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What About Men’s Ministry in the PCA?

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charles.jpgWhat about men’s ministry in the PCA? We have been asked that question many times. Before responding, a bit of history would be in order. When the PCA formed in December of 1973, the organizing committee was aware of the background from which our original churches were coming. The committee also understood the challenge to develop a new denomination, originally called “the continuing Presbyterian Church,” that would impact the culture and world, by standing for the truth with a renewed commitment.

In the mainline church (PCUS) from which the PCA developed, there had been structures and programs that had proven effective and two of those were its women’s ministry and its men’s ministry. Desiring to develop programs and ministries that would encourage spiritual growth and ministry to those in and out of the church, the PCA approved a women’s ministry, known as Women in the Church (WIC) and Men of the Covenant (MOC). They positioned them under the oversight and direction of the committee for Christian Education and Publications.

One of the biblical models for making kingdom disciples is found in the book of Titus. After addressing the problems in the communities (and by implication, the homes) resulting from bad teaching, Paul instructed pastors to teach what is in accord with sound doctrine, (Titus 2:1). He then said he was to teach in such a manner that older men could minister to younger men and older women to younger women. A men’s ministry can, as we have seen with our WIC ministry’s focus on “spiritual mothering,” have a powerful impact in the church. Women need to minister to women, and men need to minister to one another. Men who serve as elders and deacons have unique opportunities to minister to one another. The possibilities of dads, granddads, and other older men ministering to younger men make this ministry both challenging and exciting.

From the very outset the PCA’s women’s ministry took root and began to develop a ministry that would give them a sense of connection with women from other churches in the PCA. Testimonials continue to come from women who have appreciated and benefited from that connection. There have been three major denominational WIC conferences and six major regional conferences over the years. The next conference is planned for 2006. In 1999, more than 4,000 PCA women gathered in Atlanta for a conference focusing on mercy ministry. This provided the push for the present mercy ministry conference jointly sponsored by CEP, its WIC program and Mission to North America.

What about the men? In the beginning CEP attempted to start a parallel ministry, originally called Men of the Covenant, at the assembly level to assist presbyteries and local churches with men’s ministries. Such attempts have yet to take shape though numbers of efforts have been attempted over the years. We continue to be asked, especially by some of the participants in the WIC ministry, when are you going to have similar ministry for the PCA men? We have replied that we have made numerous attempts but without success. Many local churches have some very outstanding men’s ministries in the PCA. Our desire, more than having a top down structure, is to encourage men to see the need and come forward as husbands, fathers, and Christian men in general with the commitment to seek to live as kingdom disciples.

We have also been asked why the PCA encourages special ministries such as women, youth, children, and men through CEP. Our response has uniformly been that we do encourage local churches, through their formal and informal leadership, to develop a holistic plan of ministry for their churches. This allows local sessions that are responsible for the local church’s ministry, to oversee and coordinate the entire ministry, and to evaluate its progress.

In addition to the approach above, we have also seen the value of including specialized ministries to women, men, youth, and children. None of these are to replace the whole, however. As far as children and youth, the church must not take over parental responsibility, though promises are made at baptism to assist parents in training their children.

Having said that, the articles by Pat Morley (PCA) and TE Peter Alwinson, a PCA teaching elder, launch a new effort on the part of CEP. We will be working more closely with Morley, the author and originator of the Man in the Mirror ministry. Together we will offer churches help in developing a men’s ministry. Encouraging, mobilizing and training men for ministry are vital initiatives. As a former pastor, the churches I served were able to do some significant ministries through both the women and men’s ministries. I have seen first hand the value of such ministry.

In case you’re asked, CEP is still very much committed to encouraging a men’s ministry that is strategically focused in the local church. We would like to encourage churches with this ministry and even provide training and resources to assist. We are asked, “Will CEP ever sponsor a denominational men’s conference similar to its WIC conferences?” At this point only the Lord knows that, but would not it be a wonderful thing to see PCA men from across the church come together for such an event?

The Six Habits of Spiritually Happy Men

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By Patrick Morley


I’ve been meeting with men to talk about where they are on their spiritual pilgrimage for over three decades. Many of those men exude a contagious joy and contentment. Their lives are peaceable, orderly, and recommend Christ. They’re downright happy!

Most of these happy men exercise six spiritual habits that keep them “abiding in Christ.” The dictionary says a habit is, “an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary.”

