Don't Give the Devil a Foothold

As Men of God, we must not give the Enemy (and by Enemy I mean Satan – let’s also declare truth to a culture that denies it – there is a Satan, there is a Hell – all are bound for it unless found righteous through Christ alone) any ground for his tactical plans and schemes.

 

Anytime we lie (either deliberately and brazenly or by not telling the ‘whole’ truth) we accept the sin in our lives and indicate that we want to keep it – confessing to one another, to our wives, and to God practically and emotionally indicates our rejection of that sin and desire to grow and renew our minds daily. There is no tomorrow – each day we are called to live fully and to honor God with that time. Each day is a moral and spiritual battle that we must be victorious in. Thankfully, the Bible tells us that we are more than conquerors already in Christ. The only future day that is guaranteed is the day of Christ’s return and by then…all of those “I’ll do it tomorrow’s” will be a whole lot of empty yesterday’s and it will be too late.

 

I am not calling us to perfection – it is impossible (on this side of the veil at least). What I am calling us to is totally honesty with one another, our families, OURSELVES. If you sin, be not in dismay! You are in good company:

           

            David

            Paul

            ….um every other man in HISTORY except for one…Jesus Christ.

 

Any man that says he is without sin deceives himself. Satan is called the Father of Lies. I am not his child – I am a Child of Truth adopted into the family of God! I am thankful for every man in this group – for your strengths and your weaknesses.

Let’s come together (especially on Wednesday nights from 5:00 through 7:30 in the prayer tower - whenever you can make it!) to lift one another up in our weakness – to exhort each other to good works, to reject the works of Satan, to be persistent in calling out to God to rain revival on our church, city and nation. It’s up to us – who will cast off fear and doubt? Make the first step today – is there any un-confessed sin in your life that Satan is using to shame and guilt you into not realizing your full potential as a man of God or are you still willfully disobedient in any area? Don’t deceive yourself – find the freedom already given to you in Christ. Don’t be lied to by Satan any longer. There may be consequences for your sin and a sour harvest to reap, but Scripture says that you may be stricken but not destroyed – welcome the Refiner’s fire – He purifies that which He seeks to use.

 

Have a blessed day and find Strength in the Lord God!

 

- Nathan C.

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Monday Blog

I spent a portion of the day today at the cemetery visiting the grave of my father.  While I was there, I saw a great number of people coming and going, along with some special military celebrations.  Memorial Day is a great time for us to remember what others have done for us in gifts of sacrifice.  The things we enjoy so freely in this country have been bought with a terrible price; the blood of so may of our brothers, fathers, grandfathers, uncles, and cousins.  As I stood by my Dad's grave thinking of the sacrifices he has made and as I looked around at the others paying honor to their loved ones, I thought about the terrible price Christ paid for us.  Isaiah tells us, "He was wounded for transgressions, bruised for our iniquities . . .by his stripes we are healed."  Christ paid the ultimate price for our eternal freedom.  Because of His work, the death I saw around me in that cemetery today does not  have to be the end.  The poet John Donne wrote:

Death, be not proud, though some have callèd thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which yet thy pictures be,
Much pleasure, then from thee  much more, must low
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones and soul's delivery.
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings and desperate men
And dost with poison, war and sickness dwell,
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then ?
One short sleep past, we wake  eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.
 
On Memorial Day, I remember all the brave men and women who have sacrificed for my freedom, but more importantly, I remember the greater sacrifice that Christ paid so that we may "wake eternally."
 
For His Glory,
Darrell Baty
 
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Thur. For Missions: Guy Muse and Manuel

Guy Muse is an IMB missionary in Ecuador. I love reading Guy's blog because he is neck deep in church planting. He very graciously writes about real struggles and real "Case Studies" about his attempt to be God's catalyst for a church-planting movement in Ecuador. For example, he publicly wrestled with how much to work with another leader who doesn't believe in the security of salvation.

Recently he wrote the story of Manuel. Go read it. Manuel is a follower of Jesus, (photo from Guy's site) not just a Christian. Here's a teaser:

Manuel owns a nice piece of land in Churute. By the carelessness of a neighbor, "Don Carlos", Manuel's land was set on fire. Everything was burned to the ground...including his valued Mango trees. The whole community was prepared for a tense confrontation, and possibly violence due to the indifference Don Carlos had showed towards Manuel's property and his total economic loss.

