July 2017, Man Up for LIFE

Men’s UNITY Breakfasts

A New Feature –

MAN UP

Baton Rouge Christian Life Magazine is adding a new monthly section that focuses on topics of interest to men.  MAN UP features articles written by men, for guys and their families.  Each future issue of the magazine will provide inspiring and practical information on a variety of subjects, including Being a Godly Husband, Fatherhood, Men Leading Their Families, Men in the Church and Special Men’s Events.  Another goal of MAN UP is to encourage men to live godly lives by being genuine followers of Christ.  Statistics show that when a man commits to follow Christ, over 90% of the time his family will do likewise.  MAN UP will be written by people who are active in ministering to men and others with knowledge on a wide range of manhood issues. 

Bax Kegans, Mike Grace, Dayshawn Russell, Dr. George Howard, Clayton Hays, Bruce Lininger Parkview Baptist Church, st. Andrew’s UNC, New Gideon Baptist Church, United Believers Baptist Church, Community Bible Church

Men’s UNITY Breakfasts

by Elmo Winters

 “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”

Psa. 133:1, KJV 

How fitting it is for the first installment for MAN UP to feature an article on a new initiative in the Baton Rouge area for men.  The Men’s UNITY Breakfast, a monthly gathering of guys for food, fellowship and fun is the brainchild of two local ministries, the KINGDOM Group and Gulf South Men.  It is hosted to inspire and motivate men to be the leaders in unifying the capitol city of Louisiana in Christ.  This free event is open to all area men, regardless of racial, ethnic or cultural backgrounds.  In fact, the UNITY Breakfast promotes bringing guys together by bridging racial and cultural barriers.

Men find Christian comraderie and lasting contacts at each breakfast.
Michael ecuyer, Ron skains, elmo Winters and Mark Lubbock

Men gather monthly to discuss ways to bring unity to the Body of  Christ.

Enjoying breakfast together.
Winters announces the upcoming Men’s UNiTy Breakfasts.

After the racial unrest and division in Baton Rouge last year, ministers Mark Lubbock of Gulf South Men and Elmo Winters, head of the Kingdom Group International conspired to address the issues in a practical manner.  Both men serve in organizations that minister to men and believe that the key to solving many societal problems rests in strengthening male leadership in the home, church and the world.  Mark and Elmo agree that getting guys together is one avenue to bridging the racial, ethnic and cultural barriers that separate people globally.  The UNITY breakfast is hosted monthly by varying churches and denominations.  The different venues serve as godly settings that encourage and promote dialogue among the races.

The response by local pastors, ministry leaders and men of all denominations to the breakfast has been extremely positive.  Support for the monthly gatherings continues to increase as churches are requesting to host one of the events.  Thus far, four ministries, Ministry of New Life, New Gideon Baptist Church, St. John’s Methodist Church and Broadmoor Methodist Church have successfully held Men’s UNITY Breakfasts.  The Church of Baton Rouge is scheduled to host the July event.  Ministries interested in being a part of this tremendous work of unity in our city should contact Elmo Winters, (225) 305-3006 or Mark Lubbock (225) 252-3331.

Men from various denominations, races and socio-economic backgrounds take the lead in “Manning Up” and coming together as men of God.

The Men’s UNITY Breakfast, a monthly gathering of guys for food, fellowship and fun is the brainchild of two local ministries, the KINGDOM Group and Gulf South Men. It is hosted to inspire and motivate men to be leaders.

The simplicity of the Men’s UNITY Breakfast confirms that it is truly a God thing.  Guys gather at a venue, usually a church’s fellowship facility, a host prepares and serves a simple breakfast meal (eggs, grits, sausage and the like), prayer is offered and men talk to each other.  The beauty of this is in the fact that people who ordinarily would not be talking to each other are brought together, and dialogue happens.  Men have conversations where they learn about each other.  The venue provides a safe haven for asking the challenging questions and for providing the difficult answers.  Real unity can only happen as is directed in scripture, “how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together.” Dwelling together starts with us coming together.  Coming together opens the door to us learning how to live together.  It starts with talking to one another.  We accomplish nothing by talking about or talking at each other!

Arnold Bourgeois and Aaron Hillard

 The next Men’s UNITY Breakfast is scheduled for Saturday, July 29th at The Church of Baton Rouge, 2037 Quail Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70808.  This event will start promptly at 8 a.m. and promises to be a blessed time.   

Come and join us?