These six habits are no litmus test that you can use to judge a man’s walk with Christ. That would be extremely dangerous. These habits create no special merit with Christ. They do nothing to improve a man’s record with Jesus. They are, however, indicators or “clues” of a deeper commitment to live by faith and make a difference in the world.

The six habits of spiritually happy men are:

  1. They read the Bible regularly. They love God’s word, and want to regularly read and meditate on the Bible.
  2. They pray with their wives. This symbolizes a depth of relationship with God and his wife.
  3. They tithe. I’ve never known a man who tithed who was not happy.
  4. They are in a small group. They are personally vulnerable and seek to be held accountable by other men. This group might be with a few men, or only one other man. It might meet for Bible study, discussion, fellowship, prayer, or a combination.
  5. They are active in a church. Active involvement is the overflow of a deeper work that Christ is doing in a man’s heart.
  6. They are serving the Lord. They have a passion that their lives will make a difference in the world. They pursue a life of significance. They view everything as serving the Lord.

I certainly don’t mean to imply that these are the only six habits that reveal the depth of a man’s walk with Christ. Nevertheless, those of us who are leaders would do well to practice and encourage our men to practice these six habits. The change of heart that underlies the visible habits can change the course of a man’s life and family lineage for generations to come.

Together in the Battle for Men’s Souls!

Patrick Morley is the founder, chairman and CEO of Man in the Mirror, a ministry dedicated to equipping leaders in the local church to disciple men. He has a led the Man in the Mirror Bible Study outside of Orlando since 1986. You can get more info and view these Bible studies at www.maninthemirror.org/biblestudy/series.htm

Men’s Ministry: An Indispensable Focus for the Church

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By Dr. Pete Alwinson


“Men: You can’t live with them and you can’t shoot them.” This bumper sticker glared back at me, as I pulled up to a stop light in Orlando one day. “Now that’s one ticked off lady” was my first thought. My second thought was: “I wonder what her story is. What did she experience from men? Neglect? Abuse? Anger? Who hurt her? Dad, brother, neighbor boy, boyfriend, husband, grandfather?” Could have been one or two, or all.

For many women, this bumper sticker expresses their true emotions and constitutes absolute, unalterable, infinite, infallible truth: men are to blame for the problems in their lives. Changing a line from my friend Pat Morley, many women only know enough about men to be disappointed in them. The fact is many women are full of rage toward the men in their lives, and therefore, men in general.

Justifiably so. Flip through a newspaper any day of the year and you’ll find that most of the perpetrators of family and societal crimes and misdemeanors are men. Men statistically commit more crimes of all types than women. Men are the causes of so many problems in American culture that if we help men we help our country. Transform men and you’ll transform the world. I believe that a church will never grow beyond the spirituality of its men. Look around at churches that are effectively carrying out the Great Commission and you’ll see many men deeply involved in that church, men who are growing spiritually and providing leadership.

Advantages of Ministry to Men


It’s time for us as a denomination to move more consciously and deliberately into discipling men. Here are some advantages for pastors and churches, which emphasize developing their men:

We glorify God by developing men: The early Church Father Irenaeus said, “The glory of God is a man fully alive.” That is true of men and women of course, but in our world seems especially potent with men. When a man understands his actions and their motivations, but by God’s grace doesn’t remain stuck in his unproductive ways, that gets his attention. Many men would love to move out of their immaturity and immorality, but they don’t know how. Since their own fathers did not consciously develop them, they don’t know how to live and relate as a mature man, much less know what defines a man. Often they get their idea of manhood from a dysfunctional earthly father, movies, TV characters or friends. A Christian man, however, can care for and befriend another man and point him to a gracious and good Father. When men “get it” in their soul that Christ connects them to the Father and the Father wants to build His sons, these undeveloped men grow like wildfire, bringing glory to God in their homes, communities, churches and world. After speaking at a men’s gathering recently, I talked with who shared his story: a work addiction, an affair, financial success, a near divorce, brokenness, repentance, and now investment in lives. This man illustrates the glory of God! I want my sons to meet him to let the glory seep into them.

We fulfill our mission: Which of course is the Great Commission. When a local church knows how to reach out to and develop men, it will gain huge momentum in reaching men inside and outside our churches. Eventually, their wives and children and extended family follow. Churches that understand the strains and stresses of men in their community can come up with their own ways to reach men. We can pursue the Great Commission without a programmatic approach to men’s ministry. In fact, to reach men, you must have a relational approach. Churches can each develop their own special niche in reaching men and helping churches grow.

