A Question About Men
I recently asked a group of pastors a question (through my pastor/father-in-law). The question was: “If you were to give a man one book other than the Bible what book would you give him”. The answers I (we) received back surprised me for 2 reasons. The first surprise was that I actually asked the wrong question, the second was the revelation of the mind of a pastor.
Most of the pastors responded that they would give the man some specific reference book like a concordance, Bible dictionary or commentary. This majority response, by my interpretation, actually answers the question: “How do you see the purpose of your ministry or what is the purpose of your ministry”. To which the answer came back as a resounding: “To equip the saints”. These pastors wanted to give the man a worthy tool. I actually have no argument with that answer, howbeit I evidently did not ask the question I wanted an answer to.
Had I more insight into the mind of these pastors I would have asked something like: “What do you see as the greatest spiritual need of the men you know and what would you do to help meet that need?” When I asked the original question, I was expecting these pastors to reply with books written to specifically pique the spiritual interest of the inner man. I expected to be referred to books like: God Tells the Man Who Cares
I have been in the printing ministry for a while – I won’t go into details. Over the years I have spoken with a pastors and done a lot of thinking about ways to excite interest in “church” and “salvation” in the unsaved man. Recently, in a telephone conversation with a pastor he mentioned that he was reading a book that was titled or had a chapter that was titled something like “Why Men Hate Church”*. I have been thinking quite a bit lately about how a person can make the biggest impact on this world. I guess being middle-aged I am at “that” point in life where we try to get the big picture and correct/proceed. Why do men hate church? I mean, I think they do, and to some extent I do. I am going to call that pastor and find out what that book is.* Why would I care if men hate church?
My deep down motive to the original question, my continued thought on the correct question, and my posting this blog are all rooted in a desire to change what I am and what I will become. I desire to become a tool in the hand of my God. A tool he can wield as He wishes without the encumbrances of my lack-of-understanding and self-oriented-motivation. I sense a specific pull to direct my energies toward nurturing men.
After, getting the responses from the group of pastors, I talked a little with my pastor about it. He told me he thought that a big need of most men is commitment or faithfulness.
So then, What do you see as the greatest need (save salvation) in the men you know, and how would you go about ministering to that need? Optionally, What is the greatest lack of character in the men you know and how would you go about building that character?
(*I think the name of the book might be Why Men Hate Going to Church
by David Murrow. When the mentioned pastor told me about the book/chapter he said the reason given was basically that men do not feel challenged – they “have” no purpose in going to church. I will link from this post to further posts on that subject later.)
