All reports from this past weekend men’s retreat (July 10th to 12th) have been Yes and Amen!  Thank you to YA’LL for your prayers and encouragement for the Lord to uplift us at the “No More Excuses” conference.

Our travel took us to Dallas, Texas Friday.  Seven men scouted out the conference venue and five attended the high flyin’ fun of Six Flags Over Texas Friday afternoon.    

Saturday morning, WOW, our Lord is awesome as He brought men who are after God’s own heart to share with us.  Those who shared included Kurt Warner, Kirk Franklin, Jonathan Evans, Steve Farrar, John Kitna, Tim Brown and Dr. Tony Evans.  The theme How Bad Do You Want It and No More Excuses came to life through the words and testimony of each person speaking.  

Jonathan Evans encouraged each of us to follow the playbook our coach has given us.  He challenged us to ask ourselves who is our coach and can we control and discipline ourselves to follow Him!  Jonathan is Tony’s son who plays with the Washington Redskins football team.  Jonathan, in his late 20’s, has experienced many of the rigors of training, discipline and honing basic skills to play at a professional level in his career.  He shared that life is from faith to faith, from giant to giant when we strive to the high calling of living in the image of Christ.  

The twelve of us encouraged each other to stay alert, attentive and focused as we listened to men exhort us to be before God honorable, upright, courageous followers of Christ, husbands and fathers.  John Kitna challenged us, “if we couldn’t say a word” would others look at us and say there’s something different about that man.  Different, as in the image of Christ reflecting through our lives.  Men, our ability to be accountable to one another determines our real humility before our Lord Jesus.  

Tim Brown shared his statement to his wife “I will never cheat on you ‘cause I love God more than I love you”!  Tony, Tim and Kurt covered a wide range of topics as they responded to texts we all sent in during a Q&A session.  Each of these men encouraged us as men of God to enter with other men into an accountability relationship.  I must ask myself, who am I accountable to, who can be my friend here on earth to hold me to a high standard of purity.  Men, find someone to share in that with to the glory of God.  

Kurt Warner challenged us to know “What are you here on earth to do?”  We are to be passionate about our King and passionate about the King’s people, caring for one another with a determination to win our brothers into the King’s care.

Three points Kurt asked us to look at in our passion.

• Does your passion consume you?
• Do you pursue your passion by developing a plan, moving out, being the best you you can be, truly excelling to pursue full life?
• What are you willing to sacrifice for it, the passion God gives you?  Passion always requires a sacrifice.  The greater the passion the greater the willingness to sacrifice.

Our Lord Jesus was and is passionate about each of us!  

We twelve truly had a wonderful time, complete with a Saturday evening walk and foot race (which Brent won) and soaking in the pool with all kinds conversation, both serious and wonderfully comical.  Cannonballs pool side were the specialty of Titus and as the Lord directs may we retreat again in the near future, ALL to His glory!