Nationals Visits Texas A&M

By Robert Bember
National Advisor

Over dinner on the Tuesday night of my visit to the Texas A&M, I was posed with a tough question. A lot of times, I answer questions based on precedents that have already been set from past experiences. This time, I was caught off guard.

In a cage match between all the officer bodies I serve over, who would win?

I thought long and hard about this question, doing a good bit of thinking out loud, but have yet to come up with my front-runner for this seemingly inevitable throwdown of Biblical proportions. The rear naked choke hold of Pledge Captain Casey Bush might just be enough to make the Gamma Chapter the favorite. Yep, those are my boys. It’s never a dull moment, but their approach to BYX is all business.

Monday evening, I attended pledge meeting. The Gamma Chapter has 64 pledges, but the officers know the success of this pledge class will be gauged in later semesters by how many stick around and graduate as members of BYX. Casey, a fun-loving guy who would wear tank tops anywhere and everywhere if given the opportunity, is taking on a clear role as a disciplinarian leader over the pledges. He’s not messing around. He’s instilling in the pledges a respect and reverence towards BYX that he hopes will improve the retention rate within the chapter.

Pledges are required to wear white dress shirts, khaki pants, brown shoes and their pledge pin to pledge and chapter meetings. Casey and the pledge team wear the same thing, plus a tie. The expectations have been set for the pledges, and they know that they’re being held to a high standard. The pledges are responding. Casey keeps singing the praises of the pledge class. Many of the pledge couldn’t wait to get pledgeship under way, and they continue to stay enthusiastic about pledgeship. Casey and the pledge team are doing an outstanding job.

The Chapter is starting to gain a better grasp of what BYX is, and the pledge team is starting on the ground level, ensuring the pledges have a right understanding of the vision of BYX. I’ve said it many times, but BYX is not a college-aged youth group. Chapter meeting is not a contemporary church service with worship in song, announcements and preaching. We are a Christ-centered fraternity. The men are starting to catch that vision more.

Faculty Advisor Dr. Sean McGuire spoke at chapter meeting, so I spoke on our identity in Christ, our speaking topic for the semester, at pledge meeting. Dr. McGuire spoke on the same topic at chapter. Identity is something we tend to just touch on rather than understanding the full depth of it, but it’s clear this is something the Lord is trying to drive home with us this semester.

I hated Chaplain Caleb Ferrell on Tuesday morning because he made me wake up too early, but I can’t stay angry at a fellow brother who served at Sky Ranch. He was the first of my six one-on-ones for the day. The officers tried to keep me sequestered in Barnes and Noble all day, but I was able to escape for a change of scenery at different times.

Throughout the meetings, it was evident to me that the chapter has a plethora of leadership. The officers that have been put in place all have strong personalities and are men that seem to be worth following. They are a cohesive unit that love each other well. Our time at dinner Tuesday night was a ton of fun. They’re great guys to be around, and they are passionate about taking BYX to new heights.

And that’s starting to happen. One of the officers explained to me that in the past BYX often times got pledges that didn’t see BYX as their first option. They might seek out a selective organization, and, when they weren’t chosen, they used BYX as a fall back plan. That isn’t happening anymore. The officers said that they’re starting to compete with these other organizations and steal potentials from them. Men are taking note of how the Gamma Chapter is striving toward excellence, and now they want to be a part of it.

I spent some time working on our “My Story” project while at Texas A&M. “My Story” is a video that allows members to share how the Lord has used BYX in their lives. We’re in the early stages of compiling a collection of “My Story” videos for the Web site. Our hope is that people, whether they’re involved with BYX or not, would see the works of our Heavenly Father through these testimonies.

Max Heller, a former chaplain and co-worker at Sky Ranch, volunteered to go in front of the camera. Max is a charismatic leader in the fraternity and commonly known as “the funny guy” in the chapter. He’s comfortable on camera and a great communicator. His passion for BYX and the men in his chapter was evident throughout filming.

“My Story” can be quite an undertaking between getting someone to film, finding a place to shoot and, at times, prying words out of a member. The editing process isn’t always a smooth one either, especially when I won’t get to touch the project until December. However, it’s so great to hear the stories these men have to offer and to see the grace and love of our Heavenly Father magnified in the lives of these men.