If you are interested in joining B.O.L.D. group today for free, it’s really simple. First off, you must be willing to commit to the process. B.O.L.D. will ask you to thoroughly read the following as the first step. This will tell you exactly what to expect in group and what we expect from you.
Next, you will be asked to answer 13 easy questions at the end that pertain to the “what to expect” reading.
After you have answered the questions click the submit button and you will be immediately redirected to the information page. This page gives times, locations, zoom ID numbers as well some other needed information regarding the group.
If you have a learning disability, please text Bryan directly at 214.405.7328 (all calls will go directly to voicemail) and he will get you set up with a phone interview.
1. Expect Questions
Since you are new to B.O.L.D. you may feel anxious and wonder what this group is all about
and whether or not you can find help here. Many men ask questions like these.
Am I the only one that feels this way?
If I can’t forgive myself who can forgive me?
Can I ever overcome sexual temptations?
If God is real, why did he allow__________?
Am I beyond repair?
Why does sex have such control over my life?
There are many other questions that go on inside your mind when trying to sort sexual strongholds. Well, put your mind at ease because these are natural questions. And if you examine the questions closely, you will find that these are all negative questions!
2. Expect the enemy to attack you.
According to the living Word the enemy is real, and he wants nothing more than to see you fail. Fail your wife, fail your children, fail your friends, and fail at your job. The devil doesn’t play fair, and you have to understand the scripture says that you overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony (Rev. 12:11)
“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour”. (1 Peter 5:8)
“But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light”. (2 Corinthians 11:14)
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly”. (John 10:10)
3. Expect B.O.L.D truth
First off, from here on out you should be in a positive mind set and declare freedom in Jesus’ name! The enemy (satan and his army) wants nothing more than to destroy everything about you, especially your mind. If he can get your mind, then he can control your emotions and feelings. You MUST declare the promises of God and what He says you are:
God says I am forgiven. “I am writing to you who are God’s children because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus” (1 John 2:12).
God says I am adopted into His family. “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure” (Ephesians 1:5).
God says because of Him, I am hopeful. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare, and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).
God says I am victorious in Christ. “But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).
God says I am powerful, loved, and have a sound mind without fear. “For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).
God says Jesus died because I am worthy of it ALL and LOVED. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
God says I am being made in the image of Christ. “So, all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. (2 Corinthians 3:18).
God says HE WILL NEVER GIVE UP ON YOU. “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” (Philippians 1:6)
God says you are empowered. “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength”. (Philippians 4:13)
God says you WILL WIN THE BATTLE through Jesus Christ. “For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.” (1 John 5:4-5)
GOD SAYS YOU ARE FREE!!!!!
“So, if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.” (John 8:36)
So, Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law. (Galatians 5:1)
But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. (Romans 6:22)
“The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, (Luke 4:18)
These are just a few of the promises that God Himself says about us. It’s up to us to believe these promises and make these declarations when faced with the adversary! These promises are here for you bfore you begin your B.O.L.D. journey so you can continue to look back at God’s promises. You should expect the enemy to come against you during the freedom/purity process.
Just like many battles that have been won in the world, this one is no different. There will be times you just want to throw your hands up and be done with it because it seems easier to go back to the sexual desire rather than the Godly desire. But that’s not what a true soldier/warrior does!
The story of Gideon in Judges 7 proves that God goes before us in battle. With God all things are possible. Even though we may not see it, let Gideon be our example. Gideon probably did not see a victory after the Lord reduced his troops from 32,000 to 300. But the enemy was defeated by the faith Gideon had in the Lord. All God required was a few BOLD, men and for God to lead them.
A true warrior never quits when the bullets from the enemy are flying and even occasionally making contact! A true warrior helps his fellow soldiers when they are being attacked. A true warrior can look the enemy in the eye and never back down, knowing IN FAITH that God has your back and will go before you in battle.” Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.” (Deuteronomy 31:8). You are not alone in this battle!
