The Difference Between Pizza and Psychology

An interview with Kevin Dekam

In this interview Kevin Dekam, our new Regional Director for the greater Michigan Area, talks about the difference between his Psych degree and a large pizza, his ministry to those in emotional trauma, his family's time in Africa, and why he's excited to now be serving with Christian Service Brigade.

BC: What was life at home like growing up?

Kevin: Pleasantly unremarkable, safe and stable. Free from the crises and brokenness that seem to define the lives of many men.  I was raised in a Christian home by loving parents in a safe community.

BC: What vision did you have for your life starting out and when/how did that change?

Eastern Great Lakes Region

If you are passionate about ministry to men

With Scott Haima's appointment as the new CSB President, the position that he had as the Eastern Great Lakes Regional Director needs to be filled. If you believe you may have an interest in this position and may be willing to locate to Western NY learn more about what the Regional Director position requires and the gift/skill set needed here.

View The Job Description...

Service!: Our Newest Stockade Module

Service is Christian Service Brigade's middle name.  It is also an important part of Jesus' life that He modeled for us to follow.  This Module will teach the boys the "why" and "how" of service, encouraging them to take on an attitude of Servanthood.  This Module will also help the boys to focus on being a servant in their own homes.  The final meeting should be used as a large group Service Project.

This Stockade Leader’s Guide has a corresponding Outpost Adventures Guide that contains several Achievements the boys can do at home, or as part of a small group in their post meeting. These two resources are designed to work together to give your boys an exciting, spiritually-balanced learning experience. Make sure you have a Service Outpost Adventures Guide on hand for each boy, as several of the Post Meeting activities use pages from this guide.

Purchase the leaders Guide...

Purchase the Outpost adventure Book...

Meet Our New Shop Manager

Diane Blair: Serving the Servants

Helping you serve starts with us serving you. We are serious about making your online purchasing experience a pleasant one. So we're happy to introduce you to Diane Blair who will be managing all of the orders through the brigade shop. She loves to serve so if there's anything you need from the shop just let Diane know.

Visit the Brigade Shop...

Managing Tech. and Design for CSB

Bob Britton: Perfect Blend of Artist and Geek

God is blessing us with an amazing array of men and women to help us meet the fast growing needs of our ministry. One of our newest members is the passionate and multi talented Bob Britton. With over 20 years of software development experience Bob brings a much needed expertise to help us build the tools our leaders need. Bob also brings a wonderful design eye that he is excited about using to help us in our graphic design efforts.

The picture of Teddy Roosevelt above is one of Bob's more recent works.

Take A Look At Bob's Art ...

Brigade Watch Word: Our New Devotional App

The Brigade WatchWord is a devotional app designed to strengthen your Christian walk.  The app allows you to receive customized scriptural content that meets you where you are.  This is made possible by a Spiritual Profile Assessment. Just answer a few questions, and the app will send you content at the times you choose.

Limited Time Offer: Free Subscription To Our Parenting Magazine

We're excited to announce that we are launching VALOR magazine, a print publication for parents from CSB! For a limited time we are giving away free subscriptions to anyone who is interested.

Simply sign up here and get the magazine delivered straight to your door free! It's our way of serving you.

Take advantage of this limted time offer to sign up for FREE for the new VALOR magazine for parents. 

VALOR is designed to help provide the parents, leaders, alumni and fans of Christian Service Brigade with Biblical principles, tools, and perspective on discipling boys by drawing on our years of experience and connections with experts in the field of discipleship and men's ministry.

Get a taste of two of the articles in our launch issue:

"Dealing with Devices" - Helping parents teach their sons to steward their electronics. Read the story 

"Clean up in Aisle 7" - The true story of a Mommy Meltdown Read the story

In each issue we help parents tackle tough subjects and give you specific actions you can take to show your son what it means to be a godly man.

Sign Me Up!

Dealing with deVICES: Helping parents teach boys to learn to steward their electronics

For a limited time a subscription to this printed magazine is available free. Simply sign-up to get this great tool sent straight to your home!

Below is a sneak peak at one of the articles in our first issue of Valor Magazine.

