AUGUST 2015 EDITION

This week I attended the Young Life Southeast Region Fall Staff Conference as part of my new role as Chaplain to the Staff. While there, the staff heard from B.B. Hobson, who is Vice President for Multicultural Ministries for Young Life. B.B. is a dynamic and challenging speaker and he directed his message to the staff as they begin a new school year of ministry. His main question to the staff also challenged me. It was this: “What are you going to do differently this year?” His thoughts were that it is easy to get complacent, to do the same old things in the same old way. Some would say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” While that may ring true some of the time, I think it is always necessary to examine what we do and the way we do it. I need to ask myself, “Am I keeping things fresh or am I just “phoning it in”?

Net Work Ministries began in 1992 and shortly thereafter began a weekly Wednesday Morning men’s meeting. That group lasted for about ten years. We would study different Christian books as well as the Bible. That group ended with kind of a whimper as people drifted away. I recognize that there were diverse needs within the group as well as diverse personalities and backgrounds. I do recognize now that at least some of the demise of the group was caused by my complacency.

Fast forward to 1995, a group of six men began meeting together on a Friday morning at the Marietta High stadium conference room ostensibly to discuss “life views”. Primarily, this group was comprised of men who played tennis together at Marietta Country Club and knew each other. Soon they began inviting their friends. We discussed Christian books that dealt with men’s issues. In both groups, we would try to get away together on a retreat for a weekend to get to know each other better, share laughter, enjoy outdoor activities such as golf, tennis, fishing or hunting, as well as having devotional times each morning. The Friday Men’s Group continues to this day, some twenty years later. Here we are in 2015 and I feel challenged to examine what I can do differently to keep the group fresh and honor God who has called me to this ministry. I announced today that starting next week we will go in a slightly different direction by hearing a series of video talks by Andy Stanley, whom I consider one of the most relevant and dynamic ministers of our day. We will discuss what we have heard after viewing the message. I feel that the men welcomed the change.

Now, when I talk about doing things differently and keeping things fresh, I am not only talking about men’s groups but all aspects of our lives. In particular, for those of us who have been married for some time, what can I do differently this year to add new excitement to our relationship? What new ways can I discover to serve my wife? What new ways can I express my love for her? Am I just “phoning it in” like Tevya in Fiddler on the Roof, when asked by his wife why he never tells her he loves her. He replies,” I told you I loved you when I married you, if that ever changes, I will let you know.” This is not a great way to keep things vibrant in a marriage!

Has my relationship with God grown stale and routine? Do I take God and my salvation for granted? Do I “get my ticket punched” at church on Sunday or at men’s group on Friday and then forget Him during the week? What can I do differently?

Ask yourself, “Are there areas in my life, in my work, in my marriage, in my family, in my friendships and particularly in my spiritual life that could use an infusion of fresh thought about doing things differently. What would honor God? Just askin’!                                                    

     MINISTRY NEWS

If you purchase anything from Amazon, may I ask you to use “Amazon Smile”.  They donate a small portion of the purchase to

Net Work Ministries. Here is the link:http://smile.amazon.com/ch/58-2009795. If you will bookmark this link and go to it when you wish to purchase something from Amazon, it will benefit Net Work.

I would be so grateful if you would consider this.

As always, I am truly grateful for your friendship and partnership in ministry by your prayers and financial support, both of which I need as never before. Blessings to you all.

JULY 2015 EDITION

I belong to a hunting club in central Georgia. I spend a great deal of  time there on weekends in the fall and winter and have done so for many years.

Currently, our source of electricity comes from a small portable generator. It has power enough to charge the batteries on the camper trailer but not our bunkhouse. The generator also consumes a great deal of gasoline over a weekend’s time. Our source for water comes from a two hundred gallon storage tank that we must fill up from the city water department about three miles away. This is an arduous process. Additionally, this water cannot be used for consumption. It can only be used for washing dishes, bathing or the toilet. We must buy bottled water for cooking and drinking. Our two great desires are for constant sources of clean water and electricity. For fresh water, a well must be drilled. For electricity, we must get the local EMC to run a power line to our camp. The nearest pole is about half a mile away.

The Apostle John writes about Jesus encountering a woman who had water problems. First, she was not able to go to the well with the other women in the cool of the morning because she was a woman of ill repute and was ostracized by the other women in the village. Instead, she had to go to the well at noon in the heat of the day when no one else was around. When Jesus stopped at the well to get a drink of water, he asked the woman to get him the water. Here, she perceived another problem. She was a Samaritan. Righteous Jews were forbidden to associate with Samaritans because their people were Jews that had intermarried with the local Gentile population and had different beliefs about the worship of God. The woman was amazed that Jesus even spoke to her. She, then, had the tables turned on her. Jesus told her that He could give her living water and with it, she would never thirst again. Problem number three arose. Jesus had no bucket so how was He going to draw that “living water?” In an abrupt turn of events, Jesus told her to go get her husband. The problem there was that she did not have a husband. She admits as much to Jesus.  He astounds her by saying, “You are right in saying you have no husband. For you have had five husbands and the man you are living with now is not your husband.” At this point, she changes the subject and talks about where people should worship God because she recognizes that Jesus is a prophet. After a short discussion, Jesus first reveals Himself as The Christ to this woman. She, in turn, convinced the whole town to come and see for themselves, and, as a result, many of the townspeople believed that Jesus was the Messiah.

The Gospels of Matthew and Luke talk about a power problem. After Jesus was crucified and was resurrected, Matthew recounts Jesus charging the disciples to “go and make disciples of all nations and baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey all that I have commanded you, and, remember, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.” Maybe the disciples were thinking, “O.K. Great! But how are we supposed to do that?” In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus gives them the answer. “Stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” This was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, when the disciples were all assembled together and filled with the Holy Spirit. Two thousand years later, you and I are witnesses to what  the power that was given that day accomplished.

Is there something missing in your life that you thirst for? Do you desire the power to live a life filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and self-control.? Jesus promises to quench that thirst and give you the power to enjoy the life listed above through His Holy Spirit. Just Ask Him!

I have begun serving as Chaplain to the Staff of Young Life Southeast Region. I  began by setting up monthly meetings with two young staff men . Both of them got married within the past month. I attended the funeral in Elberton , Georgia for the mother of a staff member. I met with the local area director. As the staff returns from summer camp assignments, I will have more opportunities for ministry with staff. My plan is to attend the Fall Staff Conference to be held at the end of August at Young Life’s SharpTop Cove camp located in Jasper, Georgia.

I continue to have a vital ministry to me on Friday mornings with our men’s group. We are currently discussing Josh McDowell’s “The Case For The Resurrection.”

I continue to meet individually with men over breakfast or lunch for counseling and encouragement.

I want you to know how grateful I am for your friendship, prayers and financial support. You make it possible for Net Work Ministries to have an impact for Christ.