Welcome to M3!
Welcome to an introduction to M3. We are looking for a few good men to train to multiply MANLY men. You were invited to be a part of this team because we believe you have what it takes to make a G.R.E.A.T. impact on others. (You'll learn the meaning of our G.R.E.A.T. focus as you go forward.) As in war or in sports, and in the army of God, teamwork is essential. (TEAM=Together Everyone Accomplishes More). As we promised on our website, you will never have to go it alone. You will always have teammates and a Squad Captain to help and encourage you. When you post on our daily blog, these men will look to read what you have to say and encourage you. They will pray for you and keep in touch with you. And of course, you will do the same for them. You will develop strong ties, perhaps stronger than you’ve ever had at church. For it is only as men strive together that relationships grow deeply.
You’ve applied and been accepted for a great mission. We think you have the right stuff. We need men who are determined to accomplish the great commission with us. Is that you? Consider the following true story.
Are You Unstoppable?
On June 7th, 1981 Israeli pilots flew a daring and successful mission to take out an Iraqi nuclear reactor, destined to make nuclear bombs to destroy their country. Afterwards, one of the pilots was interviewed and asked if he feared being shot down. His answer so impressed me. He said that he didn’t fear being shot down. He feared not fulfilling the mission. Wow! The apostle Paul had this same committed and conquering attitude. He declared, “I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me” Acts 20:24. When the vital mission given to you becomes more important than your life, you become unstoppable. Here’s a thought provoking question- What does it take to stop you?
Think of what stops many people who have no compelling mission, who view life as a playground, not a battleground. Can you imagine the Israeli pilot or the apostle Paul giving such excuses as believers do today for not completing even a simple assignment, such as to daily read their Bibles and to keep in touch with their team mates. (That would be a whole lot easier than risking your life to complete a daring mission). They give such excuses as- “I forgot. I didn’t have the time. I was too busy. It was more than I expected. I didn't like his tone of voice. I didn’t know I had to do that! I wanted to watch the game instead. We had a family thing that went late. I had a lot of other work I had to do. I was planning on doing it later. I needed my sleep. I’d have to get up earlier to have the time. I’d have to stay up late to get it done.” If you were an employer or a military officer or a professional coach, would you accept such excuses? Many American believers have become couch potatoes. But when men have a great mission and become committed, they turn their back on such excuses. They want something more than their comfort. They want to fulfill the mission and their destiny.
We are at war and we have been given a vital mission- the great commission to multiply Christlike men. What would it take to stop you from carrying it out? Becoming unstoppable begins with a choice. “I will be unstoppable. I am a conqueror, not a quitter.” Note how Paul had this attitude. He declared, “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, 'For your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.' But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us” Rom.8:34-37. I taught my son when he was very little to say, “I’m not a quitter, I’m a conqueror.” (I just dropped him off at wrestling practice. Last year 10 guys dropped out within the first two weeks- not him.) Are you a quitter or a conqueror? Choose to be true to whom God has made you to be- a conqueror- an unstoppable man on a mission. When the wicked adversary plants the thought to give up, declare, "I am a conqueror. I am an overcomer. I do my duty. I am unstoppable."
Speaking of not being a quitter, some men quit M3. That's okay. M3 is not for everyone. This is a dedicated, special forces band of brothers, highly focused on the great commission of multiplying MANLY men. What is not okay is the way some men have quit. They have acted very childishly. They stopped commenting on the blog and refused to return caring phone calls and texts. They violated the very word they gave on their application. Those men were acting very immaturely. We are striving to be manly, so we will still graciously treat even those guys, who childishly drop out, with gracious maturity.
Speaking of not being a quitter, some men quit M3. That's okay. M3 is not for everyone. This is a dedicated, special forces band of brothers, highly focused on the great commission of multiplying MANLY men. What is not okay is the way some men have quit. They have acted very childishly. They stopped commenting on the blog and refused to return caring phone calls and texts. They violated the very word they gave on their application. Those men were acting very immaturely. We are striving to be manly, so we will still graciously treat even those guys, who childishly drop out, with gracious maturity.
