Archive for Purpose

Fear

Monday, January 5th, 2009

tiedI just sent a friend an email asking for prayer. Life’s going great. The baby’s on the way, I’m in a good place with work and home, the family stuff is hard to navigate, but isn’t it always? All that stuff’s good, the problem is with the calling. I get pumped up when the goals are clear and the payoff is huge but when it comes time to draw the map I get overwhelmed with fear. Someone diagnosed it in me once, they called it the “Paralysis of Analysis.” I was struck dumb with the realization that he’d just hit the nail of the problem squarely on the head. It absolutely fit. I embodied that phrase in every way…  But, It didn’t help,  except now when I am stressed I can say, “I have “Paralysis of Analysis” and I go play Madden on the Playstation.

Its like taking a trip. I get hyped up on going somewhere, I get out the map, I can see the direction to go but I can’t decide most efficient way to get there– plane, train, or automobile– so I just stay home. Same with decision making… I get a picture of the “destination” or “outcome” in my head and how great it would be to see that goal realized. But then I start to consider the different ways I’d go about making the journey. Should I start a group? Should I start a group for the leaders of the groups so that they’ll be better equipped to go start their own group? Should I have a weekend experience that gets ‘em interested in meeting as a group and hope that a group forms? Should I start an online presence (blog) with content that makes people think about it and then hope they find a group that helps them reach it? What is “it?” “It” is a great book by Craig Groeschel but that’s not important right now. What’s important is telling God, “I know this is the purpose you have set in my heart but have no idea how to do it, but I’m not taking another step until you tell me where to put my foot.” and then repeat.  I’m learning that ts the same with every business/relationship/dialogue/endeavor.

God, I know this is the purpose you have set in my heart but have no idea how to do it, but I’m not taking another step until you tell me where to put my foot.

I could use some comments on this one. Load me up with how you push down the fear and overcome.

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My Hope for Mankind

Monday, December 22nd, 2008

Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
‘Til He appear’d and the soul felt its worth.

A Christmas Devotion

Merry Christmas from Men On Purpose.com!!

Categories : Purpose
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Love146 – What Stirs You? (part 3)

Thursday, December 11th, 2008

It’s been awhile since my last post . . . holidays, sickness, doctors . . . let’s just say it’s been busy around our casa the last few weeks.

When I first ran across Love146.org, I was struck at how this could even happen in our world today Read More→

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Essential to the Soul

Saturday, November 22nd, 2008

As a former writing student, the conversations in my head are usually me trying to distill complicated thoughts into smaller more easily communicated chunks. I like to have my “elevator pitches” ready. When I don’t have a plan as to what I want to say I tend to run off at the mouth Read More→

Categories : Life and Story, Purpose
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Guy’s Guide to Marrying Well

Thursday, November 13th, 2008

There is a *free* guide for men to marry well.  I’m not sure how many single guys are readers of MoP, but I am sure you will be happy to pass on this information that can help prepare men for strong, health marriages.

Most men hope to marry some day, but there’s no guarantee they will.  Increasingly, young men are — as one writer put it — “stumbling on to the altar as if by accident.”  … When they do find advice about relationships, it’s often spectacularly bad.

This guide was developed to turn around the curse of failed manhood.  In their infinite wisdom, the authors have opted to GIVE this information away.  So get over to Guy’s Guide to Marrying Well and sign up to break the curse of apathy among men and marriage.

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Election Day – What Stirs You? (part 2)

Tuesday, November 4th, 2008

With today being the election day I thought it a good time to post something political in nature.  Check out this speech by Laurence White entitled “Soul of America”

Laurence White has been the senior pastor at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Houston, Texas, since 1981. He is the co-founder and chairman of the Greater Houston Area Pastor’s Roundtable, a pro-life, pro-family organization that seeks to increase Christian participation in the political arena.

What stirs you?  tell us in the comments. . .

Categories : Life and Story, Purpose
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Crap called Gospel – What Stirs You? (part 1)

Sunday, November 2nd, 2008

This is the first of a number of posts that asks, “What stirs you?”  I will post about issues that stir me and/or those close to me.

“Why?” you may ask.  I am sure that when we find the things that stir us we begin to come Fully Alive and begin to find out who God made us to be.

A Bunch of Crap Called Gospel

The prosperity gospel is an issue that stirs me.  Watch the video below…

… having a form of godliness but denying its power . . .
2 Timothy 3:5

What stirs you?  Tell us in the comments . . .

Categories : Life and Story, Purpose
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Defeated . . .

Tuesday, September 16th, 2008

I listen to a number of podcasts as I commute to work on my bicycle. Sometimes I forget where I am and I have to go back and listen to the entry from the beginning – two or three times – just to make sure I did hear it correctly.

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

- 2 Corinthians 4:8-10

This was the key verse in a sermon on Resilience (this is a direct link to the MP3) at Mosaic.

I was caught by this verse from the very beginning because I so often think on just these things…

I am pressed on every side . . .

I  am perplexed . . .

I am persecuted . . .

