Date and Time : Friday, December 9, 2011, 11:30 am – 1 pm

Location: Holiday Inn Harrisburg East

HB 2011 MUNN

Congressman Pence Prepares for his Speech

As a leader of the conservative movement within the congress, many expected to hear Congressman Pence to deliver a political speech.  The comment of one of our attendees summed up what really happened….”I was not expecting to hear what I heard.  I am glad I attended today to hear Pence’s comments”.

Mike Pence then shared his personal faith journey.  No ego, no agenda, just the story of his love for Jesus Christ and how Christ changed his life.  He described his Christian life as a “two day” experience.  Day one was Christ entering his heart.  This was the decision point of belief in God because of what Jesus Christ did for him to take his place and his punishment for his rebellion toward God.  Jesus paid his dept and God redeemed that broken relationship.  ”Day Two” was the surrender part.  After day one, there were many examples of Mike Pence taking charge and not yielding to God.  Mike believed in God but did not submit to God’s plan for his life.  He recounted how standing on the west lawn of the Capitol Building in Washington, DC just after the 9-11 attacks realizing that there was nothing he could do in his own power to change things.  A Congressman of the United States and no power.  He then realized that “Day Two” of his Christian life had to be to surrender his agenda, his desire to control things, his self dependence and give it all  to Christ.

Mike Pence makes his point

How about you?  Have you lived your two day journey with God?  Do you have His gift of Salvation?  Have you surrendered your ego, agenda and control to Him?  As Mike shared with us, it is life changing…..and this kind of transformation coming from a Congressman is quite unexpected.

CBMC has as one of our core values to emphasize family as part of our ministry.  A man’s ability to impact his world for Christ is so connected to the family, we make time on our calendars to get together, whether it is at NorthBay Maryland or around the corner at Lower Allen Park.

CBMC Family Picnic 2011

FAMILY FUN AT NORTHBAY; On the afternoon of August 5, about 200 attendees, children, workers and staff arrived at Northbay on the Chesapeake in Northeast, Maryland.  A new location, new families and a great adventure awaited us all.  The theme of the conference was joy in marriage.  Our speakers, Steve and Ginger Casbon provided great reminders about what oneness is marriage is about according to God’s design.  The children, teens and college aged attendees all had a great time. The often heard comment as the end of the weekend was: “Why do we have to leave so soon”? and “Are we coming back next year”?

Children at NorthBay- what FUN

Daniel and the Lion at Northbay

1. Business Luncheon.  Ron made a presentation on leadership using the life leadership skills of the British Antarctic  explorer Sir Ernest Shackelton.  30 men and women attended the luncheon and were then invited to a follow up reception where a  few more attended to hear about leadership and the ultimate leader, Jesus Christ.

Ron Jones Presenting on the Topic of Leadership

2. Discipleship Training; twelve men and women attended an all day discipleship training session at a local church, The New Hope Center.  The goal of the training was to have each attendee discover the what, how and why of discipleship as taught in the Bible.  Through Olga, our translator, we presented scriptually based materials that were the catalyst for discussion around the table.  Each attendee was given a copy of Operation Timothy leaders guide and two copies of the two set series translated into Russian.

The First Ukrainian Discipleship Graduating Class

3. Visit with Orphans; Ron and I were asked to share a picture of how preparation and hard work will be important for the boys and girls who currently live in a local orphanage in Zaporozhye.   There were 2o boys and two girls who learned more about leadership and how to tell the difference between “Real and Counterfeit” in life and in dealing with other people.

12- 16 year old boys and girls at New Hope Church

Similar to our ministry in the United States, we found that people everywhere need to connect with God with each other and with good leadership principles.  Thank you for making this second year (for me) in the Ukraine a meaningful and successful trip.

Join us in Palmyra on Monday’s at 12:30 pm at Funk’s Restaurant  for lunch and a meeting with great CBMC men.  I think a guy your age should fit in with this group somewhere.

91 Years Young- Stanley Groy

June 9:      Business Lunch with guests of business leaders. Topic: Leadership

Encouragement meeting with newly formed men’s groups

June 10:   New Hope start up men’s group meeting

Business counseling meetings

Follow up from Business Luncheon- Gospel Presentation

June 11:     Discipleship Training- all day seminar

June 13:     Visit to Orphanage

Formation of Men's Business and Bible Group

Please pray for Ron Jones and me for safe travels and good health during our visit.  Pray for the harvest as we present the Good News of Jesus Christ and discipleship principles to the business leaders in the Ukraine.

We look forward to re-connecting with those who we met with last year and hearing the good report of their growth.  We were delighted to see so many business leaders attend last year’s lunch and look forward to a similar response this year as Ron Jones shares on leadership principles.

Thank you for your prayers and support.

Business Leaders Attend an Outreach Lunch

Our goal was to dig deeper.  Getting a job is certainly the important first step coming out of college (got to pay those loans off).  Our purpose for assembling the panel was to address life after being hired.  The attending seniors were asked to think about ethics, integrity, life balance issues (marriage and kids), the worth of the individual, both in the office and the client’s office.  Jim Gante, John Simkins, Deb Pierson, Kathy Anderson-Martin and Steve Thurston provided thought provoking discussion and feedback to the students and their questions.

