From: John Hoh
To: church_and_change@yahoogroups.com
Cc: James Sonnemann
Sent: Sun, December 26, 2010 3:40:42 PM
Subject: Re: [church_and_change] Why Men Hate Going To Church
"When I was on the board of elders at my church, loosing (sic) folks was a grave topic of concern, one which no one seemed to have a clue what to do about except keep track of numbers and write strongly worded letters before eventually purging these lost souls from our membership roster. It wasn't a very satisfying or productive job."
I guess if all we do is keep track of numbers, write strongly worded letters, and eventually purge, we will keep doing the same things but wonder why we don't get different results.
This is not to judge what anyone is doing. There likely isn't a lot of training in reclaiming lost/slipping souls.
The numbers tracking-letter writing-list purging on the surface seems like a lack of a relationship building. What, precisely, is the problem in these peoples' lives? I'm sure there are multitudes of answers, and in essence the same answer. When I vicared a number of people said they didn't come because a pastor didn't visit a mom in the hospital or something similar. Probing further, I discovered the offending pastor wasn't the *current* pastor, nor even always the pastor before him; several claimed the offense was committed two or three pastors ago! OK, reality check. This congregation has had a different pastor--give him a chance!
Jim Sonnemann at Salem decided to turn this conundrum on its head. Instead of clubbing delinquents with the Law ("You oughtta be in church!"), he used a Gospel approach. He brought the Word and Sacrament to them, In essence this stated, "We hold these means of grace to be important and vital and will bring it to you if need be." Funny, people started coming to church after that.
When I vicared (1988-89) there was a determnination (sic), from my bishop anyway, that Sunday should be the day for worship and "mid-week" services. Well, if you do a survey and a host of people cite job obligations as a reason for not attending more, shouldn't we as a church find ways to accomodate (sic) those people? Is there a Law in Scripture that dictates which day we *must* worship? (Don't say "Third Commandment"--read it closely and the command speaks of rest for our bodies, NOT worship.) Sometimes people have jobs that prevent Sunday attendance. Think of nurses.
Again, tracking numbers, writing letters, purging lists are not wrong in and of themselves. They are tools. But maybe we need to think outside the box on this one.
John
JOHN L. HOH, JR. Free-Lance Writer (1-414-231-9920) 4859 N. 78th. St., Milwaukee, WI 53218 H2O Scrolls & Codices (HoneyMilk Publications, CheddarBrau Publications, and Vine & Sheaf Publications). See my website ( iProclaim Bookstore ) or check out Kindle format titles on Amazon for details!
--- On Sat, 12/25/10, syncroinc@aol.com
From: syncroinc@aol.com
Subject: Re: [church_and_change] Why Men Hate Going To Church
To: church_and_change@yahoogroups.com
Date: Saturday, December 25, 2010, 10:16 AM
Awesome- thanks!
Dave Long
St Pauls Franklin
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
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From: Mark Salzwedel
Sender: church_and_change@yahoogroups.com
Date: Sat, 25 Dec 2010 08:11:40 -0800 (PST)
To:
ReplyTo: church_and_change@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [church_and_change] Why Men Hate Going To Church
Dave,
I'm not familiar with the book you are referring to, but here's a Lutheran discussion of the topic I can recommend that might offer some further food for thought.
http://issuesetc.org/podcast/Show18072308H1%201.mp3
- Mark
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From: "syncroinc@aol.com"
To: church_and_change@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sat, December 25, 2010 9:45:50 AM
Subject: [church_and_change] Why Men Hate Going To Church [2 Attachments]
Merry Christmas and God's grace be with you gents.
It's me again, the guy with the men's retreat looking for 20 WELS men ready to experience a true man's adventure and establish a core WELS team to get something going in our synod. I'd like to thank the man on this list who suggested the book "Why Men Hate Going To Church" by David Murrow. I got it as a gift last night and I'm halfway through it already. It's a great read and a wake-up call to action, it's the reason I'm doing what I'm doing and not going away.
The books states that 35% of men go to church weekly, in Europe more like 5%. Any WELS Pastor knows that we loose (sic) men ages 18-35 at an unacceptable rate, some right after confirmation, and most never come back. When I was on the board of elders at my church, loosing folks was a grave topic of concern, one which no one seemed to have a clue what to do about except keep track of numbers and write strongly worded letters before eventually purging these lost souls from our membership roster. It wasn't a very satisfying or productive job.
So this glorious morning as we celebrate our Savior's birth I am taking a moment to write to you again, re-energized and enthusiastic after reading this book about a project that I have been working on for most of my life. I want to invite you to join me to renew and supercharge men and bring them back to church and in service of the Word where they belong. I invite each of you again to think about joining me in a hands on discovery, one that has the potential to reinvigorate our drifting men folk, give them an opportunity to examine their faith and a chance to rejoin the church once again reclaiming their God-pleasing places as powerful leaders and joyful witnesses.
Questions and concerns can be sent to me off line. Logistically there's not a lot to do- register by sending in the form, then show up on Friday with a sleeping bag at 5:30 PM and leave Sunday at 3. We'll take care of the rest. I've attached the forms and some links for more data. If money is an issue please let me know and I'll take care of it.
Sincerely
Dave Long
St. Pauls Franklin WI
PS Thank you to the men who contacted me off line and shed some light on Andy and his rant from a few weeks ago. I have a better understanding of who he might be, especially the fact that he was NOT a pastor. I would love for us to find a way to help Andy sort things out and bring him some peace.
Past Participants Talk About "One Year To Live"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbKfEa3JF3c&feature=related
Wives of Participants Speak about "One Year To Live"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnNuRRmv3Xo
Lutheran Men in Mission including "One Year To Live"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCJzH5RbvJU
Chetek, Wisconsin
Luther Park Bible Camp
January 14-16, 2011
(near Eau Claire)
