Men On A Mission

2006-09-21T06:07:00.000-07:00

Remembering Our Teammate, Bruce.

One of our Pass Christian mission teammates, Bruce Rember, died Monday. This is a tragedy, especially for Bruce's wife and kids, but also for his extended family, his former colleagues in the Air Force, his friends and, frankly, anybody -- like the guys on our mission -- who had the privilege of getting to know him.

I had the privilege, and the fun, of working alongside Bruce for 5 straight days down in Pass Christian, as a member of the work team headed by Guy Kleintop. I also bunked right next to Bruce. I'm sure there are many others with fond memories of Bruce (to say nothing of longer and better memories) , but I couldn't let this news pass without quickly remembering the Bruce I got to know this July. Bruce Rember:

Was a quietly unassuming, but very funny, knowledgeable, and hard-working guy. Maybe unassuming is not what you might expect for a guy who had risen to the rank of Colonel in the Air Force. Maybe, if he'd wanted to, he could have thrown his weight around a bit. But Bruce was a team player all the way.
Was a real student of the Word. Every time I caught myself fooling around with my laptop, or iPod, I'd turn around and see Bruce on his cot with his nose stuck in his Bible, and I'd realize that, probably, I could spend a little bit less time worrying about my gadgets and a little more time on what is really important.
Was my up-on-ladders-together partner when we were working at Mike Frost's house, doing the dirty work to help Mike finish off his drywall (sanding, taping, mudding, re-sanding, etc.). We had one heck of a lunch on Tuesday of our week in Pass Christian, when Mike's mother-in-law served up a major feast of Vietnamese fried shrimp, vegetable rolls, rice, and ice cold drinks. Even 2 months later, it is a very satisfying culinary memory; Bruce and I felt really guilty (I promise) that we were eating a 5-star meal instead of cold cuts back at the church.
Was right there with us enjoying Salvador's "Heaven" and some Stevie Ray Vaughan blues CD's when we'd be driving back and forth between our host church and our job sites in my cousin Walter's pickup truck. With some good tunes on, some good friends along for the ride, and some incredible scenery along the side roads and byways of Pass Christian, we were able to remember that even after a storm, there comes a calm, and a return to beauty, peace, and tranquility.

Thinking about that peace and tranquility, my prayer is that, even as we mourn Bruce's passing and even as we grieve for his family's loss, even now Bruce is at home and happy in the presence of our Savior.

The last time I saw Bruce was two weeks ago at our Thursday a.m. men's ministry gathering, Reveille. Bruce was looking sharp in a brand new, blue pin-striped suit, heading out to finish his first week at his new post-retirement consulting gig. I commented as we were leaving, that I very much liked his "new" uniform. He gave me a big smile and a thumbs up.

Bruce, we are going to miss that grin and your friendship.

"He who believes in me will live, even though he dies" (John 11:25).

Stan

2006-08-21T13:15:00.000-07:00

A Few Good (Young) Men.

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. -- 1 Timothy 4:12 (NIV)

With a group of about 30 guys, we had the luxury of dividing our effort up into separate teams. One of the things that long will be remembered by members of Guy Kleintop's team was when we said goodbye to George Hicks. We worked for and alongside George for a couple of days, helping him to get new drywall up on the walls and ceilings in his house. There was a strong mutual feeling between him and the guys on our team. Needless to say, it was an emotional moment.

However, when we were leaving, George not only wanted to say "thank you," but he also wanted to specifically address how impressed he was with the young men on our team. He noted how much is made these days of the perception that many young men are not very much engaged in their communities or the world around them, preferring, instead, to watch TV, play video games, or just hang out with their friends to no visible or lasting purpose.

Our young men, he noted, were different. He was very complimentary of their efforts and their diligence and the way that they handled themselves. That really applies to all of the young guys who were on our trip, and not just the ones who happened to be with us at George's house. These young men are a real credit to their families and their church community, and it was a great privilege to serve alongside each of them in Mississippi. Way to go guys. Here is the honor roll of young guys from our trip:

Kyle Benson
Jordan Cowles
Dan Crabtree
Tim Crabtree
Renat Currie
Sam Kleintop
Keith Long
Reece Long

2006-08-09T07:41:00.000-07:00

From Lowell Mininger.

