BoldMan Chronicles

BoldMan Chronicles tag:www.boldpath.org,2008-01-26:/bmc//1 2010-02-13T18:41:42Z Movable Type Open Source 4.1 Get your Thought for the Day tag:www.boldpath.org,2010:/bmc//1.106 2010-02-13T18:15:47Z 2010-02-13T18:41:42Z

New for 2010. Leary Gates, BoldPath founder and teacher, has launched a new feature on his personal blog site. His daily Thought for the Day includes a thought provoking quote, often from a famous leader or author, followed by...

the Editor

New for 2010. Leary Gates, BoldPath founder and teacher, has launched a new feature on his personal blog site. His daily Thought for the Day includes a thought provoking quote, often from a famous leader or author, followed by a reflection on applying the principle as intentional men of God. It's a daily one-minute post you can have delivered to your inbox or favorite RSS reader.

Click here to view the blog and subscribe or read a sample on the difference between a being a dreamer and a visionary.

]]> Comfort Inn tag:www.boldpath.org,2009:/bmc//1.105 2009-12-25T14:20:00Z 2009-12-25T14:24:43Z

"She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." -- Luke 2:7As I write this, snow is softly falling, creating a blanket of pristine white--the quintessential image of...

Leary Gates "She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." -- Luke 2:7

As I write this, snow is softly falling, creating a blanket of pristine white--the quintessential image of a Norman Rockwell Christmas. So much unlike the original; the day the Prince of Peace quietly entered our world. What many of us celebrate now, surrounded by the comfort of family and friends, was then, for the Christ-Child, anything but comfortable. For a young man and his virgin betrothed, it was an untimely birth, in an unfamiliar place. The Bread of Life would spend His first night in an animal feedbox, for there was no room for Him to be born among the comfortable. Those who slept quietly in the inn were likely oblivious to the divine visitation just outside their earshot. The Gift was among them, yet they did not recognize it as such (John 1:10).

]]> As I watch the snow and contemplate this gift of Jesus, I wonder what divine visitations are occurring today that, tucked away in my room, I fail to see. Inwardly, I wonder if I've grown so accustomed to my ways, my wants, my "needs" that I've become barricaded to the presence of the Newborn in my midst. Like the sudden awareness of the beauty of the snow that falls before me, I begin to hear the faint sounds of the homeless, the persecuted, the infirm, the brokenhearted; those poor in spirit, so loved by Jesus. They are so easy to forget while I'm comfortably ensconced in my inn. It is upon those who mourn that Jesus pronounces blessing, for they will receive true comfort (Matthew 5:4). Perhaps not the comfort of a warm and dry inn that I am now enjoying, but that of a lowly Child born into a similarly uncomfortable circumstances who now reigns as Prince of Peace.

Just outside my door, an encounter with Him awaits.

]]> Pothole Survival Kit - BoldPath Life Strategies tag:www.boldpath.org,2009:/bmc//1.104 2009-10-25T21:53:04Z 2009-10-25T23:32:24Z

the Editor

Life's highway is not always smooth. We're bound to hit a pothole every once in awhile--a job loss, a financial crisis, a troubled relationship. Some potholes can be quite severe, inflicting serious damage. When that happens, it good to have a survival kit nearby. The BoldPath Pothole Survival Kit includes four hard-hitting messages on two CDs by teacher Leary Gates, message notes, and a 30-day mini-devotional program to help you avoid turning a pothole into a sinkhole. Read a post from Leary's blog on potholes or visit the Pothole Survival Kit web page to learn more and to order a copy for you or a friend that could use some encouragement.]]> A Song Especially for You tag:www.boldpath.org,2009:/bmc//1.103 2009-10-17T03:00:14Z 2009-10-17T03:00:33Z

Leary Gates "The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." -- Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)

In 1697, the English playwright William Congreve wrote the oft misquoted line, "Music has charms to soothe a savage breast." You read that right. The correct word is "breast." And it's an apt word to describe many men right now. Their chests are beating hard with anxiety over the their jobs, their finances, their future. A savage breast is restless.

Perhaps you are restless too.

