Men at Work

This post and some of the following are not specific to small churches, but to all churches. I would like to address the state of Men's ministry within the local body.

When I was looking for men's ministry curriculum last year, I had several men I respect provide me with suggestions. These men were from conservative, 'evangelical' churches, so I assumed that the books would be along those lines.

I must admit, I was shocked by the books recommended -- they sounded more like secular counseling books on reclaiming your manhood (in a secular sense) than they did Christian books on how to be a godly man.

Men do not need to be told how to be MEN, that comes naturally to most, it is much more difficult to instruct them on being godly. Sitting in a sweat shack with a bunch of other guys talking about football might be a good idea if you were trying to make men who were confident in their manhood, but I want to make men who are confident in Christ, and that is a vastly different thing.

I read through these books (which will remain nameless) and was surprised at the lack of Biblical grounding they had -- most of them simply wanted men to 'let go of mommy's apron strings' and step up to being a man in a generic sense.

I even met one of the men who has propagated this type of instruction in the men's ministry 'industry'. One of his tape series had two steel balls on the cover -- what do you think he was trying to convey? And how does that makes us men of God? I have worked in men's ministry for a long while now, and rarely do I find men who need to be taught how to be a man -- it is much more likely that they have no concept of being godly men.

We should not be asking the question -- "What does it take to be a man?", rather it should be "What does it take to be a godly leader in your home, a loving and self-sacrificing husband, a compassionate representative of Christ in your life?"

More on this later....