My letter this month wraps up a 3-month focus on Christian Service Brigade continuing to be worthy of its three names: Christian>Service>Brigade. If you missed the last two months on being “Worthy of the Name ‘Christian’ or “Service is Our Middle Name,” you can find them by clicking here: “Worthy of the Name” and “Service is Our Middle Name”
In 1937, Wheaton College sophomore and CSB founder, Joe Coughlin, was assigned a boys’ Sunday School class at a Methodist church near Glen Ellyn, IL, as his Christian service assignment. Coughlin developed his own programming and called this boys’ group the Christian Service Squad. Once a second squad was started, the name changed to Brigade. But what does ‘Brigade’ mean, and what implications does it have for the boys we seek to build into Godly men?
A Brigade is a major military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. Brigade is not only a military term; one definition for brigade is, “a group of people who have something in common, especially an enthusiasm for a particular belief or subject.” Still another defines ‘brigade’ as “a group of individuals organized for a particular purpose.” Think of fire brigades, who are a group of people in a community unified for the purpose of responding to and extinguishing fires.
Whether it’s CSB alumni, unit leaders, or parents and kids in Brigade, there’s something about the common experiences in Christian Service Brigade that connects them that other organizations can’t. And, who would disagree that we need more things to unify us in our society today? In fact, it is a testament to the world around us when people across geographic, racial, and even political affiliations are unified across those lines. We certainly should exhibit the love of God by loving others. But John 13:35, “By this all men will know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another,” was written to Christ followers about how they treat other Christ followers. Learning to live with others who rub us the wrong way, those we can’t seem to see eye to eye with, isn’t just lessons between siblings; this is also true for the larger family of God. In fact, the context of learning to love each other and seeking the good of other believers above ourselves is the practice field for loving others beyond our ranks.
The parent who is at their wits’ end and tells their kids in the back seat, “All I want is a moment of peace,” is really asking for quiet and tranquility. I chuckle because I can relate, and I bet many of you reading this can too! But, peace is so much more than tranquility; it is a wholeness that we can’t actually have unless it is had with our fellow humans. If one among us is experiencing the brokenness and heartache this sinful world has for us, then we ourselves are not whole without them. One day, our Lord, the Prince of Peace, will fully establish His kingdom of shalom and redeem every part of His creation. As we are redeemed and help others experience the peace we have found in Christ, then we begin to experience the unity and wholeness that only our Savior can provide. What an amazing story we get to live, and invite the next generation to participate in along with us!
Brigadiers are unified in the peace of our Lord and the love we display for each other. We are certainly an army, but one armed with the weapons of truth, peace, and justice. But what are we armed for? A brigade isn’t unified simply for the sake of unity, a brigade is unified for the sake of responding to threats, threats against well-being, threats against safety, threats of rebellion and unrest. The war is real, and our enemy works in ways that fracture our world and perpetuate the brokenness sin creates. Yes, this can be through very troubling inward spiritual turmoil, but we see it in ways that define entire cultures.
Our enemy has been waging a battle to destroy families and the role men have to play in them. Much research has been done on the correlations between fatherlessness and societal ills that span generations. According to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau, 24 million children will go to bed without a biological father in the home, 66% will not live with their father through age eighteen. Boys without a dad at home are 66% more likely to go to prison. Children in fatherless homes are 5 times more likely to live in poverty, have emotional problems, and repeat a grade. A survey by Baptist Press found that if a mother was the first to become a Christian in a household, there’s a 17% probability that everyone in the household will follow. However, if the father is the first to become a Christian, there’s a 93% probability that everyone else in the household will follow.
If you thought Christian Service Brigade was a boys’ club, you’re wrong! The sirens at the base and the alarms at the firehouse are going off, and Brigade is answering the call! We are unified for the purpose of discipling the next generation of godly men.
