To all the KING'S Men...
+ K now Christ!
+ I nvite others to join God's team!
+ N urture your faith through prayer, worship & daily Bible reading!
+ G ive your time & money supporting God's work in your church!'
+ ' ( ' = a sign of "possession" and it's about "belonging"---who we are and whose we are!)
+ S peak well of your pastor and the men in your life!
KING'S men...that's who we are! Or think of it this way...
"one man at a time...no man left behind..."
And if that doesn't strike you...try the ELCA's Lutheran Men in Mission "vision" statement...
"That every man grow in his relationship with Jesus Christ
through an effective men‘s ministry in every congregation."
KING'S Men...I pray that we all sense God's Holy Spirit leading us to be just that...
Lately, I've started asking the young men and older men at New Life Lutheran Church a simple question which evokes an immediate answer or a look of amusement...
"How's your D.A.W.G." is men's ministry lingo for "How's your Daily Appointment With God?"
Get it? D.A.W.G. ------Daily Appointment With God...
Also known as ...
- ...quiet time for prayer and conversation with God,
- ...AKA a specific plan for taking one's self out of the grit and grind of the world and talking to God and listening for a response;
- ...AKA a personal and private moment (5 minutes, 10 minutes, an hour, 24 hours--you pick it!) with the one who knew you before you were born, the one who made you in your mother's womb, the one who was present at your baptism and confirmation day and the one who has walked with you, sometimes even carrying you throughout your life and the one who will open a door to the fullness of life eternal when death's cold hand reaches out to snatch you from all the God has provided for you...a personal and private Daily Appointment With THAT God...
Recently, I was getting eye-balled in a not so good kind of way....mostly rolling eyeballs from my Confirmation Class (8th & 9th graders) when I reminded them that they needed to know the books of the Bible and know them by name, in order and to spell them correctly. The eye-balling and eye rolling was a result of their felt need to not know them like I want them to know them and then they asked the famous question, "why?" To which I replied with great enthusiasm...
"Why? Why do I want you to know this?" "Well," I went on (rather than off on them), "what is one of the goals of our catechism ministry?" They stammered and stuttered and finally said, "to get confirmed?" (saying 'confirmed' with your voice pitch going up on "irmed" part of 'confirmed!") And while that seemed like a good enough answer for them for the moment, they also knew they were busted and know also that trying to bluff the pastor is like marching around the church building seven times and blowing trumpets hoping the building would fall down...it just isn't gonna happen...and so with a graceful and gentle voice I reminded them...
"One of the goals of our catechism ministry is that you all come to understand the Bible as your friend...reemember? The Bible is YOUR friend! And your friend certainly wants you to know their name...or names...like Genesis, Exodus, or Matthew, Mark or Luke or I John or II John or III John...and you don't want to misspell your friend's name...that would be disrespectful...." It's actually the very first time I ever explained it this way...
And their response was to do some more eye balling and eye rolling only knowing a little better why this was really an important thing...
And now, as grown men, we too want to see the Holy Scriptures as our friend...the ancient texts of God as guides and lamps for our lives in this often dark and broken world, to come to know that Word of God = the presence of God and that Word of God = Treasure of God and that Word of God is like what Luther said is "the cradle in which the baby Jesus lays" and that in this Word of God Jesus claims he will forever "remain" with us. How much more important then that we tend to our D.A.W.G....and see the Bible as the key to this time together...
So, on Saturday, OCTOBER 31st...Reformation Day...we'll all get a chance to tend to our D.A.W.G. ...and here's what's happening...
- REFORMATION DAY @ New Life Lutheran Church in Pearland 9 AM - 12 Noon;
- A time for worship, fellowship, learning and rejoicing in the presence of the Holy;
- Keynote Bible Study presenter = Doug Haugen, National Director for L M M;
- Keynote Presentation = ELCA Vice-President, Carlos Pena and men from First Lutheran Church in Galveston reporting on how life on the island is and how we can help yet;
- Special Presentation = "1 Simple Way to Make Your Men's Ministry Grow and Multiply"
- Master Builder's Bibles will be for sale to congregations for group and individual use;
- Breakfast will be provided. A free will offering will be shared.
Registration will open at 8:30 AM. Please RSVP the number of men from your church planning to attend and or send your questions to brian@newlifelutheran.com.
That's enough for now. I must go take care of my D.A.W.G.
One man at a time; no man left behind,
Brian
