Our Panel Members- Learning A Little Bit About Them!

                                                               Michael Leiss

Preferred Name to be Listed as and State or Country you live in: 

ANSWER:  Michael, Indiana

Age: 

ANSWER:  62

When you accepted Christ as your Savior:

ANSWER:  19

Years in and areas of active ministry, past and present: 

ANSWER:  I have been involved in Christian music since I was 19, participating in a worship team since I was 20, and I still do.

Favorite scripture and why?

ANSWER:  As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.  I am so blessed to have a wife who shares my love for the Lord.  A divided house cannot stand, a united house cannot be defeated.  Serving the Lord entails serving others, too.  This relationship has given me a peace that has helped me through many situations that could have been devastating, but I know that I can TRUST the Lord!

Your Wake Up Call to your Generation: 

ANSWER:  My generation is starting to move into retirement.  With huge life changes pending, it will be important to initially commit to establish a right relationship with the Lord.  Life can pull you away from the Lord.  A serving life will be a fulfilled life.

Three things we’d be surprised to know about you:

ANSWER:  I moved from Florida to Indiana- and LOVE it! 

I became unemployed twice in two years.

Since I gave my heart to the Lord, I have never doubted or turned back from Him.

What are your hobbies outside of ministry?

ANSWER:  I enjoy home repair and improvement.

Love my dogs!

I have very little interest in sports.

List some of your past achievements and current projects that you are working on: 

ANSWER:  I have been in the music ministry since 1972- several groups and I have served on worship teams continually through the present.  I occasionally lead worship at a nursing home and a boys home. 

Share your experience in marriage, as the head of your home:

ANSWER:  We celebrated our 40^th anniversary this year.  Since we both committed to the Lord before we were married, we bypassed many of the pitfalls common to marriages.  The most significant hurdle we faced when I misinterpreted my role as “head of the home”.  After I realized that the scripture did not make me my wife’s boss, things were good again.  Love your wife and she will give the respect that you need.  Show her your love- don’t assume that it is a given.  If there are in-law conflicts, support your wife- the bible admonishes us to leave our parents and cleave to our spouse. 

What do you hope to accomplish by participating in this MMofV Symposium? 

ANSWER:  I hope that others will learn from those who have gone the distance and avoid problems that we learned to overcome.  Being a man of God is a lifestyle, not just a Sunday thing.

What does your relationship with Jesus mean to you?

ANSWER:  Jesus literally changed my life’s direction and he has given me a peace that others will never know.  Being able to trust Him gives me the assurance that although I can be concerned about events in my life, the events don’t control me- my destiny is God’s hand. 

I remember how surprised I was when I realized that fear had left me.  Very comforting…

What bad things happen- health, financial, employment, relationships- the peace can kick in because I know that before the event happened, Jesus knew about it.  He cares about me and will help me get through anything.  Sometimes even the tough times are used to shape me.  No matter what, I can know that things will be OK. 

Decisions need to be made before we are challenged.  For example- we do not go to “R” rated movies (a few exceptions like Schindler’s List).  I will NOT participate in pornography.  I refuse to use foul language.  I will not entertain ANY advances from any woman.  When you lock these kind of decisions in your heart (because they are the RGHT thing to do), when the temptation comes, it is not an issue- you already know that it is out of bounds.

What area have your struggled with most in your walk with Christ?

ANSWER:  My biggest ongoing struggle is my prayer life.  I know that I don’t pray enough and have always wrestled with it.  I read the Word daily, but my prayer life is lacking.  Still working on this…

What message of hope would you like to share with our reader? 

ANSWER:  NOTHING is more important than your relationship with the Lord!  When you are in proper relationship with Him, everything else seems to fall into place.  Outside of him, there is only chaos. 

If you had a theme life motto, what would it be and why?

ANSWER:  It is so important to make Jesus LORD of your life, not just your savior.  Allow the Holy Spirit to help lead you in all of your day to day activities. 

                                                             Al Dodson 

Preferred Name to be Listed as and State or Country you live in: (First Name Only or First and Last Name or Pastor _____—whichever you feel comfortable with)

ANSWER: Al D

Age: This is important so the reader can identify with the perspective of life you are speaking from.

You can use: thirties, forties, fifties, sixties if you do not want to list your actual age.

ANSWER: 44

When you accepted Christ as your Savior: If you would like to divulge your conversion experience as part of this statement—feel free! You can also share any period of time when you may not have been in relationship with the Lord—to show that, even though we may have strayed, we found our way back to Jesus Christ!

ANSWER: Saved at the age of 13. Rededicated my life at the age of 40 (2010)

Years in and areas of active ministry, past and present: This is the area where you can describe how long you’ve been in some capacity of leadership and feel free to address what areas of ministry you have participated in such as: children’s ministry, youth pastor, elder, senior pastor, worship pastor.

ANSWER: Media Director 2012 / 2013, Media Servant 2013 – Present. I am currently working with Service Video Directing, Working live camera’s and media presentations.