Manuel was of course quite distraught by what had taken place and was unsure of how to proceed. Get the police involved? Sue the neighbor? Demand restitution? Confront the callous neighbor and give him a good tongue lashing? Before doing anything, Manuel decided to pray for a week seeking God's mind on how he should proceed.

Wednesday is for Encouragement

Men of God,
Psalms 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight , O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

That’s a verse I heard over and over again growing up. It’s funny how many things you hear growing up and never really think about what they mean until later. Some things you can’t grasp until you are older but some things you can understand by just taking a few minutes to think them through. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Just another verse I had heard here and there at church and probably at home while growing up. Never really gave it much time. I can hear that being read in unison by the congregation during a worship service.

Here is a simple story of just looking deeper and asking questions to find the meaning. I had three grandmothers growing up: Mamaw, Mimi and Mabear. Two of those names probably look fairly normal. Let me tell you, you will not find a Hallmark card about Mabear. Those three names were the names of those old ladies in my life that took care of me from time to time and gave me gifts. I knew their real names were Ludie, Maude and Eva but I didn’t question their nicknames. Not until one day when I was in junior high. Maybe I had been to the store to buy a birthday card for my grandmother. Whatever the situation, I asked my dad, “Why do we call your mom Mabear?” My dad smiled and said, “You don’t know that story?” I replied that I didn’t. He then told me a funny story how years before my grandmother used to refer to the grandsons a little bears and on one occasion my aunt drew a birthday card with all the family members being bears. Well then it was obvious, the grandsons were the little bears and she was Ma Bear. I actually felt kind of dumb for not having realized the simple meaning behind the words.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. A verse I’ve read over and again. Not until this Sunday night after the service when I was down at the front of the sanctuary praying for my family and the men of Dallas did the words and meaning unfold like never before. I’m pretty simple in a lot of ways. This is not profound. I’m kneeling there praying and felt lead to read Psalm 19 while I praying so I did.

“Let the words of my mouth” – oh, you mean the words I say at work when I’m joking around, the words I say when I’m so upset at my child that brought home a failing grade, the hurtful words I yell at my the woman I love more than anyone when I lose my temper, but also the words I saw when I’m teaching kids on Sunday morning and the words I say when I pray with my daughter at night? All the words, the good and not.

Okay, those words….keep going. “…and the meditation of my heart” – okay, the things I meditate on while I’m driving to work, the scriptures, the prayers for family, but also the fleeting thoughts that I trap in my mind and ruminate over- sexual thoughts that I have no business dwelling on, thoughts of anger and bitterness, thoughts of resentment and discontent that are not of God.

What’s next? “…be acceptable in Thy sight” – ouch, way too many of those words and thoughts are no where near “acceptable” to our loving, holy God. You can’t control what thoughts jump into your head, but you can control which ones you push right out. Our words and thoughts need to be acceptable to God. The first thing I thought was- that is so hard. It is so difficult to do, to be so diligent to guard my words and thoughts. It wears me out. It is such a struggle some days, and not all days are victorious.

“…O Lord, my rock...” There is the answer for the difficult task – my ROCK. He, He alone, is my rock, my strength. In His strength, I can make those conscious decisions to follow Him. But even so, even when I lean on Him take courage and strength from God above, sometimes I fail.

“…and my redeemer.” And there is the answer for my failings. When I do fail, He is my redeemer. He ransomed my soul from hell. He is my loving Father and Savior.

Psalms 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord my rock and my redeemer. Say those words. Pray those words today. Meditate on those words as you drive home or do tasks that don’t require a lot of brain power. Be encouraged and strengthened. Sometimes the meaning is so clear if you just take the time to look.

Next Sunday night after the service, come join us down front to pray for the Men of God in Dallas to stand up.

Be encouraged and lead.
Philip Buford

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While it is hard to motivate someone with no Vision, it is almost impossible to stop someone with a Vision.

Regarding Prayer

We know that God wants to answer our prayers, but are lacking effectiveness? Look at what 1 Peter 3:7 says on the subject:

Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.

