If You Draw Men with a "Circus" Conference, You Have to Keep Drawing Them with "Circus" Conferences

A moment at a recent men's event in Springfield, Missouri, went viral. Opening the Stronger Men's Conference was professional sword-swallower and go-go dancer Alex Magala—a two-time Guinness World Record holder, Olympic Games Opening Ceremony performer, and America's Got Talent champion.

Magala [and the conference] made headlines when Pastor Mark Driscoll, speaking at the conference, publicly rebuked his [Magala's] performance, describing it as a "strip club" act. Regarding Magala's performance, Driscoll told conference attendees that a "Jezebel spirit opened our event." He compared the performance to Old Testament pagan idol worship. At that point, event organizer John Lindell, lead pastor of the James River Church in Missouri, could be heard calling Driscoll's name and telling him that he [Driscoll] was "out of line." Lindell then says, "You're [Driscoll] done," to which Driscoll promptly leaves the stage. Disorder ensues as the crowd erupts, some applauding Driscoll's departure and many chanting, "Bring him back!" Later in the conference, Lindell and Driscoll come out on stage to reconcile.

Since the event, the evangelical world has been up in arms, asking who was right and who was wrong. And, per usual, we are asking the wrong question. Whether Driscoll [or Lindell] should have publicly rebuked the performance is irrelevant. The question we should be asking is, "What are we doing?" 

Is this what men need? What does a sword-swallower have to do with biblical manhood and masculinity in the first place? READ MORE

Note About Video Clips

Most of the videos we share these days have a opening promo clip of a sponsor. Most give you a link to skip the promo after a few seconds. Thanks for understanding!

Tim Hawkins Does

Aging Rockers

Tim Hawkins is not only a very funny, popular Christian comedian. He’s a very talented, creative musician. In this routine, he shows how aging rock stars might need to change the lyrics of their hit songs. HERE

"Soul Man"

Blues Brothers

Forty-six years ago on Saturday Night Live, Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi performed as The Blues Brothers and sang the classic “Soul Man”.

It was an epic, unrivaled rhythm and blues song and dance performance. And they did it live! Aykroyd’s over-the-top dancing and harmonica playing and Belushi’s cartwheel and gum chewing made it an all-time entertainment classic. Check it out HERE

Colorectal Surgery:

Where Sun Doesn't Shine

This spoof song was first performed at a colorectal surgeon conference by the Canadian musical comedy team “Bowser and Blue.” If you’ve never seen a colorectal surgeon, perhaps it’s time to do so. Remember they do serious work and will always get you in the end. HERE

Going From Engineer

to Comedian

Don McMillan is an engineer/comedian. In this routine he explains how someone goes from engineer to comedian by using Venn diagrams. It’s a hilarious bit! In fact, he may also describe your career path. Check it out HERE

A Golf Starter From Hell

Have you ever run into a starter on the golf course who takes his job way too seriously. Ever wonder if those memorials out on the golf course might be burial plots? Check out the parody by Andre Golf HERE

Love the Money or Answer the Door...

1 Timothy 6:10 says, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.” Many men are also tempted and enticed in other ways. Check out this brief clip which has an unexpected ending. HERE

PUT THESE IN YOUR PIPE AND SMOKE 'EM

“The Bible is an anvil that has worn out many hammers.”

“Christian liberty is freedom from sin, not freedom to sin.” A.W. Tozer

“Roman Empire: 'You Christians are too exclusive. You threaten the social order because you won’t honor all deities.”

“Modern West: 'You Christians are too exclusive. You threaten the social order because you won’t honor all identities.”

“In the past, Truth was found outside yourself. Today, Truth is found inside yourself. That makes many identities into a kind of God.” - Tim Keller

"Friendship is the greatest of worldly goods. Certainly to me it is the chief happiness of life. If I had to give a piece of advice to a young man about a place to live, I think I shd. say, 'sacrifice almost everything to live where you can be near your friends.' I know I am fortunate in that respect.” - C.S. Lewis

At the age of 82, Newton said, "My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things: that I am a great sinner — and that Christ is a great Savior!" John Newton's tombstone reads: "John Newton, once an infidel and libertine, a servant of slaves in Africa, was, by the rich mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the faith he had long labored to destroy!"

“Enemy-occupied territory---that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us to take part in a great campaign of sabotage” - C.S. Lewis

"When you read the Bible together, your spouse learns all these intimate and personal things about you. When two hearts and minds are revealed, the result is intimacy. Most people don’t think of the Bible as a direct avenue to intimacy, but it can be…if the two of you regularly read and study it together.” - Dr. David Clarke

"Satan is a tempter. He whispers, “Did God really say? Is God really good? Does He really love you?” Spiritual adultery is expressive of spiritual warfare. The enemy woos our hearts. He wants our worship. He urges us to spiritual desertion and seeks to lead us to shipwreck on the rocks of spiritual destruction." - Stanley Gale

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Eph. 6:12) 

“The gospel is not something we do but something that is done by the triune God—Father, Son, and Spirit working together on mission to redeem sinful, rebellious humanity and establish God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. It is, as the word suggests, news—a newspaper headline. It is a historical fact with ongoing significance for the present. We do not “do” or “be” the gospel; we respond to it.” - Jared Wilson

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If you would like to partner with us, your contribution is tax-deductible and will help sustain our unique ministry. We thank you in advance for locking arms with us to minister to men for the glory of God.

For more info and to make a donation, go HERE

When the Circus Comes to Town...

