"Sarge"
Director NCFP
30 posts
Jun 08, 2010
8:23 AM
|
As I speak with pastors it becomes painfully clear that men are not a high priority in most churches today. There are a plethora of women’s, children’s, and youth ministries, but ministries to men are sparse and when they are present are usually underfunded (if funded at all), difficult to sustain, and superficial in nature. In fact one denomination defunded their national men’s ministry declaring it “no longer mission critical.” The usual ministry offerings to men are an annual men’s retreat, a monthly men’s breakfast, and perhaps a men’s bible study. Since our men’s ministry, Every Man’s Battle For Purity, is heavily invested in men and their spiritual growth, these are issues of concern to us. Why is it so difficult to reach men and why has the church all but given up trying? Based on our experience with men, what are some suggestions on how a church can build a dynamic men’s ministry?
Before answering these questions, let me make some observations about men in our culture. These are generalizations that apply to most but not all men. (a) Men attach value to that which costs them something. Sacrifice equals value to men. (b) Men will sacrifice sleep, money, time, and energy for that which they deem important. (c) Men want adventure. (d) Men want a cause worth dying for. (e) Finally, men are doers who want to do something physical. More could be said but suffice it to say that the church does little to satisfy any of these needs of men. The church rarely calls men to sacrifice anything other than money. Most discipleship ministries for men are top-heavy on the intellectual and light on the practical. Because the church is not meeting the needs of men, men have become uninvolved, passive spectators. The passivity of men is one of the chief complaints of pastors. To meet the needs of men, the church must recover a biblical view of men. Men should be viewed as dynamic leaders of their families and the family of God and the type of Christ to the church and their wives. Rather than irrelevant, men are crucial to the life of any church that would function biblically.
If that’s the problem how do we solve it? Here are some humble suggestions from a pastor who has led men’s ministries. Suggestion number one is to build a men’s ministry on four uniquely masculine foundational pillars: (a) purity, (b) prayers, (c) personal growth, and (d) missions. (a) Purity is critical to men’s ministries. Sexual sin is the number one issue hindering Christian men in our culture. It keeps men paralyzed and passive. The answer is to launch Every Man’s Battle For Purity and battle sexual immorality using a strategy that works. (b)Prayer needs to be uniquely masculine with men gathering to pray with other men. It is in the safety of these all-men prayer meetings that men can learn how to pray and can become transparent about their fears, needs, and goals. (c) Because many men do not read the Bible they are ignorant of its promises, principles, and prohibitions. All-men Bible studies are crucial to help men build their knowledge base. Bible studies should be offered on at least two or three levels based upon the maturity of the men. Finally, (d) missions are vital to men’s ministry. Missions, especially overseas missions, takes men out of their comfort zones, taps into their skills and abilities, gives them an adventure, and stretches their faith. Breakfasts, retreats, car clinics, etc. build on these four pillars, however, without these four foundational pillars men’s ministries invariably degenerates into superficiality and irrelevance.
|