Immanuel Bible Church sent a team 26-man team to Pass Christian, MS, July 15-22, to work with Bible Fellowship Church (BFC) to assist in the recovery from Hurricane Katrina. The trip was a great success.

The group helped the church prepare for construction of an outdoor pavilion and installed siding on the new sanctuary building. Teams of men worked on ten homes and on Friday afternoon, presented personalized Bibles to the homeowners, who seemed to have been touched by God’s grace during the week. We provided information to BFC’s Pastor Don Trest who has already made pastoral visits to some of them.

One of the goals was to raise $1000 per man to pay for tools and materials. So far, receipts have totaled more than $32,000. Thanks to generous friends! Stay tuned for an after action report.

2006-07-21T10:20:00.000-07:00

Pictures of Men on a Mission.

Here are some more shots from our trip photographer, Preston Stover.

2006-07-21T04:10:00.000-07:00

Christians in "The Pass": A Mid-Week Report.

Our teams have really been working hard this week. One of the problems with the blog updates has been that we have been so busy working, it has been hard to set aside time to write them up and post them in between the work, driving to the sites, team meetings, meal prep/clean up, and shower time in the "Chicken Coop" (an outdoor set up with 3 showers where most of the guys go to get cleaned up after a day in the field).

A quick summary, though, might give you an idea of what has been going on since the last update:

Several teams worked together to get drywall almost completely hung at the home of George Hicks, who lives in the Oak Park area of Pass Christian;
Team 3 repaired an interior ceiling with drywall at a trailer owned by Miss Simone, not too far from Bible Fellowship Church;
Brent Crabtree's team has done a lot of work in several different trades (including plumbing and electrical) at the home of Donna Flynn (NOTE: please be praying for Donna today at 11:00 a.m. CST (10:00 a.m. EST) as she is scheduled for a mediation with her insurance company concerning their payout on her policy);
Bill Law, Dave Hollenbeck, Lowell Mininger, Preston Stover, Dave Wingerd, and Preston Stover all did a ton of work together (including painting, plumbing, electrical and the like) at the home of Eric Ladner;
Tom Cowles' team also did a wide variety of work at the home of the Kimballs, a BFC church family.

Today should be interesting day. Please be praying for our work to go smoothly, quickly, and well. Most of the teams still have a "wish list" of items they would like to complete for their clients, but there is only a limited amount of time left in which to get those things done. We will do the best we can to lay a foundation for the next group to come in behind us and keep carrying the baton forward toward a rebuilt Pass Christian.

Thanks for your continued prayers and support, and thanks for reading.

2006-07-19T14:34:00.000-07:00

Dirty Deeds, Done Dirt Cheap.

The past three days have been very busy, which is why the updates have been less frequent this early part of the week. On one of our jobs, we took a look at ourselves after a pretty long day of sanding dry wall, sweeping up and disposing of very sour smelling (and rotted) blown insulation, and various and sundry other "dirty jobs" when an old hard rock anthem came on a local radio station. Maybe not the sort of thing you'd sing in church, but the refrain from that song definitely captured the spirit -- and the facts -- of our work thus far. Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap. But, hey, when there is a tough job, there is always someone who has to get it done. This team is definitely the group of men you want on your side to get a hard job finished.

A couple of teams successfully put up siding on the sanctuary building of our host church, Bible Fellowship Church. Another group has repaired with new drywall the ceiling in a single-wide trailer that was storm damaged. We are helping a great guy named Mike Frost finish up the drywall work (sanding, mudding, taping, and finish) in his storm-damaged home. Several teams came together today and got a great start on putting in the drywall in the home of George Hicks. Brent Crabtree's team has been making fantastic progress at the home of a local lady named, Donna; they have done plumbing, electrical, and even built out walls on her house. And so it goes.

In our team meetings, we've been praising God full time for the work is allowing to happen through us, as well as for the experiences, fellowship, new friendships, and perspectives He is bringing our way through this work. Please keep praying for our team to continue to be safe in its work, and to be a good witness down here. Thanks for your prayers, support, and for reading.

