I've Never Really Known Panic ... Until Today

For about the past 3 months, I've had an occasional call or email from people needing ministry help with the outdoors. They've told me that they've been sending me email but have had no response.

Well, today, I found out the problem. One of our email addresses, our main contact point, all of a sudden quit forwarding email to me. Which meant that today I discoverd that I have 129 emails, only 6 were spam, of which people were needing our training material or other resources. Some of these emails date back to late February.

I freaked out.

Just knowing that people were trying to reach us and probably got the idea we were snubbing them makes me fight severe depression.

Our former web hosting company was bought out, and then internal problems began. Which obviously affected our email system. So it looks as if I have a nice, long night of responding to these nice and patient folks.

If that be you ... please give me grace!! I have never seen anything like this, and though I don't use cuss words, I am wanting to right now!!!

The Women Behind Us

The old cliche heralds, "behind every good man is a good woman."

Well, not always. As a pastor I watched a few older men over the years continue to grow in Christ and be productive in spite of a wife that was nothing more than a truckload of constant negativity. Yet it's true in most cases that most men who are successful in the game of life have a great woman behind them. And it's true in my case.

My wife Michelle has been put through a lot this past year. In fact, in the past 3 years. Outdoor Ministry Network was never in our thoughts when we married. Even when we launched it over 3 years ago, the movement going national was never in our expectations or on our radar. Even more, for me to leave pastoral ministry to operate this ministry full-time wasn't considered as well. Yet all of that happened, and she's just been there. All the way.

In fact, we had a long talk around the month of February about this year's turkey season coming in April. It was crucial that we captured as much footage as we could get for our ministry DVDs. I told Michelle that I'd have to be hunting probably 5 days week, but that I'd be home around normal hours. Think about that. Gone before daylight, often home by 5pm, but in the woods all day. For 50 solid days, other than Saturday and Sunday. And she never blinked. Got a little worn out, but she was solid. Fellas ... that's just God ain't it?

I wanted to so something in this blog that might all of us testostrone -filled junkies. Let's talk about how we can show our wives that we are thankful they support our addictions with the outdoors. Hunting, fishing, golf, riding Harleys, camping ... whatever your bag. My experience is that men, myself definitely included, can't get enough.

I've never needed crack. I have camo. And often, I don't know when to stop the pursuit.

One of my close confidants is a fella named Steve Chapman. He wrote "A Look at Life from a Deer Stand." You'll even see this book in airports. It's had more readers than you can imagine. Steve always says, "Earn your time outdoors." That is, don't be sitting in a tree stand knowing that she's resenting you being there. One day we were hunting and Steve had to turn on his cell and call Annie over an issue about their ministry of marriage seminars. Sitting right next to him I heard her say as she was hanging up, "Have fun." As he hung up, Steve said that those words are always an indicator that he's doing it right - when she can endorse the hunt.

So: would you mind sharing some of the secrets you use to keep mama happy with you during thsoe seasons of life when you are chasing your favorite outdoor obsession???

Blink and It's Over + One Big Announcement

Bob Seger, one of my all-time favorite musicians, has a line in his famous song, "Night Moves" where he says, "Twenty years now, where'd they go? Twenty years, I don't know. I sit and I wonder some times, where they've gone."

I can't say much for 20 years, but for the last four weeks, I'd say, "Where'd they go?"

This blog is to be a "year in my life" so this is what I've done in the last two weeks: sat on a beach in Jekyll Island, GA, for the first vacation we've taken in 2 years. Much needed, and I absolutely did not even think of you!!!

This past week we've had some God sized things happen. We've had a super-bowl type meeting this past Tuesday. I wanted to get some of my close friends in our network together in one room. So you take people from LifeWay, BassPro, the Tennessee Baptist Convention, a few pastors ... and toss in one celebrity ... and what you've got buddy is one heck of a power group to listen to. And that's what I did. Listen.

My goal was to ask them: what can we do to take what God has done and move it ahead. It was honestly incredible. I've never been in a meeting with people like that who were so ready to be used of God through OMN.

The Big Announcement:

We've been thinking about putting together something really cool. What took us to a national level was our first DVD, "Building An Outdoor Ministry."

How about if we could offer not just an Outdoor Ministry training DVD for churches, but instead, a full-on "starter kit." Complete with 2 volumes (4 hours) of outdoor ministry training, a few hunts, and a killer filed manual upgrade. So here's what is on the horizon right now: we are currently filming Outdoor Ministry Leadership Volume 2. And it's all from actual players ... people who are doing it right now. Ministry in the real world, in real time.

I'm setting up film shoots like crazy over the next few weeks so that we can have this joker ready by fall.

It's full of real guys, just like you, some who are pastors, many who aren't. And we're covering "next level" kind of stuff like budgeting, expo events, hunter's ed classes, small groups, hosting various types of events, church hunting lease liability, and creative events on small budgets ... just to name a few.

Dude: it's going to be so completely cool. Stay with our website to see more.

And you heard it here first!

Hey - since we're literally filming Vol. 2, are there any topics you'd like us to consider that might make it to the DVD???? Any issues on the ministry front you'd like to know more about?