Rejoice! Our Husband God Has Fathered Yet Another Women's Ministry!

Frieda Fruitcake writes: Joy fills my soul this blessed morning, as news reaches me of yet another women's ministry that God has clearly placed on the heart of a local sister!
Centred around the "Power of a Praying Woman" book, our dear sister in Christ (who is herself married with two children, but we must forgive one another's sins, no matter how heinous), is eagerly rounding up The Girls so that we can sit around reading books and talking to each other about our feelings.
Just what the church needs more of at the moment!
Meanwhile, of course, the few men we haven't managed to get rid of -- yet! -- can do whatever God has placed on their hearts.
Not quite sure what that is, but frankly, I don't much care, so long as it doesn't result in bringing any nasty testosterone into the church! (As if!)
Praise God for turning THE CHRISTIAN FAITH into a glorified book club, run by women, for women!
Hallelujah!

Muslim Man Speaking With Wisdom About Masculinity

True conversation between a 31 year old married Muslim man and a single Christian woman, at work:

Man: I am happily married and we just had a son seven weeks ago. Here's a picture of him (proudly shows picture on phone). His name is Ibrahim.

Woman: Oh, he's beautiful! So, is that why you are doing the extra hours then? Must be hard, because you probably just want to be at home with them?

Man: Yes, but I want to be able to provide for them, you know, properly.

Woman: Yes, of course. Well, it's so good to hear you speak like that when so many men seem fearful of commitment and don't want to take on the responsibility of a family.

Man: Well, they're not real men, are they?

Are we dealing with another "spirit of slumber"?

"(According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day."
(Romans 11:8)

Captain Sensible writes: In my Bible reading today, I was particularly struck by the above verse in Romans, which refers to the non-elect of Israel being "blinded".
Time and time again in the battle against false teaching on singleness and the need to outreach to men, I am encountering a level of, well, stupidity, that is utterly incomprehensible on a merely human intelligence level.
I have written before, and would like to stress again, that this battle will not be won by wisdom and logical reasoning alone.
It is a spiritual battle and I firmly believe God has told me that we must pray that "scales will be removed from people's eyes".
For whatever reason, there is a spiritual blindness affecting western Christianity that must be countered with prayer, in conjunction with whatever action we decide to take (and there are some good suggestions for action on the previous post and comments).
Otherwise, all our efforts will be in vain.
How about a 2:1 ratio? For every minute we spend in logical reasoning, we commit to spending two in prayer?
Prayer is absolutely critical, and I just don't get the impression that we (myself included I'm sorry to say) are taking hold of this powerful weapon nearly enough.

NB: I must admit to wondering at times if I should be identifying with this:
A man was driving down the motorway when his car phone rang.
It was his wife.
"Honey, I just heard on the news that there’s a car going the wrong way on the M25. Please be careful!"
"It’s not just one car!" cried the man. "There are hundreds of them!"

Women "Swamped In Sorrow" Over Barrenness

Captain Sensible writes: Interesting article in The Sunday Times Magazine this week (yep, taken me 'till Wednesday to wade through it!).
Entitled "The truth about gymslip mothers", journalist Lesley White argues that perhaps we, as a nation, shouldn't be so quick to condemn teenage motherhood.
The article doesn't cover the morality of having sex outside of marriage, but rather the writer describes how her attitude towards young motherhood has changed from one of automatic disapproval to an eye-opening of the benefits, particularly compared with late motherhood and the risk of childlessness:

"In the first half of the last century, young motherhood was unremarkable, but then so was young marriage...That has gone, but the sense of omnipotent fertility with which we have replaced it, the faith that science will prevail over renegade biology, means that many women end up swamped in sorrow, having missed their chance. Most of those women would have preferred condemnation as girls to childlessness as pensioners."

