Growth Groups

We just launched our new Guys and Girls Small groups (called Growth Groups 'round here) and i am excited about what God is going to do through them.

Courtesy of my friend in the trenches, Justin Chandler, One of my leader's and I will be navigating our young men through the book of Judges. I have read the exciting book several times and am looking forward to teaching our guys how to be MEN of God, NOT Males. Judges has a wide variety of things to teach men: fighting for what is right, how to love, being tough, being sensitive, sacrificing pride and replacing it with humility, listening to God, trusting God rather than our own logic, being a man of one wife, kickin' some butt when necessary, and so much more.

The facts are that we are living in a Fatherless generation. I will guesstimate that approximately 60 to 70% of the teenagers in my youth ministry are without a father (this also takes into account the dad's who are "home" but nobody's really "home"; they are there but not really). WHERE HAVE ALL THE GOOD ROLE MODELS GONE?!?! When Spike is the number one television program for men, our SOCIETY IS IN TROUBLE!! (don't get me wrong, i like some of Spike's shows; they are cool and "dude-like." But a lot of what is on their is trash). As a student ministries pastor, I feel the burden, now more than ever, of training up young men into becoming good Godly role models. Teaching them how to be a good husband, NOW; how to be a good father, NOW; to fight and stand up for what is good and right. To learn how to be a GOOD protector and provider, NOW. How to Love God with every part of their life; etc. This type of training and equipping often falls between the cracks in our churches. Somehow we have almost, in a sense, "feminized" our churches. Statistics prove that Men view the church as having nothing meaningful to offer them; that it is catered greatly more towards women. It should alarm us that women are WAY MORE likely to attend church than men. With all of this said, I hope and pray that I live long enough to hear people say, "We are now living in a fathered generation." Oh, with God's grace, that I may be apart of creating a movement where the dream of Manly Dude's as great role models becomes reality. I Focus in on the young men in hope to see us (i say us because i too want to be a Godly man) turn our world upside down; where shows like MANSWERS and Family Guy no longer personify the average male: one who is an idiot, who doesn't know how to use his brain, who screws things up all the time, and only thinks about beer and sex.
This is why I do what I do. This is why we have a manly, guys only, growth group. To all DUDE OF DUDE'S out there: let's go against the grain and be tough, humble, full of love, full of testosterone, Godly, MEN. AHHHGGGG!!