We get the mission done, no matter what. We are “no excuses” men. We are unstoppable. Is that true of you? Someone has said that an excuse is the skin of a “reason” stuffed with a lie. The enemy and our fallen nature are great at making excuses. Sadly, those who are great at making excuses will never become great. To prevent people from giving you excuses for “quitting in the moment” for not doing their daily blog or calling back by the following night, we use two very effective and biblical motivators- rewards and consequences. Repeatedly, God says that he will give back to each person according to what he has done. God uses both rewards and motivating consequences. Wise parents, teachers, coaches, employers and military leaders do that all the time with those they are seeking to help. So what do we use to help ourselves not make excuses, but to stay committed to the mission to multiply Christlike men? Let’s start with the rewards.
Rewards or Honors for GREAT Service
As you may know, in M3 we practice the biblical injunction to honor those who set the example for others to follow (Phil.1:29; 3:17; 1 Cor.16:15-18). God himself gives out honors in heaven. Not only will there be times when you are honored for helping your future protégés (Pros) become coaches, but you will be honored on a weekly basis for your participation in G.R.E.A.T. pursuits. Jesus wants us to become great servant leaders. He declared, “whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant” Mt.20:26. Jesus is the perfect example of a great man. So we focus on 5 vital areas of greatness that we pursue, keep track of, and regularly honor. Let’s look at these 5 key elements of being G.R.E.A.T. in God’s kingdom.
G=God’s word
God’s word is so foundational to living a great life in God’s eyes. Jesus said, “whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven” Mt.5:19. And thanks be to God that this blog, enables us to share (teach) what we have been learning with each other. You’ll also see how this will overflow the banks of this blog, enabling you to teach or share with others as well. We know God wants to meet and communicate with us through his word on a daily basis. He is not a legalist. He loves us and wants to daily help and bless us. “Listen to my instruction and be wise, do not ignore it. Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors…”Prov.8:33-34. This daily time with God in his word is seen in several other passages, such as Psalm 1:3; 119:97; Acts 17:11; 2:46; 19:9. Each day we study the same Scripture passages and share briefly what we got out of it. Sometimes it may be just a few verses we will focus on. At other times we will study a paragraph or a whole chapter. These Monday-Friday "Growing Stronger Together" blog times shouldn't take you more than 15-30 minutes. If you go longer than that, I commend you for digging so deeply, but that’s your choice, not what is typically necessary. And 15-30 minutes is certainly worth it to get strong and multiply MANLY men. Think how much time people spend at the gym or just watching TV. As you know, you get to the blog by going to www.m3gst.blogspot.com. I’d suggest adding it as a Favorite (Ctrl-D).You'll be going to it Mon-Friday.
Many people have struggled for years to be faithful in meeting daily with God. Several admit they gave up because they weren’t getting much out of it, or they didn’t know where to read. (They used a drop and plop approach- "I’ll read wherever the Bible drops open and my finger plops down." Bad approach. We don’t do that with any other book or letter we would read.) Others want to read daily, but admit they need a holy kick in the pants. If any of these hindrances to daily reading have been true for you, they will all be solved. Not only do we all read and respond to the same passage daily, we also are on teams and keep track of our progress. Those who keep their word and read the word and share each day on our blog prove that they are unstoppable. They are not excuse makers. Thus, at the end of the first 4 weeks in a row that you have read and posted daily with us, you will be presented with the handsome "Unstoppable" award pin. And each week that you are unstoppable, you will be honored on the blog. To graduate from Basic Training requires being unstoppable with us for four weeks in a row and recruiting one other Christian man to join M3. We are committed to helping you multiply your life and reproduce manly, unstoppable men. To keep track of our progress, we use our GREAT scoreboard. You can easily get to the scoreboard by clicking the word "Resources" in the upper right corner of the blog. Then click on the long link that you'll see underneath where it says, "Click here to go to our GREAT Scoreboard Spreadsheet." That will automatically take you to the scoreboard. If you are seeking to use your smart phone to put your scores on the board, you probably will need to download the free Google docs app- Free Google Docs Spreadsheet App Or if you have an iphone, go to the Apple store (or Windows store if need be). If you have any problems with any of these things, simply call the brother who invited you to join. He will get you the help you need.
