WINTER 2019
In this issue: 2019: A Year for Prayer
CBMC, Inc. The Connector Newsletter - Winter 2019 P.O. Box 8009 Chattanooga, TN 37414-0009 800.566.CBMC (2262) www.cbmc.com We’re Social!
Three Questions to Ask a Young Professional
Stepping Forward
From the Desk of the President Dear Friend of CBMC, Happy New Year to you and yours! 2019 is sure to be a year full of promise and hope as we renew our focus on our Lord Jesus Christ and vow to follow Him fully. I encourage you to take some time to ponder life, count your blessings, and reevaluate what God may be calling you to this new year. Winter is a great time to take a spiritual inventory. As the season falls upon us, the weather cools, and there is a stillness that calls us to reflection. I hope that you can find some time to be still and think about these things.
The Gospel Prayer by J.D. Greear In Christ, there is nothing I can do that would make You love me more, and nothing I have done that makes You love me less. Your presence and approval are all I need for everlasting joy. As You have been to me, so I will be to others. As I pray, I’ll measure Your compassion by the cross and Your power by the resurrection. Published with permission by J.D. Greear Ministries
It is my prayer that we might be renewed by the Spirit and awakened to the power that is at work in us. For this new year, let us strive to set our minds on things that are above, men. (Colossians 3:2) May we walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have been called (Ephesians 4:1) knowing that we are more than conquerors through him who loved us and nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:37-38). In an effort to awaken prayer in us for the new year, I invite you to pray The Gospel Prayer everyday. I challenge us all to pray this prayer that pastor J.D. Greear shared in his book, Gospel: Recovering the Power that Made Christianity Revolutionary. As we look ahead, I am so encouraged by what God is doing in cities across our nation. He is doing it all, and we are simply vessels. Vision 650 is moving forward with a momentum that we could not have imagined. We have new teams in Tucson, Ariz., Coral Springs, Fla., and Wilson, NC to name a few. Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Young Professionals are sweeping the nation. I am astounded that these young men want to spend time with me. That shows what God can do! Be encouraged to go out and invest in a younger man. They want to hang with the older guys! They want to be mentored, coached, and guided through their faith walk. You don’t have to have all the answers. But you have walked a mile in their shoes, and they need and want to learn from those experiences. Build friendships. Put away hesitations. Step forward. The next generation wants to spend time with you. God bless you all! Your fellow servant to our Lord Jesus Christ, William J. McAvinney, III, President, CBMC, Inc. 540.840.8620 P.S. We invite you to become a CBMC partner by supporting the ministry through your financial gift. Our mission is to present Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord to business and professional men and to develop Christian business and professional men to carry out the Great Commission. Your gift helps spread the Gospel to men in the marketplace! Give securely online at cbmc.com or mail your gift to P.O Box 8009, Chattanooga, TN 37414.
Table of Contents Letter from the President How the CBMC Method Reached One Man Three Simple Questions for Men Under 35 Awakening Prayer in the New Year
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THE CBMC METHOD REACHED ME, NOW I’M PAYING IT FORWARD Over the nearly half-century since singer Peggy Lee in 1969 recorded the haunting hit tune, “Is That All There Is?”, countless people have asked the same question. One of them was Larry Vensel, a business owner in suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
stranger, I agreed to meet. After a brief conversation, Charlie invited me to go through something called Operation Timothy with him, and we met every Wednesday morning, 6-7:15, for about three years.”
Through Operation Timothy – and Fox’s guidance – Vensel learned much about the Scriptures and how they relate to everyday life and work, “especially the idea of lordship. I spent ten years being a baby Christian, but finally, I started learning what it meant to have Jesus as Lord of my life. I discovered as I suspected, there was a lot more to the As 2000 approached, widely known as Christian experience.” “Y2K,” doomsayers were forecasting that the onset of a new century would have That marked just the beginning of devastating effects on the increasingly Vensel’s experience with CBMC. In 2002, computer-driven society. Vensel found he met Ken Barackman, who followed himself caught up in the fearmongering. Fox as staff director in Pittsburgh, and “When the Y2K predictions didn’t then became involved in a Connect3 happen, I got so mad at myself. I knew group. I should have been trusting in God rather than living in fear. I resolved that somehow I needed to grow in my faith.” His refrigeration, heating and cooling company, Ventec Refrigeration, Inc., was growing, as was his family. He had committed his life to Jesus Christ about ten years earlier, but in 1999 he began praying, convinced “there had to be more to the Christian experience.”
