Lord, Give Us Men!- FRIDAY

As I write this devotional, I am very aware that Pete's request of God to give this ministry thousands of men, met that threshold a few years ago.  I am now challenging him to take his limits off God and instead request for millions of men and women in this country and around the world.  Although I jest with my best friend about his minimal number, there is a ring of truth that God is willing to do more than we ask for as a ministry, as long as we have His favor on us.  The truth is, Pete wrote this number in his creative piece when we felt that more than this number would likely be unreasonable.  We are now learning more about God through this.  I suppose we were thinking that it would be up to our leaders to make this happen, which is how most of us start out.  By the way, there were only two fulltime paid staff at that time.  Pete and me.  So you can understand where our view was coming from.  But, God showed us.  We just kept this ministry about Jesus.  We embraced ourordinary man status and invested our lives in men like this.  We saw God add some amazing volunteers to help us lead this ministry.  We saw Him add some amazing staff to this ministry.  But we have never felt it was about what we do for God.  That would be contrary to our DNA as a ministry.  We have always felt that it is God showing us what He will do in and for a man who simply walks with Him, listens to Him, obeys Him, and relies on Him by trusting Him.

The story of Influencers is about a transformed life, transformed men, transformed families, a transformed ministry, transformed churches, transformed businesses, transformed cities, transformed regions, and a transformation that can breathe new life (new wine) into the Body of Christ.  God is raising this voice up to be declared far and wide.  We hear Him.  This voice is a chorus of voices of men and women who God has raised up for a time as we are in.  The voice of Influencers is very clear.  What we are trying to do is get God's family into close proximity with Him, for that is when ordinary men and women become extra-ordinary with impacting their world for Christ.  We have no other message.  All the forms that we use to gather and inspire men and women are different in our different regions.  But these regions are connected to one purpose.  Our mission is to make disciples, and to teach disciples how to make disciples by helping them get into close proximity with Jesus.  Our mission is to take this message as far and wide as God invites us.  We are not in control of our destiny.  He is.

We are comfortable with this fact.  We do not try to pull away from our need to rely on the Holy Spirit.  We need His favor, His voice, His wisdom and His resources, for we are ordinary men.  He has shown us that He is with us.  He has shown us that He is gathering an army of Influencers.  He has shown us that these men and women will be dispatched to places we could never imagine, to reap a harvest that has been prepared before we ever arrive.  We realize that we must be in partnership with the Holy Spirit and we are only junior partners.  But that is the men He can work with best.  Therefore you can understand why Pete declares these words and the rest of us join him with in saying...

Are you like this man?  If you are then come and go with us.  If you are not, then we can show you how to be this man.  It is by living in close proximity with this man called Jesus.  This is our mission as a ministry to help you go there.  Come and go with us to become this man and to find men like this, for our world has a desperate need for them.