Brennan Manning spoke at Mariners Church in 1996. I have added this 4 part series to uberlumen for your listening pleasure. It is AMAZING! I have been sharing these lectures with men from my men’s group for years, and they ALL have been AMAZED and changed by his beautiful insights, humor, and stories. If you haven’t heard him speak or read any of his books please start NOW.
Some of my favorites:
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Hello Everyone,
Before I forget, last Wednesday, was our final meeting of the year; our next meeting will be on Wednesday, January 7, 2009. Bucky gave us the alternative Christmas story and Drew challenged us to read it this year rather than the one from Luke. That “story” is the Gospel of John, chapter 1, verses 1-14. I personally never looked at these verses in this way before. Take a few minutes to read the material, then answer the first question we had; what is unique about the way John tells the Christmas story?
I learn so much through Bucky’s teaching and our sharing time it is difficult for me to write about one or two things we covered. I want to write about all of them; but I cannot. In verse 10 it says, “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.” Think about it, even today, there are people putting up lights and playing Christmas songs but they do not know why; they still do not recognize Him. How can we help those around us see Jesus? Doesn’t your heart go out to them? This is a time when families will gather together. Most every family has at least one non-believer. Maybe this will be the year YOU can be the light that turns away their darkness. Maybe your testimony as to why you celebrate the birth of Christ will be the one that wins them over (remember, you are the plan). I met with Bucky on Wednesday afternoon. One reason was because I have certain family members I want dearly to come to know Christ. Bucky suggested I share why I celebrate Christmas. I pray this will be the time. I also know I cannot force any truth on them; remember; grace opens the door to truth. It is God’s timing, not mine. I must give up control and place my faith and trust in Him in every aspect of my life. Patrick gave a great analogy on Wednesday comparing our salvation to a boy opening a present. I encourage you to ask him about it. Patrick, maybe you could record it for Uberlumen. There was one other thing Patrick said that wowed me; “can you imagine going through today, just today, without forgiveness?” Wow, incredible, huh? Thank you, Patrick. Since it is Christmas, I know what you can get yourself. If you don’t already have one, get yourself a mentor. Start the New Year by meeting with someone who knows more than you and absorb it like a sponge. If you aren’t sure who can be your mentor, ask Bucky or any one of the elders. They will be glad to help or suggest someone for you. Have a blessed time celebrating the birth of Christ.
In His Service, |
Laughter is often the first response when I share with others that I “date” other men, but they soon realize that I am serious. I have developed deep, intimate, tell all relationships with several men in my life, and it has transformed my marriage, my parenting, and my life. It is a fundamental piece of being fully alive.
How do you do this?
1. First: Finding the right man for you. What does this future confidant look like?
a. CHEMISTRY: We all know that there are certain people that we have ‘chemistry’ with. There are some guys that you know that you really enjoy their company, and their personalities mesh with yours. How do you find them? You have to get involved! Go to men’s group!
b. VOLUNTERABILITY: It takes stepping out–moving beyond your comfort zone and removing your mask. This is the toughest step. It will take time to break down the walls that we as men construct to keep everyone away. You have to start with small forays into sharing a little carve out of your struggles and pains to see how it goes. If you find the right guy, he will respond in kind, and you both will continue to grow deeper in your friendship.
c. TRUST: You have to set up a wall around your relationship with this guy. Once you establish that this may be the right guy, and you have started the process of volunterability. You will need at some point to establish boundaries to protect your ‘secrets’. This is a verbal agreement to keep what you each share confidential.
2. Second: What do you do with the right guy?
a. TIME: You have to carve out the time to meet. It is essential that you have an agreement to meet weekly or biweekly. I have also developed a habit of calling (yes often daily) to check in and catch up when I can’t meet that week or so.
b. TALK: What usually happens when you have the time to meet or talk on the phone? Men talk about…..NOTHING! The weather, sports, etc. STOP! I need to intentially STOP, and get on subject. This is key because I STILL do this with my confidants! I find that we have burned through the time we have together by talking about nothing substantial. Don’t get me wrong, these topics are fun and important commaradirie…BUT it is just what they say it is: SMALL talk. The BIG talk must be done, and it can be hard work. Ask and Listen. How is your marriage going? What was the last fight about with your bride? How are each of your kids? How are you doing with your struggles? etc.
3. Third: Why?
Deep, intimate fellowship with a brother WILL transform your life! It will make you a better husband, father, friend, co-worker, and ‘little’ Christ.
A friend sent me a link to an entry on his blog that describes the importance and power of joining a group of men: “Some Honest Men”
Try it! And let us know your thoughts.
I had the honor to teach at Men of Influence this week. This is the men’s group at Mariners Church that I used to go to until I moved over to Men on the Path at Pathways Church. It is an amazing group of men, and they have chosen an AMAZING book to go through: Prayer is Invading the Impossible by Hayford. We discussed these questions:
I mentioned these 2 books as GREAT resources:
Please enjoy my brief audio teaching and slides, and as always, please share your comments!