Right now, right here…

About 60 men gathered this morning to kick off Manschool.  We had many new faces in the room which is great.  If you asked a man to come, thank you!

Here are the slides from this morning > clear eyes 1

The opportunities before us are enormous.  There is vast territory to be claimed for the Kingdom. Everywhere you go today, every person you come into contact with, there is a chance to minister to them and to expose them to Jesus.

But many of us come into this room broken and battered by life.  We’ve chased after our own little gods and we’re now paying the price.

The good news is there is redemption.  The good news is there is restoration. That man you once dreamed to be is still there.  He can be recovered.  The real you, the true you, the one the Father dreamed into existence – he’s still in there… awaiting to be awakened.

This season we’re going to be talking about “Clear eyes, full hearts. Can’t lose”.  That is to be men with clear eyes about this life.  A clear understanding about the realities of our brokenness, the challenges we face and how the enemy comes after us.  We’ll have a frank conversation about death and the timeline of our lives.  Lastly, we’ll develop a clarity of our calling – to become a man with a clear vision of his calling and his purpose for life.

Once we have clear eyes, we can move into a life of a full heart.  We can learn to love sacrificially. We can leave nothing on the field of life.  By no longer trying to “hold onto everything” we can learn to love fully.  As a man committed to his faith, a man unashamedly “in love” with Jesus, we have no reason to fear death.  By not fearing death, we can live this life abundantly.

A man with clear eyes and a full heart … cannot lose.  We’re going to learn how and why.

Today, we heard the stories of three coaches (two real, one fictional) – men of clear vision, clarity of purpose living with full hearts.  If you know your calling, know your purpose you can live from the inside out, not easily distracted by the things that don’t matter.  I showed the clip from Friday Night Lights where Coach Taylor got Smash Williams a tryout at Texas A&M.  Right before he stepped in to tryout, Coach looked at him and said, “Right now, right here, God has placed you here to do what you do best.”

That is our call men – that today and everyday, I will step out of bed to go about my day in the role I presently have, being the best man I can be to bring Glory to God.  That today, I will leave nothing on the field.  I will love patiently.  I will speak to everyone I encounter with a smile.  That I will honor those people that are providing services to me – validating them for the job they’re doing.  That I will look for that one person today that God has put in my way to show them His love.

“I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”  Ephesians 4:1

Ready? Manschool starts this Wednesday 9/18

It’s that time.  Manschool is ready to resume this Wednesday morning at 6am.  We’ve got a great game plan for this year.  I feel strongly that this is a message that is timely for the men in our Tribe.

We’re not going to ease into It.  Instead, we’re going to hit the ground running.  Come prepared with a note book and a pen.  Come with a heart to listen to the nudges God sends you during our sessions.  Be on the lookout for other men in your midst that need to give Manschool a try.  If you feel a man you know needs to be there, ask him.  Don’t ignore the nudge.

Clear eyes – we’re going to take a good hard look at the reality of this world and our society and the way many of us are living.  Nick talked about some of this in today’s sermon.  Joshua 24:15 “If serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourself whom you will serve.”  Point is, you’re going to serve something.  Will it be money?  Prosperity?  Social media?  Your career?  Possessions?  Security?  Entertainment?  Individualism?

You are going to serve something.  “but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

We are also going to be talking some about some realities about life.  The wise man goes about his day with the reality that he is taking nothing with him from this life.  The reality is, the end is coming for every one of us.  It is the 21st century.  I’m safe to say that anyone reading this over the age of 30 will not live to see the 22nd century.  I’m not.  I about to turn 55.  Safe to say, I am now assuredly past “mid-life”. My end is closer than my beginning.

I need to have clear eyes about the reality and part of that helps me form the “purpose of my life”.  Purpose gives direction.  It gives meaning and value to the process of life.

Part of “clear eyes” is finding our purpose.  Since “clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose” is a football themed statement, check out Dabo Swinney talking about his purpose as a man…

A man living with a clarity of his vision for his life is a man that can live with a full heart.  We’ve got a ton of great material to cover and unpack.

I hope you’re looking forward to Manschool.  I promise you, we’re going to leave nothing on the field this year.  All in.

Clear eyes, full hearts. Can’t lose. Manschool starts 9/18

Manschool resumes in two weeks – Wednesday September 18th at 6am.  We’ll be done by 7am and small groups go for 30 minutes afterwards.

Clear eyes, full hearts.  Can’t lose.  

This will be the theme of Manschool for this “school year”.  A man of clear eyes – seeing what is going on in and around him.  A man with clear eyes to see the errors of his ways and instead, learning to lean upon the Father for his daily bread, daily guidance.  A man with clarity of vision – to see that he is being called UP into a life of service beyond self, outward living rather than curving in upon himself.  A man with clear eyes to see these are dark days we’re living in – warfare rages all around him and coming to the place that he can clearly see he cannot navigate this world alone.

Clear eyes.

Full hearts – once we develop clarity of vision, clarity of the situation at hand, we can move forward into a life of a “full heart”.  We will explore and dig into learning what it means to be a man “in love” with Jesus.  A man “sold out” on the Gospel.  A man that knows he will take nothing with him at the end of this life and instead will pour out his life into the lives of others in love.

Full hearts.

A man with clear eyes and full heart … cannot lose.  This will be our quest this year.  It’s time to prepare.  It’s time to reach out and find other men that need to be a part of our Tribe.  There are men at your work, men in our church, neighbors, hunting buddies, etc. that are out there doing life alone.  They need our Tribe.  They need to hear this message.  But it won’t happen unless you pursue them.  They aren’t just going to come.  You need to ask them.  If Manschool means a lot to you, then you can speak with confidence to them about how valuable this Tribe is.

Can’t wait.  It’s gonna be great.