]]> If so, Zephaniah 3:17 contains an important truth: God has a song just for you. "He will rejoice over you with singing." Now, before you write it off as just a pretty word picture, read the whole verse again and meditate on its truth; all of it:

God is with you. How many times did Jesus remind his disciples that they did not need to fear because he was with them? In fact, Jesus' parting words, commonly known as the Great Commission, ends with "and surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:20)
God is mighty. Who more than the One who created all things, could rescue you from that which you fear?
God will quiet you. His love for you will be peace in the midst of the storm. After all, He is the Prince of Peace.
God will rejoice over you. He delights in you and it overflows into singing.

When our children were young and afraid of monsters hiding in their closets and under their beds, my wife and I would tuck them in with a prayer and a song. Each had their own song with lyrics and melodies we wrote just for them. In fact, we recorded a "Mommy/Daddy" cassette tape for each child with Bible readings, personal affirmations, and their song. Most nights after prayers, they would turn on their tape player to listen to their Mommy/Daddy tape, often rewinding it to listen again and again. Singing over them soothed their savage breasts.

Zephaniah 3:17 says that God does the same for us. As a loving Father, he comforts us with His presence and His voice. Unlike human parents though, He never parts. And unlike human parents, His voice never tires of singing. That's a good thing, because we never outgrow the need for comfort. There will always be a savage breast within us that can tamed only by His song.

What lyrics of comfort do you imagine Him to be singing about you?

]]> Reading the Bible transformationally tag:www.boldpath.org,2009:/bmc//1.102 2009-10-06T13:57:29Z 2009-10-06T13:57:52Z

Stephen Sebastian

We live in the information age. A high premium is placed on getting information and getting it quickly. But how often do we really let this information speak to us, to allow it bring our assumptions and perspectives into question, to change us from within? That's the difference between formation and information. What difference could this make in our reading the inspired Word of God, the Bible, as a means of living more purposeful lives?

]]> When you read the Bible with an attitude of formation, you:

are concerned with the quality of your reading time, not with how much reading can be done as quickly as possible
are more contemplative, allowing the text to open you to see its different dimensions, its multiple layers of meaning.
allow it to speak authoritatively in your life. The Word is the teacher and you are a humble recepeint.

The next time you approach the Word, try keeping these principles of formational reading in mind. Allow enough time to listen to what God may be saying to you in His Word. As you read, respond with your heart and spirit rather than with just your rational, cognitive, intellectual faculties. Don't worry. You won't be in danger of neglecting the latter! Ask yourself questions such as: How do I feel about what is being said? What stirring is this creating in me? What changes might God be asking me to make right now?

The Bible tells us that His Word is "living and active... judging the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)" When we slow down enough to take it in, it will transform us.

Stephen Sebastian is a certified executive coach, leadership consultant and group facilitator. He is the founder of CorePath.com.

]]> Interview with Comedian Ken Davis - Part 3 tag:www.boldpath.org,2009:/bmc//1.98 2009-09-10T19:05:00Z 2009-09-10T19:18:53Z

the Editor

This is the final post of a three-part BoldMan Chronicles interview with Ken Davis, comedian, author and president of Dynamic Communications International. Ken speaks to audiences around the world using humor to share the seriously life-changing truth of the gospel. In our last post, Ken discussed the challenges and criticisms he's faced in pursuing his calling. In this final post, Ken evaluates his ministry success and discusses his vision for the future.]]> BMC: As a seasoned veteran of your calling, how would you evaluate the impact of your ministry right now?

KD: Here's the way I would evaluate it: at my worst, God chose to use what I was doing to impact the Kingdom and at my best, God chose to use what I was doing to impact the Kingdom.

I used to speak frequently to junior high students. Now there's a audience that doesn't give a lot of positive feedback! They climb the walls and swing from the chandeliers during the entire time you are speaking. On one occasion my audience of 80 kids were given Q-tips and straws and they were blowing them at each other. Of course, when it came time for my talk, they sat them all in one corner of the gymnasium. But they didn't collect the straws, nor the Q-tips. So, during my presentation I am getting hit in the left eye and then in the head. It was when I had just told my funniest joke and some kid in the back sneered "Ha, Ha, Ha," that I thought, "Okay, that's it. No more Mr. Nice Guy. No more Mr. Funny Guy." At that point, I turned into Jonathan Edwards and began to speak to those poor souls, those "sinners in the hands of an angry God." I told them they were hanging over the pit of Hell by a thread and were certainly going to burn.

