Every year for the past 17 years, there has been a father and son game feed for the men of the Big Lake area. This year’s feast was held at Riverside Church Saturday with volunteers from Bridgeview Church, Oakwood Community Church, Bethany Bible Church and Gateway Church. About 400 attended. “There is a committee of 12 that puts this meal on every year,” said David Forpahl of Big Lake Township, who has volunteered his help for the last 10 years. The meal is free to those attending. Hunters from the congregations donate venison, pheasants, ducks, wild turkeys, geese and even turtle meat for the meal. The meat was carefully prepared by the men and served buffet style by the women of the Riverside Church. The meal began with appetizers, summer sausage, cheese, crackers, venison chili, wild turkey and pheasant white chili and turtle soup. Entrees included duck breast marinated in orange juice and wrapped in bacon, pheasant in cranberry sauce, smoky goose on a bed of wild and brown rice, tilapia, venison sloppy joes, roast, meatballs in gravy and venison steaks. There were baked potatoes and corn for side dishes and a huge assortment of cookies and bars for dessert, all washed down with water, orange drink from McDonald’s and coffee. Some went back for second helpings. “It’s real good, very tasty,” said Mel Borchert from Big Lake. “And quite a variety.” Andrew Woolhouse from Becker also enjoyed the dinner. “I really like this kind of food,” he said. “I hunt in Becker.” The evening started with door prizes and a word of thanks to the many sponsors. “It’s a unified effort,” Forpahl said. “Sponsors are a beautiful thing and we are praying for them. We had volunteers we didn’t know what to do with.” After dinner the younger boys went to a separate area of the church for a program of their own and Forpahl introduced guest speaker Todd Braschler from Wichita, KS. Braschler has been a pastor, a professional singer and co-host of a hunting and fishing show called Diamond Adventures, which aired on the Sportsmen Channel. Besides being an outdoor enthusiast, Braschler is married and has three sons and two grandsons. Braschler said he had been to Minnesota before, ice fishing until the wind blew so hard it blew the ice house across the lake, and in the summer. “When the weather was hot and the mosquitos carry you away,” he said. “I am a big hunter and fisherman. I grew up in a hunting and fishing family and I have travelled all over the country on the hunt. I love the unknown of hunting and fishing.” Death Is part Of Life Braschler said there are many reasons to hunt and fish, not least of which was the incredible food. “People have been planning to prepare this meal for you for 12 months,” he said. “Sometimes we hunt for survival, for sport, recreation or a trophy.” “We put animals down for a variety of reasons, defense, disease, infection, overpopulation. Salmon, octopus, squid and mayflies die after having sex,” he said. “Death is a very vital part of life. Old age is a regular part of life. We get old and die. But there is a spiritual kind of death which is part of God’s plan that takes place inside of me. Death is really sometimes life-giving to us.” Braschler challenged the men to go on an internal, introspective kind of hunt, based on verses from Romans 8, 12-14, and put to death the kinds of “Archie Bunker,” attitudes which would keep them from becoming better men. “It’s like that show, Overhauling,” Braschler said. “Where they steal someone’s car and fix it all up for them in a week. You can make it look nice on the outside, but what if they didn’t do anything with the engine?” “What are the misdeeds which betray how we are on the inside, in the Me centered world?” A status quo commitment to Christ, my prideful heart, lustful thoughts, anger as a first response, holding a grudge and being resentful of what others have are things which need to be done away with. “Men are supposed to bring peace and security to their families. You can teach an old dog new tricks. There is a misdeed in me when I settle for who I am today,” Braschler said. “Every wife is counting on us to grow to become better men. Fight for the man God intended you to be.” “How can I tell if any of this applies to me?” he said. “If I only make friends to benefit myself, or if I put other people out and make them move their agenda to suit me, or judge others based on their race, employment, education or earning ability, this scripture applies. There is nothing in scripture which says a person is of less value because of the color of their skin.” King of the Castle Some men think they are the king of their castle but fail to treat their wives as the queen. “That attitude has no place in a home,” Braschler said. “Expecting the family to watch what I want on MY tv and having control of MY remote.” Claiming to be a self-made man, being continually defeated by temptation, or being a loner are other signs of work which needs to be done. “Don’t be a loner. That’s not who God wants you to be,” Braschler said. “You have to sharpen a knife to use it and when you do, some of the steel has to go. As iron sharpens iron, so men sharpen one another. Take a risk and let someone else into your life.” Braschler urged the men not to just go for the easy fix, carrying a Bible to church instead of studying it or praying over lunch instead of making a real commitment to Jesus Christ, looking at pornography, stealing things rather than earning them, acting spiritual around church people and different around others, sending the kids off to camp for the counselors to “fix” and not being a spiritual leader in the home are easy fixes. “What does the guy look like who polices himself?” Braschler asked. “He has God’s character at the center of his heart. He pursues the man God is calling him to be. He lives purposefully for Christ and seeks wisdom from God’s word. He depends on God’s power and wisdom, not his own. He welcomes experiences which come in life on his own terms.” “God rescues you from death and when God lives and breathes in you, your body is alive in Christ. God has changed my life and God will do the same for you. God doesn’t force you to do anything. It’s your choice.”