talk, talk, talk…

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I am going to begin regularly posting some things that I come across in my personal journey of Faith. Sometimes they will be encouraging, fun and uplifting. Other times they may be more serious, challenging and thought provoking. My hope and prayer is that they will always be insightful and helpful. Please feel free to contact me with questions, comments, etc. I would love to discuss.

To kick things off, I would like to share a short section from a book that I read almost every day. It is one I have read through many times over the last 5 or 6yrs. It is called Reflections for Ragamuffins and it is daily devotions taken from the writings of Brennan Manning, author of one of my all-time favorite books, The Ragamuffin Gospel.

I chose a section called “Compassion in Action” because today when I read it, it stopped me in my tracks. It reminded me of why I moved to Las Vegas and why I started FIGHT CHURCH… to do something amazing! For so long I was frustrated that people were always talking about all the things that are wrong in the world, but very few ever did anything to help the situation. It seems everyone has some cause they like to talk about or something they speak passionately about, but very few ever actually do anything.

Jesus was not like that and this is what Manning had to say about it. “Every time the Gospels mention that Jesus was moved by the deepest emotions or felt sorry for people, it led to his doing something… The Good Samaritan was commended precisely because he acted. The priest and Levite, paragons of Jewish virtue, flunked the test because they didn’t do anything. ‘Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the man who fell in with the robbers?’ The answer came, ‘The one who treated him with compassion.’ Then Jesus said to them, ‘Then go and do the same.’”

I John 3:17-18 says “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”

This is an tough challenge. It is so easy to talk a big talk about things. It is an entirely different thing to put yourself out there and actually do something. There are so many needs out there. Let’s try to be more like the Good Samaritan and do everything we can to help out those around us!

2012 is going to be incredible!

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Just a quick update…

Greetings from beautiful, sunny Las Vegas, NV!  We hope your holiday season was amazing!  2012 is going to be an incredible year for FIGHT CHURCH.  The sport of MMA is exploding and things here in Vegas, the hub of this international sports phenom, are going nuts.  There are more and more MMA events, more and more MMA promotions, and more and more MMA athletes!  The MMA gyms are busting at the seams and many coaches are branching out and opening new facilities.

Here at FIGHT CHURCH we have our work cut out for us.  We are excited and thankful to be working in all 4 of the biggest gyms here in town, but are planning to double that this year by expanding to some of the other gyms that are growing.  We will be recruiting and training many more volunteers so we are able to work at as many events as possible. 

Our website will be undergowing some changes in the near future.  In 2011, we had plans to do more video and post more regular updates.  Unfortunetly, we were unable to post nearly as often as we would had hoped and video proved to be more of a challenge than we thought.  However, we are on track now and have even began filming some items.  We have a couple of things in the works and our goal is to post a few different things every week.  Be on the look out!

We are finalizing some very specific goals for this year and will be sharing them with you very soon.  In the meantime, we are super excited about this year and the opportunity to continue ministering to the MMA community.  Thank you so much for your support in 2011… Let’s Fight the Good Fight!

Great Guy… Great Cause!

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Check out Bellator Lightweight Champion Michael Chandler Jr.’s new website…  www.blessedthreads.com.  He is a great guy, a man of Faith and we are proud to call him one of our friends here in the MMA community in Las Vegas!

Need some help getting the word out about FIGHT CHURCH!

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Hey!  Happy Nevada Day!  Did you know there was such a thing?  It’s pretty cool… no work, no school! 

So, this photo is of the sweet new FIGHT CHURCH banners that should be here any day now from some great friends back in Indiana.  The banners turned out so good and we are super excited!  The plan is to get one up in all the major MMA gyms here in Vegas.  We already have one gym on board.  We are also going to use them for our booth that we will be setting up at various MMA events around town and at churches where we go to speak.  This is going to be amazing and will have a huge impact here locally.

In order to take things to the next level and reach outside the Vegas Valley, we are trying hard to utilize social media.  That is why we wanted to let you know that FIGHT CHURCH now has a Facebook page and we need your help making it into something useful.  All you have to do is click on this link http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Fight-Church/152268434831547

Then, you find yourself on the FIGHT CHURCH Facebook page, just click the big “Like” button and that’s it!  This will be a huge help to us because then our posts will appear on your Facebook wall along with posts from your other friends.  That will give us the chance to be noticed by more people and that means more connections with fighters, coaches, fans, potential ministry partners, etc. 

