March 2006 C&MA Men’s E-Newsletter

Impact
A man testified that the Lord used a serious work injury to turn his life around. In spite of continuing pain during the two-year recovery process, he readily acknowledged a peace he had not known before and a changed life style. 

A man is praising God for continued employment in a dynamic work environment. He was transferred to a new project when contract funding was reduced. Before he could begin the new project, he was moved to a third short-term project. With in a few weeks the first team disbanded and the customer stopped the second project. The customer for the third project expanded the work and continued funding it for two years. God met a need he did not know he had.

What is God doing in your life? Send your testimonies to editor@cmamen.org.

Pray for Men's Ministry on Thursdays

News
C&MA Men’s Ministry National Coordinators met January 27, 2006 in Orlando , FL. The following business was conducted:

• Agreed upon three projects for 2006:

  • Leadership Training (Blueprint). Authorized production of a DVD containing a Blueprint leadership training seminar.
  • Alliance Construction Team (ACT). Appointed a team to evaluate whether C&MA Men should assume oversight of ACT and, if so, prepare operating procedures and related documents.
  • Encouragement Project. Continued the development of a strategy for energizing district men's ministries.
    
• Decided to pursue fundraising for an overseas new official workers forum in 2008 The strategy is to enlist 300 people across the Alliance to donate $1000 each.

C&MA Men's Ministry National Leadership Team convened at 7:00 PM on January 27 for its annual meeting. Twenty-six men representing fourteen districts and one association attended. The following business was conducted:

Preparing to Win. Wanted: 300 men willing to contribute $1000 each to fund the 2008 New Official Workers Forum. The plan is to conduct the forum on an Alliance mission field in conjunction with a short-term mission trip. The intent is to give the approximately 250 new workers a first hand insight into Alliance missions and energize our commitment to completing the Great Commission .
Do you want to be one of the 300 hundred or know a man who is willing to be a part of the 300? If so, contact Jim Woods at jewoods3@juno.com.

Life
Newsweek: A Boy without A Father Figure Is Like A... This feature story from Newsweek Magazine, January 30, 2006 is a must read.  Here's an excerpt that continues to push us in our mission to men .

"One of the most reliable predictors of whether a boy will succeed or fail in high school rests on a single question: does he have a man in his life to look up to? Too often, the answer is no. High rates of divorce and single motherhood have created a generation of fatherless boys. In every kind of neighborhood, rich or poor, an increasing number of boys -- now a startling 40 percent—are being raised without their biological dads. Psychologists say that grandfathers and uncles can help, but emphasize that an adolescent boy without a father figure is like an explorer without a map."

The full text of the article is available at www.msnbc.msn.com.

Leadership
Think About It. What is the mission of your men's ministry? What is needed to carry it out? The task of establishing and maintaining a ministry can be restated in simple terms. Communicate the message in understandable ways, model the behavior you wish to see repeated, encourage personal growth, and challenge others to become part of the solution. Two things to consider: “Where do we need to focus our energy now?” and “Who do we need on our team? Click here to read more about these principles.

Rewired: A New Seminar from Man in the Mirror. Rewired: From Performance to Passion is our newest seminar for the men of your church. Are your men living a life of "acting good” to get by in the church? We know that God judges a man's heart, not his appearance. The theme of this event is that Christianity is not about behavior modification, it's about heart transformation. Call Pam Adkins at 800-929-2536 for more information on booking this exciting discipleship event in your church this fall.

Reboot (with 1 Samuel 17:21-22)
The Enemy:  21 Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. A gain, the enemy is patient. He decides when and where the battle will be and how it will be fought. 

The World: 21 Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. W e continue to think that the old methods will work not realizing that the ground rules have changed. We keep trying the old way or ways that have worked for others. In his dismay and terror, Saul failed to fall back, regroup and seek the counsel of the Lord.

The Spiritual Warrior: 22 David left his things with the keeper of supplies… David dropped his baggage. It is hard to fight spiritual battles when we are weighted down by burdens such as sin, guilt, anger, and bitterness. We can not be effective instruments of the Lord when we are encumbered with activities and things that have no eternal significance.

22 David… ran to the battle lines and greeted his brothers.   David was bold: he ran to the front. He could have waited for the army to return to camp. David's task was to find his brothers. They were on the front lines.

Do we hold back or do we run to the darkness? Do we go to the battle? Only when we are on the front lines can we assess the situation and conditions. To make that assessment from the safety of the camp results in inaccurate information and a flawed assessment. Have we unloaded our baggage, i.e., dealt with issues that hold us back? Do we understand the battle? Do we understand the enemy?

Worship is what we do with our lives.
We are always worshiping something.

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