4. Expect true confession.
B.O.L.D. group is all about getting to the truth and getting things out in the open. B.O.L.D. is a safe place for men to come in and do what the Bible tells us to do. “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” (James 5:16)
“You’re only as sick as your secrets.” This is a quote from American Addiction Centers that holds so much truth. A secret in darkness allows the enemy to gain access to your personal life without anyone knowing it. When this happens, it’s much easier to live a double life and continue with the sex sin because of its convenience to hide. Incognito, hidden apps, and clear history are examples of the “lingo” we are all familiar with. It’s the things we do to try and cover our tracks, so we don’t get caught. If you’re afraid of getting caught, you are obviously doing something that your girlfriend, family, or spouse does not approve of. There have been many friendships, relationships, and marriages destroyed by secrets and lies. Deep inside that individual with a secret lays a spirit wanting to be found out so everything would be in the open, but the flesh is terrified of the results that come from the truth! This leads to feeling defeated when one genuinely wants freedom but is trying to do it by themselves, it can’t be done by yourself! Only by confessing truth and getting it out can one truly be free! Expect true confession.
Truth can be difficult to hear especially when and individual is full of lust and pride. No man wants to hear about their failures or faults. No man wants to feel “less than” or to show emotions. B.O.L.D. will help you dive into the pool of emotion in a comfortable atmosphere where there is zero judgment. One thing that Jesus really despised and that was the hypocrite. So, going forward know that we are all on this journey together, there is no one man better than the other. Yes, some are further along than others and some it takes an exceptionally long time to start breaking down the walls but it’s a journey until the Lord takes us home.
5. Expect to see grace not religion
Religion is the number one killer of Christianity! B.O.L.D. will go deeper into the difference of grace and law and once you can distinguish the difference it will allow you to grow in Jesus and depend on the Holy Spirit instead of laws.
Often when we mess up or have setbacks we go back into isolation because the enemy is beating us up with lies. Guilt and shame will consume an individual and it can very well lead to depression and even suicidal thoughts. The beating we take from the devil is truly unnecessary because we live in Jesus and through His sweet grace not by the law of trying harder and doing more “Christian activities” to gain forgiveness.
The “why bother” question will come into play during this process, especially when living by the law. God has a purpose for you and there is much grace given in B.O. L.D. group to each man during the purity process! Living by law will lead a man into thinking there is no way to obtain freedom from the sex sin. If you have your mind set of that way of thinking, you’re 100% right. Zechariah 4:6 says, “not by power nor by might, but only by the Spirit.”
The grace of God and Holy Spirit power will be brought out in B.O.L.D. so you can become comfortable knowing that you are genuinely loved, regardless of what you have done in the past! Expect to feel God’s presence all over you as you gain knowledge of His Word and allow His Word to feed your soul.
6. Expect a safe place.
Before you enter B.O.L.D. group you will be asked to sign a code of silence. B.O.L.D. group takes this very seriously because there must be a safe place for the men to come in and share all. There are exceptions to the code of silence.
Being vulnerable to another man is scary! If a tough guy is having same sex attraction, that’s his secret and he has to have that place of security to release it, even if it’s only to one man at a time and not necessarily revealed to the entire group one evening. Revelation 12:11 “they shall overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.” Confession brings healing along with victory! The word of our testimony will help many other men because this allows for vulnerability and letting other men know that they are not the only ones struggling.
In Baghdad, there was an international zone called the “green zone”. This was an area enclosed with blast walls and barbed wire designed to keep the U.S. troops safe during war. After a day on patrol the soldiers could come to the “green zone” and get some rest because they knew they were safer on the inside rather than the outside. There were soldiers consistently keeping watch, making sure the enemy stayed at a distance.
B.O.L.D. is your “green zone”, and this is the place that you can tell all and find rest from the secrets you’ve been hiding. B.O.L.D. have leaders in place to pray with you, to be there to confess to when you’re tempted, to talk you down from the attacks of the enemy. In the “green zone” you’ll get to know the true fortress, who is God. “The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. He is my refuge, my savior, the one who saves me from violence. I called on the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies”. (2 Samuel 22:2-4)
Having read the previous writing in number 6, there are exceptions. Any man who threatens harm to himself (suicide) or threatens harm to others in the group will be reported to the proper authorities. We can help you through the suicide thoughts with counseling and brotherhood before it gets to the point of action. We will also report any individual who confesses to a sexual related incident with a minor. Besides these two topics, Bold is a 100% safe place.
