It's not what you know

“My goal is to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death."

Philippians 3:10

A Great Honor

Over Labor Day weekend, I lost my dad. It was a surprise, though not a shock, as his health had been failing for some time. Months earlier, he and my mom had asked me to preach his funeral. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but also one of the greatest honors—because my dad’s life made it easy to tell his story.

My Reflection

As I reflected on his life, I realized something: my dad was an MD5 man. He never participated in a cohort. He didn't study the MD5 material. He couldn’t even quote the definition of biblical manhood: Reject Passivity, Accept Responsibility, Lead Courageously, and Invest Eternally.

He was an MD5 man not because of what he knew, but because of how he lived.

That’s what Philippians 3:10 reminds us—knowing Christ is not an intellectual pursuit but a relational one. It’s not just knowing about Him; it’s experiencing Him, being changed by Him, becoming more like Him.

Learn & Live

In MD5, you learn about God. You learn about biblical manhood. But the charge is not simply to learn. The charge is to live.

My dad showed me what it means to be a man of God: to love and obey Christ, to serve others, to treasure relationships over accomplishments, to stay focused on what truly matters, to walk with discipline, and to embrace simplicity.

I know this not because he told me, but because he showed me in his life, every day.

Does your life show you to be an MD5 man? It’s not measured in memorized definitions or pithy quotes. It’s not proven by what you know. It’s reflected in how you live.

John Meriweather

MD5 Facilitator