2020 Shield Lock Challenge!

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Let’s start off 2020 right with a little #3rdF challenge.  1 month long, all you have to do to win is spend time with your Shield Lock.  Winners announced first week in Feb.

First things first,

What is a shield lock?

I think it’s easier to illustrate this with a conversation I had on a run the other day (no, not the one where Skidmark tried to kill me):  Paraphrase here —

Me: “I’ve not seen you in a while, you been posting a lot?”
Him: “Not really, trying to get back into it.”
Me: “Oh, what’s been going on?”
Him: “You know the normal stuff, work got busy, fell into some bad habits, gotta get back into it and get some accountability”
Me: You have a clown car or group of guys who can help out?
Him: “Kind of, but not really.  Work means I have to be punctual so I can’t ride with them, so I just try to show up on my own”

I’m sure we’ve all gone through something like that — life gets busy, things get in the way, good habits start to get replaced with bad ones, and suddenly it’s been a few weeks since you’ve posted in the gloom and a lot of that progress you’ve been making starts to slip away.  It starts with fitness, but quickly bleeds into losing ground on the intentionality and dedication you’d been working on elsewhere in life.

Here’s the thing: we all know that if we reached out and said “Hey man, I need some help, I’m struggling here”, every single guy in F3 would be there in a heartbeat to support.  A shield lock is more than that, though.  Your shield lock are the guys who call you first.   They are the ones who notice you’re slipping and reach out a hand before you’ve slid down to the bottom and realize you need help.

On a more personal note: back when my 2.0 was born, I struggled hard getting back to work.  If I would have picked up a phone and called any number of my golf buddies and said “Hey guys, I’m drowning here, I can’t focus at all and my work is slipping” I know a bunch of guys would have loved to help me out.  But there was no one Proximate to me to notice the issue, no one I met with Periodically to have opportunity to address the issue and certainly no one who felt they had the Purpose or role to step up and say something.  And let me tell you, when your head is barely above water and you don’t know how to handle it, it’s next to impossible to articulate the need for help.  There’s a small group explicitly tasked with that role this time around, and for that I’m extremely thankful.

That’s the shield lock: the small group of guys with whom you are Proximate, Periodic, and Purposeful.

For Dredd & Helmet’s Take on this (which is where I got the above info), See Q1.7 from QSource or listen here: Skip to 28 Minutes

So what’s the Challenge?

Pretty easy!

  1. Get 3-5 guys to commit to complete the challenge for the month of January & come up with a team name
  2. Work out together during the week.  Bonus points if you all EC or one/some/all of you Q the workout!
  3. Hang out!
    (note: “coffeeteria” after workouts doesn’t count.  Need to make an intentional #2ndF effort)
  4. Serve
    “Serve” can be a wide array of things.  A book study, a service project, serve together at church etc.  But, do it *together* (so, don’t count all of you happen to go to the same church on Sunday and nodded to each other in the atrium).
    I’m not going to go “Slack-Cop” on this, so if you mark down “We served”, it’s good enough for me.

That’s it.  Basically, spend the month of January intentionally being with a smaller group of guys.  You’re literally #winning every time you go grab a drink together.

Please note, all of these can be completed in larger groups.  If someone organizes a big service project in January, would love to see ALL the shield locks there.  LEAD something together!

How do we do it?

Let me (Slide Rule) know your team name and who’s in the Shield Lock.

I’ll make a tab for your team on the Shield Lock tracker, found here: Shield Lock Challenge

At least weekly, log your time together.

The Details

  • 1stF (max 18 pts / week)
    1 point / pax at a workout (max of 3 pts)
    +1 point if the entire shield lock posts (this balances scoring for 3, 4, 5 person groups)
    +1 point if all who posted from shield lock also ran EC
    +1 point if someone from shield lock Q’d (might want to start filling up that Q Sheet now!)
    Top 3 workouts / week count toward total (Max of 6*3 = 18 pts)
  • 2ndF (7 pts / week)
    7 Points if the entire shield lock does anything 2ndF during the week.
    Can not be associated with a workout (Panera after U-Turn doesn’t count, for instance)
  • 3rdF (15 pts total)
    15 points if the shield lock does something service related over the month.

Most points wins! Ties broken by 3rdF, then 2ndF, then most Q, then most EC points, then week 4/3/2/1.  Winners announced first week in February.

Important Note:

There was an F3 podcast recently about guys who are “cheating on their family” with F3.  They’re running away from problems at home and use F3 as a way to do it.  The shield lock better be the guys who are helping you address those problems, not run away from them.

Any questions?  Feel free to ask!

