A New Project For Men's Ministries

          Women's ministries thrive in churches across the country. No matter the size of the church, Women find strength in each other. There are groups for women with small children, women who have special talents, make quilts, and enjoy deeper studies in the Bible. Women's study guides, and women's devotionals, and specialty books for women line the shelves of bookstores. But try to find a good group study guide for men, and the picking is much slimmer.
          Gut Checks For Guys is a nine week study series that helps men grow in Christ, as well as grow between brothers. A Gut Check is something that affects us down deep. When we feel something in our gut, called splankna in the Bible, in changes us.
          Gut Checks change who we are, and how we deal with life. They stirs us and force us to look at our behavior, beliefs, and actions. When men talk to other men about being men, then Godliness is the result. We become better disciples, more loving husbands, greater models for our children, and better employees on the job. When men dig deep and open their lives to each other, real Christian growth takes place.
          This book includes videos from unusual sources, opportunities to laugh, chances to set goals. It allows men to begin laying the groundwork for deeper relationships with other men. Gut Checks For Guys can be used with individual small groups, or in a large group setting, through whole group activities followed by table group discussions.
          Take a look at the table of contents, and consider whether it will be valuable with the men's ministry program in your church. Before it goes into full publication, 2t2 Ministries would like to have a men's group volunteer to try the book on.  Will your men's ministry be the one to take the Gut Checks For Guys challenge?

Chapter 1      Feeling It Down Deep

            Compassion, Not Particularly A Manly Topic

            Opinions Define Religion, Passion Shapes It

            What Is Manliness

           

Chapter 2      Check Your Priorities

            How Hobbies Become Obsessions

            Knowing When to Slow Down

            Making sure the main thing stays the main thing

Chapter 3      Fantastic at Faking It

            The Fake It till you Make It Syndrome

            Don’t let others see Our weakness

            A Call For Integrity

Chapter 4      Keep It Real

            The Freeing Effect of Truth

            Honesty Does not Equal Failure

            My Weakness may be Your Strength- That makes us Both Better

Chapter 5      I Don’t Want To Talk About It

            Stress

            The Need For Relationship

            Doctors are for Men Too

            Mortality and Estate Planning

           

Chapter 6      The Real Difference Between Men And Women

            Men Talk Results, Women Talk Process

            Men Want Action, Women Want Attention

            Men Gather Things, Women Gather Relationships

Chapter 7      Real Men Don't Ignore, They Adapt

            Listening to Our Bodies

            Changing Careers

            Altering the Way We Do Things

            Pacing Ourselves    

Chapter 8      Yes, We’re Open

            The Freeing Effect of Openness

            Openness with your spouse (Don’t keep her guessing)

            Finding others with similar needs

                       

Chapter 9      Where Will You Be On Father’s Day?

            Man Up

            Show Jesus to Our Kids

            Representing Jesus in the Workplace

            Making Time for Ministry

Another Black Eye For An Incredible Educational System

            It grieves me to read another story of a teacher who overstepped her boundaries, and defying all reason did the unfathomable. Laura Elizabeth Whitehurst of Redlands gave birth to a child on June 18^th. The child is said to be fathered by one of her students, who at the time was sixteen-years old.

            The damage inflicted by this woman will not be undone. If she is found guilty, she needs to pay the legal consequences. But this post is not really about Whitehurst, because she is just one of a string of teachers who have made really bad choices. Instead, this post is about all of the other teachers.

            Every day, for nine months of the year, our children are taught by incredible, skilled, educated, caring teachers. They live under constant scrutiny, and rarely receive the appreciation they deserve. Test scores the students receive on standardized tests are used for judging their success on any given year. There is no appreciation that these teachers are doing the best they can with the students they have been given.

            They plan all summer, when others think they are on vacation. They work though Christmas, and Easter Breaks. They take work home, and are constantly assessing the work that is turned in.  They do all this because they love what they do. They live for the “Aha” moments, when the light turns on and a student “gets it”. I have been a part of education from the inside, and I have watched it from the outside. These tireless workers deserve our appreciation.

            Here is a thought for parents. Pay attention to what your students are doing with their teachers. Praise the progress. Question the unusual. Be involved in your child’s education. Visit the campus. Take some time off to attend the parent teacher conferences. Volunteer to help in the classroom. In the years that I was in the education, this almost never happened.

            Prayer may not be allowed in the classroom, but to date there is no law against it in your home. Pray for the teachers. Bathe your kids in prayer as they go out the door. Intercede for them all day long. Teach them the ways that they should go and monitor their progress. Raising children is difficult. We need all the help we can get.

            I cannot vouch for anything that happened in Redlands, CA, and I have no desire to pass judgment on the boy’s family. The reality is that as long as people are involved in any situation, something is bound to go wrong.  However, if we are vigilant, and involved, rewarding our teachers for a job well done, then issues like this are a lot less likely to arise.