 

Isn’t that interesting? How we treat our wives directly relates to the effectiveness of our praying. That is very convicting (at least to me) – how often have I prayed and prayed for something yet that morning treated my wife in an un-Godly manner? While I do believe God can and sometimes does still honor those prayers – I wish I had hidden this nugget in my heart.

 

A couple of other thoughts on prayer and evangelism from the book Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala:

 

“If we call upon the Lord, he has promised us in His Word to answer, to bring the unsaved to Himself, to pour out His Spirit among us. If we don’t call upon the Lord, he has promised nothing – nothing at all. No matter what (we) preach or claim to believe in our heads, the future will depend upon our times of prayer.”  (Thank you Gary for leading out in this on Wednesday nights)

 

“Consider how many gospel preaching churches there are in the fifty states of America – 200,000 if not more. If each of these churches, on average, brought only two converts to Christ a week – not robbing from other churches down the road, but winning new people for the kingdom of God – that would mean 100 new baptized believers in each church in a year’s time, or 20,000,000 nationwide. The population of the entire United States is about 270,000,000. By merely bringing eight or nine people a month to Christ in each church, America would be dramatically changed within two or three years Can any serious Bible preaching church not take on this modest goal in the name of it’s King? We wouldn’t recognize the culture anymore! Broadway and Hollywood would have to acknowledge the shift in audience preferences. Abortion clinics would wonder where all their customers went. Drug abuse would plummet.”

 

          Matt. 28-19-20

 

That is a lofty goal; but certainly one that God wants to answer. As we prepare for each new day, let us keep the words of 1 Peter 3:7 on our hearts so that we can be efficient prayer warriors.

 

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Staurday October 6th - Washinton DC - Men from all corners of the country coming together to pray. WOW

Men of God,

 

I am overwhelmed by what God is doing.  On Saturday October 6th men from all over the country, from every corner of the land will descend on Washington DC.

 

I felt a call from God months ago to start organizing the men in our church and in our city and to call them to prayer. 

 

Then I felt a call to begin a study on Nehemiah about a man with a vision and a passion to restore Jerusalem and rebuild her walls. (We start June 14th on Thursday mornings at 6:30am in Criswell 5th floor).

 

Then I started getting emails from other men that God had called them to prayer and to study Nehemiah.

 

Then I got an email this morning calling men from around the country to come to Washington DC on Saturday October 6th to pray for our land.  AND on their website (http://www.ministryplanet.net/sites/sitg2007/storypage) they talk about

"The inspiration for the experience waiting for men at Stand in the Gap 2007 is taken from the biblical account of Nehemiah, who received a report from his brothers regarding his homeland – the city of Jerusalem. The report summary was that "the walls are broken down, the gates are burned with fire and the people are in great trouble and disgrace" (Nehemiah 1:3). He wept, fasted, and prayed. Then God empowered him to restore the Honor of His Name by rebuilding the walls that surrounded the city."

 

This is God, men.  This is God working and it is amazing and awe inspiring to be involved in it and see it.  WOW.

 

Plan now on going to DC on Sat Oct 6th.  We can caravan, charter buses, whatever it takes.

 

Here is the challenge.  Bring a friend, bring your dad, bring your sons, grandsons, and mentors.  Bring as many people as you can and email me to let me know you want to be a part of this.

 

And join us on Wed to pray at 5pm downtown. 

 

Gary Kendall

 

Standing in Your Place

Standing in Your Place

Very often in life the odds seem overwhelming. Obstacles seem too big and the means we have seem so meager. This creates a real challenge when it comes to facing each day with confidence and zeal. It is not uncommon for us to feel defeated before we start. We even begin to wonder why we should even bother. It was no different for a farmer long ago.

The farmer's name was Gideon. He was threshing wheat in a wine press, a job normally done on top of a hill so the wind could be used. Gideon was hiding in the wine press due to fear of the Midianites, a people so violent they would storm into Israel and steal or destroy everything in sight. Israel had lost all hope. It was here in the wine press that God called Gideon.

Most of you know how the story goes. God cut Gideon's army down from thousands to 300 faithful men. The Bible tells us in Judges 7:16 that these 300 were divided into three groups and armed only with pitchers, torches, and horns.

