Session 2

1. Role Model: Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.

a. Born 27 OCT 1858 to TR, Sr. and Martha Bulloch. He was homeschooled.
b. His father made sure the family was in church every Sunday and taught him that we should love others
as Christ has loved us. His father demonstrated this primarily through massive donations of both time
and money to projects like boys’ homes, hospitals, and the Museum of Natural History.
c. As a child, Theodore would write that his father was “the best, wisest and most loving of men, the type
of all that is noble, brave, wise, and good.”
d. TR was a scrawny boy with a sunken chest who suffered from severe asthma attacks, frequent colds,
coughs, nausea, headaches, cramps and fevers, and was malnourished due to his afflictions. Many family
members and friends feared he would die at a young age.
e. As a preteen, his father told him, “Theodore, you have the mind, but you have not the body, and
without the help of the body the mind cannot go as far as it should. You must make your body.” So TR
did. He began to lift weights every day, box, and practiced on the parallel bars and rings.
f. Early on in life he took as his motto, “Trust in the Lord, and do good” (Psalm 37:3). He frequently pointed
to Micah 6:8 as providing direction for his actions, “What does the Lord require of you but to do justly,
and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”
g. Taught a class on missions for 3 years in his late teens.
h. To TR, the Bible was not only “essential to Christianity but essential to good citizenship.”
i. Went to Harvard, continued to teach young men during this time.
j. Went to Columbia Law School
i. He found that the application of the law to often be irrational, so he spent much of his time
writing an authoritative Naval History of the War of 1812.
k. His wife (Alice), just after giving birth to their daughter, and his mom died in the same house on the
same day 11 hours apart. In his journal entry for the day, he would simply write “X. The light has gone
out of my life.”
l. After such a deep loss, he temporarily gave his daughter to his sister to raise so he could overcome such
a profound loss and come back the man he needed to be and the father that she needed.
m. Ranching Years & The Strenuous Life
i. Ran a ranch in the Dakota Territories, hunting, herding, and working with his hands.
ii. Helped found the Boone and Crockett Club (wild game conservation).
iii. Became Deputy Sheriff of Billings County.
iv. He and two ranch hands tracked down and brought to justice 3 thieves (of boats & horses)
through the Badlands in the middle of a harsh winter.
n. Returned to his home in NY, married Edith Carrow, and had 5 additional children.
o. Rough Riders
i. 1897 – Assistant Secretary of the Navy & planned the highly successful naval war vs. Spain.
ii. April 1898 - Not one to sit things out, even if he was helping form strategies for entire
campaigns, TR resigned so he could help form and lead troops in battle (1st US Volunteer
Cavalry). Known as the Rough Riders, immortalized for their charge at the Battle of San Juan Hill.
p. Governor of New York - 1898
q. Vice Presidency and Presidency
i. VP to President William McKinley 1901 until his assassination.
ii. Shortly after assuming the Presidency, TR invited for dinner at the White House another great
man of history (& a likely subject of a future session), Booker T. Washington. When an uproar
ensued amongst racists at the time TR was astonished and defiant, saying that he looks forward
to many future dinners with Mr. Washington.
iii. When formally inaugurated in 1905 after winning election at the top of the ticket, TR opened
the Bible to James 1:22 instead of keeping it closed.
 Session 2

1. “Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only.”

iv. Land stewardship – The US Forest Service & the First National Parks
v. Bureau of Indian Affairs (Dept of Interior) – discovered corruption and personally was involved
in the investigation and prosecution of agents who had cheated various Indian Tribes.
vi. “Speak softly and carry a big stick” – building a modern Army and Navy to secure the US, and the
Americas, from further European entanglements. Peace through strength.
vii. Assassination attempt (14 OCT 1912)
1. While delivering a speech TR was shot. With the bullet lodged in his chest, he continued
delivering his speech.
viii. Died 5 JAN 1919 in his sleep from a pulmonary embolus. His son telegraphed the rest of TR’s
children that “the old lion is dead.” After hearing of TR’s death, VP Thomas Marshall responded,
“Death had to take Roosevelt sleeping, for if he had been awake, there would have been a
fight.”

