“Irene, Irene, Irene” was the radio transmission crackling over the airways on October 3, 1993. The target was downtown Mogadishu. But on that day something went terribly wrong. Former Army Pilot Jeff Niklaus addressed the final general session of the Atlanta men’s conference Saturday, telling the harrowing story of what happened on that fateful day. “I was piloting one of the 16 Blackhawk helicopters, and everything was going well until we got lax. We took things for granted and we forgot to follow standard operating procedures,” confessed Nicklaus.

As a Specials Ops Army pilot, pride, arrogance, adultery and alcohol became the call signs of his life spiraling out of control. Jeff knew he had to change, but he was admittedly as far away from God as he could possibly be.  Yes, he knew the Lord since childhood, but he had put God in a box long ago and forgot him. Living in the world, desiring things that were deadly and submitting to distractions were slowly killing Jeff Niklaus.

“You know what the devil does?” Niklaus asked. “He uses weapons of mass distraction, and he does it extremely well.  If he can keep us all distracted, out of God’s word and focused on things that are not of the Lord, he wins!”

Niklaus held up his de-classified Army Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) manual and told of a day when that book was his Bible.  He quickly set it down on the podium and hoisted the SOP that he lives by today: The Bible. “Men, how can we claim to know God; to know His will for our lives and how can we claim the high ground if we don’t know anything about these things?”

He bared his sole about the extravagant life he once subscribed to, about losing 16 townhouses he once owned and a marriage of 20 years, all because of a compass heading he had set for his life.

The story Jeff Niklaus told was impactful because it was the story of every man: bad choices, shortcuts, and sinning everywhere he could. “If you don’t think sin is fun, you’re practicing the wrong sin,” he chortled. Nervous laughter filled the room but only for a moment as Niklaus quietly said, “Men, sin is sin, and we cannot experience all that God has for us if THAT is our focus.”

Jeff Niklaus’ message was a homerun.  But then the entire conference was one circuit clout after another.  Wes Cantrell on Thursday evening opened this regional gathering with a tremendous exhortation on how and why we must "build our businesses on The Rock.” His message was simple: “The Ten Commandments must be our foundation and character is the essential ingredient.”

CBMC President Lee Truax delivered a wonderful address on the need to re-insert the “B” into CBMC. “We have a unique calling, and we have had it for more than 80 years: to reach out and embrace men in the marketplace.”  That essential understanding is what differentiates CBMC from other men’s ministries, Lee said.

The showing of Courageous was a real hit.  Misty eyes, tear-stained napkins and a meaningful Q&A followed the movie as men told countless stories of how this motion picture had affected them. Read some of them in this article.

Dr. Henry Blackaby was the main event this year, and he did not disappoint. His recitation on the importance of “Jesus in the Workplace” was captivating as he took us on a walk through the Bible.  “God loved the workplace and the men who spent their time there. The disciples were all businessmen,” exclaimed Blackaby.  And then with a wry grin he said, “I believe Peter was probably the head of the Fisherman’s Union, if you want to know the truth.”

After a round of several workshops and discussion panels, the men came together Sunday morning for one final time when Lee delivered a wonderful charge for each man to take what he heard here over the past few days and put just “one thing” to work in their lives.

After a group picture around the gazebo, long good-byes, warm handshakes and wonderful embraces, the 2012 CBMC Regional Men’s Conference came to an end.