Who Will Die First when SHTF: A WARNING

Why Most Men's Ministries Fail

Why Most Men’s Ministries Fail

By bill black

I remember several years ago I attended a men’s “Walk to Emmaus” weekend retreat. The men’s, and women’s, “Walk to Emmaus” is an ecumenical retreat designed to encourage Christians to take an active roll in their churches. Although I would say it was a positive experience for me, I must admit I would have never agreed to go to such a thing when I was in my 20’s or 30’s. It was not easy for me to agree to go in my 40’s. In fact at 42, I made an excuse and did not go the first time I was scheduled to go.

The first night we gathered in a circle, told about ourselves, our families and what church we attended. It was quite an uncomfortable experience for me that first night. I was looking for the door, but I stayed because I did not have a ride home. I guess that is why they have your sponsor drop you off at the event.

Sadly many men’s ministries follow the same sort of guidelines. They get together, sit in a circle, are asked to share about their struggles and prayer requests, maybe sing some songs, read a scripture or two, then it usually ends by holding hands and praying.

This maybe fine for a women’s ministry as women are more inclined to share feelings and emotions with one another. But this is not conducive to a man’s way of thinking at all. That is why most men’s ministries fail and do not grow. They are just mimicking the things a women’s ministry might do. Men’s ministries that follow this type of approach quickly become stagnant with only a few men in attendance, or sadly die out to oblivion all together.

Men are warriors, conquerors, and producers by nature. Men are more engaged to the idea of challenges and producing, than to gathering in a circle and sharing feelings. I am not saying these things are bad. They are just not manly. Men are more engaged and more inclined to masculine pursuits.

How about the idea of a Men’s Ministry that would sponsor a Tailgating for Christ contest right in our church parking lot? They would break up in small teams of 4-6 men and put on their best outdoor cooking skills. Immediately you have a contest taking place, a challenge, which men love. There is always a natural camaraderie that takes place when a man is on a team with others. I can assure you that men are much more inclined to share with one another in this type of atmosphere than sitting on their duffs in a circle.

We could have the women judge the cooking results, followed by fellowship which would include a short 10-15 minute sermon on the importance of men having a “Game Plan for Life.” It is amazing how many men would never think of going into a battle without a battle plan, or engage in a team sporting event without a game plan. But yet sadly, they live their lives with no direction or plan at all. God gives us all the direction and game plan we need. We have victory in Jesus. But men need the right way to be approached about the plan that God has for them.

We need strong men, men of honor, men of courage, fearless men who will not hesitate to engage in the challenges of life. We need men who will hold each other accountable to our God, our families, and our church. We need men who value their walk in faith and will stand tall and straight in the sight of others. Men who proudly stand for Christ.

Christ Covenant is looking for a few good men! We launch our ministry on October 10 at our prayer breakfast. We need your ideas! Lookout southeast Texas here we come.

…..tuff enough for Christ? Yes we are!

Tyranny - again?

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."

-- C. S. Lewis

We must be ever vigilante to those with whom we give the power of taxation, for it is also the power to enslave. I reject, wholeheartedly, any governing authority that would take money from my purse with the pretense of caring for me. I would just as soon do that for myself even if I am a miserable failure at it.

The single word that best defines the ideology that I share with many of my fellow countrymen and patriots, is called "Freedom"! It is a word that has embodied the American way of life since our country was established. We must never forget that the 'Freedom' we have enjoyed to our present time has been purchased throughout our history at great cost by those who would who would shed their blood, and unselfishly give the ultimate sacrifice for it. It can only be taken from us if we allow it. I consider any law that would enslave us to a tyrannical government as unjust and to be no law at all. Thank you C.S. Lewis for you words of wisdom.

Bill Black
www.billblack.com

Presidental Election 2008

An amazing thing occurred on December 16; Republican Presidential Candidate Ron Paul raised a record $6.026 Million dollars in a 24 hour period as reported by the associated press. This despite a lack of main stream media exposure and with the main stream political pundits not giving his candidacy any credible chance of survival, much less a chance to be the Republican nominee.

This confirms to me one thing! That there is a conservative grass roots movement in this country that is fed up with the status quo. They are sick and tired of the way this country has been going and are demanding change.

For over a generation now, collectively as a nation, we have been taxing the productive part of our society and subsidizing the unproductive part. I am no economist but am smart enough to understand that if you tax something you will get less of it, and if you subsidize something you will get more of it. This is just plain good ole common sense. As a nation we continue to plunge deeper and deeper into debt, no matter which political party has been at the helm. The exponential growth of our public debt is no doubt the greatest danger to our freedom we face as a nation. I am not the only American who thinks of public debt this way. Thomas Jefferson wrote, "To preserve [the] independence [of the people,] we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. We must make our election between economy and liberty, or profusion and servitude.” --Thomas Jefferson to Nathaniel Macon, 1821. (*) FE 10:193

Some have told me I am wasting my vote. That Ron Paul has no chance of winning that I should support a more main stream candidate. But I, like many Americans, are fed up with candidates who run on a conservative agenda but once in office transform themselves and govern as free spending liberals plunging us deeper into debt, and burdening us with more and more wasteful nonworking government programs. I do not buy the argument that I should support the lesser of two evils for fear of wasting my vote. I only need to look at my children and grandchildren to know where my vote should go. My vote goes to Ron Paul, the only true conservative running for President.

No matter what the outcome of the election in 2008, this grassroots conservative movement will continue to grow in popularity and strength and will be a force to contend with in the years to come. It is our heritage and destiny to claim the very freedom that is the foundation of our great republic. The cost of freedom and liberty is great. It has always been great. Men and women of our history sacrificed their all to free us from tyrannical oppression.

I encourage all those who love liberty and freedom to stand up and be counted. For us to do anything less would be an affront to those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom and heritage. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to ensure a free America. For us to do anything less would be reckless and irresponsible.

To view Ron Paul’s positions on the issues go here www.ronpaul2008.com/issues/
To support the candidacy of Ron Paul go here http://www.ronpaul2008.com/

Why Men Hate to Shop

Have you ever wondered why men hate to shop? Most men that is! Well I am going to let you in on a little secret. Us men will go to great lengths to avoid the task of Mall shopping.

The holiday season is nearly upon us and with that the dreaded task of mall shopping. Fortunately, I am married to a wonderful woman who does ninety-eight percent of our holiday shopping. The only gifts I am required to shop for are the one's for her. Although her gifts only represent two percent of the total of gifts we will purchase, the amount of agonizing stress related pain I will have to endure to select, purchase, gift-wrap, and hide until Christmas will take years off my life. I am convinced that men would live to be two to three hundred years old, maybe more, if we did not have to shop at Christmas time. There is sound evidence to my theory. In the book of Genesis men lived to be up to nearly one thousand years old. This was before Christmas shopping and it has been down hill for us men ever since.

Even a more dreaded task than going shopping by myself is to get trapped into going with my wife. It is a huge mistake! ! Although it is a mistake I rarely make on occasion I slip up or I am tricked into it. Such was the case today when we went to buy a Christmas tree. Eight hours later with packages overflowing from both my arms and our three year old in tow, she took one look at me, took some immediate pity, and asked if I was ready to go home. I was elated at the prospect of going home, sitting in my recliner and recovering some of the dignity I had when I started the day.

My wife, as wonderful as she is, lives her life fairly oblivious to the things around her. We can be traveling down the highway and I can say "Wow! Did you see that Grumman F-14 Tomcat fly by" or "Wow! Did you see that 1966 Ford Cobra GT zoom past us." Her response is almost always the same "No!" and "what's the big deal?"

However, when in the confines of a shopping mall she is transformed before my very eyes. A woman who is generally oblivious to her surroundings suddenly becomes keenly aware of everything around her no matter how obscure. It is an amazing transformation indeed. Moments before, while driving to the mall, the Space Shuttle could fly right in front of our car and it would be necessary for me to point this out. However, once in the confines of the mall her senses are instantly and acutely tuned. She can spot, from clear across the store, the perfect gift, or that particular whatnot, which happens to be the perfect color, and will go perfectly on the remaining centimeter of space on our overcrowded mantle or curio cabinet.

I have also noticed that whenever we enter the mall my wife almost always asks me a deep philosophical question. I am not sure if this is intended to focus my mind on greater things than costs and money, or just a trick to make me look stupid. More often than not I find myself in spirited conversation explaining the meaning of life or other deep philosophical thoughts only to find that she has left my side. She has gone on to the gift or the whatnot which she spotted from the other side of the store, while I aimlessly continue to walk on, unaware of her sudden absence.

I finally discover she is no longer at my side as people begin to point and stare at the strange man walking through the mall in deep conversation with no one. Some men just lower their heads, they've been there they know exactly what has happened. I then turn to look for my wife but she is nowhere to be found. I then do what all men do I stick my hands in my pocket. I am not sure why we do this. We just do. Awkwardly I stand there, packages at my feet, hands in my pocket, anxiously waiting for her to reappear.

I am constantly amazed at the lengths men will go to keep from going shopping. The technological advancements of the last hundred years have far exceeded all the previous centuries combined. I am convinced that this is do to increased requests to go shopping. Some men even started a space program and actually flew to the moon to get out of it. The Panama Canal was built, the World Trade Center was constructed, wars have been fought and governments overthrown all to avoid the dreaded shopping.

Have you ever heard of women starting wars? No, only men. We men have decided that it is better to risk our lives on the battlefields throughout the world. Travel to the jungles of Panama while risking malaria and other hazards to dig two hundred and fifty million cubic yards of dirt. Form expeditions, travel to the north and south poles, or build submarines that will bring us to the bottom of the ocean. We will even fly to the moon. It is better to do these things than to be caught in the mall with our hands in our pockets, awkwardly waiting for our wives to reappear. The list goes on and on. The Wright brothers built an airplane. Henry Ford built an automobile factory. I hope you see my point here. So ladies do not be surprised when you ask your husbands to go shopping if you get a response like "I am sorry but I can't go today, I have a third world country to overthrow."