Of course, in Christian circles it is the omnipotent God that these women have faith in. But surely, this is putting God to the test? Presuming on Him to just rubber stamp His approval on a situation that is not by any means His will? I vividly recall reading an interview with Shannon Harris (wife of Josh) where she sagely opined something along the lines of God's plan not looking the same for everyone, and after all, Sarah gave birth at 90, so Christian women shouldn't worry about the ticking of the biological clock and just wait on Him...
The reality of course is that Christian women are waiting on their church leaders, not God, and they don't seem in any hurry to do anything, except sit back and let the women in the church put on yet more programmes for women and children.
Meanwhile, Christian women that are "swamped in sorrow" at their approaching barrenness, are scolded for it and told they must be content because it is God's will.
It is not!
With teaching on singleness either absent entirely, or erroneous, the few single Christian men that remain in the church into their 20s and beyond are neither helped, nor encouraged, to find a wife and become paralysed by too much choice, whilst at the same time believing that their perfect woman (otherwise known as "God's best") has yet to land in their lap. Of course, their sex drive is still in full working order, so they end up committing various sexual sins, whilst at the same time leading numerous women on emotionally to expect something that they are not prepared to give, causing the women who are already in pain, yet further grief. And the church leaders are too afraid to say "Boo!" to them! Whatever happened to discipling young men? Accountability? Or does that only extend to scolding the oppressed victims of the church, the single women?
How are we going to put an end to this? The suffering of God's precious daughters at the hands of church leaders, who appear incapable of organising a p*ss-up in a brewery (to, ahem, quote a quaint olde English expression!), has simply got to stop. And remember, it's not doing the single Christian men much good either. Never mind the lost men in the world! Or the Body of Christ's ability to impact our culture with a fighting army of girls!
Perhaps a good place to start is for all those aggrieved to write to their church leader explaining why, in future, their tithes are going to go to organisations that are willing to take the (not unrelated!) problems of the lack of men in church and barren, protracted singleness, seriously. A copy of Debbie Maken's book: "Getting Serious About Getting Married: Rethinking The Gift Of Singleness" could be included.
It seems like that might be the only way to get their attention? Hitting them where it hurts them i.e. financially?
Meanwhile, the Christian women should do what the church is neglecting to do: Outreach to believing men that are alienated from church, by accepting dates and having relationships with them. The majority of men that form the Body of Christ are out there (God doesn't make mathematical errors!), so the women need to find them for themselves.
Result:
Church leaders are made to sit up and listen as scores of women begin placing their tithes elsewhere.
Single Christian men are given a wake-up call, as they see all the cosy "friendships" they enjoyed with beautiful Christian women coming to an end as the women find proper relationships with men who appreciate them.
Single Christian women find husbands and are able to have godly children, thereby fulfilling the creation mandate to be fruitful and multiply, and the churches will once again be full of men, women and children.
With church no longer a women's and children's only club, but actively involved in men's ministries, the men in the world will be able to start attending again.
This balanced ratio of men will bring to the Body the badly needed traits of leadership, strength and courage, and actually begin to make an impact into society instead of merely being a laughing stock.
Okay, okay, maybe things aren't quite as simple as this!
But...it's got to be worth a try hasn't it?
The stakes are simply too high not to.
Church leaders have a huge responsibility to their flock and the lost world, and they are going to be judged on how well they have managed it.
So I guess, if you look at it like that, you would ultimately be doing them a favour too...

Disappointment or Dis-Appointment?

Captain Sensible writes: I believe in "Divine Appointments". (But remember you have got to be getting out in order to meet these appointments! Very few appointments take place while you are sitting at home!)
Having become aware of yet another "disappointment" with regard to a single Christian's quest for marriage, it got me thinking...
Appointments are with particular people at particular times, right?
So if one part of that equation isn't right, it will not end in an "appointment", but rather in a "dis-appointment".
It may be that the person is right, but the time is wrong.
Or it may be that the time is right, but the person it's with is wrong.
I hope this is an encouragement to anyone suffering "disappointment" with regard to a love interest at the moment.
God will arrange the person, and the time, and both will be right!
(Hmm - God as the Almighty PA? El Secretariah? That's a new one, and I'm struggling with it, as it implies an inferior status. But then, as I guess every Chairman's PA knows, they are the ones that are running the company really. The "boss" just thinks they are...!)

