The Cry of a Beast

Psalm eighteen thirty

So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

When I first saw Michael at a conference, I took a deep breath. He was larger than life and covered in tattoos. I knew from his book that he was a gang member, a Canadian drug lord. In prison he rolled tobacco in paper torn from a bible to make cigarettes to smoke. He said that what was once cigarette paper was now his life line – that it was the beginning of getting the Lord’s word into him.

Could anyone change that much? Could God really answer the cry of a criminal drug lord? Mesmerized, I walked over, stuck out my hand and said, ‘Hi, my name is Jane.” Michael stood up, towered over me and shook my hand. Our eyes locked and through the tattooed-pierced face, I saw the tender eyes of our Lord looking back at me.

Michael's heart cry is for the Canadian blood stained streets that had once imprisoned him. A pastor of the streets, Michael knows that if Jesus came back today, He would go to church to visit but he would then go and chill with those who need him most in the downtowns of Canada's hardest cities.

I want people to know that the city is my church and that I am the pastor of that church.

I take on its pain, its misery and its blood…

In the darkness I try to bring an explosion of colour called salvation to illuminate the darkness and bring hope.

I pastor the way Jesus did by going into the towns and cities and telling stories of my father’s great works and the hope that He brings.

Either you are a pastor or you are not; you are either a shepherd or a sheep. I prefer to be a shepherd and care for the flock the Lord has put on my heart; that being the youth…the hurting…the prisoner…the prostitute…the thief… the murderer....the SINNER…

…because that’s what I am- a SINNER- and only by the grace of God do I make it day to day.

About Michael Bull Roberts:

Through the power and love of God, Michael Bull Roberts has overcome more than most people will ever experience. Physical beatings, emotional torment and sexual abuse as a young boy resulted in Michael becoming a beast by the time he was in his young teen years. Following in his father’s example of violence and destructive, power hungry behaviour, it took Michael 33 years to find what real love is. When he finally gave it all up, he found Jesus and life’s not been the same since.

Michael’s life is chronicled in his dual award winning book, “The Tender Heart of a Beast” as well as his same-titled dramatic DVD. Michael delivers his message in a no-nonsense style. His truly tender heart is passionate about helping youngsters to deter from a life of drugs, alcohol and gangs. There is no love there and Michael is frank about what will be the results of such involvement.

Michael presently writes a Christian newsletter that reaches more than 700 inmates across North America, China, and Sri Lanka. He openly shares his story in schools, men’s meetings and church groups and deals with such subjects as bullying, physical and sexual violence, gang life and other very real pressures of today’s society. He meets with young men who are close to being, or are, in trouble with the law in the hopes of directing them onto the right path – the path of righteousness and love. Michael's message of hope through Jesus Christ and his own faith journey has been well received in all venues.

An Excerpt from The Tender Heart of a Beast

In the Hotel Room
I was beaten…Broken. My knees were shattered. One arm, hand and wrist was also in pieces. My spinal cord had received its share of trauma too. My face was black and blue – its bizarre colour a shadow to the brain damage. I lay on the floor in my own urine. Pain shot through my body, tearing down my legs and leaving me gasping. But more than having a broken body, I had a broken heart and fractured soul. I wanted to die. I was tired of this life and knew there had to be something better…

In that moment of intense physical pain, the wall that held back the emotional agony burst. I cried for what seemed like days. Through it I cried out my anger and vowed revenge on my enemies. I plotted how I was going to go to war on the streets after I healed. I knew many lives would be lost – maybe even my own.

And then the cry changed.

As all the anger and hurt poured out, rushing over the broken walls of my heart I began to realize that God was listening – actually listening. He knew that I desperately wanted to seek revenge but he also knew that I wanted more to feel love. I asked him to open my heart again. The tears of pain transformed to joyful tears and I knew that God was working inside me. I felt free. As the walls around my heart were busted down, I knew that he had not forsaken me.