One morning Vensel arrived at his office and found a name, Charlie Fox, and a phone number written on a sticky note placed on his desk. “I didn’t know who that was, but I decided to call the number anyway.” Fox was a staff director for CBMC in the Pittsburgh area, with a heart for unsaved business and professional men as well as believers who needed to grow spiritually.
These guys serve as my godly counsel for key decisions I have to make about my company.
Not long after that, Vensel joined a Forums group with about eight other business owners, meeting with them once a month for half a day. “I’ve been meeting with them ever since, and now I wouldn’t want to do business without “When Charlie answered the phone, it. In many ways, these guys serve as my he didn’t know how I had gotten godly counsel for key decisions I have his number, but on the spur of the to make about my company.” moment, he invited me to have coffee Over the years, Vensel also has with him. Even though he was a total attended numerous CBMC events
Ken Barackman, Larry and Charlie Fox
Larry and Sheryl Vensel Greensburg that each year precedes the annual Good Friday breakfast. At first, Vensel would transport guests to the dinner using his Chevrolet Suburban and his brother’s Ford Excursion. Each vehicle could accommodate nine people so that they would take 18 people in all, including the drivers. However, “one year I heard the Lord saying loud and clear that He wanted me to get a limousine. So, I did some research on the cost and thought that was too much money. But God had other ideas.
“Just a few days before the dinner, I was using my Suburban to tow some heavy equipment – scissor lifts – when it and the trailer jackknifed. No one was hurt, but the vehicle and trailer were damaged. That night, I prayed about what I should do. Again, I heard, loud and clear, that I should rent a limo. So, I did, and we’ve used limousines ever since to take our guests to the Greensburg outreach dinner. Last year we used three limos and brought a total of 70 people, all of their dinners paid for by our company.”
One year, a few days after the event, Barackman called Vensel to tell him someone named Mark had checked his registration card indicating he had prayed to receive Christ. “I told Ken, I don’t know anyone at the company by and conferences and noted, “God has that name. Turns out, it was one of the changed my life through all of that. limo drivers! Today, I view myself as a witness for “It’s gotten to the point that a lot of Jesus through the business. At Ventec people tell us, inviting them to the we don’t hide what we believe, or our dinner is the best thing we did all year.” conviction that we ultimately work to serve the Lord. We try to treat all of Vensel has enjoyed carrying on what our customers the way they should be was done in his own life by taking others through Operation Timothy, including treated.” his eldest son, a son-in-law, and some When possible, he has tried to use employees. CBMC resources to minister to both “I know what it meant for me. I’m a employees and others in the community. prime beneficiary – the CBMC method One way has been to invite people to reached me, and now I’m just trying to a CBMC outreach dinner in nearby pay it forward.” n
Drawing Young Men to CBMC So They Won’t ‘Miss Out’ For any business, there’s no better advertising than the satisfied customer: someone delighted by goods or services they’ve received, who can’t wait to tell others about them. For CBMC, John Harrison is one such “satisfied customer.” Although he had prayed to receive Christ in his pre-teen years, he admits, “the world got a hold of me for about 10-12 years.” When Harrison was about 25, he determined to make key changes in his life. Less than two months later he was introduced to CBMC through Alan Smith, an area director in Minneapolis-St. Paul, and discovered another world he didn’t know existed. “I grew up attending church in Kansas City, and I came to the conclusion that you could either be a Christian or a wealthy business guy, but not both. That was my frame of reference from what I had observed. Faith and work didn’t seem to go hand in hand. “But becoming involved in CBMC gave me an understanding of what it meant to be an ambassador for Christ, eliminating the secular-sacred divide I thought existed.”
