#77 – Character That Counts

Guest: Rod Handley

Act Like Men- Men’s Leadership Podcast

Podcast Show Notes

Someone once said that Talent will get you only so far. Character is what will take you home. We are blessed today to have a man who has been focused on his character for decades. Thank you for being open to sharing your story, which will inspire others to follow the pattern you shared.

Rod Handley is the Founder & President of Character that Counts (CTC). Rod speaks nationwide to men, women, and teenagers about character, integrity, and accountability issues. He has written more than 35 books including "Character Counts: Who's Counting Yours?" He served on the Fellowship of Christian Athletes staff, including 11 years as the COO/CFO. He has also spoken at many chapel services for several NFL, NBA, and MLB teams, including serving as team chaplain for the Kansas City Royals, and the Seattle SuperSonics, now Oklahoma City Thunder. Rod and his wife Janna live in Lee's Summit, MO and they have four children (ages 24-31) and three grandchildren.

In sharing his story, Rod talks about overcoming destructive and sinful habits and allowing God’s character to lead you. He highlighted a word that can cause way too many of us to live life carefully, tentatively, or in shame. That word is “secrets”. When we live life with secrets there is always the fear that at some point that secret will be revealed and it will change the direction of our life. The truth is – it will. We need to deal with our secrets and allow God to heal us and move us forward.

Rod uses three words to show the path to help and wholeness in Christ. Those words are: Character, Integrity, and Accountability. These are great words. While we will let Rod’s ministry define each one within their context, most of us immediately relate to them and know they are foundational to living a life of meaning in our relationships, our marketplace, and of course our life with God.

Today:

1. How would you in your honest moments define your character? What area needs to be improved?
2. How would you define your integrity? Who are you when no one is looking?
3. How would you define your accountability? Many are thrilled to be accountable for our strengths. What about those things in our life that weaken or destroy our character, or integrity? What about those things that would destroy those closest to us?

Find someone in your life you trust with your life and build a path towards, Godly Character, personal integrity, and deep levels of accountability. You and everyone around you will be better for it.

To reach out to Character That Counts: https://characterthatcounts.org

To reach out to Rod Handley directly: Rodhandley@gmail.com

Just a reminder these podcasts are released on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of each month. For additional podcasts, go to: https://mensministrycatalyst.org/podcasts/

The Men We Need

Guest: Brant Hansen

Brant Hansen is a syndicated radio host (over 200 stations), an advocate for healing children with correctible disabilities through Project Cure, and the author of numerous books including Unoffendable, Blessed Are the Misfits, The Truth About Us, The Men We Need, and The Young Men We Need. In addition to speaking on the subject of “The Men We Need”, he frequently speaks at churches, conferences, and corporations on the topics of forgiveness, faith, the autism spectrum, and the kingdom of God. Brant is also a musician and occasional stand-up comedian. He and his wife, Carolyn, live in South Florida.

I (Wendell Morton)have a library of books written to men, about men, how to reach men, etc: Brant Hansen’s book The Men We Need will be a classic book for men, men’s leaders, and pastors, for the foreseeable future. It should be in seminaries, bible colleges, and in every church in America…

What was the reason you wrote this book? Hansen says: We have a major problem and that is that guys have no clue what masculinity is. We have some vague sense, but we do not have a coherent, beautiful, specific vision. We may throw around the term “man up”, but other than picking yourself up by your bootstraps, be a Rambo, or some other outdoorsy, sports dude, what does it mean? This cannot be the essence of masculinity as many men do not fit that model and was it what God had commissioned for Adam.

Your opening section is titled: Keeper of the Garden: What do you mean by this and what does it involve? From the very beginning, even before sin, God had given Adam the job of keeping the garden… ultimately God had given man (us) the job of being responsible. There are humans inside your home, outside your window, and in your workplace who may come to harm (in the world and the world to come) because you are not taking the responsibility God had given you.

Brant lists Six Decisions that we need to make:

1. Forsake the Fake and Relish the Real – the fake is the dopamine hits that come from being involved in many things that are not real, or not core to the responsibility that God has given to us.
2. Protect the Vulnerable – part of Adam’s was to protect the vulnerable, which was Eve, the animals, and plants in the Garden. We see how that worked out.
3. Be ambitious about the Right Things – ambition is a very good quality. However, we might be pulled into ambition for things that are not core to which God has called us.
4. Make Women and Children Feel Safe – nothing is more appealing than a man who is committed to always protecting his family. That is of course physical, but also it is emotional, relational, and spiritual.
5. Choose Today who you will become tomorrow – this is anti-cultural. Who we are tomorrow is what we paid attention to today. Be ambitious and focus attitudes, and actions, and focus on who God has called you to be tomorrow.
6. Take Responsibility for your spiritual life – no one else is responsible for your relationship with God other than you. Know that God loves you and will do things for you. No one else is accountable before God for your spiritual life.

ask yourself:

1. What is your concept of masculinity? Where did it come from?
2. Where do you need to align your concept of masculinity with Biblical teaching?
3. Who can come around to help you with areas in which you need to become accountable?

To order any of his books go to Amazon and type in Books by Brant Hansen.

https://mensministrycatalyst.org/podcasts/

#75 – The Encore Man

Guest: Dr. Chuck Stecker

Act Like Men- Men’s Leadership Podcast

Podcast Show Notes

The New England Journal of Medicine published a research article: The most productive generations are people in the 70’s – you heard that correctly. People in their seventies have the opportunity to make the biggest impact on our world – specifically, those with whom they are in a relationship. The second greatest generation to make an impact on our world – people in their sixties. The question is why these two generations, with whom do they have the biggest impact, and how can the local church utilize this research and engage these generations to impact their community through their generations within their local church?

Many churches struggle to find ways to utilize specifically the Encore man with meaningful service. Just because a man has time does not mean you just plug him into an empty slot and let it go. Ultimately, for long-term fulfillment for the man and impact in the church, this connection needs to be in line with his Spiritual gifting and within his personality. Most men can do anything for a while, but long-term impact and fulfillment come when I am operating in my gifting and within my personality.

With families now living all over the US and even abroad, for us to think that we as parents can impact and support our children and their families as we would like, is a myth. We need the Encore generation to step into active roles both in the church and in the neighborhood to ministry where there are gaps in the Encore generation and young to middle-aged families.

Dr. Stecker leads a ministry called A Chosen Generation. There are two seminars that he leads that are powerful in the local church. One is called: If You Passed Your Baton Take It Back. The other one is: Never Just Babysit Your Grandkids. If your church is looking for a way to positively engage your senior population (Encore Generation), then reach out to Dr. Stecker at:

Chuck@achosengeneration.org

Many Encore Men do not naturally know how to connect after their careers. Men often leave sometime when they retire, rather than retire to something that has meaning a value for years to come.

Pastors and church leaders – we urge you to intentionally connect your Encore generation in the work of the ministry that is fulfilling to them and beneficial to the local church. Use their time and resources to impact the kingdom, by impacting your local community for Christ.

To reach Chuck directly for seminars or consultation: church@achosengeneration.org

To connect with the resources he mentioned at Men’s Ministry Catalyst, go to: https://mensministrycatalyst.org/store/

Questions to Ask Yourself:

1. If you are in the Encore generation – what are my spiritual gifts, and how does my personality impact what I am doing for God today?
2. What is my local church doing to utilize our generation to impact the younger ones in our church?
3. Who do I know that does not have parents or grandparents living close enough to make an impact on their family? What can I do to make a difference in their lives?