Body-Building Men
Last weekend, the 6th & 7th, I presented my Knight’s Code conference at First Baptist, High Springs, Florida. 85 men gathered, ages ranging from 15 to 80. The most diverse group of men I have seen thus far, from lawyers to laborers, from rookies to retired. A great mix of men.
After an hour of teaching principles on personal purity and an hour on becoming a man of truth on Friday night, the only men who didn’t return on Saturday morning were the 4 or 5 who had to work and we added a few guys who couldn’t make it the night before. So, in effect, the crowd grew. By 11:30 that morning when we closed out, at least 10 men had committed to lead a small group and 20+ men had committed to join a group.
I want to commend all those men for carving out time in busy schedules, for being sponges through all that teaching, being so attentive and engaged, and then for committing to walk out a life focused on their own spiritual growth, as well as that of their brothers.
I also want to commend Derek Lambert, the lead pastor, Skipper Rodgers, the Pastor of Spiritual Development, and Bob McMillan, the lay men’s ministry leader there for having the courage and foresight to empower and encourage men to be all God wants them to be. In a day when the local church puts little to no resources into men in their own folds, these leaders decided to change the paradigm and start building and supporting the men on their watch. Which, in turn, supports those families as well.
Every time I teach my conference, I have multiple men come up to me and say, “I wish I could have heard these teachings 20 years ago, before I … (fill in the blank). But then they say, “But I’m so glad our church supports this now and wants to help us grow and change.”
While having a challenging men’s event is a great thing, the real fruit occurs after I leave; when the men who commit to be in a small group for spiritual growth and moral protection start getting together. That’s where the real gold is. Not so much in a men’s event, but in men engaging into each other’s lives to become like Jesus.
March 6 & 7, I’ll be in Burleson, Texas, outside Fort Worth, and then April 24 & 25 in Greenville, SC. It is an honor and a privilege to stand before men and remind them of an eternal truth, very much alive today, that regardless of our issues and how deep they may be …
“With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” —Mark 10:27