Please join us this Tuesday, April 23, from 6:45-8:00 AM in the community room at the Einstein Bagel at 531 Firstfield Road and Quince Orchard Blvd in Gaithersburg. Our guest speaker, Paul Bice, chairman of the Loudoun Community Breakfast.

Paul has a heart for bringing people together and building a sense of community.  In 2012 Paul was called to begin an outreach ministry called the Loudoun Community Breakfast.  The breakfast is quarterly and is used as a platform for people to introduce their co-workers, friends and clients to Jesus Christ. This breakfast is free, informative and provides a fun yet meaningful setting to get to know others in the Loudoun County Community.  Networking is a mild part of the morning and not the focus.  The focus is to connect with the personal stories of men and women who live, work, and play in the Loudoun County Community.

Paul began his banking career in 1984 with Central Fidelity Bank, he also married Shari his wife in the same year.  Paul grew up in Lynchburg Virginia, attended Virginia Tech and graduated in 1982.  Paul has three wonderful children: Victoria (27), Nathanael(24) and Ruthanne (20).  In 1998 Paul assisted in forming James Monroe Bank in Arlington Virginia.  James Monroe Bank was sold in 2006.  In 2008 Paul was a part of the formation of John Marshall Bank as the Regional President for Loudoun County.  

Paul is an active member of the community: as a current member of the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce where he served as past Chairman of the Board in 2008, past Vice Chairman of the Loudoun County Economic Development Authority, Chairman of the Board of Trustees for StoneSprings Hospital Center, past Board of Trustees for Reston Hospital and Past President of The Friends of the Thomas Balch Library.

Please join us this Tuesday, March 19, from 6:45-8:00 AM in the community room at the Einstein Bagel at 531 Firstfield Road and Quince Orchard Blvd in Gaithersburg to hear Chapin Isler’s perspective on ministry to men in our county prisons.

Remember those in prison as though you were in prison with them, and those ill-treated as though you too felt their torment.

Hebrews 13:3

About Our Guest Speaker: Russell Isler has been a minister with Good News Jail & Prison Ministry for close to 30 years and most of that time has been spent helping inmates in jails in Montgomery County. Originally from Western New York, he started volunteering, as a teen, at a local prison after someone needed help with a religion class there. He’s been ministering at both the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Boyds, near Clarksburg, which has a capacity of 1,028, and the county’s Detention Center on Seven Locks Road in Rockville, with a capacity of 200. Chaplin Isler also serves as a full-time pastor at Montgomery Baptist Church.

In 2016, Chaplin Isler was awarded the highest honor that the Good News Jail and Prison Ministry organization hands out, the Bill Simmer Award. Named after the founder of Good News Jail and Prison Ministry, it is given to a minister who stays the course and leads an effective career. In his career, Chaplin Isler has seen many types of people, has heard many stories, and has witnessed many miracles. Many of the young men he works with lack a strong family structure, but time in prison gave them access to the gospel, making it possible through Chaplin Isler’s encouragement, to turn their lives around.

Good News Jail & Prison Ministry is the largest independent supplier of chaplains for jails and prisons worldwide, serving in 22 states, 1 American territory and 25 countries. Good News chaplains also reach out to meet the spiritual needs of the correctional staff in the facilities in which they serve, and works closely with volunteers who give of their time to minister inside the jails and prisons . Good News accepts no local, state or federal funds and is supported by churches and individuals interested in partnering in the work of the Gospel. A Good News chaplain’s work includes preaching, counseling, teaching, administering the Bible Correspondence Course and training.  For more info, see: https://goodnewsjail.org/

In 1 Timothy 4:13, Paul encourages us to devote ourselves to the public reading of Scripture. After the Israelites escaped slavery and when they entered the Promised Land, they came together to hear God’s law. In Deuteronomy, God commands that the entire law be read every seven years for all of the Israelites to hear. Even in the New Testament, we find Jesus reading Scripture aloud in the synagogue. Public reading of Scripture was a reminder of God’s law and his faithfulness. It also brought God’s people together in community.

Reading the Bible aloud with a group of people is an ancient practice. In fact, the origins of the Bible are deeply rooted in it being read aloud in public. The Bible Project provides a facinating look into the origins and development of this biblical topic, and how it offers us a model for engaging the Scriptures in our own day.

Our Montgomery County CBMC team meets weekly to encourage each other spiritually and to practically pursue the disciple-making work of the Great Commission — meeting men where they are and and helping one another to become the men that God intends us to be.  We seek God’s wisdom and direction in life by reading the Bible together, discussing how it impacts our life and mission, and praying for each other.

Our group is for men only but open to all – please come and join us!

Please join us this Tuesday, January 29, from 6:45-8:00 AM in the community room at the Einstein Bagel at 531 Firstfield Road and Quince Orchard Blvd in Gaithersburg to hear Dave’s perspective on today’s culture and the issue of masculine identity.

In his blog, Authentice Manhood, Dave writes about the way we find our masculine identity in Jesus Christ:

MEN IN OUR CULTURE ARE IN TROUBLE 
Masculinity is in crisis mode. The signs are everywhere. Men are confused and wavering. The stats on fatherlessness are alarming and growing. So is the sexual violence that seems to be aired everywhere. Everyone is pointing out symptoms or pointing fingers. I want to point to something else. I want to point to a door that has been opened. Men are predisposed to figure things out for themselves. But manhood resists all attempts to be figured out that way. 
To enter it, a man must do something very different. He must learn to receive. He must let Himself be given three priceless gifts, ones he cannot earn, work for, or prove himself worthy of. They come as graces given in his time of need.
[These three priceless gifts] come from the One described as the indescribable gift, Jesus Himself. He took 12 men and gave them those three gifts: an identity in Him, a quest to build His kingdom, and a promise to be their guide through it all. They entered manhood this way. They became men like Him, chiseled into His image. Read More

DID GILLETTE GET IT RIGHT? Recently Gillette introduced an ad, “We Beilieve: The Best Men Can Be” – Gillette: “Bullying. Harassment. Is this the best a man can get? It’s only by challenging ourselves to do more, that we can get closer to our best. To say the right thing, to act the right way.”
Gillette has been bombarded with both praise and abuse after launching an advertising campaign promoting a new kind of positive masculinity. Engaging with the #MeToo movement, the company’s new advertising campaign plays on its 30-year tagline “The best a man can get”, replacing it with “The best men can be”. This has tapped a nerve in our society and raised some controversy.

