For several years, adult men have met each Wednesday morning at 5:45 to enjoy breakfast together, encourage one another, study the Bible, worship and grow in their relationship with God and their families. The gathering is called “Men’s Life” and it is a key part of the Men@Tallowood ministry. It’s open to all men, and if the Wednesday morning schedule does not fit, there is a meeting at 6 each Wednesday night. The morning sessions are at Tallowood Center, I-10 and Attingham, and the evening meetings are in the Fireplace Room, on the main campus within the building that houses the gym.
Justin Lofts is a young father who is one of the Men’s Life regulars. A firefighter/EMT, he was asked why he found value in the experience. The following is his response:
In my life, I have had the opportunity to meet many people that come from broken homes. In fact, where I grew up, broken homes were much more common than families that actually stayed together. I’ve seen “troubled children” from all over America, and I noticed a common trend in the majority of the people that I met. The common thread was almost always an absent father. In America, our family units are suffering from an epidemic of indifferent and absentee fathers.
Perhaps it’s because the roles have changed so much that dads just don’t know how to be dads anymore, or perhaps fathers just stopped caring somewhere along the way. I would submit to you that this is merely a symptom of a bigger problem. The real problem is that families are falling away from God, and as fathers, we are the only ones to blame. The Bible tells us that the man is responsible for the spiritual leadership of his house. In Joshua 24:15, Joshua takes a bold stand for himself and his family when he says “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”. I fear that as a whole, men and fathers are afraid to take that stand.
For this reason, when asked to write an article about Men’s Life, I could not resist. I started going to Men’s Life with the goal of becoming a better husband, father, and man. While I will not claim to be perfect, I would hope that my family has noticed some improvement. I myself grew up in one of those broken homes mentioned earlier, and as statistics go, the major thing missing in my life was a godly father. Having lived this I appreciate the need for men to step up and take their places as the head of the family. Luckily for us though, we don’t have to do it alone. Proverbs 27:17 tells us “As iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.” As Christian men, we can stop the epidemic of indifference, and start to lead our families back to God, but we are not going to do it alone.
To me this is what Men’s Life is all about. Yes, it is early. Yes, it means making yourself get up and go to church on a Wednesday morning, but the trade-off is well worth it. In return, you will get a chance to hear the Word of God, fellowship with other Christian men, bless, and be blessed. Oh, and did I mention that it comes with breakfast???
For me personally, it is an opportunity to learn from Christian role models, men of God that I did not have growing up. Can I say that Men’s Life will solve all of your problems? No, but it is a great place to start learning how to be a godly man, father, and husband, and it’s a place to build relationships with other Christian men. I would encourage any man, married or single, young or old, to give Men’s Life a try. It is a fail-proof investment into your family, and you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