Anyone interested in providing a future article should contact Beth Townsend at beth@brclm.com or Elmo Winters at elmo@brclm.com. We welcome your comments and suggestions, as well.

ElmoWinters-2

Reverend Elmo Winters has been in ministry for nearly 40 years, as an Apostle, pastor, church planter, hospice chaplain, Bible Institute instructor, and short-term missionary. He is the Executive Director of the Kingdom Group International, LLC, and author of two books, “Going by Going” and “OVERCOMING RACIAL AND CULTURAL BARRIERS, to Disciple Men”. Reverend Winters serves on the board of Gulf South Men and is active in Iron Sharpens Iron and other men’s ministries. He holds a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA). He is married to Therese Winters and father of 5 children.

Baton Rouge Christian Life MAGAZINE

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June 2017, Pastor's Perspective

A New Breath of Life

 

A New Breath of Life

by Mark Lubbock

One of the things that breathes life into me is conversation with folks who see from a point of view that differs from mine.

Listening to them explain life as they see it helps me get out of my own head and begin to once again embrace and enjoy the diversity of God’s creation.

Not long ago I visited a technology retailer for information on a product I owned. The young lady who waited on me was clearly more drawn towards talking with fellow employees than serving customers. She glanced at the Christian shirt I was wearing so she could make some guesses of her own about me. Initially she was distant, businesslike, and seemed a bit disinterested in her work. I felt like I was just another customer she needed to get out the door. So I started a conversation, taking this as an opportunity to learn a little about her. Stating that I use my device in ministry, I paused and asked if she had any thoughts on spirituality. She was quick to reply that organized religion is a major problem in our country and she wants nothing to do with it. Nodding my head to indicate I am listening, I followed up by asking what works for her in place of organized religion. Her reply was along the lines of “I believe in God and don’t need church. I have my own private spiritual life.”

No surprise there of course, since this is a common theme with folks who are not interested in traditional church. What I saw as she shared though, was a
hint of thinly veiled anger. Not directed towards me, but seeming to arise from the thoughts going through her mind as she formed her statement about church.

As I listened to her sometimes harsh criticisms of religion, she started to relax that professional mask, allowing me to see the real person. The more I listened with interest, the more she opened up (versus rebutting her comments and telling her my thoughts.) When it became clear that I was not taking any ‘sides’ in the topic, but just wanted to hear her thoughts, we were able to finally have a true discussion.

What developed was a simple conversation where I spoke of how my life was measurably better due to my relationship with Jesus, and she spoke of wounds she received from the “Church.” At the end of my transaction and the conclusion of our conversation, I asked if I could pray for her before leaving. Her head snapped back for just a second and her eyes watered a little. She simply nodded her head “yes” indicating my prayer for her was welcomed. I thanked God for the meeting and for the chance to get to know her, asking for grace and blessings upon her life. The prayer was closed with a request that Jesus would touch her heart with a sign of love and favor, easing any pain and bringing her peaceful joy. By then the waterworks were in full display. As I left, I continued the prayer asking God to lead her to a church environment where His love is LIVED OUT DAILY.

Clearly, the church universal has not successfully communicated Jesus to this
young  woman, which leads me to think about “outcomes.” Most churches want to reach outside their walls and touch lives with Jesus. Yet few ever bother to measure the effectiveness of the routine life of the church. How would you assess the outcome of your church in reaching the lost, the lonely, the hurting?

I’ve learned that the Holy Spirit offers frequent course corrections all along the journey of life. As we seek to draw close personally to Jesus, I know we’ll also encounter opportunities to look at others through His eyes and allow him to use our hands to share His love.

Shalom

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Mark just celebrated 20 years of marriage with his bride Vickie Lubbock. He served as a pastor with the United Methodist Church for over 15 years before coming on staff with the General Commission on United Methodist Men where he currently serves as Deployed Staff. He was the first pastor in the nation to become a “Certified Men’s Ministry Specialist” through the GCUMM and Vanderbilt University. Mark sits as the C.E.o. of the regional non-profit men’s ministry “Gulf South Men” headquartered in Baton Rouge, serving Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. Gulf South Men supports churches and men’s groups in making disciples of Jesus through coaching, events, training, studies and small group formation. Mark is the Regional Director for “Iron Sharpens Iron” which is the nation’s largest ministry to men through regional equipping men’s conferences. Mark formerly served as Regional Director with Promise Keepers supporting regional conferences.

Baton Rouge Christian Life MAGAZINE

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