NOVEMBER 2014 EDITION

Thursday, December 11, 2014

NOVEMBER 2014 EDITION

Every year, I take this time to enumerate the things I am thankful for in my life. It is my hope that this will spur you on to do the same thing. Pause from your busy life and take the time to jot down on paper the many things for which you are thankful. I think you will be surprised and uplifted when you do this. It may give you a different perspective on your life.

First and foremost, I thank my God for calling me to be His child on the night of April 29, 1975. This is my greatest blessing. (Galatians 4:6)

My greatest earthly blessing is Peggy, my bride of forty-seven and a half years. (Proverbs 31:10-31)

Major sources of blessing to me are my lovely daughters, Ashley and Hayden, their husbands and my seven grandchildren and my sister, Elinor. (III John: 4)

I am grateful to my parents who instilled upon me values in life that have served me well. They also instilled in me a love of nature, the arts, manners and a sense of civility.

I thank God for my calling to Net Work Ministries in 1992 and the men who affirmed that calling. I pray I may be worthy of that call. (Ephesians 4:1)

I am so very thankful for my friends who have stood by me "in the morning sun and the evening rain" (from Brennan Manning's "Ragamuffin Gospel") of my life. You have been a demonstration of Christ's unconditional love to me. (Proverbs 17:17 and 18:24)

Some of those same friends opened up a completely new world for me when, late in life, they introduced me to skeet shooting and bird hunting. I will be ever so grateful for them.

I know this may sound funny but I am so grateful for my dog, Missy, who came to us from the animal shelter years ago. She has been a wonderful source of joy and companionship. She is a gift from the Lord.

This list is not exhaustive but represents just a few of the things with which I feel that God has blessed me.

Net Work News and Needs

I try very hard not to mention the financial situation of Net Work Ministries. You have been so kind to support this ministry with your prayers, encouragement and financial resources. However, I feel it necessary to address our situation at this time to ask for your prayers. At the time of this writing, donations are at 46% of what is needed to sustain the ministry. Salaries are in arrears since July.

You need to know that I will not stop serving Net Work's men and their families for lack of funding. I firmly believe that God has called me to this ministry. I do not believe God will use money or the lack thereof to call me out of this ministry.

If I leave Net Work Ministries, it would be that I have been called to another ministry. At this time, I have had no such calling.

Thank you for hearing me out on this difficult issue. I will make no further mention of it.

Our Friday Morning Men's Group has begun a new book. It is Andy Stanley's thought provoking book, "How To Be Rich" subtitled,

"It's Not What You Have. It's What You Do With What You Have."

One last thing as I close:

"I thank God in all of my remembrances of each one of you!"

NET WORK MINISTRIES, INC. EXISTS FOR THE PURPOSE OF BRINGING TOGETHER GOD’S PEOPLE AND HIS RESOURCES TO PRESENT THE HEALING MESSAGE OF CHRIST’S UNCONDITIONAL LOVE, THROUGH WORD AND DEED, TO A HURTING AND LOST WORLD.

NET WORK MINISTRIES, INC.

2671 OLD HICKORY DRIVE, N.W.

MARIETTA, GA., 30064-1833

678-986-4814

E-mail address – buckreese41@yahoo.com

Website: www.networkministries.blogspot.com

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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

Thursday, December 11, 2014