But why use a scoreboard and keep score? Because when you keep score, you always play better. Because it’s the only way to know who is on mission and who needs help. Because it’s the only way we know whom to honor. Because we like to see how well we are doing. Because it makes it more enjoyable. Because we were built for challenges. Because it reveals where we may need to improve. Because it reminds us that there is something on the line. Because God keeps score. Our GREAT scoreboard helps us keep focused on GREAT things, such as God’s word. But there is a problem many have and that is remembering what we've read.
Have you ever felt like there was a giant eraser machine erasing everything that you read in God's word shortly after you got busy with your day? I sure have. How frustrating all the more when we come across passages that exhort us to remember God's word, to meditate on it and not to forget what he has said. If only there was a way to conquer that eraser machine! There is and it's really simple. Write the verse or phrase you pick each day from our time together in God's word on a 3x5 card and carry it with you. Look at it a few times during your day and pray it into your soul. Want to really start to embed what you read? Keep adding future verses to that 3x5 card. That way you can review what God impressed upon you over the past several days. Just start a new card when one gets filled up. Other brothers are putting their daily verses on their smart phones. Try it, you'll really like it! (It comes with a money back guarantee:)
Speaking of money, how much money would it take for you to do the 3x5 card routine for a month? Then do it. Ps.119:72 says, "The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold." You'll like it and never go back to the old blackboard eraser days. The nice thing about this is that it also makes it easy to share with your family and others what you've been gleaning from God's word. Just pull out your card. No more forgetting due to the giant eraser machine! Use this 3x5 system until you find something that works better for you. Some might record their verse in their daily journal or save it in their smart phone. The key is to look at it a few times a day. That's what I like about having the 3x5 card right in my shirt pocket. Challenge yourself and reap the great benefits God wants to bring in your relationship with Him.
We call this 3x5 card our MP3 card. That stands for Meditation, Prayer, Praise and Pass it On. Pray over what your meditating on. Don't let it be dead in your head. Give Praise to God for what he has revealed to you and Pass it on to others. Make it a goal to share what you're learning each day with at least one other person. (You'll score for yourself and your team for doing so.) Sharing God's riches with others keeps us from becoming Dead Sea Christians. The Dead Sea is dead because is takes in all the riches of the Jordan River, but nothing ever flows out of it. So share. Note: I also like to use the weekends to especially review my MP3 verses of the past few weeks. I often discuss my verses with my son or entire family.
To rightly award you, please keep track of the times in one day that you shared what's on your MP3 card or what you're learning in M3. Tomorrow and here on out, credit yourself on our GREAT scoreboard for the people that you shared something with from your MP3 card or from M3. All we ask is that you only credit yourself for 1 point per person or group. In other words, if you send out a group text or email regarding what you gleaned in M3, that counts as 1 point. Or if you share with a small group or your family, please just count that as 1 point. Scoring could go through the roof otherwise. But for every one on one conversation, credit yourself 1 point for each of those also.
