Comments for Men Living Up Blog

Comment on Why Men Hate Going to Church by Josh

Josh — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 10:15:51 +0000

Our church is also full of women. Our service pastor is a woman. I do not know any theology about female church leadership but I am just plain uncomfortable with it. The other reason I feel some of my male friends have decided to call it quits is the atmosphere of triumph at every service. The songs are upbeat and there is a lot of applause. But after that we go back to our weekday realities and do not feel any stronger to deal with ourselves and the world. Sometimes I feel like giving up too. But I am there regularly so that my children understand the importance of gathering as the people of God. — Josh

Comment on Why Men Hate Going to Church by moderator

moderator — Mon, 23 May 2011 15:34:11 +0000

So glad to hear that your church is a place where there is a great balance. I think the author’s point is that this is not the norm, especially in dying churches. My church also has a good balance of men to women. If this post caused you to at least take a quick inventory, it was a good thing. Now you know that the Lord is providing a healthy mix. Thanks for posting!

Comment on Why Men Hate Going to Church by Jerry Sinclair, Marriage Missonary

Jerry Sinclair, Marriage Missonary — Fri, 20 May 2011 20:50:53 +0000

…been reading David Murrow’s, “Why Men Hate Going to Church.” This is an excellent read. It will cause you to stop a moment and look around your church and ask, “where are all of the men?”

Answer:
I did look around recently and from a good vantage point. I counted the following in our sanctuary:

310 adults and 20 young people who don’t count

165 ladies of which 13 were widows
145 men were in attendance
AND there were 3 other men making security rounds and 2 men in Junior church

That is 150 men or just under 50% of the attendance…I don’t see where the problem is…in my church? Could it be the men who are missing are the problem and not the church? Does God sit up there in Heaven wringing His hands over, “What am I going to do?” I think not.

Comment on Vermont Lawmakers Look to Legalize Teen “S*xting” by Ken

Ken — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 17:47:46 +0000

I hope that Vermont law makers are prepared for the influx of pedophiles that will soon be arivng in there state. To make the sending of underage explicit images equall to a trafic ticket will draw them in like moths to a flame. If I had children and lived in Vermont I would be out fighting this with everything that I have.

Comment on I was molested by a man… by moderator

moderator — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:23:58 +0000

I’m not trying to “read between the lines” in your post, but it sounds like you might be trying to rationalize using pornography. As a recovering addict I can tell you that I found hundreds of excuses to use pornography from “it doesn’t hurt anyone,” to “my wife just doesn’t like sex as much as I do so I deserve to have my needs met.” I’ve found that all of these were me simply wanting to continue what I thought would make me happy. Porn didn’t make me happy. In fact, it made me more depressed, the deeper and deeper I went. If you instinctively do something “in secret” it’s probably something you already know is not right. I encourage you to examine yourself and ask the question, “does this really make me happy?”

Comment on I was molested by a man… by moderator

moderator — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:15:37 +0000

I’m not sure what you mean by “more than 1 side to this story?” I think it took a lot of courage to “man up” and admit something that can be so destructive to relationships and to the user of pornography. The wife is the one being impacted the most right now. The pain and sorrow she is experiencing because of this revelation was not earned or deserved by her. I’m proud of this guy who decided he wasn’t going to live this secret life anymore. It takes a lot of courage and conviction to look into the eyes of the one you love and ask for help.

Comment on I was molested by a man… by steel mailbox

steel mailbox — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:34:54 +0000

You make a fair point, but have you actually thought about how it might affect different people? I do not say you are wrong, I just need to identify that there is more than 1 side to this story.

Comment on Help for Tiger Woods by Jerry Sinclair

Jerry Sinclair — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 23:11:19 +0000

I have been in recovery for s*xual addiction for 15 years. The last 13 years have been spent investing my energy in facilitating support groups for Christian men who struggle. A common theme that seems to keep high profile men away from solid recovery is their fear of exposure.

When sharing my ministry with Pastors, I educate them that my target audience is made up of two types of church members: 1)The man who is sitting in the back pew and NOT participating or 2) the performer on the stage (pastor, praise team leader, usher, Deacon or teacher). You can guess which group sticks with the program and the one who runs away.

Many high profile rock stars, actors, athletes never quite grasp the concept of recovery because they are always looking over their back shoulder with worry about who will expose them.

The average guy who gets caught is also concerned about his identity being exposed, but usually he has a lot less to lose. That is why we say an addict needs to have a ‘rock bottom’ experience where their entire world has been taken away. Having nothing is the best way a man can achieve and maintain sobriety. It is ironic that God will receive us into His Kingdom broken, contrite and ‘bottomed out’.