What impressed Harrison most was the vulnerability of the men he met, the sincere interest they showed him and willingness to share about their own failures and mistakes, as well as their successes. “Exactly what the business world teaches you not to do – be vulnerable,” he said. John and Whitney Harrison He soon found they had much to teach about not only his professional life but Now 29 and vice president of also his spiritual life. operations for a health care courier “These became guys I wanted to company, Harrison has a strong desire model my life after. My wife, Whitney, for many more men in his generation says I’m a better husband because to become introduced to CBMC and of it, and my business acumen has discover what it can offer to them. quadrupled because of relationships I’ve built through CBMC. I can go into “Only four percent of my generation just about any city in the United States are actively going to church. There are lots who are unsaved. There are and contact someone who’s involved a lot who are saved but not involved in CBMC. I’m sold on it!” in church or any kind of ministry. Only about four percent are actively engaged in living out their faith on a daily basis.
These became guys I wanted to model my life after.
“That means if I meet 100 guys, in all probability only four are going to church. So people my age aren’t going to find Jesus Christ in church.”
John Harrison with his Young Professional Peer Group
Three Simple Questions for Men Under 35
Now, as a member of CBMC’s Young Professionals (YP) Advisory Team, he is helping to explore ways to attract younger men, primarily between the ages of 23 and 40, to the mission of CBMC. With his background in helping to
John with Dan Shock
develop business strategies for companies seeking to optimize what they do, Harrison is well-suited for this role. Even though the majority of his peers have no church affiliation, he does not doubt that “we need Jesus.” He often cites John 10:10 for motivation. “In the first half of the verse, we’re told the devil comes to steal, kill and destroy. He wants to destroy marriages, families, careers, our lives. But in the second part of the verse, Jesus said He came that we might have life – and have it to our fullest. “Everybody is after the most fulfilling, joyful life they can have. Experience has already shown me that if we search for fullness in this world, we’ll be emptier than ever. There’s more fullness in Christ than in any other way. “I often tell people: Don’t miss out. Don’t miss out on what God has for you. In the few years, I’ve been involved with CBMC, I’ve probably learned more than 100 business principles from high-quality business
Seeing the importance of getting more younger men involved in the ministry of CBMC, John Harrison presents a challenge to members 50 years and older: “Identify 1-3 guys in your life under 35, write their names down, and reach out to them. “They might be a son-in-law, future son-in-law, a guy at work. Invite them to have coffee with you one day before work, for about an hour. “Share with them that it’s a focus of yours to pay it forward. That you want to give back in appreciation of someone who invested in you in your younger days – or if you didn’t have a person like that, you now see how helpful that would have been. “While you’re meeting ask three questions: me the high – and the low – 1 “Tell of your last week personally.”
John with Mark Whitacre
guys. I want to learn from mistakes they’ve made, try to replicate their successes, and have a group of guys I can pray with,” he said. “Also, I have a weekly discipleship relationship. It is priceless. “As an organization, let’s stay focused on exposing 25-40-year-old guys to Operation Timothy, YP groups, and CBMC as a whole. It’s not about numbers, but on focusing on the right demographic. If you change a man’s heart, his whole family changes. And it can change where he works, the community where he lives, and ultimately, the world." n
me the high – and the low – 2 “Tell of your last week professionally.” “What are you most excited looking forward to the most in the next year?
3 about,
“Then just listen. You’ll be surprised at what you’ll learn about them just by asking those three things. I am so thankful for older guys I’ve gotten to know over the years, ones who were willing to ask questions like that and genuinely wanted to get to know me and offer their help.”
Have a story to share? We’d love to hear about what God is doing in your area. Email hmcafee@cbmc.com.
40 Years of Evangelism and Discipleship with CBMC If all of Bob Brayton’s jobs were put into a box, it would look like a Whitman’s Sampler: The longest span of time was 23 years in the military, including two years (1969-1970) in Vietnam, working as a mechanic on “about every kind of propeller airplane the Air Force had.” He also worked as a motorcoach driver for a Christian bus ministry in Florida; a bank loan officer; has sold customized sheds and pavilions; was a social worker in foster care and adoption; and also spent a number of years with Campus Crusade for Christ’s men’s ministry, Priority One Associates, and also its high school ministry. Since 1978, however, a common thread for Brayton has been his involvement in CBMC and utilizing the evangelistic and discipling tools it has to offer. Not long after committing his life to Jesus Christ in 1977, he was introduced to CBMC by a friend, Tommy Burroughs, and then he met Clif Campbell, who also had a military background. Campbell was a full-time staff director for CBMC in Winter Park, Fla., near Orlando, and for six years he served as Brayton’s mentor, taking him through Operation Timothy and emphasizing the
importance of Scripture memory and learning to give one’s personal testimony effectively. “CBMC is so good at teaching how to give your testimony in two minutes, five minutes, or even 20 minutes, depending on the circumstances and how much time you have,” Brayton said. As the years passed, Brayton’s ministry interests expanded, first to teenagers and now, at age 70, ministering to senior citizens, especially those who are homebound or need transportation for buying groceries or doctor visits.
