Christ - The ReeseSource: March 2011

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

February 2011 Edition

O.K., I get it. After the last snow event, which had about an inch of snowfall at night, looked pretty in the morning, not disrupting travel, or school and gone in the afternoon, I began to understand the North’s dislike of snow. They like that kind of snow. What they don’t like is the kind of snow we had earlier. We had five inches of snow followed by a coating of ice. This made travel barely possible and closed the schools for several days. Even the kids were bored. You could not play in snow, which was actually ice. After a couple of days, it was not even pretty. I must admit I have had enough of snow for one season. This is a radical admission from Mr. “Up Several Times at Night To See If It Is Snowing and Sticking!”

Ah, but now the temperatures are warming It is the time of year to prepare for Spring and new growth. This is done, of course, by pruning. Peggy is the artist with pruning shears. She knows which plants to cut back and just how much to cut them back to achieve the greatest amount of new growth. My job, every year, is to prune the crepe myrtles. I have gotten good at it. At least, I have not murdered the two nice ones we have at the head of the driveway entrance. This will come as a shock to some of you that are reading this, but I actually read several articles on pruning crepe myrtles! This from a, “Read the directions only as a last resort”, type of guy. The success of my efforts remains to be seen.

The Bible talks about pruning. I like the way Jesus used illustrations people could relate to in his stories. He used many agricultural illustrations to make His points because his audience was made up largely of people who grew their own food. Look what Jesus says in the fifteenth chapter of the Gospel of John. “I am the true vine, and My Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” Pruning is interesting. Why would you cut a perfectly good branch that seems healthy? I understand cutting off parts that are dead and non-productive, but not cutting back something that seems o.k.

What is Jesus trying to say when he talks about pruning? He is not just talking about plants but about people. What does this pruning process look like in a person’s life?
Maybe I can illustrate it best from my own life experience. Let me explain:

Years ago, I began the ministry of Young Life here in Marietta/ Cobb County. For many years, the organization functioned well because of a dedicated team of staff and volunteer leaders. My ministry was successful in some areas, but there was a great deal of room for growth in other areas. In short, I needed pruning to prepare me for more fruitfulness. For a plant, the pruning process is not painful, but, many times, for humans, it is very painful. I was asked to resign from my position as Area Director because the anger issues that had never been adequately dealt with and were causing problems. For too many years, people enabled my behavior by covering for me and making excuses for me. God pruned me by removing me from Young Life. He set me aside for a year of unemployment to prepare me for my current ministry. I have been in my current position for almost twenty years now.

Please do not read into this and think that I am saying that I have it all together. I do not. I do, however, feel that I have grown from God’s pruning. He is constantly pruning us for greater growth, if we let Him. But we must “remain in the vine.” As Jesus says, “I am the vine, you are the branches, if a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing”. Are you ready for greater growth and fruitfulness in your life? Then be open to God’s pruning. It may be painful, but it is worth it in the end.

MINISTRY NEWS:
Beginning March 1st, I will be adding a new role in my ministry. I will be the Helpline Responder for the Crime Victims Advocacy Council responsible for answering calls from victims of violent crime in the Metro Atlanta Area, who are seeking help with issues related to their circumstances. I then refer them to the proper resources. This group does as its name implies. It advocates for the victim of violent crime in the areas of legal, financial, mental health and day-to-day living issues. My good friend Mark Bullman, who is an attorney, is the Chairman of The Board of C.V.A.C. and recommended me for the position. It will not interfere with my current ministry but only serve to enhance it.

We are planning a four-day retreat for men to Fripp Island South Carolina at the end of March.

Don’t forget to sign up for the 1st Annual “Duck If It’s Buck, Plaid Pants Open” Golf Tournament to be held Friday May 6th at Marietta Country Club. We are look for corporate and individual tee and hole sponsors. Call Buck for details at 678-986-4814.

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Net Work Ministries, Inc. Purpose Statement

The purpose of Net Work Ministries is to bring hope and healing to men and their families by exposing them to the love of Jesus Christ in word and deed. Net Work also encourages men in living out their Christian faith in their day-to-day lives.

Net Work Ministries, Inc. is a pastoral counseling and resource networking ministry that brings God's people together for mutual support and enables them to use the abundant resources He provides. It is directed towards men, to bring them into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and to help them use the power of this relationship to become the men God intended them to be. This ministry helps men deal with issues that affect their everyday lives. It is a faith ministry that depends entirely on the Lord for resources and does not charge for its services. It is a fully accredited 501c3 I.R.S. organization.

Net Work Ministries was begun 1991 by a group of men who knew Buck Reese's giftedness in the areas of pastoral counseling and resource networking. Buck, who is a native of Atlanta, has been in ministry since 1975 and is an ordained minister. He was responsible for starting the Young Life high school ministry in Cobb County in 1977 and served as Area Director for 12 years. Buck was the Director of Church Relations for Rapha, Inc., a Christian counseling program, as well as serving as a pastoral counseling intern at Wesley Woods Geriatric Center. For 20 years Buck served as chaplain and assistant coach of the Marietta High School football team. Buck was selected to be a member of the 1998 class of Leadership Cobb and the 1999 class of the Honorary Commanders, programs of the Cobb County Chamber of Commerce.

Buck's full-time commitment is to Net Work Ministries. He is in contact with men of all ages and walks of life. A typical routine would include: Having breakfast or lunch with a businessman to offer counsel and encouragement to strengthen their commitment to Christ and to enjoy each other's fellowship and support. In all these situations, Buck offers a listening ear and a caring heart and shares Scripture and wisdom given by the Holy Spirit. The goal in all of this activity is to bring those who do not know Christ into a saving relationship with Him. To those who are committed to Christ, but are dealing with issues of day-to-day living, he gives loving and effective counsel, encouragement and support.