Let's move on to the next letter on the GREAT scoreboard. The letter R in G.R.E.A.T. stands for-
Have you ever felt like there was a giant eraser machine erasing everything that you read in God's word shortly after you got busy with your day? I sure have. How frustrating all the more when we come across passages that exhort us to remember God's word, to meditate on it and not to forget what he has said. If only there was a way to conquer that eraser machine! There is and it's really simple. Write the verse or phrase you pick each day from our time together in God's word on a 3x5 card and carry it with you. Look at it a few times during your day and pray it into your soul. Want to really start to embed what you read? Keep adding future verses to that 3x5 card. That way you can review what God impressed upon you over the past several days. Just start a new card when one gets filled up. Other brothers are putting their daily verses on their smart phones. Try it, you'll really like it! (It comes with a money back guarantee:)
Speaking of money, how much money would it take for you to do the 3x5 card routine for a month? Then do it. Ps.119:72 says, "The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold." You'll like it and never go back to the old blackboard eraser days. The nice thing about this is that it also makes it easy to share with your family and others what you've been gleaning from God's word. Just pull out your card. No more forgetting due to the giant eraser machine! Use this 3x5 system until you find something that works better for you. Some might record their verse in their daily journal or save it in their smart phone. The key is to look at it a few times a day. That's what I like about having the 3x5 card right in my shirt pocket. Challenge yourself and reap the great benefits God wants to bring in your relationship with Him.
We call this 3x5 card our MP3 card. That stands for Meditation, Prayer, Praise and Pass it On. Pray over what your meditating on. Don't let it be dead in your head. Give Praise to God for what he has revealed to you and Pass it on to others. Make it a goal to share what you're learning each day with at least one other person. (You'll score for yourself and your team for doing so.) Sharing God's riches with others keeps us from becoming Dead Sea Christians. The Dead Sea is dead because is takes in all the riches of the Jordan River, but nothing ever flows out of it. So share. Note: I also like to use the weekends to especially review my MP3 verses of the past few weeks. I often discuss my verses with my son or entire family.
To rightly award you, please keep track of the times in one day that you shared what's on your MP3 card or what you're learning in M3. Tomorrow and here on out, credit yourself on our GREAT scoreboard for the people that you shared something with from your MP3 card or from M3. All we ask is that you only credit yourself for 1 point per person or group. In other words, if you send out a group text or email regarding what you gleaned in M3, that counts as 1 point. Or if you share with a small group or your family, please just count that as 1 point. Scoring could go through the roof otherwise. But for every one on one conversation, credit yourself 1 point for each of those also.
Let's move on to the next letter on the GREAT scoreboard. The letter R in G.R.E.A.T. stands for-
R= Righting Wrongs, Restoring Relationships.
R= Righting Wrongs, Restoring
Relationships.
You will see men from time to
time put up a 1 in the R column of the GREAT scoreboard. This means that
they had the guts to seek to right a wrong, attempting to restore a
relationship. This is so important. This is what Christ came to do for us. We
view this as heroic, not shameful. Thus, you actually are commended on the
scoreboard for doing so. Doing so helps us to be men who are respectable. You
probably won't score in this area on a daily basis. One guy misunderstood and
put up a few points everyday. He thought he got points for every time he
confessed an inward sin. No, this is for person to person issues, such as when
a man loses his temper and his respect. Being a man who is worthy of
respect is vitally important. I've never met a man who didn't want to be
respected.
A crucial aspect of being a man of respect is being reliable. It's hard to respect someone who isn't reliable, who can't be trusted. God is so reliable or faithful. He is our faithful Father. He is faithful to forgive us and to care for us. And He wants us to be like him. He commends faithfulness in us. We long to hear him say, “Well done good and faithful servant.” And it is faithful or reliable men that we are to select to mentor and multiply. Notice this emphasis in our theme verse- “The things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to reliable men who will be able to teach others also” 2 Tim.2:2. So please be reliable, faithful to your word to be daily on the blog with us and faithful to promptly return phone calls. To not do so shows disrespect to others and brings it upon yourself.
You will notice that we also use this R column to record points for R= Recruiting conversations. Every time you have a one on one conversation with a Christian friend about M3, give yourself a point. You probably will need to talk to that same man a few different times about questions he may have. So give yourself a point each time you talk to that same brother about M3 until he signs up.
What are the consequences if a man is not reliable?