I remember that night well because I was sick with laryngitis. And I was also sick with the worst attitude I could possibly have had. I spoke out of anger and retribution for their lack of respect. At the end of the night I said, "If you want to trust your life to Christ, stand up." About forty of them stood up. "Sit back down," I said, figuring that I had screwed it up by making it look too easy. So I started telling them that their friends might leave them. I made it sound like trusting Christ was the worst thing you could possibly do. Finally, I said again, "If you really want to trust Jesus, stand up." And the same bunch stood up and went to the back of the room to pray to receive Christ.

As as I walked past them on my way for a drink of water, I heard a boy about 12 years old, praying the most sincere prayer of commitment that I have ever heard in my life, probably to this day. He had responded to the most horrible, misrepresented presentation ever given by entrusting his life to Christ. I realized then that God looked down and saw my bad attitude. He saw the bad presentation. He saw all of it and said, "There are 40 kids that I love and want, and I am going to use what you are doing."

And there have been times when I have stepped before an audience of 58,000 men at Soldier's Field in Chicago and absolutely knocked the ball out of the park, as far as I was concerned. My heart was right. I was in the right frame of mind. I had given the best presentation I have ever done. In that moment, God looked down and said, "There are several hundred or several thousand men here that I want, and I will use what you are doing." So at my worst God used what I was doing to advance His Kingdom and at my best God used what I was doing to advance his Kingdom.

BMC: There's got to be times when you don't feel like being funny. How do you stay engaged?

KD: Part of the way that happens is that I am not a funny guy off-stage. I received another strong criticism from someone who said that I was faking what I do on stage, because off stage they thought I was aloof. I am the farthest from aloof you can possibly get. On personality tests, I rate off the charts as an introvert, as someone who is a loner and not comfortable in crowds. Yet, the safest place on earth for me is on the stage, because I really am alone. On-stage, I am in control. If there's any place where God has been working with me lately, it's to challenge me to trust him in places where I am not in control. He's challenging me to work on developing one-on-one relationships, where humor doesn't necessarily carry the day. I think my friends would say I am a funny person and fun to be around, but I am certainly not the life of the party. I am not the guy that makes it happen, I am more introspective, serious and somewhat demented!

BMC: As you look at the next phase of your ministry, what lies ahead for you?

KD: My current passion is to continue doing what I am doing as effectively as I possibly can. As I look toward the future, I am toying with and praying about the idea of helping folks in my stage of life; to encourage them, to make them laugh, and to help them find hope in this season of life. I'm thinking about writing a book on this season called "Skating on Golden Pond." There's a lot happening in this stage of life. We become parents to our parents and they take on the role of children; we lose our parents; we watch their health fail; we watch a generation of younger people devalue their elder's role in society.

All of that sounds real serious. But we also see our own bodies falling apart. Plumbing that stops working, for instance. I think it's hilarious and if you can find the humor in it, it helps you face the more serious stuff. There may be some criticism if I tackle this project, because I am going to be honest. A guy said to me once, "I have been married for forty years and my wife and I have never had an argument and never had a bad thought toward one another." I said to him, "You must be married to a carrot! You're certainly not married to a human being."

So I expect this book to be an honest, straightforward and encouraging look at the aging process. Hope doesn't have to die when you get older. If anything, God opens up areas for us to minister like we have never ministered before, just in different ways. For me, I think God will change my ministry to become more personal, one-on-one, more relational than event and performance based.

BMC: Thanks, Ken, for sharing your heart and life lessons with us.

]]> Fearless - Max Lucado tag:www.boldpath.org,2009:/bmc//1.100 2009-09-08T13:35:00Z 2009-09-09T22:03:27Z

I have a confession. Until now, I haven't read a Max Lucado book. According to his website, an astonishing sixty-five million other people have. Apparently, I was a holdout. Not anymore. His most recent release, Fearless, got my attention and...

Leary Gates

Fearless is as wonderfully written as you might expect from a New York Time's best selling author who's cranked out more than 50 books in 25 years (do the math!). It's easy enough to digest in a sitting (just 180 pages), yet packed with enough nuggets of insight to make you stop and think. The subtitle, "Imagine your life without fear," is aptly chosen, for Lucado stirs the imagination by presenting a potpourri of fears (e.g. dying, poverty, violence, insignificance, etc.) vanquishing amid God's unceasing love for His creation. Lucado reminds us that Jesus' most common command was to "fear not," and each chapter puts that command in context of a fear that Jesus confronted in His disciples then and today. The disciple Lucado, himself, writes of his own fears with an honesty borne of the very freedom his book title promises.