Recently, I have added a new role to my ministry. I have accepted the role as volunteer Chaplain to the Staff of Young Life Southeast Region, which consists of the states of Georgia and Alabama. There are currently 50 local area ministries with staff. I will be the"minister to the ministers."

The Concept of Net Work Ministries

From Henri Nouwen’s book “Gracias”:

“It is a privilege to have the time to practice this simple ministry of presence. Still, it is not as simple as it seems. My own desire to be useful, to do something significant, or to be part of some impressive project is so strong that soon my time is taken up by meetings, conferences, study groups, and workshops that prevent me from walking the streets. It is difficult not to have plans, not to organize people around an urgent cause, and not to feel that you are working directly for social progress. But I wonder more and more if the first thing shouldn’t be to know people by name, to eat and drink with them, to listen to their stories and tell your own, and to let them know with words, handshakes, and hugs that you do not simply like them, but truly love them.

From "The Hole In Our Gospel" by Richard Stearns, President of World Vision:

It is rare that a simple recitation of the gospel will cause people to instantly change their minds. It usually takes much more than that. Our own narrative typically involves a journey of discovery marked by relationships with respected friends and loved ones, reading, discussions, learning about the basis for Christian faith, seeing the difference faith made in the lives of people we know, and witnessing genuine faith demonstrated through acts of love and kindness towards others.

I Stand At The Door - My Calling To Men's Ministry

I Stand at the Door

By Sam Shoemaker (from the Oxford Group)

I stand by the door.
I neither go to far in, nor stay to far out.
The door is the most important door in the world -
It is the door through which men walk when they find God.
There is no use my going way inside and staying there,
When so many are still outside and they, as much as I,
Crave to know where the door is.
And all that so many ever find
Is only the wall where the door ought to be.
They creep along the wall like blind men,
With outstretched, groping hands,
Feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door,
Yet they never find it.
So I stand by the door.

The most tremendous thing in the world
Is for men to find that door - the door to God.
The most important thing that any man can do
Is to take hold of one of those blind, groping hands
And put it on the latch - the latch that only clicks
And opens to the man's own touch.

Men die outside the door, as starving beggars die
On cold nights in cruel cities in the dead of winter.
Die for want of what is within their grasp.
They live on the other side of it - live because they have not found it.

Nothing else matters compared to helping them find it,
And open it, and walk in, and find Him.
So I stand by the door.

Go in great saints; go all the way in -
Go way down into the cavernous cellars,
And way up into the spacious attics.
It is a vast, roomy house, this house where God is.
Go into the deepest of hidden casements,
Of withdrawal, of silence, of sainthood.
Some must inhabit those inner rooms
And know the depths and heights of God,
And call outside to the rest of us how wonderful it is.
Sometimes I take a deeper look in.
Sometimes venture in a little farther,
But my place seems closer to the opening.
So I stand by the door.

There is another reason why I stand there.
Some people get part way in and become afraid
Lest God and the zeal of His house devour them;
For God is so very great and asks all of us.
And these people feel a cosmic claustrophobia
And want to get out. 'Let me out!' they cry.
And the people way inside only terrify them more.
Somebody must be by the door to tell them that they are spoiled.
For the old life, they have seen too much:
One taste of God and nothing but God will do any more.
Somebody must be watching for the frightened
Who seek to sneak out just where they came in,
To tell them how much better it is inside.
The people too far in do not see how near these are
To leaving - preoccupied with the wonder of it all.
Somebody must watch for those who have entered the door
But would like to run away. So for them too,
I stand by the door.

I admire the people who go way in.
But I wish they would not forget how it was
Before they got in. Then they would be able to help
The people who have not yet even found the door.
Or the people who want to run away again from God.
You can go in too deeply and stay in too long
And forget the people outside the door.
As for me, I shall take my old accustomed place,
Near enough to God to hear Him and know He is there,
But not so far from men as not to hear them,
And remember they are there too.

Where? Outside the door -
Thousands of them. Millions of them.
But - more important for me -
One of them, two of them, ten of them.
Whose hands I am intended to put on the latch.
So I shall stand by the door and wait
For those who seek it.

'I had rather be a door-keeper
So I stand by the door.

Net Work Ministries Testimonials

Quotes

“I have been involved in Net Work Ministries for almost six years. I am privileged to serve on the Board of Directors and work with Buck on a variety of projects i.e.: Young Life, Good Samaritan Health Clinic, P.A.C.E., working with the poor and indigent, and supporting the men who attend Buck’s groups.

Buck and Peggy have been there for my wife Rita and I through our most difficult times. They are always loving, always supportive. Buck and his ministry are a wonderful example of what it means to serve. It’s what the love of Christ encourages all of us to do for each other.”

Dwayne Lambing,
Regional Vice President
Nordco, Inc.

The Friday group began as an opportunity for me to have in depth conversation about subject matter that I was not totally comfortable with i.e. formal religion and my personal relationship with God. I believed intellectually that the universe was not an accidental explosion, but it demonstrated a purpose that only a Creator could know. I felt a part of that universe and was comfortable with my life and the roles I played in it. But I still asked myself, is that all there is to life.

Through a series of very diverse and interesting books it became increasingly apparent that no growth in self is possible without the "pains" of self examination. Sometimes this would occur during the course of "intense" discussions and other times would occur in moments of quiet reflection on these conversations. I began to notice that in this crucible of frank and honest discourse that I could find a voice for my beliefs and at the same time be intellectually true to my beliefs in science.

As it has turned out for me, the books have been less important than the comfort and strength that I find in the relationship of men willing to discuss matters that are not in their comfort zones , and that require an intellectual and emotional honesty that are not found alone on an island.
Thank you for your role in making all of this possible,

Dr. Peter Re’,

Neurologist