You can even “recommend” the page to some of your friends directly if you know for sure that they would appreciate what FIGHT CHURCH is doing.  Also, keep in mind, that every time you post something on the FIGHT CHURCH page like a question or a comment about a post or a photo, that will appear on your wall as well and just helps us that much more!

Please keep us in your prayersand thank you so much for your support!

Busy Couple of Weeks for FIGHT CHURCH

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Busy Couple of Weeks for FIGHT CHURCH

 

I have some super exciting news to share with you and I promise to keep things short… here we go!

First, FIGHT CHURCH has a brand new board member. His name is Pastor Brian Roberts. He is currently working with a church plant project in Minnesota. This past week, Pastor Brian, traveled here to Las Vegas to do a short “missions trip” with us in order to help out and become more familiar with our ministry. I had a great time showing him what we do here with our FIGHT CHURCH MMA Chaplain ministry. We had the opportunity to visit all our regular gyms, speak with many fighters/coaches, interview UFC fighter Justin Wren and even worked a charity fight event at XTREME COUTURE!

 

Pastor Brian came to Vegas because he thought that we had a great “idea” for a “potential” ministry opportunity. However, once he arrived and saw what has been accomplished over the last year with the gyms, fighters and organizations, he was very impressed and wanted to be involved. The more we shared with one another, the more we knew we were on the same page and wanted to work together. He has a passion for ministry, experience in sports chaplaincy, and is a fan of MMA. He is going to be a tremendous asset to the FIGHT CHURCH team. That is why I am excited and proud to make this official announcement!

 

Second, I was invited by my friend and former Kempo instructor, Pastor Pasqual, to share a little bit about FIGHT CHURCH to the Men’s Ministry of International Church of Las Vegas which runs right around 200 men.  Things went very well and I met some great men.  One of those men was Jayson McDonald.  Jayson told me that he had been waiting for a ministry like FIGHT CHURCH to come along and that he would love to help out.  So, just two days later, we put Jayson to work with me and Pastor Brian at the charity fight event.  He had a great time and plans to help us out as often as possible!

 

Third, the end of the year is quickly approaching and we have several events, projects and purchases coming up that we absolutely need help with in order to make them possible! I will not go into detail here, but if you are interested in being a part of something amazing, shoot me an e-mail or give me a call ASAP!

 

Fourth, Help us out by telling your friends, family, pastor, etc. about us.  Keep in mind that it doesn’t matter if they are a fan of MMA or not.  FIGHT CHURCH is about loving & ministering to people!  The more people that know about us and partner with us, the more we can do that!  So, forward my e-mails,“friend” me on facebook and “like” our FIGHT CHURCH facebook page, follow me on TWITTER @pjoshboyd and wear one of our sweet FIGHT CHURCH shirts, which you can purchase at www.fightchurch.bigcartel.com!

 

Finally, I will be posting the Justin Wren interview very soon.  There are a ton of events coming up including SCC 3 at the Orleans Arena on November 4th.  I am so happy that FIGHT CHURCH will be working that event!  It will be our very first time working with this impressive new professional MMA organization.

 

Please be in prayer for us.  Thank you so much!

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A few months ago I came across a great guy online who has worked as a sports chaplain for many years and we have e-mailed back and forth a few times.  I told him about our program for the MMA community and he has been very helpful.  Since then, I have began to receive his regular updates and devotions.  This is one that I thought was very good and wanted to share as an encouragement.  If you are a fighter, I hope and pray that this is a blessing to you…

F a i t h , H o p e , L o v e

“What is the most durable thing you can think of? What is there in your life that will outlive you? I have some ideas from a powerful scripture.

 

In the first letter to the Corinthian church, Paul the Apostle writes at chapter 13 and verse 13, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” Here are three things that are eternally durable.

 

Two thousand years from today they will still be as vital and powerful as they are now. Of the three, love is preeminent because it provides the relationship that is the context for the faith and hope.

 

Today play with confident expectation of good – that’s hope. Play in faith – actively trusting your coaches, your teammates and your God. Play in the great freedom afforded by those who love you and are committed to you.”

MORE ON MIKE “300” HAYES…

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MORE ON MIKE “300” HAYES…

Not too long ago we featured Mike “300” Hayes in a short segment.  I had the chance to talk with him the other day about his upcoming fight, his faith, and how he got here…

Mike Hayes started his journey of faith and his road to becoming a professional MMA fighter in the same place.  A few years back his life got off track, he found himself on the wrong side of the law and he ended up doing some time in prison.  Turns out this may have been just what he needed!

