Fellowship with Men

By Rev. Mark Lubbock - C.E.O. Gulf South Men

A friend of mine came back from the College BSC Championship Game in Dallas with an interesting observation: He was not a sports fan & attended the game only to watch his daughter in the half-time show – yet he found himself completely caught up in the game. He said that there was just “something about being in the middle of all of those people that was contagious . . . you could not escape their enthusiasm.”

He was fascinated that the people who surrounded him could have such an influence on his attitude. Being in their midst made something that he normally found boring to become quite exciting.

This made me think of a neat thing that takes place in Baton Rouge, LA on Wednesday’s and Thursday’s. Two totally separate groups of business men meet weekly for lunch, fellowship and a men’s bible lesson. These men come from all walks of life and a variety of churches. The Wednesday group averages about 200 men while the Thursday group seats 50-60 men.

Consisting of a broad mix of men from all denominations each luncheon is hosted by a local church. What would draw such large, diverse groups of men together in the middle of the day during a busy week for a bible study? Particularly when it may not be their denomination or home church?

I asked several men that very question. While the answers varied a bit, there was a consistent underlying theme: The men enjoyed open, honest Christian Men’s Fellowship. The ‘group dynamic’ was strong & men found themselves really looking forward to the study each week. They began to build relationships during the table conversations. Discussions are men-friendly allowing the men to get honest in talking about real-life application of the lesson.

In other words, the men responded to being able to share their own experiences/challenges/questions in this all-male gathering. There is a group dynamic that takes place when men come together that cannot happen in any other setting. This dynamic opens up the doors to men’s hearts and helps them to engage in active discipleship. One group has been meeting for 20 years while the other has met for over 4 years now. Clearly this has staying power and offers great potential to reach men!

Although we have several large Churches in the area, to date none of these offer such an opportunity on a weekly basis. In our community the business population is large enough to support many such groups and I would love to challenge our leaders to pray about starting one in their church.

Likewise, I would like to challenge you to do the same!

Blessings,
Rev. Mark Lubbock