The great pastor-theologian Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) once observed the following:

“The Devil has seldom done a cleverer thing than hinting to the Church that part of their mission is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to winning them. Providing amusement for the people is nowhere spoken of in the Scriptures as a function of the Church. The need is biblical doctrine, so understood and felt that is sets men afire.”

Spurgeon's day mirrors our day in many ways. He saw all around him theological and moral compromise and decline. He was even asked once to preach at a circus (HERE) which he summarily declined by quoting Acts 13:10, "You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?”

Because Spurgeon spoke discerningly and clearly in his day about the power and truth of the gospel, he speaks prophetically to our day when the gospel is compromised or forgotten. He saw the dangers of the entertainment in church. Even today, many churches are tempted by a form of the attractional model, that seeks to lure attenders through amusements of various kinds, prizes, affirming lifestyles, inane music, and an anemic (often absent) gospel lest it offend or discomfort fallen sensibilities.

Here's a video of Super Bowl “church” services this past February that in many ways show how amusement and entertainment have become the draw in many churches HERE

We Dads Must Protect Children from Trans-Ideology & Predators

In recent years, there has been an alarming and rapid rise in the number of children and teenagers identifying as transgender.

Nearly one in five people (18 percent) who identify as transgender are ages 13-17, compared to less than one in ten (8 percent) who are ages 13-17 in the general U.S. population. Yet, on average, about 80 percent of children change their minds and do not continue into adulthood as transgender. Despite the reality that many will grow out of gender dysphoria, an increasingly vocal and influential segment of American society is encouraging children to undergo life-altering medical transitions during puberty.

Other countries, though, are starting to recognize the harm being done to children. Recently, a report commissioned by the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) known as the “Cass Report” found the justification for giving minors puberty-blocking drugs and surgeries to treat gender-dysphoria is weak. READ MORE

Men and the Bible

Anytime the topic of men and the Bible appears on the front page of a national newspaper is itself news, though it’s often bad news about the state of men.

The Washington Times recently carried an important story that one of the most serious problems with Christianity in America is men. For those of us who pastor men and for men who lead and disciple men we have witnessed this exploding crisis with great alarm. At its core are biblical illiteracy, gospel amnesia, and false gospels.

Evangelical publisher Robert Wolgemuth says one problem with Christianity in the U.S. is men — not what they’re doing but what they are not doing.

“American men are tragically biblically illiterate, even guys that have gone to church all their lives,” said Mr. Wolgemuth, author and editor of more than 20 books, including “Dad’s Devotional Bible.” “And many men are very daunted by this book, overwhelmed by it.”

Many Christian scholars and writers regard reading the Bible and understanding its message as essential for spiritual growth, but the American Bible Society’s most recent State of the Bible survey found that 59% of men say they are “disengaged” from Scripture and only 15% say they are actively engaged with the Bible. READ MORE

What's With NPR?

A stunning TED talk was given back in 2022 by National Public Radio’s (NPR) new CEO Katherine Maher about how seeking “truth” could impede progress and unity. Among other things, she set forth this:

“Perhaps for our most tricky disagreements, seeking the truth and seeking to convince others of the truth might not be the right place to start. In fact, our reverence for the truth might be a distraction that’s getting in the way of finding common ground and getting things done…

I think if I were to really ask you to think about this, one thing you would acknowledge is one reason we have such glorious chronicles to the human experience and all forms of culture is because we acknowledge there are many different truths.”

“I'm certain that the truth exists for you. And probably for the person sitting next to you. But this may not be the same truth. That is because the truth of the matter is very often for many people what happens when we merge facts about the world with our beliefs about the world. So, we all have different truths. They are based on things like where we come from, how we were raised, and how other people perceive us.”

This sounds like a pitch perfect ode to our relativistic, pragmatic, sensate culture. It both grieves us and angers us that this secular religion has embedded itself in not only in the culture but so many churches and much Christian literature. When relativism first seeps into a church, it soon produces gospel amnesia, gospel anemia, and gospel ambivalence – the spiritual condition of so many professing Christians today. Thank God the gospel prevails, and Christ is triumphant! Tetelestai!

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." - Jesus (John 14:6)



Get Your Battery Jumped at Croc's Corner

Need some extra encouragement and more biblical wisdom? Then join Tom Joyce each week at Croc's Corner for a three-minute video boost.

Tom is pastor of discipleship and family at Immanuel Bible Church in Springfield VA.

> Watch this week's message HERE

> Check the video archive of previous messages HERE



WACMM Search Update

The Washington Area Coalition of Men’s Ministries (WACMM) is a 25-year-old nonprofit, nondenominational, all-volunteer ministry in support of ministries to men in local churches in the mid-Atlantic. In a nationwide search, it is seeking a new director with passion, skills, and experience to minister to men. If you or someone you know might have an interest, contact Dave Brown - dave@wacmm.org or 240.447.1363

How Are We Doing?

Brothers,

Thanks for your many encouraging comments about our monthly EMALE. Indeed, men from across the country tell us what a unique communication to men it continues to be. It began in 2008 and this marks the 190th issue! We strive to encourage you, equip you, and to share a few laughs together.

As always, we welcome your comments, ideas, covet your prayers, and appreciate your financial support of the WACMM.

Locking Arms Together for the Sake of the Gospel,



Dave

Dave Brown

Director and Pastor-at-Large

Washington Area Coalition of Men's Ministries (WACMM)

10309 Freeman Place

Kensington MD 20895

dave@wacmm.org

240.447.1363

"No man can do me a truer kindness in this world than to pray for me." - Charles Haddon Spurgeon