An invitation by District Youth Director Mark Dean to do Speed the Light events is always a welcome one. In addition to great fellowship with a longtime friend, I always look forward to the meals featuring walleye fish, hanging out with Minnesota students and leaders, and experiencing the winter wonderland (as low as -22 this time).

An unexpected highlight of this trip was the meeting with Carl, Kirk and Mike, leadership team members of the Blacksmiths. That is the name of the men’s group at Grand Rapids Assembly of God based on the role of the blacksmiths in II Kings 24. But this is more than a men’s ministry, it is a ‘movement’ according to Kirk.

Some of the church’s men attended last year’s district men’s retreat and experienced something special that inspired them to make strategic moves in reaching the men of their community. The pastor empowered them to commit one Sunday night a month to the Blacksmiths. This meeting, diverse in ages and content, is now impacting about 60 men in a church that averages about 220 on a Sunday morning.

As these men first met me in the lobby of the youth center, I was especially impressed by the bear hugs exchanged with virtually every teenage man that walked through the doors. It was obvious this ‘movement of men’ will positively influence generations as these leaders have purposed to reach out to every man in the community.

Thanks, Blacksmiths, for reaching out to me. This is a movement that needs to take place across America!

I was happy to be within driving distance of home after weekend ministry in Gentry, Arkansas. Getting home was even better when Pam informed me that Monday would include dinner and the BCS Championship with her parents and our son’s family. Little did I know how special it would be to be home on this Monday night.

Sunset brought about a series of tornadoes. By 4 o’clock the next morning, there were six waves of multiple tornadoes. Nine of us remained in our home with several gatherings in the stairwell closet throughout the night. What proved to be a night of adventure, memories, and even a few laughs for our family was actually a nightmare for some very dear friends of Light for the Lost.

One of those many tornadoes struck the home of Southern Missouri LFTL Coordinator Don Jacques, as well as the home of his mother-in-law who lived next door. I am pleased to report that Don and Jan survived safely. However, Rachael Lawson, Jan’s mother, lost her life due to sustained injuries. This loss is especially significant in that Sister Lawson was the widow of Hollis Lawson, one of the seven men who organized LFTL under the direction of Sam Cochran.

Scripturally, this dear saint did not lose her life, she gained it! Even in the joy of this knowledge, please pray for Don, Jan and their family as they heal from their memories of this January storm.

The Christmas season was an incredible blessing with the special times spent with family and friends.  The celebration could not have been better as Pam and I had our children and grandchildren home for the holidays. Christmas night felt like a Waltons episode as ten Greenes and the dog spent the night with makeshift bedding everywhere. Food, games, gifts and more food created memories exceeded only by the Christmas story time with my four grandbabies. It doesn’t get any better than that. 

Now on to the exciting adventure known as 2008. The morning of January 2 was filled with phone calls, meetings, and the booking of flights. It is time to be about the Father’s business. Most of the meetings have been dedicated to the final plans for the upcoming conference. It has been so much fun to see this come together. Please know these comments are not a commercial, but a request that you would join me in prayer for this Men’s Ministries Leadership Conference. The national team is doing a great job in the assembling of the event, but it will be useless without the anointing of the Holy Spirit.