Danny's Men's Studies

I've finished Passed Thru Fire and will write more but for now I like some of the ideas for manly church:

• Become a Risky, Gutsy Church

"The greatest way to attract men won't be found in programs but in a church that dare to live by the teachings of Jesus Christ."

We need to gain back what made Jesus attractive to non-intellectual men like fishermen and greed driven men like tax collectors.

• Find more Male Teachers

"Christian teaching methods must also be redefined so that males feel empowered to teach in ways that express their masculinity."

Fathers need to be trained to lead their sons at church and at home. The father's need to show that he values his son(s). Young men need to grow in the world of men, not kept in the pre-adult state/world and treated less than men. They need to be inducted into the world of men and brought up as adult trainees. Much like synagogues of the Jewish world!

• Develop Ministries Oriented Toward Young Alpha Males

"The idea is to work for excellence with both genders. But if one has to err, better to err by leaning towards guys."

Better yet, kick the girls out.

• Pitch Toward Men

"If we were creating an ad to connect with men, the first thing we'd need to do is to move it to the sports page. Yep, right there with the ads for adult nightclubs, bars and auto-body repair. [...] The ad would have to be strong, bold and compelling to males."

Men, today, are willing to barge into bar/nightclubs (without the bouncers) and even pay cover charges. What could possibly make church be so attractive? (My point is not to turn church into nightclubs or vice versa but how to present truth in ways attractive to men the way "sinners" were attracted to Jesus Christ.)

• Avoid Putting Women in Leadership over Men

"men are uncomfortable with the idea of sitting under a woman as a senior pastor or in any other position of authority."

What's worse than a nagging wife is a nagging mother. What man wants to be under such a scenario on a voluntary basis? (Getting paid, one can bear it. Paying such a person -- via offering -- that's got to be crazy for most men.)

• Develop Male-Oriented Youth Groups

"There's an old rule of thumb in youth ministry that says, "Go after the guys and you'll get the girls, go after the girls and you'll get only guys who are after your girls.""

I would argue that it is the fathers who need to be trained into leading their youths: males as man and females as ladies.

• Encourage Man-to-man Accountability

Our church encourage this too but I don't have the right formula for this.

• Make your Men's Group Practical and Meaningful

"Men like to do things, so getting men together for mere socialization or a spiritual moment is hollow without the "doing" part."

Weekly would be ideal (much like Boy Scouts) but on a father-son basis, not bunch of teens with token leaders.

• Create a Rite of Passage

Our church encourages J2M (journey to manhood) so that's great (and I'll blog more on this) but it's not as "universal" as bar mitzvah.