The Engagement Project
Tour 9: Engagement - The Band of Brothers, Part 2
Reflections on Del Tackett’s Climactic Call to Kingdom Engagement
In the culminating session of Del Tackett’s The Engagement Project, Tour 9: "The Band of Brothers, Part 2," participants are drawn into a profound and urgent challenge. Building on the foundation laid throughout the ten-tour series—a sequel to the renowned Truth Project—this final installment shifts from theoretical worldview formation to practical, communal action. Tackett emphasizes that believers are not mere spectators in God’s redemptive story but active ambassadors, called to engage their immediate spheres with the gospel’s transforming power. The session confronts personal and cultural barriers while renewing a vision for deep, sacrificial relationships that advance the Kingdom.
Building on Tour 9, Part 1’s foundation of indwelling empowerment and deep love, Tackett in Part 2 candidly examines the obstacles that hinder believers from experiencing and extending true shalom—God’s comprehensive peace and wholeness. Pride stands foremost: the insidious "all about me" mentality that prioritizes self over service. Fear follows closely, paralyzing action in a world increasingly hostile to biblical truth. Isolation and unhealthy dependency erode the community God designed, while pervasive doom, gloom, and apathy sap spiritual vitality. Persistent, unaddressed sins create internal strongholds, and perhaps most dangerously, a lack of vision—losing sight of God’s grand meta-narrative—leaves individuals drifting without purpose. Tackett masterfully diagnoses these barriers not as abstract concepts but as real-life impediments that prevent Christians from fulfilling their royal calling.
With these obstacles laid bare, the session pivots to a powerful reaffirmation of the vision that has threaded through the entire project. Believers are summoned to build deep, authentic relationships with those whom God has providentially placed in their "Jerusalem"—the immediate circle of neighbors, coworkers, family, and community members right next door. This is no vague aspiration; it demands intentionality: praying earnestly for these individuals and then acting on those prayers. Engagement must be marked by grace, wisdom, and truth, delivered in an attractively winsome manner that reflects Christ’s character. The call is to tear down relational walls, build trust through consistent love, and do the hard work of the Kingdom—demonstrating the reality of God’s reign in everyday interactions.
Tackett grounds this vision in sobering reality by presenting grim statistics from the preceding ten weeks, illustrating the rapid moral and cultural decline in society. These numbers serve as a wake-up call: the world is not improving on its own, and the church cannot afford complacency. Believers live next door to people in desperate need—spiritually lost, emotionally broken, or relationally fractured—and these neighbors are no accident of geography. They are sovereignly positioned by God for divine encounter through His people.
A poignant biblical anchor comes from the story of King Josiah in 2 Kings 22–23. Upon hearing the rediscovered Book of the Law, Josiah tore his robes in repentance and grief over the nation’s sin. Tackett poses the piercing question: Would we do the same? In an age of widespread biblical illiteracy and cultural compromise, does the state of our land move us to humble, repentant action? This moment invites deep self-examination: Are we grieved enough to move beyond passive observation?
Tackett personalizes the message with a touching story from his own life. When a new neighbor built a house directly behind his property, it presented an unexpected opportunity. Rather than viewing it as an inconvenience, Tackett saw divine providence. He prayed for a meaningful relationship to develop, trusting God to open doors. Over time, faithfulness in prayer and small acts of kindness bore fruit, illustrating God’s reliability in answering petitions for relational breakthroughs. This anecdote encourages participants: God honors prayers aligned with His mission and uses ordinary circumstances to forge Kingdom connections.
The session reaches a spiritual high point with a contemplation of Ezekiel 37—the valley of dry bones. In this vision, God commands Ezekiel to prophesy life into a field of lifeless skeletons, and breath enters them, forming a vast army. Tackett draws a parallel to the modern church: many believers feel spiritually dry, disconnected, or ineffective. Yet God promises to breathe His Spirit upon us afresh, reviving us to become the salt and light He has called us to be. This prophetic imagery stirs hope—God can and will revitalize His people for mission when they seek His face.
The tour concludes with a stirring charge drawn from Romans 8, where Paul declares that believers are more than conquerors through Christ, inseparable from God’s love. Nothing in creation can separate us from it, empowering us to face any obstacle. This transitions into the final episode of The King’s Order—a narrative or devotional element that encapsulates the project’s themes of royal identity, sacrifice, and mission. Tackett delivers a commissioning charge, reminding participants of their ambassadorial role in the Kingdom.
In a moving ceremonial close, Tackett hands out embassy plaques to the students. These tangible symbols—often aluminum plaques inscribed to declare a home as an "Embassy of the Kingdom of Heaven"—serve as reminders that every believer’s residence is an outpost of God’s rule. They are invitations to radical hospitality, prayerful engagement, and winsome witness. Receiving one marks not just completion of a study but entry into ongoing Kingdom work.
Tour 9: "The Band of Brothers, Part 2" is more than a lesson; it’s a call to arms for the church. In an era of isolation and cultural decay, Tackett urges believers to form unbreakable bonds of fellowship—the "band of brothers"—to support one another in engaging the lost with love and truth. As the series ends, hope prevails: God is faithful, His Spirit breathes life, and ordinary Christians, empowered by grace, can change everything through intentional, prayer-fueled engagement.
The Engagement Project
Tour 9: Engagement - The Band of Brothers, Part 2
A Call to Kingdom Engagement
In the powerful finale of Del Tackett’s The Engagement Project, Tour 9: “The Band of Brothers, Part 2,” participants move from worldview training to urgent, hands-on action. As the sequel to the influential Truth Project, this ten-tour series culminates here, challenging believers to stop being passive observers and become active ambassadors of God’s Kingdom in their everyday lives.
Building on Tour 9, Part 1’s foundation of indwelling empowerment and deep love, Tackett, in Part 2 begins by confronting the real barriers to experiencing and sharing God’s shalom—His complete peace and flourishing. Pride (“all about me”), fear of rejection, isolation, apathy, unconfessed sin, and losing sight of God’s grand story all keep Christians from fulfilling their calling. These are not distant problems; they are personal strongholds that hinder Kingdom impact.
The session then renews the core vision: intentionally build deep, authentic relationships with the people God has sovereignly placed in our “Jerusalem”—our neighbors, coworkers, and local community. This requires earnest prayer for them, followed by action rooted in grace, wisdom, and truth. Believers are called to tear down walls, earn trust through consistent love, and live winsomely so others see the reality of Christ.
Tackett confronts the audience with recent grim statistics showing rapid cultural and moral decline, underscoring that the world is not healing itself. Our neighbors—often spiritually lost or deeply hurting—are providentially near us for a purpose: divine encounters through ordinary Christians.
Drawing from King Josiah’s tearful repentance (2 Kings 22–23), Tackett asks, “Will we be broken enough to act?” He shares a personal story of praying for a new neighbor and watching God faithfully open doors through small, kind acts. The session peaks with Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones—God breathing life into lifelessness—reminding believers that His Spirit can revive us to shine as salt and light.
Closing with Romans 8’s assurance of unconquerable love, the final episode of The King’s Order, and a commissioning charge, Tackett hands out “Embassy of the Kingdom of Heaven” plaques. These symbols mark homes as outposts of God’s rule, calling families to radical hospitality and mission.
Tour 9 is a rallying cry: in a fractured age, form a “band of brothers” to engage the lost with prayer, love, and truth. God is faithful—ordinary believers, empowered by grace, can change everything.