Discussion question

I trust you're still laughing about bears building dens in Illinois cornfields. What a strange, strange story.

But allow me to change gears and toss out a discussion question with some substance to it. I hope you'll chip in with a comment on this one!

"If you knew you would have a man and his family [in your church] for only five years, what things are so important that if they left in five years without them, you would have failed them?"

The floor is open, your comments are welcome...

Combine vs. Bear

Here's a most unusual event for you to consider.

These three photos (one above, two at the end of the post) circulated at the office today and the story is simply amazing to me. Two different versions of the unexpected adventure were included and I'm passing both of them along with only minor edits to maintain some level of anonymity for the family.

"Date: Tue, 7 Nov 2006 Got this from my friend Tim. Am assuming this happened either in the Decatur area or in Taylorville area where he's originally from. Pretty interesting. My neighbor last Friday got this bear with the combine a half mile north of me. The combine was stuck, and the den hole was 5 feet deep. The bear was trying to dig out from under the wheel but could not get out, the DNR told them to shoot it. It dressed out 287 pounds, and was a male.

He got a bear with the combine. He was combining our corn over at another field and fell into a big hole. He thought it was a badger hole until a big black paw came out. Pretty soon a head appeared. They knew for sure it was no badger. He wasn't very happy either. He was nearly 300 pounds. "

Be careful out in those fields!!

Election Night

It's election night in America and we're tracking the returns on the web and via Fox News Channel. Perhaps our house is a little odd, but we're settling in for a long night of watching the political process unfold.

Whadda ya guys think? Are you staying up to watch this? Or are you content to read about it in the paper sometime tomorrow. Perhaps you can affirm that we are one odd family...

Stories of the hour include:

* Lieberman wins a Senate race as an Independent.
* Indiana loses three contested races of three available.
* U.S. House and Senate in play for either political party.

Without really wanting to kick off a partisan conversation, I am curious to know to what extent you have ever been involved in politics. Have you ever volunteered for a candidate? Serve as an election poll worker? GOTV (Get Out the Vote) activities? Did you work/volunteer for anyone this last election cycle?

After tonight are you more, or less, inclined to volunteer or otherwise participate in the electoral process? Why?

Building a Strong Men's Ministry - (continued)

I mentioned two of the three lists in last night's post and the last group from Morley includes areas where men should take responsibility:

His walk with God.
His relationship with his wife.
His relationship with his children.
His personal finances.
His health.

(I think that wraps up my recounting of "list of lists"!)

Men's Ministry Blog 10:24

"Blog 10:24"

It's the new shorthand for the Bethel Christian Life Center of West Lafayette, IN Men's Ministry blog.

A flash of inspiration on Sunday morning yielded a new operating name for us. As we described what we prayerfully hope to accomplish in the next year of men's ministry, Mark B. recalled Hebrews 10:24.

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on

toward love and good deeds."

Amazing what a couple of glazed donuts, a cup of coffee, a round of laughter, and a flash of inspiration will yield.

Keep that one with you this week. I realize it's one you've probably memorized a long time ago.

But meditate on it again. Chew on it. Start your day thinking of how you might live this one out in a new way. And I look forward to hearing what God reveals to you!

Building a Strong Men's Ministry

Yesterday morning over donuts (yes, donuts) I shared three lists of five that were relevant to men's ministry. Found at www.maninthemirror.org, the lists are from Patrick Morley's article on "How to Build a Strong Men's Ministry."

First, in every church there are five groups of men;

The mass of unsaved men.
The mass of cultural Christians
Men who are or want to be disciples.
Men are are or want to be leaders
Men who are hurting -- men with "broken wings"

Morley reminds us, "For a men's ministry to be successful it must address the needs of each of these five groups. In other words, you must offer something for every man. The goal should always be to point men to opportunities to rise to the next level of growth."

The second list itemized five goals for every man;

A consistent quiet time.
An organized Bible study.
An accountability group.
Active church involvement.
A personal ministry.

Again quoting Morley, "When men do the first four of these disciplines they will find themselves filling up to the overflow in their own personal relationship with Jesus. Then, out of the overflow of gratitude for all that God is doing in their lives, they will virtually burst to something in service to express that appreciation."