2. Recap of Last Session:

a. We looked at how society today, to quote C. S. Lewis, has been “castrating and then bidding the geldings
be fruitful.” Essentially, masculinity is under attack and has been for some time now. True masculinity is
being castrated and the Western world wonders why suicide, depression, and poor academic
performance are at epidemic levels among men today. We then discussed how Jesus Christ perfectly
embodied how we as men should live by looking at seven attributes of Jesus described in Scripture: His
servanthood, humility, leadership, as a teacher, provider, His physical courage, and Him as the perfect
embodiment of sacrificial love when he took our sins upon His shoulders on the cross – dying to set us
free and rising again victorious.
b. Before we move into the topic for this session, we’ve discussed some of the “how” to demonstrate
biblical manhood via Scriptures and examples, but I’d like to remind us of the why.
i. How He Loves Us - Crowder/Chandler/Piper
ii. God loves us so very much. For that reason we must, as Paul says in his letter to the Philippians
(1:27), “Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ.”

3. Topic: David, A Man After God’s Own Heart & The Ultimate Warrior Poet
a. Retired LTG Jerry Boykin, in his book The Warrior Soul, describes five key principles that help one be a
strong man of God. Today we’ll look at how these five principles were modeled by King David, the
ultimate warrior poet of the Old Testament. First, a little about LTG Boykin.
i. Delta Force, Noriega, Escobar, Mogadishu, multiple commands in SOCOM & CIA, retired at 36
years, professor, ordained minister, & VP of Family Research Council.
b. The Five Principles
i. Transcendent Cause – The Engine That Drives the Warrior Soul
1. Despite being the youngest of the 8 sons of Jesse (1 Sam 16:10-11), God chose David to
be anointed King of Israel to replace the sinful King Saul. Obeying God’s calling for his
life would be David’s transcendent cause all his days, as it should be for all of us. David
was not chosen for his stature before men, quite the opposite. God told the Prophet
Samuel when he was trying to discover Saul’s replacement, “For the LORD sees not as
man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, the LORD looks on the heart” (1 Sam
16:7).
2. David’s heart was full of praise and humility.
a. “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the
son of man that you care for him?” (Psalm 8:3-4)
 Session 2

b. “O LORD, our LORD, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” (Psalm 8:9)
c. “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes
from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be
moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will
neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on
your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The
LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The LORD will keep your
going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.” (Psalm
121)
ii. Settled Memory – The Sheer Power of History Remembered
1. Old proverb from the same region says, “If you dwell in the past you lose an eye. If you
forget the past you lose both eyes.”
2. David remembered the power of God in Creation. His psalms are saturated with praise
for God. David remembered his descent from Abraham, Isacc, and Jacob through Jacob’s
son, Judah, and all the mighty works that God had done for them. He also remembered
Moses, the Law, and God saving the Israelite people from the land of Egypt.
a. “Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought
about all this greatness, to make your servant know it. Therefore you are great,
O Lord God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you,
according to all that we have heard with our ears. And who is like your people
Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people,
making himself a name and doing for them great and awesome things by driving
out before your people, whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt, a nation
and its gods? And you established for yourself your people Israel to be your
people forever. And you, O Lord, became their God.” (2 Sam 7:18).
b. ‘When David’s time to die drew near, he commanded Solomon his son, saying,
“I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man,
and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his
statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the
Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn,
that the Lord may establish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If
your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness
with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne
of Israel.’ (1 Kings 2:1-4)
iii. Personal Intensity – One Man’s Anxiety Is Another Man’s Adrenaline
1. We need to trust in God and “not be anxious about anything.” (Phil 4:6). In Psalm 27
David writes, “The LORD is the defender of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Gen.
Thomas Jackson reflects the attitude of David when he said, “My religious beliefs teach
me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time of my death. I do not
concern myself with that, but to be always ready whenever it may overtake me. That is
the way all men should live, and all men would be equally brave.”
2. Despite being a teenager (“youth”), upon seeing the giant Goliath and hearing him mock
God and the people of Israel, he did not cower in fear like the rest of the army of Israel.
Instead, he asked “who is this [guy] … that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
(1 Sam 17:26). When called before King Saul he said, “Let no man’s heart fail because of
him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” (1 Sam 17:32).
3. ‘And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the
Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will
 Session 2

