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I found a really good article (blog post) on mentoring men at a blog I read periodically, The Art of Manliness. Some of you might enjoy reading the blog. Here is an excerpt…

Be a Man Mentor

Just as you need man mentors, so too do other men. No one needs guidance in the art of manliness more than boys and young men, who are trying to figure how to become worthy men. Every man should make mentoring a part of his life. Here are just a few ways to do that:

• Become a Scout leader. Boy Scout troops always need volunteers who are eager to make a difference in boys’ lives.

• Become a Big Brother. A lot of young men out there are growing up without a positive father figure in their lives. Be the man these boys can turn to and emulate as they grow up.

• Volunteer with your church’s youth group. Lucky is the young man can find a man who is both an older friend and a spiritual mentor.

• Get to know your kids’ friends. I guess some kids try to hide from adults, but I always liked chatting it up with my friends’ parents. Some of my friend’s dads became my friend in their own right. Obviously, you don’t want to be the dorky dad who’s always hanging around, and you should know when to let your son and his friends alone. But if they’re game, it’s okay to hang out with them from time to time. Take you son and his friends fishing or hunting.

Written by Brett & Kate McKay

If LifePoint Church is where you attend I am asking you to go to Pat’s video to watch, listen and take action.

In a little while I am leaving to go on the LifePoint High School retreat, Collision. Our High School Pastor, David, asked me several weeks ago to go and speak on Servant Leadership.

I want to ask you to pray for us as we head to Garner Creek. There will be approximately 130 high school students and another 20 or 30 (hopefully 30) adults that are worshiping, learning, laughing and losing sleep for the next few days.

I NEED YOU TO PRAY FOR ME!!!! Yes I am shouting.

Pray that I can model servant leadership. Pray that I can express from the Word what servant leadership looks like and means in a way high school students can grasp.

I will let you know how God moves next week.

Amy and I made a decision several years ago when our children were in preschool that we would always be open with them about questions they had concerning their bodies. We would always answer their questions accurately and as direct as we could using age appropriate language. It is a decision we are glad we made, but it has caused us to have to work hard at investing time into learning how to communicate with our children.

We began to read books about how to discuss issues with children appropriately. We would talk with parents of kids who were a little older than ours and ask for advice on how to initiate conversations. Each time one of our kids had a question we would answer that question and wait to see if another question would follow, not leading the child to ask another one, but letting them drive the moment. Were we successful? I don’t know, we still have kids in our home and we are still walking through the process. I can assure you of this, it has opened communication between mother and daughter, father and son in very positive ways. Communication is the key.

The hardest part is gettting started.  In our culture today the worst thing we can do is ignore these conversations or hope someone else will deal with it.

Our job as Christ-Centered parents is to do the hard thing and talk with our kids. It will be uncomfortable for you and the child at first. But, it has to happen if we want to help our kids understand relationships and sexuality the way God designed for His children.

The LifePoint Student Ministry is beginning a new series on relationships next week. If you are a parent I would recommend you click here and check out the resources they have gathered and recommend for us to help us in this area (Scroll to the bottom of the page). Print it, bookmark it, do something to help you get involved in talking with your kids about healthy relationships and sex the way God desires.

Tomorrow I will tell you about how we handled our conversations concerning sex with our middle-school aged kids.

Just read a good story about Tim Tebow and Google over at Christianity Today blog. The story is really short and very up to date considering the Gators just won the championship last night. Quick read, check it out.

A good interview with Billy Graham leading to his 90th birthday. Well worth the reading. [HT-Taylor]

Really the event isn’t sold out… we gave away all the tickets for the event.

That means we are at capacity for the Multi-Purpose Facility. You, the families of FBCSmyrna, have really done a great job of partnering with the staff to invite your friends to this I2I event. We want to make it as smooth as possible.

Here are a couple of very important things to remember about the event;

Remember this is time change weekend…fall back and hour. This could affect us in the second hour programming (10:45 am) if we forget to set our clocks back.

Please attend the time on your ticket…both hours are full.

Remember to bring your ticket with you. One ticket per family and those with tickets are allowed in first. After families with tickets are seated others will be allowed into the Multi-Purpose facility.

If you have a family coming that you invited by all means sit with that family, you are the link to the church.

Be prepared to be flexible. This is one of our Core Values as a church. If we are in need of seats so a guest can be seated please be flexible enough to offer your seat so someone who is not apart of our fellowship can take part in the event. Our church body exhibits this value wonderfully. We need to be mindful of this on Sunday.

There will not be an overflow area for this event, but we will try to create an area for Standing Room Only.

We will offer Kid’s Club for children and Creation Celebration for Preschool children whose parents are on campus for 2 (two) hours on Sunday. Invite the families that are attending for the first time to go and view the Preschool and Children’s area so they will feel comfortable with where their child is on Sundays.

Help us spread the word about Sunday and how we can make it a positive experience for everyone.

If you have questions about Sunday and the To The Depths event please call the office (615-459-3311) and speak with Allen, Brittany, or Dana.

FBCSmyrna is a wonderful place to serve and I am looking forward to what God has in store for Sunday.

A very distressing article about the new book from Victoria Osteen.

[HT] Justin Taylor

I had a few people ask for the passages from todays message on Influence Protection. – Prov. 4:20-27

Prov. 27:19

Matt. 12:33-37

James 3:9-12

Eph. 5:4

Philippians 4:8

Gal. 2:20

Here is a link to todays message.

I finished a new book, Humility – True Greatness, that has really captured my attention. I am an active reader. When I sit down to read a book I have a pen in hand, a highlighter and a journal usually comes into play somewhere in the process. Well, this book has really got a lot a notes that have been added by me, the participating reader. I’m attempting to practice some of the things that I have impacted me from the author, C.J. Mahaney.

Here are a few of the Daily Practices to Combat Pride and Cultivate Humility.

• Reflect on the cross of Christ daily (pg. 65)
• Acknowledge my dependence on Christ each morning (pg. 69)
• Express gratitude each morning to God (thankful heart) (pg. 70)
• Practice the disciplines of prayer, study, and worship (pg. 72)
• More memory of scripture and meditation on the Word (pg. 73)
• Cast my cares on Him each morning ( pg. 74)

My desire is to implement these practices so my life is truly changed for His glory.

(more later)