Thursday, December 27, 2007

The Age of Manhood

I've recently been pondering the question, when does a boy become a man? Three things started this thinking, which I will describe below. Feel free to answer the (redone) poll to the right.

1. I recently heard a preacher say that "Adolescence" is not a Biblical term. He sited 1 Cor 13:11 where Paul only refers to 2 stages of growth childhood and adulthood (he says man in the verse but you know what I mean there's no adolescence.) The preacher further states that we in America, or the western world, made that term up. HHhhhmmmm...

2. I was reading an article in an online Hockey magazine and the writer referred the 17-18 year old players that would be going to the World Junior Championships as...boys. He was referring to how tough the media was on them and said something like, "remember these are just boys." I thought really? Huh....

3. I was reading a review on a book, I forget which one, but the reviewer described the fictional book as a beautiful picture of passing from "adolescence" to manhood at the ripe age of 34! I'm serious. And it seemed the reviewer had no problem with this, so I commented on the website asking when he thought the age of manhood was. He replied by saying something like, "whenever someone of the male persuasion gets married and has kids or turns 30; whichever comes first." Wow...

So I pose the question to you that come to this blog (which looks like it's getting quite a bit of traffic lately ;) Go ahead and answer the poll to the right and/or comment on this post. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks!

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Nehemiah 3: Workers Are Few



And next to them the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord. (Neh 3:5)

Last week we finished Chapter 2, where Nehemiah had unveiled God's vision for rebuilding the wall and therefore Jerusalem. He further sealed the deal with the people by giving personal testimony of how God's hand had been with him to secure the king's favor and resources for the job.

The people responded by saying they would join him in the rebuilding. In other words, they caught the vision and were enthusiastic to join Nehemiah in the hard work ahead. This is significant given the history of failed attempts at that point to rebuild the wall and Jerusalem.

Chapter 3 is interesting because it's basically a list of names, I think someone counted about 37 of them...that could be wrong, but is probably close. Think of this as a list of volunteers or lay leaders that have taken up God's cause to rebuild. Nehemiah has given them all assignments and each of these lay leaders have also given the vision to their families and servants to take up the task of rebuilding the wall.

It was great to see that assignments were given out by a person's passion or if that person had a stake in that section of the wall. The priests were given the Sheep Gate, because traditionally that is where the sheep given for sacrifice and their portion enter. So you know they will build that portion of the wall well. Towards the end of the chapter families were given portions of the wall near their home. Likewise you can see them building well there.

This is a beautiful picture of how the Church should function. God has given a Senior Pastor and Elders a vision and the congregation embraces that and according to passion and/or giftedness fills in the needs...aka goes to work/volunteers gladly.

Sadly verse 5 is too often true. There are those who will not stoop to serve the Lord for whatever reason. Pride? Sure just like the nobles. Past hurts? Sure just like the people who are volunteering here had heard it before, "Let's rebuild!" then "Nope we have to stop."

We finished the night praying:

1. First praise the Lord for those that have taken the call and work their portion of the wall with vigor and passion. May the Lord sustain each and every one.

2. That the congregation of CalvarySLO, especially the men, would rise up and lead just as the men listed in Chapter 3 did. And that the Lord would use KingomBuilders to call and equip men towards that end.

3. The good hand of the Lord would be upon CalvarySLO to spread the good news that ultimate pleasure can only be found in God's greatness.

Amen?

Thursday, December 13, 2007

WtS: Year in Review!

WOW! What an amazing inaugural year for the Worship through Service Ministry!

Over the past year the men of Calvary SLO have faithfully volunteered their time to help people in need from our community. We got our first call to help from Family Care Network asking us to round up a group of men to help one of their clients move. That day more than 5 men showed up with trucks and, and most importantly, servants hearts to move the family of 4. Other highlights include moving Heather McMillan's mom into a new home, moving the Ramirez family into a new home, helping the Brennan's paint their home, painting the interior of another FCN family, painting the new prayer room @ the Pacheco location, fixing the plumbing and installing doors for other FCNI families, and also teaching a youngster how to fish!

