Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Hungry Men

I just spend a weekend with a great group of men on retreat. I was asked to be their teacher for the weekend, and I sure did enjoy myself. Along the way men were set free from some major burdens, and new ground was established in the lives of these men. The journey of transformation was continued and bolstered by what God did.

As I was driving home I began to reflect on the weekend. I could not get away from the fact that these men were so hungry. Not for physical food, they were craving more our of life. They wanted to be godly fathers and husbands. They wanted to me men who were transforming in their lives so other men might be drawn to the journey transformation. The men on that weekend are not alone. There are men inside our churches and most of them outside our churches who are looking for more in life. They turn to all kinds of things to find it, alcohol, drugs, pornography and the list can go on and on. Not all the ways we try to find significance seem as destructive, some it is work, or children's sports, or fraternal organizations. There is a hunger.

In the life of the church all to often this hunger is ignored, and men are taught to be just like women and find fulfillment just like women. This is a major problem because if you have not noticed men and women are very different, and it has nothing to do with physical bodies. The result of the effort of the church is most men have given up on the church and on God to provide that fulfillment. It is not than men do not want God in their lives, it is they have been sold a false bill of God about what it means to be a man of God.

So it is time to create space for men to be men. It is time for the church of Jesus Christ to help these hungry men find fulfillment. Coming soon there will be a time apart for men to be men. A time for being rugged, a space for warriors to be warriors, a space for men to be dangerous. I am working with another colleague and we are designing a men's experience for feeding that hunger deep inside all men. Be watching for more information.

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