Book Review

Why Men Hate Going To Church

 

In the good providence of God, I came across this book while browsing a discount book rack!  (Am always on the lookout for book bargains!)

 

David Murrow is the author and offers profitable insights.

 

Having read Ann Douglas’ work back in the 70s, the feminization of our culture has been more than apparent to me, thanks to her insights!

 

Typically, the church is a day late and a dollar short on most issues, irrespective of the pontifications from her institutions of higher learning!

 

I have learned the esoteric is always generations behind the pragmatic!

 

Thankfully, the pragmatic surfaces issues, concerns overlooked, even ignored by the esoteric who seem to be persuaded as to the ignorance of the hoi poloi.  Somehow there is a ring of Acts 4:13 in that mind-set, even John 7:15.

 

Then, again, in the good providence of God the esoteric have a “Duh” moment, and begin to consider.  Hallelujah.

 

Though not personally numbered among the esoteric, I am well acquainted with the experience!  Fact is, I have a sloping forehead which I often attribute to the realization of this reality!

 

Back to Murrow’s observations:

 

The church has been feminized.

 

Men are turned off.

 

Men are from Mars!  Make peace with it!

 

In our approach to me, we need appeal to their Mars side so as to attract.

 

Having attracted and retained, we then begin to suggest God also designed the Venus side as a balance.

 

Yes, in the design of God, women balance, i.e. civilize men; yet, the feminine aspects, IMHO, are part of the DNA of men, though significantly attenuated.  For each of us, male or female, there are two sides to our “coin” of humanity.

I find it significant that Jesus, in the initial phases of His ministry recruited and began to develop young men, probably in their early twenties.  Only years later did He recruit a Paul.

When will we, i. e. church leadership learn to employ, in principle the methodology of Jesus?

He went after Men, while at the same time employing Women.

 

Duh!

 

In military terms, though I am 40+ years since my professional involvement with the Military.

 Men represent what was referred to as the FEBA, i.e. the Forward Edge of the Battle Area.  Men are designed by God to be warriors, risk takers, challengers, etc.

 

But, and this is what is often forgotten, the FEBA is crippled and rendered ineffective without the support, encouragement of the Supporting Establishment.

 

This is not to suggest the Supporting establishment is “second class”, heaven forbid!

 

Without the Support establishment, the FEBA would be wiped out!  Each troop in the FEBA can carry only so much ammo, so much food, etc.!

 

God has designed the advance of the kingdom to be a Team effort, i.e. Men and Women, with neither in the ascendancy, but each supportive and appreciative of the other!

 

Hey, isn’t that the hallmark of teamwork?

 

Duh!

 

More later as I continue to mull over Murrow’s observations.

 

Certainly, some of them irritate the snot out of me, prompting me to ask myself, “Why?”

 

But, given my personal orientation, bl3t, I am driven to reflection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the midst of seeming chaos

Isaiah 26:3

 

What a word for saints in these times!

 

What a word for me!

 

One of my “failings” is in an attempt to keep abreast of what is happening.  ‘Course, the assessments are generally from those of an “alien” worldview, whether Christian or non-Christian.

 

Such readings tend to discourage, til one is drawn back to Isaiah 26:3.

 

The prophet was speaking to a demonstrably rebellious nation who, time and time again, ignored and spurned the admonitions of God.

 

Finally, the hammer fell, and Wow!, did it ever fall!

 

Still, God was in control effecting all things in accord with His sovereign plan.

 

And, as the writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us, “everything is beautiful in his time”.

 

My problem is looking at this chaos in terms of my ‘time”.  From my “time”, it ain’t so beautiful!

 

And, aye, there’s the rub!

 

Isaiah 26:4 tends to re-focus one’s attention.

 

Chaos?  Humanly speaking, sure.

 

But, in terms of God’s overall scheme of things, “everything is beautiful in its time”.

As Jesus inquired of Mary, "believest thou this"

To Be Or Not To Be

When I finished Well‘s book The Courage To Be Protestant, I was convinced the overriding thesis of the book was contained in the verb “to be”.

 

Today’s typical church member, professing believer is primarily concerned with image versus substance.

 

In the days when I was discipled, the focus was on 1) Know, 2) Be, and then 3) Do.