I highly recommend reading this book as an important diagnostic--asking, "Where can I be more fearless today? Now that I've read it, it's going back on my reading list, to be read aloud with my sons.

]]> Interview with Comedian Ken Davis - Part 2 tag:www.boldpath.org,2009:/bmc//1.97 2009-08-28T14:50:00Z 2009-09-10T19:10:22Z

the Editor

Ken Davis speaks to audiences around the world using humor to share the seriously life-changing truth of the gospel. In our last post, Ken described his early years and how he discovered his life purpose. In this post, the second of a three-part BoldMan Chronicles interview, Ken discusses the challenges and criticisms he's faced in pursuing his calling.

]]> BMC: One might not naturally think that a guy that having so much fun might be scared to pursue his calling. Did you have any scary times?

KD: It is interesting you say scary, but each of those is a learning experience as well. I've watched other comedians who have become very famous that bombed... and bombed... and bombed again. But there were very few times that I bombed. Maybe that's why I didn't become very famous. The one time I did was during an audition for HBO in Los Angeles. It was the worst performance I've ever given. For seven minutes nothing went right. I was performing on the same stage with Billy Crystal, Arsenio Hall and other well-known comedic talent. Top agents were sitting in the audience. And I bombed in front of all of them. But I think that was because God had a different direction for me to go. He knew that I should use humor to present life-changing truth. And, I think, He knew I was not equipped spiritually and morally to handle what might have come as a result of going another direction.

Those were difficult and scary times. I would answer your question this way: the scariest thing of all was to find myself in the middle of a measure of success, having left the foundation of my faith behind. Not that God had left me, but that I was reaching for something that I thought would bring more satisfaction than what his truth had brought to my life. When I look back on that time, I was doing acrobatics way up in the air, like trapeze artist without a net. God by His mercy spared me from disaster. I kept my family, and he allowed me to have a ministry. But he showed me that I was doing the high wire act without a net.

BMC: What probably felt like devastation then, appears like providence now.

KD: Not performing well for the HBO audition was pretty devastating, but I believe now that was providence. Scarier than that was the times of success I experienced where I was flying high without a net. When I came to the realization that I really needed get re-grounded in what I knew to be truth--that was a life changing experience. That gave me direction. If you came to me today and offered me some part on a television show, I'd really have to have two or three bolts of lightning in one ear to accept it.

BMC: Was there a particular event that made you realize that you were on a trapeze without a net?

KD: I remember going to a counselor and talking to him about some things that I was struggling with in terms of the direction of my life. His response angered me: "What we're talking about here, Ken, is a lack of character." He saw that my primary interest was just to know how to manage my behavior a little bit better; just enough to become a better person. In fact, I had drifted from the foundation. I focused my life on becoming a success, on fame, on accolades of an audience, rather than being what God created me to be. If your life is lived either focused in the wrong direction or with no focus at all, it becomes chaos. There is nothing more beautiful than knowing you are doing the right thing. Then when things get tough, if money gets tight, the economy takes a turn, if you lose your house, you don't lose your focus. You're still doing the right thing, and you live to do the right thing, not to get what you can get.

BMC: Have you received any criticism that has particularly been troubling to you?

KD: I want to encourage men and those that have committed themselves to God's direction with this: you will be criticized for what you do. The only way to avoid criticism is to pass away, because there is very little criticism at funerals!

My answer to your question is "yes." I have received criticism and in the past I paid too much attention to it. Once again, it's two ends of a coin; I paid way too much attention to the applause and way too much attention to the criticism. If you use humor, you will be criticized; there is just no doubt about it. I have been criticized for promoting child abuse by telling a story about driving to church and swinging my arm around to try and reach the kids in the back seat. Some who have gone through a particular tragedy have been upset to hear others laughing at something unique that may have happened to them. Others have told me that there is no place for humor in the presentation of the gospel. But I have gone from letting that criticism bother me for weeks, to asking what I can learn from it, and then moving forward. I am the one that has to answer to God for what I do. So, I just I try to obey Him. If I try to please everybody, I am in big trouble, because I can't do it.

In the next and final post, Ken evaluates his ministry success and discusses his vision for the future.

