CAMO Conference report/Facebook ministry

This past Saturday I had the great pleasure to attend the Ironman Outdoors CAMO Conference on men's ministry. It was a fantastic, spirit filled event. The keynote speaker on Friday evening was Dr. Bill Jones, president of Columbia International University. He preached a wonderful expositional message on practical evangelism from Colossians 4:2-6. Dr. Jones made plain that if you want to be an effective witness for Christ you have to 1)Pray Something; 2) Do Something; and 3) Say Something.

On Saturday, my dear friend and mentor US Navy Captain Mike Langston spoke and I was so honored to be able to introduce him. Captain Langston is a true leader of men and man of God. He made it plain that men want to be led and that we have an obligation to do so if we want to impact people's lives with the Gospel of Christ.

Most fun for me was that I was invited to lead a breakout session on Saturday morning about how to use Facebook as a ministry tool. I don't believe that God has allowed the great technological advancements of the internet and social media simply so teens can post embarrassing photos and celebrities can build big fan followings. Communications advancements have always lead to ministry opportunities. The unique thing about social networking as a ministry tool is that you don't need expensive equipment or lots of infrastructure to start a ministry. All you need is a computer, an internet connection, and a desire to impact your sphere of influence for Christ. I outlined ten keys to unlocking your Facebook profile as a ministry tool. It was a good session and it's been very rewarding to see some of the men there already implementing some of the strategies I talked about. Hopefully the Lord will bless me with other opportunities to share what He has taught me on this subject.

Thanks to Ironman Outdoors for allowing me to participate. If you want to know more about Ironman Outdoors and their ministry visit them at www.ironmanoutdoors.org or find them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ironmanoutdoors

Some items of Praise

Just wanted to take a few moments to publicly thank God for some stuff going on in my life...

First, the house is returning to normalcy. The new dry wall and painting are done. The new colors my wife picked look great. And most importantly we have a few days of peace and quiet before we head to the beach Sunday for the next week so the floors can be refinished. Given the hassle this whole water damage thing has been it is great to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Second, I hit 1000 friends on Facebook this week and it put me in mind of how amazing it is to be blessed to have so many talented, dedicated, and truly amazing people in my life. None of them are there by accident and I praise God for it.

Third, we had a great NASCAR weekend at Atlanta. We had some old friends over and made some new ones as well. Two highlights were seeing my old friend Brian Carty for the first time in 15 years and hosting the Motor Racing Outreach ministry staff for dinner at our place on Saturday night. I was really touched by Nationwide Series Chaplain Lonnie Clouse telling me about his plan to move his family to Mexico to work with orphans. Hearing Lonnie share his heart for children was a blessing.

Finally, I'm going fishing tomorrow. It's my first trip of 2010. Folks who know me know how much I enjoy hunting and fishing. Due to my achilles injury I didn't get to make a single trip deer hunting this past fall. (probably for the first time in 30 years) This injury showed me how much I take for granted the physical freedom God has blessed me with to do things that I enjoy. I will savor the time out tomorrow even if I don't get a bite.

So the words from the old doxology are definitely ringing true in my life...Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow!!!