2006-07-16T11:35:00.000-07:00

Sunday at Bible Fellowship Church.

This morning we were up and at it early so we could eat breakfast in the BFC "Daniel's Den" and then clear out in enough time for the BFC women's Sunday Bible study to take place there at 9:00 a.m. Our guys met with the men and boys of the BFC congregation at 9:00 a.m. for a Bible study focused on marriage. We did a quick refresher course on the Five Love Languages, and even did a down-and-dirty Myers-Briggs personality test. (A lot of ISTJ's in our group.)

Typically, the BFC main service gets underway after the Bible study, with the full congregation coming together at 10:30. This morning, Pastor Don Trest spoke from I Peter 3:8-17 about "Peacemakers and Do-Gooders," especially in context of the effort by BFC's elders and deacons to establish an updated 6-12 month plan, focused on "doing church right." It was a good service, and well done by Pastor Don. We'll be praying along with the BFC elders and deacons for the plan to come together.

After church let out, we got back together for a lunch of cold cuts, chips, and chocolate cake, and groups set out for different errands and/or sightseeing. Our work schedule will get laid out in our 3:00 meeting with our BFC work coordinator, John Whitney.

We're excited about getting going tomorrow morning. Probably, the work day will be 7 or 8:00 a.m. to noon, with an extended lunch break in the middle of the day to avoid the high heat, and then back out for more work on afternoon shifts from about 2:00 to 5:30 p.m.

Thanks for the continued prayers, and for reading.

2006-07-15T16:36:00.000-07:00

The Team (and the Tools) Arrive in "The Pass."
Saturday, July 15, 2006 - 6:30 p.m.

The IBC Men On A Mission team converged on Pass Christian today via planes and automobiles (sorry, no trains involved so far as we are aware, although we do have a couple of pretty sweet box trucks).

13 men met at 7:30 a.m. in the parking lot at IBC, prior to departure for Ronald Reagan National Airport and the first leg of the trip (D.C.-to-Charlotte). Volunteer of the Day was Art Bergeson for stepping up to drive this part of the team and their luggage to the airport. Thanks also to our wives and families for getting us to the church on time this a.m., and to Pastor Tom Joyce who got up early to stop by and send us off with a well-said prayer.

Charlie Carroll made it in late this afternoon with the IBC box truck and tools, and others, including Joel Benson and his sons and Preston Stover and his son came in by car at different times.

We are just about to pray for dinner and get started on re-fueling after a long day on the road. Bill Law, our advance team leader, and Brent Crabtree and his sons, were able to get out with our local point of contact, John Whitney, to a local jobsite (the Kimballs' house) today. So, the work has already begun.

Thanks to Jim McDonough and Tom Currie for cooking up the grub, and to Bill Law and Lowell Mininger for their leadership and logistical expertise. We are on our way; keep praying for the work of our hands.

Thanks for reading, and God Bless. Stay tuned; we will try and keep you posted with as many updates as possible.

2006-07-13T06:51:00.000-07:00

Hurricane Katrina Reading List.

Here are some books and articles to check out if you want to learn more about what happened to the Gulf Coast and New Orleans last August, or about hurricanes in general. (Remember also that additional articles from the New Orleans and Gulport/Biloxi newspapers are available as well in the "Links" section of this blog.)

The Storm, by Ivor van Heerden and Mike Bryan (Viking; May 2006).

The subtitle of this book is "What Went Wrong and Why During Hurricane Katrina - The Inside Story from One Louisiana Scientist." Although this book is focused more on the impact of Katrina on the City of New Orleans -- van Heerden is a professor at Louisiana State University, and director of the LSU Hurricane Center and director of the Center for the Study of Public Health Impacts of Hurricanes, so New Orleans is of particular interest to him and his team of scientists and graduate students -- it is excellent if you are interested in the science behind Katrina: of hurricanes; of the impact of wetlands (and the loss thereof) on increased storm surges; of the impact of man-made facilities like shipping canals and oil and gas pipelines on wetlands and marsh subsidence; and, of post-catastrophe health issues ("toxic sludge") and forensics (what caused the Industrial and 17th Street Canal levee walls to fail?). The downside of the book is that Professor van Heerden can come across as a bit strident and opinionated. Nevertheless, this book makes a compelling case for the argument that the Federal effort to protect New Orleans has not accounted for some of the lastest science and engineering advances (especially those pioneered by the Dutch). Perhaps more disturbing is the notion that, at landfall, Katrina was not "The Big One," at least as far as New Orleans is concerned. Failure to improve the existing system of levees and other protections prior to a direct hit on New Orleans could have even more devastating consequences.

