1 Corinthians 16:13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. 

What great words of encouragement directed to men from Paul, it makes one wonder why Christian churches across the spectrum are experiencing such a shortage of men? Why will only 2 of 6 men, who proclaim to be Christian, will attend services this week? How is it that Jesus’ church, which was started by His actions, and 12 men of faith, (disciples), has become an anathema for the modern man today? Why is it that most Christian men seem to be timid about their faith, while men of other religions are willing to die for theirs? Why are we, at Christ Covenant Church, just like the majority of Christian churches experiencing a 60/40 gender gap with women being the more active and frequent participants in church activities? Well if we look at how the modern church is set up the answers become obvious.  

Sadly the modern church has become exclusively an educational and academic pursuit consisting mostly of bible studies and worship services that center around 30 minute lectures from preachers. The majority of extra church activities are run by women such as vacation bible school, potluck dinners, rummage sales, desert auctions, etc. Modern day pastors build their ministry around the women of the church simply because they are the ones whom are more involved in church activities. It is very unfortunate but you would have to admit that the modern day church has become a failure to most men.  

Do not get me wrong. All these things the church is currently doing are great and should be done, however they fail to galvanize, strengthen, and embolden men. We need to also be seeking ways to attract men and strengthen them in their faith. 

Most men whom attend church regularly do so because they grew up in the church and feel obligated to do so. Our first depictions of Jesus as young boys sitting in Sunday school classes were of a meek, mild, gentle, often frail man in a white dress. What a contrast from the action hero’s we saw on TV and at the Movies. Heroes like the Lone Ranger, Roy Rogers, Sky King, John Wayne, battling evil forces and always being victorious. These heroes of yesterday have been replaced today by Power Rangers, Transformers, sports figures, etc. It is easy to see why young boys would gravitate to the action heroes they see on TV or in the comic books as their roll models, rather than to Jesus. 

Yet Jesus is, and remains, the ultimate action hero! There are no greater acts of any man than the ones Jesus engaged in. He is the toughest most courageous man that ever walked the face of this earth. He turned over the tables of the religious; He hung out with sinners and tax collectors encouraging them by His actions and words to seek greater things for their lives. He walked were no man dared walk, He faced head-on satan, death, and hell, and He won! It is the greatest victory over evil the world has ever known and we have access to this victory by faith. 


When Jesus picked His 12 apostles He did not go to the universities or the synagogues seeking the most educated and religious people to be His disciples and closest friends. He went down to the docks. He picked the roughest, toughest, most uneducated and unlikely bunch you could ever imagine. They would put it all on the line for their faith and most were killed because of it. They were all, except for Judas Iscariot, men of courage, vision, honor, and faith.  

Here at Christ Covenant Church the Spirit is leading us to change these trends in modern Christianity. On October 18, 2009 18 men came together and launched our men’s ministry! A ministry that will work to embolden, strengthen, and galvanize men in our Christian faith.  

Proverbs 27:17 says “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” So it is as we come together as men and seek greater ways that God be glorified in all we do. 

We came away from our October 18 launching with four action items to work on.
 

  • To name our ministry
  • To work on ideas for our 5 minutes “are you tough enough for Christ” moments each Sunday and our once a quarter “Go for the Guys Sunday”
  • To plan an upcoming “boot camp for Christ” weekend event for men
  • To plan a service in January or February to Honor and Thank our Active duty Servicemen and women and Veterans.
Matthew 28:19  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

 

We will build a ministry based on discipleship which calls men into action!

 

bill black

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 


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