When Kenny Luck and his 11-year old son jumped off a 30-foot cliff into a pool of water on a Mexican vacation it was pretty exciting, a real adrenalin rush. But then his seven-year old daughter said she wanted to do it too.
He thought that once he got her to the top of the cliff she would look out over the edge and change her mind. She didn’t. Looking down at his daughter in her goggles and her cute little swimsuit he said, "Are you sure?" He asked several times, and she kept saying yes, she was sure. So he took her hand and counted, "one…two…three."
At "one," her grip tightened. At "two," he could feel her muscles brace. At "three," they jumped. As soon as they climbed out of the water she said," let’s do it again."
He asked her how she could be so brave. "I just knew I’m with my dad and everything’s going to be okay," she said.
Wrapping up his talk to the almost 5,000 men at Elmbrook Church in Waukesha attending the annual No Regrets Men’s Conference, Luck challenged them to actively pursue an adventurous relationship with their heavenly father and look to Him for their security. "I’m educated way beyond my obedience," he said. "Put the words away and start living your faith."
He urged them to live a life of RISK.
R – Right View of God. "No man’s life for God will outperform his view of God," Luck said. "Don’t make God in your own image." He suggested Caleb and Joshua had the right view of God, when the other ten spies let their circumstances feed their fears.
I – Identity Settled. "Becoming like the world is not the mark of a follower of Christ," he said. "We risk more for God when our identity is firmly in God. Everytime you choose a Christian response to pressure, your identity is forged; it’s forged like steel in the fire."
S – Sacrificial Mentality. "The No Regrets life is not free," he said. "Are you willing to sacrifice your agenda for God’s agenda?"
K – Kingdom Advances. "The kingdom (of God) doesn’t need more religious people talking," he said. "But the kingdom metality is not for the timid. Will you be in play?"
Luck was a last minute replacement as No Regrets main speaker for Howard Hendricks, who developed a medical problem and couldn’t make it. Luck leads the men’s ministry at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California. As the Founder and President of Every Man Ministries he also helps churches develop and grow men’s ministries.
Noting the name of the conference, Luck said, "Regret is not an emotion you want to feel at the end of your life." He encouraged his audience, "Live a life of intentional abandon toward a strong purpose. The Holy Spirit is telling you what to do. Get off of your blessed assurance and do it!"
Madison churches represented at the No Regrets Conference included High Point Church, Lake City Church and Mad City Church.
Audio of the talks and workshops is online at the conference website: http://www.noregretsconference.org/.