The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast, by Douglas Brinkley (William Morrow; May 2006).

This is a fairly exhaustive narrative history of the events before, during, and after Katrina, especially in New Orleans (Brinkley is a professor of history at Tulane University), but with coverage also of the storm's impact on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. At over 600 pages, this is not a quick read, but this is a good book especially if you want to get immersed in the details surrounding the Federal and state/local government responses to Katrina. A minor beef is the fact that, unlike van Heerden's The Storm, Brinkley's book has no maps, which would be helpful in keeping straight the location of certains towns along the Gulf Coast and the various neighborhoods within New Orleans.

Issac's Storm: A Man, A Time, and The Deadliest Hurricane in History, by Erik Larson (Vintage; July 2000).

Larson's book was a bestseller several summers ago. It is a harrowing description of the September 8, 1900 storm (hurricanes were unnamed at that time) that slammed into Galveston, Texas. Between the storm's tidal surge and the Category 5-level winds, thousands of buildings were completely destroyed, entire sections of the coastal city disappeared, and an estimated 8,000-10,000 people were killed. The effects (physical and psychological) were so profound that Texans effectively abandoned Galveston for what was at that time the much smaller (and further inland) city of Houston.

Through The Eye of The Storm, by Choleen Espinoza (Chelsea Green Publishing Company; May 2006).

This is a book specifically dedicated to describing what the rebuilding effort has been like in one Gulf Coast community, De Lisle, which is 5 miles north up W. Wittman Road from Pass Christian. All proceeds from the sale of the book are earmarked for the construction of a Pass Christian/De Lisle Community Center, which will provide educational and recreational opportunities for the children of these communities who are still trying to live a life in the wake of the havoc caused by the storm. (Incidentally, $360,000 toward a $1M goal have been raised thus far from sales of the book and other contributions and sources.)

Ms. Espinoza is an Air Force Academy graduate who flew U2 spy plane missions, has done a stint as an embedded journalist during the most recent Iraq conflict, and is captain of commercial airline flights for American Airlines.

Probably no other book describes in as much detail what is going on now that the adrenaline rush of the catastrophe has subsided. This book clearly documents the fact that individual and faith-based volunteer groups are providing the lion's share of the relief on the Gulf Coast, in the vacuum created by the lack of full engagement of the Federal government and the insurance companies.

It may also be the rare book where an individual living an alternative lifestyle makes liberal and highly effective use of quotations from both the Old and New Testaments, so this could make for an interesting (or confounding, depending on your perspective) read on more than one level.

National Geographic - October 2004: "The Incredible Shrinking Bayou," by Joel K. Bourne, Jr.

From the article's intro: "Louisiana's wetlands are twice the size of Everglades National Park, funnel more oil into the United States than the Alaska pipeline, sustain one of the nation's largest fisheries, and provide vital hurricane protection for New Orleans. And they're disappearing under the Gulf of Mexico at the rate of 33 football fields a day." A prophetic article in relation to the warnings of the potential dangers of wetlands loss in relation to reduced hurricane protection for New Orleans, especially given Katrina's arrival less than 12 months after this story was published.

2006-07-12T20:02:00.000-07:00

Another Way to Help.

On Friday, June 21st, Christian recording artist and Dove Award-winning performer Mark Schultz is going to put on a concert to benefit Katrina relief. The show will be at the Maryland Theater in Hagerstown. Another cool way to get involved in the post-Katrina effort. This kind of help is still needed now, almost a year after the storm crashed into the Gulf Coast, and will continue to be needed for some time to come. You can get more info on this show at the local WGTS website.

2006-07-11T11:14:00.000-07:00

Loading Up and Moving Out.