I prayed for the first time and asked for forgiveness. I thanked him as the evil, murderous beast became a new being.

Psalm eighteen thirty

As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.

To order The Tender Heart of a Beast or to book Michael for a speaking engagement, please visit his website: www.salvationcreations.ca.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

by John Boyne

“The thing about exploring is that you have to know whether the thing you've found is worth finding. Some things are just sitting there, minding their own business, waiting to be discovered. Like America. And other things are probably better off left alone. Like a dead mouse at the back of the cupboard.”

Bruno, an eight year old boy moves from his childhood home in Berlin to a dark and mysterious house at a camp where his father is the Commandant. Bruno goes exploring in his backyard and discovers the camp separated by a barbed wire electrical fence. He approaches the fence and meets a boy his age named Shmuel, dressed in striped pajamas. The two forge a deep friendship through the man made fence, unaware of humanity’s chaos that surrounds them.

The film, based upon the book by author John Boyne explores the deep desire for intimacy in the human heart and the friendships that can exist in the midst of generational worldview chaos.

An electrical barbed wired fence separates the two boys, limiting the physicality of their friendship but not the intimacy of their conversation. In hushed voices they speak:

“We're not supposed to be friends, you and me. We're meant to be enemies. Did you know that?” Bruno adds, “Why do you wear pajamas all day?”

“The soldiers...They took all our clothes away.”

“My dad's a soldier, but not the sort that takes people's clothes away.”

I watched the movie with my thirteen year old son, Michael. I am not sure which moved me more; the poignancy of the movie or the raw emotion expressed by my son.

“They just want to play with each other, don’t they mom?” Michael asked with tears in his eyes.

With mirrored tears I answer, “Yes, Michael, they just want to play with each other.”

Later that night I explored the response of my heart and discovered the dead mouse at the back of my heart’s cupboard. I build fences. I hand out worldview striped pajamas making the decision that some friendships are not worth exploring. My own heart has been electrocuted by the generational worldview fence that separates us. I play peek-a-boo through the wire longing for intimacy with the very one who handed me pajamas.

But if we stay focused on the love of our Father, together we can remove worldview fences. A hole is dug not to let Shmuel out but to allow Bruno in. Hand in hand they walk through the dangerous camp understanding that intimacy through the Father is worth overcoming fences and worth putting on the enemy’s striped pajamas.

It takes generations to build worldview fences but it only takes one friendship to tear it down. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a brilliant film that rips the heart wide open if we are willing to explore the dead mouse that sits in the back of the heart’s cupboard.

Forgive us Father, for the stripes and fences that separate us. Thank you for loving us so much that you took our stripes and died on the very wood whose fruit fenced us from you.

The Power of Fathering

The Power of Fathering

by Edrick Dunand

Fathering is one of the most stunning powers available on earth. It is creative in essence and unique in expression. Fathering culminates in splendour in our very own children and it can also take many forms in a variety of circumstances.

By first looking at my awesome privilege of being a father of three amazing and beautiful children, Joshua (15), Tessa (13) and Sommer (11), I reflect on the master perspective we have had with my wife Jo Anne. That perspective, I believe, is in our commitment to facilitate the emergence of the uniqueness packaged inside each of our children.

Fathers in particular have a gigantic power to influence destiny in their children. We cannot overstate it or afford to underestimate it. It does not matter if we have daughters or sons: we are the primary influencers in terms of confidence and assurance. Such profound power values cannot be formed through external and sporadic means like gifts, treats and vacations. Confidence and assurance in our children is found in the nurturing of a healthy and dynamic relationship where we are invested towards each other in a two way fashion. Relationship between father and children is never from a commander standpoint, but in a dynamic of trust and strength building for the benefit of the child and all relationships within the home.

