brotherhood Archives • Your Other Brothers

2 October 20215 October 2021

And we're back! After a summer retreat that reunited our supporters after two and a half years away, we return with a brand new YOBcast – with more episodes on the way! This episode we're talking about mountaintops and valleys: those proverbial "everything is bold and clear" and "everything is long and dark" seasons of life. Coming off a YOBBERS retreat is a mountaintop experience for many in our community. How do we come back from experiences like that? And what are some other mountaintop moments we've experienced beyond

by YOB

2 Comment(s)

29 September 202129 September 2021

Why Go on a Gay Men’s Christian Retreat?

While I do not want to ignore the subject of temptation and what to do with it, I think it would be more relevant to talk about the positives of this weekend retreat spent with my brothers in Christ. A better question to ask and answer about our YOBBERS retreat would be: "Why do you gather together?" And also the question: "What is the fruit of such a gathering?" Perhaps by looking at something more culturally familiar, we can draw a parallel to our experience as gay/SSA "Side B"

by Ben Rutkowski

23 Comment(s)

24 September 202124 September 2021

Sick of Gay Men No Longer?

Frankly, all this relational turmoil boiled to the point that I thought: You know what? I'm sick of gay men. Tired of the super sensitive personalities, tired of the drama queens. Heck, the emotionless or stoic personalities of most straight men started to feel preferable to what I'd found lately with other gay/SSA men. Nonetheless, with our YOBBERS retreat coming up I needed to put aside my negativity as best I

by Eugene Heffron

13 Comment(s)

21 September 202121 September 2021

To Unite and Cheer On One Another in Our Burdens

More than anything, though, what struck me about this year's retreat was a deep sense of unity. As I looked around the room of forty brothers, I considered how what unites us all is our crazy decision to make Jesus our everything – not just to follow Christ in a church on Sunday, but to take a devotion to Him into every single second of our

by Aaron

14 Comment(s)

16 September 202116 September 2021

What Your Other Brothers is All About

I was anxious our "vibe" would be too new, too foreign, too strange, and too uncomfortable for too many people. Would the ratio just be off? Would our vibe be off after 27 months apart? Beyond logistics and numbers, I felt anxious about the purpose of this retreat more than either of our previous ones. It all goes back to that nebulous definition of YOB: what are we here

by Thomas Mark Zuniga

6 Comment(s)

26 July 202126 July 2021

YOBcast 083: Covenant Friendship w/ Dr. Paul Eddy

Dr. Paul Eddy of Bethel University joins us for our "season finale" of sorts to discuss covenant – particularly the covenant of friendship. Paul lays out the components of covenant, including terms and signs and witnesses, and translates this particular covenant to the grander scheme of God's eternal covenant with His people. Afterward Tom, Ryan, and Aaron "debrief" the discussion: do we desire covenant friendships in our lives, or how likely do they seem? What are the draws and challenges of covenant friendship, and should we as gay/SSA believers be concerned about the perception of such

by YOB

3 Comment(s)

7 July 20217 July 2021

Rethinking Nudity and Cuddling with Other Men

It's now been three to four years since I've written those blogs on cuddling and nudity, and I've shared many cuddles since with guys I've met through YOB. But have any of my thoughts changed since I wrote those

by Eugene Heffron

30 Comment(s)

10 June 202110 June 2021

The First Guy Who Ever Crossed Physical Boundaries With Me

Somewhere in the night, the role reversal from cuddling with Brandon completed itself. Lines got blurred and then definitively crossed. It wasn't sexual touch, but it was inappropriate touch. It wasn't welcomed or invited. Brett didn't ask; he just did. He took. Just as I took from Brandon, Brett took from me. And passive, conflict-avoidant me felt crippled to say a word against

by Thomas Mark Zuniga

10 Comment(s)

14 May 202125 June 2021

YOB ConvoCast 029: Tom & Keegan Encourage the Lurkers!

YOB’s resident community welcomer, Keegan, joins Tom to talk about being a #LurkerNoLonger. He recounts the backstory of a voicemail he left for the YOBcast several episodes ago, and Tom’s heart soars over stories of brotherhood and beach bonfires from his former home in southern California. And the guys can’t get away from this episode without talking about Keegan’s now iconic welcome GIF for new community members – especially after it slaughtered Ryan’s hair in March’s "YOB Madness"

by YOB