7. Expect to worship
The first thing that happens in B.O.L.D. is that we love to worship! There are so many demons that try to enter B.O.L.D. group and distract, so the one thing that we know that demons hate is giving praise to our Lord. Praise and worship will make the enemy flee. It pushes back the darkness that surrounds. It blocks the attacks and screaming lies over us. Demons will not stick around if we’re praising our God, who will fight our battles for us.
There is so much more to worship than just singing songs, or for many, just listening to songs. Worship is a time to come into the presence of God and allow Him to invade your personal world. Worship will expose your heart to God in a vulnerable way. There’s no room for pride when you’re at the throne of grace worshipping our creator! When B.O.L.D. men worship, you will see some men setting, some men standing with hands raised, some men on their knees and even some men laying prostrate before the Lord. God want’s your full attention during worship, so we really try to get all the distractions out before start of group.
” In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy.” (1 Timothy 2:8) God calls men to worship because great battles are won through worshipping! Worshipping is preparing for the battle that you know is coming so when it arrives you already know who the victor is. When a soldier prepares for battle, he will make sure that his firearm is well taken care of and will fire when ready. In the world of pornography and sex addiction the battle is brought to our attention nearly every day. The world is ever increasing the sexual images for ads, social media, TV, and phone apps. If your weapon of worship is ready to fire at any given time when you see the attacks from the enemy coming, he WILL retreat.
Worship was used in battle when Joshua marched around the walls of Jericho when the Israelites turned to the promise land. God tells Joshua to gather the people and march around the city once each day for seven days. The priests are to lead the procession with the ark–a visible symbol of the Lord’s presence with them. Seven priests with 7 trumpets are to go before the ark. On the 7th day, they are to march around the city 7 times. Then the priests will blow the trumpets, the people will shout, and the walls will fall. Shouts of praise and the sound of trumpets will cause walls to fall under the authority of God!
” Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. 26 Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off!” (Acts 16:25-26) When you sing songs of praise prison doors will fly open and captives can be set free. When all hope seems lost in that prison, WORSHIP!
Tormenting spirits flee when worshipping, 1 Samuel 16 tells us that King Saul had tormenting spirits and he would send for David to play his harp and the evil spirts would leave. The demons and tormenting spirits can’t stand the sound of Godly worship. So often we allow the enemy into our minds and to gain that control of anger, rage, lust, and self-pity which are all tormenting spirits! You have control to rid yourself of such tormenting spirits and B.O.L.D. will show you how!
When you worship, heaven invades earth and fights on your behalf!
When you worship, prison doors open!
When you worship, the devil and all the principalities flee because they can’t stand to hear anyone praise God!
When you worship it reminds satan that he is defeated by the blood of Jesus!
When you worship it sets the tone and prepares you for quiet time with the Creator of the universe.
8. Expect Austerity and Meekness
In B.O.L.D. we try to mimic Jesus to the best of our ability. Jesus spoke truth boldly without apologizing. Jesus stood toe to toe with Lucifer during the great wilderness temptation and came out victorious. Many people will say “yeah, but he was God and that’s how He could withstand the temptation.” As we go through B.O.L.D. you will find that Jesus was fully man and had the emotions of the flesh. Jesus endured the temptations, and he did so with a toughness!
Jesus stood in the middle of the religious leaders and called out their hypocrisy. “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed, and you decorate the monuments of the godly people your ancestors destroyed. Then you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would never have joined them in killing the prophets.’ “But in saying that, you testify against yourselves that you are indeed the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Go ahead and finish what your ancestors started. Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell?” (Matthew 23:29-33) While everyone else, even Jesus’ disciples were terrified of the religious leaders, Jesus called out their sins, and in a very BOLD manner!
Jesus was stern in truth, but he had such a meekness about Him. He went from town to town healing the blind. He would go to the forbidden leper colonies to touch the untouchable and heal their wounds.
Jesus loves little children “One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.
When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.” (Mark 10:13-16) Just in this scripture alone we can see the boldness with the disciples and the tenderness with the children.
Jesus had a toughness to Him; He was a true man’s man! He was a carpenter so He understood the framework of a structure, He understood if things were not level, square and plumb the framework would not be correct. Jesus probably hit His thumb a time or two with a hammer and lost a thumbnail during His construction days, but He never lost focused of His ultimate goal which was giving up His own life for us.
