Discipleship! The great commission that Jesus commissioned us with. Yet, we struggle to fulfill this mission and make disciples of those people in the areas and communities where we live, work and do ‘church’ together. Imagine what Church would look like if we were less busy and more active in evangelism. What if, instead of looking at people and thinking that they may not fit in with ‘church culture’ look at them in the eyes of Jesus that sees the potential, that sees possible apostles, pastors or teachers. Take a look at this video:
At Passion for God, our vision is to see people equipped for action, to see people with a passion for the Lord, which will have an impact on our churches and communities. We don’t want to be a people that plug up the doors to our churches but a people that open wide the doors to let the captives in, we don’t want to be contained inside the walls of our churches but tear down the walls and let the lost in.
Passion for God: About Us
David Murrow pulls no punches in this book about why men hate going to church. He says the problem of missing men could be the most difficult challenge the church faces today. The modern church is facing a crisis in reaching men, less than 40% of a typical church is made up of men, a fifth of married women worship without their husbands and there are even fewer young, single men.
Jesus started with a band of men who turned the world upside down but somehow the modern church is the last place you’ll find men today. Like the Titanic it’s women and children first and the culture of church has become one where men just don’t feel at home. With services full of singing, words, emotion and an emphasis on relationships men are turning elsewhere to achieve their goals.
The book deals with things as they are and is not calling men back to church but calling the church back to men. According to David Murrow God made men for adventure, achievement and challenge and he argues we need to change the way we do church to attract these sort of men back so they can find those things in our churches.
It was interesting that Andy pointed out to us in a recent article that church has actually changed very little over the last 1,000 years and Ron commented that although the Reformation rediscovered the truth of the gospel they didn’t rediscover the truth of how church should be. He points to films to show what attracts men. Women dream about a relationship with a fantastic man, men dream about saving the world against impossible odds but the church emphasises relationships over adventure, risk, challenge and sacrifice.
He also points out that men just don’t feel comfortable in modern day churches despite the fact that men were traditionally the custodians of religion in all major cultures. Men aren’t always expressive, don’t like singing and are uncomfortable praying out loud or holding hands with strangers. In fact he points out that congregational singing is a relatively new phenomenon and we are dangerously close to making an idol out of modern worship. So what should we do?
Well he points out that men form relationships side by side in a crucible, whereas women form relationships face to face in a comfortable setting. So maybe it’s time to get men out of the building, set them challenges and give them projects to use their gifts with. Church nowadays is focused around programmes which go on and on with seemingly no purpose, but men want projects so find some to give to them!
His view also is that the modern church has abandoned discipleship which was the primary teaching model of Jesus. Men need leaders and spiritual fathers with vision and integrity who will challenge them to live their lives for God. Do you have a discipleship programme in your church and more specifically do you have one for men?
Men also need vision and to know what the point is so set that out clearly. Set high standards and don’t promise an easy, comfortable life, talk about the challenges and the obstacles and the commitment that will be needed to see God’s kingdom come.
Why men hate going to church is written by David Murrow and published by Nelson books. David is the Director of Church for men and you can read more about his ministry at www.churchformen.com. For further reading check out The Church Impotent: The Feminisation of Christianity, Wild at Heart by John Eldredge and Second Coming of the Church. Why men hate going to church can be purchased on amazon.
A guest blog by Andrew Greener on the nature of the church and what’s missing from the Reformation.
Dynamic Truth, Nurturing Relationships and Apostolic Mission
Mission, Truth and Love
I referred in a previous article to mission, truth and love as being like the DNA of the church. This is a metaphor used by several current writers in the field of church growth and multiplication, such Neil Cole of Church Multiplication Associates. He argues that just as a human body contains DNA – a blueprint of the whole body contained in every cell guiding how each cell (and by extension how the whole body) grows – so the church has DNA, a basic blueprint that guides its growth and shape. Explaining the metaphor, Neil Cole identifies three main things that must be present in a church that is able to grow rapidly while remaining true to Jesus Christ. These are Dynamic Truth (knowing Jesus personally and knowing His spoken word), Nurturing Relationships (loving one another as fellow members of Christ’s body) and Apostolic Mission (the church and individuals being sent out to reach the lost rather than waiting for the lost to come in).
