Cigar Company: Blowing Smoke

another IMN solution…

The Adventures of Cigar Company
IMN Global Network
IMN Senior Field Operative
Mike Harris

Blowing Smoke

Cigar Lover’s Unite
“Some men need a smoky place to talk about life”…

START: One year ago, I sat with a good friend in his garage, puffing on a cigar and talking about life. The two of us had gathered for this experience a few times, and though neither of us were big talkers, we both thoroughly enjoyed the rich conversation. We came to the conclusion that some men just need a smoky place to talk about life.

At some point in the midst of lush swirls of smoke our conversation shifted to friends who were struggling in life’s circumstances. Past attempts to invite these friends to church were mostly met with gracious “no thank you’s.” As smoke circles continued to swirl around our heads, we lamented our inability to help our friends. Then, an idea emerged. “Do you think our friends would meet us here in the garage to smoke a cigar and if the conversation happened—to talk about life?” We pulled out a piece of paper and wrote down names of men we knew who enjoyed cigars. Then we added some names of men whom we weren’t sure liked cigars, but we’d ask and find out. Then we prayed for each man on the list. In that moment, something changed in us, and a new thing was born.

Photo: Cigar Company at rest

Now, one year later, every Tuesday night, anywhere from 8 to 15 guys meet either around a fire pit or in a smoky garage to puff on quality (and occasionally less than quality) cigars and talk about life. We end our evening the same way we did a year earlier—we stop and pray for each other and for men we know who are struggling in life’s circumstances. We even gave ourselves a name—Cigar Company—a name that grew out of watching the series “Band of Brothers” together.

When Alex asked me to write some articles on cigar gatherings, I thought—should this be a series on great men who smoke cigars? Or, a series about men who were great because they smoked cigars? Or, a series just about great cigars in the mouths of notable men? I’m not sure I’ve figured out the answer yet, but I will say this—I look forward to Cigar Company more than any other event of the week (and that is saying a lot)! Every Tuesday, I can’t wait to get together with these men. We all enjoy good cigars, and in a year’s worth of Tuesdays, we’ve smoked quite a few. But cigars are not what keeps us coming back every week. It’s that our lives have been shaped and changed to be more like Jesus.

As I’m writing this, its late Tuesday night and I just returned home from Cigar Company. We ended the gathering around 9:00, but I stayed and talked with two of the men for another hour and a half about their personal experience of following Jesus with more passion. It was a beautiful (if I can use that word in a men’s article) conversation. And as I drove home I thought about how these two men have grown over this last year. Some may argue that I’m just blowing smoke (get it—blowing smoke), but I believe it was the smoky place that created the context for God to shape their lives, and for that important conversation to take place. Yes, some men do need a smoky place to talk about life—and for that reason Cigar Company exists.

What do you think?