Mutual growth
Friends can bring out one another's best qualities through honest feedback, encouragement, and accountability.
The Inklings fellowship
Men making
each other better.
Inklings brings men together in a casual setting to invest time in one another and navigate life and work together.
As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.Proverbs 27:17
Watch & reflect
The heart of Inklings.
True friendship and healthy relationships refine our character, thinking, and faith.
Marc Pierce on Inklings
Friendship, conversation, and growing together.
A shared spirit
Inspired by the
original Inklings.
The original Inklings were a group of Oxford-associated professors and authors, including C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, who gathered weekly at a local pub to discuss, critique, and explore one another's work with the goal of improvement.
In the same spirit, the modern Inklings exists to bring men together in a casual setting to invest time in one another and navigate life, both personal and professional, together.
Read our story
“We were no mutual admiration society: praise for good work was unstinted, but censure for bad work — or even not-so-good work — was often brutally frank.”
Warren Lewis
Constructive challenge
Growth often happens through friction — respectful disagreement, truth-telling, and correction help us mature.
Accountability & encouragement
A good friend helps us stay on the right path, just as sharpening keeps a blade useful and precise.
Spiritual application
In a Christian sense, believers “sharpen” one another through shared faith, prayer, and helping one another live according to godly principles.
Between gatherings
The Inklings application.
Groups are provided with free access to the Inklings application — explore a rich set of meeting questions, manage meetings, take notes, find resources, set actions, see reminders, and much more.
Intentionally simple
The Inklings format.
Create a group
The invitation process can take many forms. Generally, the first few men who decide to create an Inklings group determine whom to invite.
Leaders
Leaders should be men who are open to being vulnerable and willing to guide initial conversations beyond surface-level topics.
Location
A public location or a member's private residence — a place to gather and share resources and ideas.
Reasonable time
Meet in the late afternoon, concluding in time for participants to join their spouses and families for dinner.
A thought-provoking question
A thought-provoking question — known in Inklings as the Compass Question — selected from the Inklings question library.
Annual retreat
Once a year, gather for a daylong or weekend retreat, often including spouses.
Why we gather
The Inklings purpose.
Inklings is a fellowship for men, dedicated to personal and spiritual growth through honest conversation, scriptural reflection, and mutual encouragement. Inspired by the legacy of the Inklings of Oxford, our members journey together, tackling life's toughest questions and challenging one another to examine their faith journey.
For further reading
Latest resources
and Inklings news.
Men of Grit
Making the Most Gains from Fellowship with Strong Men
Not all men make significant gains from fellowship with other strong men. To take full advantage of these relationships and really sharpen one another, certain conditions are required.
Read more
State of American Men
Men in the United States are in trouble.
Many feel that their futures are uncertain and their identities are threatened. This situation is especially acute now, but this anxiety has always been built into boyhood and manhood.
Read more
The Trumpet
Men in the United States are in trouble.
Men are in trouble. America has failed its young men, and now its young men are failing in body, mind, and spirit.
Read moreGet in touch
Want to start
an Inklings group?
Inklings is currently invitation-only. We would be happy to discuss your interest in starting an Inklings group.
Get in touch with us using the form.