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Manhood often feels like navigating through uncharted territory, but you don't have to walk alone. Join us as we guide a conversation about how to live intentionally so that we can join God in reclaiming the masculine restorative presence he designed us to live out. Laugh, cry, and wonder with us as we explore the ins and outs of manhood together.
Chris Bruno
Guys, we're back. This is the Restorative Man podcast. This is Chris Bruno and Jesse French, your co-host. Welcome. Hello Chris. It is the end of July almost. Possible. That's kind of crazy. End of July. Today, you guys, we are wanting to like help you get your eyes off your feet and get your eyes on the horizon a little bit.
Jesse French
Hey
How's that possible? I know.
Chris Bruno
So, right, like so many of us are kind of just making sure that the kids are alive, the house is maintained, the bills are paid, like just doing the thing in the summertime, and that's all good and right. But we want to help you kind of take a look ahead down the road a bit. It is the end of July. We want to invite you to look kind of three months out.
Yep. You, the, end of September, beginning of October timeframe, specifically the beginning of October, because we have something that's called the Grove training experience that we want to tell you about. want to invite you to Jesse. Do you feel like, do feel like you're a kind of in the weeds?
Jesse French
Yes.
Yeah. mean, that phrase eyes on the ground that lands, right? Of like, are the, there's the, the mental checklist of things that need attention and need to be done. And I'll speak for me, the timeframe associated with those things are it's like, you know, a week and under. there is not a lot of like, stretched out proactive, like medium term.
kind of thinking and so that's the reality and so hopefully this is timely.
Chris Bruno
Yeah, well, yeah, hopefully this is timely because if there is a date that is on the horizon for many people, it is when does school start again?
Jesse French
Yeah, yeah.
Chris Bruno
When can I cross that finish line to get those kiddos back in school? So, I know that's for me with our college aged daughter and also like anybody who's got kids at home. So we want to go just a little bit further beyond that. So there is something that we do every year in multiple places across the country and that's called the growth training experience. And we wanted to raise your awareness now at the end of July so that you register now.
Even though it's not until October and there's an experience in Colorado in October and there's an experience in the Pacific Northwest in October. And so we just want you to be thinking about October even though it is July. Yep. So.
Jesse French
And here's the thing news like this is not going to be an epiphany, but we're in summer right now. Like we said, there is the eyes to the ground, you know, nose to the grindstone sort of thing, but like newsflash or reminder to all of us, fall will hit and fall will not be slower. Fall will not be like this grand reprieve. It will just shift forms. Right. So I'm not trying to be Debbie Downer, but yeah, yeah. Let's be sober in our thinking around what fall will entail.
Chris Bruno
Be sober and intentional. So, so Jesse, let's explain a little bit about what the growth training experience is. All right. I'll start with this about, so we're in our 15th year of existence at restaurant project. So I'm so glad we are just about to get our learner's permit. So, uh, yeah, we're just about old enough to drive. It's true. And 14 years ago,
Jesse French
Yes.
Look at that, you my joke.
Chris Bruno
We started this gathering of men in a friend's basement up in Wyoming. You've probably heard us talk about this before where there were like 10, 11 guys that I just kind of tapped on the shoulder and said, Hey, I want you to be part of something. This thing that we're building called restoration project. You're the kind of man that kind of represents kind of embodies what it means for us to the kind of men that we want to be around.
And you need to know this other guy and he needs to know you. This gathering of guys started in this basement in January in Wyoming and just was like, hello, and let's start talking about our lives. Let's start talking about our stories. Let's start just engaging in some really fun kind of play things. We had shotguns and snowmobiles and stuff like that and warm fires and some good whiskey and just sat around and talked.
as guys, like if we could dream up something, what would we dream up as far as an organization that helps men recover their hearts and come back to themselves? And so that was kind of the genesis of both Restoration Project and the genesis of what has become now what we call the Grove. Yeah. And then you, Jesse, were part of that really early on.
Jesse French
Yeah, just a couple of years after, think two years after that initial Wyoming gathering. And yeah, there was, think maybe like 12 or 13. Yeah, something like that. small. And I didn't totally know what I was saying yes to. you know, like you had invited me and the yes was like yes to the men that I knew that were coming. Yes to that process of honesty, of play, right. And yes to just further.
continuing the journey of engaging my own life in some deeper ways and joining men who are excited about it.
Chris Bruno
Yeah. And just like you said, enjoying men who were doing the same thing. Yep. They were wanting the same things. So yeah, through the years that, you know, 10, 11, 12, 13 person gathering grew into, you know, 15, 20, 25, 30. And the kind of snowball started to happen. And I don't remember exactly when it was, Jesse, maybe you have the date, but we kind of decided that we wanted to,
give this gathering a name that fit what we were shooting for and fit the ethos and fit the aspect of this collective of men who were each individually living their own lives as God had designed them to and in tandem connection with other men, like-minded men. So we started calling it the Grove as after the Aspen Grove and
Here in Colorado, the Aspen Grove is the largest organism on earth, which is crazy to think about, but it is all each individual trees that is connected by a root structure, root system under the earth. And there is a shared DNA, a shared resourcing, shared, you know, sense of like connectedness and togetherness. And yet it creates this Grove from each of the individual trees. And that is what we felt like, my gosh, that is a metaphor, perfect metaphor.
for what we're looking at doing here as a collective of men.
Jesse French
Right. Because we said, and we continue to say, right, only you, Chris, and only me, and only each one of these men, right, are planted in the unique space that they are, right? That has the unique collection of relationships and community and opportunities and skills, right? And so the desire for men to fully step into that space of their sphere and their community in the way that God intended them to do and to do that, not in isolation, but to still be connected.
to a larger community and to a larger ethos.
Chris Bruno
Yeah, absolutely. And I just love that you said the word isolation, cause I feel like the other, of the other things that we've said along the way is that isolated and unequipped men bring about destruction in society and connected and equipped men bring about life and restoration. And so the Grove is a space for us as a collective community to break isolation and to share resources and equipping of one another on to
the betterment of our worlds around us. And that I know that I am a better man in my world when I am connected with men like you.
Jesse French
And, and those two things that so good that you said that, right. Because I would imagine if we think through that in our lives, like there's probably spaces in our life where we have one or the other. So there is like connection or equipping like in your, you know, continuing ed, right. We were thinking about that, like from a job space, like yes, get more training, understand, grow your skillset, whatever field you're in. Right. That's helpful, needed, clearly. That's why that's a trend and it's important thing. But largely those things are.
There's not a connected piece to that, right? There's not a community relationship. It's just learn the skill. Here's the thing. Ready, go. Right. Or on the flip side of it, there's spaces in our life where there are connection and it's, Hey, there's this group of people. Maybe it's activity based that we share this like wonderful, cool. can, we can have these enjoyable relationships, but there's not like an equipping or a sort of a growth of like, how do we, as people.
actually grow in who we are or what we're doing, right? It's purely social. And so, and you said it right, when we are isolated and unequipped, the end result is destruction, it's negative. And yet when both of those are present, the goodness that is able to be sparked by that, right? The fact that men are connected and they're also receiving some deeper understanding and developing their skills and their giftings and how God made them to be able to bring that in greater ways. So really both of those two things are incredibly important and intentional.
Chris Bruno
yeah, absolutely. And this is what we started to see in, and as we played with this over the number of years, the first several of these experiences, sometimes it was connection. Sometimes it was equipping until we started to realize actually we need both of those things to play together so that I come out of the experience with deeper relationships and deeper knowledge.
so that I can be the man that God made me to be when I go home. Cause I think all of us have been to those kinds of men's retreats where it's like this mountain top experience. You hear a lot of great download of information and then you go home and it's like, now what? Right? What do I actually do in my life? How do I, what does this actually change in the course of my life? So over the course of time, we named it the Grove and then we took those experiences and really made them
Jesse French
Thanks.
Chris Bruno
kind of a multi-tier experience for guys that have been, have never been, guys that have been before, guys that have been multiple years before, recognizing that just like you go through kind of a college program, right? A graduate program, your year one, year two, year three, the year three, the juniors in college know more than the freshmen in college. And that's not because the freshmen are dumb, it's just because they haven't had the experiences yet. so like we wanted to build
deeper, deeper connection and deeper, deeper skills along the way.
Jesse French
because we realize like like any skill it takes time. It's not like a it's not a weekend deal and you know you're a prof type of thing right like it's like oh there is yep there is a process to this.
Chris Bruno
Practice a-
Yes, absolutely. And even those that have been for all these 14, 15 years, whatever it's been, like we're still learning and we're still growing in that. So the Grove training experience is a space that is not just a men's retreat. It is a training experience where you come and you learn how to embody the postures that we talk about at Restoration Project. The posture of awareness,
the posture of curiosity and the posture of kindness and not just about it, but you get to experience it as you are progressing through the weekend. And then from year to year to year, you grow in your skills around each of those things. So you do get the experience of being sought after and being seen and sharing your story and having deeper connection with other men. And also you get to practice, what does this look like for me?
to sit across from someone else and hear a story and engage with someone else in their confusion and their pain and their wounding and their hopes and desires, how do you sit in those kinds of spaces? And it's so fun to watch through the weekend and then watch from year to year as men have engaged these experiences, like the growth in depth and the growth in breadth of what they're experiencing. Yeah.
Jesse French
Because, because again, going back to the Grove metaphor, right? The desire is that men return home to their communities, right? More able to offer their life giving presence, more able to partner with Jesus and the restorative work that he's doing, right? And so as he comes to the experience and is able to practice and receive some training and some equipping, right? The whole point of that is like, so that you return home more able and more willing to be able to offer that because
Your home needs that, right? Your family. Like whoever that is. Yes. Yes. Yes.
Chris Bruno
Your wife needs that.
I don't know how many women through the years have told me it is a non-negotiable that my husband will be going to the Grove training experience every year because he comes back more equipped and more attuned to what we need of him and the family. And the other piece is that there are some men's retreats that you go to and it's all about the exposure of your failure, all about the exposure of your shame, all the about of how you're not measuring up. That is the opposite of what these are about.