The Interpretation Of A Tongue Regarding Singleness

Captain Sensible writes: Yesterday, I asked the Lord for some gift of the Spirit to guide/clarify/confirm the path we are taking, and what do you know, that same evening I heard about a tongue that was given in a church on Sunday, along with an interpretation.
The interpretation of the tongue -- as it was given to me from someone who was in the church at the time -- is as follows:

"If you are single -- young or old, and lonely, God is with you. Go out. He will provide for you, and if marriage is your desire, he will provide it for you."

I haven't embellished it in any way, but something I found interesting was the "Go out" bit. Worth everyone giving some thought to that, I think?
However, something else that is interesting (and highly significant, I believe) is this: The woman that gave the interpretation is very much of the "Let God be your husband" school of thought. When she was giving the interpretation, she mentioned several things, only one of which was relating to singleness. The words all came as a stream, except for the singleness part, which she seemed to have some difficulty with, and struggled over somewhat, as she tried to get the words out. Apparently some people in the church were shocked to hear these words come out of her mouth, as they are in direct contrast to her "human wisdom"! (God's sense of humour perhaps!)
For what it's worth, there is therefore no doubt in my mind that this came from God.

The God Of All Comfort

Captain Sensible writes: Something nice and encouraging now! But what's more, something that is actually true! I am increasingly coming to the conclusion that it is worry and anxiety that is at the root of the "pain barrier" that distances us from God. Relax, and allow yourselves to be comforted, all ye who are hurting! (I think I am getting a little too accustomed to the King James Version...)

"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God."
(2 Corinthians 1: 3-4 KJV)

Are Today's Church Leaders Storing Up Huge Problems For The Future?

"What is going to happen to this generation of singles when they get older? With no spouse, children or grandchildren to step in, are the church leaders going to look after these singles in their old age? The church leaders are storing up huge problems for future leaders. Is this yet another benefit to the enemy of protracted singleness? The church of the future needing to spend time and resources looking after their elderly singles that have no family to care for them, instead of reaching out to the lost?"

(Comment left on Debbie Maken's blog)

Spiritual Crisis For Christian Singles - Prayer For God To "Remember" Them

Captain Sensible writes: I have become increasingly aware of the massive spiritual crisis that is affecting single Christians, both men and women.
I have recently witnessed (or heard of from close quarters) all of the following:

Single women wasting prime decades of their life "trusting in God" but ignoring wise advice and becoming increasingly detached from reality.
Women in their early 40s, who after being faithfully celibate through most, if not all, of their prime child-bearing years (depending on when they came to know the Lord), now having unprotected sex with men in order to try to conceive "before it's too late".
Christian men treating Christian women appallingly, often far worse that the majority of men in the world, who are generally decent guys, ever would. The Christian men use the Christian women for varying degrees of emotional and physical intimacy without being willing to commit to any one woman exclusively, or move any of these "friendships" towards marriage. Meanwhile the women are all going along with this, because they are otherwise starved of Christian male attention, and they keep "hoping" and "trusting" that he will eventually move the "friendship" towards marriage. In practice, this rarely happens.
Christian men admitting to seeing not-yet Christian women with the sole purpose of having sex with them.
Christian men admitting being "addicted" to sex/pornography/lust, which may be preventing them from even wanting to find a wife, as they are not prepared to address their addiction, and feel that having a wife will only cause more problems with regard to intimate accountability.
Christian men saying they can't find a wife, despite the huge odds in their favour and being surrounded by beautiful Christian women in their church, to the extent that they appear to be actually blinded from their beauty. (Possibly an early sign of pornography addiction? They aren't finding normal women sexually attractive because they are becoming conditioned to more explicitly sexual-looking women?)
Christian men and women "hating" church, other Christians, and even God, because they feel that the buck stops with Him, and He has continued to allow them to suffer, without their feeling any comfort or sign that He is listening. Well-meaning platitudes from other Christians are only rubbing salt into their wounds, and they can't seem to find comfort or understanding anywhere except outside of church circles.
Christian men and women seemingly stuck on some singles merry-go-round, where each relationship ends in hurt either for themselves or for the other party involved.
Christian women wanting the end of their life to be hastened by God through some disease, as their suffering is becoming too much to bear, and they just want their life to "hurry up and end".
Christian women admitting that they are losing hope, suffering from depression, and even contemplating suicide, as they cannot see an end in sight.

