The Next Steps (continued)

1. I have applied to be an Angel Tree Coordinator for our community.

As an Angel Tree Area Coordinator I would serve the ministry as an "on the ground relationship builder" with churches, chaplains and families. I would become the face of Angel Tree as I play a critical part in delivering Angel Tree Christmas and casting the year-round vision of Angel Tree. As an Area Coordinator I would have opportunities that include: Church Retention/Recruitment, Church Liaison, Presentations/Training and In Prison Sign Ups.

2. Two of the Life Groups at New Life purchased coats, gloves and stocking caps for five children who were in need.

3. I will be teaching the New Life 201 class in the monthly Growth Track sessions.

4. I wrote my first new article for the Louisburg Herald and am preparing my next which should be published in  December.

5. I continue to lead two small groups one on Monday evenings and one on Thursday evenings.

Louisburg Herald Article

The following was published in the Louisburg Herald

From the Pulpit

By Larry Clark
Pastor of Life Groups
New Life Family Church

A story is told about a man who headed off to California as part of the great gold rush. He staked his claim and began to dig. He dug and dug, dug and dug some more. He hit some small pockets of gold but never the Mother load! After several months of digging he became frustrated and decided his mine was not going to produce any Mother load. He walked out of his mine and headed into town. He went to the real estate office and told them he wanted to sell his claim, which included his notes. A man over heard his discussion and made an offer. The man took the offer and headed for the train a beaten man.

The man who purchased the mine began to study the notes the other man had written. He made some calculations and decided that with some more digging a Mother load would be found. He headed to the mine and began to dig. He dug and dug, then he dug some more and within just a few feet he hit the Mother load.

The other man had quit just a few feet from his dream.

Do you have a dream, a Big, Audacious Dream? If you do you have probably encountered some big obstacles as you moved forward toward your dream.

Are you like that man? Are there obstacles that are keeping you from reaching your dream? Are there walls that have been built that keep you from achieving victory in a relationship?

Maybe you are just one shovel full of dirt away from reaching your goal, your dream.

As Joshua took over the job of leading Israel into the Promised Land God said, "Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left so that you may have success wherever you go." Joshua 1: 6-7

The fulfillment of your dream might not be visible right now but if it is a dream that God has given it will happen if you don't give up! Some times it is just one more step, just one more brick removed or just one more shovel full of stuff. In Hebrews 11: 1 we are told, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." and in verse 6, "And without faith it is impossible to please Him (God), for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and He is a rewarder of those who seek Him."

For Israel the obstacles of entering the Promised Land seemed like giants but eventually through Joshua’s leadership they entered the land. Achieving dreams and goals is never easy and it always comes with a price. For Christians it requires an unwavering faith in God and His promises and it requires followers of Jesus to persevere until the end.

Don't quit moving forward. Don't quit now. Don't quit now because you just might be one brick, one step, one shovel full away from achieving your God given dream.

The Next Steps

I am still working at Wal-Mart but here are some of the things I am pursuing:

1.  I am Pastor of Life Groups at New Life.

2.  Every three months do a Sunday service at the Nursing Homes.

3.  Organizing a yearly "Louisburg Family Day" involving local churches and Christian music and     entertainment.

4.  Getting "WatchDogs" started in our local elementary schools.  Watchdogs

5.  Writing a short message for the Louisburg Herald when needed.

6.  Begin holding a weekly prayer service open to men of all denominations, which will be held at a neutral location and have shared responsibilities.

7.  I am leading one of the Life Groups at New LIfe and will call it REAL Men RoCK and it is based     on material my friend, Doug Walton and I put together.  Go to http://realmenrock.blogspot.com for information on the group.  You will find the info at the end of the two most recent posts.

Wild At Heart

Every man was once a boy.  And every boy has dreams, big dreams; dreams of being the hero, of beating the bad guys, of doing daring feats and rescuing the damsel in distress.  Then boys grow up and life snuffs out those dreams.

The Wild at Heart series is designed to help men recapture their dreams.  It is an 8 week adventure with other men in recovering their masculine hearts, defined in the image of a passionate God.

Through Wild at Heart men will have the opportunity to once again move forward in the dreams they had as a boy.

