A FIGHT that actually matters!
Hi Dojo readers,
I wanted to let you know about an AMAZING story involving my friend, and former UFC Heavyweight fighter, Justin “The Viking” Wren. You may remember Justin from season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter.
At the time of the above photo, Justin was a drug addicted alcoholic with no sense of direction or priorities in life. But for those of you who read my examiner article on Justin a few years ago, you’ll recall how God changed his life and rocked his world in a dramatic way! For those of you who did not read that story, go do it now. Here’s the link. I’ll wait…
Pretty inspiring, huh?
Justin is an example of a life set on fire by the radical love of Jesus…and now the world is going to get a chance to watch him burn brightly! His story is about to be published as a book and I can’t wait for you all to read it!
Here is the discription over at Amazon.com:
From notable mixed martial artist and UFC fighter, Justin Wren, comes a personal account of faith, redemption, empowerment, and overwhelming love as one man sets out on an international mission to fight for those who can’t fight for themselves.
Justin Wren knows what it’s like to feel like the world is against you. Like many kids, Justin was bullied as a child, but had a dream that kept him going. Fueled by the anger he felt toward his tormenters, Justin trained hard and propelled his dream of becoming a UFC fighter into reality. But the pain from his childhood didn’t dissipate and Justin fell into a spiral of depression and addiction, leading him on a path toward destruction. After getting kicked out of his training community, his career was in shambles and he had nowhere else to go, so Justin attended a men’s retreat, and it was there he found God.
As Justin began piecing his life back together, he joined several international mission trips that opened his eyes and his heart to a world filled with suffering deep in the jungle of the Democratic Republic of Congo. There he came across the Mbuti Pygmy tribe, a group of people persecuted by neighboring tribes and forced into slavery. His encounter with the Pygmy tribe left him wondering who was there to help them and in that moment Justin stepped out of the ring and into a fight for the forgotten.
From cage fighter to freedom fighter, Justin’s story is a deeply personal memoir with a bigger message about a quest, justice, and the amazing things that can happen when we relinquish our lives to God.
You can pre-order the book in either hardback or Kindle format right now at this link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1476765588
I’m asking all of you, Dojo readers, to go order a copy right now. Seriously. As a gift for someone else, if the book’s premise doesn’t interest you for some unfathomable reason!
The number of pre-orders a book generates is a huge boost to the amount of publicity it will receive and makes a big difference in terms of increasing its overall reach in the culture. Justin’s story needs to be heard, for the sake of his Pygmy family that are LITERALLY no longer enslaved and drinking contaminated runoff water, as well as for the sake of the Gospel of the Lord Justin serves! The news feeds of our social media are filled with horrible stories and evidence of the utter greed, exploitation and decadence of humanity toward one another…let’s all share Justin’s story and help shed a ray of holy light into such darkness!
Again, here is the link to pre-order a copy of “Fight For the Forgotten”: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1476765588
And here is the link to where you can contribute directly to Justin’s ministry of hope to his Pygmy family: http://www.fightfortheforgotten.com
Let’s continue to lift up Justin in prayer, especially as he sets his sights on returning to competition…only this time, instead of fighting for a paycheck or personal fame, he’ll be fighting for something that actually matters!
Giving some prints Justin when he was in Charlotte a few years ago speaking at a local church.
Also, if you’re looking for a way to help the ministries of both Fight for the Forgotten and Disciple Dojo, here is a portrait I did of Justin to help raise funds for Fight For the Forgotten. Prints of it are only $10 each (plus $5 shipping & handling) and $5 from each one sold will be donated to Justin’s organization.
You can order yours HERE!
Categories: Arts and Culture, Blog, Global, Martial Arts, Ministry
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by Disciple Dojo – JMSmith.org » Freedom, water, and human dignity (my latest #ArtOfTheDojo project) on Aug 27, 2015 at 5:49 pm