Goodfellas

I have a picture stuck in my head of my Dad and I when I was baby. It's a classic pic of a Dad whose beaming ear to ear with pride as he proudly displays his son on the hood of his car. I'm set in the sitting position with legs spread wide for balance and arms extended over my head in a "pick me up" pose, and he's leaning against the hood on his elbow with his legs crossed around his ankles. As you look at the photo the thought that comes to mind is the baby should be sitting in a highchair or crib and not on the hood of an old Chevy. But that's the reason for the picture. Little boy, let Daddy introduce you to the real world where big boys know how to play with bigger and faster toys.

In just a few hours, a group of men in South Florida will kick off an event that's solely for big boys and their toys. We're loading up a 4000 sq ft Man Cave with the machine gun mounted Jaguar from the James Bond "Die Another Day" movie, thanks to Michael Dezer and his large privately owned collection. Miami Bike builder, Axel, has dropped off his sick custom chopper and side car hydraulic lifted beauty. Thanks to Luis Sanchez and his PAW MotorSport, 2 of his Racing MINI's were dropped off and will sit perfectly next to the two 10 foot interactive gaming-screens. The black pavement walkway will feature a number of mustangs and Harley's just to wet the appetite as the fellas make their way in.

Along with all the toys will be a demonstration from a few power lifters as 8-time Mr. Olympia, Lee Haney talks about true strength. The speaking line-up includes former Lightweight Boxing Champion, Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini, Scott Jones and mad-man, Doug Giles. Live interviews and recognition of heroic efforts by Special Opts Officer Rich Bautista and Doral Policeman Michael Rodriguez, while MMA Undefeated Fighter, Level Martinez shares his moving story of how he transformed his life from gang-banger to cage-fighter.

Speaking about big boys, I was looking through my email the other day and came across this funny story about Bubba and the night he graduated from Cox High School. When they were about halfway through the ceremony the principal said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a problem. Bubba is a few credits short and won't be able to graduate tonight."

Bubba was the starting right guard for Cox's football team. When the student body heard that he wasn't going to graduate, they all jumped up and started to chant, "Give Bubba another chance! Give Bubba another chance!" The football coach and the principal had a quick conference. Afterward, the principal announced that they decided to give Bubba another chance. Bubba was told that he will be given a "One Question" math test, and if he passed, he could graduate.

The question was, "What is 2 plus 3?" Bubba thought for a couple of minutes and finally said, "I have it! The answer is 5!" There was complete silence in the auditorium for a couple of seconds, and then the entire Cox High School football team jumped up and began to chant, "Give Bubba one more chance! Give Bubba one more chance!"

Now that's funny, but the truth is not everybody's laughing out there in the big boy World of Life, and some are needing more chances to get it right. To get it right, we need to be challenged so we can change, trained so we can be tested, and pressed so we can prosper. Goodfellas is about building up the men around us, because we've learned that no man can get up on the hood of life, without somebody helping us get up there.

If you're in the South Florida area, I hope you'll join me at the Goodfellas Men's Conference, March 21-24, 2012. Info at www.metrolifechurch.cc #GFConf2012