Springtime is finally here. I so enjoy this beautiful season and all of the magnificent color that it has to offer. With the onset of spring there comes an exciting opportunity for new life and new growth. It is a time to gain refreshment and then plow forth into a ripe and plentiful field. What an awesome analogy for us here at On Target Ministries. As an outreach we find ourselves preparing to do just that. I pray that you will be encouraged by the events of this past month as well as the awesome new developments that are taking place in men's ministry today.

The first weekend of March, I was invited once again to lead all four services at my home church, Woodmen Valley Chapel. I was thrilled to deliver a brand new message entitled, "A Call to Biblical Manhood." I spoke about what I like to call the "Five C's": (1) compassion, (2) conviction, (3) commitment, (4) confidence and (5) courage. This material has been extremely well received and has the potential of becoming not only the subject of our next ministry seminar, but also the topic of our next book. If you are interested in receiving a copy of this message, please contact our office. We would love to hear your feedback as well.

The next weekend I flew off to Calgary, Canada. I spoke at a Promise Keepers event here last Fall and was invited back by a group of local churches. About 35 pastors gathered for a special workshop on “The Six Structural Elements of an Effective Church”. The meeting went over very well and seemed to be quite productive. Over the course of the next two days, I delivered a mini family conference to a group of about five hundred people. I am thrilled to report that thirty men and women were saved! All in all I experienced an awesome time in Calgary and look forward to re-joining these incredible folks at next year's Promise Keepers event.

From Canada, I flew directly to Nashville, TN to meet with fifteen of the top men's ministry leaders in our nation. Our agenda was to discuss the future of the National Coalition of Men's Ministries (NCMM). As you may know, I have been serving on this organization's steering committee for several years now.

Our group spent some quality time discussing a number of very critical issues, followed by a “watershed moment” for ministry to men. After honoring Pat Morley, our organizer and current president, for his amazing contribution to the NCMM, we unanimously agreed to extend an invitation to Rick Kingham (Senior Pastor of Overlake Church in Washington State) to become our new president. The target group for the NCMM has always been the local church, and we believe that Rick's association in this arena will prove to be significant to our cause. Pastor Rick has accepted our offer and we are now in the process of brainstorming some pretty big ideas.

In the coming months I will be sharing some new information with you regarding the developments that are taking place in the NCMM and how all of this affects On Target Ministries. For now, I would like to announce that the next NCMM International Super Conference on ministry to men will be hosted by New Life Church here in Colorado Springs next April or May. Please be praying for this landmark event and consider joining us for what we anticipate to be a "powerhouse conference!"

Finally, as we approach the summer months, we would like to express our need for your continued support, via your prayers or a special financial gift. In addition to dealing with a sparse event schedule, we need some additional provision to develop marketing materials for the On Target Institute. Your faithfulness during this time is our "life force," and we appreciate it more than you will ever know.

May our precious Lord and Father shower you with His blessings this spring and may you experience a special sense of new life, new growth and new hope in your own home and family! Cindy and I love you so much!

In His service,

Vince D’Acchioli
Founder

TARGETPOINT

CONSCIENCE & COURAGE

Mk 6:14-29 Herod respected John, knowing that he was a good and holy man, so he kept him under his protection. Herod was disturbed whenever he talked with John, but even so, he liked to listen to him.  

Allan Bloom, in his book The Closing of the American Mind, probably borrowed from Shakespeare's famous line, “Conscience doth make cowards of us all.” Bloom wrote, “Conscience is a coward and those faults it has not strength enough to prevent, it seldom has justice enough to punish by accusing.” The story of John the Baptist and Herod Antipas is a fascinating commentary on Bloom's observation. Herod and John knew each other well. As a matter of conscience, John had been outspoken in opposing Herod's marriage to “his brother Philip's wife, Herodias” (Mk 6:17).

Herodias was understandably upset by this public condemnation and persuaded Herod to imprison John. But even in prison John would not be silenced. He “kept telling Herod, ‘It is illegal for you to marry your brother's wife’ ” (6:18). There was something about John's integrity which appealed to Herod, and he “liked to listen to him” (6:20), even though John said things he didn't like to hear. But Herodias did not like it, and when Herod (no doubt in a rash, unguarded, and possibly wine-induced moment) offered Herodias's daughter anything she wanted—“up to half my kingdom”—she asked for John's head on a platter. And she got it, much to Herod's chagrin, because of his fear of losing face (6:26).

When Jesus appeared on the scene, superstitious people said, “This must be John the Baptist come back to life again” (6:14). The gossip reached Herod's ears, and this powerful man “was worried and puzzled” because of what he heard (Lk 9:7). The ruler of all Galilee and Perea was troubled by a guilty conscience. John, whom he had executed, “was a good and holy man” (Mk 6:20). While Herod sat on his royal throne with a troubled conscience, John had gone to his grave with a clear conscience. John undoubtedly had his faults, but cowardice was not one of them. Herod was full of faults, but his conscience did not have strength enough to prevent them. Whether or not Herod's conscience had the justice to accuse his faults, we cannot be sure. At least he was worried and puzzled!

The issue for me, and every modern man, is how to keep the conscience alive, and where to find the courage to respond. In John's case, the answer was found in his commitment to truth and his relationship to God's Spirit. It comes down to whether my conscience makes me a coward or my commitment to truth gives me the courage of conviction—whether I'm a Herod or a John.

From One Year Book of Devotions for Men. © 2000 by Stuart Briscoe.