Also as you may have heard, we've taken on a huge commitment with the SLO county Habitat for Humanity chapter in building 4 new homes in Atascadero. We are one of 12 "apostle" churches that are giving our time, strength, construction, cooking skills, and money to the building of the houses. As mentioned in a previous post, the ground breaking ceremony was last weekend which has risen our excitement to another level. The actual building/volunteering will be starting in early '08...I'll keep you informed!

On somewhat of a tangent, have you seen the old Harrison Ford movie "Witness"? He plays a cop that goes into an Amish community to protect a young boy who has witnessed a murder. The most amazing part of the movie (and why I write about it) is when Harrison is a witness to a barn raising. Basically, all the Amish community members come together as a body to construct a house for a newly married couple. I think it is one of the most inspiring events that I can imagine. What a perfect model for what this ministry hopes to accomplish...coming together as men to meet the needs of our community all the while worshiping our creator and all the blessings that he has given us! We're even getting to literally build a house this coming year!

Finally I want to personally thank every single person who has decided to put aside the normal weekend schedule to given their time and energy into serving our community and consequently, worshiping our Lord. As a church we often times focus our thoughts of worship to the playing and singing of music. While God certainly calls us to worship through those modalities we must also remember that God intended us to worship him by serving others. In '08 I hope to serve along all of you men! God's ambition in you has blessed our community more than we can ever know!

See you in '08

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Nehemiah 2: 9-20 Let's Get Going


And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, "Let us rise up and build." So they strengthened their hands for the good work. Neh 2:18

I hope you like these synopses of the KingdomBuilders Leaders Bible Study. We go much deeper in the 1.5 hours that we have together than I can write here, but hopefully gives you the gist of what we discussed. This is actually the first time I've done an actual Bible Study. I usually do book discussions. It's been a real good learning experience for all of us!

Do you remember the old "Just Do It" campaign? I'm definitely that kinda guy and it has it's advantages and disadvantages. Yes things get started and going, but sometimes as far as the longevity factor it's just not there. So I've learned a great deal from Chapter 1 and the beginning of 2 about the wisdom of planning and praying.

In this passage, Nehemiah finishes up praying (for three days it seems) and planning (taking a recon tour of the wall).

Towards the end he finally unveils the plan to the people and gives his testimony of how the Lord's good hand has been upon him. This encourages the people because they've all lived a roller coaster ride of building the city/wall, stop building, build again, the king gives a decree to stop building. But hearing the miracles God has done through Nehemiah's life strengthens their hand and they start the work.

Praying and Planning is good, but some people get what's called paralysis by analysis and never act (or if we want to keep the P theme going they never Perform). I like the approach the Lord has given Nehemiah...all the Passion, Prayer, and Planning was all a prelude to and a focus toward Performing...actually getting started.

Praise the Lord he had a plan for our salvation and life...Jesus. Praise him still that in His timing he executed on that plan. With Christmas looming around the corner we celebrate the start of the salvation plan with the birth of a baby in a manger. I want to celebrate also by not merely being a hearer or planner, but also a doer.

Amen.

Saturday, December 08, 2007

Ground Breaking Ceremony


Maybe you are like us in CSLO KingdomBuilders...wondering when we get to swing hammers and build those houses up in Atascadero! Well we are one step closer.

Today Aaron and Sara Nesper as well as my son Josh and I went up to Atascadero for the Ground Breaking Ceremony. The slide show is on the sidebar so check it out...

It was great to see how all four families were so blessed to have been chosen. It was really cool to see the Mayor of Atascadero there and representatives from various churches, businesses, and other government agencies.

I hope we, as CalvarySLO as well as the other Christian churches, shine the light of Christ not just to these four families, but to the entire community of Atascadero and beyond.

Amen...

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Nehemiah 2: 1-8 The Good Hand of God

And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me. (Neh 2:8c)

The KingdomBuilders Leaders got together again last night. We looked at Neh 2:1-8 and marveled at the exchange between Nehemiah and King Artaxerxes. Let me recap:

  1. Nehemiah is sad in the kings presence and didn’t get his head chopped off
  2. The king just gave Nehemiah probably a year to a year and a half leave of absence from his job, don’t forget now the king has to find someone else…good help is hard to find
  3. The king also just changed a law he had in place for a long time and if we turn to Daniel 6:8 we see that the laws of the Medes and the Persians cannot be revoked, that’s why the satraps were so hot to get King Darius to sign the law that would trap Daniel into praying to God and then being thrown into the lion's den
  4. King Artexerxes, not a believer by any stretch of the imagination, just agreed not only to give Nehemiah safe passage to Jerusalem with a letter and later we’ll see an army escort, BUT he is going to give Nehemiah all the lumber he needs from his own royal lumber yard
All this and what does Nehemiah say? "Yes, I am the most awesome servant that God has ever had!" or "Man I am just that good of a negotiator!"

