During the past thirty-three years Men’s Ministry Catalyst has been in the business on helping people recognize the importance of building “communication bridges” to others. You can’t be effective introducing Christ to others until you are willing to first build a relationship.
We see these communication bridges as a way to share Christ’s love and word. MMC has developed one of the most extensive libraries of books, booklets, workbooks, study guides, and social media resources that assist local churches in developing a vision and practical programs on how they might empower their men’s ministries and create discipleship programs in order to become more effective in reaching their communities for Christ.
Recently I’ve been re-visiting one of my favorite books in my library: The Church of Irresistible Influence by Robert Lewis. Robert is the pastor of the Fellowship Bible Church in Little Rock, Arkansas and regularly shares many ideas on how the church can better connect with its community. His bridge building illustrations are superb.
Newspapers called it the “Dance of Danger” – bridge construction on top of swaying catwalks and high towers, sometimes hundreds of feet in the air, blown by ill winds. This dance had even yielded a calculated fatality rate: For each one million dollars spent, one life would be lost. That was what one could expect.
Engineers of the Golden Gate Bridge; however, believed the risks could be lowered. When construction began in 1932, numerous safety measures were put into place and strictly enforced: mandatory use of hard hats, prescription filtered eye glasses, no showboating (cause for automatic-firing), tie-off lines, and an on-site hospital, all helped to greatly reduced the casualty rate. After nearly four years of construction and $20 million spent, only one worker had died.
The most effective safety device, without question, was as new to bridge building as it was old to the circus, the use of a trapeze net. Costing $130,000, this large net-draped sixty feet below the roadbed under construction, extending ten feet to either side. So effective was the safety net that the newspapers began running box scores: “Score on the Gate Bridge Safety Net to Date: 8 Lives Saved!” Those men whose lives had been delivered by the net were said to have joined the “Halfway to Hell Club.”
Beyond that, the net had another significant benefit: it freed many of the workers from an often-paralyzing sense of fear. And that, many said, helped them work more productively.
What fear is paralyzing you this day? Is it the fear of financial collapse? Is it the fear of hearing about a potentially unfavorable medical report? Is it the fear of a broken relationship? The fear of a war or future military conflicts abroad and at home? Or maybe you are afraid about the uncertainty that tomorrow brings? Whatever your concerns we have a loving, caring God who knows your heart and desires to comfort you in all your fears.
When I’m fearful my safety net is the comfort of God’s presence felt through prayer and the assurance of His word.
Think about this:
- “Take courage! It is I (Jesus) Don’t be afraid.” – Matt.6:50
- “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” – Heb. 13:6
- “There is no fear in love. But perfect loves drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love” – 1 John 4:18
- “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” – 2 Tim. 1:7
If you would like to have a free and compact Ready Reference Flip Guide as posted on our website – please send us your address and one will be placed in the mail to you today (use the Contact Us page here on the site). We want to encourage you with this guide.
—Dr. Jim Grassi