This is what I saw this week in Vietnam... from Joel 3:9: “Wake up the mighty men. Get ready for battle.” God is waking up and raising up mighty men!
Jesus didn’t come to win a popularity contest. He came to win a war. And He chose you and me to join His mission.
“You didn’t choose Me. I chose you” (John 15:16–17 NLT).
We are men on a mission—and the mission is Jesus.
This past week, CMN brothers from three different nations produced powerful Southeast Asia mission events in major cities in Vietnam and Cambodia. Outstanding results, especially among the newly trained pastors and the young men, 25 and under, who attended in both nations.
It’s not just there. This is happening in dozens of nations every day all over the world.
The CMN brotherhood is moving with boldness and relentless faith.
No man fulfills that mission alone. After Elijah’s great victory on Mount Carmel, he became isolated, exhausted, fearful, and depressed. He told God, “I am the only one left.” But God answered, “I have seven thousand others who have not bowed to Baal.”
Elijah was not alone. He was disconnected.
This is why we need brotherhood.
God designed men to stand shoulder to shoulder, facing the challenge together. Brothers encourage one another when the battle becomes difficult. We provoke one another to greater faith and greater works for Jesus. We remind one another of the mission when weariness clouds our vision.
“Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24).
Jesus didn’t merely call His disciples “servants.” He called them “friends.” Abraham became the father of the faith because he first became “the friend of God” (James 2:23). Friendship is a covenant word. It says, “I will stand with you. I will fight for you. I will tell you the truth. I will not let you quit.”
When life becomes dark, you have brothers. When fear tells you to isolate, you have brothers. When you cannot see a way forward, you have brothers. When your strength begins to fail, you have brothers who will carry you back into the fight.
Perhaps the greatest result of the ministry of Jesus Christ through CMN will not only be the processes created, the books distributed, or the meetings assembled.
It will be the friendships built. Around the world, CMN brothers connect.
Brotherhood. Men on a mission ... commissioned men.
We are carriers of Christ. We are men redeemed from bondage to freedom, from darkness to light, from chaos to Christ.
We are CMN. We build stalwart men.
We are brothers.
And together, we rescue men.
Your friend, brother, and ally.
Grace and Peace,
Paul Louis Cole
