Why I Am Passionate About Ministry to Men

Last weekend I had the privilege of speaking to nearly 700 men as a part of the speaking team at the Iron Sharpens Iron conference in Rockford, IL. Roy Abbott and his team at Focal Point Ministries did a tremendous job of sponsoring/hosting this event.

For me to speak at this event, I spent a few hours on the road to and from the airport in Denver. I spent time in the airport waiting for flights or to get my bags. I spent nearly a total of three hours on a bus between Chicago and Rockford. It was not just me, by the way--many of the speakers/workshop leaders did the same thing. Here is the point. Lots of hours invested in this by many many men so that we could come together and build ourselves as well as other men. My close friends and brothers, Ray Morgan, Ken Larson, Dan Erickson and Sam Mehaffie had similar travel schedules to be there and invest in men.

So Why???

Here is a glimpse of my last four days from just one small perspective.

1. FRIDAY AFTERNOON: The young lady at the Information Desk was divorced because her husband had left her for another woman. As a note, he was divorcing that person now and had called her to see if this young lady would take him back. The young lady said that men these days are just weak and looking for a "Sugar Mama" to take care of them.

2. FRIDAY NIGHT: Our server was a great young lady. She was raising two children, ages 2 and 5 on her own. We prayed with her.

3. SUNDAY AFTERNOON: Our server when asked if we could pray for her, asked for prayer for her "ex" boyfriend. She said that he just needed help being a man and finding himself.

4. MONDAY LUNCH: My wife and I had lunch together and asked our server if we could pray for her. Without any hesitation she said yes and when asked if there is anything specific, she asked if we would pray for her family. She shared that her father had left her family about four years ago and they were still struggling, especially her two little brothers.

Here is my take on this-- we need stronger men. Ladies of all ages deserve much better than they are getting. Is this an indictment on all men in the land. Absolutely not!! I am meeting with guys across the land who are working hard to be the men God created us to be.

I am suggesting that there is still a great deal of work to be done.

So why do I do what I do and why does my bride of nearly 32 years support me beyond anything that would seem reasonable to others?? We have three of the most amazing Granddaughters (and who knows how many more in the future). They are being raised to be strong Godly ladies. I am working to see if we cannot help to raise some strong Godly men who will raise their sons or grandsons to be the kind of Godly men my granddaughters deserve.

Our families, churches, communities and our nation all need and deserve strong Godly Men.

That is why I am passionate about ministry to men and why I am heading to Springfield, IL this weekend.

Taking Ownership of the Promises

When you try to read from a daily devotion, naturally there are are some that grab you more than others. For several years I have used the same devotion, Thoughts From the Diary of A Desperate Man. Prior to that, I used My Utmost for His Highest for several years.

This year I changed to Streams in the Desert, by L. B. Cowman. It was first published in 1925 and the author is really Mrs. Charles E. Cowman. I imagine in 1925 it was hard for a women to be taken serious many areas and she found greater receptivity as simply L. B. Cowman. I, for one, am very grateful that she had the courage to be obedient to what God had clearly placed on her heart.

In one of her devotions several weeks ago, she stated that when Joshua led God's people into the land of their inheritance, He gave them the boundaries of the land and also promised that where ever they placed their feet would be theirs. Unfortunately, they only occupied--took ownership of one-third of the land God laid out for them. Unbelievable.

My first thought upon being reminded of this was that

the Israelis are now and have been for many years

fighting on and for the land they did not occupy.

Since they did occupy what God had given them,

the enemy took possession of what

rightfully belonged to God's children.

I believe that God's promises are like his land. We have to take possession or ownership of them. Far too many people (me included) have spoken of the promises of God that he has given us but we have not taken possession of them and owned them.

As I thought about this, I wondered how many of us believe the promises but feel unworthy to receive them. As a result, we try to earn them or wait until we feel that we are worthy of such promises.

I now wonder how many of my promises are being occupied by the enemy because I did not take possession of them. So here is my decision. When God makes me a promise, I am going to claim it at that very moment. I refuse to give the enemy ownership of my promises.

How about you??

Dreaming By Day

When I spoke at Lino Lakes, one of the things that God impressed on my heart to share with the men was how important it is to dream.

In the poem “Eleonora,” Edgar Allan Poe writes, “Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.”

Here is my translation….. There are many who dream by night, but beware of those who dream by day for they are the dangerous ones who will change the world.

Do not confuse the issue of “daydreaming” with the ability and gift to dream by day. I find it exhilarating to dream by day when I know that the dreams are of God. One of the great things about real dreams is that I cannot do it without God. There are many things in life that we plan which in reality we can do without God--not that I want to do anything without Him. We have to remember that if our plans are totally achievable on our own, we have written God out of the equation. Every man needs to dream and dream of things that cannot be accomplished without God. When we are willing to risk dreaming those types of dreams, we are forced to keep God in everything.

In a devotion entitled, Streams in the Desert, L.B. Coleman told a great story. “The Marquis of Salisbury, an English statesman and diplomat, upon being criticized for his colonial policies, replied, ‘Gentlemen, get larger maps’.”

When we dream by day, it forces us to get bigger maps….. God-sized maps.

Now that is real dreaming! That is when men become truly dangerous--but dangerous in the right way for the right reasons.

Acts 2:17‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, And your young men shall see visions, And your old men shall dream dreams; [1]



[1]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Ac 2:17). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.