I finished reading How Women Help Men Find God today. It’s a book written for women, but as a former (and future?) pastor, I wanted to read it because it is packed full of ideas on how women  (and churches in general) can help men become followers of Jesus.

Such a book is desperately needed because the average church today is seeing a massive drop-out rate among men. We are not just losing a generation; we are losing an entire sex.

Of course, if your congregation is bucking the trend and is comprised of at least 50% men (in all age groups), then chances are good that you and your church are already doing some of the things mentioned in this book. Read it to affirm what you are already doing, and maybe to provide insights on some other areas that could be tweaked to encourage greater involvement by the men in your church.

But if your church is like the vast majority of churches in the United States, and your congregation consists primarily of women, this book is for you. It is full of practical suggestions (often written in a humorous way) to help men see that following Jesus is not just for women and children.

For example, most men don’t mind singing in church, but songs about being held by Jesus, and kissing Him, and Him being our lover will keep most men from singing too boisterously. As Michael Frost has said, Jesus is NOT my boyfriend.

In a similar vein, don’t invite men into a “relationship” with Jesus. Such terminology is attractive to women, but men respond better to the more biblical invitation to “follow” Jesus. This is especially true when the dangers and risks of following Jesus are emphasized.

Also, simple things like changing the way the church is decorated can go a long way in showing men that church (and following Jesus) is for them as well.

The book is also full of helpful suggestions on how to evangelize men, how to disciple men, and how to encourage them to take the role of spiritual leader in the home and in the church.

So do you know a man who needs to become a follower of Jesus or take a more active spiritual role? Do you want your church to become more effective at reaching men, making disciples, and raising up leaders? Read this book.

Oh, and don’t forget to check out David Murrow’s two websites: www.speakingofmen.com and www.churchformen.com

When I came down to Texas for Seminary three years ago, I brought 150 shelf-feet of books with me. In other words, my books took up 150 feet of bookshelf space.

I just added it all up again, and in three years, I have added over 60 feet of books! 20 feet a year! I am now up to over 210 feet of bookshelf space. Yes, I have an addiction.

Of course, having lots of books means nothing except that I’ve bought a lot of books. It’s reading them that is the key! But I also have a reading addiction (which my wife shares also, and which we successfully passed on to our three girls), so I’m okay. Is that rationalizing?

I read my last seminary book ever yesterday! I finished off with Four Views on Salvation in a Pluralistic World. Now I just have to put the finishing touches on one more paper, fill out a couple forms, and I AM DONE. Woohoo!!

I am so ready to be done with seminary, I’m not even going to walk. I’m ready to be away from those “Hollowed Halls” forever. Yes, that misspelling was intentional.

Needless to say, I really enjoyed seminary. More on that after I graduate…

One of the books I read this week was Simple Church by Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger. Though I was excited to read it, and agree in principle with the “Simple Church” concept, that every church needs to drastically simplify what it is doing so that it can do a better job of making disciples, I was a tiny bit disappointed with some of the approach used by the authors.

The book is based on a survey of hundreds of growing churches across the country which experienced at least 5% growth each year for at least three years. They surveyed these churches on what they were doing and how they were doing it. Here are my complaints:

First, it does not appear that they asked the growing churches they surveyed where their “growth” was coming from. Much of it could have been transfer growth. I don’t mind “transfer growth” if Christians are leaving sick churches to attend healthy ones, but that is not the reason most Christians transfer. Most just want to go where the best show is.

Second, it seems they only surveyed larger churches (of 300 or more) and churches with buildings. This is odd since about 90% of the 485,000 US churches are under 80 people. Also, the most “simple” churches in the country are house churches (of 30 or less). It would be interesting to see if his stats fit with house churches.

Finally, it seems that there is a real break down in the ability of the churches that were surveyed to get their people into community service (mission). Though the people may be progressing through the simplified discipleship track, few make it to the goal of mission involvement. I wonder if this isn’t because Mission should be placed first, as suggested by other books on the market (e.g. The Forgotten Ways).

Of course, despite these “complaints” of mine, I do think it is a really good book since most churches desperately need simplification.