Minneapolis Update
Posted by Administrator (admin) on Jan 02 2006 at 8:19 PM
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We made it home and all is well. Leslie and I had a great trip to Minneapolis and the year has begun on a beautiful note. It seems as though the Lord never took the Holidays off. This weekend was a pleasant surprise as I found myself less needed than ever. What I saw all weekend was mature men of God walking in freedom and love as they ministered to one another and reached out to the perishing. What a joy to sit back and observe what God has done in the hearts of men. Two of the highlights came as a result of what many would perceive as tragedy. One was the breaking of a man who had an affair with another woman and consequently she became pregnant. He has been the ridicule of his small town and the embarrassment of his wife, kids and extended family. His wife has made the decision to try and make the marriage work and this man has spent the last several months in an all out battle within. This weekend he informed me in the most humble way possible that he has finally died and for the first time has tasted and seen that the Lord is good. It is no longer he that lives but Christ who lives within him. We can all share in the joy of this transformed life and the eternal effect it is destined to have on his whole community. Brokenness is what we must long for. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. About three weeks ago I got a letter from a man who demanded an apology for a statement I had made in one of our newsletters. I made a statement on how our world would be changed if they saw Christian men as brave and strong and fully alive instead of seeing them as bored wimps who hang out in churches and don't know how to live or have fun or be real men." He took this statement personally and thought I was some how referring to physical strength or youthfulness. However it has nothing to do with that, it is the inner man which I speak of. This weekend gave me the privilege of being around another one of the men I speak of. His name is Nate Morrison and he is the kind of guy that you just can't help but love. When your around him you think, "Whatever this guy is on, I need some!" He is one of these men who I refer to when I talk about being fully alive. Not without hardship, but an overcomer. Nate is a quadriplegic who has recently graduated from seminary, got married and is now working as a youth minister. Please never mistake strength in the kingdom as the same as strength in the world. In fact, usually those who the world has labeled as weak and insignificant are the greatest in the kingdom. I take real joy in this truth. In the service of the King, Todd