MAN-CHURCH
BRAD STINE
I was performing at a church in Pennsylvania for what was supposed to be a
"Men's" event. I said supposed to be because on the way to the event the
coordinator told me that some of the women at the church wondered if they
could slip in to see the show.Apparently they were fans of mine and felt
left out.
Now folks, the last thing I am is anti-woman. I love women, need women,and
respect women. Heck, my mom's one! But it really ticked me off that they
would think it ok to enter our man cave. Men have very few events that they
are allowed to have just for themselves w/o women feeling we are being
insensitive.Women want to get into everything that used to be exclusively
male including our sports. From little league , to fireMEN , women want in.
Women want to get into Augusta which is a private golf course where the
Masters is held. ( I know you guys know this but this is for any women who
have sneaked onto our site and are reading this. ) Ladies , why can't we
have a tournament or PRIVATE club just for men? Men are better golfers and
need to compete with each other for the shear sportmanship of watching
another man crumble at the sight of our superior drive.Women want to even
compete in mens golf tournaments. Listen ladies I have no problem having you
in our tournaments as long as we can compete in yours. Of course if men went
out for WPGA events there wouldn't BE any ladies making the cut. Why because
we are better at it than you.
Funny how in our culture even that pragmatic, documented , truth, is
supposed to be censored for the sake of not hurting someones feelings.Saying
men are superior than women in certain areas isn't insensitive...it's true.
Just like women are better at some things then men. You would have to be a
tenured professor of sociology at Berkley to be too stupid to grasp that.
So all I am saying is women, do your best in everything you choose, rise as
high as you can and shoot for the stars but please leave some things just
for men. Godmen is such a sacred space. We'll even reciprocate. I hereby
promise that no Godmen will EVER sneak into a Women of Faith conference.
Trust me, we would rather be shopping for shoes at the mall on super bowl
Sunday.The Stine
16 Comments:
At 4:07 PM , shortstopjpc said...
Brad, where did you find all these guys?. This is great. Finally, some Men not afraid to be REAL MEN.. I love it. Just a word of encouragement for all of you. If this thing does not take off, It may be because people forgot to Pray. Because that is the only reason that people would fail to grasp this reality. It has been a long time coming. I will keep up to date on the progess of this first event, so hopefully if it ever comes near me I can get involved. I am hoping you guys are recording the event..... Anyways guys, may God truly Bless you as you attempt to teach other men, that they are. And be sure to remind them the whole process begins, with Jesus, the perfect man, the perfect GOD. jC
At 7:45 PM , Karen said...
First of all, I have to say that I found the Newsweek article very offensive, and there has been some negative press about you on blogs, etc. So, I came to your website and blog.
So far, though, in reading this blog and your GodMen website (I have to say don't care for your name, though. God'sMen might be better. None of us is good enough to be Godmen or Godwomen) I haven't found anything truly offensive in what you are proposing. Correct me if I'm wrong:
You want a place for men only.
You want to be allowed to be men.
You're tired of the soft worship, hand-holding and weeping (so am I!)
You respect women? Am I reading this right? On your website you say that no human is superior to another. I assume this means that you want ALL humans, male and female to rise to their God-given gifts..whatever they may be, leader, follower, minister (lay ministry) nurturer, warrior, etc. You respect all, but want your man-experience.
You want to be Christ-like (so do I!)
You want a strong experience in worship and "church."
If this is what you propose, go for it, guys!
I hope I'm not intruding, as a female, but I wanted to know more about you before I formed an opinion.
At 12:54 PM , EgOshAkE said...
As FIREmen are not fire, so GODmen are not God.
I liken GodMen to 'Men of God'.
At 9:19 AM , Nayla said...
Gee, I guess I ought to tell my mother there's no room in the firehouse for her. Wonder what they'll do without their top responding engineer. That's all right, no one really cares about those fires and extrications they won't be able to get a rig to for lack of an engineer. Don't see what an engineer has to do with it? Then you don't know enough about emergency services to open your mouth on the subject. You do a disservice to every predominantly masculine profession by implying strength is even one tenth of the job.
