Darrin Patrick is the Lead Pastor of the Journey in St. Louis and the Vice President of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network. I just picked up his new book, Church Planter, last week and I have already been tremendously challenged and blessed. Here are a few quotes that have really hit me so far:
.......because of my keen awareness of and pastoral interaction with the cultural influence of Bans (Patrick's label for males who are men in age buy boys in their lifestyle and actions), I know that my work is cut out for me when it comes to raising a godly man. As with all of us dads with similar aspirations, my only hope is the Holy Spirit. So I recently wrote a little prayer that reflects the kinds of men we need. Drew and I pray this prayer together almost every night. It is a prayer for him and for me:
God, make me a man with thick skin and a soft heart. Make me a man who is tough and tender. Make me tough so I can handle life. Make me tender so I can love people. God, make me a man.
A wise and godly friend helped me realize a couple of things. First, he helped me see that angry outbursts are like doing a cannonball into a pool -- you don't really know how far the splash reaches because you're just jumping in with your eyes closed. My anger was splashing on people I never intended to reach.
We are not called to defeat the Devil--Christ has already done that at the cross, and the days until his final and complete triumph over Satan are numbered. What we are called to do is resist the Enemy (James 4:7) and become firm in our faith (1 Peter 5:9). God will be faithful to protect us and to give us help against Satan's assaults.
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