"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; before chucking it down the garbage disposal listening with frustrated satisfaction as it grinds its way into the plumbing, we must remember an important truth about discipleship: Problems should be viewed not as an obstacle to endure but as an opportunity to be used. A God honoring, moderated and self-controlled use of technology should drive our technology decisions. Below we have chosen what we believe to be some really helpful truths and tools to help you guide the many conversations you will undoubtedly need to have as you guide your son in his use of electronic devices."

To continue reading this article sign up for the free print magazine and we'll send the issue straight to your home where you can not only finish this story but can read a bunch of other great articles for parents.

Sign Up Now for this limited offer 

"Clean Up In Aisle 7"

For a limited time a subscription to this printed magazine is available free. Simply sign-up to get this great tool sent straight to your home!

Below is a sneak peak at one of the articles in our first issue of Valor Magazine.

"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 out the door was going to be no small accomplishment. 

“I need help” was not part of my vocabulary before I had kids.  Independent, self-reliant, emotionally stable, responsible, and punctual, were words I would’ve used to describe myself before these little … bundles of joy … entered my life and changed everything! Though I found it difficult to admit, one word now seemed to describe my life as a young mom: “needy!” 

Key to my strategy for a successful trip to Target was to diligently avoid the toy isle, but somewhere along my predetermined path, Adriel, my two year old son, spotted a truck from his beloved CARS movie. “Hold truck . . . mine?” he asked simply, and with reluctance, I let him hold it.  Once in his hands there was no going back. One of two endings would be my fate."

To continue reading this article sign up for the free print magazine and we'll send the issue straight to your home where you can not only finish this story but can read a bunch of other great articles for parents.

Sign Up Now for this limited offer 

New Materials for This Fall

We have been hard at work this summer and are proud to announce 3 new Stockade modules. Kick
off the year with your choice of

• Camping
• Electricity
• Outdoor discovery

Brigade Wraps Up First Ever SALUTE! Campaign

For the first time ever Brigade hosted a special campaign to honor and recognize leaders who have made a difference through their commitment to Brigade.  Called SALUTE! Brigade, people from all over the country donated and shared stories of how leaders have impacted their life.  Many of those stories are on this blog and you can view the stories here.

If you didn’t get a chance to donate or share a story, it’s not too late.

Donate: here
Share your story: here

For questions, call (800)815-5573

CSB Announces Final Candidate For President

Don’t miss the live webinar where you can ask questions and hear Scott’s vision

At their June meeting the Board of Directors of CSB Ministries received the report from the CSB Presidential Search Committee. There were approximately 20 applicants, three of whom the committee recommended to the Board for further consideration.  After considering the candidates it became clear that Scott Haima is uniquely equipped to lead the CSB organization at this exciting and pivotal time in the ministry.

Since joining the ministry Scott has served at all levels of the organization from Tree Climber Dad all the way up to his most recent dual post as Director of Finance and Operations and Interim President.  His responsibilities have also included working as a Regional Director.

Responding to the Boy Scout Decision

Earlier today Christian Service Brigade sent out an email and press release with a short response to the recent decision of the Boy Scouts of America. You can see the text of that response below.

SALUTE! Brigade --Honor a Brigade Leader or Boy Today!

It's Easy To Give A SALUTE!

1. Donate in honor now at www.csbministries.org.  In the comments box of your donation, type the name of the leader or boy.
2. Then come back to this page to share the story of a leader or boy that's made a difference.

v v v v v v v v v v v

Has a Brigade leader made a difference in your life?  Many men today have wondered how they can show appreciation.  That time has come.  Share the story of a leader that's made a difference.  

SALUTE! A LEADER

Honor a Brigade leader that made a difference in your life or the life of your son. After you donate at www.csbministries.org, go to the comments section below to share why that leader is so special. 

SALUTE! A BOY

When you donate at www.csbministries.org write "Boy" in the comment section when you make your donation.  A letter will be sent on your behalf encouraging a boy to continue with Brigade and his journey to becoming a godly man. It will include an inspirational quote & Bible verse. 

If you give $77; $1.00 for every year Christian Service Brigade has been discipling men and boys, you'll receive a special gift!

