I write to you tonight, still recovering from a great weekend of activity and faith that was long overdue for me. In starting to write about it earlier in the week, I had a very negative attitude. Fortunately, God allowed me to see the blessings instead of focusing on the negatives. I was truly blessed and can't wait to share.
My two pastors (who I consider to be among my best friends) and I spent Friday and Saturday at the Promise Keepers "PK Classic" conference in Denver. I'm too tired to recall if I've mentioned this before in this blog, but my journey to true discipleship started at the 2005 PK conference in Denver. It was my first exposure to a large parachurch ministry like Promise Keepers. It was also an experience that I'll never forget. A group of about a dozen men and boys went from our church that year. Being a complete newbie to the Christian Conference scene, I had no idea what I was in for.
We piled into a couple of vans and trucks and headed from Colorado Springs to Denver on that Friday afternoon in 2005. We check into our hotel, dropped off our clothes, and then went off in search of the nearest McDonalds. I think we ended up at Burger King. Ten males at BK leads to large portions and interesting dinner combinations. We hurried back to get our necessities and then headed up to the Pepsi Center. As we made my way through the crowd, I had my first moment of clarity- "I was not alone!" There were thousands of Christian men filling into the Pepsi Center, and for the first time in my life, my focus expanded beyond the walls of my church and I realized that this was all much bigger than I had ever considered. There was hope for me and in me because I could now see with my own eyes that Jesus had reached the hearts of thousands of men, and that those thousands represented millions of others. My soul was lifted, because I knew we could fight the fight with men like this.
The conference started, and the arena slowly started to fill up. Within fifteen minutes of the start, it was full, containing around 13,000 men, all hungry for the Word. My amazement at the sea of Christian humanity would have been entertaining for anyone who noticed. Little did I know that this was the tip of the iceberg for me. During one of their sets, the Praise Band sang "How Great Thou Art", and then led this building full of men in an a capella singing of it. And for those few minutes as 13,000 men sang from their hearts, we were transformed from many individuals into a brotherhood. The 13,000 voices became a single voice, praising and worshiping God in a way that I yet to experience again. And as those men were singing, you could feel God's magnificence permeate every cubic inch of that building- He had boldly taken up residence and you could tell He had no plans to leave any time soon.
I could on about the rest of the conference, but it suffices to say that men at that gathering came away changed. Two of the men that came with our group recommitted their lives to Jesus that Friday night. We all went back home with the understanding that our lives were going to be different and we had become more than friends; we had become brothers in Christ and we were on fire! The Honeymoon Effect lasted for many months, just long enough to get to the 2006 conference, which was held in Colorado Springs. Our men's ministry had grown legs and was moving forward.
At the end of 2006, Promise Keepers started feeling the effects of the depressed economy that was starting to grip our country. Some of the first church scandals of the 21st Century were starting to take hold of society's view of the Church as well, and the ministry fell on hard times. Dr. Washington, the current President of Promise Keepers, went as far as saying that PK went into a huge financial hole in the middle of the decade. There was no local conference in 2007, or 2008 or 2009. As men of faith, we started to wander and lose our way. It showed in our home lives as well as our church lives. We struggled to keep all of the pieces together.
Imagine my unbridled glee when I caught wind of this year's conference in Denver. However, instead of being held in a huge arena, the event was going to be conducted at a large church in Denver. The advertising showed that the ministry was rebuilding and taking a grass roots approach. I emailed my usual group of suspects, sharing the joy in my heart and saying that the conference represented a great opportunity for us to repair our now slightly dysfunctional men's ministry at the church. Unlike years passed, the conference itself was free. I was so excited that I got online and ordered twenty two bracelets for the event, convinced that the men in our church would jump at the opportunity to experience God.
I experienced a great deal of sadness the week before the conference when only five of the registrations had been claimed. I had talked to dozens of men, both at church and at work. Everyone had a reason why they wouldn't be able to attend. One of those men who had committed had to back out at the last minute, due to some family issues that needed to be addressed. I struggled through the whole week, because I knew that this could be a life changing event for so many and yet so few would be involved. However, I believe that God had a purpose for sending just the three of us. And He did not disappoint. Unlike years passed, the conference focused on getting back to the basics. My best guess is that about 2000 men attended- a far cry from the 13,000 only five years previous. We heard from some of the best Christian speakers on the planet and I came out of it with ideas and plans and the hope that men in our region would be going home to strengthen their families and their churches. The call to action was undeniable. . I will be writing for months on the seeds these men have planted in my head, and I now have a much clearer vision of how my ministry work should proceed. The lack of bodies had no bearing on the impact this conference is had on the men in attendance.
If that were my entire weekend, it would have been incredible. However, there is more. My wife and two of the boys drove up to Denver on Saturday and we spent another night in the hotel in preparation for the annual Colorado Rockies Faith Day on Sunday. A day of baseball, testimonies and great Christian music. This is something that various members of our church have attended over the last four years. For a variety of reasons, I had never made it to the game prior to this year. In fact, this was my first trip to Coors Field. I was not disappointed.
God gave us an absolutely beautiful (but hot) day for baseball, as proven by the deep shade of red I'm sporting on various parts of my body. The park was a sellout and it was a great game- a come from behind victory for the home team in the bottom of the 9th inning. It had been at least 25 years since I went to an MLB game and I had a fantastic time. As the game ended, everyone who was staying for the Faith Day portion of the program was directed to the 3rd base side of the field.
My best guess is that about a third of those in attendance for the game stayed- a total of about 10,000 people. The program started with a video of various members of the Rockies giving their testimony and sharing the importance of God in their lives. A member of the team then led the crowd in prayer, followed by an 80 minute concert by Jeremy Camp. I was in seventh heaven, because Jeremy Camp is one of my favorite Contemporary Christian artists. We had great seats- we were sitting toward the back of the lower section, almost directly in front of the stage.
The music was great, but the crowd was greater. People of all ages were in front of us, and I spent a great portion of the show watching the unbridled passion being exhibited by the crowd. Young and old, short and tall, everyone was involved in a personal worship of God that defies explanation. It was contagious, and even though I may not have expressed it outwardly, that passion gripped me in a way that I had been longing for. I came away from the day with hope.
It's funny to see how easy it is to lose sight of your own spiritual needs. Little did I know just how starved I was. Make sure you are taking appropriate amounts of time every day to worship and praise the Lord. Take every opportunity to feed on the teachings of our Lord and Savior. Don't miss a single blessing that is being created all around you. And above everything else, spread the Word whenever and wherever you can. If nothing else, be one of those Rockies fans and show an obvious passion for the Lord. We can't afford to be shy anymore.
My last lesson of the evening, which I learned at the PK conference- rule your life with love, not fear. Bravery is not the opposite of fear- love is. Love for the Lord can conquer all fear.
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