Dave Brown is the Director and Pastor-at-Large of the Washington Area Coalition of Men’s Ministries (WACMM), a non-profit, non-denominational ministry to develop and encourage ministries to men in the mid-Atlantic region. Founded in 1999, WACMM is one of the oldest and largest coalitions of local men’s ministries in the nation.

Dave served thirty years in the Federal Government holding senior policy and management positions in the U.S. Congress, the Executive Office of the President and the Executive Branch, where he was a member of the Senior Executive Service (SES). From 1981-1989, he served as an appointee of President Ronald Reagan. Since 2001, Dave has served in pastoral roles in churches in our area, and currently serves on the leadership team of OneHeartDC.

“For he is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility.” Ephesians 2:14

The Christian community will join in prayer on Thursday, May 3, 2018, asking for God to provide unity and his peace in America, Maryland and Montgomery County. As Christ’s ambassadors in Montgomery County, we ask for the power of God’s Spirit bring renewal and flourishing of Christ’s Kingdom into our homes, workplaces, and communities.

WHERE: The breakfast will be held at the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre (Lower Level Social Hall), 603 Edmonston Drive, Rockville, MD 20851.
WHEN: Thursday, May 3, 2018, 6:30 to 8:00 AM (Program starts at 6:50 AM).
COST: Free, donation of any amount for breakfast accepted. (Any excess of funds over cost will be donated to a ministry in Montgomery County).
RSVP REQUIRD: https://montctyprayerbreakfast2018.eventbrite.com

All are welcome! Please invite your friends, neighbors and co-workers to join us.

Why gather together to pray?

• God calls us to Pray for Everyone: 1 Timothy 2:1-2 “First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.”
• God calls us to answer Jesus’ prayer for unity in the church: John 17:21 – “that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”
• God promises to answer His peoples’ prayer: 2 Chronicles 7:14 – “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

WE NEED TO PRAY!

But what should we pray about?  For everyone and every need (Eph 6:18)!  Specific prayers will be made for:

• Prayer for unity under God in our nation and throughout the body of Christ.
  • Montgomery County is one of the most diverse counties in the nation. It should be obvious that racial tensions and social unrest have not been eliminated in our nation in the 50 years since Dr. Martin Luther King’s death.
  • We need to pray for God’s grace and wisdom to help us to carry out the ministry of reconcilliation with God (2 Cor. 5:18-19) and each other (Eph. 2:14-16).
• Prayer for the safety and well-being of our Teachers, Students, and Families
  • In the 50 years before the Texas tower shooting, there were just 25 public mass shootings in which four or more people were killed. Since then, the number has risen dramatically, and many of the deadliest shootings have occurred within the past few years. This rise in shootings reflects the breakdown of the family and its impact on youth.
• Prayer for wisdom and courage for our Government Leaders and Public Servants; First Responders and Veterans
  • Our Federal, State and Local government leaders are facing many challenges from national security, immigration to budgeting and fiscal policy.
  • In 2017, 46 officers were fatally shot in the line of duty, but more than triple that — 140 — committed suicide. A study from the Ruderman Family Foundation indicates that “Suicides left more police officers and firefighters dead last year than all line-of-duty deaths combined.”
• Prayer for flourishing and integrity of our Workers & Business leaders for the good of our communities
  • American businesses are made up of people, and without a foundations of ethics and morals found in the Bible, we’ll continue to see people lie, cheat, steal, and oppress others.
  • Business also has the ability and talent to make significant contributions to the social welfare and economic flourishing of our country.
• Prayer for compassion and assistance for our Poor, Vulnerable and Oppressed
  • The national spending on entitlement programs is about to experience a huge demographic shift and will run out of funding if reforms are not put in place. Christians can pray for and support organizations that provide assistance to those who slip through the safety net.

WE NEED TO PRAY AND ACT!

Christians are the answer to the prayers needs of our nation. That’s why Jesus sends us to make disciples.

• Our keynote speaker, Dr. Joel Freeman served as mentor/chaplain for the NBA Washington Bullets/Wizards for 19 years (1979-’98). Although he was a Caucasian Canadian, he learned to relate to all the members of the team. Over the past decade, Joel has combined his entrepreneurial skills and love for history to conduct extensive research into African American history and culture. Dr. Joel Freeman is an in-demand speaker nationwide and brings a rich reservoir of personal experience blended with contagious enthusiasm, clarity and down to earth humor to empower people from diverse walks of life.
• Joel’s keynote address will challenge us to put our prayers into action, following in Jesus’ steps by loving God with all our heart, soul, strength and minds, and our neighbor as ourselves. [Matt. 22:37-39]

Praying for America personally, in your church, and in a National Day of Prayer observance on Thursday, May 3, is a responsibility of each Bible-believing follower of Jesus Christ. If you can’t join us in person, this video tool is a way to pray for our country. Use it personally between now and the National Day of Prayer. Use it in your church worship services before or after May 3. Use it in an observance of the National Day of Prayer.

2018 National Prayer For America from Cross Church on Vimeo.