Take a Risk!

My Heart is Broken

by Rev. Dale M. Glading, President

“The first requirement for being used by God in the life of others is to mourn on their behalf. We must identify with their pain and suffering. Each of us must be broken for others first.” Os Hillman

When I first got involved in prison ministry back in 1987, I had two great loves in addition to my wife and soon-to-be family. The first was Jesus Christ and the second was sports. In all honesty -perhaps because I had never broken the law, served time, or even knew any inmates -I didn’t have an overwhelming burden for prisoners. As a matter of fact, I rarely gave them a passing thought.

However, that quickly changed when I went behind bars to minister for the first time on June 6th of that year. Seeing the blank faces, hearing the heart-wrenching stories, and experiencing the profound sense of hopelessness and despair changed me forever. I no longer looked at inmates simply as lawbreakers serving time for a crime they committed. Instead, I saw them as individuals of immense worth, created in the very image and likeness of God Himself.

I also began regarding them as husbands, fathers, and sons. And most importantly, I started viewing them -above all else as eternal souls, dangling perilously between heaven and hell.

As the years went by and I graduated from being a volunteer to a part-time employee to a full time prison minister, my heart started breaking for other things, too. First, for the families of the prisoners, their wives, children, and elderly parents, who are the innocent victims of crime. In fact, to this day, I cannot enter a prison on a Saturday, which is visiting day, without tearing up as I watch little kids say goodbye to their dads.

Second, my heart began to ache because of the revolving door of the criminal justice system. I soon learned that whereas 95 percent of all prisoners are eventually released, 70-75 percent of them are rearrested within the first four years
post-release. However, recidivism rates fall dramatically for inmates who trust Christ as Savior during their period of incarceration, especially for those who are mentored and discipled after they get out.

And so, the organization that I had founded and for which I was serving as executive director initiated an aftercare program called Lives in Transition. It ministered to men from six months prerelease to six months post release, and provided a host of services including transitional housing, food, clothing, transportation, job training, job placement, addiction counseling and spiritual mentoring. During the four years L.I.T. was in operation, we served 200 clients and only 10 of them (5 percent reoffended.

After our family relocated to Florida in 2011 to launch Risk Takers for Christ, my heart broke yet again. This time, it was for at risk youth, particularly minority males. The vast majority of them come from broken homes and dysfunctional families, lacking any positive male role models in their lives. Without God, and without an adult male showing them the way - many of these young men will someday wind up behind bars themselves. That stark realization led me to start our Living H2O Initiative, which uses basketball to share the gospel and provide living examples of true biblical manhood.

So, my friend, what breaks your heart? Once you discover what that is, my advice is to use that pain and sensitivity to minister to those who are most affected, whose hurt is the deepest and most pronounced.

At each Living H2O Initiative event, the question that I constantly ask myself is this: what can I do today to reach these young men for Christ and to show them how to live godly lives, and avoid prison? Like the parable of the starfish washed up on the shoreline, I can’t save them all, but I sure can try my best to save some.

That is Christ’s calling, and expectation, or all of us.

A Talking Donkey

by Os Hillman, TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1

"The donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day?" (Numbers 22:30)

Most workplace believers I know tend to be task riented, motivated visionaries. And they will do just about anything to make their projects successful. This great strength can, if not properly bridled by the Holy Spirit, be a great weakness in their ability to fulfill God's will in their life.

Sometimes we want something to succeed so much that we fail to listen to that little voice inside trying to warn us by directing us on a different path. Such was the case of Balaam. He started out as a man of God, but then took the path of a "prophet for hire." God was not pleased with Balaam's decision to respond to a pagan king's request that he curse Israel. As Balaam rode his donkey to keep his appointment with the king, God sent the angel of the Lord to stand in the way and oppose Balaam.

Although Balaam did not see the angel, his donkey did. Three times the donkey turned from the path andthree times Balaam beat the animal in anger. Finally, the donkey turned around, and to Balaam's shock and amaze- ment, began to speak to him, admonishing his master for beating him. Imagine a donkey talking to you! He warned Balaam of the angel of death who was standing in the road with a sword drawn, ready to kill Balaam if he continued.

There are times when pushing harder, trying to manipu- late the circumstance, or pressing those around you is not the response to have to the roadblock. God may be trying to have you reconsider your ways. God may be doing one of four things when you are faced with an obstacle: 1 He's blocking it to protect you. 2 His timing to com- plete this stage is not the same as yours, and He may need you to go through a process of character refine- ment. 3 He may want other players to get in place, and the circumstances are not yet ready for them to enter. 4 He may be using the process to develop patience in you. Relying on the Holy Spirit to know which one applies to your situation is the key to moving in God's timing.

Reprinted by permission from the author. Os Hillman is an international speaker and author of 15 books on workplace calling. To learn more, visit http://www.MarketplaceLeaders.org"

3rd Annual

Olde Hickory Golf Classic

Saturday, April 27, 2019

Sandridge Golf Club, Vero Beach FL

8:00 AM shotgun start

Step back in time for a 1920's era golf tournament featuring Bobby Jones replica golf balls and hickory shafted clubs. Four-man scramble format including greens fees, cart, unlimited range balls, continental breakfast, buffet lunch, putting contest and prizes. Proceeds benefit Risk Takers for Christ's outreach to prisoners and at-risk youth.

Golfers will be permitted to use their own clubs but must use the 1920's era replica balls for every shot. Hickory-shafted putters will be supplied for the putting contest. Other hickory-shafted clubs will be on display and available for purchase as part of a silent auction.

Tournament price is $100 per golfer / $400 per foursome.

Registration deadline is April 19th.
Please visit our website for more information: www.risktakersforchrist.org