Exposure!

Requests have come from across the state and overseas for information about what we are up to.

It’s been kind of hard fielding questions about WACMEN when we have only met a few times and only basic plans exist. It was pretty exciting though when the General Conference contacted me and wanted to know more. I told them the basic philosophy behind WACMEN and a few tidbits.

The feeling I’m getting is that we are breaking new ground not just in Australia but worldwide in the sort of ministry we are trying to set up. From the beginning I have wanted WACMEN to walk in step with the Church and not just become another guerrilla outfit.

Working alongside of the church is our best course because with the support of the church comes credibility and God’s blessing. If we work at odds with the church I believe it will narrow our field of outreach which includes local churches.

Below is the link to the Adventist Network News story: http://news.adventist.org/data/2008/1217259792/index.html.en

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Slogan - any ideas?

It was voted at our recent WACMEN meeting to open up the idea of a slogan to our subscribers. The basic philosophy and vision of WACMEN needs to be incorporated into the slogan which will give onlookers an idea of what we stand for. This is not a Mission Statement as such but something that will go on our promotional gear and letterheads in the future.

There has been consensus at our meetings that WACMEN has a two fold focus on helping both Christian and non-Christian men to find mate-ship and acceptance within a spiritual context. There is also a strong commitment to helping communities or churches to create environments where men feel welcomed and challenged.

Under-girding all of this is the recognition that men are hurting on many fronts and that we aim to bolster the true God-given masculine spirit in all men in order for them to become better husbands, fathers and community members. We have therefore voted to include subscribers and are now taking submissions as to a fitting slogan that represents our ideals.

The slogan should be short, gritty and not be more than one sentence. Submissions should be emailed to our contact address provided with your name and phone number attached – there will be a reward for the winning submission.Read full post...

The Christian Nice Guy Syndrome

What is the “Christian Nice Guy (CNG) Syndrome”?

Paul Coughlin, author of the popular book No More Christian Nice Guy, says:

It’s an emotional and spiritual malady that robs men of the power and passion necessary to direct, sacrifice and provide for their families. Such men are in the grip of two crippling forces - passivity and an incomplete understanding of Jesus*

Coughlin goes on to say that the Christian Nice Guy problem has a misunderstood spiritual component. These men have an incomplete picture of God. Thus they are encouraged to be nice to a fault, making them emotionally dishonest**. Coughlin is not alone in his views with a whole chorus of books on the subject challenging popular ideas of what it is to be a Christian male in the 21st century.

David Murrow - author of the book Why Men Hate Going to Church, takes it one step further by unflatteringly saying that the average church man is a different breed to normal males; Tough earthy working guys rarely come to church. High achievers, alpha males, risk takers and visionaries are in short supply. Fun lovers and adventurers are also underrepresented at church. These rough and tumble men don’t fit in with the quiet, introspective gentlemen who populate the church today.***

Murrow identifies the heart of the problem by saying that today’s church actually favours CNG’s by creating a culture that targets people who show up and participate – women, children and old people.**** CNG’s feel right at home because most of them have grown up in the church and come not to be transformed but because they enjoy participating in comforting rituals that have changed little since their childhood.*****

Commentators agree that the local garden variety of CNG is also a tortured soul and not living out his full potential as a father, husband or man of God. The CNG lives by a code of fear and safety rather than courage and challenge. He secretly admires masculine men but cannot show it because the church only offers rewards for men who act in a feminine way. The church is one of the few institutions in society where there is no pressure to act like a man. In fact men are encouraged not to be masculine at church. Where else can a man express his feminine side and be applauded for it?******

The contrast between CNG’s and Godlike men is seen most clearly in the stories of the Bible. I like to think of Sampson as a classic example of what raw masculinity under God’s direction can accomplish. Sampson definitely would not have made it onto the church worship committee or been allowed to teach but let’s not forget that he was a Judge and God used him. Samson's life presents an enigma for many CNG’s who usually try to explain it away by saying he reaped the rewards for his sinful life and that is why he died with the Philistines. While I do not believe Sampson led a sinful life (he was certainly a sinner), the record does state in Judges – "he led Israel twenty years".

Sampson was not a CNG, but who wouldn’t mind going down in history as a Bible hero like he did? There is an old saying,"all men die but not all men really live". The difference between Sampsons life and that of a CNG would be that one chooses to live under the radar focussing on a "nice" reputation creating as little conflict as possible while the other obeys the full command of scripture – "living hot or cold instead of being lukewarm" (Rev). God didn’t demand that Samson be perfect but he did demand 100% - the last thing God did for Samson was answer his prayers.

The CNG syndrome is a sad existence that sets the bar selfishly low so that no waves are created with personal peace and safety as the ultimate goal. Not so for Godlike men who take greater risks and front bigger challenges than their counterparts dare to contemplate. When you die, will you be satisfied to be remembered for dwelling in the shadows like a timid church mouse or will you be remembered like Samson throughout all history as a great Judge and Warrior in the pages of eternal history?

* Coughlin, No More Christian Nice Guy
** Ibid
*** Murrow, Why Men Hate Going to Church
**** Ibid
***** Ibid
******* Ibid
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Everything Must Change

I recently accepted Teen Sabbath School leader down at church because it is another area I believe that is overlooked in the important development stages of our young peoples’ faith.

I see teens who choose to opt out of Pathfinders falling through the cracks because outside of this the church doesn’t really cater for them until they hit 16 when they go into Youth.

Consequently, its an age where you see a lot of kids become bored with or leave the church like I did as a teen. Standard answers to the problem like "well they should be in Pathfinders" are not helpful. As much as I believe in Pathfinders, the fact remains that some kids don’t like it and so we need to be careful when giving simplistic answers to the problem.

We are losing kids and we need to understand why.

There is a very clear connection with attendance patterns between youth and older males at church too. These two groups draw from the same well when it comes to staying at church. We have alot to learn and alot to unlearn if we really want to retain and hold both.

That is why our theme for the Bunbury Teen Sabbath School this quarter is "Everything Must Change" which is written in bold colours on our door. I got this from a song I heard on the radio recently and felt it summed up pretty much what needs to happen for our youth and men.

The sooner we realise the big losses we are experiencing in this area, the sooner we can get about fixing the problem. Fixing it though, will involve changing the way we are used to doing church and it will certainly upset the devil when we start.

Change is good and all we need to do is get out of the way when it needs to happen, despite the protests of others. Nothing short of stoic white knuckle Jesus type faith will suffice for getting ourselves and those we care about all the way home.

It’s all good,
Danny
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