Man-flu

I've got, what my wife calls "man-flu!" I feel dreadful - headache, blocked up nose, chesty cough and I can produce flem all the colours of the rainbow (well there have to be some compensations!)

Of course, it is just a bad cold - a virus. Someone told me that there are around 200 cold viruses in circulation in the UK at any one time. Once you have had one you have life-time immunity from it. Still - I think it's flu...

A fellow evangelist once put forward to me the concept that religion should not be taught in schools, and schools should not, by and large, have 'christian' assemblies. His theory ran that RE (or RS) and in particular, Christianity, is so poorly taught, or at least, presents such a wimpy, soft at the edges version of Christian faith, that it effectively innoculates much of the population against future contact with the real thing!

I always disagreed with him, feeling that UK law continues to give us a real opportunity to take the Good News about Jesus into our schools. I for one, am still involved in doing this, having had 2 opportunities already this week. (Follow the link to see one way some in Manchester are reaching real kids) http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LWjLf0rfvz4

However - he may have had a point. Our churches (I generalise of course) continue to suffer with a distinct absence of men. "Women and children first" was the cry when the titanic went down, and with a continuing lack of male leadership, switched on fathers, and loving faithful husbands in many churches, some of them will soon go the way of the Titanic too.

What kind of man are you? What kind am I? If non-christian men look at me will they see a real man, or the 'gentle Jesus meek and mild' kind of guy that they may have been innoculated against? If we are going to reach men we must be deliberate about it. Great kids and womens ministries are fantastic (as a Father of 3 young daughters I am involved in both), but mens work will not happen by accident. Men must be pursued, confronted, engaged, deliberately targetted and attracted. Our churches must be man-friendly!

To coin a phrase "Real men followed Jesus - they still do."