How about you?  Whether you are entering the job market or are working a long time in your profession…..have you figured out how faith and business work together?  If not, join the conversation….give us a call.

David Balinski (717-443-9707)

Ask the CEO forum in the board room of Fulton Financial Advisors

19 guests mostly under the age of 30 attended our first “Ask the CEO” forum at the headquarters building of Fulton Financial Advisors (FFA) in downtown Lancaster on Thursday, April 23, 2011.  Our CEO on the hot seat was Dave Hanson.  Dave is the President and CEO of FFA.  We asked Dave to speak to “What I wish I knew before I was 30″.

Attendees came by special invitation as we were reaching out to young men entering their careers. As we all did when we began our vocations, they were looking for answers to questions like, “What does success look like”? and “How do I navigate through uncharted waters when I make a wrong turn in my career or make a mistake”?

Dave Hanson boldly shared that his life has been under the direction of Jesus Christ.  There were no mistakes when he followed God’s leading.  Yes, Dave said, I made several errors and made some wrong moves, but God directed me back to His path for my life and I sensed his guidance all along the way.

A good amount of time was spent with questions and answers directed to our host.  The attendees enjoyed the session very much and were given an opportunity to continue the conversation.  An introduction was made to Operation Timothy as a good next step in their journey.

Our leader in Lancaster, Chris Martin, said that this format was terrific and we need to do this again soon.  If you are interested in helping to host a future “Ask the CEO” in your city, contact me and we can begin the planning process.

Dave Balinski (717-443-9707)

Harrisburg East Team

Next month we will be celebrating Easter.  There is no greater event on the calendar that better illustrates  the central theme of Christianity.  That theme is the resurrection of Jesus and His victory over death.  There is no greater love expressed for us than what Jesus did on the cross to die for our sins. To prove His power to accomplish forgiveness,  He conquered death.

The men pictured in this photograph know what God’s love means to them.  These men are part of a CBMC group in Harrisburg who have experienced God’s love through seeing Him answer prayers.   Each Friday morning, we pray through a stack of about 75 prayer cards.  We comment almost every week how we have seen God’s faithfulness through prayer.

This is the story of the most recent answer to prayer.  Our newest attendee at the Friday meetings observed that one of the men at our meeting seemed different….transformed.  He knew his name was Jared.  He did not know his last name.  When he came to a prayer card during our regular prayer time, he noticed that the name on the card was…..Jared. ” Is this the same man?” he asked.

You see, Jared was battling a disease and had joined the group about six months ago looking for support (prayer) during his treatments.  Jared did not know the love that God had for him at that time.  One of our members filled out a card for Jared and we prayed for him.  The request was for healing from the disease and for salvation.  God was working first on salvation and that is why Jared was different.  Jared came to believe in Jesus Christ as the Savior of his soul, and he was transformed.  He said he had peace that he never knew before and was thankful for his brothers in Christ and the support they provided for him.

We don’t know what the outcome will be for Jared’s treatments, but one thing Jared knows and is happy to share with us who are part of the Harrisburg East team……THERE IS NO GREATER LOVE than to know the One who healed him of the spiritual disease of unbelief.

What about you?  As we approach the Easter season, maybe this is your time to be transformed by the great love of the Savior, Jesus Christ.

Happy Easter….may His love surround you.

Christian Business Men connects with Living History- Telling Our Story

EAST COAST MEN”S CONFERENCE IN GETTYSBURG, PA.

On a snowy weekend, January 27-29, approximately 200 men met on the battlefield of Gettysburg to hear stories of men who gave all they had for a cause worthy of their entire being.

On Friday afternoon we gathered at the General Meade statue at the high water mark of the battle.  Over the three day conflict, there were more than 50,000 casualties on that hollowed ground.  During  those three days of July 1863, the earth was saturated with men’s blood.  Before our visit on this day in January, the ground was covered with a fresh blanket of snow.  This image of fresh snow covering a bloody battlefield was a wonderful reflection of what Christ did to shed His blood for our sins and cover them with a selfless act just like the snow covered the battlefield.

God met with us during the entire East Coast Men’s Conference in Gettysburg.  The general session speakers talked about the many aspects of telling our story of God’s grace in our lives in the marketplace.  The visit to the battlefield on Friday was a time to pray for our nation and hold communion together.  Chaplain Lee Greenfield from Fort Benning, Georgia let the service along side John Wega who portrayed a civil war era chaplain.  The coming together of these two points in history, today’s battles next to the Battle of Gettysburg was a powerful image of God’s story through the history of this country.

We heard the stories of men throughout history who gave until they had no more to give.  Scripture tells us that there is “no greater love than for a man to lay down his life for another”.  Men were confronted with the idea of being willing to die for what we believe because we know that one day we will die.  What will our lives represent on that last day?

Testimonies were powerfully delivered by ministry leaders and lay business men that confirmed we can not trust in riches, wealth, possessions, position or plaudits since these are fleeting.  We must trust only in Him who has called us to give it all to Him. Men’s lives were transformed.

Each of the 200 attendees left with the full assurance that He will guide us and use us as we tell our story, His story for the sake of the Gospel…..giving it all to those who need to hear the Good News.

Our next blog will feature some photographs taken during the conference…..stay tuned.