No he says, "The king granted everything I asked for because God sovereignly intervened." No other reason...nobody else gets the glory. I love this Nehemiah guy.

Have you ever watched as someone took all the credit for a great idea or a task being completed? Never once acknowledging the fact that they got the idea from someone else or could never have accomplished the task without the help of their team. In the corporate world, it happens all the time.

This gives me a glimpse of what God must feel like, when in his sovereignty he provides for his creation and they take the credit...never acknowledging that God's hand was actually in it.

I was telling someone the other day about my career...how I went from security guard at a major corporation to Systems Analyst then went to another company and went to Project Manager and eventually IT Manager...blah blah blah. You know what I realized? I hadn't once mentioned God or the Lord Jesus. I told the story like I pulled myself up from my bootstraps...so lame!

This passage from Nehemiah came to me and I was so convicted. I told the person, "You know this story is not true. To tell you the truth the only reason I'm standing before you with any semblance of a cool career path is because God's good hand was upon me each and every step of the way."

Lord Jesus, I want to be more like Nehemiah. When major or minor things happen in my life I want to acknowledge you in my speech and in my heart. Thank you that your good hand is ever upon me. Amen.

Monday, December 03, 2007

New (Used) Trailer


Wow, this just in! The Lord provided us a trailer. The Kochs who go to CalvarySLO heard the announcement yesterday and tripped out. I guess they tried to sell the trailer last week and had no takers. Sweet...we'll buy it.

I post this not just to update you guys, but also to say to God be the glory. This kinda thing happens and I think ho hum praise God what else do I have going today? No this is major! The Lord provided.

Just another reason he most worthy of all of our praise, adoration, and devotion. Amen?!?!

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Nehemiah 1: Passionate Prayerful Response




As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. (Neh 1:4)

I started studying Nehemiah with the other CalvarySLO KingdomBuilders leaders a couple of weeks ago. We finally got into Chapter 1 last night.

It felt like the chapter hinged on the verse above. Nehemiah just heard news that his fellow Israelites were "in great trouble and shame" (v.3) and verse 4 was his response. See it so moved him that he wept and mourned...for days!

We reflected on what moved us to such a passionate response and we all struggled. Mainly because we were ashamed of what really elicits emotions from us...sports. Yes that hit us all right between the eyes.

Sports will drive me out of my seat and wake up my wife when my team wins a game. Sports will make an "unemotional" man cry when his team loses. Sports will make the quietest man all of a sudden become animated when you ask him about the last professional game he saw live.

Nehemiah? He wept over his people who were in distress and being slandered. The Israelites who were under foreign rule and told they could rebuild Jerusalem and then later told they can't because of some lies told to the king.

This was no game...God had promised in Deut 30:1-5 that if his people turned back to him he would not only restore them but make them more prosperous than their fathers. This is what moved Nehemiah to tears.

The fact is sports are fine, emotions are fine. I think we need to see sports as far less worthy of our emotional investment, though. There are many people who are in "great trouble and shame." People that are in our sphere of influence and beyond.

God give us a Holy passionate response to the things that move your heart. May that passionate response drive us to prayer, a prayer like Nehemiah's...a prayer that leads to action. (Even jumping out of one's seat and waking up one's wife for a Godlier cause than a puck going into a net.)

Amen?

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Dream Center I



You enlarged my
path under me, So my feet did not slip.

It's been so long since I posted on here...anyways here's an update on how the Dream Center trip went.


In summary, it didn't go the way I had planned...but it did go the way the Lord had planned which is always better! I felt like God told all of us on the trip that he wanted to stretch us, challenge our way of thinking, basically get us out of our comfort zone. Not just on this trip but in life. That's exciting because the Bible is chock full of people used of the Lord that were challenged and uncomfortable.