They nearly all seem to have one main factor in common.
They are ceasing to pray about their situations.
Prayer that appears unanswered, in the midst of extreme emotional pain, and with little or no help from their church and other Christians, is leaving countless singles feeling extremely isolated.
A recipe for all manner of disaster.
What is to be done? How can Christian men and women be encouraged to find peace and hope in God, trust in Him, and at the same time, take purposeful action that will lead to marriage, when it just seems like there is no progress or end in sight? How can they get through the "pain barrier" that they are putting up between themselves and God, that is preventing them from praying, or even believing that God hears them?
Here's a thought: God "remembering" a person's trials, or causing another person to "remember" them and therefore bring about God's will, seems to be a common thread in the Bible (thinking of Rachel who previously said to Jacob "Give me children or I'll die"; Hannah who was weeping, not eating and suffered from a "bitterness of soul" because of her barrenness; Joseph languishing in jail until the cupbearer remembered him; and the criminal that was crucified along with Christ and asked Him to remember him in paradise...but there may even be more?).
I am going to be praying this weekend for God to "remember" the plight of single Christians. Please, please join me. I believe the enemy stronghold in the area of singleness is an incredibly strong one, as there are so many advantages in it for him. We need to be praying hard, especially on behalf of those that are finding it so hard to pray for themselves.

"Boundless" Stupidity!

Captain Sensible writes: Not going to rant too much about this, but really, what is going on in the minds of the Boundless editorial team?
We've had comment interventions and postings recently on the wearing of flip-flops, polka dots and bows; the merits of vinyl versus CDs; albums by The Beatles; and the spelling of the word "camaraderie" (or "comradery", apparently).
Yet comments that spread false teaching on something so important to the entire Body of Christ as singleness and marriage (not even just the singles that the blog is supposed to "bring focus" to!), is not deemed worthy of any guidance or correction!
I well remember a comment posting along the lines of "Jesus agreed with the disciples that it is better not to marry" that was just left sitting there, poisoning the minds of impressionable young Christians. Oh, but watch Ted Slater jump right in there if it is something to do with a John Lennon song!
I just can't get over their collective stupidity and complete irresponsibility.
Debbie Maken had it right when she changed her comments policy as she realised that posting all comments, without addressing them, "feels like I am helping publish faulty assumptions and faulty conclusions."
Blogging is a new medium, and we are all in the process of working how best it can be utilised for the common good.
But gradually, bloggers are realising that they may be doing more harm than good, if they give a public platform to the spreading of wrong teaching, without taking the trouble to correct it.
What is it that Boundless doesn't understand about this? (Although obviously Ted Slater does understand this -- he just doesn't think comments such as Jesus agreeing with the disciples that it is better not to marry, are as worthy of correction as whether a particular song was by John Lennon or The Beatles, apparently!)
All of which leaves me in somewhat of a dilemma...
Having raised this issue with them several times, and each time either been ignored, directed to their inconsistent comments policy, or told that comments are "a different category" and therefore apparently nothing to do with them (a very responsible attitude, I must say, Candice Watters!), I don't feel there is anything more I can now do.
So I have a choice: Do I continue to check the site, and respond to the comments like the one cited above, which are so serious that I don't think I could sleep at night if I didn't at least attempt to address them! (However, the wrong teaching on singleness is so prevalent that I think it would be a full-time job to try and do this to every damaging comment that Boundless chooses to post and then abandon to the ether!)
Or do I, as I have said before, simply wash my hands of them? Or at least, pray for God to change their hearts, but take no further action? However, even then I think my conscience would trouble me, as I think about all the impressionable young readers that are being misinformed about the Bible and God's will for their lives, that are beating themselves up trying to be content with a state that God Himself said was "not good", that are feeling sinful about making an idol out of the desires that God placed in almost all of us for the fulfilling of His plans and purposes, and that are squandering their most fertile years "waiting on the Lord" when we ourselves are to blame for the mess we have got ourselves into!
I just can't get my head around how Boundless can think that providing a platform to spread wrong teaching isn't a serious matter.
Or at least, a little bit more serious than discussing whether or not polka dots make for suitable business attire!
Seems to me like almost the entire Christian world has gone, ahem, dotty...