give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.” Then David said to
the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I
come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you
have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down
and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this
day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may
know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord
saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our
hand.”’ (1 Sam 17:43-47). David’s intensity sprung forth from his faith in God.
iv. Unflagging Optimism – The Warrior’s Quiet, Professional Confidence
1. David’s optimism was also firmly established in his trust in the faithfulness of God.
2. “But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your
protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you. For you bless
the righteous, O LORD; you cover him with favor as with a shield.” (Psalm 5:11-12).
3. “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of
my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my
adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against
me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident. One
thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the
Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his
temple.” (Psalm 27:1-4).
v. Deep Camaraderie – Never Go Into Battle Alone; Leave No Man Behind
1. David’s friendship with Jonathan was profound. They loved each other as they loved
themselves (1 Sam 18:1), exactly like Jesus calls us to love one another in Matthew
22:39. When David was fleeing Saul’s undeserved rage, Jonathan went to David to help
him find strength in God in his time of need (1 Sam 23:16). “Iron sharpens iron, and one
man sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17). This is what true, godly, masculine friendship
does, it comes alongside one another and pushes us to find our strength in God.
2. David’s Mighty Warriors, The Three and The Thirty (2 Samuel 23)
a. From before David fled from Saul, and continuing after the death of Jonathan,
David had a group of trusted, valiant, and powerful men who would become his
brothers. These bonds David made with his Mighty Men, forged in battle, would
not be easily broken.
c. Despite his nearly unparalleled example, being a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam 13:14) and the
foundation of the Davidic Dynasty, any discussion of David and Biblical Masculinity would be incomplete
without also learning from his two greatest sins.
i. Pride and a lapse in his trust in God to provide (2 Sam 24) would lead to God’s judgment in the
form of a plague. David ordered a census to be taken to assess Israel’s fighting strength. This
was evil as only the owner of something could order a census, as God ordered Moses in Exodus
30:12. David, even though he was King, did not own Israel - they were God’s people. And David
knew he had sinned as soon as the census had been taken (2 Sam 24:10).
ii. Idleness which led to lust, adultery, and murder.
1. “In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his
servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged
Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. It happened, late one afternoon, when David
arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king's house, that he saw from
the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. And David sent and
inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam,
 Session 2

the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to
him, and he lay with her.” (2 Sam 11:1-4)
iii. If David, a man after God’s own heart, can succumb to the sins of pride, laziness, lust, and
adultery, how much more so can we, brothers? As the Apostle Paul states in his 1 st letter to the
church at Corinth, “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.” (1 Cor
10:12) and “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.” (1 Cor 16:13). So let us,
brothers, intentionally, day and night, 24/7, guard our hearts and minds, making war on sin.

4. Book Recommendation: Wild At Heart by John Eldredge

5. Quote(s):

a. “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the
doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena,
whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short
again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive
to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy
cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he
fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls
who neither know victory nor defeat.” – Theodore Roosevelt (Man in the Arena speech)

b. “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but
where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” - MLK, Jr. (Strength to Love)

c. “We live in a feminist and effeminate culture. Because of this, at best, as a people we are uneasy with
masculinity, and with increasing regularity, whenever it manages to appear somehow, we call for
someone to do something about it.” - Douglas Wilson (Future Men)

6. BJJ Techniques: Trap and Roll (Top Mount Escapes), Americana Armlock, & Guillotine Defense

a. Trap and Roll (Top Mount Escapes)

i. Opponent’s arm under your neck
1. Grab choking arm’s triceps with your near arm.
2. Trap the opponent’s foot on the same side as choking arm with your foot that is on that
side.
3. Get underhook (your other [free] arm under their arm and across their back).
4. Look up and over your shoulder on the trapped side, reach with your underhook, and
bridge – all towards the trapped side.
ii. Opponent going for front choke
1. Grab choking arm’s triceps with hand on that side. Grab the choking arm’s forearm with
opposite hand. Pull down hard to your chest to break opponent’s posture.
2. Trap the opponent’s foot on the same side as choking arm with your foot that is on that
side.
3. Look up and over your shoulder on the trapped side and bridge – all towards the
trapped side.
iii. Opponent going to throw a punch
1. Keep opponent on your hips, not your chest.
 Session 2

2. When opponent sits up/reaches back to prepare punch, pop up and bear hug
opponent’s waist.
3. Pull opponent down while using your legs to push to aid this motion.
4. Immediately place both hands on opponent’s shoulders to pull yourself up towards their
head.
5. Swim one arm around theirs to trap it as you also trap the foot on that side.
6. Look up and over your shoulder on the trapped side, reach with your underhook, and
bridge – all towards the trapped side.
b. Americana Armlock
i. Opponent’s arm is on their chest.
1. Grab opponent’s wrist with your far arm, their forearm with your near arm, and push it
to the ground near their head.
2. Keep control of their wrist, use your other hand to slide under their upper arm with
palm up and then rotate it to grasp your own wrist.
3. Place your top elbow on the ground between their head and the arm being attacked.
4. SLOWLY slide the wrist down towards their feet while lifting their elbow off the ground.
This is very powerful and can rip someone’s rotator cuff and break bones.
c. Guillotine Defense (from standing)
i. Throw arm nearest opponent as far over their shoulder as possible.
ii. Tuck chin, shrug shoulders, use free hand to pull choking arm down.