Men and the Church

Did you know that women make up 61% of church attenders and men only 38%? If you put it into raw numbers, 13 million more women attend church than men on the average Sunday. This begs a few questions. Why is the church not engaging men? Maybe a better question is, "Is it easier for the church to engage women than men?" Have we really made the church effeminate asking men to get in touch with their "sensitive" side? All of these questions bother me as a minister. I'm sure I may have a bit of tainted view as I deal with some of the greatest Christian guys on a regular basis. However, I wonder about the average american man. In his book, "Why Men Hate Going to Church", David Murrow says "Men follow men-not programs". I think this typifies the men of America. Who do we aspire to-The CEO's, the NFL, NBA, and MLB stars and actors that "save the day." Men follow and connect with other men. We don't follow and connect with a bunch of other men watching one man talk about the issues of the day (Oprah for the ladies). So, I guess to get more men in the church, we need more men worth following-simple to understand, difficult in practice. Either way, if I was a single guy...13 million is looking like pretty good odds to me.

Preaching for Repentance

Not to long ago Caleb and I were blessed with the opportunity to preach a 10-week series on Sunday nights at Mayfair. It was a great time of growth and discipline for both of us, as well as extremely humbling. I didn't do alot of blogging during that time because it was consumed preparing sermons and doing the rest of my job. I had plenty of great thoughts and ideas for blogs, but my writing had an outlet elsewhere. This blog is one of those thoughts.

I think we have a distorted view of what preaching should be. It's gone through phases. The "Hellfire and brimstone" stage, the "3 points and a practical application" stage, the "Grace is all you need" stage, the "prosperity gospel" stage, and the ever popular "Coolest TV show rip-off" (this being the one with no biblical content and just a "relevant" feel good message). I'm all for being serious, practical and full of grace in our preaching, but if you take any these methods to far in one direction, I'm afraid we are loosing a biblical perspective on preaching. The best preachers I know or listen to, adhere to none of these. These preachers have a God given gift to let the text stand on it's own. Yes these preachers are relevant, practical, graceful and even a bit hellfirey, but I think most of them would tell you that those are the benefits and results of preaching the suffering, grace, death, victory and resurrection of the cross. After listening, one walks away challenged, convicted and wanting to repent. I think repentance is key. I challenge you to find a sermon preached in the New Testament where repentance was not the goal, outcome, or forethought. I've written on this before, but repentance is not a one time thing. We don't repent once and then become a Christian, we continue to repent because we are a Christian. Consequently, I believe the biblical model for preaching is to preach for repentance. This is the essence of the Christians walk-sanctification. Yes, God is ultimately the one who does the sanctifying, but repentance, total reliance on his unwavering love and a longing to always be better are essential as well. So the next time you see an octagon cage on the stage, with a sermon series entitled, "Ultimate Faith Fighting", just make sure repentance is the goal-not the cool graphic.

Seasons

One of the most revealing statements I have heard in a while was by John Piper. I don't have the exact phrase, but when paraphrased it goes something like, "I have had great seasons of draught and despair while reading God's word". The point he was making was that in reading the word of God he still has seasons of doubt, distress, anguish and confusion. It wasn't to long ago that I couldn't get enough of 1 Peter. God was revealing his heart and reading his word was all I wanted to do. It was a great season of clarity and discovery. Now, I find myself in some other season that is not that. I find myself being forced to read because I have to come up with curriculum or prepare for a class. Not that I don't enjoy those things in themselves, but it's the conviction and burden that I lack. Although I think that one of the main ways God reveals himself is through his word, it is obvious this isn't his only choice of revelation. Clearly I am not advocating to just stop reading as I think this is an extremely important part of a christians walk. But there are times when I feel I get nothing more out of the text than a neat story. I think it is in these times God forces us to look elsewhere to find him-in the simple things. Prayer, friends, family, good conversation, meditation on the blessings of life...I'm sure you can think of a few more. As simple as this sounds it has been difficult in practice. To rely on these nebulous intangibles, when I am so accustomed to doing something tangible (read), becomes a difficult task. My prayer is that God would reveal himself to us in whatever ways possible, in order that we may glorify him.

Why We Go to Church

I read a post from this guy this morning and it got me thinking about a few things. I think it is safe to say the church has a bad rap for a long line of things. I think most of you would agree that the current generation of church goers and post-modern thinkers are trying to change that. One of those "things" being church attendance. I'm all for getting people in the door to let them hear a message that might change their life. But, I believe, in the last few years, church attendance has become the point. As much as we say, "It's not about checking Sunday mornings off your list," deep down, people in my faith heritage say things like, "How can we get them to come on Sunday or Wednesday nights. I'm worried about them." Maybe you're not "worried" about them, but even as a minister, I look at the people that come consistently on Sunday nights as stronger christians and those that don't the "weaker brother." Maybe this paradigm is true in some sense. But, I believe, the reason this idea is still prevalent is because the church has failed at teaching people to seek God on their own. Here's what I'm not saying. I'm not saying that the church doesn't help people to grow spiritually. I'm not saying the church doesn't provide a place for the family of God to lift each other up. These are the questions you should ask yourself. Do I go to church to escape seeking God on my own? Do I go to church so I can feel good about my christian walk? Do I go to church solely relying on the experience I have there to change me? Ironically, I think it becomes really easy for the Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday church goer to become stagnant in their faith. So, really, why do you go to church?

Friends

Court and I had a great time in New York. Even after being in such a big city I came back rejuvenated and refreshed. I don't think I would have come back feeling so, if it had not been for Mark and Kelly. Good friends have a way of doing that. No matter what situation you find yourself in, you can always find solace in those friendships. The Barneche's will be lifelong friends no matter where they live and they will always be a great encouragement to us. If you don't already have some you should find some friends like them. They are nice to have around.