Carolyn McCulley Joins A Matchmaking Agency!

Captain Sensible writes: Yep, it's true! Carolyn McCulley has joined a matchmaking agency!
But it's not for marriage.
Rather, it seems to be a young person's mentoring scheme, run by a local government agency (although she calls it "fostering". Maybe there is a different understanding of the concept of fostering between the US and the UK?).
I think this is a great thing to do and I really wish her and her new "match" all the very best with it!
But it strikes me that there is a double standard in operation here.
If Carolyn thinks God is leading her to mentor a young person, then why isn't she "waiting on the Lord" to bring a young person into her life, maybe by suddenly appearing in her church one Sunday? Does she feel God needs some help from an agency to bring her and her match together? Isn't God perfectly capable of bringing the two of them together without the need for any outside help in any way?
This is complete nonsense of course, and Carolyn obviously understands this.
But why then is she so adamant that all single Christians need to do is "wait on the Lord" for Him to just land their spouse in their lap?
Carolyn has written previously about the unmitigated perils of online dating and even advises against Christian-run, singles mixers. Simply widening one's social circle doesn't even meet Carolyn's strict criteria for "waiting on the Lord".
Here's an extract from her terribly harmful book:
"One comment many singles hear frequently is that we need to be out and about, running from one event to another so that we can 'broaden our horizons.' People who advise single women that way may mean well, but they don't have a place for God in their thinking. They can't imagine a God who orchestrates the events and timing of our lives to the tiniest details."
Hmmm - so does Carolyn now believe that God can't orchestrate something so simple as a mentoring relationship?
Or has she finally come to the realisation that although God can, and does, orchestrate our lives to the tiniest detail, He also desires us to play a wise and active part in it, and be co-workers with Him. Which obviously includes, in this case, signing-up to a mentoring agency scheme!
Is the next step for Carolyn going to be signing-up with a Christian dating agency?
And if it is, will she be humble enough to confess that she had got her understanding of the sovereignty of God badly wrong, and accordingly, given bad and harmful advice to countless single Christians along the way?
Sadly, I am not holding my breath.

Perfect Peace

Captain Sensible writes: Enough of all the anger recently, here is something to think about: perfect and constant peace, and confident hope in Him.

"You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You."
(Isaiah 26:3 Amplified Bible)

"How great Thou art" on YouTube!

Simply AMAZING!

False accusations of idolatry and the irresponsibility of gift of singleness advocates

Captain Sensible writes: I have only just come across this comment posted by Lisa Brown on Debbie Maken's blog, which can be found in its entirety under the "Voice of Reason" thread.
There is so much good stuff in it on idolatory and the "gift of singleness" (GoS), that I have taken the liberty of posting a few extracts here. I hope that is okay with you, Lisa?

"Accusations of idolatry are especially cruel and painful to bear, particularly when they are hurled at us by people who are supposed to be our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Of course, such people usually seek to excuse themselves by saying that they are 'speaking the truth in love', and if you happen to be hurt by it, it is your own fault, it's further proof that your heart is not right before the Lord. I am extremely concerned about the amount of emotional blackmail disguised as "Christian love" that is being directed toward single Christian men and women. It is absolutely appalling to me that a vast majority of people who make these accusations are married with children of their own. Speaking as a Mother with a young child, how anyone who has a child, who knows the love of their own child, how that person can then turn around and be so heartless, how they could dare to tell a hurting, lonely person that it is a sin to want to be loved and to have a family is unfathomable, utterly incomprehensible to me. In my opinion, such conduct toward lonely single people is reprehensible, and I have no respect for people who make such statements."

