Former Secret Service agent champions honor above all

Date: 3/10/2009

By Katelyn Gendron

Reminder Assistant Editor



AGAWAM -- Former Secret Service agent Chuck Brewster will speak at the Bethany Assembly of God on March 28, but not about taking bullets for the president but about his new ministry, Champions of Honor.

After a 23-year career in the Secret Service, and seven years as the National Director of HonorBound: Men of Promise for the Assemblies of God in Springfield, Mo., Brewster paralleled his experiences as a dedicated protector of man and faith to form his new non-denominational church to develop a ministry plan [for men] to be Biblical champions.

During an interview with Reminder Publications, Brewster explained that his own personal experiences with a verbally abusive alcoholic stepfather made him a part of a fatherless generation. He added that men who become Champions of Honor are part of a movement to re-father America.

I didn t know how to become a Godly father because I never had a role model, Brewster said. A lot of men are thrust into the role of husband, father or Christian man without the benefit of a good role model.

He explained that in order to become a Champion of Honor, men must sign a Covenant to complete the necessary requirements, which include daily Bible readings, Bible study, men s meetings and reading 10 publications written from the masculine perspective.

[At the Bethany Assembly of God] I ll be talking on the attributes that have paid the price of championship and how we need to move the status quo to involvement and move from ordinary to extraordinary men, Brewster said. [The speech] will be one of encouragement and challenge.

Bethany Assembly of God Pastor Tim Reed noted that Brewster will commission parishioner Sean Potito and Gregg Kretschmer, director of Men s Ministry at the Bethany Assembly of God, as a Tier One [of three] Champions of Honor.

He explained that the program has worked for some of the men in his parish because Champions of Honor is biblically based. Reed added that the program allows men to understand how to act purely.

[The Champions of Honor program] really touched my heart and I wanted to become involved in it, Potito said. It helps me with my faith in the Lord and being committed to the Lord each and every day.

He added that the steps to completing Tier One of the program are time consuming and require dedication. Potito noted that 12 men began the program several years ago but that only he and Kretschmer will be commissioned next month.

Kretschmer said he plans to complete the second and third tiers of Champions of Honor in addition to his work to become a men s minister.

Men are the ones that are given the calling by God to be the priests of our homes and work, he said. Many men have relinquished the spiritual guidance [of their families] to the wives I want the men to get out of the pews and get active in the church.

Kretschmer added that Champions of Honor allowed him to become a man of integrity and gain a better insight into the word of God.

I was the furthest thing from a man of integrity and I thought Christians were wimps, he explained of a previous time in his life. To stand to be a man of integrity is not a wimpy thing at all, it s the opposite.

Brewster will address the Bethany Assembly of God, 580 Main St., on March 28 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. A suggested donation of $20 per person will cover the continental breakfast and cost of the speaker, Reed said.

Potito and Kretchmer s Commissioning Service will take place at the Bethany Assembly of God on March 29 at 6 p.m.

For more information about these events call the Bethany Assembly of God at 789-2930 or visit www.bethany-ag.org.

Additional information about Champions of Honor can be obtained by visiting www.championsofhonor.com.