]]> Shame Off You - Alan D. Wright tag:www.boldpath.org,2009:/bmc//1.99 2009-08-19T19:07:10Z 2009-08-19T20:52:19Z

"You're not good enough!" That's the language of shame inside our heads that threatens to limit our capacity to receive God's grace and to move forward in full embrace of God's best for our life. And that's the big problem...

Gordon Ellison

Alan D. Wright's book, Shame Off You was written to help people to "wash away the mud that hides our true selves." In twelve brief chapters, Alan provides biblical guidance with powerful personal illustrations of how shame and a false sense of guilt grip people's lives and drag them off into the shadows, causing them to miss or forfeit so much of what might have been. Each chapter provides helpful insight into ways in which shame invades our lives and causes us to run endlessly after "rabbits" we can never catch.

You can get more information about the book and/or workbook from Alan's website. I only wish I had read this book earlier in my life and career. Oh well! Shame off me.

]]> Interview with Comedian Ken Davis - Part 1 tag:www.boldpath.org,2009:/bmc//1.96 2009-08-17T19:30:00Z 2009-08-28T14:52:26Z

the Editor

Ken Davis is a seriously funny guy. Speaking to audiences around the world, he combines side-splitting humor with the heart piercing truth of the gospel. His two-minute inspirational program, Lighten Up with Ken Davis, is heard on over 1,500 radio stations across the country and around the world. Ken's books have received national critical acclaim, including the "Book of the Year" award and the Gold Medallion Award. As president of Dynamic Communications International, he teaches speaking skills to ministry professionals and corporate executives. BoldMan Chronicles had the opportunity to sit down with Ken Davis and discuss his life and ministry. This is the first of a three-part post of that interview.]]> BMC: So, first of all, you grew up in our home state. You're a Minnesota boy.

KD: I am, I was born in Brainerd and spent my early childhood and young adult life on the Iron Range up near Virginia, in a little town called Sax. I think there were just two of us in Sax.

BMC: That's just north of Lake Wobegon, I think.

KD: Well it's quite bit a north of Lake Wobegon. It was just a little farming community and I have wonderful memories of that place.

BMC: That's terrific. Let's go back there. When did you first discover your comedic talent?

KD: I think it was right after the doctor slapped me and said that's a boy!

It really was pretty quick. I probably didn't recognize it in full form until one day in junior high English class. Our teacher, Francis W. Peterson, had just read Shakespeare's famous line, "Out, out damn spot." I had taken that opportunity to raise my hand and suggest other adjectives that could be used to describe the spot. None of them appropriate. She was not pleased, and made me stay after school.

When you stayed after school in those days, the buses left without you. You had to call and have your parents drive 30 miles to pick you up. And when your parents came they didn't bring a lawyer they brought a two by four! I knew I was in big, big trouble.

While I was waiting for my parents to come, my teacher (who had always been very kind to me), finished correcting papers, capped her pen with those long slender fingers, and said to me, "God has given you a gift." I fully expected that she was going to expel me right then. But instead she said, "You've been using this gift to destroy my class and that is going to change. I want you to try out for speech and humorous interpretation." That was the beginning. I won every contest I entered, except for one, and was in all of her plays and drama presentations. She was a tremendous encouragement to me. She was a woman who walked past the dirt to find the gold.

BMC: She was your Mr. Holland then?

KD: Absolutely! That is an excellent way of putting it.

BMC: Were there others that came alongside of you and fanned the passion for Christian comedy in your early years?

KD: Not in the beginning, not that particular passion. You have to remember that was 1962. At that time, comedy, faith and Christianity were not really closely connected.

BMC: When did you first realize that you could have that kind of ministry?

KD: I realized that immediately, but there weren't people who encouraged me. In fact there were some who were very encouraging to me in all other areas of life. They just were not encouraging in that area. I was probably encouraged at that time more as a communicator, just as a flat communicator rather than for my humor. In fact, one of my mentors, who had profound influence on my life, expressed discouragement that I did not become a preacher. But comedy was God's intention, His call. As much as I enjoy presenting God's word in preaching, and I have been in some of the biggest churches in the country, that part of me to find humor in almost everything always shows through. In the long run, that has given me a wider audience than I would have had in any other way. I believe God knew what he was doing.

BMC: You had to have a pretty strong conviction that this was God's calling for you, to stand in the face of a mentor who is encouraging you to do otherwise.