“He had never read the Bible in his life, so we just talked about life. After about a month, I felt led to share my testimony with him and give him a copy of a book I’ve found useful through the years, More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell. Then I started reading the Bible to him. “One day I asked if he was ready to pray to receive Christ, and he said that he was. It was so exciting to see this man give his heart to the Lord. He changed from someone who would have said, ‘Why would I want to read the Bible?’ to someone who looks forward to our time in the Scriptures together.”
One day I asked if he was ready to pray to receive Christ, and he said that he was. But the foundation laid through his weekly meetings with Campbell, as well as time he spent years later with Dave Rathkamp, Jay Baker and other CBMC leaders in Houston, Texas, has undergirded everything he does.
Now living in Westfield, Mass. with his wife of 28 years, Terry, Brayton has no CBMC group nearby. He does meet on occasion with longtime CBMC leader Ernie Truax, who serves on the other side of the state.
“As a salesman, I always knew if what I was selling was the best,” Brayton said. “I know that Jesus Christ is the very best, and I’m always eager to be a friend to people and earn the opportunity to tell them about the Lord.”
Nevertheless, lessons he learned through CBMC continue to guide him as he seeks new opportunities to minister to others.
He recalled a recent experience in visiting with an 83-year-old man who is bedridden. When they first met, the man showed no interest in any kind of spiritual discussion, but Brayton didn’t find that obstacle insurmountable.
“Even though there’s no CBMC right now in western Massachusetts, I try to create my own network here. If you have CBMC in your heart, you can start your own circle, even if it’s only with one person,” Brayton said. “I’m so thankful for what CBMC has meant in my life.” n
CBMC’S Two-fold Mission: To present Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord to business and professional men, and to develop Christian business and professional men to carry out the Great Commission.
Awakening Prayer in the New Year By John Piper Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 1 Peter 4:12 This is normal — not strange — Christianity. God rescues us from hell and puts us in the fire. That is normal Christianity. God rescues us from the flames of hell and puts us into refining flames. Why? It’s about prayer. “I will . . . test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’; and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’” Zechariah 13:9
God puts us in the fire to awaken earnest prayer. Please, I’m pleading with you. This verse is in the Bible so that the plea that I’m about to make to you will come true. I can’t make it come true. This verse, by God’s grace with his power, can make this come true. I plead with you not to be among the number who gets sent to this school, which is designed to awaken prayer, and the school becomes the very reason you abandon prayer. Thousands go to this school and turn on prayer. We say, “If he treats me like this, I’m not going to ask him for anything. Because I asked him to keep me out of this, and he didn’t do it.” And the very school designed to produce depth, trust, and Godfocused, man-diminishing, worshipful prayer is turned on its head, and the school is hated. And I’m pleading with you. This verse is in the Bible to help that not happen. That’s why it’s here: so that when you look around you, and the flames are burning, and you wonder, “God, what’s up?” you realize that THIS is up. Don’t teach God how to teach. Submit.
