Men are Oxen

So I've been reading a book by David Murrow: "Why Men Hate Going To Church"  and while I find it interesting, there are definitely better books out there on church growth. The guy spends a lot of time complaining and pointing out the problems, and the suggestions he provides are weak and not very scripturally based.

That said, I do agree with him on some things, once I fish it out amongst the nonsense that is. I was reading Proverbs the other day, and 14:4 reminded me of some things:

"Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox."

The point of Murrow's book is to point out how men are centric in church growth, but it is God's will that dictates the rise and fall of churches. The congregations do play a part, but to point at men or women, or something smaller than dependence on Christ is not getting the whole picture. However, men are oxen.

I enjoy the parallel that this creates in my head. Oxen are big, dumb, stupid, strong, and they make the farmers' job so much easier. Of course there are plenty of men that are the opposite of all of these things, but even those men would at least appreciate the idea of strength and completing a task to help the team. Oxen are low maintenance creatures, and they live in the world of work. Men by and large see life in goals, tasks, mistakes, and successes. We are comfortable looking behind us and seeing where we've come, and enjoying how our hard work and experiences have improved our lives.

Oxen are not clean. Men are not clean. Fact. But God's model of marriage is that way for a reason, because ask a woman if she would rather be a single mom, working and mothering, or if she would like a man's help both financially and emotionally, and what will she say? Sure, the single mom lifestyle may make the house a little nicer looking, but at what cost?

Think about the church without men. I've been places where the pastor preaches the value of men, but from the pews around me all I hear are women degrading their husbands in public, and making jokes at their expense. After that finishes we go to a service we go to a sermon that appeals to the emotions, and probably singing that mentions Jesus "kissing me with the kisses of your mouth." As a man I can say with confidence: yikes. I do not want to be a part of that. Men were built by God different than women, and my point is not to say that the churches have it wrong singing about loving Jesus, or having a sermon filled with emotional content, but it is to say that we should honor God by ministering to men in a way that is helpful and spiritually beneficial.

The last part is the best: "abundant crops come by the strength of the ox." Isn't that exciting? Marriages and Churches alike are missing out on the plan God has set before them to let men be the leaders they are supposed to be. Sure, that takes men stepping up, but sometimes I don't think people realize the hostile environment that they set before most men. How do you lead a woman that degrades you to her friends? If she believes that stuff about you, why does she love you? How do you step up in leadership in church if it does not value your God given abilities of leadership, action, and task oriented world view?

The point of this post isn't to exalt men, but to point out that we are missing a big population on not one gender, but a big population of people that do not know Jesus. Murrow makes a point: men follow other men, not programs. Sports teams, Godly bosses and leadership, and boys and their fathers all represent men following and working with other men. As a man, when you walk into a church, and you're one of the only ones under age 65, does that make you feel like you're in the right place? Or does it make you want to find a place with guys your own age? I believe we can all do more to incorporate men who may not see where they can get involved, and be hands on, in church. Because all churches are different, it doesn't look the same everywhere, but the common denominator is that the more people you get involved, the more people will come to the knowledge of Christ.

Think of all the men who don't go to church. What if they started going, and Christ changed their lives? How would their work places change? Would church be though of differently by the world, not as something that moms and grandparents go to, but that a family goes to to meet with the Jesus that changes lives. What can we DO to change our churches to make it more inviting, not to "the culture" whoever that is, but to your macho coworkers that go to church twice a year and are living in sin? The Gospel will change hearts, one way or another, but think about what the church is doing to impede more people from hearing it. Can the lost come as they are to your church, or do they have to dress accordingly? Are lost people allowed to act like they don't know Jesus, or do you expect them to act like a Christian so that you are comfortable in "your" church?

Would you keep a clean manger to keep your environment nice? Or would you change in order to take advantage of how Christ can change the lost in your city? Letting the unchurched into church may not be nice and easy, but isn't that the problem anyway? We can't make the church a nice environment and still preach the Gospel that offends. Pray about what you can do to reach out to those around you in the name of Jesus, and how we can change as a church to switch from making it nice for us to making it a place where the lost can come and meet Jesus and hear the Truth.