Category Archives: mens ministry
Marriage and Parenting from a Man’s Perspective
May 11, 2019 Mike Meyers Mom’s Connection
Not a sermon, but a few thoughts from a husband and dad. This was a talk I gave to “Mom’s Connection” at Reston Bible Church back in 2019.
Welcome to the Jungle: Parenting, temptation, and the digital jungle
Fathers must be diligent and intentional about protecting their sons and daughters and preparing them to walk through the “jungle” of digital technology.
Last Man Standing – the eBook is now discounted at Amazon.com!
Available now on Amazon.com – http://amzn.com/B00K2NSZIE
Order via Amazon Smile and select Open Arms Worldwide as the beneficiary organization.
As You Walk Along The Way – God’s Call to Generational Discipleship (Audio)
The greatest battle that the church family currently faces is the knock-down drag-out fight with Satan over the hearts of the next generation. Raising a generation that knows Christ and makes him known will be the greatest gift & legacy we leave for the world.
Key Verse:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Deut. 6:5-7
Considering our passage in its immediate context,
- Verse 5 – Preceded by the “greatest command”
- Verse 6 – It is a matter of the heart
Notice in Verse 7,
- Not a request – The imperative form is used. This is a command.
- “Impress them on your children” – Teach them diligently.
- Life on life discipleship
7 Principles for Walking Along the Way
Principle #1 – Don’t Freak Out – “Concern is healthy; panic kills.”
- Take the long view because God is writing a story in the life of your child. It’s a movie not a snapshot.
Principle #2 – Be Real
- Walking along the way means not being a pretender. You may fool a very young child for a little while, but they will find you out it will shake their faith to its core.
Principle #3 – More lens, less shield
- Spend more time giving our children the proper lens through which to see this world, and less time sheltering them from it. If we don’t someone else will.
Principle #4 – Enter their world – Jesus entered ours (Phil. 2:5-7)
- Make it a point to know the young person you are walking with.
Principle #5 – The target is the Savior, not behavior – Adjust your aim
- Lead them to the gospel (Romans 3:23, 6:23)
Principle #6 – Be joyful
- “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” 3 John 1:4
Principle #7 – No excuses
- Excuses may be valid, but they will be overcome when generational discipleship becomes a priority.
I hope that you found something here to challenge you and to encourage you to take seriously God’s call to generational discipleship and ask yourself the question, “What legacy are we leaving?” “Will we be mentioned in anyone’s story of faith?”
Questions for further discussion:
- If I could be remembered by my children or grandchildren for only one thing it would be…
- If you looked back at your life using Mike’s metaphor of the “snapshot” what period of your life might have given the adults around you reason to despair? How has God used that time period in the broader narrative of your life?
- Have you ever thought about your relationship with the children in your life as one of teacher-disciple? Why/why not? How might this perspective change the way you parent or engage with young people close to you?
- Did you ever view your relationship with your parents as one of disciple to teacher? Why or why not?
- In what ways does the teacher-disciple relationship change as children grow up and in what ways does it stay the same?
- How are you, or could you be, living out God’s command to “walk along the way” with the next generation?
Free Marriage Booster Event at Reston Bible Church
Are you looking for a date night for this Friday?
We have just the idea. Come out and join other couples at the Reston Bible Church – Marriage Booster this Friday night. Nothing draws a couple together like a shared vision, a mission of everlasting significance. That’s what we have for you this Friday. Mike Meyers will be sharing with us on the topic of generational discipleship. Mike is currently the Director of Children’s Ministries at RBC and served on the mission field in Brazil for 7 years among at-risk children and youth (click for full bio). Be prepared to laugh, cry, and be inspired as we uncover biblical principles for raising a generation that knows Christ and makes Him Known. This is open to all, so if you don’t attend RBC, no problem! Come on out!
Friday May 2 , 7:45-9:30 PM @ Reston Bible Church Registration is FREE – www.restonbible.org/marriagebooster
Shark Wranglers continued…Lucas’ story
Continued from previous post… I learned a lesson that day. When our mission is just and godly we cannot let fear stop us.
