MIKE GREER, MISSISSIPPI, 2011: My beginnings with IOM started with a needed transition from my For Men Only group to something else. I needed the next step of accountability for my addiction, which is why I was in FMO to begin with. The Lord led me to a small group that met every Thursday. It was a decent group of men, who all had struggles with all kinds of sins. There was a man, Dr. Stephen Phinney, who was leading this group through a study on Hebrew Word Pictures which focused on the different Hebrew words for a sluggard. This was exactly the type of study I needed, a place of teaching, sharing and accountability.
There is this draw that I usually would explain, through using the J.R. Tolkien series “The Lord of The Rings”, where Bilbo and Frodo where together and Bilbo would undergo this incredible urge to get the ring back when Frodo showed it to him. The distorted and evil transformation Bilbo went through while he was being tempted and drawn closer to the ring, it was almost irresistible. That thirst…that perceived need to have it…that fleshly desire, it’s so powerful and the enemy uses it all the time. Many men can relate to this and Steve understood this too, with his illustrations being unique, extremely easy to understand and easy to remember, Steve would draw us into a new thirst…a thirst for truth…a thirst for God’s word, a power that is unequaled in the entire Universe. What I remember thinking the most about Steve was his ability to take what the Holy Spirit was sharing with him and put it in illustrations that would help other people understand God’s message. It had been amazing what I had witnessed as I continued studying under him in Men Mapping. Well, you can understand, it has been a major blessing to have studied under his guidance for several years.
The thirst for living water has been getting stronger while the thirst for fleshly desires has been getting weaker. I wish the fleshly desires would just go away, but with any good thing, the journey is what makes us stronger, even when it takes you through the desert where there will be a little struggle and maybe some pain. God does not want us to be in pain or to struggle, but He is not going to stop pain or struggling when it means we will draw closer to Him. God’s wisdom is unfathomable and mostly incomprehensible, we just need to trust in Him and allow Him to have His way, the best way.
I appreciate the work IOM is doing through groups like Men Mapping and through people like Dr. Stephen Phinney. My spiritual growth and relationship with Jesus has grown in maturity because of the lessons I have been able to learn. Thank you Heavenly Father and my Lord, husband and friend Jesus for such a blessing through these vessels, Amen.
WENDELL SMOCK, GLENDALE, 2011: Grab your coffee and let me tell you the story about my "truth friend." Late in the year 2007 I met a man who was teaching a small group of men about The Principled Patriarch - calling men back to biblical Manhood. I learned very quickly this little group was God-ordained and my life would never be the same again. I met a man who was going to challenge me to the very depths of my soul. I kept going back week after week, month after month. I was often convicted, sometimes angry, and had many wrestling matches with the Lord. I felt as though I had met a man of God who could look into my eyes, see my naked soul, and know everything about me...like Jesus. I have heard others asking prayer for their "besetting sin." I had my own. I just wasn't really free. I knew the Lord was using Steve and making me take a good honest look at myself.
So, you may ask, "How has IOM affected my life? It has not just affected me; it has downright impacted me, challenged me and blessed me. With simple honesty and clean conscience I now walk as a free man and not in bondage to any sin. That which I once loved I now hate. Besetting sins are simply the ones we don't want to give up. David said, "If I regard (cherish) iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me." Ps.66:18 (AV) I know full well what David meant. There's absolutely no going forward in Jesus when there's unrepented sin in my life. IOM put the obvious besetting sin smack-dab in front of my face and I had to deal with it. The Lord dealt with me; a little at-a-time, day after day, month after month. And I know He will never stop, nor do I want Him to. Read Full Testimony click here
So, you may ask, "How has IOM affected my life? It has not just affected me; it has downright impacted me, challenged me and blessed me. With simple honesty and clean conscience I now walk as a free man and not in bondage to any sin. That which I once loved I now hate. Besetting sins are simply the ones we don't want to give up. David said, "If I regard (cherish) iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me." Ps.66:18 (AV) I know full well what David meant. There's absolutely no going forward in Jesus when there's unrepented sin in my life. IOM put the obvious besetting sin smack-dab in front of my face and I had to deal with it. The Lord dealt with me; a little at-a-time, day after day, month after month. And I know He will never stop, nor do I want Him to. Read Full Testimony click here
RICK KRATZ, PHOENIX, AZ: The founder and leader of the Men Mapping group was a man by the name of Steve Phinney. The objective of the group was to teach men their biblical roles as leaders of their family, church, and community. I had been a regular church, bible study, and men’s retreat attender for many years, but I had never heard anything like what Steve was teaching. The message struck a chord in me and Steve’s teaching style was perfect – no sugar coating, just the straight-on truth in a way that was clear and understandable. And in God’s perfect timing, this message was reaching me when I was best prepared to receive it