We left AG at 6pm Friday a man down, since Christion Richert went to his uncle's funeral. He had been battling cancer and succumbed last week.


From left to right are Austin (aka Dreamboat all the young women at the Dream Center followed him around), Aaron W. (aka Dorms his company is building the dorms at Calpoly and he liked to sleep on the trip), Nate W. (aka Prom King or PK since he was homecoming king at Pepperdine Univ), Aaron Nesper (aka HeavyNes...he's actually skinny so that's sarcasm), Josh and brother Seth (aka Mango and Pineapple because they ate a huge bag of mango and pineapple from a street vendor and because they are brothers).



Oh and that's me...next to the Dream Center's donated Hummer. Rumor has it a member of the group Korn donated it. It's a sweet ride! They named me Helen Keller or HK because I kept driving by braille...you know running over the little reflectors on the highway. We were in deep discussions and I kept turning around to talk so the men in the 3rd row seats of my minivan could hear me...then I'd hit those little reflectors and swerve to get back in my own lane. It was a harrowing experience especially for those in the 3rd row seats.

So you know our trip down was full of conversation. I had asked the men to think about the following three questions and we discussed them all the way down.

1. Howz your joy? Remember in Nehemiah: the JOY of the LORD is our STRENGTH! Much of the time I feel like I'm just surviving...not joyful or abundantly living.

2. What's God refining in your life? If he isn't refining something you are stagnant or worse dead.

3. What are you doing with your life? God gave us this great gift...life and it's so short let's make sure we aren't wasting it.

As you can imagine the conversation was great and surprisingly deep. We got into some controversial topics like the emerging church, service vs. street evangelism, are we supposed to just live a comfortable life...those are always fun too!

We got to the Dream Center a little after 10pm and got settled in our room, which was 6 bunk beds side by side in a large hospital room. Let me tell you the facility is massive...it's a huge complex with the main building being a huge hospital...I'd say about the size of Sierra Vista maybe even a bit bigger.

The plan was to go with the Street Ministry at 11pm but by 11:40pm we realized it wasn't going to happen...nobody showed up. From what we heard the leader was a bit burnt out from going out 6 nights in a row and was in deep REM sleep. We walked around the neighborhood, which was a little scary, and talked some more and ended praying for each other. Then we headed for bed (Aaron W. was asleep before we turned the lights out).

We woke up in time to hit the cafeteria for some breakfast...pancakes stacked three high some nice crispy bacon and all the fixins. When we got back to our room we had to search for a shower because the one on our floor was being hogged by the women.

There is a rally before the Saturday ministries, which are Adopt-A-Block and Random Acts of Kindness. Let's just say the worship portion of the rally was VERY celebratory. We were like lost little puppies in that environment. We got our assignment, which was Random Acts of Kindness. We were assigned to pass out free hot dogs and fliers on the corner of Sunset and Echo Park. The above picture was of HK, um I mean Nate holding up a sign saying Free Hot Dogs.

This was fun but not what I had thought we'd be doing. Adopt-A-Block is a great program where buses full of people, food, and water are taken to some of the poorest areas in Los Angeles. They offer the people hope in Jesus by also giving them tracts and offering to pray for them. I so wanted to experience this but it was not to be.


Meet Francisco on the left and Richard on the right. Richard was our leader, he testified to me that God used the Dream Center and Angeles Temple (the church that owns the Dream Center) to free him of many addictions and a lifestyle that was not pleasing to God. After talking to him I was convicted about my thoughts about this ministry during the rally and worship time. The good fruit of the ministry was standing right in front of me. Richard now disciples 10 people who struggle with the same addictions and lifestyle...simply amazing!

I gave away the hot dogs (that's perros caliente in spanish good huh?) and the bottles of water with new vigor, making sure each one had a flier with them. I prayed for each of those hot dogs and bottles of water...hoping that if the recipient needed Jesus that they would go to a service at Angeles Temple and/or knock on the Dream Center's doors, which by the way are open 24 hours a day 7 days a week!

We left the Dream Center a little earlier than we had hoped 12pm vs. 2pm, but a lot wiser. If you ever get a chance to go the Dream Center takes volunteers just about anytime. Check out their website and go to the STM or Short Term Missions and make arrangement.

I hope to take another team in the future (thus the title of this blog Dream Center I). If for no other reason than to get to know some of the men of CalvarySLO...


Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Whatcha doing this summer?

What 'er you doing this summer? Anything along the lines of the great commission?

I got an e-mail from a KingdomBuilder who, along with 9 or 10 others, is going to teach English in China. And it got me to thinking what are others doing?


Nothing has totally solidified for me yet, so I'm still open. Below is one thing I know that is going on.


Nogales, AZ Rescue Mission

These folks totally live on what the Lord brings them...literally every day they pray and food shows up to feed homeless people.

Right now they are praying for about 10 men to show up and finish up some Drywall and other clean-up type projects. Lodging (bring your own air mattress and sleeping bag) and food are provided. The only cost would be transportation down there which everyone can share.


Christian Henderson is connected with these good folks and is leading the trip. If you are interested please contact him at
xnh@lifemap.net or 431-7535.

Well either comment or e-mail me to let me know what you are doing and I'll post it on here. I think it would be encouraging for all of us to hear what us men at CalvarySLO are up to.

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Men's Advance 2007



As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. Jms 5:11

So many weeks prior to the Men's Advance this year I wanted to quit...to just cancel the whole thing. It felt so real, to just quit, that it would make everything so much better for everyone. I'm not being overly dramatic, this is how I really felt. It was weird...

Steve Anselm and I were praying the Thursday before the Advance and he felt the same way. All of a sudden lethargic not wanting to study for the message on Sunday morning. We both felt that if we were getting attacked this much the weekend was going to be amazing. And it was...


FRIDAY NIGHT
Friday night I spoke on 2 Kings 5 relating Naaman's story to how this weekend could go. It was an attempt to Set the Temperature or Tone for the weekend. As Anselm said the temperature that night was hot! We continued the evening by responding to the Lord in song and ended by praying for each other in groups of 3-4. It was a great start.


SATURDAY MORNING
We woke up Saturday morning to the smell of breakfast burritos. They were pretty dang amazing if you ask me. We then tried our best to keep the burritos in our stomachs while at the same time competing for some sweet prizes as platoons at Tug-O-War and Kajabi Can Can.


For those of you unfamiliar with Kajabi it's a game where you stand around in a circle with trash can(s) in the middle, hold ropes, and try to pull each other into touching the trash can. It goes last man standing style but in this case we went last team standing won. Curtis N. was a force to be reckoned with. Bryan said it best, "There seems to be force field around the trash can that keeps Curtis from touching it." He made a valiant effort, but in the end succumbed to Joey H's team, who won the screwdriver sets.


Next came the Tug-O-War. Unknowingly I put the four biggest men in Anselm's cabin and they pretty much annihilated everyone that tried to compete against them. They finally won best two out of three in the finals to win the DeWalt gloves and eye protection.


It was great to compete but we reminded the men that we ought to be competing for the heavenly prize.
"I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us." (Phil 3:14 NLT)

Next thing we did was have Bryan give us a message on being More than a Conqueror. He talked to us about John 14:16 and how the Father would send us another Helper not just after a battle but
for the battle. Best take away for me was finding out comforter, another word for Helper, means coming with strength. Even though we as men will fear what the Lord calls us to do...we can be assured and even have courage that he is coming with strength to help us in our time of need.

Last thing we did Saturday morning was have some Platoon time. Most talked about what was going on in their lives and then prayed for each other. One platoon leader told me,

"each of us shared specific burdens we were carrying... It was awesome! We had a great discussion and ended in prayer. By the time we left on Sunday many burdens like self reliance, arrogance, discontentment, shame, and envy (to name a few) were left at the foot of the cross, and many men were liberated this weekend. Now, we can run the race. Now we can advance and be more than conquerors."

That pretty much sums it up right there...and that's all I have to say about that.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON
Most of us enjoyed the splendor that is Main Street Grill (Firestone North). For those of us that are hockey fans we enjoyed the San Jose Sharks vs. Detroit Red Wings game with our ABC burger, fries, and a root beer. Then I headed back with a few folks and I for one took a nap...

While I was asleep men went mountain biking, surfing, played whiffle ball, and soccer. All kinds of activity. Next thing I know I'm awaken by shouts of laughter echoing from around the camp. See a couple of men had these shock games. Literally where the game gives you an electric shock...for all the ladies and sheepish men reading this they weren't plugged in the wall (unfortunately). I played one of the games a few times and man was it fun!