The Great Claim & The Great Promise
What could be scarier than going on a rescue mission into a hostile world in the name of Christ? Most of us are familiar with the Great Commission as recorded for us in Matthew chapter 28. In this famous scene Jesus commissioned the disciples, and those disciples not yet born, to go into the world and share the gospel with the nations. What most of us forget is that there are bookends to the Great Commission, namely the Great Claim and the Great Promise. Let’s take a look.
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me [the Great Claim]. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.[the Great Promise]”
Number one, Jesus first claims the authority, all authority, to say what he is about to say. No one in their right mind charges into battle on the orders of a Private 1st Class. It just doesn’t happen. We want to know authority backs up the orders. Jesus has been given all power that exists, in heaven and on earth. This command comes from the highest of all authorities.
After Jesus lays this very scary battle plan on us, he follows it up with a promise. “Not only do I have the authority to send you on this mission, but I myself will be fighting along with you every step of the way.” Do you believe him?
Lucas continued
When we left Lucas he was beginning to attend a new school, a gathering of the worst of the worst from the city’s overburdened school system. Their first “field trip” would change his life forever… Lucas’ class would be going to a local swim school that had been contracted by the city to teach swim lessons. A shark wrangler by the nickname, “Zinho,” is the school’s owner as well as a former coach for Brazil’s Olympic program and a follower of Jesus Christ. He was on hand that first day. He looked on as these unruly delinquents plunged willy-nilly into the pool. One of them in particular caught his well-trained eye. This smallish, Afro-Brazilian boy dove in headfirst and, although he had no idea how to swim, he seemed to be at home in the water. Zinho called Lucas from the pool and asked if he would like to learn to be a competitive swimmer. Lucas wasn’t sure what was involved, but he sure liked the pool and figured it was a good chance to spend more time there.
Right to left – Lucas, Zinho, and my son Michael
Lucas & me
In those days our organization, Open Arms, was also beginning to lead Bible-based, civic and moral education classes in Lucas’ new school. Because my sons were also swimming at Zinho’s academy, he and I talked a lot together about the school and about Lucas. We agreed that Open Arms would start a Bible study with the children on the swim team. Zinho recruited an older gentleman from his church to also meet with Lucas for one-on-one discipleship every week. Lucas began to split his time between our home and the swim school, where Zinho had made up a room for him.
Our Family at Christmas in Brazil
It was a bumpy road, as Lucas had no experience with limits or personal discipline of any kind. His brothers were drug users and well-known thieves and tough guys in one of the most notorious neighborhoods of the city (coincidentally one of Lucas’ brothers was incarcerated with Eduardo from our earlier story). His mother had no interest in caring for him but held on to legal guardianship in order to receive a small pension that was intended for his care. He once asked me tearfully, “Why did GOD give me such a terrible family? Why couldn’t I have a family like yours? Why couldn’t Maikinho and Rapha (my two boys) be my brothers?”
Lucas still has a lot of hurt to overcome, but in the context of a safe, healthy relationship with godly men and their families, Lucas gave his own life to Jesus.
Today Lucas talks of college and eventually a wife and family. He told me recently, “I will never quit now. I know what I want and I know what GOD wants of me.” For Lucas, the psalmists’ words are his own, “Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me.” (Psalm 27:10).
The Spirit of GOD works through the lives of men committed to be fathers to the fatherless. It’s time for the shark wranglers and bull elephants of the Church to stand up and step out. It can and will make difference in the lives of the children you touch.
Raphael the fearless…Shark Wranglers continued
Raphael the fearless
“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3
Early on in our work in Brazil we made a lot of rookie mistakes. One in particular led to a wonderful story of the fearless faith of a child. I think it might just encourage the shark wrangler hidden within you.
We had begun our first outreach using a building belonging to a little church. As we reorganized the space to make space for our material we encountered a room full to the ceiling with used clothes. Clothing had been collected for a bazaar and these were the leftovers. The clothes were in good condition, but no one was quite sure what to do with them. So after getting permission from the pastor, we set a date to take the clothes and distribute them in a favela (slum neighborhood) adjoining the neighborhood where the church was located. On a typically balmy Brazilian summer afternoon we loaded the clothing into the back of our pick-up truck and headed out. My two boys, Michael (9) and Raphael (7) were riding along, as well as Pastor Tiago, my friend Marcelo, and another boy from the outreach, Adriano. 