The Marines have a great motto, “Semper Fi!” It’s Latin for “Always Faithful.” We too are looking for a few good men, men who are faithful, reliable. Yet this seems to be a dwindling quality to find these days. For example, men say they will call you back, but then often they don’t. Talk is cheap and so is their character at that point. “Many a man claims to have unfailing love, but a faithful man, who can find?” Prov.20:6. It is a disrespectful and dishonoring thing for any M3 member not to return your call promptly and vice versa. Quick communication is critical on a sports field or battlefield. We too want to be prompt, reliable and respectful in returning calls, texts or emails when requested. Jesus stressed that if a man cannot be faithful in such “little things” he should not be entrusted with the true riches of God’s kingdom- the care of people (see Luke 16:10-31). Men need to make amends if they fail to return your calls promptly (at the latest, by the following night). Thus, they will owe you an apology and it will prevent them from qualifying for weekly honors that are earned. This consequence is of course the same for you. So be prompt in returning phone calls, emails or texts if asked to do so. If a man knows his computer or phone is not working or lost, then he is to simply email his Squad Captain or use another phone and call him. One call takes care of it all.
If a man is not reliable on the blog to post daily, he hurts himself and his team. He hurts himself because he has broken his word and commitment to be faithful, marred his trustworthiness, made more work for others, and hindered his graduation from basic training. By "not showing up for the game," he also hurts his team in the weekly, friendly competition we have against other teams. By the way, such team competition is only "to spur one another on to love and good deeds." Heb.10:24. You've proven yourself reliable by faithfully going to work for all these years. Now just apply that same faithfulness to the Bible and blogging. You were made to succeed in this. You can do this just as others have. Let's grow and multiply MANLY men together.
E= Encouraging your teammates. You probably have never been involved in such an encouraging group you're joining. Enjoy it! We also want to get you into the joy of giving encouragement to your teammates. To begin with, simply give a word of encouragement to the brother who last commented above you. Just click on the "Reply" tab immediately under his comment and leave your words of encouragement. Then you can put the number 1 in the E column on the GREAT Scoreboard spreadsheet if you encouraged 1 team member on the blog today. (Or 2 if you did so for 2 men, etc. Get in the habit of praying then and there for the man that you encouraged as well.) Another way of encouraging and scoring is by giving an encouraging call, text or email to other teammates. Again, if you send out a group text or email, that only counts as 1 point. Please seek to focus more on "one on one" encouragement messages. Also, you'll find all your teammates contact information by clicking the "Contacts" tab, found near the bottom of our GREAT scoreboard.
You've joined a great band of brothers who will encourage you. You'll see it often in their replies to the comments you post. If you want to be notified in your gmail box (if you use such) when someone responds to your comments, just check the Notify Me box on the right across from the Publish tab when you're about to publish your comments on our blog. Then you'll get notified in your gmail box. Nice!
Speaking of publishing your comments, if you click the Publish button, yet your words don't publish, it's a simple fix. You probably just need to create a gmail account. (Google owns gmail and Blogspot which we use.)
When you first open the blog, it should always take you to today's reading. At the bottom left side of the blog, you'll see the word "Comments" with the number of people who have already commented on today's blog. Just click on that word and it will open up to reveal their words. This is where it gets really good. Now you can read your teammates comments, encourage them, post your own comments, and later read what others have said to encourage you. To reply to what another brother has said, click the word, "Reply" immediately underneath what he has written. Always go to the very bottom of the blog to respond to the few questions that are posed each day. Don't click "Reply" and put them under someone else's words. You'll see.
Now I'd like to give you a few pointers when you write your comments on the blog. Please use Spell-Check and then re-read what you've written before publishing. It's hard to enjoy what you've written and commend you if it's not written clearly. My English prof in Bible college put it well, "There is no such thing as good writing, only good re-writing." It's true! I make mistakes when I write even emails and texts. Before I finish these daily blogs, they run with red ink from my Spell-Checker. So I go back and make corrections. Also, by reading it again, you'll find times where you left out words. Spell-Check doesn't catch that. Also avoid long sentences. Chop long ones into two. One team member I had to call up because his writing was atrocious! Since taking these suggestions to heart, he has become a good communicator. Follow these simple steps and you'll write well as well. And if you copy someone's words from a book or the internet, please don't pass it off as your own. Give credit where credit is due. Thank you. It's the honest and honorable thing to do. I've caught a couple guys in the past failing to do so. It's actually fairly easy to do via a Google search. You don't want such an embarrassing call from me or others.