 

Know the truth of scripture and apply it to your life so as to

 

Be the type of person God designed you to be and then allow Him to engineer circumstances in which you can

 

Do what is the proper manifestation of one living as Salt & Light with a Leavening influence.

 

Sadly, today’s believing community focuses on Doing, and most often, doing which draws attention to the Do-er, creating an image.

 

One of these days, Deo Volenti, we will return to the other pattern.

 

Know

 

Be

 

Do

The Courage To Be Protestant

The Courage To Be Protestant.

Started the book this morning. 

 

Talk about being insightful!

 

These are the insights which try the Evangelical soul, deep down!

 

Our initial reaction? 

 

Ignore it.

 

Next, we will ridicule it.

 

Sometime later, we will give serious attention to it and, finally, we will say, “Well, this has always been out thought!”

 

But, between then and now, the Shamgars within the Evangelical Community will take note and heart!

 

Thankfully, in the good providence of God, the Shamgars always know when something stinks, irrespective of the ruling mindset! 

 

They may be “unlearned and ignorant” but, generally they have learned to “correctly handle the word of truth”.

 

More importantly, they have learned the central issue, yea, the crucial issue is “equipping the saints for the work of ministry”.

 

The church has never lacked for clergy!  Sigh.

 

Nor has she lacked for organizational genius.

 

It has consistently lacked an equipped “insurgent force”!

 

Forgive me, but I, personally liken an “insurgent force” to the biblical example of “leaven”.

 

Genius and organization will not will the day.

 

Leaven (committed and equipped insurgents) will!

 

Are you a Shamgar?  If not, why not?

 

 

 

 

Sovereignty

Being as one committed to the sovereignty of God in the affairs of men, my daily battle is with present circumstances in the light of His sovereignty.

 

All around me, the center seems to be unfolding and I want to scream!

 

But, years of systematic scripture memory continually bring to mind passages relative to God’s control of events and I am forced to face the issue of submission.

 

Do I really believe this is His World, that He is in control, and all things are working out in accord with His plan?

 

How I thank God that in His good providence a few good men were instrumental in my life when it came to the practical value of scripture memory!

 

Little did I realize, then, the untold value this contribution would yield in my later years!

 

Few are the hours in the day when some passage of scripture doesn’t flash into my conscious mind as it pertains to something I hear, read, or experience, driving me to consider things from God’s perspective!

 

It is at those moments, I recognize the import of the Apostle Paul’s admonition to “…take every thought captive to Christ…”!

 

Then I am driven to thank God for the men and women who have taught me personally or through their writings to “correctly handle” the word of truth!

 

They either taught me directly, or motivated me toward personal Bible study, in a systematic fashion, so as to be able to “correctly handle” the word of truth.

 

They also taught me to appreciate with a discriminating mind the observations, comments, and writings of every saint who has proceeded me.  I am one who is to stand on the shoulders of others, giving them due credit for their contribution.

 

In listening to them and to the word of God, I come to realize that “…that which has been, is now, and that which is to be has already been…” , in principle.

 

There is nothing new under the sun.  Only the cosmetic changes!

 

The demand upon me is to understand everything principally, and not cosmetically!

 

Now, THAT is a challenge!

Inauguration Dues

Mein Gott!

How in heaven's name does this new Chief Executive justify the obscene expenditures  of this inaugural?

Change?

There will be no change!

Rhetoric will snooker the masses while the Beltway elite enjoy their moment in the spotlight.

Mercy, how this is reminescent of the days of Rome's circuses!

But, someday...

Someday, the Joe the plumber's will wake up and then... 

Time and again, in the good providence of God, a Shamgar is raised up to slay 600 Philistines with an Ox Goad!

Might it be in my lifetime!

Business as usual

Names and faces change on our political landscape, but it continues to be
“business as usual”.

O’Bama trumpeted “Change-We Can”.

We poor folk didn’t inquire as to his meaning of the word change.

As usual, we were captivated by “image”, subject to propaganda, distracted by our disgust with eight years of Dubya, and too lazy to think!

Dubya robbed us of our constitutional anchor, effectively building a police state.

O’Bama will not change what Dubya has wrought.

Instead, he will perfect it, though his rhetoric will dwell on his theme of ”change”.

A rose by any other name…

Patrick Henry spoke of the clanking of chains…

In our day, because of “change”, it is plastic ties!