At 5:53 PM , Anonymous said...
Hmmmmm.
Yes, the best male golfers in the world can beat the best female golfers ... very true, though even Michelle Wie and Annike Sorenstam don't typically finish dead last on a PGA cut. But most male golfers are crappy and would get dusted at any LPGA event. The average dumpy guy behind his desk couldn't last 5 minutes running full-court with women's college basketball players, but likes to strut around and brag as if he could do what Michael Jordan could do.
This has really nothing to do with your overall point, and I'm not trying to undermine your movement. I'm very male and into masculine Christianity, but the statement that men are better than women at golf is false if you mean EVERY man is better than EVERY woman. Or even that MOST men are better than the BEST women. I'm just saving you some out-of-shape middle-age guys grief (or even some physicall fit guys) when you brag too much before your athletic 17-year-old daughters whip your butts on the basketball court or the golf course.
At 6:39 PM , JohnIV said...
You really seem foolish.. I am sorry but this is horrible.
At 4:53 PM , Anonymous said...
Over the past 5 decades since the end of WWII we have seen a steady marginalization of men in the media and academia. Women not outnumber men in most of the professions that were traditionally male and men who actually take the oath to protect and defend the Constitution and the country are looked upon with scorn by so many who do not serve.
This has created a very dangerous situation in the world where the USA is now perceived as feminized soft and weak and is therefore under attack in many areas.
Political attack from a feminized and liberal Canada and a criminal Latin America with a massive flood of unskilled people, crime and Intensely Evil Drugs to undermine our Country and Constitution and make our people weak and addicted.
Economic attack from Asia through misguided trade policies with Countries that have only contempt for our Constitution and way of life. And a morally bankrupt government that is selling our children and grandchildren into a global indebtedness that will undermine our country.
Physical and Spiritual attack from a radicalised islamist world that wants to destroy the USA, our allies, shred our consitution and bill of rights and force us all to accept the Koran and serve Allah under sharia law that will take the world back to the dark ages.
The US Constitution was inspired by Godly Chrstian Men with a realistic view of the world. That God inspired vision of freedom to light the world is under direct attack and it is only organizations like GODMEN who bring the clarity of thought, courage of heart, strength of will and integrity of soul to Save our Constitution, our Country and our Christian inspired way of life.
At 11:19 PM , Sodbuster said...
Why do you forbid clergy?
Why do you leave the officers out of your unit?
What are you hiding?
You want to be men of God, but refuse the authority which He established.
You come across like adolescents, not men.
At 11:55 PM , Anonymous said...
It's Berkeley you dipshit.
At 9:20 PM , Anonymous said...
Cursing has no place in a Christian's vocabulary. Haven't you ever heard of restraint? I know you don't like to think too much, but I do hope you pick up a Bible once in a while to see where you contradict it. You sound like a false prophet to me.
At 2:05 AM , Anonymous said...
Brad,
Question,what if you identify as male and live as a christian man, but you are biologically a woman. can i still come to godmen?
At 2:24 PM , Shane Vander Hart said...
I am just learning about you guys. I read about you in the Chicago Tribune, and wanted to check out the website and blog. Interesting, I agree with you that we do have to overcome the emasculation of men/feminization that has taken place in our society (and church). I appreciate the effort to address this problem.
I'm am in total agreement with you regarding the "nice guy" syndrome, that "nice" doesn't always mean good. Wild at Heart by John Eldridge did a lot to challenge me in that area. We need to be honest and real with other men. We need to embrace how God has made us, and challenge one another when that maleness doesn't reflect the character of God.
At 3:23 AM , paul said...
I agree with one commentator - you don't need to try and make generalised points about some men being better than some women at golf, it undermines what you are trying to do in encouraging a dangerous space for men to explore what that means and actually makes you sound sexist and defensive...
