Did you get the results of the recent poll? Half of the members of our churches in TX and LA are male. Two-thirds (2/3) of those men are over the age 45. Of all the men in our synod and all the congregations in our synod there were 22 responses to our poll...the results are in...
How well is our men's ministry doing?
a) not well @ all------------------------------ 6 (27 % )
b) as good as can be expected --------------2 (9 % )
c) better than I thought ---------------------2 (9 % )
d) better and better --------------------------8 (36 %)
e) send in the cavalry ------------------------4 (18 % )
Where does your congregation fit in the mix? What work is being done to change the landscape in your congregation so that everybody...men...women...and children...members and those who are seeking God's face have a clear picture of the breadth, depth and scope of ministry to and with men? Remember, God's Holy Spirit has already given you all the resources necessary to build and strengthen a positive men's ministry in your setting.
Now, as someone asked me lately, "what's the point?" It was a question brought forward by someone who is quick to compare his own life others and also quick to think better of others than of himself. His "what's the point?" question challenged me to some "points" of my own about how and where men of all walks, ages and experiences fit into this work we do...and as always, I value your "points" on the matter as well...
10 Points to Ponder for ministry to and with men...
Point # 1- Men think they know their strengths and weaknesses (for the most part) and yet can be all too quick to compare their life and work to another;
Point # 2- Men are better at comparing their lives to other men than seeing Jesus as the model of the Godly life and compare their lives to his;
Point # 2- Men are better at comparing their lives to other men than seeing Jesus as the model of the Godly life and compare their lives to his;
Point # 3- Men look at other men and wonder about their strengths and weaknesses (and never really see the truth either way) and find ways to be thankful they are not like one guy and envious of another---usually on the same day, any day;
Point # 4- Men need to remember that ALL men have strengths and weakness as well as great joys and dark sorrows, battles won and battles lost, that are neither shared nor celebrated. We are more alike of each other than we think!
Point # 4- Men need to remember that ALL men have strengths and weakness as well as great joys and dark sorrows, battles won and battles lost, that are neither shared nor celebrated. We are more alike of each other than we think!
Point # 5- St. Augustine once said, "God loves each of us as if there were only one of us!"
Point # 6- Therefore ALL men need to quit worrying about other men and tend to their own lives understanding that ALL men have both light & darkness in and around them. This kind of thought really levels the playing field of life;
Point # 7- Then men can reach out to other men in love because in this kind of grid no one is better or worse off than anybody else...
Point # 8 - And by reaching out to each other we can hold each other up and also help protect each other from our greatest enemy--ourselves!
Point # 7- Then men can reach out to other men in love because in this kind of grid no one is better or worse off than anybody else...
Point # 8 - And by reaching out to each other we can hold each other up and also help protect each other from our greatest enemy--ourselves!
Point # 9 - And when we find ourselves being both accountable to one another and holding each other up and protecting each other from our own selves, then we have created a safe space and sacred space for other men to come and be part of this experience;
Point # 10 - And when other men who have been far from God (their admittance, not mine) discover this moment of grace and holy community, then ministry to and with men takes on a life of its own, ordained and blessed by God and benefiting all of God's people.
Simply said, the point is that each man must tend to his own life's spirit and purpose. It's called "self-definition." It took me some time to get this better now than before...in a sense learning the difference between two important prepositions, "to" and "for." As God's child, I'm responsible TO you but not FOR you and likewise you are responsible TO me but not FOR me. Luther stressed this when he said that "in our baptism we are free to be God's servant accountable to no one and responsble to everyone." ( my paraphrase). What a great outlook on life, its meaning, its value, its purpose flows from this thought...do you know some men who need to get this point? If so, there's your work...If so, there's your mission...if so, there's God waiting to work a good work in and through you!
Feel free to share these points with others and as I wrote above, I'm looking forward to your point of view as well...
One man at a time, no man left behind...
Brian
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