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Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
| Hoosier United Methodist News |
September 2001 |
Men come away with a vision after UM Men Odyssey
By Matthew Oates
Hoosier UM News Correspondent
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.-- When Purdue University students are gone during the summer, life moves at a slower pace. But from July 13-15, almost 4,000 men from around the world converged on West Lafayette for the 8th International UM Men's Congress.
With the theme of "Christ's Men in the New Millennium" and a sub-theme of "2001: A UMMen's Odyssey," the men were reminded numerous times of their calling; their relationships with God, their families and the church; and their roles in society.
Among the almost 60 workshops, a 60-booth ministry fair, plenary sessions with powerful speakers and a hands-on gleaning project for hunger relief, this was -- as the "Praising Hims" from New Palestine UMC would say -- a "journey of faith" for the new millennium.
New vision detailed
Dr. Joseph Harris, general secretary of the commission, presented the men with a new challenge and vision for the group. "We're going to be stronger men for Christ, a new strength for the church," said Harris. "We will do that through God's grace and that will revitalize the church."
Afterwards, He presented five transformational directions the group is implementing this quadrennium:
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Establish the spiritual center of men,
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Form covenant leaderships, Empower the connection for ministry,
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Strengthen the global connection and
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Set a doctrinal and theological discourse that unites, not divides.
"Our vision is to reach every man . with the good news of Jesus Christ," said Harris.
After leading a chant of "The Men are coming! The Men are coming," Larry Malone offered a glimpse into the future and what the 2005 Congress would look like. National director of the UM Men ministries, Malone told the men the church had changed positively since the 2001 Congress. Men were more involved in the church, both praying with pastors and offering servant leadership, reaching out to other men and drawing them and their families to relationships with God and the church. "Men this is our vision of our future," said Malone.
What the men heard
It was a who's who of speakers that helped draw the large crowd. Internationally renowned speaker Tony Campolo; Rep. Tom Osborne, R-Nebraska and former University of Nebraska football coach; Dr. Maxie Dunnam, president of Asbury Seminary; Woodie W. White, bishop of the Indiana Area UMC; Dr. Kenneth Wyatt, artist, evangelist and motivational speaker; and the Rev. Jessica Moffatt of Bixby First UMC of Bixby, Oklahoma.
Bill McCartney left the football field for Promise Keepers. With his traveling and speaking schedule, he has found a life after football. "What I do is more intoxicating," said McCartney.
One of Tony Campolos' last lines, which could be applied to the whole message, was of a time when he was in a preach-off where the people, if they agreed would yell, "Preach it!" Towards the end, the 4,000 men were crying to Campolo to "Preach it!"
And did he ever.
Mixing anecdotal tales of everyday life and humor, Campolo immediately bonded with the men and talked about the stillness with God that he experiences. "In the stillness I wait. I wait for Jesus to envelop me." And then afterwards, he sees the cross and feels forgiven. "He'll cleanse you. Jesus will erase your tape."
Tom Osborne's successes as a champion football coach and recently as a congressman from Nebraska aren't what keeps him going, he said; it's his faith. Quoting Hebrews 12, having focus in your life and in the game is what is important. "Where your eyes are is the whole thing," said Osborne about teaching players to always watch the ball.
Besides grace, strength and courage are needed, especially in today's society, where men have abandoned their calling to be leaders. And along with that comes a sense of assurance, ranging from the big games on the field and in life, and knowing that Jesus is with you. "You're locked into that and it's permanent."
Q&A with football legend Tom OsborneBy Matthew Oates The Hoosier United Methodist News had a chance to talk with Rep. Tom Osborne, R-Nebraska, about faith at the 8th International UM Men's Congress. HUM News: Faith, how important is it in our daily lives? Osborne: It's kind of the issue I orient my life around. I try to start every morning with about 30 minutes of prayer/meditation, and usually before I go to bed at night about 15-20 minutes of Scripture. I guess over time I came to realize there are three dimensions of human experience. There's physical dimension, of course in athletics I got to know quite a bit about that; intellectual dimension; then thirdly, there is the spiritual dimension. I came to understand or believe as time went on in my coaching career that if you're going to achieve all you can possibly achieve, you have to be pretty much committed in all three areas. So my spiritual life, my faith has been pretty important to me. HUM News: You've had an impact on hundreds of young adults as coach at the University of Nebraska. How did you use your faith with them? Osborne: Well, I think that in that position it's important not to proselytize or to impose your beliefs on someone else. I tried to, first of all, once a year in the early part of the season . talk to them about my faith and how it's important to me. (I) let them know where I was coming from and let them understand what my motivation was. I also attempted to be consistent with that faith. I think one of the most damaging things we can do is to profess a certain value system,. then live our lives in a contrary manner. HUM News: You are a man who has worn many hats throughout your life. How has your faith grown with those various hats you wore? Osborne: I maintained my spiritual discipline throughout my coaching career. I started every staff meeting when I was coaching with a short devotional prayer, read a verse of Scripture with the whole staff, time of prayer, chapel/mass for the players, my own personal devotions. And I've continued that in Congress. I go to a prayer breakfast every Thursday morning and try to go to Bible study once a week, go to church every Sunday and maintain my personal devotions. That has not changed HUM News: What are your plans for the upcoming year? Are you going to be running again? Osborne: I plan to run again in a year. One of the difficult things about the House of Representatives is you run every two years. Yeah, I'll stick with it. HUM News: Are there any eye-opening experiences? Is it (Congress) different than what you'd thought? Osborne: Actually, I think the general quality of people in Congress is better than what the general image is. More people are there for the right reasons. Most people there made a great sacrifice to be there. Traveling, long work, long hours, time away from their families, most of them are pretty dedicated to what they're doing. |
Indiana "represents" at CongressThe North and South Indiana conferences were both well represented at the event, in both attendance and as performers and presenters. North Conference men broke into the top ten of all conferences in attendance with 156 men, women and children registered. This was a considerable boost, since at annual conference it was announced there were less than 50. Brent Julian, president of the UMM for North Indiana, was happy the conference beat the 1997 total by 23 persons. According to Julian, the Lafayette District had 42 persons, the most from North Indiana districts, in attendance. Eleven South Conference youth received the GCUMM Office of Scouting Ministries' highest award-the "Good Samaritan Award"-- for their work in spreading UM-sponsored youth service agencies to Tanzania. The Praising Hims Quartet were honored by having their song, "Journey of Faith," chosen as the musical theme of the Congress. The quartet kicked off the Congress on Friday evening by leading the 4,000 men in singing. "The Rappin' Pastor"-- the Rev. Joseph Johnson of Lawrence UMC -- told attendees of some "old school" news of Jesus' love at the ministry fair and during a workshop. Tim Tanton of the UM News Service contributed to this report. |