By popular request from our Fall 2012 edition.
Before daybreak, the grits are bubbling. The homemade biscuits are buttered and the bacon and ham are ready.
Of course, there’s coffee too. But this group of pick-up truck driving, blue and white collar Christians isn’t coming to the Band of Brothers’ Christian Fellowship for physical food.
They show up at the Masonic Lodge at 6:30 a.m. on Fridays to listen to messages about how courageous David was when he beat the giant Goliath. It’s a classic Biblical story that makes men nod and understand in part because the Bible study is taught by Pastor Kenny Grant, a man.
This non-denominational body of men from all racial groups, close to 100 at the Masonic Lodge in Garden City and 100 at the Salvation Army on Bee Road, are breaking down the walls of religious doctrine and social norms simply because they love God and they like being taught by men, such as Pastor Kenny Grant now, and John Crosby before him.
The Band of Brothers was started in 2006 for and by men after Kevin Jackson, a friend of Savannah businessman Richard Barrow accepted Christ but was struggling with the transition. “We were radical for Christ, and we helped him.’’ “We wrestled him to Christ,’’ John Crosby joked of Jackson.
The group of four to five men grew by word of mouth and ended up at the Masonic Lodge and recently started a new meeting at the Salvation Army.
“It’s about being a better man, father, and person in the community,’’ Barrow said. “It’s something I really enjoy.”
The men took studying the word of God seriously. They met at Barrow’s former transmission business until they outgrew that space and started meeting twice a week.
Some of the men admittedly say they started going to the Bible studies to network professionally. “But they get hooked,’’ Barrow said, adding Grant’s style of teaching is universally accepted.
Grant, an evangelist and interim pastor of Calvary Baptist Temple in Savannah, says he teaches the men as if he were teaching himself. “These are questions I have. I’m talking to myself.”
Members of the group say they like how Grant simply broke down the Biblical story of David and Goliath. Like most men, David showed courage in the face of adversity. That Biblical story, like many that Grant selects for his Bible study, is designed to appeal to men who like things simple.
“I’m not preaching to them,’’ Grant said. “I’m saying what I’m thinking aloud. Men will listen to other men.”
Find out more: www.bobsav.org