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Welcome to The Wilderness Project Experience

What is The Wilderness Project Experience?

NO MATTER WHAT, no matter your background, no matter the things you’ve done or things you’ve said, no matter what you’ve been through – ANYTHING can be overcome with God. NO MATTER WHAT!

I am all about the guy who sits in the back pew, or back row, where nobody see’s him or notices him. A man who has a lot to offer but no one to help him, mentor him, or disciple him. Or, it could be the dude sitting in the back row who looks rough, dangerous, untouchable – but on the inside, he wants someone to talk to him and fellowship with him. But his years of abuse and hard living have trained his body muscles and his body movements to betray who he was, verses who he is or wants to be. I am all in for men like this!

I am a living testimony of what is possible through the tranformative love and grace of Jesus Christ. I came from a godless family and a horrible relationship with my father. I grew up being told that I was worthless, that I wouldn’t amount to anything, and that I would always be rejected. I hung around criminals and got involved in things before the age of 17 that many would be shocked by. This festered well into my adult life, where I lived a life of always feeling rejected, hating myself, and operating in constant fear of failure – even through what many would consider a successful 20 year military career. I was a walking, talking, functioning hate-a-holic, and this led to me not only being toxic to my own life, but toxic to many of those around me. I destroyed people and I paid a price for it.

But this all changed in September 2008, when I finally answered the door of my heart to Him and my life has not been the same since. I was almost 40 years old and I carried a lot of baggage. I forgave my father and in January 2017, I ended up leading him to accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. He was a deeply wounded man that lived his life believing that life was hell. By the worlds view, you would think that he would never accept Jesus, that it was impossible – but with God, anything is possible.

There is more to this story, things that are darker and deeper, including the loss of my oldest son who was serving with the Air Force in Qatar. But this was my Wilderness Project Experience. A time of seasoning, learning, experiencing, and failing. A season of me doing what I wanted, how I wanted, and when I wanted. A season of making the decisions I wanted to make, decisions that would benefit ME. If you ended up being blessed by any of my decisions, then it was because I knew that I would somehow be rewarded in return. I was extremely heavy hearted and very hard headed. Meanwhile, my poor wife, who re-connected with Christ around the first year of our marriage, lived for the first 19 years of our marriage with me berating her Christian beliefs and making things very difficult for her.

The Wilderness Project Experience is about life. It’s about lessons learned and what you do with those lessons. It’s about decisions that are made, whether to turn left or right, or whether to enter a door or bypass it. We are where we are in life based on the full combination of those decisions. But, even if you’ve made bad decisions, you can turn around. You can continue your journey through your wilderness and still end up victorious.

I am an author, dedicated to writing books and sharing stories that matter to men, issues of the heart without compromising masculinity. Men are warriors, created by God to be warriors, but it’s how we use the gifts and how we soldier on through the trials of life. We live in a fallen world, that is true, but that doesn’t mean we need to stay down and give up. When we reach that point, that’s when true courage and true masculinity matters. So pull your man pants up and soldier on.

Help men break free from THEIR shadows and find the River in the wilderness wasteland. 

“Behold, I will do something new, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:19) 

So, Where are the men?

They are busy, or wandering lost, searching for light in the darkness, identity out of contradiction, purpose out of irrelevance, or a path out of the uncertainty.

Men are on a quest for their story within “The Story”. 

  • Too many men are leaving the church. Men don’t understand where they fit in the church, much less Christianity.
  • Too many men are going to church to “check the box”, or, because their spouse is making them go.
  • Men have come to believe that no one can love them, not even the church. They believe they are unloveable.
  • Men have come to believe that their past will never allow them to get into heaven, so why bother. They believe their past is unforgiveable. 
  • Some men come to Christ for the wrong reason and with the wrong motives.
  • Some men are still walking around with heart wounds that have not healed. This is impeding their walk and making them feel unworthy.

Men have been taught a theology of the world, from men like them. 

  • For some men, it is not clear to them what they believe and why they believe it.
  • Some men believe they lose their masculinity when becoming a Christian. Barna Group has discovered that more Christian men fear they are losing their masculinity than secular men.
  • Men do not understand the truth about repentance; it is much more than saying “I’m sorry!”
  • Some men believe they will be forced to change. They don’t understand the difference between condemnation and spirit felt conviction. 

Men have gotten into the habit if “mansplaining”.

  • Men say that they don’t have time to read the Bible because of work commitments and family time.
  • Men seem to think that forgiveness means they will forget. And when they don’t forget, they grow angry and bitter.
  • Men believe they will be judged and criticized by the church for things they enjoy.
  • Men are sick and tired of gossip and drama within the church family. They get enough of that at there job and in their families. They forget that the church is full of hurting people – just like them. And these people are working on their hearts – just like them.

Are you…

Feeling like you are living life walking lost?

Ready to live the plan that God has for you?

Wondering who you are and who you are supposed to be? Are you ready to step into your true identity?

Wondering why you are here and what’s the purpose and meaning to everything?

Confused about Christianity and the church?

Living with the belief that you are un-loveable, unlikeable, and unforgiveable?

Questioning your theology, not understanding how it fits into your life?

Searching for methods that can help you find the answers you seek?

In a position where you aren’t getting enough from church, BUT, you are struggling, or not motivated, to spend time with God and His Word outside of church.

Are you getting wrapped around Christian speak (Christian-eze) and just want to hear to straight, unbridled, and honest; with an understanding of how the Bible applies to your life outside of Church?

Not in a position, or comfort zone, where Bible school, or Bible college, is right for you at this point in your life?

Yep, been there done that, and more…

What you will need…

  1. An acceptance of Christ, and the belief that He died for your sins, that He rose from the dead, and that He is currently sitting in the Throne room with the Father. For skeptics and seekers, you will need to at least believe in the idea that He is possible (this is where I sat for almost 40 years). 
  2. An open heart and open mind – without it, you will find it difficult, if not impossible, for the materials to operate in your life. For seekers and skeptics, you will naturally tend to focus on Christian material using your head, if you do not allow the material to soak into your heart, you will be challenged. 
  3. A journal – it is paramount to your journey. 
  4. A Bible – whatever translation you prefer, in print or electronic. 
  5. A Concordance (i.e., Strong’s) – let’s be honest, sometimes scripture is difficult to understand in the beginning and easily misinterpreted. A concordance can be of great help as English versions of the Bible are based on original Greek and Hebrew word choices. And often, they don’t mean what you think they mean.
  6. A copy of any book that I have written (optional) – you know I have to plug them in somewhere, right?

     When I was in the military we had a saying of “Bottom Line Up Front”. What is the bottom line? The bottom line is that without a belief in Christ, Scripture will not operate in your life which is where we see people slandering or talking crap about the Gospel – they don’t believe it, so how can it operate? We also believe in the Supernatural – some men may be touched by my books or other Christian themed books and find things starting operating in their life without them realizing it. Love is the medicine that conquers all. This is a key lesson learned as you read scripture, and is on full display throughout Breaking Free From the Shadows.

I want to hear YOUR story. And then, let’s discuss how YOUR story fits in the Larger Story, and how you can use YOUR story to help other men – just like you.

Let us know what you think…

To leave a comment or ask questions, please click on the Wilderness Project Experience image below and post your questions in the Wilderness Project Experience closed Facebook group.  If you have not already done so, please request access.