A Just Cause
As we pulled to a stop in the neighborhood we were immediately approached by curious children and then adults asking what we were doing. When they realized we were giving things away, the word went out and in an instant a sea of humanity surrounded us. People pushed and shouted as we tried to distribute the clothes in some semblance of order. About that time the door of the pick-up opened (I had forgotten to lock the door in the confusion) and some children jumped in and started grabbing at whatever they could find. My soccer ball went first and then one of them grabbed my handsaw and took off up the street. My youngest boy Raphael saw the whole thing and yelled to me, “Dad, that boy stole your saw!” I told him we had bigger problems and that we just needed to lock the doors now so that my wallet wasn’t next. He insisted, “But that wasn’t a donation! That’s stealing and it’s wrong!” Again, I told him to forget about it. Next thing I know, there goes by little boy, barefoot, up the street, through the favela after the saw. He didn’t hear me when I called to him so I asked Adriano to tail him and make sure he didn’t get into any trouble.
After a few minutes I was getting worried. The throng began to subside as the last of the clothing was carted off. Where was my son? I looked up and my heart jumped as I saw Raphael walking back toward the truck…with a triumphant look on his face and my saw in his hand. As scary as that was for a dad, I learned a lesson that day. When our mission is just and godly we cannot let fear stop us.
Shark Wranglers continued
see previous post...https://lastmanstandingchurch.com/2014/02/21/shark-wranglers/
Substitute “Strong Man”
Brothers, we all know it is our GOD given duty as men to care for our own children, to protect them, to fight off the sharks of this world and guide our children on the narrow path that leads to life. But as Christian men we have a call that goes beyond just our own little ones. “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” 1 John 3:16. It is not enough to hide with our children, or the children of the church on shore, within our homes, our safe neighborhoods or the walls of the church building, when there are still children in the water with the sharks.
Ladies, are you laboring with the men in your life as a team to pull more children away from the sharks, like the aunt in our story, binding up the wounds of one child while he goes back for more? Jesus Christ laid down his life for us, as a substitute. When the “strong man” in the life of a child has been removed we, as Christ imitators, the last men standing, have the privilege to step into the gap, in the name of the Savior, as a substitute and sure up the walls in the life of that young person. 
Does that sound scary? Sure it does. But “perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18). If this is a mission from our Father, and it is, then we must trust in the words that GOD said to Joshua and to all those warriors who would follow, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your GOD will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9).
Shark wranglers
Continued…(click HERE to read previous post)
Sound Scary?
“At-risk children in my house? Drugs dealers and thieves? Juvenile detention centers? Are you crazy? That is the kind of thing best left for professionals, missionaries or folks without their own family to care for. Besides, in this country you can get sued for looking the wrong way at a child. The risks are just too great. What if I just write a check?”
As the President of a non-profit organization that survives on the giving heart of GOD’s people, I would say, yes, please do. Better yet, you, your family, your business and your church could purpose to become regular financial partners with an organization, like Open Arms Worldwide (www.openarmsworldwide.org), that is working to get more “bull elephants” out into the places where children have been left most vulnerable. But, if you stop there you are missing out. Is it dangerous and risky? Absolutely. But with great risk comes great reward.
Do Not Fear
That leads me to my second animal story. This one took place in the warm gulf coast waters of Florida in 2001 and was picked up and reported by most major television news networks at the time. A man was relaxing at the beach with some relatives when he heard screams and looked to see a pool of blood forming around his nephew who was standing in the shallow water. A seven-foot long, 250-pound bull shark had a firm hold on the boy and wasn’t letting go.
