Every Friday at 5:30 in the morning, I gather with several dozen men for That Man is You. It’s not glamorous—we stumble in half-awake, grab coffee and a donut, swap a few jokes, and slowly warm up.

By 6:00 AM, we’re watching a video on faith, culture, or manhood. Afterward, we break into smaller groups to talk about it—sometimes about the content, sometimes about what’s weighing on our lives. A deacon moderates, keeping us centered on prayer and truth. By 7:00 AM, we’re out the door and off to work.

On paper, that’s one hour a week. But in reality, it’s much more: it’s an anchor of brotherhood in my week.

Where It Fits in the “Layered Parish” Model

I’ve been working on a way to think about relationships in parish life, something I call the Layered Model of Community:

• Core Sphere (2–5 people): Deep friendship, accountability, prayer partners.
• Support Sphere (10–15 people): Steady brotherhood and shared life.
• Community Sphere (50+ people): Wider fellowship—banquets, service projects, parish socials.
• Mission Sphere (150–500+): The parish or diocese gathered in worship and witness.

So where does That Man is You land?

👉 Support Sphere.
It’s a classic example: small groups of 10–12 men, weekly rhythm, spiritual content, moderated discussion. More than banter, but not intimate enough for every man to share his deepest struggles.

How It Could Go Deeper

What makes the Support Sphere strong is that it feeds men consistently. But transformation happens when the Core Sphere grows inside it.

That could look like:

• Two or three guys from the group grabbing coffee mid-week.
• Starting a prayer partnership with one or two men.
• Checking in outside the meeting—life, struggles, victories.

In other words: using the Support Sphere as fertile ground for the Core Sphere to take root.

The Bigger Picture

That Man is You also stretches upward:

• As a program, it’s a Community Sphere, connecting dozens of men at the parish level.
• And it plugs into the Mission Sphere, part of a nationwide movement helping men step up in faith.

But it’s in those smaller connections—finding your two or three brothers—that the deepest growth happens.

Because as good as coffee, donuts, and teaching videos are, every man ultimately needs a band of brothers who know him by name and walk with him through life.

Developed with assistance from ChatGPT-5