Let me close with a quote from John Calvin. It is therefore necessary that we should be subject, from first to last, to the scourges of God, in order that we may from the heart call on him; for our hearts are enfeebled by prosperity, so that we cannot make the effort to pray. We are enfeebled by prosperity so that we can scarcely make the effort to pray because so many other good things — prosperous things, right things — fill our powerless lives. So, would you resolve with me that this simply will not happen to us in the coming year? Let’s not allow our hearts to be enfeebled by prosperity so that we cannot make the effort to pray. Would you resolve with me and say, “That’s not going to happen. I’m not going to let that happen, whatever it takes. I’m not going to be enfeebled by my prosperity. I will put in place whatever it takes”? May the Lord be gentle with us in the fires of the coming year — because they will come. I hope you don’t turn on him when they come. Excerpt by John Piper. © Desiring God Foundation. Source: desiringGod.org
CBMC, Inc. The Connector, Winter 2019 P.O. Box 8009 Chattanooga, TN 37414-0009 800.566.CBMC (2262) www.cbmc.com
2019 UPCOMING CBMC EVENTS
Non-Profit Org US POSTAGE PAID Chattanooga, TN Permit No 220
Christian CEO-Owner Peer Advisory Info Luncheon Tuesday, January 22, 2019 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM Minot, North Dakota
6:10 To Connection Monday, February 4, 2019 6:10 AM - 7:10 AM Dallas, Texas
CBMC Fort Lauderdale Lunch Tuesday, February 19, 2019 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Christian CEO-Owner Peer Advisory Info Luncheon Wednesday, January 23, 2019 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM Williston, North Dakota
CBMC West Broward Lunch Tuesday, February 5, 2019 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Cooper City, Florida
Men’s Marketplace Ambassador Breakfast Thursday, January 24, 2019 7:00 AM - 8:30 AM Independence, Ohio
First Thursday Prayer Gathering Thursday, February 7, 2019 7:00 AM - 8:00 AM Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Marketplace Ambassador Luncheon featuring CEO David Yates of the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Thursday, February 28, 2019 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM Tampa, Florida
Christian CEO-Owner Peer Advisory Info Luncheon Thursday, January 24, 2019 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM Dickinson, North Dakota
13th Annual CBMC Indiana Recognition Banquet Saturday, February 9, 2019 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM Indianapolis, Indiana
Christian CEO-Owner Peer Advisory Info Luncheon Friday, January 25, 2019 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM Bismarck, North Dakota
CBMC Omaha Business Profile Luncheon Monday, February 11, 2019 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Omaha, Nebraska
Christian CEO-Owner Peer Advisory Informational Meeting Saturday, January 26, 2019 7:30 AM - 10:30 AM Jamestown, North Dakota
CBMC Boca Lunch Tuesday, February 12, 2019 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Boca Raton, Florida
CBMC Oklahoma Quarterly Connection Tuesday, January 29, 2019 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
CBMC Kansas/Kansas City - Marketplace Ambassador Luncheon Wednesday, February 13, 2019 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM Overland Park, Kansas
Leadership Institute Peer Advisory Informational Meeting - Owings Mills Wednesday, January 30, 2019 7:00 AM - 9:00 AM Owings Mills, Maryland
6:10 To Connection Monday, March 4, 2019 6:10 AM - 7:10 AM Dallas, Texas CBMC Boca Cigar Fellowship Nite Monday, March 4, 2019 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM Boca Raton, Florida CBMC West Broward Lunch Tuesday, March 5, 2019 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Cooper City, Florida First Thursday Prayer Gathering Thursday, March 7, 2019 7:00 AM - 8:00 AM Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Leaders Take Action Workshops with Sam Deep Thursday, March 7, 2019 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
CBMC Coral Springs Lunch Thursday, February 14, 2019 12:00 PM - 1:15 PM Coral Springs, Florida
33rd Annual Government Leaders’ Prayer Breakfast, March 8, 2019 Friday, March 8, 2019 7:00 AM - 9:00 AM Irvine, California
Helping entrepreneurs get more of what they want from their businesses Luncheon Thursday, January 31, 2019 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM Brainerd, Minnesota
CBMC Kansas/Kansas City – LEADERSHIP COACH TRAINING Friday, February 15, 2019 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM Overland Park, Kansas
CBMC Northland Leadership Coach Training Program Wednesday, March 13, 2019 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM Minnetonka, Minnesota
CBMC West Broward, Cigar Fellowship Nite Friday, February 1, 2019 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Weston, Florida
CBMC Fort Lauderdale, Cigar Fellowship Nite Monday, February 18, 2019 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Fort Lauderdale, Florida
CBMC Kansas/Kansas City - Marketplace Ambassador Luncheon Wednesday, March 13, 2019 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM Overland Park, Kansas