Behind and Before Open the journal

A founding letter

The Behind
and Before Creed

“Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.”Psalm 139:5

Brother,

This place exists because too many good men are losing their lives a few minutes at a time.

Not in one dramatic fall. In drift. In the scroll that never ends and the screen that glows after everyone else is asleep. In the cheap hit of dopamine that promises rest and leaves us emptier than before. In the slow apathy that makes prayer feel optional and church feel like a chore. In the quiet compromise no one else sees, until the people who depend on us start paying for it.

Behind and Before was built to stand against that drift. Not with shame. Shame is a liar that keeps men hiding. With truth, repeated until it becomes our own thoughts. With discipline, practiced one ordinary morning at a time. With honesty in the light, among brothers who will not look away. And with the grace of a God who goes behind us to cover what is past and before us to lead the way.

The name comes from Psalm 139. He has hemmed us in, behind and before. Your past is not beyond His reach, and your future is not beyond His sight. That is where this begins: not with your strength, but with His hand already upon you.

Ninety days is not magic. It is long enough to break an old groove and cut a new one. Every card you read, every honest check-in, every urge you fight off, and every time you get back up after a fall is a stone laid in a new foundation.

So here is what we stand for.

What we stand for

  1. 01
    We reject cheap dopamine. We will not trade the joy set before us for a glowing screen and a few seconds of relief.
  2. 02
    We reject passive drift. Freedom is not stumbled into. We will choose our mornings, guard our evenings, and plan for the hard hours before they come.
  3. 03
    We reject spiritual apathy. We will seek God early, hide His word in our hearts, and show up to church as men who need it, not spectators.
  4. 04
    We walk in the light. We will tell the truth to God, to ourselves, and to at least one brother who knows our name.
  5. 05
    We get back up. A slip is not the end of the story. Grace is not permission to stay down. It is the strength to rise.
  6. 06
    We stand firm for our families. We will love our wives faithfully, lead our children by example, and keep our homes places of peace.
  7. 07
    We stand firm for our church and our community. We will serve, build, and be men others can count on.
  8. 08
    We build slowly and well. One day, one card, one honest word at a time, trusting God with the increase.

You are not doing this alone. He is behind you and before you, and so are we.

“Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.”1 Samuel 7:12

Stand firm,Lee BauderFounder, Behind and Before

Begin your 90 days