July 2006 C&MA Men’s E-Newsletter

Impact
A man attended a series on the deeper life where he came to understand that he should not seek God's help in wrestling with unhealthy behavior and thought patterns. Rather he should seek Spirit-control in these areas. The man experienced victory in several areas of his life by praying for Spirit-control when temptations arose!

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

Pray for Men's Ministry on Thursdays

News
Challenge 300. We have ten commitments ($10,000) so far on the way to our goal of $300,000. C&MA Men is raising funds to support the 2007 New Official Worker Forum on one of our mission fields. The goals is to give new workers exposure to the heart-beat of the Alliance by giving them first hand experience on the mission field. Watch for the full page announcement in @Life starting with the July issue. C&MA Men is looking for 300 men willing to contribute $1000 to this project. If you would like to contribute or know of men who can, contact Jim Woods at jewoods3@juno.com. Let's raise the bar as we move to complete the Great Commission!

Life
Become Someone's Hero! Adopt a Widow or Single Mom.
Herb Reese writes in his May 2006 newsletter, “One of the greatest joys in life is the joy of ministering to someone and becoming that person's hero. New Commandment Men's Ministries takes big galoots who have come to know Jesus...and shows them how to become someone's hero."

New Commandment Men's Ministries helps churches recruit, train, organize and deploy teams of men who permanently adopt the widowed, single parents and others with long term needs in their church and community. To contact the ministry send an email to Herb Reese at herbreese@yahoo.com.

Recasting Biblical Manhood
Our men need to know that the enemy opposes our purpose and is a divider. They need to understand that they must come against the enemy in an opposite spirit. They need to know that the best way to defend against the enemy is an effective offense. The church today does not understand that it is engaged in warfare. We as men need to come along side our pastors and engage the enemy with them, not fire against them. (Article of the Month)

Leadership
Man in the Mirror Helping PK Attendees Stay Unleashed
Man in the Mirror (MIM) has partnered with Promise Keepers to support their 2006 Unleashed conferences. First, MIM helped develop a follow-up study for the conferences, similar to the Life Plans MIM uses in their own seminars. Man in the Mirror will provide a FREE copy of the study Unleashing Your Heart to every participant at a 2006 PK conference. If you would like to support this effort, send an email to brettclemmer@maninthemirror.org.

Secondly, MIM is working with PK to provide Power Up! Leadership Training: Plugging Men into Your Church in ten cities prior to the Unleashed conferences this year. This event trains leaders to capture the momentum of the conference and use it to connect men into the various disciple-making ministries in their local church.

For a complete schedule of the training events, click here.

Schedule for July
July 22, 2006 — Grand Rapids, MI
July 29, 2006 — Louisville, KY

For a complete listing of Promise Keepers Unleashed conferences, click here. To see a sample of the Unleashing Your Heart Study Guide, click here.

Discipleship Network of America (DNA)
DNA is a nationwide network of people committed to following Christ's example of winning and discipling others to become disciple makers. The spiritual reproductive ministry of DNA flows out of the lives of people focused on Christ in their work, marriage, family, neighborhood and church. The mission of DNA is winning and discipling people to become disciple makers.
It is the vision of DNA to give people the opportunity to receive Jesus Christ and be discipled into a spiritual reproducer by sharing life-to-life relationships —God's life-changing power in our lives. (Website/Ministry of the Month)

Reboot (with 1 Samuel 17:31-37a)
The World: ³¹What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him. When confronted with the “impossible,” the world is pessimistic. It focuses on the impossibilities. The world is not prone to out-of-the-box thinking. It sees the battle/challenge from an earthly perspective. The world rejects the council of the uninitiated and the inexperienced. It would appear that Saul, the king and leader of the army, would have better things to do than discuss the situation with a youth. Note that Saul listens to David but does not hear him. How do you react to difficult situations? Do we rely on what has worked in the past? Do we have eyes that see and ears that hear?

The Spiritual Warrior: ³²David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” David's persistent questioning led to an audience with Saul. He, as a youth, could never have gained the attention of Saul directly. David, led by the Spirit, was laying a guilt trip on the army. He was creating a morale problem. David displayed boldness and confidence. Do we allow the Spirit to lead us against prevailing wisdom? Or do we back off and go with “conventional wisdom?"

³⁴But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep..." When Saul questioned his ability to fight Goliath, David counters with his testimony. David's testimony had nothing to do with hand to hand combat with enemy champions. He focused on being empowered by God. He drew a parallel between his experience with the lion and the bear and the challenge of Goliath. “God enabled me to defeat the lion and the bear. He will enable me to defeat Goliath." When we face a challenge, do we reflect on how God had carried us through past trials? Do we really believe he can do it again?

³⁶... this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. David sees the enemy as outside Israel's covenant with the Lord. He is a voice of encouragement. This is the Lord's battle. David sees the possibilities. He is optimistic and, as a result, creates unrest among the establishment. David puts Goliath in the same category as the animals he killed as a shepherd. To David, Goliath is nameless - this Philistine (v25, 37) or this uncircumcised Philistine (v36). He depends on the Lord, not the ways and weapons of man. David remembers the victories where the Lord carried the day. Do we see our challenges through spiritual eyes? Do we know that we are in a spiritual battle? Do we understand that the battle is the Lord's?

Eternal Life: Smoking or Non-Smoking?

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editor@cmamen.org.