Pastor, the men in your church need you. More specifically, they need you to do something for them. They need you to help them make healthy male friendships. Men who lack friends has become a huge red flag in our culture. Look at these recent titles from leading publications:
Boston Globe: “The biggest threat facing middle-age men isn?t smoking or obesity. It?s loneliness.”
The Atlantic: “The Path of the Lonely, Single Young Man (and What It Means for Women)”
New Statesman: “Why have men become so lonely ? and how does it affect their health?”
The New Statesman article goes on to say:?
“Recently, the Movember Foundation, which focuses on men’s health and wellbeing, carried out a survey with the help of YouGov investigating friendship and loneliness amongst men. The?results are alarming, with only 11 per cent of single men across the spectrum in their early 20s to late-middle age saying they had a friend to turn to in a time of crisis, the number rising to 15 per cent for married men.”
So here’s a suggestion: start a men’s team ministry to their widowed and single parents in your church! You’ll not only show men how to serve people with long term needs, but you’ll also help your men develop friendships with the other men on their team.
Not only will your widowed and single parents be happier and healthier, your men will be too.
This post first appeared in New Commandment.org.
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Learn how to form teams of men for every widow, single mom
and fatherless child in your church at NewCommandment.org.
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