It is relatively easy for a church to pay lip-service to these three things without actually having much of any of them. They can be displayed in our mission statements and studied in courses while little is done to actually accommodate them in the day to day life of the church. People can gather together regularly in Jesus’ name yet do nothing to share the gospel with others, have almost no intimacy with Jesus, little knowledge of the scriptures and practically no contact with Christians beyond a few hours of meetings each week.
Has the church left the building?
It is probably more common for churches to do one or two of the three things well. Some even pride themselves on this when, for example, the quality of preaching appears to become the main reason for a church’s existence. Others take pride in the closeness of their fellowship or the number of missionaries they support. But how many churches are going out from their buildings to declare the gospel to the people who have never heard it, making a real commitment to devotional discipline and the daily reading and study of the scriptures and actively embracing a life of sacrificial love for each other that includes accountability and the investment of time in the key relationships God opens up? And how many churches are maintaining a balance between these three things, ensuring each one takes its God-given place in the life of the church?
How can a church claim to be structured around mission when most of its finance and leadership discussion time is centred around a building nobody lives in but we keep inviting people to?
Maybe you are in that church, and that’s great. However, I think we can be quick to defend ourselves without really thinking through the consequences of a church whose corporate life is shaped by dynamic truth, nurturing relationships and apostolic mission. It is not just about going home, reading the Bible a bit more, doing something nice for someone during the week and trying to be a better witness at work. For many churches it will involve the total stripping down of traditions and structures that actually work against the DNA – abandoning wineskins (ways of doing things) that cannot possibly hold the wine God is waiting to pour out. How can a church claim to be structured around mission when most of its finance and leadership discussion time is centred around a building nobody lives in but we keep inviting people to? How can we claim a genuine commitment to nurturing relationships when the very best of our energy and time are poured into large weekend activities, often leaving little time or energy to develop relationships in smaller groups? Can we really be serious about knowing Jesus intimately when accountability to one another in our devotional lives is not even considered and the proper reading, study and sharing of the Bible are left to a small fraction of the church?
A partial reformation
you may be alarmed to discover that the basic structure of your church life is not so different to what you might have expected a thousand years ago, but is vastly different to the early church
We all know about the Reformation in which Bible truth was rediscovered by millions. However, people such as Wolfgang Simson (who wrote ‘Houses That Change The World’) now argue that it was only a partial reformation – of doctrine. The structures of church remained largely the same, and not only in the Church of England. If you belong to a church where you meet regularly on a Sunday in a special building to sit in rows and follow along while a small number of people minister to a passive majority, you may be alarmed to discover that the basic structure of your church life is not so different to what you might have expected a thousand years ago, but is vastly different to the early church. Wolfgang Simson, along with Alan Hirsch (‘Forgotten Ways’) argues that we now need an ecclesiological reformation – a reformation of how we ‘do’ church. They point out that this has actually been happening for some time – wherever persecution or cultural norms lead the church to abandon traditional structures (take China for example) the gospel (and the church) has spread like wildfire.
New wineskins
It is heartbreaking to see so many churches in England either on the verge of closure or bursting at the seams, living in the shell of what once was yet still unwilling to abandon traditions and structures that are choking the life out of them. Yet there is hope. The church worldwide is growing rapidly, often in the most unexpected places, and from these places God is raising up people with a heart for the countries that originally brought them the gospel. But their influence is limited to our willingness to respond in repentance and obedience to God’s word. If we choose to go down with the boat it will not be for lack of warning or offers of help from our brothers and sisters around the world.
Andy G