Judges 7:19, 20 continues that Gideon and his 100 men stood in one place and the other two groups in their place. When the time came, they blew the trumpets, smashed the pitchers, and waved the torches. The Midianites turned their swords upon each other and victory was won for Israel.

Are you standing in the place God has for you? Each of us has a purpose and reason for being here. To what purpose has God called you?

On the past two Wednesday evenings, we have had prayer time in the Prayer Tower at First Baptist Dallas. The first night, their were 5 men. The second night, there were 7. Seems like overwhelming odds when we prayed for 1,000 men to hear the Gospel on September 8. Seems really overwhelming when we prayed for $5,000 to fund the event. Seems impossible when we prayed for God to give us the city of Dallas. But we stood in our place. I hope you will come stand with us this Wednesday night at 5:00 PM. I want to see a small army stand in their places and bring a city to its knees.

For His Glory,
Darrell Baty

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Darrell Baty

Friday is for Vision - Guess what God is doing? Come and see.

Men of God,

 

What is the Vision?  Guess what God is doing?

 

Last week on Wed night at 5pm, 5 men met to pray with each other, for each other, and over each other.  We prayed for our church, our wives and our families.  We prayed for the other men in our church and in our city.  We asked God to send more men.  We prayed for an hour and God moved.

 

This week on Wed night at 5pm, 7 men met to pray with each other, for each other, and over each other.  We prayed for our church, our wives and our families.  We prayed for the other men in our church and in our city.  We asked God to send more men.  We prayed for an hour and God moved.

 

Next week on Wed night at 5pm, more men will meet to pray with each other, for each other, and over each other.  We will pray for our church, our wives and our families.  We will pray for the other men in our church and in our city.  We will ask God to send more men.  We will pray for an hour and watch God move.

 

It starts as one drop, then several drops, then a light drizzle, then a heavy downpour, and finally a torrent.  

 

It starts as one man praying, then a hand full of men coming together to pray, then  a church of men praying becomes a city of men praying and soon a torrent of men praying.

 

I have a Vision to see 1000 men praying and worshipping at Centerstage on Sep 8th from 6-9pm. 

 

What is God doing?  Come and see.  Be part of the downpour.

 

When Nehemiah had a Vision to rebuild the walls around Jerusalum he was a thousand miles away working as a slave in another realm.  What could he possibly do?  Yet God prepared the way and made him cupbearer to the most powerful man of that time.  He had the ear of the king, not just any king, but the king who controlled Jerusalem and most of the known world.   

 

He planned, he prayed, he waited.  Then when opportunity came he was ready.  The king asked him what he wanted and he had a list prepared...Make me govennor of Judah, give me a letter of safe passage, a letter of credit to the keeper of the king's private forest (Persian Home Depot) and give me leave to go home.  And guess what, the king did all that and sent troops with him to make sure he got there safely.

 

Maybe God has given you a Vision.  Maybe you think Nehemiah was lucky that it all worked out that way.  Nehemiah was not lucky, he was ready. 

 

Are you ready?  Plan, Prepare, Pray.  When the time is right, God will open the doors.  Be ready.

 

What is God doing?  Come and see.  Be part of the downpour.

 

When God Reigns, God Rains!

 

Gary Kendall

gkendall@kendallsystems.com

 

"While it is hard to motivate someone with no Vision, it is almost impossible to stop someone with a Vision" - gary kendall

 

 

http://firstdallasmen.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thur. is for Missions: Why Go on a short-term Mission Trip?

Because of Larry.

On my first e3 trip, I met Larry. We met in the Miami airport where we boarded a plane at about 11 p.m. and flew all night to Santa Cruz, Bolivia. From there we drove a short distance to the town of Montero. The next morning after a short rest, we gathered as a team in the restaurant of the hotel. We went around and introduced ourselves. I'll never forget what Larry said., "I have don't know why I'm here. I don't 'do' evangelism." I recall thinking, "boy did you pick the wrong trip."

The whole point of the trip was to start a new church, and to start the church the team would share the gospel in the neighborhood surrounding the home of the church plant. Larry would be sharing the gospel all day for several days. Larry's brother-in-law is a pastor, who also was on the trip. I suspect Larry's arm got a little twisted to come.

We broke into teams of four and went to various neighborhoods or villages to begin the work. I heard that Larry's hands and arms were literally shaking the first time he shared the good news of Christ through his interpreter. Then something amazing happenend--of course, right?