Shark Wrangler
The uncle jumped into the water, as most of us would, and, taking hold of the sharks’ tail, pulled the animal away from the boy. The shark released, but had taken the child’s arm just below the shoulder. He was losing a lot of blood as his aunt began caring for him on
shore. At that point the uncle would have been perfectly justified in releasing his hold on the shark and returning to the safety of shore to care for his nephew, but that would have to wait, there were other children still in the water. Holding on tightly to that tail, he wrestled the beast, which was all the while trying to turn on him, up on to the beach where a park ranger shot it with his 9mm service pistol. The boys’ arm was retrieved and reattached, and the immediate danger to the other children in the water was removed.
Is there a lesson for us here? Stay tuned…
Eduardo continued… From “Last Man Standing” the book
Eduardo continued
…When we left Eduardo he was serving out his time in the infamous FEBEM juvenile prison system of Brazil, never hearing from a single “friend,” his only visitor being his mother. But then he got a letter that would change everything. The letter, came from a an old P.E. teacher from his grade school years, Marcelo, and was accompanied by a photograph of the two of them together with some other boys from one of the many schools he had passed through in his childhood. Marcelo wrote that he had heard from some friends of the trouble Eduardo had gotten himself into and let him know that he was praying for him and would like to catch up with him upon his release. It was a simple letter, but it was also the only letter Eduardo would get from anyone throughout his 18-month sentence.
The day of his release came and it wasn’t long after getting home that his so called, “friends” came to welcome him back. Their first order of business was to invite him on a home invasion they were planning in the coming days. He accepted. In the mean time he thought he should at least track down Marcelo, this P.E. teacher who he still couldn’t believe remembered him, and thank him for the kind letter. He found Marcelo, thanked him and, after a little chitchat, was ready to go back home, mission accomplished. But then Marcelo invited him to come out to a party with some youth from his church. Eduardo was leery of going to a “church” thing, but Marcelo assured him it was purely social and not a worship service. He accepted, completely missing that the night of the party was the same night as the planned robbery.
Attending that party with Marcelo, Eduardo was taken aback by the other youth he met. They were different. The way they talked to each other and to him was completely foreign to him, but he liked it. The next day his “friends” came around and asked why he had blown them off and not shown up as planned. Eduardo made some excuses and rescheduled for another night the following week. The day of that robbery Marcelo paid an unexpected visit to Eduardo and invited him to join them again for a night out. This time Eduardo jumped at the chance, completely forgetting that he was “double booking” himself yet again. Once more he had a great time with Marcelo and his new friends and was more and more intrigued by what made them so different.
The next morning the old crew showed up at his home, even more frustrated with being dissed another time. Eduardo wasn’t so sure of the sincerity of his apology this time, but
Marcelo & Eduardo (center)
rescheduled once more just the same. The day came and this time it was Eduardo calling Marcelo to ask if he could please come to a worship service being held for the youth at a local church that night. It was the last time Eduardo would schedule a robbery, because that night, as Marcelo shared the good news of Jesus with the youth gathered together, GOD stole Eduardo’s heart for good.
Eduardo outside the juvenile detention center
Soon after, Marcelo introduced Eduardo to Patricia and me at an Open Arms outreach project and we got him plugged in as a volunteer, teaching hip-hop dance to the kids. Marcelo, Patricia and I have been walking with Eduardo ever since. He has lived in our home, sharing a room with our boys, when things were going badly in his. He has shared meals and holidays with our family. Eduardo has gone on to go to college, has planted (at the time of this writing) three Open Arms outreach projects, has shared his testimony all over Brazil, began an outreach back into the same juvenile facility he spent time in, and has led untold numbers of children and youth to Christ. Eduardo says today, “After about three months of resisting the temptation of returning to drugs and crime, my so-called “friends” stopped coming around. Had it not been for my new-found faith in Jesus and friends from Open Arms, I don’t think I would have made it.”
Eduardo and I at an Open Arms Outreach
Eduardo and his bride, Claudia
An interesting footnote to this story of Eduardo is that, on one particular evening soon after his conversion, he was invited with some of the other church youth to a meeting at a house belonging to the family of one of the girls in the youth group, one of his new best friends. As they arrived at the house Eduardo’s jaw dropped. It was the very same house he and his crew had planned to rob the day he went to jail, the day a voice inside him said, “Not this house.” He knew now whom that voice belonged to.