SATURDAY NIGHT
Pastor Steve Stump arrived around 6pm just in time for the grub. We had Carnitas for dinner and boy was that good. One of the guys I was eating with had spare ribs at the Grill and we had bacon for breakfast the next morning so he had the pork trifecta. I made him an honorary Filipino since the main food of the Philippines is rice and pork.

We started the evening service at around 7:30pm not knowing we'd be there for 4 hours. Yes...the men were in a 4 hour service and I'm here to tell ya it didn't feel like 4 hours to me. I was ready for 4 more. Stump taught on the story of Jonathan when he and his armor bearer took on 20 Philistines (not to be mistaken with the Philippines or the Philippians).

He talked to us about hearing God's voice when he calls us to do something amazing. He did this with 7 P's, which I can't remember all of them but some of them are: Purpose, Precarious, and such things. Sprinkled in were his testimony of being used by the Lord to lead some from Calvary Paso to smuggle tons of Bibles into China as well as many other adventures while in the service of the Lord. For me personally it was exactly what I needed to hear!

We went into our response time...after such a revelation we felt like we had to go into responding to the Lord. Then it happened, one of the men came up and confessed his sins publicly to the entire congregation. It was a beautiful thing...not prompted by anyone but the Holy Spirit. And guess what? It started a chain reaction. Men were coming up and asking for prayer, for release from captivity, one prayed to accept Jesus.

It was the most beautiful thing I've witnessed since I started helping out with Men's Ministry...heck maybe since I became a Christian! It brings tears to my eyes just remembering it. I fell face down on the concrete in worship to the Lord for all he has done and will do in each of these men's lives. I'm humbled and honored to have witnessed it.

SUNDAY MORNING
Sunday morning was surreal. It was difficult to wake up the next morning and put my mind around what happened the night before. We had some pancakes and stuff for breakfast which were also grub. Then we started our Sunday service at 9:15am to close out our time.

Steve Anselm spoke that morning...for 2 hours! And it was great. He spoke to us about knowing who our Alpha Male (Jesus) really is, about how meekly and humbly he walked on this earth as we should. He also talked to us about the fact we have an Adversary, we need to have our Armor, I think he was impressed with Stumps 7 P's but he could only come up with 5 A's.

To wrap things up we asked men to talk about what God is doing in their hearts. To be honest we stopped doing this about 4 years ago, because men tend to think this is preaching time rather sharing what God is doing in them time. This time was amazing. Many men spoke their hearts about wanting to be more than a conqueror, about wanting more of the Kingdom life. One man said, "I want to go into the heart of the enemy camp and fight!" That's it!

So to wrap things up I really feel like the enemy was after us because he didn't want men to be set free to fight him. It was so sweet to persevere though...so sweet! And my prayer is that each of you that were there whether you publicly or privately made commitments to the Lord can also persevere! What is on our dog tags can be SO true! It says, "I'm More than a Conqueror!"

I told everyone there that I would go wherever God calls me to go...not knowing if I was supposed to go with Stump or not to smuggle Bibles. Well God has called me...up the street! This Saturday I'm doing a little funeral for my neighbors sister who lost her baby. Pray that the Lord gives me the words to speak and each of them has ears to hear. I'm not sure where they are coming from faith-wise.

To everyone involved in being used of the Lord this weekend (you know who you are) thank you...from the bottom of my heart, thank you!

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

KingdomBuilders Ministries



Thanks for your interest in Calvary SLO KingdomBuilders, our Men's Ministry. Below are short descriptions of the areas within the ministry and who to contact if you want more info. Also, if you have any questions please feel free to contact me.
-Patrick Zalamea, Overseer Men's Ministry, 474-8130, mrz09@yahoo.com

FRATERNITY
Small Groups
It's all about brotherhood. We have three small groups that meet throughout the week. Check out the bulletin or calvaryslo.com for the most up to date info.

igKnight
We try to answer the questions, "What does it mean to be a man, Biblically?" and "When did I become a man?" We try to do this in a one on one setting teaching about the differences between Jesus and Adam as well as requiring each squire to serve in some capacity.

