PCA Men’s Ministry Retreats and Seminars
Please email us more names of PCA speakers and seminars

Today’s men unconsciously write their own code of manhood and follow it religiously. But it is a flawed code that excludes God and His great plan for His sons. Meaning well, we often end up in prisons that bar us from truly becoming men, hurting ourselves and our loved ones in the process. The good news of the gospel is that because of Jesus, men can get out of these prisons and develop into real men. This seminar draws from Steve Brown’s teachings on grace and Pete Alwinson’s ministry to men. www.keylife.org/dangerousfreedom

 
True Christianity is not about "acting good." God offers more than behavior modification. He offers heart transformation! Come learn how God REWIRES men's hearts to build a passionate faith. This seminar from Man in the Mirror can be purchased as a package and taught by the senior pastor. Click for more info

Topics include, finding the purpose for your life, finding respect and honor at home, finding a new best friend in your wife, finding a deeper personal relationship with God. This is one of Man in the Mirror’s most popular seminars. Click for more info

The Great Dads seminar focuses on “The 6 basics of Being a Great Dad,” presenting key principles and many helpful, practical examples. It is Scripturally based, and its lively presentation featuring slides, music and real life conversations with teens speaks clearly to the hearts of dads. Several PCA TE’s are presenters of this seminar, including some of our military chaplains. For info on PCA presenters contact gyagel@forgingbonds.org.

For more into on the seminar, www.greatdads.org.

Too many Christian men today are losing spiritual battles for a simple reason; they are fighting them alone. This seminar/retreat, based on the popular booklet, Forging Bonds of Brotherhood, will help your men become a true band of brothers, forging the bonds of brotherhood they need for strength and encouragement. Over 30 PCA churches have been using the Forging Bonds material.

 www.forgingbonds.org

The Called to Sexual Integrity retreat or weekend seminar has been presented over 20 times in PCA churches and in OCF groups in the Marine Corps. The battle for sexual purity must be centered in an understanding of grace. Through the gospel we are empowered to confront the impurity of our hearts and to see that the root sin is desiring the pleasure and false intimacy of sexual sin more than we desire God. Practical steps are given to help a man tear down these idols, experience the grace of true forgiveness, re-set his affections on Christ, and better protect his heart from the lure of sexual enticement. www.forgingbonds.org

Sexual Brokenness And the Gospel Seminar. Harvest USA. Harvest began at Tenth Presbyterian as an outreach to the homosexual community. This is a great PCA resource. Their seminars, however, are for men and women. www.harvestusa.org

Restoring Sexual
Purity Seminar

Dr. Schaumburg is a great PCA resource in this area, but these seminars are for both men and women.
www.stonegateresources.org

PCA Men’s Ministry Speakers

Pete Alwinson Senior pastor of Willow Creek Church, Winter Springs, FL. www.willowcreekchurch.org.

Tommy Boland Director of Brother Brigade men’s ministry of Coral Ridge Presbyterian, Ft. Lauderdale, FL. www.brotherbrigade.org

Victor Estevez Men’s ministry leader at Valley Springs Presbyterian, Roseville, CA. www.soulsourceformen.com.

Harvey Kirkpatrick Men’s ministry leader, The Gospel Man Fellowship and Faith Presbyterian, Watkinsville, GA. www.thegospelman.com.

Nate Larkin Co-founder of Samson Society, Franklin, TN, www.samsonsociety.com

Don Riley Executive Director of Discipling Men, Germantown, TN.  www.disciplingmen.com.

Gary Yagel Executive Director, Forging Bonds of Brotherhood, Olney, MD. www.forgingbonds.org.

October / November 2008  Vol. 4  No.4

Life Changing Men’s Events
By Gary Yagel

On a warm November evening in 1966, at a camp called Hilltop, I faced the most important decision of my life. I had just been challenged to fully devote my life to Jesus Christ. Along with the other kids on this Young Life weekend, I was outside, observing the 20 minutes of silence following the Saturday night talk. Alone with God, I confessed my sins and surrendered my life to him.

That night I did what I’m sure my pastor, Sunday School teacher, and Young Life leader had talked to me every week about doing. But it was not until I got away on a retreat that I came face to face with the need to make a decision about following Christ, wholeheartedly. In Young Life circles, summer and weekend camps are notorious for the way God’s Spirit uses them to lead teens to surrender to Christ.

What does this have to do with men’s ministry? A lot. A weekend retreat or a Saturday morning seminar is a powerful tool in the hands of the Holy Spirit to grow men to new levels of surrender and commitment to Christ. Consider these benefits of such an event for men:

1. The Biblical content they can receive. Getting men together by themselves enables teaching in two areas that are specific to men—their unique responsibilities as husbands, fathers, and spiritual leaders, and their unique temptations due to their hard-wiring as men. It is true that men could get the same content by reading a book or listening to an MP3, but 98% won’t.  They are far more likely to come to a seminar or retreat that addresses their issues as men than to pick up a book and actually read it.

2. Deeper connection with the other men. 94% of Christian men have no best friend. They are fighting their spiritual battles alone. A carefully planned seminar or retreat will encourage the kind of discussion that enables men to realize that they are not alone in their struggles. Very often it is right after experiencing this closeness at a retreat or seminar that a man will decide to get into a weekly men’s study or begin meeting weekly for breakfast with a few close brothers for encouragement and accountability.

