Christ - The ReeseSource: January 2021

Tuesday, January 5, 2021

FOURTH QUARTER 2020 NEWSLETTER

This month I turned seventy-five. Wow! I do not feel seventy-five! Someone once asked a pertinent question, “How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were?” It seems like an odd question but I understand that the question goes to your state of mind. I certainly do not feel my true age. Circumstances would say otherwise, such as becoming a great-grandfather and having had two hip replacements and other assorted aches and pains. An elderly friend of mine once asked his physician friend, “John, is there ever a time at our age that we do not hurt?” His friend replied , “If ever you experience that…you’re probably dead!”

By in large, I would say I feel like I am in my thirties. With Peggy’s help and encouragement, I am in as good a shape as I have been in a long time. Scripture speaks of old age and its accoutrements:

Proverbs 16:31 (NIV)

“Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life.”

Proverbs 20:29 (NIV)

“The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of the old.”

At the end of this challenging year, I have been closely examining my life at this point. I realize that I am closer to the end of the story than the beginning. I am in the fourth quarter! I am studying for finals! That can be either a point of dismay and anxiety or a point of anticipation and hope depending on your worldview.

As a Christian, I think of each second, each minute, each hour and each day as a day nearer to the time I will be face-to-face with Jesus Christ and dwell with Him forever along with loved ones who have gone on before me.

Please hear me clearly on this; I am not in a hurry. I feel I have still have much to do here, much to contribute. I still have a calling to ministry.

Bottom Line: No matter what age you are at present, each day is a gift, celebrate it. Yes, it has been a tough year with disease, social upheaval, and dissension in many areas of life, but one truth remains:

“Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

No other worldview offers “the peace that passes all human understanding in Christ Jesus.” No other worldview offers this eternal hope both now and forever.

MINISTRY NEWS AND NEEDS:

Please do not forget!

When you purchase something from Amazon, please go to:

www.smile.amazon.com/ch/58-2009795. Amazon contributes a portion of each sale to our ministry.

The next quarterly newsletter will be published in late March. Donors who give on a monthly basis will be furnished three return envelopes with the appropriate month listed on the front. All other donors will be furnished with one envelope per quarter. This move is being done to be good stewards of the resources God has provided us. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call me at 678-986-4814.

I am grateful to all who have blessed us with your prayers, your encouragement, and your support!

THIRD QUARTER 2020 NEWSLETTER

I saw an article posted online that I liked and so I copied and pasted it and sent it as an email to several of my friends. A few days later I received this reply from one of my friends, “I like it, but . . . Appears that *** didn't write it. You might want to check this out. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check.”

Oops! I had forgotten to check the veracity of the article. Enamored by the content, I forgot to “fact check” it with one of several online resources that investigate whether an article or statement is truthful or is from the source the story states that it is.

Fact checking has come to the fore lately because of the political divide. Each party wants to know whether what the opposition says is true, partially true, or false. It is smart for us also to be fact checkers also.

There are many sources of fact checking. As noted above, there is Snopes.com, although some have said that sight has a liberal bias (who is going to fact check that? LOL!). There is the website “Fact vs. Fiction”. Some local television stations have their own fact checkers, as do many networks.

Where can we find the truth? In day-to-day instances, we can investigate sources like those mentioned above. We can also investigate facts on our own by researching the facts of who was being quoted. How does the statement in question match up with the person’s character and prior statements? Is there a repeated bias of those reporting the quote? Is it taken out of context?

On larger issues of faith, where someone uses the Bible to make their case for some issue, it is incumbent on us to search for the truth.

Pontius Pilate asked the question at Jesus’ trial, “What is truth?” So where do we look for the answer? Jesus said, “I am The Way, The Truth and The Life.”(John 14:6) We must look to Jesus, His Holy Spirit and the Scriptures to check to see if what a person is saying in spiritual matters is truth. In John 16:12, 13, Jesus promises the following, "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.”

Scripture calls us to be “wise as serpents, gentle as doves.”(Matthew 10:16) We must carefully examine what people are saying and how they use the Bible. Are the manipulating verses, taking them out of context to prove the point they are trying to make? In order to do this, we must be wise in our knowledge of the Bible, be diligent in our study of The Word.

MINISTRY NEWS AND NEEDS:

Eugene Peterson wrote a book entitled “A Long Obedience In The Same Direction” For 28 years I have tried to be faithful to the call I was given in 1992. I have tried to live up to that title. It is often not been flashy. It is often marked by times of “unproductivity” as the world measures it. There have been times of great rejoicing as we see someone come to know Jesus. We have seen a difference made in the lives of men and their families. There have been more times of quiet hope that God is using Net Work Ministries to bring glory to Himself. We have seen times of plenty and times of want, but God had always been faithful in the end to bless and provide. I am grateful to all who have blessed us with your prayers, your encouragement, and your support!

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