R4TJ – Gorging on Turkey with the Family

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This Thanksgiving story is a true one.  The names have been changed to protect the innocent…

It’s that time of year again.  Time to be thankful, sit down with your family, make a side-dish, share a feast, and pass out on a couch to football.  You expect that Cousin Red has hosting responsibilities.  He always hosts… Out of nowhere he texts (doesn’t call) and asks me to host just the night before the big day.  I don’t have a plan, what will I make?  I realize Red has no idea who is coming or how many people I have to serve.

Frantically, I send out invitations and ask for RSVPs.  I get a few actual RSVPs – my brother Corey (big help when planning out the meal budget) and cousin Mark (you should see this guy clean-up after dinner).  Otherwise, lots of questions and comments from the peanut gallery. Stephen (always the match-maker at our get togethers) liked this picture I sent in the invitation but he’s not coming, Jaron (the cousin that think’s he’s some sort of comic book character) says he’ll send some of his high quality H2O but he isn’t coming, and my boy Olson says he has a Full House of his own to deal with…

I hope I make enough! … What if I make too much? … Do I have enough chairs? …  Who am I kidding we don’t sit at R4TJ.  Family! Am I Right?

EC: Nemo, Pikachu, UTI

My brother Andrew showed up unexpectedly.  I figured he might turn up on his way out of town but I just wasn’t sure.  As I stepped out to greet him, Chris shot by the door.  (I swear that guys moves like lightning).  The time I had set in the invitation for appetizers arrived so we got started, figured no one else would be coming.  2ish miles of EC was on the menu.  It was something I’d discovered long ago on a visit to Paradise City.  By the time we were done other guests had started to trickle in.

FNGs: Zilch – It would be nice if some of these guys had more friends to bring along to dinner.  The more the merrier I always say…

Warm Up:  Daisy Pickers, Frankensteins, Burpees (Thanks Katniss), Butt Kickers, High Knees

We got started with some light stretching.  Meals at R4TJ are no joke and you really need to stretch things out to make room.  Right as we got started, Brian tore into the driveway.  He said he’d planned on going to Jeff’s get together but put in the wrong address.  Since he was so close to my house… he just made himself at home… Oy!  We added a card table, threw a table cloth on it and let him join us.  It’s Thanksgiving after all and he brought a few cans for sides…

The Workout:

For those of us that came with an empty stomach and a hefty appetite.  YHC served a beautiful whole bird.  If you had to equate the amount of meat to a distance – I’d say it was about 5 miles of Turkey.  If you went back for more (like Chris did – More than a few times I might add – that guy can really dig in) you might get more like 10 miles out of that bird.  Truly a feast!

Guests seeking something on the lighter side opted for the neck and the dark meat.  Chad (we call him Rut – hunters like the gross stuff) was happy to deliver.  Such a long neck on this thing.  3 miles of meat (I know its strange but my family has always measured their meat in miles.)

Mary:  We didn’t invite her.  Always brings up politics at the table.  Gets Corey all bent out of shape.  She winds up drunk and things really get strange after that…  Not worth the hassle.

Announcements: Convergence tomorrow at Tiger Blood, 6AM.  Friendsgiving at M4Ls on Thursday, Frosty, Christmas Party, Oakwood 24, BRR registration opens soon, there was more and I hope its all on Slack.  With all the tryptophan and you just start getting sick of your family… It’s like Blah Blah Blah….

T-Claps (Recognition): These go to Josh and Brian – This was Kosher’s 3rd post in South Wake and he came out for 3 miles at R4TJ.  I’d say its a bit rare for our newcomers to show at R4TJ especially when running hasn’t been their thing recently.  Great work Kosher and welcome to the family.  Katniss delivered the goods, the canned goods that is!

Prayer: Mark lead us in prayer (again, strange family, prayers after the meal).  Great message from Corey about being mindful/grateful for what we have in our families.  Bring all 3Fs to your table this year.  Be great fathers, brothers, husbands, etc. as we always talk about.  Keep Quiver and family in your prayers.  Consider those

2nd F:  Once all the crazies left… Brian, Corey, Chris, Josh, and I (Jon) went over to Panera for some after-dinner coffee.

We Gave All The F’s

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FNGs: None

Warm Up: There was some stretching and some sick burns being batted about between Peeping Tom and Lipstick.  These two…

The Workout: AKA 1st F – A 3.5 mile fellowship run that had been piloted by Peeping Tom (or PT as some like to call him).  People that live along this route may want to consider their current security and window covering situation as Tom has repeated this path a few times now 🙂  We proceeded along the red line in the image.  For the first mile there was some continued back and forth between PT and Lipstick followed by some mumblechatter about how much we were all suffering.  All of our food choices were poor leading up to this 7:15pm run.  With heavy stomachs and some cautious moments we pressed on.