KD: I'm going to be honest with you. I would love to say "Yes, I was so strongly convinced that God had called me in this direction that nothing could deter me," but that really isn't true. What's true is that I found comedy as a means to be accepted. I was beat up in high school. I was skinny. I was not accepted, and humor was a way to get acceptance. I quickly found that what I couldn't gain because my lack of social skills, I could achieve when I was standing in front of people doing a presentation and using humor. Now, the one who was convinced of the power of this and convicted that it needed to continue was God himself. So, he used all of that, even though it was misdirected in the beginning because I used humor for what the audience gave me, rather than me ministering to them. He used all that time and all of that training to hone this craft to a fine tuned edge that is enjoyed all over the world today. So I would love to say that I was so committed that nothing could keep me from pursuing it, but in all honesty, for the longest time, it was the only means by which I could find acceptance.

BMC: Sometimes God even uses our own self-protection to advance His cause.

KD: Indeed. I would say a lot of times!

In our next post, Ken discusses the challenges and criticisms he's faced in pursuing his calling.

]]> Pursuing the Elusive tag:www.boldpath.org,2009:/bmc//1.95 2009-05-26T00:44:15Z 2009-08-08T02:07:47Z

Leary Gates

Our family is fortunate to share our secluded suburban property with an astonishing array of wildlife. Deer, fox, wild turkey, rabbits, duck, geese, egrets, and herons are all frequent visitors. In his youth, our dog, an American Staffordshire Terrier, would give them chase. Twelve years later, age and cataracts have dampened both Casey's vision and inclination. That was, until we had an unexpected visitor.

]]>

No shouts from his master standing on the shore would deter him. He paddled relentlessly onward. As he neared his target, the swan rose up and flew to the other side of the pond, as if to mock his doggedness. Undaunted, Casey changed course and continued the pursuit. More calls from his master. No effect. My cataract-laden dog had apparently lost his hearing, as well.

It occurred to me, after witnessing several of these course corrections, that Casey would either get the swan or die trying. At his age, the latter was more likely. Since I didn't have the heart to tell my daughter that her dog had drowned himself from fatigue and my neighbor had no interest in explaining our dog's death to his four-year old, we both piled into my paddle-boat to rescue "Dumb Dog" (as I was now calling him).

As I reflected on our excursion, it occurred to me that God often rescues Dumb Me from similar pursuits. There He is, standing on the shore, calling my name, and there I am, pushing blindly ahead toward an ever evasive goal.

Even as we drew near in our boat, Dumb Dog would ignore us and deadly fatigue in favor of the elusive swan. Not until we positioned the boat on an intercept course could we divert his attention.

Now I'm wondering, What swans am I pursuing so doggedly that I can no longer hear the Master's voice calling from the shore? Who might He have put on an intercept course to rescue me with the truth? And, Am I open to evaluate the direction I am pursuing in my life? Proverbs 12:15 says, "The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice."

Perseverance is a godly trait; obstinance is a "dogly" trait. The difference always has been listening for and obeying the Master's voice.

]]> How to Survive the Economic Meltdown - Patrick Morley tag:www.boldpath.org,2009:/bmc//1.94 2009-05-10T14:15:37Z 2009-05-10T15:03:58Z

the Editor

Patrick Morley, best-selling author of Man in the Mirror and CEO of the organization that bears that name (website), is no stranger to economic meltdowns. As a former Florida real estate developer he spent years fighting off a multimillion dollar bankruptcy after the Tax Reform Act of 1986. Pat's new book, How to Survive the Economic Meltdown features 35 hard earned spiritual, practical and financial survival strategies based on lessons learned during his own personal financial crisis. It's a quick read book, packed with timeless strategies to help you withstand the heat. For more information on how to get the book in hardcopy, in bulk, or as a free PDF download, visit http://survivethemeltdown.org/. Also, check out the BoldMan Chronicles interview with Patrick Morley.]]> A Draft from the Storm tag:www.boldpath.org,2009:/bmc//1.90 2009-04-28T19:35:35Z 2009-08-08T02:08:28Z

Set the temperature to 42 degrees, add rain, an occasional thunderbolt, and whip it up with 15 to 20 mph winds and you have the makings for a nice day on a bike. That is, if you're nuts. That was...

