I felt incredibly honoured and grateful to be invited on the show, especially as the youngest panel member with the least experience of “being a man.” I was grateful for the opportunity to learn from the other men and their diverse experiences. What stood out for me was the connection of the struggles between the generations. Often young people like me get caught up in our own world, and believe the struggles we’re going through is an individual experience unique to our generation. Maybe that’s where our seemingly crippling sense of entitlement comes from, our lack of appreciating other generations’ struggles — when in reality, every generation has its own unique set of challenges and they all bleed into one another, as they all interact intergenerationally.

Having the ability to hear men’s struggles who have been in the game longer than I have was incredibly humbling, but also encouraging. Humbling in the realization that I rarely know things that are worth knowing, or how to go about acting on the things I do know. Encouraging in the way I witnessed these men talk to each other. The respect, value, and vulnerability they offered each other and me was of course nice, but what inspired me most was how each one relied on God as a source of strength and rooted themselves in His Word. Their ability to be vulnerable and allow God to move through weakness was the top take away for me – and a lesson I will no doubt continue to learn from as I get older and aim to pursue as I discover what it means to be a man of God, walking with God, for God.

2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
Theo Mattias is from Calgary AB, currently studying music theatre performance at Sheridan College in Oakville ON. Now in his third of fourth year, he has discovered a deep passion for the inspiring power storytelling can have on culture and the influence it has on prioritizing societies values.