Carolyn states:
I was hoping that someone would come up with THE solution?
Let me ask you this, does your pastor preach expository sermons?
Is the gospel being preached and shared?
Why isn't the leader of the study picking the study material? Why is it being left up to the "majority vote" rule on what material is going to be used?
Are the leaders or elders knowledgeable in doctrine? If so, are they encouraging the other men to be in the Word? If not, why not?
Is the pastor participating in the mens study? If not, why not?
Does your church encourage it's members to use their spiritual gifts?
When my husband has asked men why they aren't interested in Bible study they reply (in essence)that reading the Bible is too hard and/or too boring.
That is a serious problem. If people aren't encouraged to learn their bible, then it seems to me that their is something wrong with the church.
They work long hours and often have a long commute as well.
I have found that "long commutes" are an excellent way to study. I love reading during a bus or train ride or listening to the bible on CD during a car ride.
Working long hours stinks, but I always found time for bible study when I worked labor intensive jobs with long hours.
My answer is this. God is the only one that is going to cause a change in your church. But if your church only has a handful of men showing up for a bible study and they all don't want to actually study the bible, then it seems to me that your church isn't very spiritually alive. The problem of getting men to attend a bible study is just a smaller problem that is a reflection of the church as a whole.
If men are attending worship service where they hear that they are transgressors of God's holy law and that the penalty for their rebellion is eternal death and that they are in need of a savior who has atoned for their sins. If they hear that they were born into sin and that they can't escape the judgment to come and that they need to repent and place their faith in Jesus Christ and Him alone. If they are told that there is nothing more important then their eternal security, not their job, or their hobby, or their money or their house and that they should make a complete change in their attitude about Christ and their lifestyle. That the most profitable thing that they can do as a Christian is to pray and read the bible and through these disciplines, it will allow them to grow stronger in their faith, their ministry to the Lord and to pursue holiness and to lead penitent lives mortifying the flesh and doing all things to please and bring god glory. If this type of message is frequently coming from the pulpit and the church leaders, then I don't see why most of the men of the church would not be interested in attending the mens bible study.
If the pastor is attending the study, then I don't see why the majority of the men of the congregation wouldn't want to attend. If the pastor and the church leaders were serious about encouraging the men of the church to attend the bible study then I don't see why men arn't coming.
But if these things aren't happening, then I fully understand why men aren't coming. Because they aren't truly seeking the light of God.
Post Tenebras Lux!
Here are some titles of books that you might be interested in reading about the church.
1. "The practices of a healthy church" by Donald J. MacNair
2. "Dining with the devil" by Os Guinness
3. "City on a Hill" by Philip Ryken
4. "Nine Marks of a Healthy Church" by Mark Dever
5. "Whatever happened to the Gospel of Grace?" by James Montgomery Boice.
Soli Deo Gloria
Dave.
