237 men gather for retreat in Williams
Jul 9, 2018
By Charles W. Short
A total of 237 men from 17 Arizona Southern Baptist churches attended the 3rd annual Metamorphosis Men’s Retreat, MMR2018, May 4-6 at Lost Canyon outside of Williams.
MMR seeks to strengthen churches by strengthening the men of the church. The name comes from the Greek word in Romans 12:1. It describes the metamorphosis or strengthening transformation that happens in Christian men who submit themselves to the Lordship of Christ over the long haul.
Roger Daniels, vice president and director of Arizona Baptist Children’s Services & Family Ministries’ New Life Counseling, was the primary speaker at the retreat. The worship music was directed by Aaron Petre, worship and youth pastor at 22nd Street Baptist Church, Tucson, and a team he gathered predominantly from his church.
Retreat participants were rested, restored and “re-aimed” at serving the Lord through their local churches.
The messages were built on the foundation of Hebrews 12:1-2 and the need for Christian men to run with endurance. The men were instructed and enabled to get off the “Just Try Harder” treadmill and make step-by-step progress in their spiritual growth through the training offered by the spiritual disciplines.
Disc golf, volleyball, basketball, giant swing, climbing wall, coffee shop and more were enjoyed. The camp is working hard to get all their equipment, and MMR2019 leadership is working to get all water activities open for next year’s retreat.
Fellowship opportunities were part of what made the event powerful. Structured times of fellowship and interaction, such as an Emmaus walk and cabin time, were designed into the program, but there were also meals taken family style, evenings in the hot tub and a loose schedule intended to allow for the men to relax together.
Next year’s event will be on May 3-5, 2019, at Lost Canyon. The speaker will be Rod Handley, founder and president of Character that Counts ministries. Handley is a friend of Arizona Southern Baptists, both as a revival speaker and spring training chaplain in our state in recent days.
He is also the author of more than 20 books and is a popular speaker, taking about 250 speaking engagements a year. He was formerly a leader in FCA and has been chaplain to or performed chapel services for sports teams ranging from the Nebraska Cornhuskers to the Seattle Seahawks.
For more information on MMR2019, visit the event website, mmraz.org. To communicate with the retreat organizers, visit the contact page on the website.