Discipling men flows out of and helps us fulfill our Biblical polity. I love being a Presbyterian pastor in a denomination that takes seriously the development of elders. As a church planter, the first thing I did in our church was start a men’s discipleship group and begin to pour energy into men. I have developed all of our elders and deacons over the years, and in the process, become friends and co-laborers with those men with whom I would serve. Instead of experiencing adversarial relationships with elders as many pastors experience, my experience here has been enjoyable (though not perfect, of course). Developing men is what we, as the PCA, ought to be experts in doing. Developing men is central to our heritage and our biblical and theological convictions. We must develop men to follow Jesus’ model and revelation of true manhood, in head and heart.

Developing men encourages, supports and retains pastors. A friend who serves in a national ministry to churches tells me that 2,000 pastors a month leave the ministry, and many never return. Pastors regularly experience relational overload and production demand fatigue (every seven days, a new sermon needs to be at least as good as the week before). Leadership demands more than our training provided. Sin is our business, but so many people today come from broken homes and are dysfunctional. They bring their issues into congregational life and pastors have to deal with those VDP (Very Draining People, as Gordon MacDonald titled them). Pastors are in more pain than they let on and than their congregation knows. We’re public people who are critiqued, criticized and demanded of as much or more as we are loved, encouraged and supported. I’ll tell you what has helped me stay in the church I started for seventeen years: the men I discipled and trained who became my friends, officers, and mighty men who stood by me through the normal (but often challenging) times of being a pastor. Pastors who make developing men central to their ministry will find that they will be able to weather the storms of ministry better.

An assured productive use of time. When churches develop men, they will reap good results, and a pastor is assured that his investment will pay off for the church and kingdom goals.

Strategy


How do we build men’s ministry in our local churches? Pastors ought to focus on developing men by delegating some of the normal pastor work to other staff and gifted members. Intentional effort from the top is crucial. In terms of church wide men’s ministry, I know of no better strategic model than that advocated by Man in the Mirror, founded by long time PCA member Patrick Morley (see the next article). Many of the top management of MIM are PCA members and graduates of Reformed seminaries. Developing a strategic alliance with MIM would be a great idea.

I think the greatest days of the PCA are ahead. More than ever our culture needs men who have been consciously developed and developed well. A man will never reach true manhood without a personal relationship with the living God, through Jesus Christ, who models perfect manhood and deity. So, let’s do it! Let’s develop men, reach families, build churches, win the lost, and change the world. Let’s take men’s ministry to heart.

Dr. Pete Alwinson is Senior Pastor at Willow Creek Church, PCA in the Central Florida Presbytery.

Something Different

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Your evaluation of previous years’ efforts may prompt you to make some adjustments in your summer activities.

Sunday Evening

For the past two years the church I serve (Covenant in Fayetteville, GA) has offered prepared meals during June and July. This combined with a special program each week attracted about half of our Sunday morning congregation. Some features included: young musician’s night, which has brought grandparents, uncles, aunts, etc.; missionaries known to the church; an old fashioned hymn sing, as well as musical groups and speakers outside our church family.

The result:

1) It fostered relationships within the church (we have two morning services).

2) It generated ongoing enthusiasm for other activities during what has usually been a down time.

3) Visitors from our morning services were invited as our special guests and many came. It helped some determine that they wanted to make the church their home.

Sunday Morning

Sunday School

Adults

We’ve offered one-month and/or six-week studies over the summer. We are doing two-month blocks the rest of the year. The jury is still out on whether that is a factor in increasing attendance.

Children

All our young children (4 years and older), middle- and high-school kids work on a construction project over the summer, along with any adults who wish to participate. The first year we did the tabernacle, last summer it was Noah’s Ark, and in ’05 we will make a replica of New Jerusalem.

The result:

1) It has brought some children to Sunday school who don’t ordinarily come.

2) It produced a significant bump in attendance.

3) It gave most teachers a two and a half month break.

4) It avoided having just one or two children in a class.

5) It gave us an intergenerational learning activity.

Since our schools begin in mid-August, we start fall activities then. (If you use CE&P curriculum, it’s no problem getting materials for a mid-August start.)

VBS

If you’re struggling, reflect again on your purpose and how you want to achieve it.

Last summer our church’s intern did a Backyard Bible Club in a neighboring county where we are planting a church. There were 204 children who came for one or more of the three days. They heard the gospel. Also several contacts were made for the new congregation.

Your setting might benefit from a one day or evening activity once a week over four to six weeks. Or you might be able to do a day camp running from morning into the afternoon. Years ago I led one in a mission congregation that had no property. We used a public park.

