Real Men 2011

The Real Men Conference was held at Rising Sun Church of Christ on Friday night, February 18, 2011. 230 men came from all over the state of Iowa. 45 different Iowa communities were represented. It was an incredible encouragement to the men who came.

Pathway Band (from Pathway Church in Johnston, IA) led the worship experience. Hearing the room filled with men lifting their voices in praise to God was an incredible experience!

Jan Mickelson (from WHO Radio) spoke to the men about their relationship to the Lord as the primary factor in helping them become “Real Men” who will appropriately love their wives. It was a tremendous message that spoke straight into many of the men’s hearts

We watched the video testimony of Austen Arnaud (former quarterback for Iowa State) who shared the unique struggles and challenges of being a Christian athlete in an arena that is largely not Christian.

We also heard from Fred Stoeker (author of Every Man’s Battle) who shared his testimony. Although Fred went a little long, his message was a tremendously practical message calling men to live pure lives for the Lord and for the sake of the next generation.

Since the conference I have heard from a number of men who were impacted by the experience. Here’s a few examples:

“I just wanted to thank you for sponsoring the Real Men Conference last night. I thought it was a blessed and successful event. God also helped me to leave a bunch of garbage at the altar. Thank you again. I can’t wait for the next one!” -Stewart

“Awesome job on the Real Men 2011 -- I counted at least 15 of my guys there, which means you helped impact the families in our church in a very positive Godly way -- THANKS!” –Dan Hudson, Pathway Church

There have been more examples like these but I just wanted you to see a sampling. I am convinced that men are hungry for truth in this dark culture. Men need encouragement to be men. Men want to be called out to a higher standard than that of the world that says a real man drinks a lot of beer and ogles a lot of women. But a Real Man of God knows better.

That is why this conference is so important. I am so proud of Kyle Phillips who God laid the idea on his heart. He listened to God and now, as a result, many, many men’s lives have been impacted. Kyle Phillips is a Real Man!

Jan Mickelson, aka Jedi Master...

Maybe you saw the video of Zach Wahls giving his testimony speaking before a House Subcommittee on the marriage debate. If not here it is...



It was very well worded and presented. On Jan Mickelson's radio show today he masterfully "Reverse engineered" Zach's speech by deconstructing his arguments line by line. Here is the LINK to Jan's Blog on this. By the way, Jan Mickelson not only proves that he truly is the Jedi Master in this, he also happens to be one of the keynote speakers for our upcoming Real Men Conference on February 18, 2011 at Rising Sun Church of Christ. Register today at realmeniowa today!

Word Choices and Heart Matters

It isn't uncommon to hear Pro-lifers referred to as "anti-abortionists" by those in the media while those who support abortion are not referred to as "anti-life," they are simply "Pro-choice." Recently, Michael Reagan, was upset by those in the media who labeled him as a "conservative" radio talk show host, but in the same segment wouldn't describe his brother as a "liberal" talk show host when they were both being interviewed.

Dave Price is a local media personality that I like and respect, to be honest. I don't agree with him all of the time, but find him to be generally fair in his treatment of subjects, that is, until a very recent segment he did where he let his own liberal leanings show through.

He was covering the current debate in the Iowa State House over the marriage amendment. In his story, Price said that "Republicans were working to provide a more "narrow definition" of marriage in Iowa." I wrote to Dave Price and told him that I felt that his use of the phrase "narrow definition" was not only unfair but it was a revelation of where he actually stands on the issue. Of course, he defended his use of the term and wrote about it here.

Here's my contention with describing the Republican position as providing a "narrow definition" of marriage. Why not describe the Democrats as attempting to provide a more "broad definition" of marriage? That is exactly what is occurring, by the way. Republicans cannot provide a more narrow definition because the historical definition of marriage has always been a man and a woman for life. So in all actuality the Democrats are the ones trying to revise the definition of marriage.

Media personalities like Dave Price remind us from time to time that our words matter. The word choices we employ reveal our hearts. Christ Himself said, "What comes out of our mouth comes from our hearts." (Matthew 15:18) I believe that the majority of media personalities, including Dave Price, have liberal leanings and their word choices reveal what is really in their hearts concerning their true feelings on the subjects they cover.

Even though Dave Price may disagree, his heart was revealed this week in his word choice. He believes that the current redefinition of marriage by the Iowa Supreme Court is the acceptable one and any attempt to reinstate the historical definition of one woman-one man marriage is "narrow" in nature.

Remember, folks, we can't give ground on this debate. Terms and word choices really do matter. We are not the ones redefining marriage. The definition of marriage is unchanged. Marriage is one man and one woman in a committed relationship for life. There is a small (albeit very loud) segment of the population of this state that is attempting to "broaden" the definition of marriage to include homosexual couples. But we are no more or less narrow than we ever were by guarding the true definition of marriage yesterday, today and tomorrow. (Hebrews 13:14)