Favorite scripture and why? Share your life scripture or favorite passage and share why it is your favorite and how it has helped you in your walk.

ANSWER: Luke 4:18-19 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

This scripture represents the season I am in right now. Working with the inner city and spreading the gospel to the lost and less fortunate.

Your Wake Up Call to your Generation: Which generation and What would you share to stir or motivate them to live for Christ!

ANSWER: Thirties and Early Forties. I would share my testimony and what God has done in my life. I would give positive outlooks to cloudy situations. I would share that God has a plan for your life even if you think you are overlooked and not important.

Three things we’d be surprised to know about you: Share some interesting tidbits that make you approachable or relatable that the reader can identify with.

ANSWER:

1.      I came from a very poor inner city family that was not involved in church and I was never taught about Jesus.

2.      After being blessed and moving to the suburbs, I now focus on bringing the love of Jesus Christ to the neighborhood I grew up in though  benevolence.

What are your hobbies outside of ministry? Here is where we share our love for sports or fishing or hunting or building cars—something to show that we are real men with real lives and not just caught up in a vacuum of ministry at all times—to help them identify with us—so they can see—we are human, just like they are.

ANSWER: I work in the IT field and this has been a passion of mine since the early 90’s. I love cutting edge technology and gadgets. I enjoy all sports. Some would call me a sports nut. I can be caught blabbering about a stat, past player or a certain play. I played football in high school and had a very promising path in life before an injury set me back. My favorite of all is college football.

List some of your past achievements and current projects that you are working on: This is to show the areas of ministry that we have a burden for and are currently working toward so they can see that, no matter what age we are—we are men on the move for God!

ANSWER: Gosh where do I start….

God has blessed everything I have touched through ministry. Share how our church growth in the inner city from fifteen members to over a thousand in just 3 years.

Share all the miracle’s that have occurred in the past few years.

3 month revival where thousands were saved and baptized.

God blessing our ministry by being debt free at both campuses.

The restoration of a broken city.

Share your experience in marriage, as the head of your home: If you were divorced, feel free to share. If you have sustained a rewarding long standing marriage, please share any wisdom from your years in a successful, happy marriage. Remember, our target is young men in their early thirties, married, young fathers, needing advice on how to make marriage work and still be a good father and role model. Please take time to share anything you have learned along the way!

ANSWER: I was married for over 20 years. Through this season I was away from the Lord. After 10 years there was infidelity in our marriage. I sacrificed by staying together to make sure I was there for my Son. I grew up in a single household and I wasn’t going to put my Son through that experience. After he turned 18 we divorced. I left everything. I wanted a fresh start on life. I rented a cheap rundown apartment and all I had was an air mattress, 2 fold out lawn chairs. After the first month I was laid off at my job. I was alone, unemployed and used all savings. I didn’t know where to turn or what to do. One day I got down on my knees and gave it all over to the Lord. I rededicated my life and asked God if he would get me out of this mess I would forever live for Him and would pay Him back by working in the ministry. A few days passed and an old friend from high school, who I haven’t talked to in over 20 years, contacted me and said that for some reason he needed to tell me about a job. I was blessed beyond measure with an awesome job in IT with a Christian company. My salary doubled and within a few months I was back on my feet. (Much more than what is listed here in my full testimony)

What do you hope to accomplish by participating in this MMofV Symposium? Share what you hope to see happen by being part of this ongoing ministerial outreach. Please share your heart of how you want young men to see that they can conquer the challenges and temptations of life and live a fulfilling, rewarding life for Christ!

ANSWER: To help mentor young men that are going through some of the same seasons that I have overcame with scripture, life experiences and testimonies.

What does your relationship with Jesus mean to you? Share your heart about your personal, day in and day out, relationship with your Savior. Let them see how real HE is to you and how personal your relationship is—so they can feel like we live this life with an ongoing connection to Christ which they too can have and keep active!

ANSWER: I will forever thank Jesus for everything He has done in my life. I acknowledge I could never have done anything without Him. God has taught me obedience, how to be humble and how God will only give you a little at a time till you earn His trust.

What area have your struggled with most in your walk with Christ? We are hoping they can identify with our real walk, our real relationship, our real struggles too.

Feel free to share any area you have had to work on, are still working on and even a testimony of how you overcame an addiction or something God helped you with.

ANSWER: The question should be what areas have I not struggled with? I will make it short and sweet. I am still an infant with my walk with God and every day seems like a struggle. You see, I am very hard on myself to try to always be in the will of God.

What message of hope would you like to share with our reader? Whatever the Lord leads you to say—as if they were sitting in your living room—share your heart!

ANSWER: No matter what is going on in your life. No matter what you have been through. No matter what you have done, God loves you and has a plan for your life.

If you had a theme life motto, what would it be and why? If you have a saying, a motto, a mantra—share it! Like mine is “Everyday’s a gift!” what is yours and why?

ANSWER: “Consistency equals success!” I believe that if you show God you can be trusted and be consistent with your walk, He will open up the window and pour out a blessing that you would never imagine!