A= Attacking in prayer. Each day you can earn a point simply by attacking in prayer. We don't ask how long you prayed. We just want to encourage you to pray daily, attacking the gates of hell. Pray that we would advance God's kingdom. We pray that we would be power HOUSE men and that God would help us multiply power HOUSE men. These are men who are Hungry, Obedient, Unstoppable, Strong in the Lord, and Encouraging. We WAR that we would live Worthy lives, that we could Activate the sidelined saints and the we could be used to Release the locked up lost.
Warfare prayer is so important. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against evil forces of darkness. We need to battle in prayer. When you emailed in your M3 application, you were requested to recruit 2 other Christians to regularly pray for you. If you're married, we highly recommend that you ask your wife to be one of your prayer warriors. Then ask another brother, not in M3 yet, to also prayer for you. Then email me their names and email addresses, if you haven't done this yet. I send out monthly prayer updates to them and to you, so send me these ASAP. (Yes, you are being tested on your follow through on this. Please don't make us chase you for this most powerful help to you. Thanks!)
We also use the A column to record points when we do an Act Of Kindness. We are not saved by our good works, but we are saved to do good works (Acts of Kindness). I'm sure you are doing these all the time for your family members. But use the A column for those times when you know you have gone the extra mile. Or those times when you went out of your way or comfort zone to help another. Be on the lookout to do Acts of kindness. It is said of Jesus that he went about doing good. That's manly!
T= Telling others of Transformation. Aren't you glad for the people that had the courage and care to share with you the good news? That is a vital part of our great commission. Our job isn't to make them saved, but simply to sow the seeds. This could be sharing a bit of your testimony, a tract, a gospel of John, or one of our greatestminimovies.com outreach cards. Give yourself a point for each time you had an opportunity to share with a lost person.
You will also note at the bottom of the GREAT Scoreboard several tabs. When you click on the tab entitled, "Contacts" you will see all your teammates and you can add your name, phone number, email and prayer warriors names and email addresses.
Another tab is my favorite- it's the M3 Family Tree. There you will be able to trace your spiritual lineage in M3. As you recruit other men, they will appear to the right of your name and so on. The various colors are like different colors of belts earned in martial arts. They reflect how many other men a man has enlisted or recruited in M3. When you enlist/recruit your first man into M3 you will achieve the status of R1. You will notice there are men who have not been in M3 for very long who already are much higher in rank. Thus, you too can move up rather quickly in rank, just by inviting other men to join this growing army committed to the great commission. As the men you recruit end up recruiting others, you can imagine that in short order, many men will trace their spiritual lineage to you. You will be used of God to multiply many manly men.
In conclusion- This was a lot more reading than what we have on our daily Monday-Friday blogs. Though we don't meet on the blog on the weekends, we encourage you to dig into God's word wherever you like. Sundays are a great day to study what your pastor presents from the word of God. Make him glad by sharing from time to time what you gleaned from the passages he preached from.
Please email or call me back as soon as you have finished reading this. Then I will introduce you on the blog to your fellow team members. Prepare to be greatly blessed and greatly bless others. God wants to help you grow in your manliness and to multiply MANLY men. That is our God-given mission.
Please email or call me back as soon as you have finished reading this. Then I will introduce you on the blog to your fellow team members. Prepare to be greatly blessed and greatly bless others. God wants to help you grow in your manliness and to multiply MANLY men. That is our God-given mission.
Yourstoserve,
dave garratt
c.708-543-6544
dgarratt@sbcglobal.net
c.708-543-6544
dgarratt@sbcglobal.net
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