In B.O.L.D. group you will find that same boldness but tenderness. We understand the addiction and we will love you through it, but we will also call a sin a sin. Living this life isn’t living a sinless life but rather living a life of repentance and obedience. We love you enough to bring to your attention the destruction that you may not even see. You will not be overwhelmed or beat down. We welcome everyone and we understand a wide range of strongholds. We treat everyone with respect and love just as Jesus wants us to love!
9. Expect authenticity without judgment
B.O.L.D. is unlike any other group you will be a part of! There is true authenticity in this group because it is that safe place without judgment that men search for. You have heard about truth and a safe place, but authenticity is genuine or actual.
Men in B.O.L.D. need that place that is transparent and not fake. So often many sex addiction recovery groups are filled with nothing but hypocrites because they are still not free. Number one thing that men fail to realize is that it is a 1 to 5-year process to get the brain back on track and truly pure from the sex addiction cycle. Therefore, an addict might go into a group and confess the initial time but then think that others who are further along in the journey might judge them if they keep having setbacks. This kind of thinking promotes a person to lie to save face so to speak.
This is why BOLD is different! We know that this is a process, and we are here to help along the way. “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:2) There is a transformation process. The enemy’s grip on you won’t release overnight but with God’s authentic truth, authentic commitment, authentic accountability, and authentic brotherhood, you will be on your way to living a pure life free from pornography and sexual immorality. And all along the way you won’t have to feel as if you are being judged. We understand, we get it!!!!
10. Expect to grow spiritually
There are a few verses that always stand out and when it pertains to men and disciples especially. “There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen. You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong”. (Hebrews 5:11-14)
The main reason men keep falling back into the sex sin is because they refuse to grow spiritually. Men become complacent with where they are spiritually instead of growing. And when the storms hit, they go running back to the temporary pleasure that makes them feel good in the moment but eventually leads to a spiritual death.
This is a dangerous place to be because as the old saying goes “Idle time is the devil’s playground”. If you’re not growing in Christ than only means that you are complacent, that’s just a little B.O.L.D. truth!
Whether an individual has been a long time Christian or new to the faith BOLD will help build those “spiritual muscles”. When I was going to counseling with Pastor Bill Patterson, I was going to the gym every day to build my body. I would work out with intensity to the point of exhaustion for 1 to 2 hours a day. I would be intentional of which muscle I would work out each day. I increased my whey protein intake because that was the building block that provided plenty of protein and amino acids for ultimate muscle growth.
I spent plenty of time working on my physical appearance but didn’t spend a fraction of that time on my spiritual muscle. This is when Pastor Bill boldly told me that I needed to spend as much time and intensity building my spiritual muscle as I spent building my physical muscles.
It took a while for this concept to really sink in because I was really full of pride and self-gratification. Once I stopped going to the self-gratifying gym for the physical and started going to God’s gym for the spiritual, God’s voice began to become louder and louder. Instead of a whey shake for my protein and amino acids, I switched to worship, prayer and reading His Word which helped build my spiritual muscles.
Many new members to the gym will reach out to trainers to help them get in top physical shape. They will lean on their trainers for accountability and knowledge to gain their top physical achievement. This is exactly what I had to do, Pastor Bill was (and still is) my trainer that I lean on for help and knowledge. B.O.L.D. is your trainer to help gain spiritual achievement that you desire. Of course, this is totally YOUR decision. There is a high level of commitment that is required on your part. We will go more in depth on this topic in group.
11. Expect Accountability
“As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” (Proverbs 27:17) We will start with a lump of steel that is as useless as assuming. Now this lump of steel represents us, not activated in God’s kingdom until the Master Creator puts some heat on us to a temperature that He can mold us into any shape he wants to. This is called forging. There are two definitions of forge. 1) make or shape (a metal object) by heating it in a fire or furnace and beating or hammering it. 2) create (a relationship or new conditions). When we are heated up to a certain temperature, He will take us out of the fire and begin the shaping process. He’s only doing this to build the relationship with Him, so we can truly know his love.
Now this shaping process may be as painful as the fire, but both are extremely necessary for our Creator to get us to the shape like he wants us. When He puts us on the anvil, He will begin molding us by repeatedly hammering us with a 5-pound sledgehammer until we cool down, then put us back in the fire to heat us up again to go another round of shaping.