"In my opinion, the GOS advocates have not thought through to the end result of their teaching. In coming decades, there will be untold thousands of Christian men and Christian women who will be heading into old age without the comfort and support of a husband/wife, children or grandchildren. Tragically, I do not see the GOS advocates stepping forward to fill the gap in these people's lives. I do not see a majority of GOS advocates visiting single people in nursing homes, reading the Bible to them, praying with them, providing comfort and solace to these people in their final days on this earth. On the contrary, most GOS advocates that I have seen refuse to take any action towards alleviating the suffering of single people. They refuse to accept any responsibility at all for the mess that their teaching has helped to create."

"(A)lthough accusations of 'idolatry' are upsetting to any human being with feelings...I do not take such accusations seriously. More importantly, neither do I take the people who make such accusations seriously."

"Be ye angry"

Captain Sensible writes: Did you know that we are actually told in Ephesians 4:26-27 to be angry?

"Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil." (KJV)

Interesting how the other translations word this. The Message says this:

"Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry — but don't use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don't stay angry. Don't go to bed angry. Don't give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life."

Yet in other translations, the goodness of anger is very much watered down:

"'In your anger do not sin': Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold." (NIV)

In fact, the New Living Translation, sees anger as a negative only:

"And 'don’t sin by letting anger control you.' Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil."

Just shows the importance of reading more than one Bible translation, and although hard to understand at times, the King James Version is, I believe, generally regarded as being the most reliable.

Urgent Call For A National Day Of Face Painting!

Frieda Fruitcake writes: The Captain tells me that Osama Bin Laden's deputy has threatened to retaliate against Britain for giving a knighthood to novelist Salman Rushdie. (See news item here)
I feel that the Lord has placed a burden on my heart to respond to this threat by calling for a National Day of Face Painting by the church.
Let us stand firm then with the strings of an apron tied firmly around our waist!
With the breastplate of Kleenex paper towels safely in place!
And with our feet fitted with the readiness that comes from a pair of sensible flat shoes that we can run around in!
In addition to all this, take up the shield of a nice supportive (and, crucially, underwired) brassiere, with which we can withstand all the paper darts of the little darlings!
Take the helmet of an entire can of hairspray and the sword of the paintbrush!
With this in mind, be alert and always keep on organising events and ministries for women and children!

"I've Got Potential"

Captain Sensible writes: This posting was initially motivated by pure self-indulgence, I admit it! I happen to really like the song "Somebody told me" by The Killers, and there are some great lyrics in it. ("Breaking my back just to know your name"! Oh what a different situation the amazing Christian women in the church experience!)
But it was really this line that made a mixture of anger and compassion rise up in me:
"I've got potential/Rushing a-rushing around."
My heart bleeds for all the young men in the world, each of whom has "got potential" and oh, how we need them!
Yet we, as "the church", are not bothering to reach out to them, preferring instead to let the women in the church put on yet another course or prayer ministry for women, and organise after-school and holiday clubs for children.
How is another face painting day going to help anyone come to know the Lord, I wonder?
These children in the world need Christian fathers, not face painting!
All that potential from both married and single men in the world, going to waste!
All those children, given face painting instead of Godly instruction in the home, from their father!
It's a crying shame, isn't it?

Somebody told me by The Killers
(Look out for a very funny little interview clip in the middle of this video from The Brits -- a music award ceremony!)

