After the miscarriage we decided to try IVF one more final time. There were more occurrences that could have been taken as ‘signs’ from God. Including almost half the money required arriving on our doorstep over the course of a weekend. We hadn’t asked anyone for any help. But unfortunately the IVF failed to work again – we didn’t get past the transfer stage this time.

What followed was one of our worst summers ever. Upon reflection we think that the realisation that IVF was now off the table affected us both, and during the summer we grieved again. Then there was a life line – someone offered us the money for a third round of IVF. We were confused and unsure, and ultimately we turned this offer down. The final straw for me was watching a video at church for that years shoebox appeal. The joy that a simple box of toys bought children’s faces moved me, and as I watched I felt I couldn’t withhold the offer of parents to a child any longer. So we started making enquires about adoption.

At the start of the adoption process we were invited to an induction evening. During this we were given newspapers which had profiles of all the children who needed parents. It was like some kind of horrendously necessary Argos catalogue of children. After three pages I put the paper down for fear of breaking down in tears at the things these young lives had had to bear. I wanted to stop the evening, to shout ‘I’ll take them all!’ Adoption is an incredibly Biblical principle, even if you ignore all of God’s talk about looking after widows and orphans you are still faced with the fact that God looked at similar catalogue of children, similarly neglected and lied to and He said ‘I’ll take them all!’ Some say when you become a parent that your life as you know it ends, God is the only person who this is literally true for – Jesus died so that we could have the privilege of being His co-heir, His brother or sister.

Romans 8:15-17 ‘For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.’

Level Four evangelism – “man-friendly church” was once a far-off, lofty place we only aspired to one day reach. In the meantime, there was a whole stack of work to be shifted in getting Levels One and Two off the ground. (To the uninitiated, in CVM’s Four-Level Evangelism Strategy, these are ‘content’-free socials, and food plus speaker events, respectively). At Dawlish Christian Fellowship, in South Devon, we grew tired of waiting for Level One to ever give us a leg-up to Level Four, so we decided to turn the whole thing on its head and start working on Level Four right now. Not that we’ve stopped meeting new guys out in the community, but if we don’t sort this, our men’s ministry will only ever be a waiting room for men who are all dressed up with nowhere to go, at least not on a Sunday morning. Nothing frustrates men leading men in church like ‘invitophobia’ – the inherent fear of bringing unchurched men into church because we are either, a) not sure what it will be like on that particular Sunday, or worse, b) knowing all too well what it will be like.

So, what does Level Four look like for us? Well, firstly, I’m going to openly admit that we’re not there yet. Our décor, our worship, and our coffee might fail to inspire Dave Murrow – we’re ‘on a journey’ as the post-modern cliché goes. More significant than where we currently are, is where we are currently heading, and our compass is set to “man-friendly”. Here are four values that I believe are essential, in addition to the blatantly obvious fact of being a Bible-based, Gospel-driven, Spirit-led church, if we are to retain the men we reach. In no particular order, as they say…

1. Spontaneous humour.
Men have a caricature of Christianity in their heads that is dull and party-pooping, as if you get handed a long list of ‘can’t do’s’ on the way in through the door. Genuine humour has real power to very quickly dismantle this preconception. We find that spontaneous ‘off-the-cuff’ material goes down even better than telling well-rehearsed jokes, good as that can be. Spontaneity seems real, because it is, and it makes the church look like a place where anything could happen in the next half hour. To pull this off needs quick-witted, vulnerable service leaders who are ready to seize the moment. It doesn’t always come off, but it’s so worth the risk. One young woman in our congregation recently quipped ‘I love it when church goes wrong’, and she meant it as a real positive, which shows we’re helping the women, too. Humour turns an awkward silence into an opportunity for an authentic connection.

2. Top quality.
No-one wants a fake, plastic church; everyone’s these days in sick-to-death of being sold something. And yet, I’d equally hate to put pressure on any church leader to have to do every little thing to the ‘nth’ degree just to keep the men happy – the last thing we’re to be is people pleasers. But we won’t reach men with a rubbish sound system and weak tea. Men just vote with their feet if it’s rubbish. Let’s get the basics solid and reliable so we can make space for a spontaneous and genuine church experience that men will love. They might not be impressed by the things they take for granted, but neither will they complain and leave. Make it good. Not perfect, but good, and a maybe a little rough at the edges to breed confidence that it is real.

