By Bruce Badger Editor’s note: This article is condensed from the author’s fourth-day talk presented at a secuela during the International Secretariat’s meeting in Sugar Land, TX, March 10, 2018. As a trial lawyer with 48 years of experience, and as a professional letter and contract scrivener, and as an advocate, writing and giving this talk is like writing and giving a closing argument to a jury. You are the jury. And my closing argument to you is a question: How well is your community living its fourth day? Wherever your location, the experiences you bring to your local community from weekends, secretariat meetings, Essentials training, and secuelas must be maintained during your community’s fourth day. In essence, that means you must be intentional in encouraging your community to be more than just a great weekend community. Let me repeat: You must be intentional in encouraging your community to be more than just a great weekend community. This requires following the essentials of all three phases of the Tres Dias Method, the pre-weekend phase, a weekend phase, and a fourth-day phase. Be honest in your examination. Is your community following good sponsorship, as established by the Essentials? Is your community following the Essentials of the weekend? Is your community really a fourth-day community, with members who are growing in piety, study, and action, and are they serving the Lord in their local churches? Remember, the mission of Tres Dias is to train Christian servant leaders for the local Church. Until the members of your community become servants they cannot become effective leaders in the kingdom of God. Until the members of your community truly practice and live a life of piety, study, and action, they cannot become effective leaders in the kingdom of God. The purpose of the three phases of Tres Dias is to provide a practical model of Christian servanthood so that your members can go back to their families and their local Church and practice it. Being a servant does not come naturally; it has to be taught and practiced. Tres Dias is a wonderful tool of God. Tres Dias is not a Church, nor is Tres Dias a Secret Society. Not a Church. Please train your local members to pledge that they will NOT try and convince their pastors or church leadership that “things have got to change around here” or “we really need to have our men’s and women’s retreats just like Tres Dias.” Don’t do it! Tres Dias is part of “the Church.” However, teach your members that being active in Tres Dias is not a substitute for active participation at their local Churches. Not a secret society. Encourage your local members not to act like “you haven’t arrived unless you’ve attended Tres Dias.” Don’t be that guy or gal who acts like he or she has arrived, and others haven’t. Encourage your local members not to give “holy hugs” just to Tres Dias people at their Church. (This is a tough one for me. God forgive me!) Encourage your local members not to tell people they “need” to attend Tres Dias. No one needs Tres Dias. Train them to tell potential candidates that they deserve a Tres Dias weekend and let them receive it as a special gift. Encourage your local members not to be secretive. Encourage them not to tell candidates anything is a secret. You might tell them that it is a surprise gift from you to them, and don’t mess with Santa Claus. Encourage your members not to tell people what Tres Dias did for them. Tres Dias doesn’t change anyone, Jesus Christ does. Referring to Tres Dias as something that changes people sounds cult-like. There is enough opposition to Tres Dias from the Enemy and the unknowing. We don’t need self-inflicted wounds. Your community’s future will be determined by what you allow God to do in you and your fellow pescadores during the fourth day. Let the jury’s deliberations begin. Bruce Badger is president of Grace Gulf Coast Tres Dias.