David Dusek is the founder of Rough Cut Men Ministries, which is primarily a live, interactive men’s experience using a strategic combination of action movie sequences, real-world current events, Biblical truth and fireteam-sized discussion times with a single, laser-focused objective to get men talking about what’s going on in their lives.

David travels around the country, and the world, using the Rough Cut Men Movie Experience to get men to be transparent with one another and with Jesus.

According to Dusek, Pete Mitchell, Tom Cruise’s character in the Top Gun films, goes by the call sign Maverick because he likes doing things his way and doesn’t care what other people think about him. And he tends to isolate.

“Ask a man how he’s doing, and he’ll tell you he’s fine,” said Dusek. “He’s not fine. He’s got issues. But he doesn’t have anyone to talk to about them because he doesn’t trust anybody.”

The founder continued by saying, “a typical man has only a handful of close friends; nearly one in six has none. The fewer friends a man has, the more likely he is to feel lonely and isolated. Men are less emotionally connected to their friends than women are and, as a result, men often shy away from confiding in friends. For example, when men under the age of 30 face personal problems, three out of five turn to a parent, wife, or girlfriend; only one in five reaches out to a friend.”

To build up the men of your church, you need to get them out of isolation and help them build brotherhood bonds with other Christian men. How? Dusek has some recommendations, all based on tactics that are employed by the military.

The real battles of life, Dusek continued, take place “outside the wire, away from your headquarters, away from the brigade, away from everybody, driving around on the enemy ground.” To build up the men of your church, you have to engage with them, and develop strong friendships with them, outside of Sunday morning.

And outside of the typical men’s events, even those that offer “mountaintop experiences.” A man may be inspired at a men’s event, but the inspiration typically fades as he faces the day-to-day challenges of the real world. “He needs real connections with other men. Otherwise, he’s just waiting for the next men’s breakfast.”

“When you’re in a fire team,” Dusek said, “all that matters is the other members of the team, along with their wives and families. When you dismount, you’re always in a two-by-two formation, because the last thing you want to do is get shot in the back while you’re doing your job.”

Dusek has a challenge for every churchgoing guy, “There’s a guy you have not seen in your small group or church for a long time. Grab your phone and send him a text message saying, ‘I haven’t seen you in a while, and I miss you, man.’ You may be the only one that instils value in that guy all week. Those three words – ‘I miss you’ – can shift a guy’s paradigm completely, to the point where he says to himself, ‘I do matter to somebody. And I’m gonna live to fight another day.”

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