3. Brutal honesty.
In preaching, don’t hold back; give the message like it is. Men love and appreciate honesty as we’re mostly very poor at second-guessing and working out hidden meanings. ‘Since we have such a hope, we are very bold’, so let’s be very bold. And do not be afraid of the old ladies; when I preach like this the most encouraging comments I get are often from old ladies. They don’t look very radical, but they often are on the inside. Give all the glory to Jesus and set the bar reachable, but high. Challenge the men to stand up and take a step – if they think they’ve got what it takes. The key is that every man secretly wants to believe this of themselves – “You cut the mustard”, “You da’ man”. OK, we all know Jesus is really “da’ man”, but you get the point – if our identity is hidden in Christ, we are what He makes us. Therein lies the challenge to men to be godly activists.

4. Real simplicity.
As well as a blunt message, men also like blunt, direct language that tells it like it is. We need an everyday theology that connects the Word into the real world – after all, we should to be whole-life disciple-makers who value the spiritual significance of the daily work that most men do, paid or voluntary. Major on using the most ordinary, mundane illustrations you can in your preaching and illustrate almost everything to add colour and life to the message. Avoid all forms of theological language, including use of the word theological (oops!). Find another way to say it, a clearer way, a better way. Imagine you’re talking to a 25-year old labourer who has no church background and no Bible knowledge. The objective is to “de-pigeonhole” the Christian faith, dismantle the caricature and reveal the real thing. KISS

Keep it simple stupid!

5. Raw edginess.
Men often recommend things to other men based on perceived “edginess”. Edginess is a man’s way of discerning goodness. If there’s some form of kudos involved in doing it, using it or visiting it, men will happily ‘sell’ it without even being asked. Church was always meant to be dangerous and costly and not for the faint-hearted. How did we manage to turn it into a ladies’ knitting circle? Maybe it started when we saw fit to segregate discipleship from mission and made what’s really one thing into two things. So let’s reunite hearing the Word and doing it, and let’s offer a church experience for men that presents opportunities for direct action, positively subversive behaviour, and a measure of risk and danger. Sounds like the early church to me. Or is it the suffering church. Same difference, eh?

Mark Jones

The water hit the dirt floor with a puff of dust as the cold, clear liquid splashed onto the surrounding stones. The three dirty men watched the last drops trickle from the skin, at once stupefied and angry.

- – - – - – - – -

The fall had been an especially dry one. Earlier that evening, as the men sat in the cave resting from another day of raiding enemy bivouacs and capturing their scouting parties, the talk inevitably turned to food and drink, which always seemed in short supply. A mother’s cake, a wife’s roast lamb, or a choice wine from an uncle’s vineyard … somehow, the nostalgia sated the hunger, rather than increase it.

This time, even their commander broke in to the conversation: “By God, I would love to drink from the well that I used to visit as a boy. Its water was cold, refreshing, and sweet. What I wouldn’t give for a drink of that water right now.”

“I think I’ll go look for some game for tonight’s meal. You two layabouts, why don’t you come with me?”
The fact that he actually entered into the banter that evening raised eyebrows. His three captains shared sideways glances with each other and one nodded to the mouth of the cave.

Outside the cave, the three big men didn’t even have to speak. They knew what their mission would be tonight. They put on their light armour, took their short swords, and an empty waterskin. The well of Bethlehem was on the other side of the main force of the enemy’s encampment — this wouldn’t be an easy task but it was worth it. They loved that man, and if just one of them returned with the skin, it was worth it to serve their commander for this simple wish.

- – - – - – - – -

It took the men a moment to register what had just happened. As the final drop fell to the dirt seemingly in slow motion, their mouths began to form a response — a rebuttal — a …

Instead David silenced them with a terse, “How am I supposed to drink this!? Far be it from me to drink it — the blood of my men!”

The conversations, the banter, the arguments, it seemed that even the dogs eating scraps around the fire — all went silent as the actions of the Three and the words of the Commander began to sink in. The power of the moment was lost on no one.

The three men, weary yet still reeling from the adrenaline, took up their positions beside their leader and dutifully began to unroll their beds. They would sleep beside him tonight, as every other night. Guards were posted at the mouth of the cave. Tomorrow was another day, and once again the assembled men would battle for the their commander and their Lord God.

