Useless Ministries - Misguided Men's Manuals

Many men's ministries manage magnificently.  Minor men's malapropisms may mistakenly mislight, mayhap. Moreover, misaligned masculinity might make more misogynists.  (Meh.)

(Apparently I can't write an entire blog entry where each word starts with the same letter without it turning into nonsense.  I'm going to stop trying, now.  However, you are welcome to attempt to write a clever comment using some form of alliteration if you think you can.  I look forward to reading your efforts while I sip my coffee and watch the snow.  Moving on.)

Books directed at men have become very popular in the religious sections of bookstores.  It started with Wild at Heart, a book that tells men not to act like sissies and is oddly popular with women (I know ladies who read it over and over again and keep it by their bed like a smutty romance novel), and the movement grew large enough to justify its own section of Christian bookstores.

Of course, there are times when men and women need to be ministered to in different ways.  For example, according to TV, every man is a boorish and insensitive slob who can't do anything as well as his graceful and clever wife; it's good for men to be told that they are not limited to such an emasculated existence.  But often times I see books directed at men that have no reason to be limited to a male audience.

I first noticed this five years ago when a friend handed me a book and said, "This book is about how to live like a man.  You should read it."

I stared at him.  Was he questioning my manhood?  Did he think I spent my time living like a woman?  (You see, these books don't always make good gifts.)

There was only one way to settle it, really.

Anyway, I started reading.  According to the authors of the book, men should stand up for what's right and always live by their convictions.  Boring.  Everyone knows that.  But I couldn't figure out why this was a book for men.  Are women expected to be lukewarm toward their convictions?  Should the ladies just flounder about during moral crises until a man can show up to handle things?  And why did such an obvious and simple book require two writers?  Did they take turns with one man writing the book while the other man kept track of both of their wives' spiritual agendas?

To be fair, I don't think that the authors ever thought of that.  They probably just wondered what kind of literature might help men out, and a call to action and moral vigilance was their response.  It's actually a good lesson.  But it's a good lesson for everyone, and there's no reason to limit encouragement to one group when it's content is not exclusive to them.

Am I saying that people shouldn't write books directed at specific demographic groups?  No.  I'm saying we should write better ones.

Useless Ministries - The Creation Museum

Here's a conversation I'm tired of having.

ME: Hello, I heard you asking about Christianity.  I am a Believer, myself, and would be happy to talk to you.


STRANGER:  Ah, I see.  Yeah, Christianity can be confusing for me.


ME:  Believe me, I understand.  What's on your mind.


STRANGER: Why does the Bible say that people and dinosaurs lived together?  Doesn't that make the entire Bible wrong?  How can you trust something that is so obviously scientifically wrong?

ME:  .......

A long time ago, someone told me that it was speculated (by someone) that dinosaurs may have lived alongside humans.  I pondered this.  Perhaps some isolated species did survive the extinction and managed to be seen by people.  I'm not a scientist, so I don't know how implausible that is, but it sounded interesting.  (And, no, it's not in the Bible.)

Little did I know that what was being speculated was different from what I imagined.  Scores of people were trying to rewrite history and claim that ancient people had lived alongside dinosaurs and considered these large beasts to be a normal part of life.  They even decided that people may have ridden on dinosaurs and used them for labor!  That's not what I had in mind.

People in ancient times left us records about the animals they knew.  Aristotle even wrote a book on zoology in which he details every creature he'd ever heard of or read about.  How good was this work?  It was the first scientific writing to point out that whales were mammals and not fish.  But he never mentions a dinosaur.

There are no records to back up these wild claims.  But there is a entire silly museum devoted to teaching this nonsense.  And when I tell people that I'm a believer, do they ask me about Jesus' life on earth or the theology of redemption?  No!  They just want to laugh at me because of this:

This makes Christianity into a laughing stock, and it keeps people from seeing the beauty of God's Truth.  The Creation Museum is fighting the wrong battle.

Useless Ministries - Those Who Can't Do

It is common to say, when you are doing some kind of charity or ministry work, that your ability is less important than your availability - but that's not always true.  Ministry should be done with some quality, and the effects can be harmful when someone can't handle their responsibilities.

I remember running into a useless ministry in college when I was getting into my truck to start the long drive home for the holidays.  As I got in, I noticed a note on my windshield that said that a local ministry had come by to clean my windshield so that I would have a safer drive home.  I loved it.  I hate dirty windshields, and I was very glad to have someone else clean it for a change.  I got in my vehicle and started driving toward the sun...

...and I couldn't see a darned thing.

I should have known.  Most of the kids from my college had never worked a day in their life (people in the dorms would say things like, "My lightbulb burned out in my room, so I think I should call my parents for help."), and they certainly didn't know how to clean off a window.  Whoever got around to my truck had smeared the dirt around so that I couldn't see very well.  I had to stop at the first gas station to clean it off myself - properly.

Unfortunately, it would have been better for all of us if those people had not decided to "minister" to us.  As I cleaned my windshield, I wondered if anyone was going to get into a wreck because of a local ministry that "helped out" by making the windows of our cars useless.

As a rule of thumb, if you don't know what you are doing then you're better off staying in bed.  Of course, anyone can help out at a soup kitchen or a place that collects and sorts clothing for the needy - many of these tasks require no special skills or experience.  And most people are better at certain things than others, so find out what you can do and let that be your focus.