Karl

This is not a new or, unfortunately, oddity when it comes to men and things of God.  If you look at the Gospel accounts, it is the women who are at Jesus' side at the crucifixion and only one disciple, John.  Are these men professing Christ as Savior or are they lost?

I think a great place to look is at the lack of spiritual desire among men who profess to be Christians.  Regarding this, as blunt as it may seem to ask, maybe the question should be posed, "How a person can profess to be a follower of Jesus and yet show so little eagerness to feed on His Word and edify one another every opportunity we get?"  "How can we who say that we beleive in Jesus as Lord and Savior not desire to seek more and better understanding of who He is through the study of the Word?"

Granted, this is a loaded question and it causes a reaction not unlike that seen when you run your hand across a cats back the opposite way the fir lays.  However, it is something that we who profess Christ must confront regularly despite how difficult it is to swallow.

If they are lost, then they will naturally not have a taste for the things of God thus a Bible Study is the last thing on their minds.  If this be the case, every chance you get to utter the sweet hope of the Gospel of God, lay hold of it and be ready to give an answer.

As beleivers, every thing we do should in some way revolve around the glory of God including our leisure time, this is what is seen in Jesus' statement that we are to be salt and light.  Our character, speech, thoughts, and deeds should be fueled by the mission of uttering glory to God.  This is where the Gospel is fleshed out.  When we begin to see the utterance of the Gospel as an act of worship unto the Lord, and when we more fully understand the Grace of God in light of His wrath upon the unrighteous and our sin which is ever before us, then we will understand more fully the urgency of the Gospel Message, that we are obligated to the lost to share it despite how painful it may seem, and we will joyfully proclaim It in Its entirety from the bad news of God's wrath against us to the glorious hope that Christ has died and risen.

I'm not sure why women seem to be more spiritually hungry than men.  Great idea Karl.  I look forward to hearing the updates.

Any thoughts and ideas on reaching men?  We actually have a great group of very spiritually hungry guys, but I know that's not the norm.  Even our churches first service (my wife and I run the second service) have been trying for three years to start a men's ministry.

Unfortunately, our model doesn't really fit into their structure, or I'd just suggest to do what we do.  Ideas?

Be the Revolution

I think that men need to DO something and share along the way.  At least that's been my experience.  Sit in a study for three hours?  Ugh.  Build a Habitat house for 2 1/2 hours and a devotion for 1/2 hour?  Sure! 

I think that guys also have much bigger trust issues than women (or maybe we're just better at appearing to share intimately when we're really not) and it takes time to form a group that can really grow in God's word together. 

Right on.  That's what my wife said when I asked her about this the other night.  Men need to do something.  Not that women don't, but I think you're right.  I think she even used some of the same examples. 

And I'm guessing that's why men would rather watch football than go to church.  In football, they see other men doing something extrodinary and being a part of something bigger than they are individually.

It's not that we need monster trucks and wrestling, and even football (as much as I love football), it's that men need to be a part of a grand plan, an impossible mission.

At least that's my initial thoughts.

Be the Revolution

So how do we translate our church culture into this?  I think Promise Keepers has had some success (although, honestly, I am bothered by some of their sexist rhetoric).  But somehow, we've made church a very "feminine" atmosphere.  From the flowers to the extended music, it's all a little girly.  (MOST guys I know don't like to sing!)

Have you read Barna's Revolution (I'm guessing you have, Dave!)?  He talks quite a bit about this.

Another good book is Exiles by Michael Frost.  Although he doesn't address the whole 'manly church' issue, I think he has a perspective that attracts both men and women.

And I love to sing! hehe.

But yeah, to sing 4 pop songs and then sit for 40 minutes and listen to a guy talk, and then have small coffee talk after service, doesn't really do it for most men (or women?).

Not that it's about us at all, and it should never be about us, but it seems as though Jesus and the early church didn't do it quite this way.  Different culture and times today, but the principles still apply.

I guess, rather than just singing about, and listening to facts about faith, they lived it, did it, loved it, proclaimed it, and were considered dangerous to the ruling partys of the day.  We don't need to start riots, but maybe we should do more than sit on our rears.

I'm sounding a bit anarchists here, understand what I'm saying is that everything we do should be in absolute, radical love for God and others.  So we're not storming city square with pitchforks and torches, but maybe we should storm our streets with food and clean up the trash.  :-)

Be the Revolution