- – - – - – - – -

Where are you, men?

Are there other men in your life that you would give your life for? Are you living and serving with a group of men that have your back and you would trust with your life? Let this challenge and inspire you: Find brothers that you trust, men that will go to battle with you and for you.

Men that would risk their lives just to see the thirsts of your life fulfilled.

Read this: Daniel, Ch 5.

Rap this:
The king was called Belshazzar
But we’re gonna call ‘im Shazz-ar.
He said, “I am a dazzler,
Am go’n dazzle all the Kasbah.
We’ll be drinkin’ good wine;
Be a stinkin’ good time.
Am go’n take it further
When they say, ‘Don’t take it that far!’ “

He invites a thousand,
They’se all A-list glitterati.
Includes his wives and girlfriends,
‘Cause no way they’ll miss the party!
His dad was Neb’ kanezz-ar
It’s bad for poor old Shazz-ar
Livin’ in the shadow of
Ol’ Neb, who was a smarty.

“Am Shazz the man, an’ am so baad!”
He looks to push the boat out.
“Not like ol’ dad ‘cause he went mad
And looked a fool with no clout.”
Ol’ Neb, he had a showdown
With God who brought him low down.
If Neb was wondrin’ who was boss,
Then he found out with no doubt!

But Shazz was like, “What’s with this thing?
C’mon, must be a phony!
A ‘God’ who’s bigger than the King-
So how’d I face my homies?
This ‘God’, needs to be shut down,
A bod who needs a put down.”
He did it and he flashed the bling
In front of all his cronies.

Now Judah, it bin’ treated rough,
Neb pillaged all its treasure.
He carted off the sacred stuff
To Babylon at leisure.
Bling’s no real valuation-
The thing’s God’s reputation.
And Shazz he dissed that right enough,
All through his night of pleasure.

So when the wine was flowin’
An’ they sorta got a swing on,
He set the party goin’,
Said, “Got somethin’ else to bring on.”
Shazz used all Judah’s treasures
As boozers’ drinkin’ measures.
They toasted local idols
‘Cause they’s somethin’ safe to cling on.

His pride got over heated,
Needin’ somethin’ doin’ drastic.
An’ arrogance, deep seated –
That’s a call for the fantastic.
Then where a lamp is standin,’
A hand appears, just hangin’.
The body bin deleted,
And it’s real, it isn’t plastic.

All eerie in that dim light,
Seems that somethin’creepy’s startin’;
A myst’ry note, is filled in by
The hand, before departin’.
And, dude, that spooky scrawl
Would prove the writin’ on the wall.
Four words in some weird lingo:
‘Mene mene tekel parsin’.

Graffiti quite outlandish,
Was too much for Shazz to take in.
He couldn’t understand it,
So, like Elvis, started shakin’.
No menu he could drop down
So wha’d he do, but flop down.
He found no-one to crack the code
No matter who he raked in.

Nobody was of any use
Except, that is, The Queen Mum.
Said, “Hail Oh King! Stay cool, hang loose.
We’ll find out what it means, son.
With riddles needin’ solvin’
There’s a man who needs involvin’.
His name is Dan; he’s all good news,
He even sees your dreams, hun.”

“He was the brains for your ol’ dad–
Your dad, the king, I’m sayin.”
(Did she say that to make him mad?
The obvious, she’s statin’.)
“He’s got more intel inside.
The gods sure yell for his side.”
So Dan gets called to Shazz’s pad
And Shazz thinks, “Wha’ do I pay him?”

Shazz says if Dan’s the real thing-
Achieves a resolution,
He’ll get the Gucci an’ the bling,
Be made an institution:
For word trace and translation
Offers third place in the nation.
But Dan says, “Thanks, no thanks Oh king,
No fee for the solution.”

“Ol’ Neb as king of thee known world
Was up himself, and big time.
But God made him look so absurd
It flipped him like a trip line.
He got the thing, the lesson
That God’s the King, no mess’n.
King Shazz, you know all this occurred
But you don’t give a fig, mind.”

