MEN OF IRON 2019

[Bob Russell]

MEN OF IRON 2019

3 DAYS OF WORSHIP, WORD, AND FELLOWSHIP

AS I start this it is 11 p.m. on Saturday April 6, 2019 and I just walked in the door from 3 incredible days in Ruidoso, New Mexico, 6600 feet up in the Rockie Mountains.   We left CedarPoint Church in Claremore, Oklahoma at 3 a.m. on Thursday for the trip that takes anywhere from 10 to 13 hours depending on how many stops and detours are made. I rode there and back with Jerime Nelson and Mike Shott. I had met Mike a year or so ago but this was my introduction to Jerime, who did all the driving, 11 hours each way. I thoroughly enjoyed travelling with these wonderful men of God. This year 87 men went from CedarPoint and stayed in condos at the Innsbruck Village complex. This is my 3rd year to go and it was just as good as the other years. There were 4 sessions, Thursday evening, Friday morning and evening, and the final one Saturday morning. My pastor as CedarPoint, Rick Burke, delivered the message Friday evening. He spoke about the importance of surrendering ourselves to God in order to find the blessings He has in store for us. The other sessions were done by Pastors Steve and Troy Smotherman, and Stormy and David Swann. All were on the theme of surrender but from different perspectives and different points of the how and why of surrender. All of them pointed out that surrendering to God is a sign of strength and character as surrender and submission require a lot of strength. Prayer was available at every session, for any need we had. The worship sets were very powerful and were led by a 12 man team consisting of worship leaders from many churches, including CedarPoint's own Jake Tankersley. As with the last 2 years I came away very tired but also very uplifted and very blessed. There were men there suffering from cancer that doctors have told them is terminal, and a variety of chronic diseases, including the effects of the stroke I suffered a little over 4 1/2 years ago. Last year I arrived very dependent on a cane and left with it over my shoulder. I haven't yet seen the same type of result from being prayed for but God is working on my restoration, even when I don't see it or feel it. I had a dream in May 2016 that I would wake up one morning totally healed and that day WILL come. I have seen such wonderful progress and I KNOW that the restoration WILL come, in God's timing. I wish it would come in my timing but God has a plan that is better for me than any I could come up with so I WILL wait until His timing arrives and be thankful for every day He gives me and to use each one as best as I can to glorify Him. After all the poor choices I have made in my life and the time I spent either running from and/or opposing Him I am surprised He is willing to let me be His hands, feet, and voice but that is a testimony to how much He loves me and how much He wants to see me succeed in life.

Some of the blessings from this trip come from the men of CedarPoint. I am still very disabled from the stroke and often need assistance walking in places. I can't handle stairs very well so Ron Acree, the house captain of the condo I slept in made sure I had a room on the ground floor. Many others helped me up and down curbs, in and out of vehicles, and with getting food or drinks to the table when we ate. This morning as I was on the way to the dumpster with trash I had accumulated I fell on the grass and could not get back up. I tried to get up and got part way up twice only to fall again. After about 15 minutes of laying on the ground one of my cabin mates came out to put his luggage in the vehicle. I don't even know Charlie's last name as I only met him last night but when I called to him asking for help he immediately came over, helped me up, dusted me off, and asked if I was hurt. I have a bruise on my left knee and a scratch on my left index finger but I am fine and fortunate not to have been hurt because when I fall it is a crash because I am no able to control it at all I just plop like a sack of potatoes. I am so blessed to have so many Godly men so willing to help me, most of whom either don't know me personally at all or are just barely acquainted with me. God has put so many wonderful people in my life how could I not be thankful?!!!!!

I also want to thank 3 wonderful ladies who made the trip with the sole purpose of serving us. Two of them, Jean Earn Acree and Stacie Cherrington, are wives of men on the trip. The third, Krystine Madison is on staff at the church but she wasn't paid to do this. They fed us breakfast Friday and Saturday mornings, supper Friday evening, and had snacks for us after the Friday evening session when we gather at the clubhouse and talk about how we have been touched by the experience. They got up very early in order to have a wonderful breakfast for us that was ready at 6:45 when eating began and spent whatever time was needed to clean up after the meal. On Friday night the gathering ended about 11:30 and they stayed to clean up after we left then got up very early Saturday morning to cook breakfast for us. This year was my third in a row and these wonderful women have been there to serve us each time. I can't thank them enough for their dedication to service that they volunteered to do.

Again this year I met men I had not known before and saw some I met on previous trips. CedarPoint is a church of about 1,00 members with 3 services on Sunday. Since I attend another church also I can only attend the 3rd service which starts at 12:02 and is the smallest in attendance, about 100 or 150 people there. The 2nd service, at 10:32 is the largest and the first at 9:02 also has a significant attendance. It is now Sunday morning and I am about to leave for church. I am going to attend all 3 services at CedarPoint today so won't be going to Lifechanger Church this morning. I am so blessed to be able to attend 3 wonderful churches and worship and fellowship with so many wonderful people of God. I missed Vision on Friday night but Pastors Don and Kay Couch understood the significance of this trip and prayed for safety on our journey and that we would gain greatly from it, which I did.

I am fortunate to have 3 great pastors, Rick Burke at CedarPoint, Ted Estes at Lifechanger, and Don Couch at Vision. I love, admire, and respect all of them very much and listed them by how long I have been under their teaching because they are equal in every way in my eyes. I have spent most of my life either running away from God or outright defying Him yet over the last 20 years He has sought me and drawn me into His church and has given me wonderful people to lead me to redemption, Thank You, Jesus, for not giving up on me. As the hymn goes, "He sought me and He bought me with His redeeming blood". Another hymn says, "I couldn't earn it, I don't deserve it" but I have His love anyway because He IS love and nothing I could ever do will change that. All I can do is receive it and do my best to share it with people I come into contact with. I will NEVER be able to do it adequately but Jesus knows I am doing the best I can and that is all He asks of me.

What I would call a secondary theme of this year is to make a difference in my family, my church, and my community. Surrendering to God is only as beneficial as we make it in a sense. If I am truly surrendered I will put myself aside and do His work in my surroundings. It is important to spread the Gospel, by word and deed, in my circles. Everyone I encounter should be able to see that I serve God, not only by what I say but by what I do. I try daily to show Jesus in my actions and in my words. I am sure I fail at times but continually strive to do as well as possible to show Jesus to others. Jesus came, not to be served but to serve and as His disciple I should do the same. Service can be as simple as holding a door open for someone or even a smile and a pleasant hello. I have found in dealing with people that being pleasant, friendly, and kind does much good in another person's life and I do my best to do so. Men of Iron has been a wonderful experience and made me a better person by adopting the principles taught there. I look forward to next year.

I submit this in the name of the Most Holy Trinity, in faith, with the responsibility given to me by Almighty God to honor His work and not let it die from neglect.

Bob Russell

Claremore, Oklahoma

April 8, 2019