If you are interested contact Christian at 431-7535 or xnh@lifemap.net

MENtoring
We are in the process of collecting applications for men that want to meet with an Elder or Deacon for 10 weeks this summer quarter. It can be as formal or informal as you both want it to be.

If you are interested contact James at 543-8516 or james@calvaryslo.com

WtS (Worship thru Service)
This area of KingdomBuilders is very close to my heart. I've found that men love to worship God through their service (undefiled religion, feed the hungry, visit prisoners, etc). So we offer as much as we possibly can.

Ongoing you can help out one Saturday every 2 months. There are non-profit organizations that always need help moving, light construction or repair, etc. If nobody needs you the Saturday you are signed up there will be nothing to do. Just sign up with Aaron (contact below) and let him know what Saturdays are usually good for you.

Habitat for Humanities - KingdomBuilders is leading the charge to have CalvarySLO join 11 other churches to bless a family on the central coast with an affordable home. We have committed to:

  1. Sign up to help build the home for at least 6 Saturdays during the build process
  2. Sign up for 6 Saturdays to provide lunch for the workers
  3. Raise $8,000 to help fund the build
If you are interested in WtS contact Aaron N. at 234-1531 or aaron.nesper@gmail.com

EVENTS

Events are one of the best ways I know to grow closer to God and other men in the church. We've done Conferences, Breakfasts, and Competitions (Marrieds vs. Singles). Of course, we also do the Men's Advance (formerly known as the retreat) every year (as the Lord leads).

If you are interested in helping out with an event or have a cool idea for one contact Josh at (951) 805-9634 or joshkru@gmail.com

FoM (FISHERS OF MEN) TEAMS
FoM Sports Teams have a vision to both grow in fellowship with each other and be a witness for Christ to the other teams. We recently completed our first Basketball season and I think we placed quite high (tied for first?).

If you are interested contact Aaron W. 440-8001 or aywise@gmail.com.

Monday, May 07, 2007

Advance 2007 Feedback

We forgot to hand these out Sunday! If you have any feedback please leave it in the comment section (you can be anonymous or be a man and put your name on it). We'd love to hear what you thought.

If you are interested in any of the things we announced during the Advance go ahead and e-mail me at moveme3@gmail.com.

Thanks men...hope to have a recap and or some pictures up soon...

Friday, March 09, 2007

HouseBuilders in Atascadero

KingdomBuilders will be HouseBuilders this summer! Not changing the name...but actually building a house.

I'm pleased to announce that KingdomBuilders WtS will join Habitat for Humanities Apostle Build program (details below) for their Atascadero Project.


I'm so excited about this opportunity for a few reasons:

1. It sounds like a kick (I sit at a desk all day)

2. We as a church can help at least one family that is struggling with the insane housing market in our county.

3. Habitat requires the family that is buying (not getting for free) the house to build it along side us and the other churches that are helping out. (What a cool testimony!)

So here are some things you need to know for now.

  • Habitat through the Apostle Build is seeking 12 churches to partner with them to build the home(s) in Atascadero. (As of right now they only have 8 including us...if you know of any Church leaders in the area encourage them to join us! They can even team up to make one church...share the load.)

  • CalvarySLO, in faith, has committed to donating $8,000 towards the building of one of the Atascadero homes. If you feel led go ahead and send a check to CalvarySLO, PO Box 1463, SLO, CA 93405 or drop it in the agape box with Habitat Apostle Build in the memo line. (Just as an aside there are approx. 85 men on the KindomBuilders mail list. If we average $100 each we could meet the donation plus some!)

  • We've also signed up for 6 work days possibly starting in July 2007 and hopefully ending in December 2007. Like I said above we'll be able to build this home alongside the families that will be purchasing the home (at way below market value and very low interest rates). So look for this announcement coming this summer.

  • Last, we've also committed to feeding workers for 6 days through the building process. You can also help with this if you know any restaurants that would donate meals or you want to coordinate one of the meals. It can be when we have CalvarySLO men there or not.
Ok that's it for now. I can't wait until ground breaking! Hope you are as excited as we are!



We (Aaron Nesper and I) will be keeping you updated through the blog, Constant Contact, and church announcements. Also, check out Habitat SLO's website especially the part about Apostle Build and About (so you can see what Habitat is about and how they qualify home buyers).