ELCA NEWS SERVICE August 5, 2008 Lutheran Men in Mission Offers Variety of Workshops, Retreats 08-135-FI OMAHA, Neb. (ELCA) -- About 600 men attended workshops Aug. 2 during the 2008 Lutheran Men's Gathering here at the Hilton Hotel and Qwest Center. Sessions featured programs of Lutheran Men in Mission (LMM), the men's ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and other ELCA ministries. LMM hosted the gathering Aug. 1-3. The event theme, "Coming of Age," focused on LMM's 20th anniversary, its new relationship with the ELCA and its emphasis on the spirituality of men ages 18- 34. Todd Little, Highlands Ranch, Colo., and Ed Cleaver, Denver, gave participants a sample of the "One Year to Live" retreat that Lyman Coleman, founder, Serendipity House Publishers, Nashville, Tenn., developed for LMM. The weekend retreat serves a number of purposes, Little said. It assembles a "band of brothers -- a bunch of guys who will go to bat for each other and will be available at two o'clock in the morning when you're struggling and need someone to talk to." It stirs up energy and purpose within a congregation, he said. It gives men a vehicle to "pass along blessings to other guys." "And it's about personal growth and being able and willing to do some of the hard work that men need to do to get some of the stuff outside of them that's been holding them back or weighing them down," Little said. The retreat gives men "a safe environment for them to do that." Cleaver and Little described a seven-step program to help men explore who they are and where they've been before delving into things they'd like to change about themselves. The retreat is designed to help men assess their goals and develop plans to work deliberately toward them over the following year. Little said about 60 Lutheran men have completed the program, and he expects 20 times that number to experience "One Year to Live" in the next few years. "It doesn't require any experts," he said. "A bunch of regular guys can take the material and run with it." Richard White, LMM vice president, South Riding, Va., and Brett Clemmer, co-author of "No Man Left Behind," Casselberry, Fla., helped participants discover their congregations' "man code" -- sometimes subliminal messages that men get when they walk through the front door of a church. The workshop included information about a weekend retreat recommended for men's ministry specialists. Other workshops dealt with "evangelism for scaredy cats," prayer, "discipling young men," small-group ministries and "the family as church." - - - Information about Lutheran Men in Mission is at http://www.ELCA.org/lmm on the ELCA Web site. For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask] http://www.elca.org/news ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog