The Future of BAM . . .

For the past few years we have talked often as a family about the struggles young men face today. We have seen young men everywhere struggle to step into manhood. We have seen well-intentioned fathers who don’t know how to help their sons make the journey to manhood. Somewhere along the way we decided to create some solutions.

Last fall Drew expressed interest in doing a father/son event. I am not sure when we began planning that first BAM Adventure that we knew how the future would unfold. Drew simply had a desire and we were excited about rallying around the idea. It was a true family endeavor. Drew, Patty, Tyler, Chase, and I were all involved in the planning of that first event in some way.

We learned powerful lessons in that first event. We learned that, contrary to public opinion, sons really do want to spend time with their fathers. We also learned that fathers want and need structure to build strong relationships with their sons. We have good intentions as dads, but most of us struggle with doing it on our own. Given a positive environment, though, and a structure to create effective discussion, exciting and powerful things happened.

When we led our second BAM Adventure this summer, we learned something even more powerful. A well-planned, small group event cannot only build a stronger relationship between fathers and sons, but it can also build a strong network of fathers who are supportive and encouraging of each other and all of the boys in the event.

At that point, BAM was more than just a concept and a series of events that we led. We wanted BAM to be a process that changed the lives of young men and their fathers everywhere.

This fall we created a 501 c3 non-profit to take the message and methods of BAM across the globe. I want to share with you in this BAM newsletter the future of BAM.

BAM is a part of a non-profit organization named Auxin360. Auxin is a hormone in plants that causes plants to grow toward light. It is the reason you will occasionally see a tree in the forest grow sideways and then shoot up to the sky. It is growing toward the light. The analogy is pretty straightforward. We all have light within us that longs to connect to the greater light in the world.

Helping people discover the light that is within them and then letting that light shine is the focus of all of the Auxin360 efforts, including BAM. The vision of BAM is simple and powerful: Equipping a new generation of men to be strong, healthy leaders in their families, work, communities, and the world

BAM has three interrelated components.

The first component is building the father/son relationship. Recognizing that most fathers have good intentions but do not have a good strategy, we have created a dynamic and very effective structure for father/son events that dramatically improves communication and the bond between fathers and sons. Combining adventure, focused discussion, and intentional activities where the sons take the lead, these events create a powerful system to empower both the sons and the fathers.

Our goal is not simply to lead events ourselves, though. We have created a dynamic curriculum for faith communities, schools, camps, and communities to use so that they can build strong father/son relationships. Just leading events ourselves we can impact a few people. Equipping thousands of organizations to lead events can help us change the world.

The second component is creating a network of fathers around the country who are committed to supporting the next generation of young men. Working through faith communities, schools, and communities, we will create an ongoing father/son small group structure that builds supportive community, positive encouragement, and lasting relationships. Imagine the change that can occur in a community when you have dozens of small groups of fathers and sons meeting together for fun, adventure, and growth.

The third component is the creation of a leadership institute for young men. This is not your average leadership institute. This is like a Jedi Knight leadership institute, equipping young men to be bold, confident, positive leaders who make a positive impact wherever they are. But again, we don’t want to simply lead a leadership institute here in Danielsville, GA. We want to equip leaders across the globe to train young men to be strong, confident, positive leaders.

It is exciting to think that young men in towns that I have never even heard of will be growing because of the efforts of BAM.

Thanks for your interest in BAM. As we move forward with the BAM initiatives, we will keep you in the loop and let you know how you can be a part of this exciting journey.

John Brantley

706-795-3557