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The Volume 1, Number 3 edition of The Drawing Room was held on October 11, 2018, and the evening’s theme was “The Intersection of Christianity and Culture.” Heavy theme notwithstanding, the evening began and ended with frivolity as attendees competed in a contest of skill—burying a hatchet in a wooden target. Yes, throwing hatches is a thing now, and Lexington is soon getting an establishment called Battle Axes where beer and hatchet throwing mix. What could go wrong? Everyone escaped with life and limbs intact, and congrats go to Ryan Loghry for winning The Drawing Room Hatchet Throwing Contest. A former pitcher, Ryan remarkably buried five out of six throws in the bullseye, despite having never thrown a hatchet in his life. Well done, Ryan!

Ryan Loghry demonstrates the form that helped him capture the Championship in The Drawing Room Hatchet Throwing Contest.

Eighteen remarkable men participated in the gathering (including Justin Camblin who joined us via video). Here’s the rundown of topics:

• Books | Book reports by: Seth York (The Way of the Dragon or the Way of the Lamb), Lindell Ormsbee (The Life of God in the Soul of Man), and Justin Camblin (The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion)
• Ethics | Immigration: Unlimited Gospel vs Limited Resources led by Larry Thompson
• Politics | Debriefing on Brett Kavanaugh
• Philosophy | Are Christians Too Concerned with Overturning Roe v Wade? led by Ryan Muchow
• Hobbies | Birds, Nature, and Creation led by David Lane
• Relationships | It Is Not Good for Man to be Alone led by Royce Hunt

David Lane shares about his hobby of birdwatching and his love of nature.

Justin’s excellent book report on The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion can be viewed on YouTube. He also recommends a podcast in which Dr. Russell Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, interviews the book’s author, Jonathan Haidt.

We also had a segment on Remarkable Websites, which included:

• The Art of Manliness
• Barking Up the Wrong Tree
• Ted Talks
• Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
• Goodreads

Two Drawing Room member blogs were also mentioned:

• Royce Hunt | R.O.A.R. (Royce on a Rampage)
• Larry Thompson (Know Be Do [previous blog] and Larry Alan Thompson [current blog])

The evening’s menu theme featured shish kebabs on the grill! Special thanks go out to Dale Tolliver for helping mind the grill and for serving as our Hatchet Throwing Contest official.

Next quarter’s gathering of The Drawing Room will be January 10, 2019. I’ve already checked the UK Basketball schedule, of course, and the Cats are not playing that night, so put it on your calendar today!

Our second meeting of The Drawing Room was held on July 12, 2018, and in honor of the Independence Day season, the evening’s theme was “America.” Not all topics centered on America, and not all Drawing Room meetings will have a theme. But this meeting touched on a number of controversial topics with the potential for igniting some “fireworks.” As it turned out, our members were quite genteel, yet no less thought-provoking in our discussions. Eighteen remarkable men attended the gathering, including seven first-time attendees. Here’s the rundown of topics:

• Books | Book reports by: Dave Fenz (1491), Flavius Raslau (iGen), and Jeff Parr (The Boys in the Boat)
• Sport| National Anthem Protests led by Aaron Hogue
• Politics | The Divided States of America led by Larry Thompson
• Civics| A Victory for Religious Liberty led by Ryan Loghry
• Philosophy | The Erosion of Character led by Steve Pruitt
• Finance| Bitcoins led by David Parks
  
• Travel | Travelogue: Wild, Wild West led by Scott Perron

Due to an-over ambitious lineup and the insightful discussion, several topics were postponed until our next meeting, including David Lane’s presentation of bird watching. Several members have suggested fewer topics and more time for discussion, and we hear you. As we learn more from each meeting, Larry will continue to strive toward that sweet spot of a lively pace with a wide variety of categories balanced with quality time for questions and comments. We’ll get there!

The evening’s menu theme was “Red, White & Bleu” and featured crepes cordon bleu prepared by in-house chef, Tina Thompson. Thanks, Tina, for the remarkable cuisine!

Next quarter’s gathering of The Drawing Room will be October 11, 2018. Larry mentioned shish kebabs on the grill and a hatchet throwing contest, so put it on your calendar today!

The Drawing Room held its historic first meeting on April 12, 2018. Eighteen hand-selected men attended this first installment of the quarterly men’s gathering. Hailed as “A Remarkable League of Inquisitive Men,” the group lived up to its billing as the extraordinary assembly of Renaissance men tackled ten manly topics:

• Sports | One and Done
• Books | 8 Books for Men
• Politics | Where Do You Get Your News?
• Philosophy | What Is America’s/World’s Greatest Problem?
• Science | Driverless Cars (“Thank You” to Wayne Boyd for leading this session)
• Family | The Pence Rule or The Billy Graham Rule
• Film | Favorite Men’s Films
• Ethics | Should We Support Muslims Building a Mosque (postponed due to lack of time)
• Finance | The Family Ministry Budget
• Craftsmanship | Favorite Tool in Your Toolbox

Best Jacket Award went to Kyle Wells, who sported a light blue plaid blazer. Sharp look, Kyle!

The evening’s menu theme was “Frat Boy Favorites” and featured White Castle sliders, pizza rolls, chicken fingers, Cheetos, nachos, Ho-Hos, Twinkies, and Ale-8-Ones on ice. The fare got mixed reviews, however, so don’t worry, guys; we”ll plan something a little more sophisticated and healthy at our next quarter’s gathering which will be July 12, 2018.