Glen Elder Christian Church
Glen Elder, Kansas 67446
785-545-3625

• Education: Ryan graduated from Ozark Christian College in Joplin, MO with BBL. Lesson: Do no listen to guidance counselor, I ended up with over 150 hours for only a Bachelors.
• Experience: Ryan is a preaching nut. He subscribes to every preaching magazine, goes to every conference he cannot afford, and steals great illustrations from better preachers. Ryan has a passion to reboot old churches. When traveling for revivals he likes to do a one day workshop for preachers in churches under 100. If you would like to host a "Growing Your Small Church" contact Office at 785-545-3625. He recommends every preacher to order "Preaching Today"--by Christianity today--has helpful sermons and techniques.
• Comment to those looking at my sermons: I have a lot of typos.. sorry..... My sermons are preached with a lot of inflection ( an occasional fake tear ).. the letter is dead but the spirit gives life..... Please let me know what sermons helped and did not help. I would highly appreciate your comments.. besides maybe we can strike a friendship that lasts forever. ( gets lonely on the field)
• Sermon or series that made a difference: Welcome to the Misfit kingdom is an expository message with an inductive twist. All ages seem respond well. All of us seem to paint ourselves as an outcast. John Maxwell’s-- Make Your Move series. It increased our ministry involvment by 75 %. John Maxwell’s Stewardship seriees Trusy: Key to Succes Inreased our offering from $600 to over $2000 per week in one month. ( adapted this message to fit our church)
• One of my favorite illustrations: John Blanchard stood up from the bench, straightened his Army uniform, and studied the crowd of people making their way through Grand Central Station. He looked for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he didn’t, the girl with the rose. His interest in her had begun thirteen months before in a Florida library. Taking a book off the shelf he found himself intrigued, not with the words of the book, but with the notes penciled in the margin. The soft handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and insightful mind. In the front of the book, he discovered the previous owner’s name, Miss Hollis Maynell. With time and effort he located her address. She lived in New York City. He wrote her a letter introducing himself and inviting her to correspond. The next day he was shipped overseas for service in World War II. During the next year and one month the two grew to know each other through the mail. Each letter was a seed falling on a fertile heart. A romance was budding. Blanchard requested a photograph, but she refused. She felt that if he really cared, it wouldn’t matter what she looked like. When the day finally came for him to return from Europe, they scheduled their first meeting-7:00 p.m. at the Grand Central Station in New York. “You’ll recognize me,” she wrote, “by the red rose I’ll be wearing on my lapel.” I’ll let Mr. Blanchard tell you what happened. A young woman was coming toward me, her figure long and slim. Her blonde hair lay back in curls from her delicate ears; her eyes were blue as flowers. Her lips and chin had a gentle firmness, and in her pale green suit she was like springtime come alive. I started toward her, entirely forgetting to notice that she was not wearing a rose. As I moved, a small, provocative smile curved her lips. “Going my way, sailor?” she murmured. Almost uncontrollably I made one step closer to her, and then I saw Hollis Maynell. She was standing almost directly behind the girl. A woman well past 40, she had graying hair tucked under a worn hat. She was more than plump, her thick-ankled feet thrust into low-heeled shoes. The girl in the green suit was walking quickly away. I felt as though I was split in two, so keen was my desire to follow her, and yet so deep was my longing for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned me and upheld my own. And there she stood. Her pale, plump face was gentle and sensible, her gray eyes had a warm and kindly twinkle. I did not hesitate. My finger gripped the small worn blue leather copy of the book that was to identify me to her. This would not be love, but it would be something precious, something perhaps even better than love, a friendship for which I had been and must ever be grateful. I squared my shoulders and saluted and held out the book to the woman, even though while I spoke I felt choked by the bitterness of my disappointment. “I’m Lieutenant John Blanchard, and you must be Miss Maynell. I am so glad you could meet me; may I take you to dinner?” The woman’s face boardened into a tolerant smile. “I don’t know what this is all about, son, “ she answered, “but the young lady in the green suit who just went by, she begged me to wear this rose on my coat. And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner, I should go and tell you that she is waiting for you in a big restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of a test!”
• Family: Ryan has a beautiful wife named Tina. Blessed with 3 tax-deductions: 3 girls Talitha 8 Tatum 3 ToriAnne 2
• What my parents think of my sermons: Best preacher they have ever heard....yeah right! ( should of seen him as a kid )
• What my spouse (really) thinks of my sermons: She is my worst and best critique. She likes the messages better when we are not bickering on Sunday morning or Saturday Night. Been there guys? My goal every week is to preach a message that my wife and kids recognizes in my life all week. May God help me to be faithful.
• Best advice given to me about preaching: Preach with Passion. Light yourself on fire and let them watch you burn. Preach where they are at now ( not where you are). Keep on one text--- one topic---at one time. Tell stories that win the heart. Keep Bible jargon out.( even making Jesus LORD is dated....how about letting Jesus be sole leader of your life?. Take time to Name the Baby.. make sermon title interesting and engaging. Be YOURSELF.. THE MOMENT YOU TRY TO BE SOMEONE ELSE, YOU ARE NO LONGER WHO GOD CREATED YOU TO BE ( I BELIEVE HE DID FINE WITH YOU )
• Books that have had an impact: All of Dr. John Maxwells Purpose Driven Church, Rick Warren ( yes you can apply megachurch principles on a small scale) Primary Purpose, Ted Haggard
• Hobbies: Draws, paints, stumbles with guitar, loves to discover new creative ways to share the gospel. He once loved to wrestle, before the extra fifty pounds and less lung-age ( no that is not a typos).
• If I could Preach one more time, I would say...: It is the cross that saves, heals and restores a broken life. I would preach on the cross...after all that was God’s only sermon.
• Something funny that happened while preaching: Called a local store by its LOCAL nick name "Pump-n Dump" not Pump-n Shop. it was telivised that way...ooops! they laughed Caught church ON FIRE when I lit a cross on fire ( no not KKK) for a forgivness illustration...oops! they did not laugh
• What I want on my tombstone: I Told You I Was Sick