The first annual Grace Adventures
Men’s Retreat launched the weekend of September 26th with 53 men in
attendance. The vast majority of this Band of Brothers had never been on a
retreat before. The teaching time pushed back on what culture analyst Skye
Jethani calls the “Gospel of Consumer Christianity.” This is the upside down
insidious false gospel that man is the center of everything and it is God’s job
to orbit around us as a divine butler or a cosmic therapist. Self-indulgence is
a predominant attitude in our land and it increasingly threatens our church
culture. We approach God not for who He is but for what we can get from Him. As
one person said, “Jesus has become our Duct-Tape WD-40 Combo Packet” who exists
to fix everything. Sad isn’t it? The truth is, we are all tempted by
consumerism.
“We are fiercely committed to making life work on
our own berms, but the Father has rigged the world so it won’t work without
Him.” ~John Eldridge
I focused my teaching so that the
men could understand whose we are and who we are: the Character of God and our
Identity in Christ. I prayed God would wreck our comfortable forms of faith and
interrupt our lives. I am sick of malnourished men being suffocated by manmade
Christianity and ending up thirsty for the real God. May men come to Jesus and
hear Him say afresh, “Follow me.”
“What we do in life echoes in
eternity.” ~General Maximus
Later in
the weekend we learned a lot from special talks from Dr. Fred Miller and Dr.
Shannon Allison. Fred observed that most of us expect life (if it could be
graphed out) to be up and to the right...especially if you work hard and honor
God. However, reality is… life as a line is a curved line of ups and
downs/peaks and valleys. He drew a straight line through the curved line that
represented God as our constant. God can be counted upon no matter what. I'm
stealing that from him and using it. Shannon taught us that fear and discomfort
should not keep us from the will of God...in fact sometimes when we sense those
things we need to step intentionally in those directions and get out of our
comfort zones. Wow. Great stuff. Now to
live it.
“What
comes into our minds
when we think about God
is the most
important thing about us.” ~Tozer
Prayer
1. On the morning of October 7th
I will be chairing a community event entitled “Leadership Revisited 2014:
Unlocking the Keys to High Incarceration Rates in St. Tammany Parish.” We have
a great group of community leaders speaking and expect about 140 leaders to
attend. Please pray for this event.
2. Election time yields a lot of
opportunities to speak to elected leaders and those running for office. Pray
for those who choose to run and serve. Pray for leader’s families and the work
of Jesus in their lives.
3. I am spear-heading a monthly
North Shore Leader Forum comprised of key elected leaders. It will be launching
next month. Pray for wisdom and favor.
4. Keep praying for Jonathan as
he works Monday-Thursday in Chicago for three months. Pray for Patricia as
well.
5. My dad just got out of the
hospital and is recuperating at home.
“Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like
men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” ~1 Corinthians 16:13-14
Betting the
Farm on God,
Michael
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