Due to some scheduling difficulties the August LRMF luncheon will be pushed back a week to Friday, August 27th.

We will still begin at 11:45 and we’ll still be at Umps Grill and Pub in Dickey Stephens Park and you’ll still want to make plans to be there because this month our speaker will be Paul Vitale!

In just a few short years Paul has made quite a name for himself as an inspirational and motivational speaker. Paul’s clients include ESPN Outdoors, The US Postal Service, Southwest Airlines, the Washington Redskins, the Minnesota Vikings, Tyson Foods…and now the Little Rock Media Fellowship!

Paul’s message of affirmation has reached hundreds of thousands of people from all walks of life, and his expertise, energy and ability to encourage people to exceed their potential have been described by his audiences as extraordinary…but you’ll have to see for yourself!

So be sure to join us on Friday, August 27th at Umps Grill and Pub beginning at 11:45.

Trust me, mark your calendars and invite your friends this is something you won’t want to miss!

August Speaker: Paul Vitale

Little Rock native Paul Vitale has become one of America’s most sought-out professional speakers and trainers. His message of affirmation has reached hundreds of thousands of people from all walks of life, and his expertise, energy and ability to encourage people to exceed their potential have been described by his audiences as extraordinary. Paul’s clients include ESPN Outdoors, The US Postal Service, Southwest Airlines, the Washington Redskins, Baptist Health Systems, the US Chamber of Commerce, the Minnesota Vikings and Tyson Foods.

Pat Lynch Shares a Softer Side

Written by LINDA CAILLOUET

For two decades, sharptongued radio show host Pat Lynch was the guy Arkansans loved to hate.

In 2000, when he was fired from KARN-AM, 920, after a 17-year run, he made no apologies for his biting, often bitter, banter. “To successfully hold on to a show for as long as I did, you cannot do it by being vanilla,” he said then. “You have to serve up different flavors. You have to be something different from everything else out there.” His different? Tagging the then-mayor “Jello” Jim Dailey; calling the Arkansas Gazette a commie rag; and receiving dubious awards, one shaped like a giant golden screw and another of a mule’s rear end.

After KARN, he hosted shows at KABZ-FM, 103.7, the Buzz; and Arkansas Priority Radio Network’s KDXE, 1380 AM. He currently writes a column on Mondays for this newspaper’s “Voices” page and appears in a Wednesday morning segment on KARK-TV, Channel 4.

What else is new? He’s recently tapped into his spiritual side. Lynch, reared a Catholic and now a member of St. Andrew’s Anglican Church, recently shared his journey with those attending the Little Rock Media Fellowship’s monthly lunch.

Lynch recently earned a diploma in theological studies from the Anglican School of Ministry here in Little Rock and has been appointed director of Foundations of Christian Ministry. In the churchwide, parttime position, he oversees training programs offered by the Anglican School of Ministry for vocational deacons, planters of new churches, licensed lay pastors, and teachers. “I am not a good person,” he said. “I don’t pretend to be a good person. The only thing I deserve is to burn in hell. And if it weren’t for the grace of Jesus Christ, that’s where I’d be right now.

“When I got into radio, I bought into the whole ‘I am the captain of my own ship, responsible for my own self’ thing. Winning through intimidation was the American culture.” But Lynch says he was not happy — the pressure of deadlines and being in the public eye led him to drink heavily and look for a way out of Arkansas.“Then, I met my wife, Marie, and started drinking less.”

And he started reading the Bible. One verse leapt out — What you meant for evil, God meant for good. “There it was — all of the back-stabbing, criticism, slamming doors I’d encountered — all that was meant for good. “I stopped trying to run my own life and save the world. When you start trusting God instead of trying to be the captain of your own ship (which you’re not), you’re able to receive God’s grace and be the dispenser of it.”

Lynch’s disclaimer? “This doesn’t mean I’m no longer a nasty rattlesnake,” he tells Paper Trails. “It just means I’m a nasty rattlesnake who’s one of God’s creatures.”

Paper Trails appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Contact Linda Caillouet at (501) 399-3636 or at lcaillouet@arkansasonline.com.

LRMF July Recap

If you missed the Fellowship luncheon today you missed a real blessing.

Pat Lynch and Jeff Matthews were awesome. They need to rent a bus and hit the road together!

Jeff has always been very outspoken about his faith. Pat has always been, well, outspoken. It was no surprise to many that Jeff Matthews would speak at a “faith” luncheon but Pat Lynch?

You know, not everyone has to agree to be a part of a community. Certainly I didn’t agree with Pat when I first heard him after moving here in 1996. But I think the more you grow in Christ the more you realize that the Kingdom of God is filled with all sorts of people who don’t look, sound or to some extent believe as you do. That’s what Unity is all about.

The Bible says in Ephesians that we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. (Eph. 4:15-16)

Each individual joint glorifying God in the manner in which it was created is what makes the body grow. Not every joint is the same or operates in the same manner. And that’s why the kingdom of God is such a beautiful tapestry. I think we might be a bit surprised when we get to Heaven and see who’s there waiting for us…and who’s not!

See you in August!
MM

July LRMF

After he saw the light on the road to Damascus the Pharisee Saul began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues. Many who heard couldn’t believe their ears. They were saying, “We’ve heard of this guy and how he did harm to the saints in Jerusalem.” They would also wonder, “Is this not he who in Jerusalem destroyed those who called on this name?”

Of course the answer was…yes. This was that Saul, the same Saul who later became the most prolific preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Sometimes even the most devout believers have trouble with the concept of God’s grace. Which is why this Thursday you might be surprised to hear that our speaker will be Pat Lynch. Yes, that Pat Lynch.

For those of you relatively new to Little Rock this may not seem like such a big deal but for the rest of you who remember THAT Pat Lynch…this is rather significant…and boy, does he have a story to tell!

So be sure to join us for an exercise in God’s grace Thursday, July 15th at Umps Grill and Pub beginning at 11:45.Trust me, mark your calendars and invite your friends this is something you won’t want to miss!

MM

May LRMF

Stepping out of a boat and into the deep water doesn’t make a lot of sense.  But with passion, courage and faith that’s exactly what Dale Dawson did and the Bridge2Rwanda was born.  At the May LRMF the Little Rock native shared his stirring message about what God has done in the lives of people in both the US and Rwanda since he walked away from a very secure (and high paying) job at Stephens, Inc.  What was once a country lost in chaos and genocide is now looked at as one of the most stable countries, economically, politically and socially on the continent.  While many still visit the Rwanda as missionaries many others are relocating for business and other reasons.   The mission has been so successful that Dale told of a new position that has opened for a media professional to serve as a liaison between the government, business, churches and the media.   If you’re interested in this exciting development feel free to contact the organization at www.bridge2rwanda.org.

Also, our very own Christina Munoz from KATV shared with the group about her own personal walk with Jesus Christ.  Christina is the co-anchor for the ABC affiliate’s 6 & 10 pm newscasts.  Watch the video below if you would like to hear her testimony but be prepared with plenty of tissue!

The June speaker for the LRMF luncheon will be the founder of Men’s Fraternity and former Sr. Pastor of Fellowship Bible Church, Robert Lewis!

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