This is like, who are you and how did God make you? And what is the glory that you bring to the world? The glory of God that is uniquely designed to come through you as a conduit to the world. Right. And how do we help equip you to be that man rather than to not be the man you're trying to avoid? Right.
Jesse French
Right. One of my favorite phrases that you said a long time ago, and it was more in the context of talking about how we engage with our kids, but I think it still fits, is like, respond so much better to vision rather than correction. Right. And like, us clearly. We're like, yes, let us attend to what is needed in our lives. Yes. It's not about just like, yeah, ignore all that. But to have a vision of who God created us to be, far more motivating, far more change producing rather than like, hey, do this less, right?
Chris Bruno
Yes. So we're talking now at the end of July because we want you to be thinking about which of the growth training experiences you're going to come to either this fall or next spring. Yep. So there are three opportunities for you for a growth training experience. There's one in Colorado at the beginning of October, one in the Pacific Northwest in the middle of October, and then one in the East,
in April. End of April. So yeah, choose one. Come. Have the conversation with your wife. We've intentionally priced it to try to be as like reasonably priced as we can so that the most men can come. And this is just to give you a context is these started with the 10 men in the basement and now these are larger retreats, but they're not like 500 people. They're in the 80,
Jesse French
Okay, yep.
Chris Bruno
Person range, you know, the Northwest is a little bit smaller. So it's small enough to feel like you know people and you can come away from the weekend with some buddies and guys that are running in the same direction that you're running and connected in the region that you're connected in. But it's also like, it's not a small thing where it's just you and you know, five people sitting in a basement somewhere sharing your life story. So there is a greater context to that. And
then there are multiple levels. So if you've never been, there is a first year, just like come and experience and be with other men. If it's your second year, you've done this before, like we have opportunities for you to grow to the next level, third year, next level, like all that kind of stuff. And the beauty of it is that the staff at Restoration Project create the space, but the men of Restoration Project are the ones that are doing the engaging and the practicing of what we're talking about with these postures.
Jesse French
Yeah. And you you talk about the different tracks that we call them. I love how over the years, and we continue to do this, but how there's this interweaving, right? Of the engagement of all of the men at the retreat, right? Like are sharing space and interacting at different points, right? So it's by no means the like, Hey, the freshmen are over here and they do their own thing straight for three days. Right. they never seen it. Totally not true at all. Right. Like there's this dynamic nature of the way that all the men are engaging in different ways and in different cross points throughout the weekend.
Because it is that community.
Chris Bruno
Right. It is. And as with any growing organism, things are constantly moving and changing. And so if you've been to a Grove experience before, it won't be the same as the next Grove experience. I think some of the general structure is the same, but we're constantly learning and refining and moving and shifting and changing. And then what happens, the content of the weekend, the general con, like the flow of the weekend is the same from
the Northwest to Colorado to, you know, the East, like all that kind of stuff. And there are some elements that are very regionally different. and so we're trying to like go where the spirit of God is leading us in each one of these and allow it to morph and change over time. obviously I hope that you guys listening right now, you can hear the excitement that Jesse and I have around this. We just love these experiences and really feel passionate that
Restoration Project is not about the like 10,000 person stadium, filling it and having somebody hear our brilliance from the stage. Restoration Project is about how do we grow at a grassroots level with men who are actually in their own lives and meet us all as men together and sharing the root structure, the DNA that can help you be the best man that you were originally designed to be.
Jesse French
And like, I mean, we call this podcast, the Restorative Man podcast because we believe in that work, right? Because we believe that God actually has designed men to be restorative, to have their presence bring life and goodness in partnership with His Spirit. And I would say these experiences are just central in how we as an organization are trying to go about that movement of restorative men, right? The belief that all men are invited by God to step into that role.
And these experiences are a piece of that, of wanting to further that, of wanting to deepen that in men's lives.
Chris Bruno
Yes. And finally, would say who doesn't want to go hang out around a campfire with some other cool guys that are just like trying to follow God's heart and be the man that God made them to be? Who doesn't want to jump into a lake? Who doesn't want to have some fun experience in whatever outdoor space? Like all of those fun elements, all the serious elements, all the playful elements, all of the like man space.
kind of whatever all of that is part of it.
Jesse French
Yep. Yes. Yeah. And I love that you said that because levity and lighthearted and playfulness is central to who we are, organizationally central to these weekends. So if you want to just like not smile and be really serious for four days, please don't come like, probably not. This is not your jam, but if you want to like walk the road of the deep and the lighthearted believing that all of that actually is needed, come on.
Chris Bruno
down. Yeah, come on down. Come on down. So, and register now. It's the end of July. Yep. Okay. Yep. And like register now because the spaces are limited and we want to make sure that we're wanting to create as many spaces as we possibly can in all of these places and just like get on it now so that, so that you don't have to think about it at the end of September and you're not like, crap, I forgot. Like I wanted in, in there's
You're out of time and it's full or whatever. just get on it now. your feet, get your eyes off your feet and on the horizon to October.
Jesse French
Do it now, here to here.
Love it.