Another option would be a different kind of program, either a substitute for VBS or in addition. For two years we’ve had a Music Arts and Drama Camp. MAD Camp has attracted some who expressed no interest in VBS. The same was true for the Swim Camp we offered last summer. (There’s a pool on our property.)

Don’t do something different just to be different. But don’t be afraid to try something if you believe it will better utilize your resources to achieve your purpose. That means failure is always lurking. And you will fail. We tried a soccer camp two years ago. We had a professional player to lead and we live in a community where the sport is incredibly popular, but it didn’t work.

I’ve often said that much of what I have done hasn’t worked all that well. But the things that have worked make the effort worthwhile.

May God pour out his blessings as you attempt to serve him in the most effective way possible.

The Importance of Worldview

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charles.jpgIn the Nov/Dec 2004 Equip for Ministry, we reviewed a strategic book on biotechnology, Human Dignity in the BioTech Century, edited by Charles W. Colson and Nigel M. de S. Cameron. We believe biotechnology is one of the most crucial, exciting, challenging, yet dangerous areas for us to consider. Without a doubt it is true that the 21st century will prove to be the biotech century. Therefore, Christians need to be prepared to think clearly from a biblical reformed worldview and know how to teach their children to do the same. We are responsible to serve God in all of life, including biotechnology, but with our sinful nature we cannot always be trusted to do so because of our tendency to play God.

When it comes to biotechnology, we must not fall into the trap of dualism. Dualism is one of the most dangerously deceptive ideas today for Christians and non-Christians as well. So much of our Western thinking is based on it. Dualism has even taken deep roots within the evangelical community. Dualism seeks to divide life in to separate units or areas that do not need to connect. The result, as far as biotechnology is concerned, is the conscious effort to separate technology from ethics. This is dangerous because of its implications on the Lordship of Christ.

In reality you cannot separate ethics and technology. There are no dualistic sacred and secular realms in life. All of life is one. God has structured his reality to underscore the “unity of reality.” The danger of dualism is the temptation to believe that it is permissible for man to do whatever he is capable of doing. In other words, the ability to do something means that it is allowable to do. But, is that a proper line of reasoning, especially with the fine line between serving God and playing God?

In the case of artificial or alternative reproduction, scientists have been able to manipulate and control the birth process. Creating embryos in vitro (in the petri dish) is being done over and over. It is now a technological reality that life can be created artificially. Man can do that with a fairly good track record. But, should it be done? After all many childless couples now have children by the in vitro fertilization process. That process, however, raises ethical dilemmas. Scientists and medical personnel may need to create from three to five embryos for one to work, but what happens with the leftovers? What are we now to do with the between 300,000 to one million frozen embryos in storage? The shelf lives of many of those embryos are reaching their expiration dates.

I participated in a think tank a few years ago with a group made up of ethicists, lawyers, psychologists, and doctors dealing with this very dilemma. That was a challenging, as well as enlightening, experience. I will use the term artificial or alternative reproduction as an example to respond to several questions recently asked us, regarding the PCA’s position on stem cell research.

In case you’re asked, I respond in a twofold manner. First, the PCA has not, as of yet, adopted a position on stem cell research. However, the PCA has adopted positions on the sanctity of human life, which become a guide for us in this area. For example: In its position statement on abortion, the PCA has said clearly that human life begins at conception and as such, “is under the protection of the Sixth Commandment… and that because Scripture clearly affirms the sanctity of life and condemns its arbitrary destruction, we affirm that the intentional killing of an unborn child between concept and birth, for any reason, is clearly a violation of the Sixth Commandment, (1980 General Assembly Minutes, Overture 12).

When it comes to stem cell research, we have to operate ethically and morally. Therefore we ask if stem cell research is ethically and morally permissible. Our immediate response is that as long as it does not violate the Sixth Commandment, maybe so. However, we are told that the easiest way “to produce stem cells is to divide an early stage embryo into its component cells, thereby destroyed the embryonic human being.” (The Reproductive Revolution, John F. Kilner, Paige C. Cunningham, and W. David Hagar). While it may or may not be true that stem cells have the capacity to develop body parts, tissues, and organs, this does not justify the violation of the Sixth Commandment regarding “embryonic humans” in order to get those things. We believe that such stem cell research with human embryos crosses the line ethically and biblically, and Christians must know how to speak out in this area. We cannot fall into the dualistic trap at this critical point.

