"By Clinton Dixon"
As this male writer sat in a sea of chanting Manchester United and Liverpool football fans, clad in their familiar red jerseys-in tribute to the on-going World Cup-he watched as cold frosty beers (all right, "root" beers) were passed out to the rowdy crowd. With the men encouraged to don their favorite team's colors, the atmosphere for the night's City Harvest Men's Meeting was closer to one of an English Premier League match than a Christian meeting. As City Harvest Church's executive pastor Aries Zulkarnain opened in prayer, he laid down the unequivocal mantra that marks the Men's Ministry of the church: "We are male by birth, but men by choice".
The football theme played a big part in the night's proceedings, with the program being broken down into two distinct halves; the first half featuring a no-holds-barred Q&A session called Heart to Heart involving pastors Aries Zulkarnian, Bobby Chaw and Wu Yu Zhuang, and the second half featuring a preaching session by Chaw.
With much hilarity, facilitator Bernard Loh kicked off the first half of the night by displaying the fresh-faced wedding photos of each pastor on the huge overhead screens, sending the audience into unbridled cheers and chuckles. With the ice broken and the audience cheering for more, Loh launched into the very candid Q when God can touch the heart of a surrendered believer, his strength can be renewed and he can be further drawn into the presence of God.
As the night ended in prayer with a strong call for men of CHC to lead a life of holiness, this felt like a watershed event for the men's ministry of CHC. The night not only brought with it a tangible sense of God's power and holiness but also showed the fun aspect of men corporately pursuing Christ-likeness in their lives.
With more men's events and workshops planned in the coming months-including a barbecue-all CHC men reading this are urged not to miss out on the mighty move of God that is sweeping through the Men's Ministry now.
Origin: spellscasting.blogspot.com
