Real Men of Integrity
Mark Pomeroy
3701 "O" St. #B5, Lincoln, NE 68510
(402) 474-7325
pomeroy@realmen.org
www.realmen.org

March 2004

Dear Partners in Ministry,

Thank you so much for your partnership in the gospel. God made it perfectly clear we should stay with Real Men and not accept any pastoral position. This decision was confirmed through my son, an older pastor, and an elder in a church we were considering. I have a renewed sense of calling and energy for Real Men. Corkie Haan, National Facilitator of Ministry Networks for the Mission America Coalition, has agreed to do a critical evaluation of the Guide for Authentic Living content to assure its uniqueness and ability to meet marketplace needs. My board will use this information to help build a strategic plan that will encompass the Guide, individual and family counseling, multi-ethnic prayer team, and funding strategies.

Because one-third of all adults (65 to 70 million), including about 10 million born again Christians, are unchurched in America, the Guide has a crucial role to fill. Unchurched adults have risen the past three years for Busters from 31% to 40%, and for men from 33% to 38% (George Barna Research Group, 2000). T he two most important needs in selecting a church for the formerly unchurched were theological beliefs or doctrine (58%) and people caring for each other (53%) (Thom S. Rainer, “Surprising Insights from the Unchurched and Proven Ways to Reach Them, 2001.)

Imagine connecting the greatest two needs of the unchurched with the greatest need of the churched —fruitful ministry by making disciples of the unchurched. The Guide is designed to build an authentic Christian faith, which is deeply-felt, energetic, and an active part of daily life so individuals openly share experiences to learn from each other, and establish a loving, trusting foundation of Christian friendship and love. They are equipped to know God and experience inner healing to engage in spiritual warfare for multiplying disciples in the world.

Jesus in the Gospels and Paul in Ephesus molded the character of 12 men who in turn worked with 12 more disciples so everyone in a whole region heard the word of the Lord (Acts 19:7-10). Paul trained his disciples in the school of Tyrannus and for a period of three years he did not shrink from declaring the whole purpose of God (Acts 19:9-10; 20:27,31).

The best environment to make disciples is upon the foundation of fervent, united prayer. For example, a group of multi-ethnic leaders in Antioch prayed and fasted, which extended the gospel to the whole world through Paul’s three missionary journeys (Acts 13:1-3). By application, the Guide is positioned to train leaders from various races and denominations in any region to multiply disciples through planting small groups of 12. Lincoln is a great test case.

Family News

Steve shared his testimony Feb. 7 th at an Oak Lake E. Free men’s retreat. He showed slides from his mountain climbing expeditions in New Zealand to illustrate the quest to seek God from the heart rather than pursuing what the world has to offer. I shared thoughts from Luke 14:15-33 to show how each of us must surrender everything including father, wife, children, possessions and even our own life in order to be Christ’s disciple. Steve is still in Lincoln. Tim is playing golf and Aaron is doing well balancing work and accounting studies at UNL.

Prayer Needs :

• Our marriage stays strong and God continues to move in the hearts of our three sons.
• Wisdom for board in finishing the Real Men strategic plan and continued financial support.
• Involvement of more leaders in the weekly Tues. and Thurs. prayer times.
• Spiritual and marital intimacy growth among the couples.
• Volunteers to lay out the Guide modules and finish up redesign of the web page.

Ministry Update

A group of leaders intercede for unity in the body of Christ and for unreached ethnic populations like Iraqis, Russians, Hispanics, African-Americans, and Vietnamese each Thurs., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Central Church in Lincoln.

The Tues. night marital intimacy class is concludingwith each member sharing their genograms reflecting family relationships before age 18. Tears and comfort bring healing.

Twice the Psalmist said to remember the great things God has done for us because of captivity (Ps. 126:1-2). Men are captive in three areas: first, selfish--emotionally terrified leading to addiction (emptiness or fun); second, controlling--emotionally powerless leading to aggression (avoidance or flight); third, destructive--emotionally angry leading to abusiveness (rage or fight). Adam dealt with these same issues in the garden (Gen. 3:1-12).

However, God has provided streams in the desert to provide healing to restore us from captivity (Ps. 126:4). A key cross-reference is Is. 35:1-10 listing the following categories:

• Selfish man— exhausted (drain of strength or energy, wear out, or fatigue greatly) and feeble (physically weak, as from age or sickness; frail). His exhaustion or feebleness in the pursuit of other things leads to emptiness. The healing for each one respectively is encourage (inspire with courage, spirit, or confidence; stimulate by guidance, approval) and strengthen (source of power or encouragement; sustenance).
• Controlling man— anxious (full of mental distress or uneasiness because of fear of danger or misfortune; worried), blind (unwilling or unable to perceive or understand; deprive of discernment, reason or judgment) and deaf (refusing to heed or be persuaded; unyielding). His anxiety, blindness or deafness causes fear and lack of discernment as he avoids the development of intimate relationships. The healing for each one respectively is courage (quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery), open eyes (become receptive to knowledge, make someone alert to a situation; become willing to share one’s feelings, confidences, etc.) and unstopped (free from any obstruction; open).
• Destructive man— lame (weak; inadequate) and dumb (lacking intelligence or good judgment; stupid; dull-witted). His lameness or dumbness shows weakness and a lack of judgment expressed through rationalizing and irritation the moment there is potential for closeness with his wife, children or other significant relationships. The healing for each one respectively is leap (action that risks unpredictable consequences) and shout for joy (call or cry out loudly with feeling or state of great delight or happiness as caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keep pleasure; elation).

Notice the downward progression from exhausted to dumb (fatigue to dull-witted) and healing--from encourage to shout for joy. Application: Spend time in God’s presence to sow God’s word in the lives of others (Ps. 126:5-6).

Nate Eslinger of Back To The Bible is redesigning our website and designing www.guideforauthenticliving.org to contain the Guide modules. He is incorporating PayPal to handle both credit card donations and module purchases.

Your continual financial support for Real Men is much appreciated.

Sincerely in Christ,

Mark Pomeroy