in a God honoring way. Any tools, tricks, or fences that we erect to protect them must…
Helpful Technology: Fighting Fire with Fire
Technology in our lives is now unavoidable. That's not to say that we must put devices into our children's hasty little hands. It does mean, however, that eventually technology will…
Dealing With Devices
The mesmerizing reality of modern technology especially in the lives of our boys is impossible to ignore. But before we rip those glowing devices out of their grasping little hands;…
Clean Up in Aisle 7: A Mama Meltdown
We were on a mission to Target and I was already exhausted. Snacks: check! Stubborn overloaded cart: check! Cranky child: check! Getting myself and two children ages one and two…
Giving our Boys a Taste for Courage.
Learning "truths" is good, but this is a far different thing than learning to love truth. Courage is one of the Seven Points of Valor and as such is a…
Growing in Courage – A Story
Paint for yourself a mental picture of courage and I’m confident it will not involve a man hiding in a hole in the ground. And yet God tells us that…
Power of a Parents Voice
All too often, parents underestimate the power of their voice in the lives of their children. Children of all ages are often desperate for meaningful conversation with their parents. Many…