growth Archives • Your Other Brothers

Receiving Brotherhood at the YOBBERS Retreat

by Dean Samuels | Jun 10, 2019 | Lifestories | 3

I realized that these guys had come to this YOBBERS retreat for the right reasons. They came to honor Christ, love one another, and encourage each other. And that included me. I realized that I had come expecting to work and only work, with no expectation to receive anything.

Finding Humility Through Beauty at the YOBBERS Retreat

by Ryan Burger | Jun 4, 2019 | Lifestories | 5

Humility is not about being hard on yourself; it’s about fighting the urge to stand at the center of it all. As I stood there at this year’s YOBBERS retreat, an observer rather than a participant, God reminded me I wasn’t there to get as much as I could get, or even give as much as I could give. The YOBBERS retreat was bigger than me. I didn’t need to stand in the center of anything.

Please Don’t Let Our Second YOBBERS Retreat Suck

by YOB | May 28, 2019 | Conversations | 13

We recently held our second annual YOBBERS retreat: a weekend gathering for our financial supporters and community members on Patreon. Several of our authors attended, and we discussed our time together — both highs and lows — in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

My Sexuality is a Gift from God

by Dean Samuels | May 14, 2019 | Lifestories | 28

God could have prevented my attraction to men. Whatever your beliefs on causation, I believe God is powerful enough to have adjusted whatever needed adjusting to have prevented my attraction to men. Since this did not happen, I can only determine one reasonable possibility: my sexuality was something God wanted for my life. Therefore, I see it as a gift.

YOBcast Episode 049: Letting Go

by YOB | May 10, 2019 | Podcast | 13

Pull up a chair as Tom talks about the recent decision to remove our first 39 podcast episodes. Join Tom, Ryan, Jacob, and Dean for a vulnerable conversation on letting go. Letting go of people, letting go of the past, and letting go of the future. Because if we can’t let go of old things, how can we ever let new things in? Before we dive into the nitty-gritty, we talk about Tom’s Lenten “masturbation cleanse,” his recent trip to a monastery, the “perfect friend date,” and possibly rebranding our new hit intro segment, “The Brother Beat”?

Navigating Faith, Homosexuality, and Masculinity. On Easter.

by Daniel Marquez | Apr 17, 2019 | Lifestories | 17

It’s Easter season, and I’ve been reflecting on the meaning of the cross. Not just the meaning of the cross for the bigger picture of salvation for humanity, but also the tangible effects the cross has been having on me.

YOBcast Episode 048: More Intimacy

by YOB | Apr 12, 2019 | Podcast | 17

What happens when intimacy with another fails to fulfill or runs out altogether? Can we ever ask for more intimacy? Can we trust again when intimacy is lost? Join Tom, Ryan, and Jacob in the second of our two-part discussion on intimacy. We share more of our most meaningful intimacy stories, including how one particular moment with Ryan and Jacob is one for Tom’s intimacy “trophy case.”

Idolatry Ruins a Friendship

by Dean Samuels | Mar 19, 2019 | Lifestories | 7

I begged God for forgiveness. I asked for the wisdom and guidance to uproot the idols I had placed around my life, rooted firstly in my idolization of my friend.

YOBcast Episode 047: Intimacy

by YOB | Mar 15, 2019 | Podcast | 12

Intimacy is scary, and intimacy is vulnerable. Intimacy can be shared or rejected. Intimacy is special and sacred, and intimacy is everyday. Intimacy is sexual and emotional, physical and spiritual. Join Tom, Ryan, and Jacob in the first of a two-part deep dive into intimacy. The brothers define intimacy, likening it to a fire, discussing the differences and nuances between intimacy and vulnerability. They also talk about their first forays into intimacy many years ago and what the cornerstone of their most intimate relationships has been.

CrossFit Reveals My Biggest Struggle is Masculinity

by Thomas Mark Zuniga | Mar 11, 2019 | Manly Monday, Video | 11

This month, I talk about joining CrossFit and how it’s been a vital outlet for my intense emotions as well as an equalizer of masculinity among other men. Unlike my gym workouts from high school days past.