I’m not sure where the mindset comes from or who began painting the faith of men “pink”, but we’ve all been duped.  Somehow, we’ve turned this gritty, gut wrenching, intentional statement of faith into a blue blazer-white shirt-tie-khaki-hurry up preacher-it’s almost noon-ceremony.  I don’t wear a tie… I swore those off when my job allowed me to get out of the noose… and I am NOT going to wear one on Sunday because it’s “right”… or that somehow it leads me closer to God… good grief. 

I DO NOT want to be behind you at the pearly gates when you say… “but LORD… I wore a tie every Sunday!”… If I am… I will laugh… and that wouldn’t be cool.

What happend guys? I stood up among my peers, said I believe in Jesus Christ, I realize that the nails driven in His hands were meant for me, and that He ignored death and was resurrected to show me that He’s in charge of literally – everything.  After I joined the club, it seems that I’m told that Christian Men should sit down, be quiet, be nice, turn the other cheek, smile when I get smacked, don’t raise my voice, and let everyone have their “way” with me because as a Christian Man I am supposed to be a servant.  I’m here to tell you that it takes guts to serve… but it doesn’t mean that we are doormats. Go read Paul Coughlin’s book:  “No More Christian Nice Guy”.  He nailed it.

Jesus did not paint a picture for us to live as a doormats, nor did He live that life!  Go read the book of Mark and get back to me on that one.  I appreciate the WWJD bracelets, but if you don’t know how Jesus lived, then you aren’t qualified to wear it…because you don’t know what Jesus would do.

Jesus walked with a swagger.  Guys, we can appreciate an “all or nothing” mentality that requires guts, grit, determination, strategy, and winning.  Faith in God requires a lot more than putting on your Sunday clothes and “talking about your feelings”.

You can have your average once a week gathering that equals that of a pre-season football game — It’s intriguing enough to watch, but not exciting enough to keep you tuned in.

For me…show me a couple of guys with sweat on their brow, dirt under their fingernails, and the Word of God in action… and I’m there.  Christ Jesus’ ministry is compelling because it’s a challenge and you can’t go at it with half a heart.  It’s all in or all out… I dig that.

I challenge every denomination with a men’s ministry to throw away the tired, old material and actually offer something with substance.  What you’re doing now isn’t working and you have no proof that it is.  Don’t brag to me that you’re attendace is up by 30%.  Brag when your entire community of men are clawing at your door to be a part of your faithful group of men.  In the book of Acts, we read the formula that makes this possible: The men prayed, the foundations were shaken, the Holy Spirit was indwelling, and the men stood and spoke about God and Christ Jesus with boldness (Acts 4:31)

May we all wake up and see that what was… was.  And that we work together to find out what’s next!  I am on the journey…i’m in. 

You in?

It’s challenging enough to get you to read this stuff… much less go face to face with a topic of “feelings”.  so how do we reach out to other guys and still hang on to the swagger that makes us a dude.

When building men’s events at your church, there are 3 critical elements that must be in place for each and every event.  Follow these guides and watch the guys start signing up for more and more.

1: Must involve the hands:
Every event should have something to do with the hands.  Men are much better at tasks and doing than talking.  If there is no task at hand… put a fork on the table and some good grilled food.

2: Must involve the mind:
And idle mind is the sandbox of evil.  You events should give the guys something to think about… a challenge, a problem, or a project that requires strategic thinking and solutions to complete

3:  Must involve the heart:
Deep down, we men are devoted to protection and concern for the well being of our own.  Make certain that whatever you do has a God driven purpose.  The goal of each event should give your men some picture of Jesus and how we are striving to live like Him.

And it goes without saying that if you want good attendance at any event, you gotta bring the grub… but not just any grub… you gotta bring the groceries and let them strut their grilling prowess.

Not every man will be bent toward accomplishing the tast, so make sure you find positions for those who are physically unable to participate, or are not the outdoors type.  Delegate planning, prep, clean up, and devotion at every event.