I think it is vital as a men that we understand that being a leader was as Jesus set out actually about being a servant, it is about laying down our rights and dying to self - choosing to take up our cross daily and follow Jesus.
I think you have chosen some issues that men do need to face, it is not about a lone ranger experience it's about how do we live life of lovimg sacrificial service that embraces our whole life - as a living sacrifice that means I am prepared to lay down my life, my rights, my desires for my Lord and to live a life of love that is about giving not getting.
That is hard, I can't do that on my own, i need help and support to challenge the selfishness within me, to face the pain in me, to celebrate the longing and the joy of acheiving...
Please leave the anti-woman sounding stuff alone, i am married to one and my life is about serving her not about making myself feel better than I am a man... i want to be more courageous and generous in that sort of giving love not content to rest on my limited male resources...
At 1:38 PM , Anonymous said...
Good Heavens! I had no idea the feminization of America had become such deeply entrenched status quo!
It's just ridiculous to think that everybody has the right to do everything! For one, I'm tired of seeing people carrying their dogs into the mall, bringing two-year-olds to four star restaurants, and, yes, attending events meant for a specific group when you are not a member of it.
Feel free to meet as men only, just stay out of my kitchen!
ps. I was just checking out your site as a mom, and signed my Godteenson up for your emails. He's sick of girlychurch, and just cannot relate to it. I'm openminded/nonthreatened enough to understand. Good luck Godguys!
At 7:22 PM , Mark said...
Bravo, Brad!
The weenies are offended. The religious are judging and condemning you. The politically correct are marginalizing you.
Good!
Those who "get it" will change the world. The rest will wring their hands in frustration because you don't fit their misconceptions of Christianity.
Jesus faced the same things when He walked among those lost in their religion, trying to teach them how to live the life God graciously gave them so they could know Him and how He designed all things to work together for their good.
You're on the right track. And I'm right there with you. Don't stop.
At 2:48 PM , KayT said...
I'm a woman who had no intentions of "sneaking in" - I just followed a very insulting link here, and wanted to see whether you deserved the censure you were receiving.
It sounds like you aren't doing anything except pointing out that there are a large number of men who react to the world in certain ways, and who would benefit by being among men who are learning to discipline themselves in those reactions and find their own brand of integrity under the law of God.
I find this admirable.
That even in my ten minutes on this site I've already found "some of my best friends are women, BUT" responses is more worrisome. I think you're doing something amazing and vital, and commend you for it. If it devolves into an obsession with how these men's lives have been ruined - not by the problems you are addressing, but because of women finding new paths to their own strengths - I think this group will end up deserving all the insults already heaped on it.
I was actually a paramedic firefighter - that's how I worked myself through college. I've worked in male-dominated professions and been valued (by men whose accomplishments I admired) and accomplished, as well as insulted and degraded (by fearful, insecure men).
I didn't enter those professions to compete with men, but because they provided higher salaries for less education. As an orphan, I had to make my own way in the world, and was fortunately granted enough self-respect not to throw myself on a man to keep myself afloat.
I admire your purposes, most especially your focus on the real horrors of the world, setting aside the ideas of middle-class propriety and dealing frankly with the world as you find it. I admire that you believe men's undirected energy leads them into trouble and that fellowship can help them direct it to solve the world's problems.
As long as it's maintained that these men have problems with *themselves*, that they have to learn to master themselves, that they need to stop listening to people who demand that they be passive little bundles of shame and get about the business of using their vitality to improve God's creation. If it becomes a scream of "we must take back our power from women" "we must degrade women to raise ourselves up" or "*whine* this is all the women's (feminization of our culture/church/home) fault) them you will just have created a new home for those men who have no desire to confront their problems and find their strengths, but just want to have a fellowship of "we are women's victims and must crush them."
As long as I have the legal right to find my individual strengths (whether they fit your ideas about a woman's strengths or not) I wish you well at helping men find theirs.
I think the greatest evil in the world is that both men and women have been told that propriety beats integrity. You're finding a way to help the average man overcome that, and I admire it.
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home