Fishers of Men or Fishermen?

Ministries that target men by appealing to their supposed manliness are popping up all over the place these days (e.g., Church for Men, GodMen, etc.). More and more people think that the way to reach men is by catering to their love for “manly” stuff like sports and outdoor activities.

Fifty-one-year-old Ed Trainer, who runs International Fishing Ministries, thinks church is boring and better suited for women.

“Church is too boring for men,” says Trainer. “For men, I think the great outdoors can be a cathedral. Men open up when they’re out on the water. It’s a place they can share their fears, problems and vulnerability.”

. . .

Trainer said he became a “fisher of men,” a phrase based on one of Jesus’ admonitions to his disciples, because he became bored with so many ministers’ sermons.

“Church is set up like a country club for women. For me, after five minutes of a sermon, I’m off in my mind fishing on some stream somewhere. Other men are thinking about the hockey game.”

So he started a ministry that reaches out to men and boys by taking them fishing on the waters of British Columbia, Alaska, and elsewhere. He believes that the great outdoors can be church for men.

“We decided to go out into God’s creation, pointing men to a Christian experience through fishing,” Trainer says.

. . .

Trainer figures about 10 to 15 percent of the guys who go fishing with him “make a commitment” to Jesus Christ, but he doesn’t really count.

Read the whole story.

What do you think about this? It seems to me that the premise is fatally flawed. Manliness must be defined by Scripture rather than culture. Jesus Himself is the perfect model of what it means to be a man. Biblical manhood must be the standard to which we direct men. Many men may naturally like sports and outdoor activities better than preaching, but the answer isn’t to give them what they like. The answer is to preach and pray and work for the conversion and sanctification of men so that they do love gathering together with other believers for fellowship, worship, and the the preaching of the Word.

HT: Titus One Nine

See our previous post:

• GodMen Reaches Out to Christian Men

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