Five thousand men from across Wisconsin braved some of the coldest temperatures in a decade on Saturday Feb. 3rd to attend the 14th annual No Regrets Statewide Christian Men’s Conference, sponsored by Elmbrook Church in Waukesha. The men heard from some of the state’s leading pastors, sang worship choruses, attended workshops and (some) actually ate their cold lunch outdoors in a cold tent.
The theme of this year’s conference was Finish Strong, and the keynote speaker was Gordon MacDonald, pastor of Centerpoint Church in Concord, New Hampshire. MacDonald, the author of When Men Think Private Thoughts and other books, challenged the men with the question, "Are you winning the race in the area of your private thoughts?"
"The race is always won or lost in your mind," he said. "The way you think is the way life is likely to go." He compared men’s thoughts to billiard balls that carom across the table. A successful man needs something like the triangular shaped rack to put his thoughts in order and keep his life on track.
Men may not be as willing as women to share their thoughts, many men are trained as children to keep their thoughts to themselves. And MacDonald said that can be dangerous, sidetracking men from the fruitful lives that God wants them to live.
Many men have regrets over things they’ve done. MacDonald offered five examples from his own life, including a time 21 years ago when he broke the vows of his marriage and had to step down from his position as president of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. "Any one of them could’ve blown me off track," he said. But he urged men not to be paralyzed by their regrets but rather to seek healing and restored motivation from God, to put their life back together.
Around the age of 47, MacDonald observed, many men take stock and realize they are not where they expected life would take them. Contrasting the biblical stories of Solomon and Daniel, he pointed out that many men fail to make the halfway transition in their lives, and lose their motivation. Lean on God, like Daniel, and find the resources you need, he counseled.
In his afternoon presentation MacDonald challenged the men to build intimate friendships with other men. "A man’s need for intimacy is broader than a marriage, at its best, can provide," he said. "Put your relationships at the top of your priority list. God never meant for us to be lonely."
Between the two keynote talks men were offered three workshop sessions and lunch, in the church’s gym or outside in a tent. Even though temperatures were in the single digits the tent was enclosed and heaters were utilized so that conditions were almost as warm as in the gym. At least in some spots.
The workshops ranged from "How to love your wife," "Growing through divorce," and "Passing on Spiritual Truth to your kids," to "Meeting Jesus for the first time," "Apologetics in a postmodern world," and "Intelligent Design."
Mel Lawrenze, pastor of the host church, gave a ten point presentation on "Pointing People to God." Noting a college professor’s observation that "sharing one’s faith is helping anybody take one step closer to God," Lawrenz observed that most people who become Christians can look back and see an average of eight key points where someone pointed them towards God. "Witness comes through relationship," he said. Success usually occurs when someone says "I want what you have."
Joe Urcavich, pastor of Green Bay Community Church, bluntly asked those attending his session, "Are we creating more cynicism by our actions as Christians?" He encouraged men to live with integrity and authenticity in their lives, relying on God, as the only way to counter growing cynicism inside the church and outside toward the church. "[The Christian faith] is not about your performance, it’s about His character," he said.
Other speakers at the No Regrets conference included Madison HighPoint Church pastor Bill Mugford, Waukesha County District Attorney Brad Schimel, and Elie Hasbani, who lost a leg as a soldier in Lebanon in 1985 and now leads a ministry called Running for Hope to All Nations.
The No Regrets conference was sold out five days after 3,900 tickets went on sale, said Steve Sonderman, the Elmbrook pastor of Men’s Ministry. After that point men were offered the chance to attend at the satellite location at Westbrook Church in Delafield. The next No Regrets Conference will be held February 2, 2008.