Sep 9, 2019
What You'll Hear
- Barry was running with the wrong crowd as a young man. He was selling drugs to help pay his way through college and he was apprehended and was waiting on a bail bond.
- He felt like his life was over, but it was the best thing that ever happened to him because on Dec. 21, 1992 at age 26 he gave his life to Christ when a stranger who had a sense of peace led Barry to Christ.
- Men can bond so quickly over something like sports, and a testimony can be an even more powerful way to bond
- When you're going through a crisis it really brings people together very very quickly
- In Mark 5 Jesus told about the demon possessed man who Jesus saved and that man was left behind to make a difference by sharing his testimony
- "What makes a testimony so great is that you don't have to have it all together in order to give a testimony about how God has kept you"
- "You know your life better than anybody, and you know the struggles and pitfalls that you have endured"
- How you share your testimony depends on the conversation you're having, especially if it's a one-on-one conversation
- Don't sweat, don't make it more serious than what it really is
- It doesn't have to be perfect...it just has to have some passion
- "You don't have to lead someone to Christ. God just expects us to be a Christian...A rooster doesn't go around saying he's a rooster, all he does is crow"
- You can simply say "would you like a small prayer?"
- About 10 years ago, someone tried to carjack Barry and the gun went off and the bullet ended up in his spine while he was taking off in his car.
- He drove 50mph in a 25mph not being able to stop, once his car stopped he had an out of body experience
- Barry asked God why He didn't let him die, and "God told me that He could do more with me in a wheelchair than I could do by myself standing"
- Since then, Barry has had a greater compassion for life and for those that are in despair
- He met some veterans and wanted to help, he set a goal to have a home for 4 veterans, and now there are 7 homes
- "When you take the focus off of yourself and put it on others, then your personal crisis becomes that much smaller'
- From Romans 8:28, "God is telling me that it's going to work out for your good"
- Barry loves Joshua 1:8, it was one of the scriptures he took on as a young Christian
- At night before going to bed, read one scripture and meditate on it
- "We have a tendency to only minister to the spirit man, and as a result we miss a whole lot"
- They do a men's conference once a year called Sons of Thunder
- Men have to go through the a lot, they are the breadwinners, the priests of the house, and they don't have anyone to talk to
- "We try to reach the boy inside the man"
- Go to www.wholemanministries.com or write 3916 Old Lexington Rd, Winston-Salem, NC 27107 or call 336-785-2080