November 2007
Understanding Men by David Murrow 
(excerpts from the book "Why Men Hate Going to Church")
Ministry and the Masculine Spirit - Part 1
Very few churches offer ministry opportunities that captialize on men's skills and experience. Men long to give of their best to the Master, but few churches want what men have got.
Roger from Ohio says, "If serving in the church was more about pounding nails and less about wiping runny noses, I'd probably be interested." Much of Christian ministry involves roles that are traditionally feminine. Over the years, we've come to define Christian ministry as the things women are skilled at - and Christians serve primarily in areas where women have more experience. So men sit on their gifts, frustrated. How can we unshackle our men to minister?
Give Men Opportunities to Use Their Skills and Gifts
Expand ministry into areas where men excel. Why not work on cars? Even a small church can offer free oil changes in the church parking lot once a quarter. If you live in the Snow Belt, offer free tire changeovers in spring and fall. Want to fire men up? Give them a chance to use their talents for God. (For engaged churches, OCM has a great list of recommended service project ideas in its web-based library.)
Help Men Discover Their Gifts
A crucial first step is to administer personality tests and spiritual gift inventories to every adult in your church. These tests help men because they provide objective data showing men their area of giftedness. Lee and Leslie Strobel write, "When a once-sidelined, ineffective, and stagnant Christian discovers how God has shaped him to make an eternal difference through a local church - watch out! Suddenly you can't keep him from participating in ministry!" (OCM has an excellent resource for engaged churches called "Power Tools" in its web-based library.)
Let Men Minister
Men may feel they have to go to seminary or have extensive Bible training to minister properly, because they may have grown up in a church where the pastor did all the ministering. Let men know you expect them to minister. Give them training and feedback. God made men to be active, and are often passive because they feel unauthorized or unqualifed to minister.
Give Men a Path to Walk or a Ladder to Climb
Men must sense they are on a path that's leading them toward something, or they will run aground. The path must be explained and presented in visual form so men can chart their progress. For example, Saddleback uses a baseball diamond; your goal is home plate. Church of the Resurrection in Kansas uses a mountain diagram; your goal is the summit. Your men must know they are pressing toward a target, gaining skill and responsibility as their level of commitment increases.
Give Men Focus - External Focus
Did you ever use a magnifying glass to burn paper on a sunny day? By concentrating the sun's rays, the glass produces great power. So it is with your church's ministry. If you focus on doing a few things well instead of trying to be everything to everyone, more men will want to become involved.
And consider Evangelist Luis Palau's point: "The church is like manure. Pile it up and it stinks up the neighborhood; spread it out and it enriches the world." Eric Swanson studies healthy churches, and without exception they are externally focused: their goal is to make a significant and sustainable difference in the lives of people around them. Stagnant churches ask, "How can we minister to our people?" Life-giving churches ask, "How can our people change the world?" This change is great for men. Pastor Robert Lewis points out, "That's where men flourish (serving the community), because men are action oriented."
We'll cover more on how to unshackle men to minister next month!
Read the other articles in this issue:
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