If you have any questions, we'd like to help. Email us at dhuffstetler@csbministries.org or call us at 1.800.815.5573

No Excuses

I Didn't Know it at the Time, but Ranger Norm Had Never Learned to Read or Drive

God has always called men to serve who were not ready or prepared.
Thus the glory goes to the right person.

Ranger Norm was one of my Stockade Rangers who invested heavily in me and the other Stockaders under his care. Though he was an unassuming man, Ranger Norm  had a huge impact on the boys he humbly served. He was a blue-collar man who wore his work clothes everywhere, even to the weekly Stockade meetings. What attracted us to Norm was that he really cared and took a personal interest in us.

Years later when I was talking with my Mother about my experience as a Stockader I mentioned that I remembered him walking the 2 miles from his home to my home to help me work on my achievements. I knew he didn't own a car and I remember I had to walk really fast to keep up with his long and practiced strides. Much to my surprise she informed me that the reason Norm didn’t have a car was that he couldn’t read and therefore was not able to pass the written driver’s exam.

A place where a dad can disciple and grow with his sons

Buz is just one example of a dad who saw CSB as a tool
to help him invest in his sons, and found that it helped him too.

We all want to be good parents.  We want the best for our children and want to guide them throughout their development.  We want to play an active role.  We want to be involved.
That’s a big reason why Buz Rueger chose to get his 4 sons involved with Christian Service Brigade “It was the program we had at our church and it allowed dads to be involved.”

When asked how Brigade may have helped him become a more aware father, Buz gives some interesting insight.  “It had activities, like Shape N’ Race overnight camping trips, projects and goals to achieve, and those were ripe with opportunity to be involved with my sons.”  He realized those were opportunities to get to know his boys and how they were thinking and developing as men.
 
Buz also realized Brigade had some benefits for him. A chance to learn from other men. “Since other

Record blizzards, snow, and flooding mean we need your help

On February 11th, Christian Service Brigade’s warehouse in Hamburg, NY suffered flooding.  A
water main broke, flooding our warehouse with 9 inches of water.  We are still trying to determine if what our insurance and the county will cover, as some merchandise was lost. Regardless, the warehouse now requires some repair a structural modification to prevent future flooding.

In addition to the warehouse flooding, our office roof is now in need of immediate repair.  The tough Western New York winter has exposed weaknesses and multiple leaks have appeared.  The leaks are significant, and must be repaired as soon as possible.

We need your help.  We need to raise $20,000 to begin immediate repairs on the office and warehouse.  We are asking that if you are able, please give today.  The quicker we can repair the offices, the quicker we can limit the damage and focus on effective ministry.

Living Our Story of Stewardship

Talking to church leaders about starting a CSB unit? Encouraging a fatherless boy?
Giving financially? How has God gifted you to help?

“You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.”—
Matthew 25:23

In the parable from Matthew, Jesus teaches that all of us are stewards entrusted by God with vast wealth. Even the steward who received just one talent was given a fortune worth the equivalent of thirty-five years of daily wages.

But how can your stewardship impact boys for Christ?  How can you invest your talent, time or treasure?  Maybe it’s talking to leaders at your church about starting a new CSB program.  Perhaps it’s encouraging a fatherless boy to attend his first Stockade camping trip.  Maybe you would like to help out at a camp or Shape N’ Race event.   Whatever your interests and talents, we are here to help you discover how you can make a difference. How you can be the hands and feet of Jesus through Christian Service Brigade.

Investing some of your treasure can also go a long way towards changing the course of a young man’s life. If you’ve never given to CSB Ministries we encourage you to pray about giving in 2015. With a thankful heart, we will steward your gift and earn a return.  Sending out more godly men for Christ.

Contact us today to learn how you can help us reach more boys. 1.800.815.5573 or at office@csbministries.org

Why your Battalion Should Attend the N-Counter

N-Counter is everything Battalion was designed to be, wrapped up in one high octane weekend - Hundreds of young men, along with their leaders, coming together for Fun, Fellowship, Faith building and spiritual decisions that change the Future.

Fun

Everyone gets to participate in an abundance of awesome activities. Rotating through activity stations throughout the day, Battalion guys gain fascinating experiences and enjoy fun competition.