Stem cell research with adults, on the other hand, is not a life-threatening proposition and can possibly do much good in things like “genetic repair.” So it may be permissible in some cases. Where there is no violation of the Sixth Commandment, such research is permissible, as long as scientist realizes that life is sacred and they are self-consciously operating on that biblical commandment.

In conclusion to the question, “what is the PCA’s position on stem cell research?” we will simply say, as long as we adhere to the sanctity of life and do not transgress the Sixth Commandment, and as long as we do not attempt to separate bioethics from biotechnology, we believe man has and can continue to serve God’s purpose in a positive and life honoring way. However, we must start from a solidly biblical and ethical foundation as the research continues. As long we are engaged in making kingdom disciples, we will do what we can to encourage parents, adults, and churches in their discipleship and education training to teach God’s covenant people how to deal with these extremely important issues.

What Would Jesus Do?

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bob.jpgWWJD – What would Jesus do? It’s a question that was recycled from a book written over 100 years ago. It became a fad that quickly faded. But what would it mean to take the question seriously?

The evangelical church in the United States has trouble identifying just what kingdom living entails. It’s another way to ask WWJD. Many would suggest we ought to try to win as many people as possible to the exclusion of any other task. An extreme version of this would see secular employment as only a means to the end of evangelism.

Without detracting from the great command to make disciples, there is another command – to subdue the earth. That is to cultivate it. That command has never been abrogated.

For the most part, however, it would appear that we Christians are not unduly exercised about being kingdom disciples. That’s undoubtedly one reason pollsters contend there is little difference between those who claim allegiance to Christ and everybody else. Christians in the United States seem far more attuned to middle class American culture as expressed in their communities than the desires of Jesus.

That’s a stinging indictment. Yet Christians have a propensity to hear such things, perhaps even feel guilty, but have little motivation to do anything differently. In fairness, anything different would be counter-cultural and could have a ripple effect with profound consequences.

For instance, a relatively small minority of Christians advocates a simpler lifestyle. In theory many Christians agree with some aspects of that desire. But consider some of the difficulties:

1. Consumer spending is the engine that keeps the American economy going. If large numbers of people cut way back on spending we would experience a significant economic downturn. Those who produce “stuff” need us. This is despite indications that the more we have the less happy we become.

2. There are expectations that come from our children. When our daughters were little we had a lunch box issue at the beginning of every school year. They had to take their lunch in a lunch box. A paper bag wouldn’t do. But it couldn’t be just any lunch box. There were just a few deemed acceptable by the other kids. And it seemed that most years we bought the wrong one.

3. There are expectations that come from our community. For the most part these are not expressed in words but attitudes. Cell phones have moved from the province of a select few to the mass market. If you don’t have a cell phone (I’m still holding out), it’s obvious you’re out of step.

4. We’ve got our own desires too. I’ve got a car with over 200,000 miles on it. It’s beat up but it runs fine. Yet I find myself watching the new car ads regularly. With all the price competition it’s stirring a desire in me for some new wheels.

Which lunch box a child carries or which car a person drives are not intrinsically moral issues. Yet these decisions shape us.

A few will sacrifice for the sake of Christ. Consider the lady who is giving everything away so that the work of the kingdom can prosper. And the medical doctor who left a thriving practice to work with children who live on the street. The physician who retired early to treat the homeless. The couple that moved into the inner city. They experience poverty as they minister to the impoverished. But these are dramatic illustrations.

Consideration of the kingdom ought to guide us in every endeavor. That consideration is always in danger of being trumped by the quest for success and status. It’s bad enough that such desires detract from the kingdom. On top of that we live in a society where those who have achieved success are held up as models. This is as true in the Christian community as it is elsewhere. A life of sacrifice may be admired but it is seldom imitated. Couple that with our propensity toward evil and kingdom values can easily be suppressed or distorted.

So how do ordinary people like us attempt to influence society with Christian values? Scripture urges us to look after the fatherless and widows (James 1:27). Single moms have been with us for a long time. Micah asked, “What does the Lord require of you?” His answer, “To act justly (treat people fairly) and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). At times fairness is not enough. To show mercy is to risk being used. This is more than a prescription for an exemplary life. It is what it means to walk with God — what it means to influence society with Christian values.

Suffice it to say that it is in the church that we ought to learn what it means to be messengers of grace wherever we are. It is in this context that we are to make disciples. We have the great privilege of self consciously bringing the influence of God’s kingdom to a society dimly aware of his nature and purposes.

Just so we get it right. More things are caught than taught.