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Dear
Kapp and Linda,
A
couple of years ago, we had the opportunity of working with a group of
men with the topic of "building relationships with other Godly
men." We spoke from the life of Ezra on the importance of
connecting with other Christian men and holding each other
accountable. Late in the retreat a man got up and described, what
was to him, a painful experience. He recounted the many times he
felt ignored and shut-out by the other men in his church. Even
after attending multiple retreats and small groups, he still felt
disconnected. This experience left him angry and frustrated.
After he shared his story, and left the room, there was not a man present
who wasn't convicted in one way or another. God did a mighty
work in the hearts of men that weekend.
One
of our board members experienced a similar passion for men after
attending a Promise Keeper rally about 10 years ago. Listen to his
story:
"Back in
the mid 90’s, Promise Keepers made a decision for the first time to
come to the east coast with one of their men’s stadium events. It was held at RFK Stadium in Washington D.C. Our church filled a bus with men
and made the two hour trip to DC.
One of
the speakers at that event was Dr. Tony Evans. I do not know if the words were
original to him or if he was repeating what he had learned. His statement went something like
this. “When God gets a
hold of the heart of a man, that man will change. When that man changes, that
man’s wife will change.
When that man and wife have changed, that family will change. When that family changes the local
church will change. When the
local church changes, the community around it will change. When the community changes the
world has the potential to be different. So you see,
if we want to have an effect on a changed world, you better start with
awakening the heart of a man to God.”
The impact and power
of that message has stayed with me for the last 12 years. It was through that event in DC
that year that God confirmed to me the stirring in my own heart that had
begun months before was the birth pangs of a passion for men’s
ministry. I absolutely love
to see a man come alive in Christ when, for the first time, he sees
himself as God sees him. I
get excited when I hear a man pray to his heavenly Father, not out of
duty or obligation, but out of a brand new knowledge of his relationship
with God. I am thrilled when
a man moves from doing “daily devotions” to realizing the
study of the Word of God is an absolute adventure.
I know that for myself
my greatest spiritual growth, apart from my wife who knows me the best,
has come from my relationships with other men of God. Life is hard. You must surround yourself with as
many Godly relationships as possible in order to navigate through those
difficult times and seasons that we all go through. I believe that strong Godly
relationships between men are one of those foundational necessities that
God uses to grow us individually into more of a “likeness of Christ”."
Reaching the hearts of
men is not easy, but it is necessary if we want to impact our
families and communities. Thank you for that vivid reminder.
God Bless you.
Celebrating Families,
____________________________________________________________________
If you
found this information helpful, we have made other Pebbles of Truth articles
available. Each month we feature articles on the topics of: men's issues,
marriage, blended families, parenting, and church ministry to families.
You will also find a great deal more information about House on the
Rock Family Ministries! Thanks for visiting.
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feel free to forward this to friends and family … we just ask that
you keep it intact … thanks
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