Holy crap (excuse my language), it’s November! I suppose time really does fly. Before I dive into all of the amazing things I’ve been doing with Fellows, let’s just acknowledge that Fall is objectively the best time of year. Take a moment and breathe - do you feel the crisp autumn air? The leaves are beginning to die, yet in the most beautiful way. Additionally…
Sunday (all day) – Football
Monday Night – Football
Thursday Night – Football
Friday Night – High School Football
Saturday (all day) – College Football
Isn’t that just beautiful? And that’s not all - we can’t forget about the NHL, MLB, NBA, and college basketball. This, my friends, is a sliver of heaven.
Anyway, this blog is dedicated to Fellows, so let’s talk about Fellows, shall we? Most recently, Apostles organized its 3rd Annual (don’t fact-check me on that) Men’s Retreat in Wilmington, NC. If I’m being completely honest, this pushed me out of my comfort zone. As I’ve shared with some of the Fellows - and now the millions of people reading this blog - making deep and meaningful friendships with other men has been a challenge. Apparently, I’m not the only guy who faces this. In fact, it’s become such a common struggle that a bunch of dudes from a quaint Anglican church tucked away in the heart of North Hills abandoned their “normal” lives for an entire weekend to learn how to be friends (like…actual friends) with other men. It was incredible.
For the first time in what feels like forever, I engaged in challenging conversations, laughed, grabbed coffee, and made tons of incredible memories - exclusively with other Christian men. For the first time in a while, I felt like one of the guys. Geez, I could go on and on about everything we learned and every small group conversation, but for the sake of time, just know this weekend was an answered prayer.
In other news, I’m starting to (finally) get a grasp of my role at NeighborHealth. Serving as the Marketing and Communications Coordinator has been challenging, to say the least, but extraordinarily rewarding. Admittedly, I’ve discovered that sitting behind a computer screen for eight hours is excruciating, but I have a great team that helps mix things up. Simply walking around and chatting with people from different departments has been a lifesaver. My biggest takeaway, though, quite frankly has little to do with marketing or how to draft the perfect email. Rather, it’s been about how I view work through a biblical lens. I’ve listened to every podcast imaginable on how to “commit my work to the Lord” and often find myself wondering how God originally intended work to be for humanity in 2025. I’ve seen the Lord’s faithfulness in my other jobs, but I’ve never seen investors walk into an office and stop mid-conversation to pray. To put a bow on my thoughts, I’ll just say I’m witnessing the line between “secular business” and faith begin to blur. I’m learning what it looks like to walk alongside Jesus every moment of every single day.
Hopefully, you’ve gathered by now that I am thriving (simply because it’s Fall), the Men’s Retreat was a success, and I work for a pretty cool nonprofit. To wrap up our time together, I owe my mentor, Mr. Frank Shell, an honorable mention. We’ve had the opportunity to chat several times, but it wasn’t until topics like John Mayer, The Lumineers, or Chance Peña came up that our conversation really took off. For context, Frank plays guitar - and so do I. The only difference is that Frank knows what he’s doing. Thankfully, he’s my mentor. Hopefully, you’re starting to connect the dots here. If not, let me make it blatantly clear: I will be bringing my guitar to our next meeting. Point is, I’m pumped to play guitar (or at least try) during these upcoming meetings. Vibes are going to be immaculate.
I’m just now realizing that I forgot to mention how John 15 has become increasingly influential in my life. I’m talking “I wanna get this tattooed on my body” kind of influential. Sadly, our time here together is coming to an end. I’ve rambled on enough, so I’ll leave you on a cliffhanger:
How exactly has John 15 become so influential in Peyton’s life? The world may never know… but you could - if you come back next month to read my blog.
(P.S. If you visit the Lenovo Center, don’t forget to take a selfie with Big Peyton. If that doesn’t make sense to you, please reference the attached photo.)
Toodles,
–Peyton