"And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

"Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
(Psalm 139: 23 - 24 KJV)

"Why Men Hate Going To Church" by David Murrow

Captain Sensible writes: "Why men hate going to church" by David Murrow is a fascinating book! I have only dipped into it, but already it is making a lot of sense, and I am sure there will be several more postings as I work my way through it.
What is becoming clear to me is how far our way of "doing church" is a) far removed from the Biblical blueprint, b) discouraging to the masculine spirit and strong male leadership and c) unfruitful.
We must get over ourselves and the idea that the way we do church now is simply the way it has to be. It doesn't have to be this way. In fact, it mustn't continue to be this way! Murrow quotes from Albert Einstein as follows: "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
But isn't this what we are guilty of? Doing the same thing, over and over, and somehow expecting to see different results?
In his introduction, Murrow describes a church that will no doubt be familiar to many of us:
"I looked around the sanctuary and counted noses. Just one-third of the adult attendees were men -- most of whom were over fifty. I identified at least a dozen married women whose husbands were absent. With the tots dismissed for kids' church, there was a handful of teenage boys, but almost no men between the ages of 18 and 35. There were no single men."
Murrow goes on to write: "I studied the bulletin: all of the midweek and volunteer opportunities were pitched at women and children. Each announcement ended with a woman's name: For more information call Shari/Sarah/Andrea/Victoria/Lauren etc.'"
This leads him on to ask: "What if church is unintentionally designed to reach women, children and elderly folk?" and if it is, "Must the church be this way?"
Clearly, we have two choices: Something needs to change, or we need to admit insanity.
Which is it going to be?

Thought of the Day #3

How many women's and children's ministries did Jesus set up?

Happy Independence Day!

Frieda Fruitcake writes: As it is now Independence Day in the UK, I would just like to...er, no, that's not right. I mean, as it turns into the 4th of July here in the UK, I would just like to wish all my singleness-gifted sisters and last few remaining brothers in the church across the pond a very blessed Independence Day!
How this day never fails to remind me of the parable of the Prodigal Son!
Rest assured, you only have to ask for forgiveness, and you shall receive. Your rebellious spirit has already been dealt with at the cross!
Praise the Lord!
My prayer for you today is for you to humble yourselves and stop all this silly nonsense about "independence"!
A nice, fat, juicy piece of Mad Cow is ready and waiting for y'all!
(Well, it obviously never did me any harm!)

"Waiting and Trusting in God for a Spouse" or Co-Workers with God?

Captain Sensible writes: Is it, or is it not okay, for Christian women (and men!) to "wait on the Lord and trust in God for a spouse"?
It's a simple question really.
The Bible tells us we need to be "co-workers" with God. Where in the Bible is an exception made with regard to finding a spouse?
On the contrary, don't we see proactivity on behalf of the male, and even, in times of desperation, the women?
This question has been brought to mind after reading the following comment on Boundless: "...it makes me so thankful that I'm trusting God to bring the right guy into my life at the right time."
This idea is said so often, and always left uncorrected on Boundless and elsewhere, that it is now accepted as irrefutable truth.
But what if it was said in regard to finding a job?
Would it be acceptable for Christian men and women to languish on the dole for year after year, decade after decade, while they "wait" and "trust" in God for a job?
As I believe Debbie Maken points out, we are foisting the results of our mistakes onto God, and in all too many cases, God is then blamed for protracted singleness.
Rather that attribute this to God, let's look at what we have allowed to happen.
We have followed our culture in denigrating marriage -- regarding it as non-essential and equal to singleness; we have encouraged passivity amongst both men and women to the extent that some feel sinful for being proactive (as if they then won't receive "God's best"); and we have allowed our churches to become female-heavy to varying degrees.
And yet the fruit we see from this is attributed to "God's perfect timing"?
How and why has this idea become so firmly rooted?
The answer: Quite simply, it has to be the work of the devil. And we have therefore, and no doubt inadvertently, become co-workers with him.
It's time to "choose life".

Boundless - More Shame

Captain Sensible writes: Once again, Boundless editor, Ted Slater, proves he will intervene in the comment section on just about every subject under the sun, except wrong thinking on singleness.
Pity the poor woman that wrote the following, and shame on you Boundless for not addressing this sister in pain.