God placed Larry in a recovering addicts men's group in a small town in Bolivia. Larry's heart exploded, and he went from the guy who "didn't do evangelism," to the guy who couldn't stop talking about what the Lord was doing through him; to the guy who left Bolivia with only the clothes on his back because he gave everything he brought away; to the guy who convinced all the men on the trip to give their clothes away as well.

Six months later I returned, unannounced, to Montero. Multiple people came up to me and asked me when Larry was returning.

His impact was huge. It will span generations. And, yet, it was not, and is not, about him at all.
That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Cor. 12:10)

Go therefore and make disciples. (Matt. 28:19)

Go, be weak so He can be strong through you.

Go on a short-term mission trip.

Blog post

A man of God looking forward to heaven.  Are you sure?

 

Are you a man of God? Do you strive to be a man that honors God?  Do you look forward to spending eternity in a sinless, holy place?  Of course you do, we all do.  Really?  Are you sure?  Why would you want to spend forever without your favorite vices, without those things that you just can’t or won’t do without?  Without that ...... fill in the blank.  We are admonished in Hebrews 12:1  "lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us." 

 

The verse didn't say the sin that really has to work hard to trick us, setting us up with an elaborate trap.  No.  It said the sin which "so easily entangles us."  Ever played with a Slinky and got it all tangled or cast a rod and reel and got it all jacked up or been flying a kite, let the kite yank too hard from your hand the and roll of string goes skittering across the grass and gets all messed up?  Those things are all easy to do.  In fact you have to be careful to NOT let it happen.  Sin is easy.  Sin is normal.  Sin is natural. 

 

Laying aside that encumbrance – that willful behavior, action, thought that directly opposes God’s will- is what we must do.  I think part of the laying aside process ties in with the concept from Psalm 1:1 "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers."  Guys, don’t make yourself so available to sin.  Sinful ideas, desires, choices are going to find you.  Don’t make it so easy.  Remember sin is the natural mode of our bodies.  Seeking God is not natural but it is what we are called to do.  

 

There are many ideas wound in this that I want to discuss some more.

Take care, be encouraged and lead,

Philip

Advice Useful for a Spiritual Life

Good morning men,

 

My wife and I watched a movie on Martin Luther Sunday evening. It was shocking to see how corrupt the ‘church’ was at that time and the difference one man made, simply by living a life devoted to Scripture and loving others as Christ. I have a book on my desk that I honestly do not read as often as I should – but it was written by another man whose voice has reached across the centuries – simply because he pursued “Imitation of Christ”  

 

From Thomas á Kempis:

“He who follows Me walks not in darkness” These are the words by which we are told that we should imitate His life and manners. “Vanity of vanities…all is vanity” except to love God and serve Him only. This is the highest wisdom – to disdain the world and hurry toward the kingdom of heaven. Think often about the proverb, “The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.” Make an effort therefore to remove your heart from the love of visible things, and to turn yourself to those things that are invisible.

 

Truly, at the day of judgment, we will not be examined for what we have read, but for what we have done; not for how well we have spoken, but for how virtuously we have lived. Oh that our lives would be in keeping with our knowledge – then studying and reading would have been worthwhile.”

 

P.S. – the church library will have the Luther movie as soon as I return it J

 

One final note –

http://www.seegodworking.com/

 

One of my brothers-in-law (I have four of them!) set up this website. The idea came from the old quote “you can’t see the wind, but you can see it at work”.

 

God bless you all and may we be diligent in His service,

Nathan Campbell

 

 

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Friday is for Vision

Friday is for Vision

 

Good morning men,

 

Vision is what you have that brings life and excitement to the ordinary things we do and allows us to press on when things are tough.  Suppose your job is to fill bags with dirt. That's boring and after a short time you get discouraged and start looking at your clock wondering when your shift will be over.

 

Now what if you are filling bags with dirt to build a levy to save a town, now you have a Vision.  It changes everything.  When you know why you are filling the bags you can do it all night and long past when you are too tired to continue because you have a VISION of saving the town.

 

People without Vision say it can't be done, but people with Vision already see the completed project in their minds.  They sweep aside the obstacles and press ahead because they have a Vision, and the SEE where they are going and they SEE the finish line.