One Great Venue

In January, ten men from the 2016 N-Counter Planning Committees did a walk-through at High Point Camp, Birdsboro, PA. Being on site backed the exciting realization that this venue offers the perfect setting to make N-Counter bigger and better than ever.

N-Counter will invade High Point with Battalion centered fun, fellowship and food.  Activities will be the best-of-the-best Battalion has to offer. Fellowship will build around awesome activities and worship. Food service will be supplied by High Point's quality staff. You can take a photo tour of High Point Camp. Just go to the link and click “Camp Tour” on the right of their web page.

With 200 acres of available land as well as a 10 acre lake for our use, we are poised to overrun High Point with many impressive Battalion activities as we did in 2011. Activities like trapshooting, trebuchet, several field sports and much, much more.

The High Point site offers a large field for tent camping.  As an adjustment from 2011, Battalions will be assigned tenting areas according to their home regions. Friday night campfires will be by regions as well. There are also cabins and dorms available for units who do not prefer to tent camp.

My Experience at the 2011 N-Counter

I was able to participate in the 2011 N-Counter as a Lieutenant with my home Battalion, North-Mar 1180. What an awesome experience!

N-Counter created a perfect balance of high octane fun and spiritual impact. It was just right for the teen guys we disciple. Even though our guys were extremely tired, they could not stop talking about their experience all the way home. Yes, they talked about the awesome activities and great food, but they also talked about their spiritual experience. In fact, the guys wanted to further discuss spiritual issues. We had some fairly in-depth discussions which further impacted our young men on the way home.

The Search is Underway

The search for the CSB President is underway and we have received over 15 applications for the position.

The board has selected a small team including Brian Dawson (chair), Joel Fiscus, Ron Rynd, and Kim Ferri to be on the search committee.  They are narrowing candidates through a process of written questions, video conferencing, and reference qualifications.  The goal is to narrow down the top candidates to the finalists that will interview with the full board.

The finalists will also hold an interview session on line where anyone in the ministry can join in to hear a presentation, email in questions, and submit an evaluation of the finalists which we hope to hold in May.  

Please be praying for our next president!

The Deep Impact of Discipleship

By Peter Westerman

Many men of God have passed through the ranks of Christian Service Brigade over the years. On January 23, 2015, Bill Wood, 82, went into the presence of our Lord. Bill served Battalion #997 of Bethlehem Church, Randolph, NJ for over 50 years. His love for canoeing and the outdoors introduced hundreds of boys to the wonder of God’s creation.

In June of 2013, Bill was awarded an honorary Herald of Christ in recognition of his years of service in discipling of young men. During the ceremony, numerous men testified to how Bill had guided them as teens to receive Jesus Christ as Savior or deepen their faith. Pastor Tim Hart, for whom Bill has been a life-long mentor had this to say, “Mr. Wood was dedicated to engaging, encouraging and equipping godly men to raise up godly young men to lead and serve in family, church and community.” Tim shared how Mr. Wood demonstrated this beyond CSB by visiting him in a home for delinquent kids.

Adventure: Making the Story Worth Reading

A CSB Trip in California to ascend Mt. Whitney

Prison may not be the most sought after of locations to inspire world changing writing but it was in Bedford prison in 1675 where a mender of pots and pans penned what would become the most sold book of all time second only to the Bible. By using the solitude and darkness of the prison experience to inspire this allegory of the Christian life  John Bunyan joined the ranks of other world changers whose prison inspired works are still deeply appreciated today, men like Fyodor Dostoevsky and of course the Apostles John and Paul.

It is in fact the difficult times that provide the inspiration that turns our stories into adventures. Each of us can look back at the dark and difficult times of our lives and can see how it was in those times that we truly came to know and depend on the faithfulness of God. It is on the other side of the "valleys" that we can see that we are in fact a part of the greatest adventure story ever written. And like Christian in the Pilgrims Progress, Frodo in The Lord  of the Rings, or The Apostle Paul in his prison bound letter to the Philippians, truly great adventures require the tension that make our lives a story worth telling.

We love stories of adventure. Our hearts thrill when our hero narrowly escapes certain death and our hearts sink when the escape fails to materialize. Without these highs and lows adventure ceases to exist. In celebration of the importance of adventure in our lives we dedicated the January issue of the Brigade connection to ADVENTURE; a part of life that Christian Service Brigade has made a vital component of our ministry for more than 77 years.