Hang onto your hats. This economic meltdown may be only the precursor of the days of abject servitude as serfdom is re-instituted.

The more things change, the more they stay the same!

This is the reality of The State!

Get used to it!

Shamgar!

Smedley-

Where are you?

These are the times that try men's souls.

Retribution

Israel will learn the truth of James 2:13, soon.

Those who sow the wind reap the whirlwind.

Chickens always come home to roost

Proportionality

The Israeli actions against Gaza and Hamas recall to mind Lamech's declaration to his wife!

Growing old is a Beach

I've lived long enough to have tasted, in principle,the experiences of the writer of Ecclesiastes.

At the same time and in the good providence of God, I have learned a few things:

Early in life I was taught government is my friend.

Early in life, I was taught government was concerned for me and my best interests.

Early in life, I was taught government was the servant of the people.

Early in life, I was taught government was subject to the people.

For far too many years, I simply accepted those teachings believing those who challenged them were ignorant, incorrigible, or irremediable.

But, I was wrong. They were right.

Talk about being PO’ed!

The realization was made more bitter when I recalled much of the education came at the hand of Bible believing Christians!

Slowly I came to recognize that though one believes the Bible; such an one can quite easily be ignorant and incorrect when it comes to what the Bible teaches! Duh!

I strongly suspect there are a host of believers who are easily snookered when a “teacher” passionately asserts, “I believe the Bible”. Sadly, the fault lies with us, not the one making the assertion!

Well, I could say more, but…

My current personal battle is learning to “live under the sun”, immediately, while maintaining an “under the heavens” mindset, ultimately.

Maybe, an old dog can learn something, yet!

An Enemy?

An Enemy of the State

What can I say?

Outstanding!

My encounter with Murray Rothbard was productive of a much needed paradigm shift.

Not only as it pertained to The State, but as it pertained to my view of The State as an evangelical believer.

Talk about a manifestation of Common Grace! Hallelujah!

Bottom Line: God is Good. His Tender mercies are over all his works.

Murray persuaded me Shamgar was not an anomaly; but a long-term paradigm.

Thank You, Murray!

Odds are, we will meet “on the other side”, and won’t that “frost” a host of folk!

Do I hear a cackle?

An Enemy Of The State

What can I say?

Outstanding!

My encounter with Murray Rothbard was productive of a much needed paradigm shift.

Not only as it pertained to The State, but as it pertained to my view of The State as an evangelical believer.

Talk about a manifestation of Common Grace! Hallelujah!

Bottom Line: God is Good. His Tender mercies are over all his works.

Murray persuaded me Shamgar was not an anomaly; but a long-term paradigm.

Thank You, Murray!

Odds are, we will meet “on the other side”, and won’t that “frost” a host of folk!

Do I hear a cackle?

For The Tough Times

For The Tough Times


Here is a little book designed to correctly focus one’s attention during those times designated as “tough”!

The author suggests God has purposefully designed these tough times in our lives to focus our attention on Him.

Almost sounds like to purpose of the author of Ecclesiastes, eh?

It is so true, during the times of ease and comfort we scarcely think of God, in terms of any ultimacy. Certainly, we mouth our “thank you”, Almost as a “throw away”. But, our focus is on the enjoyment of the blessing.

Then, seemingly “out of the blue”, the bottom drops out and our “whys?” surface with cascading frequency. Surely, this circumstance cannot be the will of God for me! The “abundant life” doesn’t entail something like this!

Tough times are sovereignly designed to remind us of our creatureliness and, more importantly, the marvel and wonder of sustaining grace!

These lessons are seldom learned in times of ease. Why? Someone once declared, “…what we obtain too cheaply, we esteem too lightly…”. Such is reality when it comes to grasping the grace of God in troubling times!

The chapter entitled: God Triumphant, reminded me: He IS; I am derivative and designed for His purpose (generally shielded from my understanding!), and said purpose is to produce mercy in me, versus misery!

The chapter of The Bitter Taste of Revenge was such an impactful reminder of the “high cost of getting even”! Yeow!

In the silence, God speaks…yet, how often do I listen? Sadly, in my experience, too infrequently!

This little booklet is a terrific reminder to focus on Paul’s admonition in Col. 3:1-4.

This is a terrific tool to maintain in one’s discipling quiver!