 

It is hard to motivate a man with no Vision and it is almost impossible to stop a man with a Vision.

 

What is the vision you have in your life today?  Get a Vision then get a Passion for your Vision and run with it.

 

Without a Vision, my people perish.

 

Read more in Andy Stanley's book Visioneering.

 

I have a Vision to see 1000 men come together downtown in worship and prayer on Saturday September 8^th from 6-9pm.  I want to see men praying with each other, for each other, and over each other.  I want to see men come together to encourage, support and lift each other up. 

 

Sometimes in life it is tough, and we feel alone and we wonder how much longer we can make it in this marriage, this job, this life.  But, I bring GOOD NEWS, "Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest". 

 

Maybe I cannot carry your burden, but I can carry you.  I can encourage you.  I can let you lean on me while you catch your breath.  I can cry with you, and fight by your side.  That is what men should be doing for each other in the body of Christ and that is the Vision that God has given me.

 

It's time for the men to rise up and be men.  It is time for men to become the spiritual leaders in our homes.  It is time for men to step up and step out.  Lets roll men.

 

If you believe in this vision then do 3 things:

• Pass this email on to 5 other men you know and 3 of them should be from outside the church.  Get them signed up on the email list (To subscribe to the list, send a message to: menofgod-subscribe@kendallsystems.com)
• Come join us downtown at 5pm this coming Wednesday evening to pray for God to pour out his spirit on us and bring 2 other men with you when you come.  If we bring 2 more men every week we meet then eventually there won't be room to hold us all.
• Volunteer to help put this thing together, get  involved, get out of the trench and start moving forward.

 

I have a Vision.  There is a movement of God among the men of God.  Now is the time, here is the place, now lead, follow or get out of the way. 

 

Lets gather 1000 Men of God together.  Get onboard, catch the Vision.

 

Blessings,

Gary Kendall

 

http://firstdallasmen.blogspot.com/

Thursday is for Missions

[Ed. Note - Mike will write a missions-oriented "challenge" post on Thursdays when he's not here.]

How does one live incarnationally?

What the heck does that even mean?

Awhile back, I read Alan Hirsch and Michael Frost's book, The Shaping of Things to Come. A key point they flesh out is difference between an attractional church and a missional church. A basic difference, according to Hirsch, is that an attractional church has a "come to us" mentality, and a missional church has a "we are sent" into our communities mentality. Read an elaboration of this on Hirsch's blog here.

So, you're a layperson. You're at an attractional-modeled church, yet your heart is missional. In the words of Francis Schaeffer, "How Should We Then Live?" The answer is incarnationally.

Dwight Friesen articulates this well below:

At this time I find myself preferring the language of incarnational living instead of missional living. The language of incarnational living more meaningfully emphasizes embodying Christ in every situation and cultural context. The celebration of Christmas is the celebration of God with humanity—it is the Incarnation, Emmanuel, God with us. Fully God and fully human, Jesus by his very life and presence was mission.

Incarnational living more meaningfully marries mission with the wholeness of life. Incarnational living places the mystery of life with Christ at the center of each follower’s life and each faith community’s life together.

Incarnational living invites all Christ-followers to flesh out their uniqueness, encouraging the totality of their being to reflect or embody Christ. When people and their respective communities see their “being” as inevitably making the invisible Christ visible through their lives, then every interaction, every act, every moment of stillness becomes a Christ moment. This explodes the singularity of mission; now life becomes mission in a holistic sense. Mission is inevitable when Christ is incarnated, but without incarnation mission looks a lot like busy religiosity.

When Christ is incarnated through you and me, we will be looking for ways to empty ourselves in the service of the Father by serving others as the Holy Spirit guides us. We become active participants in a divine dance through which all of creation is being reconciled to Christ. This is a dynamic faith process that will always find unique expression through each follower of Christ and each cluster of Christ-followers—so much so that one person incarnating Christ out of his or her uniqueness may appear to be in direct conflict with another person incarnating Christ out of his or her uniqueness. But fear not, God is big enough to handle such occasional differences.