3. Renewed Passion for Christ. Today’s men are overworked and exhausted. They are so busy meeting their responsibilities on the job, in their homes, and in their churches, that their emotional tank is often near empty. A great seminar or retreat pours the energy of renewal into men’s souls. Time away from the routine allows a man to recover his spiritual perspective, think about things he has pushed to the back of his mind, and find rest. Often it is not necessarily a great insight that benefits him most from a Saturday morning seminar. It is the renewal of his passion.

There is a caveat about retreats though; they need to be done well. Young Life promises teens the greatest week or weekend of their lives, and they do all they can to make that promise come true. Our men’s events don’t have to quite that well done—but they need to be well planned, and very male-friendly. The speakers need to have something valuable to say about the issues men care most about. These issues are explained in the FAQ part of our PCA men's ministry website click here.  

To help you find men’s seminar and retreat speakers within the PCA we are compiling a speaker list, which will be posted on our website. We have listed those we know about later in this issue of GITG. Please email us with information about PCA men’s speakers and websites you know about gyagel@forgingbonds.org

Happiness Is the Residue of a Holy Life
A Look In the Mirror Number 166
By Pat Morley

All Men Want Happiness

Pascal said, “All men seek happiness. This is the chief motive of every action of every man—even of those who hang themselves.” Wanting to be happy is part of what it means to be human.

What do you ask your spouse at the end of the day? “Did you have a good day?” Or, “How was your day?” Our common goal is to answer, “I had a great day.” Translation: I’m happy.

To be happy is normal, natural, and healthy. The issue is not whether or not a man wants to be happy—we all do. The issue is how we go about pursuing it.

The BeHappyTudes

• Blessed are the rich, for they don’t need to depend on others.
• Blessed are the powerful, for they get to make the rules.
• Blessed are the famous, for people will respect them because they’re well-known.
• Blessed are the strong, for they get to control others.
• Blessed are those with a beautiful home, for theirs is the praise of men.
• Blessed are those who have well-behaved teenagers, for they are the envy of their friends.
• Blessed are those who marry well, for they will have someone to care for their needs.
• Blessed are the beautiful people, for they get invited to the best parties.
• Blessed are those considered experts and exalted for their talents and accomplishments by being put on a pedestal. They should rejoice and be glad, for that kind of glory is the greatest reward.

The Problem

Frequently Asked Questions In Men’s Ministry
From www.pcacep.org/men

7. How Do You Obtain the Pastor and Session’s Support?

1. Find out what the content is of the phrase men’s ministry in your session’s mind. Many PCA leaders associate the term “men’s ministry” with the Promise Keepers movement, which had its roots in the Vineyard movement.

2. Be sure your pastor and the rest of the session understand that by men’s ministry, you mean: the mobilization of some in the body to use their gifts to help the session disciple the men of the church.

3. Ask to meet with the pastor and/or session to get their ideas about men’s ministry.

4. After clarifying the term men’s ministry, ask the church leadership what their most important goals are for your church. Then explain to them how men’s ministry can help them achieve their goals.

5. Allow your pastor to have the role, at your men’s events, that he wishes to have. Some want to be the pastor. Others just want to be one of the men.

6. Be extremely loyal to your church leadership. As a men’s ministry and as a men’s ministry leadership team, be intentional in looking for ways to support and serve your pastor. Be known around the church as those who are loyal to their pastor. One men’s group had guys take turns cutting the pastor’s lawn each week. Another group gave the pastor the money to take his wife to a bed and breakfast.

Here is a great way to express love for your pastor during October, Pastor Appreciation Month. As a men’s ministry, make it possible for your pastor and his wife to attend the PCA conference November 13 - 15, Making Visible God’s Invisible Kingdom (see below).  Most of the time wives attend women’s conferences and TE’s attend GA. By making it possible for your pastor and wife to go to this conference together, you are giving them the gift of a time away for spiritual refreshment and the renewal of their relationship. What a way to tangibly express love for your pastor!

What Is Happening In Men’s Ministry Around the PCA

A Call to Discipleship is a denomination-wide conference designed to bring people together from all aspects of ministry in order to focus on the common theme of discipleship. Chuck Colson, Christian Smith, Charles Dunahoo and many others will speak and conduct seminars designed to challenge and train participants to bring the kingdom of God to our current culture and generation. It's not too late to register for November 13 - 15.  One of the seminar tracks will be Organizing Men’s Ministry to Make Kingdom Disciples www.pcacep.org/discipleship08

 Bryan Chapell, Ray Cortese, Pete Alwinson and Gary Yagel are the 
speakers in Orlando on March 6-7, 2009.
Nate Larkin, Scott Roley, Richard Pettit and Gary Yagel are the 
speakers in Atlanta on April 24-25, 2009 .
Last year’s Gospel Man Conference sold out, so register early!
www.thegospelman.com.

Reaching Every Man
World Class Training for Men’s Leaders

This 4 hour training is sponsored by Man in the Mirror and CEP of the PCA. The first seminar is November 22 at Covenant PCA, Harrisonburg, VA. To find out how to bring this training to your church or presbytery, contact gyagel@forgingbonds.org