Bring Your Own Topic

Mission

We are an encouraging community of intentional fathers sharing stories and resources to disciple children in Christlikeness.

Our Scope Is Fathering — and Marriage as It Relates to Parenting

There's a natural pull to discuss all manner of topics when you get a group of guys like this together. Our focus is narrow and tied to what we have in common: we're all fathers of children at Trinity School. This means we're not talking about the entirety of life, marriage, work, social, etc. — but many topics can be shared in a way that ties them in to how you raise and disciple your kids on that topic.

Example Topics (larger list here)

• Parenting now for when your child leaves home
• How you disciple on money, sexuality, civil discourse, emotions, creativity, etc.
• Media use in your home (screens and phones)
• Unity with your wife in parenting
• The use of Catechism
• Ideas for leading your family this summer

Tee It Up, Don't Lecture

What works well with this group is sharing your topic for 5 to 10 minutes to get everyone thinking about it and then tossing out a question or two to kick off discussion. These men will thoughtfully kick ideas back and forth, and much of the value of the morning comes from the sharing of a variety of fathers' stories. Bring a nugget and the group will chew on it together.

Preparation Expectation

You don't need to spend hours writing pages of outlines. A paragraph of thought is plenty to kick things off and let the discussion flow from there. Spend the most time thinking on a question or two to throw out to the group that fosters thoughtful engagement with your topic.

Format

8:00–8:05

(Todd/Michael/Paul) Prayer, Intro, and Announcements

8:05–8:10

(Todd/Michael/Paul) Practical Steps From Previous Week (1–2 guys for 1–2 minutes each)

8:10–8:20

(Facilitator) Topic Presentation

8:20–8:40

(Facilitator) Group Discussion (split into small groups if more than 12 people)

8:40–8:45

(Todd/Michael/Paul) Recap of Practical Steps To Apply For The Week and Closing Prayer

Bringing the Coffee?

No phone call needed. There is a standing order at Chick-fil-A (4139 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd, Durham) — one carafe of coffee with all the creamers and 12 cups. Just sign up for the week, tell them you're with Trinity Coffee Dads, and grab it on your way in.