The Brotherhood

As Iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.
Proverbs 27: 17 NKJV

There's something about guys getting together.  We have football, barbecues, fishing,  hunting and many other opportunities to get out and be men.  Women have tried to understand this dynamic, but I'm still not quite sure they do.  See, they say women are more emotional and relational.  Whether this is true or not, and I believe it is, we guys still posses that ability to socialize.  In fact, I'd venture to say that guys are at their best when their among their meat eating, fish slaying, football watching brethren.  This isn't to say that we're totally into relationships with other guys, but when we're among our brothers there's an awesome dynamic there.  You see this in locker rooms and military units, brotherhood.
There's been many attempts to try to tap into this dynamic in the christian community.  From Promise Keepers, Iron Sharpens Iron and Fellowship of Christian Athletes christian leaders and pastors have tried valiantly to tap into that dynamic of engaging men.  After more than a few attempts, they're still trying.  I applaud their efforts,  but what are we missing here?  There's still no dominant christian movement to engage our men. Notice that I said "Dominant" effort.  Oh, we''re still trying, but so far our efforts are few in the christian community.  I've been a part of too many mens groups that simply disintigrated over time.  Yet, we don't seem to be asking why this is happening.  Do guys want to learn about Jesus?  I'd say that there's a deep felt need of men out there to know who this Jesus is.  That being said, how are we going to reach out to them?
I believe Jesus had this figured out long before our time.  Granted, he already knew the hearts of men before he even engaged them.  Jesus didn't ask the men of his day to join a bible study or a spiritual health class, he met them exactly where they were at in life.  These men were fishermen, farmers, herdsman and even the hated Roman tax collectors.  Jesus' interest was not to bring shame on someone for not following Gods rules, but to show the fathers love and mercy to those he connected with.  So, what can we learn from Jesus?  Instead of offering up countless classes, conferences and groups we feel are designed to make men more righteous and lead them to Jesus, how about just meeting guys exactly where they're at in life?  Being "real", that's how Jesus approached people.  Why should we think people today are any different?  If guys are more comfortable in a informal setting, then let's meet them there!  My friend David made a comment this past week that rang a bell for me.  When I posed the question to him of organizing a informal barbecue instead of a organized "teaching" mens conference his response was, "You do that and you may be surprised at who shows up."  So, what's stopping us from trying this?  Stepping out of the traditional christian "box" may be what's needed to engage our men.

~Scott~