National Christian men's conferences (1,000+ men) are unique. My first exposure to them was "Promise Keepers" back in the '90s. If I remember correctly, I believe I attended three of these (three separate years). Two in Dallas, TX (Texas Stadium) with Robert, Sr. (my dad) and one in NOLA (SuperDome) with my best friend at the time.
We (primarily First Baptist Church Jackson members) left at dawn, here in Jackson, for all of these out-of-town all-Saturday men's gatherings. Traveling by motor coach, it felt as if we were the middle / upper to upper class Christian white brigade.
I remember liking the notion of a Christian men's conference that brought the throngs together for a big, one-day event.
Why shouldn't I?
-------------------------
It was during the second Dallas, TX "Promise Keepers" where things went off-the-rails. One of the speakers happened to be black, and he was a fantastic presenter / speaker. After his 45-minute commentary (I have no memory of his topic because of what occurred immediately following), the head facilitator of that particular "Promise Keepers" event felt so moved to publicly beg for forgiveness for being a white man bigot. He did so down on his knees in front of the speaker - right there on the platform, and all of this felt completely unscripted (who knows if it actually was). This begging & weeping went on and on and on to the point that it was obvious our time / energy / purpose to/of attend(ing) said conference was being hijacked via this stunt. Plus, it simply didn't feel appropriately respectful of the setting for this dude to go about this in this way. Everyone was thinking the same thing: Why didn't he simply set some time aside privately to address his personal convictions with the token black speaker one-on-one?
-------------------------
I've met a number of men through the years whose anger regarding situations (& not necessarily nearly as large a gathering) like what I've described above continue to smolder. And it's just enough to keep them from attending ANY version of a Christian men's conference - no matter the scale or what org its affiliated with (including Samson Society) ever again.
-------------------------
Here's the truth. The primary reason (the vast majority of) men attend church is because their wives / girlfriends insist they go. Likewise for tithing / volunteering at the church house. Otherwise, these ladies will no longer be present within these dudes' lives. Men, on their own, do not gravitate towards church. You're simply never going to hear a schoolboy say, "When I grow up, I want to be a deacon."
To motivate men (who're not in immediate personal crisis) to attend - ALONE - a relatively "low-cost" Christian men's conference / retreat for a day (or so) takes supernatural motivation. As such, the programming must be top tier. And not only from the standpoint of who's presenting but what they're presenting regarding. Plus, they simply need to be speakers who're comfortable speaking exclusively to men, being sympathetic, first & foremost, to their masculine audience.
Why?
It's a hard, hard row to hoe. For men are hard-wired to critique as they're rubbing their hairy shoulders against other (strange) men versus going about their daily, very comfortable, very active routine (back home).
-------------------------
Now for my segue.
Please consider attending the inaugural 2024 Samson Society Recovery Marathon. You can find more info here: Home - Recovery Marathon.
Why?
It's a cool idea that's being spearheaded by none other than Dr. Tom Moucka (Director of Samson House).
For the reasonable price of $145.00 you essentially have full control / ownership of your inclusion / degree of participation within this particular all-day men's conference experience. Plus, you'll receive teaching from twelve extremely diverse individuals who're passionate about walking with Samson guys through recovery. This Sunday, (4/21) event has Rob's full endorsement. Especially considering the baked in flexibility / approachability via the digital venue.
I'm willing to bet they'll be no distractions / surprises either (knowing Tom as well as I do). Hence, if this suits you, please sign up today! Sunday, (4/21) is in five days.
No comments:
Post a Comment