One of my favorite subjects is Biblical manhood. I have spent a lot of time researching and reading and studying the Word in this area, and I love to share the insights God has given me with other men. It is always exciting to see guys get a vision of what it looks like to be a man of God! I think this is something our culture desperately needs, with the growth of homosexuality, passive men, and a dearth of male leadership in the church.
In the month of April, I will be heading up a little project I've named "Men of the Beach." This will be four-month program designed to pass on truths to the men in our ministry, and get them excited about Biblical manhood. Mondays and Thursdays, we will be meeting at 6 am to both talk about and reflect on various topics. The whole shebang will culminate in an all-night ceremony on May 1st.
Pretty exciting stuff! I think there is potential for a lot of growth through it. However, I really need God to be moving in it, and bringing the guys in with open hearts to listen and be transformed. Would you be praying for this event (leading up to it, and throughout it)?
1. Pray for me, for wisdom as I lead and teach.
2. Pray for open hearts and transformation in the 20-25 guys that are coming.
3. Pray that God would use this to bear long-term fruit in these guys lives!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
March 10th, 2010
Here are some events coming up to be praying for:
1. Spring Break:
We are taking about 20 students to Big Sur up the central coast. We will be doing a service project in San Luis Obispo and camping at a national park.
Would pray for safety and for God to meet us on the trip?
2. Men of the Beach:
I am leading a four week Biblical Manhood course. I was expecting about 15 students to sign up for it, but there will probably be close to 30! This is exciting, but I will be adjusting the format a bit to accommodate the interest.d
Would you pray for God to guide me as I plan this?
Would you pray that God would use it to build an atmosphere of Biblical manhood in our ministry?
Thanks for your prayers!
1. Spring Break:
We are taking about 20 students to Big Sur up the central coast. We will be doing a service project in San Luis Obispo and camping at a national park.
Would pray for safety and for God to meet us on the trip?
2. Men of the Beach:
I am leading a four week Biblical Manhood course. I was expecting about 15 students to sign up for it, but there will probably be close to 30! This is exciting, but I will be adjusting the format a bit to accommodate the interest.d
Would you pray for God to guide me as I plan this?
Would you pray that God would use it to build an atmosphere of Biblical manhood in our ministry?
Thanks for your prayers!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
March 3rd, 2010
I had a wonderful but busy weekend. As you may know, I am leading a missions trip to Russia this summer, and over the weekend our whole team assembled in Irvine for an orientation and training session. I would love some prayer for our team in relation to one specific area.
Cumulatively, our team needs to raise 40,000 dollars. There are ten people going and the trip costs 4000 per person (I am good at math). Most of the team is raising money for the first time, and it can be a scary, discouraging process. I believe that God, who has called us all to the trip, is able to provide for us as well. Would you praying the following with relation to our funding?
1. That it would be an encouraging, faith building process for:
Tiffanie
Cavin
John
Rory
Caitlin
Kate
Elise
Callie
Alissa
2. That God would bring the money in!
3. That we would be prepared in our hearts, both emotionally and spiritually, for our Russian adventure!
Cumulatively, our team needs to raise 40,000 dollars. There are ten people going and the trip costs 4000 per person (I am good at math). Most of the team is raising money for the first time, and it can be a scary, discouraging process. I believe that God, who has called us all to the trip, is able to provide for us as well. Would you praying the following with relation to our funding?
1. That it would be an encouraging, faith building process for:
Tiffanie
Cavin
John
Rory
Caitlin
Kate
Elise
Callie
Alissa
2. That God would bring the money in!
3. That we would be prepared in our hearts, both emotionally and spiritually, for our Russian adventure!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
February 24th, 2010
I sat last night in the back of the room listening to testimony after testimony of how God used the conference to answer prayer, increase faith, and stir up zeal in the hearts of our students. We had an "open mike" night last night, intending it to go for about forty minutes...however, the students talked for almost 90! This included 6 of the guys I disciple. What an amazing encouragement and sign that God is moving in this ministry! Thank you so much for your prayers, I am confident they are the reason God is moving!
Here are some follow-up prayers coming out of the conference:
1. Jaime--
Jaime went and immediately became everyone's favorite guy! Seriously, I had no idea how charismatic this guy is, but it seemed like at the end of the weekend, he knew all 300 people at the conference! It was awesome to see how fired up he is right now about the Lord.
Would you pray that this would continue and increase? (II Tim. 1:6)
Would you pray for us as we take the gospel to his roommates Tory and Matt?
2. Zach--
Cavin's brother seemed to have a great time, and more importantly, made some new friends. He was excited to be at our large group last night and people were excited to see him. He came to my workshop on "The Reliability of the Word," a topic that has been a source of doubt for him in the past. He still has some questions, but Cavin says he has not seen him so open for a long time.
Would you pray that God would "seal the deal" with Zach?
Would you pray for wisdom for Cavin as he moves towards his brother?
3. Keriann--
I don't know too much about her experience.
Would you pray that she would go to an STP, or summer training program, this summer? (Alicia told me that this was something she viewed as "impossible" but that she is praying for)
Would you pray that she would be convicted by the Word to live a holy life?
Thank you for all your prayers!
Here are some follow-up prayers coming out of the conference:
1. Jaime--
Jaime went and immediately became everyone's favorite guy! Seriously, I had no idea how charismatic this guy is, but it seemed like at the end of the weekend, he knew all 300 people at the conference! It was awesome to see how fired up he is right now about the Lord.
Would you pray that this would continue and increase? (II Tim. 1:6)
Would you pray for us as we take the gospel to his roommates Tory and Matt?
