BrauchTalk

Men’s ministry is an integral part of any church congregation. There seems to be an alarming gap in the ages of men in the church pews today. At least this is the case at my church. We need to fill this gap and create relationships with eachother. It seems like my generation goes to church and pushes the “Cruise Control” button on the pew in front of them and then checks the time to see how much is left in the service. I want to try and find out why this happens. We need men to be on fire for God and leading our families and our churches.

It seems like God has put men’s ministry on my heart. I started a “Young Men’s Bible Study” last winter at my house. I tried to keep it focused on leadership at church, our jobs, and at home with our families. I am no pro at leadership at all. We all learned together. Each time we met, something was accomplished that wasn’t even intended for the night’s topic. Some of the men came with issues and went home with an answer or a comfort. It was awesome! We took the summer off due to busy schedules and time conflicts. God has totally been working on my heart and making me long for men’s ministry in the church.

I picked up a book called Why Men Hate Going to Church that I have heard good things about. I guess I am looking for ideas from all the men out there that are reading this blog. Women can have their say as well. B is always trying to help me out with ideas and she listens to me rant about my ideas. You know what they say…”Behind every good man is a better woman.”

What do you all think? What have you done in men’s ministry? What did you like to do/want to do? Feel free to leave a comment on this very subject. I want to make this blog entry a resource for other men who want to start a men’s ministry program at their church. I will joing into the replies. Men that are on fire for God are so important in our churches! It fires up our families and friends and coworkers for God! Let’s light that one match together to start a blaze of men on fire for God!

I recently received an email from a lady I work with at the church that had me stunned. Here is what it said:

“Hey B, How are you doing? Are we back to the rotating schedule for CC? I am planning for this week. So are you pregnant?”

I had to read it twice. Why on earth would she ask out from nowhere if I was pregnant? First off, I’m most definitely not pregnant. And second, where did this idea come from that I was? Apparently somehow a rumor has started spreading amongst some of the young women in the church. How it got started, I have no idea. I have never fallen victim to a rumor before, and the thought that it is circling through church ladies that I call friends is a little bit infuriating. But at the same time, I have to laugh about it because it is so absurd.

So what did I do? I emailed her right back and instead of telling her I’m not pregnant, I decided to keep this little rumor-starting group guessing. Whether that was the right thing to do or not, I’m not sure, but if the personal business of my life is that important to them, I’ll let them have it. Some people just don’t have anything better to do.

The thing that bothers me the most about this rumor is that it is from church family. The last thing Christians should be doing is taking part in a gossip chain. There have been several occasions where I have heard rumors about people in the church. Most recently, I heard that a couple in the church were losing their business. The person telling me about it asked me if I knew whether it was true or not. My reply: I won’t believe it until the couple decides to tell me directly. By saying that, the rumor is stopped directly in its tracks. I let the person know that I don’t believe what they are spreading, and that I won’t be apart of spreading it any further. Continue reading ‘Don’t Be a Rumor Weed’

There is no doubt in my mind that God cares about the small stuff. Not only has He helped us find a great new car after my car broke down, but He has now given me an opportunity to earn some money to help pay for our new expense and minister at the same time.

In many ways, M and I took a leap of faith when we purchased our new Pontiac Vibe last week. I still have a year of college left, so I won’t be able to contribute finances like I would with a full-time job. On top of that, the cost of commuting to school and expense of books and tuition, as well as M starting his master’s program will cause a little more stress on the paycheck than usual. We bought the car knowing money will most likely be tight for the next months ahead before I finish school. But as usual, God had a bigger plan to take care of us through this time.

Currently at my church, I am a Children’s Church teacher on a rotating schedule. The other night at church we had a Christian Education meeting to give an update of how our classes are going. I voiced some frustration I had been having with the kids, and how having two different teachers who taught two different ways every other week was not helping the kids find the structure they need. Continue reading ‘Starting a Children’s Ministry’