On Saturday morning, July 8th, our team had its final pre-trip meeting. During this session, we went over some final travel and tool details, and then set about loading up an Immanuel Bible Church box truck with tools from the IBC shop and from the personal workshops of the men heading down to Pass Christian. (By the way, Guy Kleintop gets the unofficial prize for the most impressive personal collection of tools, nearly all of which he is generously loaning to this effort.)

Our team photographer, Preston Stover, has started to document our efforts in pictures, and took the shot included above of the team getting the van loaded up. Jim McDonough and Tom Cowles helped coordinate the positioning and ratchet-strapping of the heavier and odd-shaped items, while about 15 other team members helped to carry items up the ramp and stack them up in the truck. Team member Charlie Carroll headed out from Northern Virginia on Sunday morning with the fully loaded truck, so be praying for him to have a safe and uneventful drive down South. Charlie is working his way down to Mississippi over the course of the next several days, and we will be linking up with him (and the tools) on Saturday morning in "The Pass."

T-minus 4 days and counting, so stay tuned. We hope to bring you a lot more information and news about our trip over the course of the next week or so.

2006-06-15T10:20:00.000-07:00

Men At Work.

Our team is coming together nicely, and at this point we have 28 men planning to travel down to "The Pass" to help with this effort. We have had two all-team meetings at IBC, the most recent on June 10. The supervision and planning has been divided among the group, and we have an excellent start on things like our travel arrangements, airport pick-up/drop-offs, team vehicles, tools, food and other supplies, and the like.

Additionally, our team has already raised over $14,000 to support its work. This is halfway to our goal of $1,000/man. Team members are paying personal expenses (like travel) out of their own pockets and providing many of their own tools for the work, but we are also looking to raise support for the team to use in purchasing materials (example: drywall) and other supplies we will need. Any contribution you feel led to make can be sent directly to the Discipleship Office of Immanuel Bible Church; c/o Discipleship Office, Immanuel Bible Church, 6911 Braddock Road, Springfield, Virginia 22151. On the memo portion of your check, write "Men's Mission." If you care to, on a separate piece of paper accompanying the check you can indicate that your contribution is made in honor of a particular team member's role in this mission.

The Fine Print: Funds donated represent a tax deductible contribution and become the property of Immanuel Bible Church for specific application to individual or overall mission needs as required. For donations over $250, you will be receiving a statement of receipt from IBC.

We will donate any leftover items to Bible Fellowship Church of Pass Christian for use by others who are led to continue this activity. Ultimately, any unused funds will probably be donated by IBC to BFC as well. Our team's heartfelt thanks go out to each person who has supported this mission already with prayer and/or a contribution.

Thanks for reading. We promise to keep you posted with more regular updates as we prepare to deploy in 30 days.

Be Blessed,
Stan

2006-05-12T12:43:00.000-07:00

Pray For These Guys

I was at a seminar last year and heard a great talk by Brian Doyle, the Director of Men's Ministry for Vision New England. I don't know if he was the first person to say this, but it definitely made an impression on me when he said about doing ministry or pursuing a mission that "Prayer isn't part of the ministry/mission, prayer is the ministry/mission." With that in mind, the first thing we should probably do with this blog is to give you an updated roster, and ask for each reader to consider praying for these men, specifically for:

a safe trip to/from Mississippi;
good health during the trip and the work;
good team unity and field strategy;
God to open doors for the Gospel with folks who may not be Christ-followers and for courage to walk through those doors;
folks to know this group is working for Christ in the way it stays on task, in the way it acts, and in how it communicates with them;
the group to experience joy in its work; and
spiritual health and protection.

Here is our roster. Please keep this list of names in mind as you help us pray for the success of this mission:

Bill Law, Lowell Mininger, Glenn Angermeier, Joel Benson, Kyle Benson, Charlie Carroll, Jordan Cowles, Tom Cowles, Brent Crabtree, Dan Crabtree, Tim Crabtree, Renat Currie, Tom Currie, Dave Furst, Dave Hollenbeck, Kevin Kettle, Guy Kleintop, Samuel Kleintop, Keith Long, Rand Long, Reece Long, Jim McDonough, Bruce Rember, Stan Smith, Preston Stover, EP (Preston) Stover, David Wingerd, and Rudy Zadnik.