Honored to address the SoCal IRONMEN Conference — 600 strong

Honored to address the SoCal IRONMEN Conference — 600 strong — alongside Michael Ensey (Ohio), Jonathan McDonald (Eureka, CA), and Tom Copple (Orange, CA).

In a culture trying to blur, if not erase, the lines between men and women — first in appearance and clothing, now even in science and biology — these men recognize what God already said: He made men and women different on purpose. Not to compete. To complement. To complete one another. To build the human family. Equal worth. Distinct roles. Especially in the home.

The latest U.S. Supreme Court Justice either cannot, or will not, define what it means to be a woman. This conference does not cancel men. It teaches them how to be men.

Some men in the room never had that example. They decided their sons would. They understand the incalculable value of a father who is present. That decision echoes for generations.

One way a man becomes an Ironman is by honoring women and keeping his marriage vows. I am thankful to have been faithful to my wife — the only woman I have ever been physically intimate with. Integrity is not a slogan. It is a daily choice of sacrifice over self.

A man is also a protector and a provider. That is not oppression. That is assignment.

Gideon’s 300 were mighty men of valor. IRONMEN Conference had 600 men determined to fight and overcome the real battles of culture, temptation, and the flesh.

Stay in the fight.

Stay faithful.

Stay present.

God bless these IRONMEN.

~ Bishop Art Hodges