February was one of the most powerful ministry months we have experienced in many years. It all began in O’Fallon, IL where over 600 men showed up for an Iron Sharpens Iron conference. I was asked to conduct two powerful seminars, one on Leadership 101 and the other on The Differences Between Men And Women. The response I received from both of these was overwhelming. A couple of men told me they had never heard anything like this before and ranked it as one of the best messages they ever heard. Needless to say, I was greatly humbled and blessed by the response.
A week later I was invited to tour Rivers Edge Ranch in Lucerne Valley, CA with my friend Joe Annunziato. Joe has been providing some Elder oversight to this incredible operation for some time now and what they do here is nothing short of amazing.
Located in the beautiful California High Desert, shadowed by the northern side of Big Bear Mountain and canopied by the clear blue skies of Lucerne Valley, sits twenty acres birthed into a vision of transformation. The property once used to rehabilitate ailing and injured horses is now a place of healing for spiritually ailing and broken men.
These men, many struggling with serious addiction issues, commit to a program of restoration that has proven very successful. This is a working ranch with cows, horses, chickens, pigs, exotic birds—you name it—its pretty much there. The men live there and perform all the duties required to work the ranch. The night before we arrived the cutest litter of little piglets were born. It was awesome to see.
I had the privilege of bringing a message of hope and sharing my life experiences moving from brokenness to wholeness in Jesus. I challenged the men to understand that God is crazy about every one of them and does not want them to let their past failures dictate the future trajectory of their life—a life filled with the promises of God. Eight precious men asked Jesus to be their Lord and Savior at the conclusion of my message. It was an emotional time for me.
Last weekend I traveled to Terre Haute, IN for another Iron Sharpens Iron conference. I had the privilege of conducting another Seminar on Leadership 101 and bringing the final message of the afternoon on Discovering God’s Plan For Your Life to hundreds of men who were hungry for God.
It was such a joy to be partnering with my dear friend, Dr. Rod Cooper and conference host, Tom Cheshire. Rod opened by talking about the characteristics of a man with a mission mindset. I closed with a message helping men discern how to discover what their mission is. It was an incredible and deeply powerful ministry event. There were about 25 men who made a decision to ask Jesus to become their Lord and Savior after my sessions.
Finally, this coming weekend Cindy and I will be in Colorado Springs for a special Saturday men’s breakfast and Sunday service at our home church there, The Road @ Chapel Hill. On Sunday we have invited all of our precious Colorado friends and prayer partners to a special service where I will be publically thanking all who stood in prayer so faithfully for Cindy during her life threatening struggle in 2010. My message will focus upon what God taught us in the midst of this great struggle and I will conclude by sharing what we have discovered is The Secret To Life.
For those who cannot be there and would like to join our Sunday service you can do so by connecting to their LiveStream on the top of their home page at theroad.org. The service begins at 10:15 this Sunday March 11th.
As we enter March we are looking at another great month of ministry opportunity. Please continue to pray for us as we seek God for wisdom and direction for the incredible ministry He has still before us.
Cindy and I want you to know how much we love and appreciate all of your prayers and financial support
Becoming The Man God Intended,