I am struck down . . .

I am defeated . . .

Whoa!! Is that really how I see my life? Not always, but quite often, it is. I must have a pretty hard life right? Obviously, I don’t have a job or any means to provide for my family . . . what family, they’ve all betrayed me . . . I don’t even know why all this bad stuff happens to me…

What I just said is not true: I have a good job that allows me to provide for my wonderful wife and amazing four children whom I get to play with and share with most every day. I have a few great friends. Is everything peachy? No, of course not, I live in the same fallen world as everyone else.

It really comes down to where I focus. Do I focus on the “bad deal” I’ve gotten or do I focus on the “amazing gifts” I’ve been given? Do I focus on what I can’t do or on what God is doing?

With that slight change in attitude I find:

I am NOT crushed . . .

I am NOT in despair . . .

I am NOT abandoned . . .

I am NOT Destroyed . . .

I am NOT defeated . . .

Even through all of the pain and hardness of life I have victory because of Christ and even more. I have the privilege of carrying Christ crucified to the world, to all those within my sphere and even to be part of the “reveal” of Christ to those same people.

Not a bad deal if you ask me!

Mosaic is the church community where Erwin McManus (author of Soul Cravings & The Barbarian Way) serves as the primary communicator and cultural architect.

Mosaic is a community of followers of Jesus Christ, committed to live by faith, to be known by love, and to be a voice of hope. Most of their sermons are available through their podcasts along with many of their innovative videos.

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Independence Day

Friday, July 4th, 2008

First of all:

Welcome Home All Who Have Served Our Country, You Are the Warriors We All Hope to Emulate in Our Battles!

The theme of this day (July 4th, US independence day) fits the message of this site perfectly. There is an enemy, he prowls the earth seeking whom he may devour. That ‘may’ there is a good choice of words. He doesn’t devour just anyone, he destroys those willing to be destroyed. Not whom he ‘can’ devour but those who he ‘may’ devour.

Before the enemy came to be there is a Father/Creator that spoke us into existence. To each he gave a personality, desires, and  a purpose. And, because he knew what he was doing the three of those things mesh together to form a fierce being. A man (in our case) who is focused, brave, valiant, and effective. That was the plan anyhow.

The way things have turned out we have blindly stumbled through life without anyone to point us in the direction of that loving creator Father. We were told that the purpose of life is to be happy, or prosperous, or at the very least “to have it better than our parents had it.” Hmm, lofty. Our parents, church leaders, teachers etc. didn’t know the purpose of life and if they did then they didn’t know how to point us to it. We went to high school and cruised through, some of us went to college and wasted even more time. Then we got out and had to pay rent so we took the job that paid the bills and had to learn how to survive the politics to advance and get paid more. At some point we concluded that having a family, a house, and a car was the best we could do and started filling the holes with toys. A big TV, turned into a Theater Room, Going to a football game turned into tailgating with an RV and a margarita machine, A weekend trip to the lake turned into a boat, a ski-doo, and a lake house. Going to church turned into commitee meetings, building projects, fund raisers, choir practice, gossip,  and “where are we going to eat after the service?” All the while we watch the news and feel helpless to change the world. I wonder why we feel helpless when WE’RE NOT DOING ANYTHING TO CHANGE IT.

Going forward, here at Men On Purpose, I’m going to be looking at who we are, why we were put here, and the distractions that keep us resigned to a life of futility. I want to talk frankly about these issues, and invite you to do the same. Use words like ‘angry,’ ‘drunk,’ ‘pot,’ ‘depressed,’ ‘porn,’ ‘masturbate,’ ‘afair,’ ‘guilt,’ and ‘divorce.’ These topics touch our lives and skew our perspective, if the church hides in the closet and ignores them then no one gets helped. You can’t drive forward if your wheels are spinning in the mud.

Philippians 3: 13 Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. 14 I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back. 15 So let’s keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you’ll see it yet! 16 Now that we’re on the right track, let’s stay on it. 17 Stick with me, friends. Keep track of those you see running this same course, headed for this same goal. 18 There are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to get you to go along with them. I’ve warned you of them many times; sadly, I’m having to do it again. All they want is easy street. They hate Christ’s Cross. 19 But easy street is a dead-end street. Those who live there make their bellies their gods; belches are their praise; all they can think of is their appetites. 20 But there’s far more to life for us. We’re citizens of high heaven! –The Message

For Freedom
bert

Categories : Life and Story, Purpose
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We’re About to go “Dark”

Friday, June 13th, 2008

There is a need in the community of men that is slightly different than what menonpurpose.com has been doing. My goals up until now have been to: “Use positive language to encourage men to find their place in the “Bigger” story that God has for them.” It has come to my attention over the last couple of weeks that I’ve been a little to… (what’s the word?)… hesitant  when dealing with the real and overwhelming issues that are facing men.  In the next couple of days this site will go “dark.” There will be a home page with an invitation and a  warning that we are going to tackle issues with honest, meaningful, relevant, and often frank language.

Its about to get REAL men.

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