Leary Gates

Set the temperature to 42 degrees, add rain, an occasional thunderbolt, and whip it up with 15 to 20 mph winds and you have the makings for a nice day on a bike. That is, if you're nuts. That was my wife's exclamation as I took part in the traditional cycling season opener in the Twin Cities, the Minnesota Ironman® Bike Ride this past weekend. I was not alone. Four thousand other nuts with their bicycles, tandems and unicycles were with me. But only one of them mattered.

]]>

Someone once said that the size of your commitment can be measured by what it takes to stop you. By the time my three riding companions and I had reached the first rest stop at 25 miles, the strongest rider weighed in on the size of his commitment. Frozen fingers bested him. He packed it in. Before the day was over, more than a thousand others would join him.

Admittedly, when he bailed, I had second thoughts too. I might have been easily swayed to the comforts of a nice bath had my friend Andy not shown his resolve. He was my inspiration to endure and claim my prize. We may have been nuts to continue, to risk hypothermia, but because I did, I not only reached my goal, but I picked up a few reminders as well.

You do a lot of thinking over hours of pedal churning when the wind and rain are against you. I thought a lot about quitting. I really was nuts. Yet, every once in awhile I'd look up from my hunkered down position and see Andy, pedaling like a metronome. His presence inspired my grind. Who can I help keep going by being a constant companion in the storms of life?

When we turned into the wind, I thought about drafting. As the stronger rider, Andy silently encouraged me to follow in his draft by slowing his pace to mine. By tucking in behind him, his body acted as a shield from the headwinds, allowing me to preserve my energy for the long haul. Professional cyclists call it a slipstream and they use it, too, to nab their prize. Had Andy not slowed to my pace, I would have tired more quickly and may not have finished. Am I aware of the needs of those around me or am I oblivious as I race ahead?

When we crossed the finish line, I thought about gratitude. Certainly I was thankful the torment was over, but even more so, I was grateful for my riding companion who helped me endure. In my own personal storms, who can I express gratitude to?

My wife was right. It was nuts to be out there. But I was fortunate. I had a draft from the storm, and something more. I had new resolve to be a better draft for others.

SOUND OFF: How have you been helped by someone's draft in difficult times?

]]> Confronting the Trauma left by Viet Nam: An Interview with Phil Downer, Part 3 tag:www.boldpath.org,2009:/bmc//1.89 2009-04-27T21:10:22Z 2009-04-27T21:07:38Z

This is the final post in our three part BoldMan Chronicles interview with Phil Downer, a Viet Nam veteran and the Founder and President of the Discipleship Network of America. This is the follow-up to our last interview (read here)...

the Editor

]]> BMC: At some point you made a commitment to never return to Viet Nam. When did you make that vow?

PD: I made that vow when I kissed the tarmac of the Marine Corp Air Station at El Toro, California on the day I returned home in 1968.

BMC: What made you change your mind?

PD: A number of Marine Vet friends of mine who had gone back and found it valuable suggested that I go. But I had no interest in going back to the place that held so many painful memories for me. I felt like I had gained tremendous healing through Jesus Christ. I knew I was forgiven. I was no longer mad at the North Vietnamese, Lyndon Johnson, or Jane Fonda. The nightmares became very infrequent. My anger had subsided and I became a gentle guy, for the most part.

Recently, however, I was invited to participate in a project being undertaken by RBC Ministries (website), formerly Radio Bible Class. They were planning to produce a four-part video series on the impact of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder to air on cable television as a help to returning war vets. They asked if I would be willing to return to Viet Nam with their film crew and talk about the impact of the war on me and my family. It was not something I wanted to do. I really struggled with the decision because I had vowed never to return. It seemed, though, to have the fingerprints of Christ all over it. It's the kind of thing God does. He challenges and stretches me. Besides, the purpose of the film production is to help other war veterans like me, which is a cause that is very close to my heart.

BMC: What surprises did you find there?  

PD: First and foremost, I now have wonderful memories replacing my old horrible memories of that place. The Vietnamese people showed no hostility. They were eager to meet me and the children would hold my hands. Those who were there during the war wanted to know where I fought. On one occasion, I wore part of my combat Marine uniform which I had worn during Operation Essex and a man came up to me and rubbed the sleeve with his forefinger and thumb and looked at me and said "First trip to Viet Nam?" I answered, "No, my second." He looked me right in the eye, rubbing my sleeve, and with a warm smile, said, "It's been a long time hasn't it?" "Yes, sir it has," I replied. He came and went so quickly, but I just knew he was in the opposing army. But what he left me with was his smile.