"(T)he desire to build my life together with someone and to share my life with someone have become overwhelming, and painful. I wish God had rather made me celibate than giving me the strong desire to be helpmeet, when I cannot be one...I would like to be a young wife. But I hate myself for needing a man, and not being able to stop needing one, when God won't provide me with one, and obviously wants me to be single.
At least men can pursue, but women are totally reliant on God to provide, and when he won't and says no to your prayers, there is really nothing you can do. I wish I was stronger and more independent and that I was totally fine by myself and that I didn't need a man. And I really am trying to be. But I seem to fail in my efforts to not need a life companion.
When God made Eve so the man wouldn't be alone, I thought it was meant to be a blessing to humans, a good gift and something to benefit and meet our needs. For me the desire for a life companion has been anything but a blessing. It is simply painful, and far from the gift of what God intended. I have prayed many times to be gifted with celibacy to make these desires go away."

Spiritual Threat Level in the UK: Critical

Captain Sensible writes: A new system of terrorism "threat levels" were introduced by the Home Office a short while ago, to keep the public informed about the level of threat to the UK from terrorism. The system was designed to also help the police and other law enforcement agencies determine how they should respond to, and prepare for, a terrorist incident.
The threat levels are:
Critical - an attack is expected imminently
Severe - an attack is highly likely
Substantial - an attack is a strong possibility
Moderate - an attack is possible but not likely
Low - an attack is unlikely
I wonder if it would help focus the minds of our church leaders to do the same with regard to spiritual "threat levels"?
Obviously, given that just 6.3% of the population are regular church-goers, between 60 - 70% of them are female and a substantial percentage will probably be quite elderly, and given the fact that if nothing changes, the enemy will have wiped out masculinity from our churches in just 20 years' time, the UK is in a "Critical" situation spiritually.
So why are we acting as if the threat is "Low", putting on children's performances and introducing yet more women's ministries and prayer groups?
To me, it's akin to the Police and Intelligence Services spending their time organising family "Fun Days", children's productions and women's coffee mornings.
Would that be an appropriate response to the Critical threat level? Would the British public stand for that?
If not, why is it appropriate for the church?
And should we be standing for it?

Terror Attacks in the UK - The Church's Response?

Captain Sensible writes: Praise God that the three recent terror attempts in the UK failed. An eyewitness account of the Glasgow Airport suicide attempt in The Sunday Times makes quite chilling reading: One of the car occupants apparently doused himself in petrol and set himself alight and "had a big smirk on his face" as he did so. Despite being on fire, he also fought back against the Police and it was only when a member of the public punched him in the face that the Police managed to restrain him. The Police also tried to spray CS gas in his face but it was "not working". Another eye witness describes the man as looking as if he was in "a trance".
Serious stuff, right? So what is the church's response? No official word from the hierarchy of the Church of England, I don't think, but my local town's response was interesting.
We had already planned a joint service this morning with other churches across the area. Yet no mention was given to the terror attacks, and no special thanksgiving or prayer was said.
The main talk started well, with talk of Superheroes like Spiderman and Superman, accompanied by their theme tunes. Great I thought! Maybe this is going to be talk aimed at men, encouraging them to be bold and courageous men of God, and oh how we need them!
We were then asked to name Biblical Superheroes and people called out names like Daniel and David. What about the women, the speaker asked? Names like Deborah and Esther were called out.
Then the speaker revealed who his favourite hero from the Bible was.
It was Moses's sister.
How encouraging for the men that had been fired up with talk of Superheroes!
This was followed by a presentation from an organisation that provides Christian literature to schools and puts on performances for children.
And this is how we are supposed to be fighting a high level spiritual battle?
Yes, of course it is important to spread the Gospel to the town's children. But actually, the best way to do that is by reaching their fathers.
So, we are in the midst of a terror threat, and the best that the united churches of our town can do is put on a talk about children in schools and a female "Superhero".
Heaven help us...