Of course there is not a genuine dichotomy between missional living and incarnational living. Mission is always lived out of our being, and incarnational living always results in doing. Every person (Christ-follower or not) and every organization is missional, and the more purpose-driven in the execution of their mission, the more they are viewed as successful, because the results are often more clearly measurable. There is nothing uniquely Christian about being missional. Christ-followers may espouse a mission that serves God and others, but we are not alone in such selfless service nor are we entirely selfless. What does set Christian mission apart is that Christ is lifted high. God is made visible. What makes mission Christian is that Christ is incarnated.

Questions to Ponder

• Consider the example of the new neighbors who sponsored the “Evening of Light.” What is the difference between you deciding what someone else needs and engaging with how that person has already sought to meet that need? (click link below for this reference)
  
• How do the concepts of living missionally or incarnationally relate to the concepts of faith and works?
• In what ways do you live incarnationally? How does that result in mission?
• How would you describe the dance between faith and works?

Read the whole thing here.

Accountability Questions

Thanks to all for an awesome weekend! This is a list of accountability questions I’ve used in the past to help provide structure to accountability meetings. If you don’t use these exact questions, I encourage your to use something to keep your accountability meetings on track and purposeful.
Questions:
1) Have you spent daily time in the scriptures and in prayer?
2) Have you had any flirtatious or lustful attitudes, tempting thoughts or exposed yourself to any explicit materials which would not glorify God?
3) Are you consistently giving financially to the Lord's work?
4) Have you spent quality relationship time with your wife?
5) Have you done your 100% best at work?
6) Have you told any half truths or outright lies putting yourself in a better light to those around you?
7) Have you shared the Gospel or expressed your faith with an unbeliever?
8) Have you taken care of your body through daily physically exercise and proper eating/sleeping habits?
9) Have you allowed any person or circumstance to rob you of your joy?
10) Have you lied to us on any of your answers today?

Collin Poage

A Call to Arms! - Men at Worship

Men,

I need your help. I feel like God has laid it on my heart to put together a men's worship event. Saturday Sep 8th from 6-9 in CenterStage. Think mini-Promise Keepers on steroids. 3 hours with great upbeat worship music, time for prayer with and over each other and intermixed in the event will be short video clips from movies or testimonies from men about what God is doing in their lives.

I feel like the men in our church and in our city need to have a time and a place that we can gather, have some encouraging, upbeat genuine worship music, share openly with each other, encourage each other, pray over and for each other and be encouraged in our lives.

If you can help
plan the event,
have a testimony you want to share (we will be taping them in advance),
or can help in any other way, I welcome it.
It is going to cost about $5000 to rent the space, hire the bands andpay for things and this is not coming from the church budget so I am trusting God to provide. God will take care of money we just need to "prepare for rain".

Please let me know if you can help with any of the planning, organizing or testimonies.

IN PARTICULAR, I want us to start meeting at the church or somewhere else every 2 weeks for 30 minutes to an hour to pray for this event and to pray for the men both in our church and in our city. If you want to be involved in this, please let me know.

"2 farmers prayed for rain but only one went out and prepared his fields to receive it, which farmer are you?" Facing the Giants.

When
GOD REIGNS
then
GOD RAINS
blessings.

Blessings,

Gary Kendallhttp://us.f835.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=Gary@magellanpools.com

Men's Spring Retreat, May 4-6, 2007

The men's retreat for 2007 was a huge success. There were about 30 guys that assembled at the Borden Hamman Agency on Friday night and drove to Broken Bow, Oklahoma in a large caravan. Once in the cabin, we all enjoyed some great fellowship and time geting to know each other. The next morning after breakfast, we headed out to the river. Although some water-level issues kept us from canoing the usual nine mile stretch, we were able to cover the last five miles. When we ran across several Boy Scouts who were having trouble in some spots, our guys really stepped up and loaded their canoes with kids and brought them along for the rest of the ride. This witness was noted by one scout who commented, "I'm really glad there are people like you and your friends out here." That night after a terrrific dinner, the men spent some time "getting real" with each other by sharing, praying, and lifting one another up. God's presence was truly felt in the middle of 30 men who humbled themselves and lifted up His name. After another night's sleep (or lack of sleep in a few cases) we had breakfast, another time of sharing anf fellowship, and a Bible lesson on finding God at different places in our lives. After a quick clean-up, we were all back on the road to head for home.

In Christ,

Darrell Baty