Setting all politics aside, Viet Nam is now very much the country that I thought I was fighting for. The communist supervisor that accompanied us described Viet Nam as a communist country with a capitalist economic system. That system is changing the country dramatically. The people are prospering, private ownership is rising steadily, and the people are industrious. It was wonderful to go back. I'm so thankful I had the opportunity to return.

BMC: How did the trip change you personally?

PD: I was able to go back to An Hoa, the base from which we launched Operations Essex and Swift where so many men lost their lives. We were able to locate the airbase out in the middle of nowhere, behind a village on a little hill. All that remained was the landing strip. It was haunting to see a landing strip with nothing around it, totally unused but still there. From that landmark, I could figure out exactly where I had been. I also visited the little village that I had patrolled many, many times and met many people in the market. I noticed some of the women talking amongst themselves and was informed by our communist supervisor that they were asking each other if any of them remembered me from 40 years ago. I'll never forget that as long as I live.

I still cannot untangle the political, strategic, and human quagmire of my experience in Viet Nam. It was a war of great contradictions. But to see it the way it is now made what we did seem worth it. There was a purpose for the painful sacrifices that were made. For many years I've not been able to shake the sense that I had left the finest men I had ever known over there with torn bodies, broken limbs, blown off legs, and holes in their bodies. I had left them behind. Now, in a very real sense, I felt like I was finally able to bring them home.

BMC: Did the trip bring closure for you?

PD: I think it brought closure in some respects and new openings in other ways. It's certainly brought additional healing for me. I don't think I'll ever be able to say that I'm one hundred percent free of PTSD this side of Heaven. We all have our wounds, our burdens, challenges, and weaknesses that we carry. There likely will never be a time when I hear fireworks going off that I won't think about those battles. As far as my life purpose, Viet Nam is a very difficult chapter of my story that God has used in challenging and important ways. As Jesus said, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me." I'm grateful that He gave me that chance to serve, and I'm also grateful He gave me this second chance to return. I will never forget all the smiling and laughing children I met there. It's a powerful testament to the fact that God is still in the business of redeeming entire nations, marriages, and even our individual hearts. My greatest joy now is to help others discover the same life-changing work of healing and restoration that God has brought about in me.

About Phil Downer

A former Law Partner in a 50-attorney Atlanta law firm and a veteran Marine machine gunner, Phil is a popular speaker at men's and couples conferences across the U.S. and Canada. He is the author of six books, including Eternal Impact: Investing in the Lives of Others. Phil Downer is the Founder and President of Discipleship Network of America, which received the 2007 MINISTRY OF THE YEAR Award from the National Coalition of Men's Ministries. For speaking inquiries, Phil can be reached at Phil@DNAminisitries.org.

]]> Shaken, not Stirred tag:www.boldpath.org,2009:/bmc//1.88 2009-04-27T15:21:00Z 2009-04-27T15:18:11Z

"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe." -- Hebrews 12:28 (NIV)Shaken, not stirred. It's how James Bond, the fictional British Secret Service agent...

Leary Gates "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe." -- Hebrews 12:28 (NIV)

Shaken, not stirred. It's how James Bond, the fictional British Secret Service agent 007 likes his martinis. It may make for a good martini--I've never had one--but I'm thinking it's a not a very bold way to live.

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The internal signs of the shake-up are just as apparent: Increased anxiety about getting or keeping a job, getting a contract, making payroll, paying taxes, paying bills, saving for college, rebuilding a depleted retirement account. And those are only the financially inspired shake-ups. Add health challenges, wayward children, broken relationships, ailing parents and the shake-up can look more like a melt-down.

While we may be shaken, it is crucial to remember that God shakes the heavens and earth purposefully, "so that what cannot be shaken may remain." Namely, His Kingdom (Hebrews 12:26-28, NIV). We are to be stirred by that which cannot be shaken. Stirred into thankfulness. Stirred into worship. And we are to be stirred into action. There is no recession for the people of God.

Elsewhere, the writer to Hebrews admonishes us to "consider how to stir up one another to love and good works" (Hebrews 10:24, RSV). That kind of stirring is better than any economic stimulus package, new contract, or job. It's better because it requires something better of me that gives me even more in return. It requires that I think intentionally about how to love better. How to do good works better. And how to inspire others who are shaken right now to also be stirred.

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