2. Zach--
Cavin's brother seemed to have a great time, and more importantly, made some new friends. He was excited to be at our large group last night and people were excited to see him. He came to my workshop on "The Reliability of the Word," a topic that has been a source of doubt for him in the past. He still has some questions, but Cavin says he has not seen him so open for a long time.
Would you pray that God would "seal the deal" with Zach?
Would you pray for wisdom for Cavin as he moves towards his brother?
3. Keriann--
I don't know too much about her experience.
Would you pray that she would go to an STP, or summer training program, this summer? (Alicia told me that this was something she viewed as "impossible" but that she is praying for)
Would you pray that she would be convicted by the Word to live a holy life?
Thank you for all your prayers!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
February 17th, 2010
The conference is coming up this weekend! We are excited to have over sixty people coming, which is amazing considering that when I first arrived at Long Beach, there were about twenty students involved. Now, as you know, it is not about numbers, but we do believe that the conference is a great time for students to hear from God, so it excites us that so many are going.
I am especially excited about a few people. Would you pray for these folks?
1. Zach--
This is Cavin's brother, and his roommate. Zach is nominally Christian, but has shown zero interest in God this year (he is a first-year student). But he is excited to go to the conference, and lately has shown some signs of life. Would you pray that God would speak to him this weekend, and excite him for the gospel?
2. Jaime--
I am really excited that Jaime is coming, and I would really like this to be a good time for him to deepen his friendships and get more plugged into the Navigators. Would you pray for that?
3. Keriann--
This is a girl in my teammate Alicia's Bible study, a young believer who still has a lot of baggage from her partying past. Would you pray for her to hear from God, and get a vision for holiness and growth?
Also: Continue to pray for Cavin, for comfort for him in a hard season. I am proud of a decision he made, but it was a hard one and he is hurting.
I am especially excited about a few people. Would you pray for these folks?
1. Zach--
This is Cavin's brother, and his roommate. Zach is nominally Christian, but has shown zero interest in God this year (he is a first-year student). But he is excited to go to the conference, and lately has shown some signs of life. Would you pray that God would speak to him this weekend, and excite him for the gospel?
2. Jaime--
I am really excited that Jaime is coming, and I would really like this to be a good time for him to deepen his friendships and get more plugged into the Navigators. Would you pray for that?
3. Keriann--
This is a girl in my teammate Alicia's Bible study, a young believer who still has a lot of baggage from her partying past. Would you pray for her to hear from God, and get a vision for holiness and growth?
Also: Continue to pray for Cavin, for comfort for him in a hard season. I am proud of a decision he made, but it was a hard one and he is hurting.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
February 10th, 2010
One of my favorite prayers for my guys is Isaiah 61:3:
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting for the Lord,
for the display of his splendor
I love the imagery of the guys standing tall as oaks of righteousness, 10, 20, 50 years down the road. I want to build into these guys spiritual transformation that will last them the rest of their lives!
God is really moving in the Bereans this semester. It is exciting to see, but I have to say that it is "for the display of his splendor." The growth is so amazing that I can only stand back in awe of what God is doing. He may be working through me, but the things that are happening clearly show that it is God who gets the glory!
Here are some highlights:
--Jordan is reading the Bible with a Jewish friends and getting increasingly excited about evangelism.
--Cavin brought his suitemate to Navs last night...it is cool to see how much this non-Christian friend admires and looks up to Cavin.
--Andrew continues to lead a group of non-Christians in Bible study each week...several of them are close to coming to know God!
--Ben is moving in evangelism as well, with his friend Jacob
In addition, the guys are gelling as group, encouraging each other, helping each other out, and in general growing in their friendship...something I have been praying for since Fall of 2008!
Pray:
1. Praise God for his work amongst these guys!
2. Continue to pray for Cavin and his decisions.
3. Pray that the conference would be a place where God's word is spoken with power! (Cavin is bringing his brother Zach to it...pray that God would move in Zach's heart)
Thanks you so much for your prayers!
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting for the Lord,
for the display of his splendor
I love the imagery of the guys standing tall as oaks of righteousness, 10, 20, 50 years down the road. I want to build into these guys spiritual transformation that will last them the rest of their lives!
God is really moving in the Bereans this semester. It is exciting to see, but I have to say that it is "for the display of his splendor." The growth is so amazing that I can only stand back in awe of what God is doing. He may be working through me, but the things that are happening clearly show that it is God who gets the glory!
Here are some highlights:
--Jordan is reading the Bible with a Jewish friends and getting increasingly excited about evangelism.
--Cavin brought his suitemate to Navs last night...it is cool to see how much this non-Christian friend admires and looks up to Cavin.
--Andrew continues to lead a group of non-Christians in Bible study each week...several of them are close to coming to know God!
--Ben is moving in evangelism as well, with his friend Jacob
In addition, the guys are gelling as group, encouraging each other, helping each other out, and in general growing in their friendship...something I have been praying for since Fall of 2008!
Pray:
1. Praise God for his work amongst these guys!
2. Continue to pray for Cavin and his decisions.
3. Pray that the conference would be a place where God's word is spoken with power! (Cavin is bringing his brother Zach to it...pray that God would move in Zach's heart)
Thanks you so much for your prayers!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
February 3rd, 2010
Cavin is one of my favorite guys to meet with. He is teachable, insightful, a careful thinker, and possessor of a soft heart towards God.
Cavin is currently going through some tough times, trying to make some difficult decisions. I don't want to share the specifics of it, but I want to say I'm proud of him and praying for him. Would you join me in praying for him?
1. That he would have wisdom in what to do in his current situation.
2. That he would have grace and courage to make hard decisions.
3. For joy and delight in the Lord!
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