Mike told me that while locked up, he watched a MMA event on TV and became interested in this sport.  He felt confident that he was capable of competing.  With no prior training or experience he began to work out and train. 

Although Mike had been taken to church as a child by his parents, it was never something he thought much about or considered to be his thing.  Now in prison, with time on his hands, his priorities changed, a serious reevaluation of things was in order and Mike said the need for something different became very clear.  He began to read the Scriptures, attend Bible study group and seek the Lord.  Over time he grew both physically and spiritually!

Upon his release Mike continued his journey of faith as well as his training to becoming a MMA fighter.  When given the opportunity to test himself as an amateur fighter, he welcomed the challenged and was successful.  After going pro, Mike won his first 7 fights and holds a total professional record of 15 wins, 4 losses and 1 draw.

These days, Mike still trains with some of the guys from the very beginning, but two of his main training partners are fellow pro fighters Eric Dahlberg and STRIKEFORCE fighter Trevor Smith.  On the spiritual side of things, Mike has put together a great team as well.   He attends the Eastlake Community Church and surrounds himself with people who challenge him and keep him in check. 

In just over a week, Mike will Headline an event in what has to be the biggest fight of his professional career that has huge implications on his future in the sport.  Obviously, there is a lot to this story and there is no way I could ever do it justice, but hopefully you at least know that this is a great guy.  I am so excited to see how things continue to unfold for Mike.  And I am glad that our lives have intersected!

Please join with FIGHT CHURCH and pray for our friend Mike Hayes.  Also, check him out on Facebook, send him an encouraging message and support him any way you can!

FIGHT CHURCH is praying for the RUTHLESS and the rest…

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FIGHT CHURCH is praying for the RUTHLESS and the rest…

There is an amateur fighter here in Las Vegas named Rudy Morales.  I have talked with him several times and even had him and his beautiful family over to my house for dinner.  He is a great guy who is trying to live a good life while working hard to become a professional fighter. 

We see each other at all the events and I pray for him before he competes.  He loves FIGHT CHURCH and thinks what we are doing is great!  The other day he even said that we should put his RUTHLESS FIGHTING TEAM on the website as our “official team”.  We don’t exactly have an official team, but we love Rudy and his guys just same!  It would be the least we could do considering Rudy has gone into battle more than once with “www.fightchurch.com” printed on his shorts.

Over the past year I have had the opportunity to meet so many amazing people in the MMA community at events, at gyms, and all over the city.  I have prayed with and for them, sat with them, ate with them, talked with them, met with them, cried with them, laughed with them, watched fights with them, trained with them, become friends with them, celebrated with them in victory, hurt with them in defeat, etc…

I am so excited about the future of FIGHT CHURCH and the opportunity of continuing to love the people of MMA and help in any way we can!

Fighter Snapshot: Mike Hayes

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FIGHTER SNAPSHOT:  Mike “300” Hayes is a professional heavyweight MMA fighter with a record of 15 wins, 4 loses and 1 draw.  He is also a believer.  He will be fighting UFC veteran Sean McCorkle in the CFA 2 main event in Miami, FL on July 23rd.  I am going to try to interview him between now and then if his training and my schedule allows.  In the meantime, I asked Mike how important he thought a ministry like FIGHT CHURCH could be for guys like him who are trying to live a life of Faith and be a professional MMA fighter.  This is what he had to say…

“As a fighter, I struggle with the pull that the sport has away from my family, friends, and faith. It’s not easy to turn your head from the ring girls and female fans that surround you. Most normal church and ministry organizations don’t have a clear understanding of what a fighter goes through, so it’s hard to receive advice from them. This doesn’t even touch on Vegas. Obviously it’s the Mecca for the sport, and as athletes make it to the big fights there, they are also making more money. It’s called sin city for a reason….the temptations are enormous, and the added fame and money make it a very difficult, but necessary, place for a fighter to go.

 MMA athletes have a very unique audience to which our influence can be dramatic. I haven’t even made it to the UFC yet, but I did a charity event at a junior high school near Seattle about a month ago. The kids there all knew who I was and treated me like a superstar. I was shocked! It really made me realize that I need to pick and choose my words in the media very carefully because everyone is listening. It would be great to have an MMA chaplain to help fighters like myself to say and do the right thing, whether in Vegas or back in our hometowns. With the incredible platform to reach out to people that we’ve been given, I feel like I have a larger responsibility to focus on my words and actions so that I represent Christ the best I can. Looking forward to meeting you at some point, and doing my part in reaching out to people.”