Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Men's ministry #1


I have been thinking a bit about men's ministry the past few days and thought I would throw up some of my thoughts in the next few blogs for your wisdom and input.

Within the church today a call is rising that men need to become the men that God created them to be.
There is a feeling that the church of today is shaped and created for women and not for men. In fact there is an assumption that our churches in a certain sense, and most definitely our society, teaches that to be male is inferior to being female. In society you can look at the school system that is more suited for girls than for boys. Or at TV commercials and shows which portray men as children who need a woman to look after them. In church you see this in this idea being promoted by the belief that you are “truly spiritual” when you are part of a small group that shares your feelings with others. Or in some of the songs that we sing (the “Jesus is my boy friend” songs).
Many having been reacting to this bias and have been calling for men to become the men that God calls them to be. In bible school I remember my teachers telling us that men were most neglected group of people within the church. Then there was the Promise Keeper movement, followed by John Eldredge's book Wild at Heart. Men’s ministries began to flourish.
Though many still feel that men are very neglected and that church is primarily focused on women.
What do you think? Are men neglected in the church? Does the church teach that men need to be more like women?
Or is the church over focused on men?

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