For more informaiton about Wild at Heart go to http://www.ransomedheart.com/

You can contact Matt Brumbaugh at mattbrumbaugh@msn.com or Larry Clark at lnclark@mokancomm.net for more information about the meeting dates and location.

Life Groups at New Life

On Sunday, September 13th, I lead a Life Group Leader's training session. Three people were in attendance and they will launch their Life Groups on September 27th.

The material I am using for these Life Groups was shared with me by Church of the Highlands located in Birmingham, AL http://www.churchofthehighlands.com/connect/smallgroups.html.

Our Life Groups are based on a Free Market system where people find out what their passion is and build a Life Group around it. For example my wife, Kat, wants to build a Life Group that focuses on reading Biblically based books and discussing how God spoke to them through the words of others. Kat and I will probably lead a couples group that studies a scripture and discusses how God spoke to us and how we will use that scripture in our lives.

We hope that on September 27th we will launch a total of 7 Life Groups.

A New Journey Begins

About 14 years ago a friend of mine came up to me and told me he believed that one day I would be oradined as a pastor. I laughed at his remarks and brushed them off. I had so many things to overcome and lots of wounds to be healed of to ever be a pastor. I knew I could do ministry but I could not see how I would ever be pastor material. For most of my life I was told I was not smart enough, I was not talented enough and I did not have what it took to be successful. Three years later I became involved with the Vineyard Church in Overland Park, KS.

Over the next 10 years I found healing for my wounds and those things I needed to overcome slowly became less and less. I got new confidence and dreams. I enrolled in Vineyard Leadership Institute (VLI) and I discovered through this hard intense 2 year college level adventure that I was somewhat smart, I did have talent, I had many of the qualities to become successful and what I lacked the Holy Spirit gave to me.

Next Sunday, September 13th, I will be recognized by Pastor Erik Kingsley of New Life Church in Louisburg, KS as his Associate Pastor. My duties will include overseeing Life Groups, Men's Ministry and Care Ministries.

At the age of 59 when many men are looking forward to retirement, I am excited and energized to be at the beginning of a new journey. I believe I have another 20 good years ahead. I do not want to waste those years just enjoying life but living life.

What about you? Are you really living your dream? Are you controlled by your finances? Are you a slave to a job that only pays the bills?

I encourage you to look deep inside and find that God given dream and get to work living it.

Please visit my REAL Men RoCK blog http://realmenrock.blogspot.com

What Does the Community Chaplain Do?

The Louisburg Community Chaplain will:

· Visit community family members who do not claim identity with a church home wherever care can be expressed and help given: hospitals, nursing homes, funeral homes, family homes, or other neutral sites.

· Assist in planning, officiating or attending weddings for immediate family members, including pre-marital discussions and follow-up contact with newlywed couple.

· Help plan, conduct or attend funerals for immediate family members, including follow-up support and encouragement to immediate family members during the grief period.

· Make jail visits to immediate family members who are incarcerated; assist the family during times of separation; help with the transition of individuals back into mainstream society.

· Serve on the Death & Serious Injury Notification Team to families of community members killed or injured in a job-related accident or who die of natural causes while on the job.

· Provide Chaplain Emergency Care for crisis intervention, and work closely with community leaders on any emergency situation or employee needs.

· Speak at in-house or outside events as requested by community leaders.

· Provide, as appropriate, self-improvement materials (books, pamphlets, booklets, tracts, and audio tapes) to help employees and immediate family members deal with specific issues/problems and provide principles for successful and happy living.

· Provide confidential chaplain discussions for problem issues of community members and their immediate family members, including, but not limited to, marriage, divorce and remarriage, serious illness, care of aging parents, death and grief recovery, parenting, as well as any other personal issues.

· Coordinate assistance for community members or immediate family members who require professional help in issues related to drug or alcohol dependency and/or psychiatric problems through outpatient or hospitalized care.

· Provide referral service and act as coordinator for specialized assistance to employees and/or immediate family members with specific needs.

Other services will be provided to schools or neighborhoods:
* Abstinence Education in schools, apartment complexes and churches
* Attend school related activities
* Provide crisis intervention to schools
* Provide Chaplain services to youth and/or parents
* Intentionally engage youth in discussions and activities