What Is a Real Man?

Good question.

Another is, ‘where do you go to find the answer?’ Do we like many, look at what the world is telling us or do we go to the source - by ‘source’ I mean the Bible.

If we read the scriptures there are certain fundamental things that leap out at you about who a man is and what he should be like. “So God created man in His image; in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them” (Gen.1:27) – chikking!!!

Whoops, one to God and a fat zero for the popular world view of what a man is. In other words, man is masculine and woman is feminine and neither the twain shall meet.

There is a complimentary relationship between man and woman for sure, but the world wants to blur the distinction and turn men into something they were not designed to be. With recent stories in the media of pregnant men (she was really a woman anyway) and distorted ideas about roles, sex and the needs of men, is it any wonder that even Christians are becoming confused.

And if the church is confused, is it a surprise that traditional or masculine men feel that going to church is not for them?

Men are the least represented gender in our denomination. An average attendance figure recently released says that worldwide, SDA men make up about only 30% attendance on any given Sabbath morning. That figure ought to send alarm bells ringing across our church but it hasn’t.

So in a world of mixed up ideas about men and their roles, who can we look to for a blueprint of what a man should be like? I hope the answer is obvious – it’s JESUS with a big “J” but even here we need to be careful that popular notions don’t creep in.

When teaching our children about Jesus, do we only emphasise His softer virtues and ignore the more radical and dangerous sides of the Saviour? To be sure Jesus was the Lamb of God but he also was the Lion of Judah. Jesus was no church mouse and often had issues with how the religious leaders of his day were doing church. He not only had an appeal to women but he also appealed to rough fishermen and Centurions of his time.

When presenting Jesus, do we unwittingly skip over the more radical episodes like when He drove out the money changers from the temple, to the gentle ripples of his lakeside talks among the daisy’s?

Are we only presenting a gentle Jesus meek and mild without considering the impact on our boys who may need to see His masculine side which appeals to their sense of heroism? One thing is for sure, our job is to confront the current gender gap for what it is: a strategy of the evil one to weaken the church.*

We need to be careful of offering popular theories why men are not in church such as, men are less spiritual than women, or saying things like, men should just...... It’s not about what men should be - if we can’t start with men as they are, we’ll never reach them.**

Jesus get’s my vote as a real man anyway and if I’m ever in doubt all I need to do is turn up to the Gospels to see my hero in action.

By Danny Bell

References:
* Murrow, Why Men Hate Going to Church, 9.
** ibid, 10.Read full post...

Our Dad Spot

My Dad was the rock of my life. Reliable, trustworthy - a good bloke well liked by his work mates and loved by his friends and family. I could talk to Dad about almost anything and he was always available if I needed help.

When he passed away a few years ago, I was left with a big hole in my life. Although I was surrounded by a close family and good friends, it seemed like no-one could fill that Dad spot.

The stability, the peace and the comfort that came from knowing Dad was there was pulled out from under me. I realised how much I had taken for granted: not only having a Dad, but having a good Dad.

Not everyone has lots of good stories to tell about their fathers. I've heard some not so happy stories about fathers - stories that make you angry and break your heart. I’ve come to learn that whether we admit it or try to ignore it, the Dad-spot in our lives is an important place.

So I really appreciate how Jesus referred to God as Abba (Dad) and how he invites us to pray to God as Our Father in heaven. Without a Dad nearby to talk to, I can talk to my Other Father. I can go to Him for help. He is now the stability, peace and comfort that I lost when my father died.

It may be hard to call God, Father. Perhaps your earthly father hurt you, rejected you or abandoned you. You may feel like you are nothing in your dads eyes but you have another Father.

Your other Father is proud of you. Your Other Father listens to you. He is pleased with you. He thinks you are worth dying for.

And with a Father in Heaven like that, our Dad-spot can always be filled.

By Brad FlynnRead full post...

Building Steam!

G'day Fella's.

One of the things I tell my clients is the importance of job satisfaction. It’s a pretty big player in our emotional happiness register because if we are not happy at work then we are just not happy.

I gotta say, I’m very happy doing my little bit here for WACMEN because it is something I really like doing. It’s a love job and I really believe it is going to do some good. If I didn’t, then I wouldn’t be wasting my time. I have to warn you though, if you don’t get involved then I might overtake you because I’m only just starting to pick up steam.

God has already put me in contact with some of you who are going to help out with WACMEN. You will meet them in each edition and others from far and wide across our large state.

WACMEN won’t work with one, two or even three men – it needs a lot of blokes on board to make it all happen. One vision I have already is for a WACMEN representative to be in each of the churches in the Conference.

Well, the letter to the Camp Committee has been sent anyway so get down on those old knobby knees and pray that God will open the way for us to have a legit place at Camp. I have already had a very good response back from among our now 70+ subscribers who are unanimous in wanting WACMEN to continue.

That’s what I want and I’m sure it’s what God wants too – what about it boys?

It’s all good,

DannyRead full post...

Pit Stop Next Year at Men's Tent

It’s only early days yet but I’ve been in talks with Julian Krieg and he is keen to do a Pit Stop at the Men’s tent next year at camp (we still have to get the ok from the camp Committee to have a men’s tent but it should go through as I have been given a few pointers from an insider. We need to make sure it is all squeaky clean and no larrikin behaviour – drats).

Julian runs Pit Stop out of the back of a ute and is the Wheatbelt Men’s Health director for WA.

Pit Stop is aimed at getting blokes thinking about their health in a non confronting and non clinical way. The ute is like Julian’s office as he travels around farming districts with a particular messgae aimed at men who struggle on many fronts.

We will be very lucky to get Julian onboard with what we are doing as he is a good source of information and has his finger on the pulse of men’s issues across the board.Read full post...