David Gregg on behalf of your partners in this great adventure,
The CSB Ministry Team

The Best Battalion Trip Ever

View Pictures from the trip
View a video of the trip

I`ll never forget the trip my Battalion took this past summer. We affectionately call it the “BBTE” (the Best Battalion Trip Ever). It really was an unforgettable, once in a life time experience, but a trip of this magnitude had never been attempted by our Battalion and success was anything from certain. As the young man responsible in large part for the success or failure of this trip I had huge doubts but what the trip taught us was that no matter how daunting something may be, if God has put it in your heart to do something, press forward with full confidence knowing and trusting God to bring it to completion as he wills.

When it became clear that my first idea of a trip to the remote northern wilderness of Canada wasn't going to be feasible, we immediately saw Gods provision and direction. Our chief ranger and his family whose boys have been involved in CSB had previously lived nine years at a youth camp in the Adirondacks in upstate New York. Their connections and knowledge of the Adirondacks (ADK) made the idea of a remote, northern wilderness summer trip a possibility and because of their strong ties with the camp they graciously and enthusiastically granted our Battalion permission to set-up base-camp on one of their undeveloped, lake-front properties on Upper Saranac Lake for free.

Even with this enormous blessing, I still had doubts about the trip’s success.

Pass the Torch Leaders Conference

The Pass the Torch Leaders Conference is a North American leader’s conference for Christian Service Brigade leadership of all age groups as well as men’s ministry leaders. 

As men, we are given a mandate in 2 Timothy 2:2 to be integral in very important and significant work. As CSB and men’s ministry leaders, we are involved in the great enterprises of God, advancing His Kingdom and completing the foundational work.  Paul reminds Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter 4 that he must continue this work because soon there will come a time when truth will seem to disappear, error would seem to triumph, and men would believe in myths and fables.
If we aren’t intentional in passing on truth, the world will pass on to our boys and young men myths and fables.

Key Note Speaker
Bill paige
Bio

Battalion Revision Update - INNOV8

Leaders and Friends of CSB,

The Stockade curriculum revision (reVISION) is approaching the halfway mark of completion, and we are beginning to look at the revision of the Battalion curriculum. This adventure will be known as INNOV8 – we are seeking innovative ways to produce and develop this material used to discipling young men. It includes an overhaul of both the weekly program materials (Leaders’ Guides) as well as the Achievement materials (from Observer to the Herald of Christ). I would like to invite you to participate in this project in one or more of the following ways:

Visit Zambia With Us

In a strange cultural tension, Zambian men have a historical tradition of the "insaka" where young
men are taught by older men the traditions and skills of their people. But in modern Zambia there is very little interaction between older men and boys. Inter-generational discipleship is a foreign concept even in the church. Seeing this huge need CSB was asked by some local missionaries to come out to help train pastors. Almost every year since 2010 we have sent a team to this amazing land of beauty and promise. We believe that with the strong foundation that has been laid it is now time to invite other interested men who may have a heart for bringing the gospel and a vision for discipleship to this special part of the world.

If you have any interest in being a part of this adventure please contact us right away. 

Adventure through Internships

CSB offers some amazing internship opportunities for young men in a bunch of different fields. If you or a young man you know might benefit please follow the link below.

Internship Areas:

•     Ministry Program
•     Materials Writing
•     Home office Administration
•     On-line store management
•     Special Initiatives/ Projects
•     Software Development/Web & Graphic Design
•     Camping ministry

Learn more about our internships ...

Living through the Blizzard

Record breaking snow brought the Buffalo region to a standstill right as our CSB board meeting was about to take place in November. Men only 2.5 miles from each other couldn't reach each other and were literally trapped in their homes and hotels. 

Working with CSB is always an adventure but that fact was vividly illustrated as the notorious lake effect burst into the Buffalo area so quickly that many people were trapped in their cars.

And almost as quickly as it came it was gone. By Monday the temperatures were up above 60 degrees and the snow was almost completely melted.

This video will give you a sense for how fast the snow was moving

You can see pictures here from some of the staff in buffalo.

View a gallery of amazing pictures by clicking on the picture