About a quarter of the way down to Crossway portion of our run Lipstick happened upon a favorite hill of his – Creekvista Dr I believe it’s called.  You may remember it from a previous R4TJ that he Q’d.  He lead the charge off the red lined path down said hill, Pikachu followed, PT, Cupid, and YHC shrugged and proceeded down the pre-agreed course.  There were still 2 Fs to tackle this evening and we have plenty hills awaiting us for BRR.  As we neared HomeGrown Pizza, Pikachu caught us and soon after that Lipstick.  And now, a word from our sponsor…  HomeGrown Pizza, Official Sponsor of the F3 SouthWake BRR 6-man team

Image result for homegrown pizza

Mary: Let’s steal this section for the 2nd F portion of our evening.  The runners returned from their 1st F to commence 2nd F which started in the Parking Lot as we discussed the merits of running/not running the week leading up to BRR.  As we cooled off and YHC stopped sweating (sort of) we moved the conversation indoors and ordered some drinks.  The 2nd F continued on until we transitioned into 3rd F.  Which admittedly didn’t happen right at 8pm with the scheduled start of Q-Source.  Pablo and our 3rd F Q Dumbo arrived and with the we extended 2nd F as we welcomed them to the table.

At some point we managed to get “serious” and start our 3rd F through Q-Source.  The content this week was definitely conversation provoking and the PAX on-hand did a great job of teasing out the nuance of Exhortation.  You see exhortation looks and feels alot like any other form of encouragement but there are some specific differences in terms of having experienced a challenge (or something pretty similar) before pushing someone else to overcome it or move through it.  Empathy is key and avoiding the role of dictator is a must.  Great leadership by Dumbo through the content.  This guy is always on point.

If you guys arent Q-Sourcing, give it a shot one of these weeks.  Dont worry about being behind or even if you havent read the current weeks content, it doesn’t matter.  It’s worth-while just being in the room and thinking through these concepts week on week.

Announcements: Oct 12th Picnic, 9/11 stair climb

T-Claps (Recognition):  Dumbo – moving us through QSource every week.  Staying on top of the content and always keeping the conversation spirited and collaborative.

Prayer:  Those in the path of the hurricane.  BRR participants.  Noah’s Ark and his wife Michelle

Keep Pushing the Rock Men

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There once was a man who lived in a cabin next to a field. In the middle of the field was a huge rock – an enormous boulder. One night, God came to the man in a dream and said “I want you to go out in the morning and every morning after that and push the rock with all your heart and all your might.” So, the next morning and every morning after that the man did exactly as God instructed. Every morning, day after day, week after week, month after month – no matter the weather – the man woke up and pushed the rock until he could no longer push it anymore. And day after day, week after week, month after month, the rock never budged a single inch. Some days, he did not feel like pushing the rock, but he did it anyway.

Some days, he did not push the rock with all his heart and all his might, giving just a partial effort until he realized this was not God’s command. His task was to push the rock with all his heart and all his might, every morning. He grew frustrated and prayed, “God, why am I pushing this rock? Day after day, week after week, month after month I have pushed this rock. I have never moved it, and never will!”

God replied, “I did not ask you to MOVE the rock, I asked you to PUSH the rock with all your heart and all your might. You have been an obedient and faithful servant; now look how you have transformed yourself: your shoulders are broad, your arms are strong, your legs are powerful. You are now ready for me to use you for a greater purpose!”

What are you pushing the rock for?  We may not know yet!

Deadbolt

 

Image result for pushing the rock

Turning Water Into Coffee

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PAX: Straight Cash, UTI

Warm Up:  This was more mental than physical.  Despite the sound of consistently louder and louder drops of water hitting the roof as my alarm went off at 5:30 AM, I got out of bed with my correctly set alarm (No mis-fire today Skidmark).  I proceeded through my pre-workout ritual which gave me a little time to sit and read a few articles on the best attire for a run in the rain.  Following said ritual, I pulled together the best of what my closet had to offer and went down stairs.  Checking-in with Straight Cash, who had DM’d me the night before, I re-confirmed his HC for a clowncar to AGS.  He got in the car and we both agreed this wasn’t smart but we committed.  If other PAX showed and committed as well, we were in it for the long haul.

The Workout:  We did expect to meet some hard core PAX at Womble.  Upon arrival at approx 6:29 the lot was empty.  We gave it the old 5 min. rule and in at 6:34 and about 30 secs we watched as a lonely car made its way over the speed bumps on Stinson.  The car passed Womble and we started talking game plan.  The rain was a solid “yellow” for the next hour on AccuWeather’s MinuteCast…  So the next debate was Starbucks or Duncan.

