Bachelor parties for fervent Christian men usually present an awkward scenario. Wicked men use bachelor parties as an excuse to engage in lust and immorality before a man marries. Most “Christian” bachelor parties that I have attended settle for stupidity and sophomoric behavior. Thus, the common approach to a Christian bachelor party is to get together, have fun, and not do bad stuff. Inevitably, this usually creates an awkward night where guys get together and walk up to the edge of sin without jumping in. I’ve been to my fair share of bachelor parties over the years and have usually been conflicted. So, after receiving some ideas from my friends Brent Parsley and Jon Egan, my buds and I went a different route for my brother, Dan Perkins, bachelor party. Honestly, it turned out to be a fun, epic and memorable.
We built the whole night on 1 Peter 2:17: “Love the brotherhood, Fear God, Honor the King.”
First: Love the Brotherhood
We took Dan to a basketball court (he loves basketball). Once there, we talked out of 1 John 2:16: “For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.” Each of us told part of our journey to avoid pride, lust and greed. Then, we had three of Dan’s buds there wearing t-shirts each with one world across the chest. Jon, Matt and Jasen represented lust, pride and greed. They played, 3 on 1 against Dan. Lust, Greed and Pride beat Dan 7-1. Actually, Dan made a spectacular hook shot over lust for his one basket.
Following Dan’s loss, all of his groomsman took the court alongside Dan. We defeated lust, pride and greed 7-1 together. The symbolism is obvious. We need accountability. Together, we are stronger. Isolated, we lose. My brother in law, Murray, made a great point. He talked to Dan about the one basket Dan did make. Sometimes, we can have a small victory on our own and think that we can win the war on lust, greed and pride. However, in the long run, we always lose unless we are in relationship and accountability. For long term victories, we always need each other.
We loaded up in the van and went to garden of the gods. Once there, we blindfolded Dan and each verbally instructed him as we hiked to the top of a rock overlooking Pikes Peak and the Rocky Mountains. After taking the blindfold off, Dan talked about what it was like to trust his brothers as he hiked and climbed.
Second: Fear God
As we sat on top of the rock, Cole McCord led us in worship. Matt Candler talked about the necessity of fearing God in our inner man. Matt led us in communion. Spontaneous prayers erupted as we sang worship songs. I’ll never forget it.
Third: Honor the King
Murray read the vows that Dan had written Amy. As we read them, it was amazing all that Dan had put into the vows. They were so dynamic. We talked about honoring the King by loving our wives all of our lives. One of the greatest ways to honor God is to simply serve and cherish the wives God gave to us. After reading Dan’s vows, all of us signed Dan’s vows saying that we would help him keep his vows…always. We ended our time on the rock in prayer for Dan and Amy. Dan wept. Finally, we handed him a large sword with 1 Peter 2:17 engraved in it. Love the Brotherhood, Fear God, and Honor the King.
We went to dinner and told stories about Dan for the rest of the night. John McAllister had my brother in laws, Matt and Murray, howling in laughter. We told stories from childhood to present. What a night!
