God's dream for men
Jesus' Disciples
1. They were INVOLVED with the Master
2. They learned new things about being INVOLVED with Jesus
3. They were INVOLVED in building His Kingdom, not their own
4. They flowed naturally, were real and INVOLVED with each other
5. They got INVOLVED in away that would continue for His glory
These are the 5 elements of a Men4Jesus meeting.
- We meet in Jesus honour and anticipate His presence
- There is a strong emphasis on listening; "human ears for each other, the ears of our heart for the whisper of God"
- We invite sharing of testimonies, struggles, words, visions and dreams, weighing them against scripture, the Spirit of God, the character of the speaker and sanctified common sense
- We are not there to build our own Kingdom
- The facilitator aids the release of others
God's dream for man is phenomenal. Adam had an amazing unbroken love relationship with his Father with incredible faith. He communicated with him without shame. He had a perfect relationship with a perfect wife who, like him, had a perfect faith-love relationship with her Father. The circle was unbroken.
How the world has fallen. It lurches from crisis to crisis and Christian men are not immune from its effect. Many are divided, struggling, insecure and wonder who they are. Many are flattened by worldly cares. Many seek their identity in money, work, sport or politics. From the perfection of creation we've slipped to the stress of a sensed separation. We can know about the reconciliation of the cross but not experience it. Peaceful fellowship in the Garden has become pressure and isolation in the workplace.
The bible says in Christ that we are neither male nor female. In other words there's only one spiritual gender. So why bother with "men"? Well, Americans have a phrase "the elephant in the room" to describe something obvious that everyone turns a blind eye to. What's our "elephant"? It's the non-involvement and separation of Christian men. We're divided and frequently passive. As a body of men, we're weak. It's a crisis of immense proportions. Individual soldiers may be at their post but as a whole, the Christian army of men is divided, isolated and asleep.
The job of Men4Jesus is to wake the army up, put the soldiers in touch and help them grow together.
As you read this introduction, may it inspire you to become involved with Men4Jesus. You are your brother's keeper. You need your brothers... and they need you. God's dream for men lives on. Come and help us make it