This process can go on many times until we are shaped the way he wants us. Keep in mind there are different types of swords. You may not look like your brother, but you are equally effective to accomplish God’s purpose for you. You may not realize that God is forming you perfectly when going through the fire and shaping process. You may be more concerned about the pain and worry whether or not He is going to put you in the fire again. Have faith and believe that God has a plan for you during the process. Remember that every time you are heated up, you become stronger.
When He is done shaping you, He is going to bring in a sword that has already been through the shaping process and He is going to put the two together and begin putting an edge on you. With each strike against the other sword, you start developing an edge. At the same time this other sword is striking, it is also reconditioning its own edge.
Finally, after many strikes against each other, both swords are sharp, however there is yet another step before you are complete. This next step is polishing. This may take longer than the crafting step because it is a process of going over the sword with waterstones over and over again until the mirror like finish is achieved. But even with this step you have to start out with coarse grit waterstones, then medium grit, then fine grit, finally an Emory cloth for the final.
This is all a process, and this is what is meant in the scripture by “iron sharpens iron”. Though God shapes us and allows the heat, we are sharpened by another sword, who is our brothers that are in the battle with us.
So now you go into spiritual battle because you are sharpened, polished and have brothers with you. During the spiritual battle, a man will get beat down by the weight of the world, by lust, stress, anger, greed, jealousy. This is common because we are human, and we have to train our flesh and soul. We become dull in the spiritual battle, so guess what? Here comes a sword that God has just finished shaping and is ready to be sharpened. This is where you come in and strike this new sword and sharpening him, but he is also sharpening you at the same time. God is an amazing God and His unique instructions for us work perfect. We just have to be willing and trust that he will protect us and shape us according to His will not ours.
This process of sword making is called accountability and B.O.L.D. has a phenomenal accountability program in place that you will be immediately a part of. Of course, this is totally optional but if you genuinely want to grow spiritually you will be active in this group to be sharpened or sharpen others.
Here is how the text accountability works. You will be placed in a group text with 4 or 5 other men from the group along with a leader. There are only three things that are required to text daily, but we do encourage you to encourage others as well as text whatever scripture God places on your heart for the day.
1. Text “clear” if you have been free from pornography for 24 hours.
2. Text the hand emoji if you have had a setback in the last 24 hours. This is not a hand of condemnation but rather a hand of confession. Scripture tells us that if you confess your sins to one another, you will be healed. We believe this is a healing of mind, will and emotion as well as physical. This also serves as a confession that you understand that you are a child of God, and you are above and not beneath, you are the head and not the tail and you are more than a conqueror.
3. Text the praying hands if you are being tempted. Many times, during temptation we fail to ask for prayer for selfish reasons, basically because we want to sin. And if we know that throwing the praying hands will prevent that, we won’t do it just so we can satisfy the flesh at that moment. This is by far the most encouraged response to any text so that you will have a group of guys praying with you and for you. Prayer packs power!!!!
In order to remain in group and accountability text group, you must show up for at least one B.O.L.D. group a month in person or on zoom. Of course, the more you put into it the more you will get out of the group.
So, now that you know what to expect, we can start to go over the fundamentals of B.O.L.D. group. It’s really basic and ANYONE can do it! Just open up your heart to the voice of the Holy Spirit and listen to His Word and you’ll be just fine!
Mandatory Entry Form.
To join B.O.L.D. all it takes is a commitment from you. We figure answering a few questions is a good start to get into the group. If a man cannot fill out a simple form, more than likely he will not be that committed to B.O.L.D. The following form below must be submitted before group information will be given. Once submitted you will be redirected to the “welcome” page containing all the information about B.O.L.D. Please save this page and information.
B.O.L.D. group does require you to buy current curriculums that we are in at the time of submitting the form. You can do this! We have a team that is ready to help and encourage you!
Can’t make it into group? Zoom in!
Our zoom meetings are not your normal meeting! We have 3 high quality cameras with a digital video switcher and 8 wireless mics that run through the soundboard to make it feel that you are in the group. We also put the individual’s video who are participating up on the two projector screens for everyone to see. The participant’s audio is also run through the soundboard so they can join in on the group’s conversation. We try and eliminate any excuses of not coming to group.
We meet every Sunday at 3:00 p.m. Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. on zoom.