Real Men

Look around your church and I bet you will see with your own eyes what groups like The Barna Group and the Nehemiah Institute are say is true; we are loosing 75 to 88% of our young people after their freshman year of college. Those ages 19 to 25 are absent from our churches. But I find myself asking a serious question. Where do our young people learn it from? The reality is that a parent has 100 times more influence than a Pastor, Youth Pastor or Sunday School teacher. At best a church leader will spend a few hours a week with a teen but a parent has much more time than that.

In addition to absent teens we have absent men in our churches. According to Barna, "Without women, Christianity would have nearly 60% fewer adherents." His research shows that women are 100% more likely than men to be involved i discipleship. They are 57% more likely to participate in Sunday School. Women are 56% more likely to hold a leadership position in a church (don't' believe that one just go and look at who is serving on the committees in your church). There is an absence of real, spiritual men in our churches. No wonder churches are so weak!

Some have offered help in this area. Various books and studies have been written to try to engage men and get them back in church. But to be honest these studies are trying to put band aids over a gaping wound. Most of these books and teachings focus more on being macho and hard core than they do on being biblical. A real man doesn't have to kill things with his bare hands and then eat it. A real man loves his wife and disciples his children.

I could go on and on for days on this issue but I wont. I simply want to ask a question. Where are the real man; the saved men; the biblical men? Where are the guys that are willing to step up and be spiritual leaders? Until these men show up our churches will be doing a doggy paddle in the middle of a vast ocean, dodging as many waves as they can.

A Jesus Box

I just couldn't help myself I had to share this with you guys. This past Sunday night my church observed the Lord's Supper. I wanted to change things up a little and try to make it special for my people so I took a look at The Broadman Minister's Manual that someone got for me when I was ordained. I must admit this is the first time Ive even looked at the thing and to be honest it will probably be the last. I read something that made me sick to my stomach. On page 17 it says this, "The Supper should be a central part of the of the service and the entire service kept within the usual length of an hour." Did you catch that junk? One hour!! So I guess The Spirit quits working and punches out after that time period. And Baptist wonder why our churches are crippled and dieing. We wonder why we loose most of our kids after their freshman year of college.

Most Baptist have a little Jesus box. We pull Him out pray for a moment, sing, listen to a sermon and go home. Then we put Him back in the box. The Bible teaches us that God is a 24/7 God that doesn't sleep yet we only give Him an hour. The whole thing makes me so angry.