Mary:  We were reassured by Draper with our decision to go for coffee, he had also called off his Harris Lake run this morning due to the heavy rain.  At least we weren’t alone.  Straight Cash and I sat at Duncan and covered a broad spectrum of topics both F3 and personal.  The shop itself was pretty dead with the occasional customer strolling through.  There were some questionable cleaning practices in play on the AC intake as the manager or other employee sprayed some sort of aerosol upward onto/into the vent.  I hope it was on the up-and-up and they weren’t simply spray painting the vent cover white for appearances.  There was a definite spray paint smell…

Announcements:  Based on our own mumblechatter I’ll call out the following announcements…

  • BRR hangout Jan 22 – Black Dog Bottle Shop, info on the Facebook and the Slack
  • Breathtaker up for grabs weekly at Cletus – Benefits charity, many ways to contribute either through auction, donation, and even getting others to sponsor you to carry the vest.
  • Convergence Lunch in RTP – Look for updates on the next one on the typical channels.
  • QSwap continues next week SW goes to Carpex.

Prayer:  Selfishly – please pray that Straight Cash and I don’t have some sort of lung-related issues from the DD fumes.

vvv  – Super creepy confirmation of whereabouts and timelines sponsored by Google – vvv

2019 Southwake – an official region with official “roles”

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F3 Southwake Pax:

Aye – as I have mentioned in a few COTs as we closed out last week, we are moving into becoming an official “Region” of F3.  In order to be an official region, we have to have a few leadership positions in place to ensure smooth operations in all three Fs and other areas.  These leadership positions are:

  • 3F Qs: We need a Q for each of the three 3F:
    • 1st F – Fitness
    • 2nd F – Fellowship
    • 3rd F – Faith
  • COMZ: We will need a COMZ person for communications, social media and a website presence.
  • Weasel Shaker: We also need a position called the Weasel Shaker – he basically makes sure everyone is doing what they are supposed to be – a rule follower.

Since we have been in the incubation stage of an official Region for over a year now. I am going to stay on as Nantan but I think these roles should be renewed with new leaders every year.  Each year, around Thanksgiving, we will nominate new positions.  I have given this a lot of thought – consulted with a few others and I would like to announce our 2019 Southwake roles.  Below is a description of the general duties of each role and the 2019 Pax that will fill the role:

Each of the #HIM below will be reaching out to Pax to form committees for all of these roles – please let one know if you are interested in helping!

1st F Q:  Pikachu

  • The 1st F guy ensures the smooth running of the AOs.
  • He makes sure that SiteQs are doing their jobs, and often will hold regular meetings to do so.
  • 1st F Q also helps to plan and execute CSAUPs
  • He works with the Nant’an and WS to look at growth of 1st F AO plants.
  • He holds regular Q Schools for new(er) Pax, for PHT.

2nd F Q:  Emeril

  • Party Pants. Whether it be happy hours, family picnics, Christmas Parties, or Coffeeteria, this is the guy who makes the donuts.
  • The ComzQ is his best friend, as he attempts to get Pax motivated and excited about Fellowshipping together.

3RD F Q:  Slide Rule

This job is one of the tougher ones… the 3rd F Q really needs to understand the needs and wants of his Pax.

  • He can plant anything from a weekly Bible Study to an open discussion group to a regular community service opportunity for Pax.
  • His role is the essence of the real mission of F3.
  • Male COMMUNITY Leadership. It’s ambiguous on purpose, but it needs to make IMPACT.

COMZ Q :  Gump

It may be obvious, but… This man is the Q for making sure the Pax stay connected to one another.

  • He understands very clearly that 2nd F does not end at the AO or at the Happy Hour. Part of what makes F3 work is a dedicated man to keep the drum beating so that Pax have community one with another.
  • He manages the content of the website
  • He can explore other opportunities for communications: Twitter, Slack, GroupMe, Newsletters, etc. are the tools he uses.
  • Should be reasonably tech-savvy.

Weasel Shaker – Skid Mark

The man which “shakes the weasels” and makes sure they are all doing what they are supposed to do.

  • He is a spreadsheet loving, rule embracing, detail-oriented sort that helps to give the Nant’an the information he needs to effectively guide and make decisions on how to empower Pax to become the leaders they have been called to be.
  • He keeps his ear to the ground, and his finger on the pulse of the Pax with the Nant’an
    • For example: Wednesday numbers are really high, might be time to split the workout; or, I’ve plotted all the Pax houses on this map and it looks like we could use an AO on the other side of town

I would like to begin these “official roles” at the beginning of the year.  I have talked this over with a few others and we feel that the ideal term for one of these positions is 1 year with new leadership coming in every January 1.

I am very excited with Southwakes growth over the past 6 months and that now we are an official region.   You #HIM have made such a positive impact on my life that it is hard to put into words.  I love you all like brothers and I look forward to 2019 and beyond.

Iron Sharpens Iron

Deadbolt