There is little doubt of the “ultimate life dimension” of fathering, as we come to realise that when God opened up the new covenant, He elected to enter into a Father relationship with mankind through recreation of the heart of man. It goes all the way through spiritual rebirth from the Spirit of the Father through Jesus-Christ! What an extraordinary feat…

The previous covenant did not produce lasting fruits, but mostly demonstrated the inevitable failure that awaits us when we think that the sole observance of principles and ordinances is enough. A heart commitment influencing the nature of man is what causes true transformation and what causes our children to become all they can be…

Sadly our consumption mindset has got the best of us, and the tally is there too loud to ignore. A whole generation is crying out for identity and struggles with the legacy we left them: experiential consumerism of everything including sex, power and money, does not satisfy and just calls for more in a tyrannical fashion. In history entire civilisations have risen and fallen on the same patterns…

Problem? Yes! But also incredible opportunity for us and upcoming generations of fathers to realise that fathering is not a matter of right as much as a privilege calling for large responsibility. When men and women alike, escape the trapping of search for now-satisfaction and unleash the power of purpose driven lives, we will enter a fathering era of human life in which many things will change. Even our economy and financial systems are broken because of a foolish mindset of consumption and dramatically lacking the fathering spirit which strives to create a legacy for our children, and even our children’s children.

Until we are cut to the heart, and repent (return from) of our twisted ways, we will be bound to laugh for a time and cry for the lifetime of a generation which has lost its way in stuff and distorted values…

May God grant us the wisdom and humility we need to reset our clocks and start “fathering” again our nation one family at a time, one area of fathering at a time…

To your High Performance

Edrick has a father's heart for corporate Canada and offers a unique worldview application for success. If you want to pull your spirit out of neutral, I highly recommend Edrick's book, Suceed with Impossible Speed. To order your copy visit http://www.amarisgroup.ca/ or any major online book retailer.

About Edrick

Edrick is the author of "Succeed with Impossible Speed" and President of the Amaris Group which empowers individuals and corporations to maximize their results through cutting edge training, coaching, and experiential learning.

Edrick is an entrepreneur at heart, a great motivator and his boldness and passion are contagious. His passion for performance maximization in all areas of life, has given him a unique edge in helping people and organizations to think in unique ways in order to achieve the highest levels of success.

As a speaker and trainer, he has the compelling ability to reach out to the minds and hearts of his audience, inspiring people to take action and bring about the desired changes in their personal lives and in their organizations.

Born in France, Edrick studied in the field of mechanical engineering and business development. After moving to Canada in 1996, Edrick developed a successful career in the field of sales, marketing and business development in the aviation and financial industry.

Edrick and his son Joshua are actively engaged on a joint multi-year driver development plan towards world class endurance sports car racing.

The Village Crier

Matthew five one two
And seeing the multitudes Jesus went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His Disciples came up to him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: Blessed…

I am fascinated with town criers and yesterday, I met Port Perry’s own, Bill McKee. His costume, his bell, his loud bass voice caught the crowd’s attention. Ringing his bell, in his booming voice he called us to assemble at the gazebo in Palmer Park to hear the town’s message.

This morning as I prayed the Sermon on the Mount, God opened my minds eyes to see that Christ is ‘the’ world’s town crier!

Jesus did not need a costume or bell to get the town’s attention. His mere presence drew the multitudes. By simply ‘opening his mouth’ the crowds listened to the cry of his heart.

In the quietest voice He spoke, “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven…blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled…blessed are those who are persecuted, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Truth after truth, Jesus voiced the cry of his Father’s heart to the multitudes assembled. The village crier simply ‘opened his mouth’ and his heart cry spilled out for those who would listen.

I need to be my Father’s town crier.

“Whatever I command you, you shall speak.” Jeremiah one

I don’t require a costume, a bell and a booming voice to share the truth of His cry. The authority that is given to me is all that I need. I must ‘open my mouth’ and speak the cry of my Father’s heart.

Father, forgive my silence and for not voicing your heart cry to the multitudes.

Matthew seven twenty nine
“And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes."