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Results will be posted on Tuesday.

This quote from David Murrow’s book, Why Men Hating Going to Church, sums up the problem.

Tell me, when did feminine gifts become synonymous with Christian goodness? Early Christians were known for risk taking, power, aggression, and heroic sacrifice. But somewhere in church history, somebody monkeyed with the definition of a Christian! Today, a good Christian is known mostly for meekness, sensitivity, passivity, and sweetness. This standard of Christian behavior is very tough on men (even those who are sold out to Jesus) while it’s easier for women to achieve. Men have gotten this message: you’re flawed the way God made you. You need an extreme makeover.

And we wonder why men hate going to church.

Here are some reasons why most men do NOT connect with church.

1. Men are not challenged at church. Challenge is the love language of men. Men thrive on challenges. Men want to save the world, defeat the enemy and kill the dragon. Most church messages are focused on relationships and love, things men need to hear but lack the hardcore challenge that motivates them.
2. Church decor is Feminine. Flowers and pastels dominate the decor in most churches. There are scenic pictures of meadows, flowing curtains and pleasant music. Church does not provide an environment men would choose in their spare time.
3. Prayers are weak. Listen to the things we ask God to do, “Lord, keep us safe. Give us a safe trip. Bless our food. Protect our families.” Security is a high priority for women, but not men. Our prayers reflect women’s needs, but not men’s.
4. Our dress code is still too proper. This is getting better in some churches, but a man should be able to go to church dressed like he was going to Home Depot…and fit right in. Lots of men not only don’t want to wear a tie, they don’t want to wear a polo shirt either. Men should feel comfortable in their cap and sleeveless shirt.
5. Jesus is depicted as wimpy. The Jesus of the Bible was a confrontational outlaw in His culture. He didn’t conform. He never backed down. He was a force to be reckoned with that threatened the Jews and the Romans. Jesus is rarely depicted that way in modern churches.

I say we change this! What do you say?

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1. Laws impact people’s lives. We can act like we are too spiritual to enter the fray, but decisions made by lawmakers impact real people that we care about.
2. Taking responsibility is a duty. America was uniquely established as a government “for the people” and “by the people.” I am one of the people.
3. There is no honor in hiding above the conflict. We ministers like to pretend that we are above politics. We think our mission is too spiritual for us to get down and dirty in the political world. The truth is we like the safety of hiding above the conflict. We would rather let others take the heat for unpopular positions.
4. Notable people in the Bible engaged politically. Daniel was a government official who resisted the ungodly king. Joesph was Vice Pharaoh of Egypt and helped the people survive a seven-year famine. The list goes on: Esther, David, Solomon and more. None of these godly people thought it was beneath them to get involved politically.

Either we take the Quaker approach and bail out of politics completely or we jump into the fray. What we cannot do is hide above the battle and complain about the outcome.

1. Leadership is work. It is much easier–at least in the short term–to take it easy. Hard work is no fun.
2. Leadership is risky. You might fail. What ya gonna do then, huh?
3. Leadership makes you vulnerable to criticism. If you never do anything, people will be less likely to talk bad about you. Don’t you want everyone to like you?
4. Leadership is pressure. You might get stressed…a lot. Comfortable is better. Way better!
5. Leadership requires vision. And who are you to think you know where everybody should be going? Who do you think you are?
6. Leadership means you have to take good ideas from other people. Ha! Every good idea should come from you because everyone else is obviously stupid. Duh.
7. Leadership requires that you make tough decisions. What if you make a mistake? Not good.
8. Leadership means you have to keep learning new stuff. Who wants to do that? I graduated from college, so why should I keep having to learn?

I think I made my point. You can now see why leadership is way over-rated. Now get out there and take it easy.

Incrementalism is ministry’s worst enemy: doing something small/insignificant so as to deceive yourself into believing you are making significant progress. Doing nothing is often better than doing something insignificant. At least with doing nothing you realize you are doing nothing. When you do something irrelevant, you are still doing nothing, but you don’t realize it.

• You cannot win a NASCAR race by waxing your car.
• You cannot climb a mountain by using pretty rope.
• You cannot win a football game by washing your uniform.

Big gains require big steps. If you never had a big setback, you will never have a big victory. Revel in the mess.

Not every situation requires a big action, most don’t. Some do. To know the know the difference, ask the question: “If this action works, will it really make a difference?”

Sometimes it’s hard to see that one spot that your mirrors miss. The same is true about life. We all THINK we understand the circumstances surrounding our lives and why we do what we do. Not so fast. You might have a blind spot. Here are some tips for checking your blind spot in life.

1. Listen to what other people say about you. Others may be wrong when they comment about your dreams, but they are often right when they comment about you. Don’t shut them out just because they say things you don’t want to hear.
2. Ask yourself hard questions. Make yourself squirm a little. Why did I do that? Am I justifying something that is hurting me? What do I believe that is holding me back? He who asks the best questions wins!
3. Listen to the Spirit. Your relationship with God is a two-way deal. He will talk to you, not to accuse you but to help you see the truth about your destructive behavior.
4. Be excited to learn anything that moves you forward. Don’t fear knowing the truth about yourself. Don’t be sooooo defensive. Hey, we are all a mess in one way or another. Get over yourself.

There’s a better life ahead out there. Just be careful when you change lanes.

Rahab flat out lied. No question about it. That fact has tormented Bible student for years, but facts are facts. She told a big, fat lie and God didn’t seem to mind. Read it for yourself from Joshua 2:1-7.

Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went, and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there. ² And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, “Behold, men have come here tonight from the children of Israel to search out the country.”

³ So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the country.”

⁴ Then the woman took the two men and hid them. So she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. ⁵ And it happened as the gate was being shut, when it was dark, that the men went out. Where the men went I DO NOT KNOW; pursue them quickly, for you may overtake them.” ⁶ (But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof.) ⁷ Then the men pursued them by the road to the Jordan, to the fords. And as soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate. (Joshua 2:1-7 NKJV)

Now, I am sure God did not approve of Rahab’s methods. Holy cow! She broke commandment number nine!

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (Exodus 20:16 NKJV)

Surely Almighty God was a bit upset about her lie. Well, not so fast. The Bible comments on her at least twice!

By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace. (Hebrews 11:31 NKJV)

Rahab is listed in Hebrews 11 with Moses, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and other great people of faith. What? Rahab, the prostitute, listed with Abraham.

Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? (James 2:25)

James uses her as an example of putting faith to action. God not only doesn’t condemn her; He holds her up as an example!

Evidently…

God gave her a break because He knew her heart. She was trying to protect His spies. He cut her some slack. Maybe we should do more of that in church.

How do you think churches today would deal with Rahab?

Here’s a list of sandcastles we all build at one time of another to try to create our own happiness.

1. POSSESSIONS. Stuff comes and stuff goes. It all breaks, wears out, gets stolen or just gets boring. And it will all get burned up one day.
2. PEOPLE. Everyone (as in EVERYONE) will eventually disappoint you. No one is capable of fulfilling your life indefinitely. Don’t put that burden on anyone.
3. PLACES. When I used to visit inmates in jail every Thursday, they all had one plan: move out of state. They blamed their location for their troubles. They didn’t realize that wherever you go, there you are. We are the problem, not the geography. There are some lousy places to live; but no place is perfect; and every place has its issues.
4. POSITION. Status will not make you happy. It will cause people to resent you, but it will not make you happy.
5. POLITICS. There is no political solution that will make you happy. Some politicians are better than others, but the Prez cannot legislate happiness. No Rep or Dem will ever make you happy.
6. PURPOSES. Even a worthy purpose will not bring you lasting fulfillment and happiness. Having a life purpose is great, but it alone will not make you happy. You can get so goal oriented that you fail to live the journey.
7. PERSONALITY. Your personality type cannot produce happiness. Some people are more prone to happiness than others. Some are like Eeyore the Donkey in Winnie the Pooh. But even the Tiggers can’t bounce around everyday forever based on personality alone.

None of these will make you happy, even though they will come close sometimes. They will always leave you empty.

I am becoming more convinced all the time that the only thing that produces a deep, lasting joy is relationship with Jesus. Real, authentic, relationship with the One who knows you best…and loves you most.