by MIMADMIN | May 8, 2015 | Testimonies
I learned at a very young age there is something special about sitting around a fire with other men. I’ve always enjoyed the camaraderie that it brings. Not long after we bought our house, I quickly purchased a disposable fire pit. After a year or two, my wife and I decided to build a permanent stone addition to our patio for a fire pit. No matter the weather or season of the year, we host a fire for all of our friends and neighbors every Friday night without fail. It has grown to such an event that we can reliably count on 10 – 20 people stopping by every week. A few of our neighbors and friends come weekly, some stop by every few weeks, some just once or twice a year; but it is rarely the same crowd every week. They all know that when they walk around the corner to my back yard, a warm “HEY – YO” yell will welcome them. Once somebody has attended they almost always will find their way back again. I feel blessed to host such a welcoming event every week. It didn’t take long to notice the trend of the fire, from 7-9pm the kids play games and roast marshmallows while the women catch up on each other’s lives. The men enjoy a beer and talk about the week, cars, music, or any other type of small talk you might imagine. However, around 9PM most of the children disappear inside to watch a movie, or head home to bed. The women, tired of the outdoors, tend to head in with them....
by MIMADMIN | May 8, 2015 | Testimonies
In preparation to again depart for India to be with our brothers and sisters across the ocean, the above statement resonates within me. As I write this article for YLN, there is a fire of discipleship raging across India. It is a move of God and we can’t print enough Operation Timothy (OT) books to keep up with the Indian Pastor’s demands. How I grieve that the church across America doesn’t have the same fire to the Biblical command to “make” disciples.¹ Yet the good news is we don’t have to wait for any institution to give us a “green light.” Earlier in the year I read an article by Steve Faber in this same column titled “Sharing Ministry in the Marketplace.” I was challenged and convicted to ask God to put one man in my life so I could take him through the Ministry in the Marketplace (MIM) series; thus discipling him. God put a man in my path named Dave.² I have no adequate words to express the blessing and joy of seeing God transform a man right before my eyes as Dave began to see his Universal Purpose: “To glorify God as we participate with Him in the process of becoming prepared for an eternity in heaven.” Amazingly, his desire to drink and smoke excessively began to wane and today it has been lifted; not by Dave’s willpower or strength, but in his weakness. Just last week he asked me how to share the Good News that resides within him to a dying friend. He said, “Dan, I have to now speak out.” Dave can’t hold...
by MIMADMIN | May 8, 2015 | Testimonies
In 1 Peter 2:17 we are commanded to “Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God and honor the king”. How do these commands look as they are applied in our lives? As I consider how this verse relates to E squared, two of these commands resonate with me. Love and Honor. How do I love the brotherhood? One way is to “stimulate one another to love and good deeds” and to “encourage one another and all the more as you see the day drawing near” as stated in Hebrews 10:24-25. I find that getting together on a regular basis with a brother allows me to show my love for the brotherhood through the edification process, loving the Body of Christ. Encouraging one another to study and reflect upon Scripture and how it can be applied to our daily lives is one way to “love the brotherhood”. Another way I have been counseled to love the brotherhood is to connect with men in other cities. Stay in touch with them and find out what they are doing in their marketplace to minister to men. I have heard of many times when a man in another city was looking for help or fellowship and a brother was able to connect that man to another brother that can meet with the troubled or seeking man. That was my personal experience when I was troubled; a friend was able to connect me to a faithful man in my city. What other ways can you think of to love the brotherhood? The other command, “honor all people” and “honor the king”, how can...
by MIMADMIN | May 8, 2015 | Testimonies
When GOD moved my wife and I back to Texas after a thirty-four year absence, my prayer was, “LORD, please provide business men for me to invest in, as you have the last fifteen years in the various places we have lived.” Within three months I was leading a small group of guys from the Bible Church Suzanne and I attended. As time went by, men came and went, as they always have, cycling through the various studies of MIM. Soon the group settled in to include a real estate broker who is a completed Jew, a retired banker, a recovering accountant who now prepares cases for attorneys all over the country, an electrical engineer/trouble shooter, turned salesman for an international energy company, a buyer for a giant international pharmaceutical company, a financial planner, a retired international IBM/Data General computer trouble shooter via Skype from Georgia and a certified accountant. A small but eclectic band of brothers slogging our way through the “sticky wickets” of the market place with me, a real estate salesman, trying to lead us to HIS truths. Good times on Tuesday mornings from 6am to 7:30… Once we knew GOD was moving us back home to “The Great State,” I also began praying for a green light to lead an MIM study at the company real estate office I work for. That was April, 2010 and three weeks ago (almost three years later) I was invited by our owner to “git th’ dang study goin’,” which I did immediately. We meet Monday’s from 7-8am. It is a hundred mile round trip for me and when...
by MIMADMIN | May 8, 2015 | Testimonies
Several years ago at a Lost Valley retreat I heard a speaker describe a ministry he had developed with a group of pastors in India. I was intrigued and wanted to take part. Before long I had become pen-pals with one of the pastors – Pastor Mark Baki. For a couple years we emailed back and forth. I was always encouraged and challenged by the intensity of his labor in the ministry. It was on my heart to get to know him better, and so I proposed that we start a bible study over Skype. Many of the Indian pastors involved in this ministry do not speak English well enough to easily converse over the phone, but fortunately for me, Pastor Mark speaks fluent English. Over the past year, Pastor Mark and I have met once or twice a month on Thursdays – morning for me and evening for him. The first study we did was the Why Go To Work booklet from the Ministry in the Marketplace series. I love this booklet because it touches on a wide range of issues, including eternal rewards, the significance of work, and a biblical comparison of clergy vs. laymen. We are currently in the middle of the Establishing Your Purpose booklet. After we complete this booklet, we plan to go through Whose Job Is The Ministry with a small group of the elders in his church. A few months ago, he asked me to speak at an outreach program at his church. He set up his computer and a projector in his church, and from my home I preached the gospel...
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