This past September, I (Steve) had the privilege of speaking at the Fort Wilderness Men’s Retreat in McNaughton, WI. On Saturday evening, as each man entered the outdoor amphitheater that overlooked the lake, they were given a 4-inch nail. My talk that night was on John 11, the story of Lazarus. I shared with the men how his life was a picture of most men today. Like Lazarus, some of the men were spiritually dead, and were desperately in need of life. Some were defeated, wrapped up in the grave clothes of the past, unable to live the life that God had given them. Finally, some were dangerous; like Lazarus, they were sharing their stories and seeking to bring others to Christ.
When I was finished with the story, I told the men that it was commitment time. For some, it was time to nail their colors to the mast, to make a public statement of their desire to follow Jesus. It was time for them to no longer be spiritually dead. For these men, we gave them hammers and they pounded their nails into a large wooden beam, signifying that they were all in and pledging their allegiance to King Jesus.
For others, the nail represented a secret sin that they were hanging on to. We asked these men, the ones that were feeling defeated, to come up and throw the nail in a large bucket as a sign of giving up that area of sin to God.
And then there were those whose nail was a symbol of their desire to be dangerous, to serve Christ wherever they went. I reminded these men that their wives and kids were not here, it was just them and God and after a fun few days of playing and reflecting, it was time to do business with God. I prayed for them and then turned around and kneeled on the stage. And what happened next was something that gave me chills, even to this day.
I heard nails being pounded into the beam. I heard nail after nail being thrown into the large metal bucket. There were lines of men, streaming into the aisles, seeking prayer. Under the moonlit evening, with the loons singing in the background, God was doing His Holy work.
I looked towards the beam and saw a young man hammering away at his nail with tears streaming down his face. I went over to him and he said, “Mr. Sonderman, I want Jesus and everyone to know that I am ALL IN!” We hugged and I prayed for him as I witnessed his new life in Christ begin.
In the end, there were 23 nails that had been pounded into that beam. Twenty-three men who had given up the leadership of their lives to King Jesus. Twenty-three men who left the tomb of their old life to follow Jesus into the newness of life. There were hundreds of nails in that metal bucket, representing the desire of men to get rid of the relics of the past and walk in freedom.
That night, men moved from darkness to light, from bondage to freedom and from the sideline and into the game now living DANGEROUSLY for Christ.
I will never forget the evening of September 14th, 2024. This was the night that God reminded me of why we at No Regrets are doing what we are doing. The battle for the hearts and minds of men is real, it is daily, and it is hard. But boy is it worth it.
So whether you are leading a small group, mentoring a young man, leading a ministry to men or planning the No Regrets Conference for your church, what you do matters. You are making an eternal difference and I count it a privilege to fight alongside you.
When leaving the camp on Sunday afternoon, the Fort Wilderness staff gave me the beam with the 23 nails, as a reminder of what God had done that weekend. Today, it sits on our conference table, as a daily reminder of our why; “To equip leaders to disciple the men of their church and community to follow hard after Jesus, become like Jesus and be on mission for Jesus.”
Join us at the next Fort Wilderness Men’s Retreat on September 11-14, 2025 or on October 17-19, 2025. Details and registration can be found here.