“The Lord of Life, you dissed Him good;
The One who holds your future.
That’s why He spoke into the hood
And loud as any hooter.”
That fist, it’s got a punchline-
It’s, ‘he’ll be gone by lunchtime.’”
The Lord, Dan made it understood,
Is judge and prosecutor.

“‘Mene’; that means ‘numbered’ and
The days you got are zero.
‘Tekel’ means that you bin’ weighed.
You lightweight, you’re no hero.”
Four words have bin’ hand written.
Your world y’see is splittn’.
‘Parsin’ means ‘divided’ and
Two into one, you’ll see, go.”

That same night king Shazz got whacked,
(Or ‘killed’ in other versions).
And, as we said, his Empire cracked;
Half each to Medes and Persians.
It’s right, right on, not ‘off the wall’,
That pride might come before the fall.
That plastered wall was lightly scratched
With sober, deep assertions.
A plastered wall, but lightly scratched
With sober, deep assertions.

Amen.

 
You can find more Code Odes featuring Dan and Neb, in The Manual, vol 3, out now …

‘Prove to me that God exists’, a bloke I was chatting to at a bar said to me. I was drinking a lime alcopop that I’d been given on the house. It was disgusting, and my cheeks were cowering inwards by the second.

Whilst my drink was uncommon and grotesque, his request was not. One of the major reasons people give for not believing in God is simply that ‘there’s no proof’. Now, it will often be phrased as ‘there’s no evidence,’ but what they really mean is proof – something concrete that would absolutely seal the deal, like God writing his name across the sky in stars.

There’s a lot that’s troublesome about that assertion, though.

It may make you feel enlightened and robust to say ‘I’d believe if there was irrefutable proof’, but the reality is that you wouldn’t submit any other aspect of your life to that charge. Outside of pure mathematics, people don’t talk about ‘proof’ in that strict sense. We look at the evidence and make a judgement on where that evidence leads. Nobody owns evidence. We all have the same data to work with.

You will hear people say it. ‘I only believe in what can be proven.’ Fool of a Took! Nobody does – that’s just a soundbyte. For starters, you can’t even prove that the previous sentence is true!

I can’t prove my wife loves me, or that I love her. I can put forward a good case, and I’d be happy to show you the scrapbook that I’ve collated for just such a purpose, but I can’t prove it using science or logic. But if I’d only acted on what could be proven irrevocably beyond doubt, I would never have plucked up the courage to ask her out, and we wouldn’t now be happily married.

There’s so much I can’t prove. I can’t prove to you that 50 Shades of Grey is the worst book ever written and that the author should be force-fed every copy a page at a time until she learns to never do it again and signs a binding contract to that end; but it is nevertheless true.

The point is this: If someone genuinely does live believing in only what can be proven, then they will end up desperately alone, because they will never know love. Even Sheldon Cooper engages in relationship without concrete formulae. So maybe the idea of irrefutable proof is just a cop-out.

The sister statement, that tends to hang around with the idea of irrefutable proof, is the following: ‘If there was a God, He would have proven it to us by now.’ The technical response is the same as above, that nothing that really matters to you in life can be proven in that academic sense. Love, Hope, Beauty, Purpose, Forgiveness: These are the things that really count on a day-to-day basis, and we all know them to be true, even though we can’t prove it.

But when it’s said that God would have proven Himself by now, it’s perfectly correct to assert that, actually, He has – to millions and millions and millions of people across the globe and throughout time. And maybe if you haven’t met him yet, maybe that’s because you’re looking for equations instead of relationship.

Because God’s chief aim is not to get you to merely or blindly believe in Him. ‘Even the demons do that, and tremble’, says the book of James. Again, I believed my wife existed long before I started going out with her. But belief in itself doesn’t bring love or warmth or delight. It was only by getting to know her and spending time with her that those things were possible. Same with God: He wants us to know Him, not just know about Him. There’s nothing to suggest that if God drew His name across the sky in stars, more people would be drawn into a loving relationship with Him.

The guy I was chatting to at the bar was, sadly, far too hammered on the limey alcopop freebies to care what I had to say. I’ve got a few bottles in my kitchen still. I can’t prove to you how disgusting it is as a drink, but if you wanted to come round and taste it for yourself, you’d know I was telling the truth. And then you’d vomit.

Europe staged a dramatic final-day comeback to overturn a five-point deficit and retain the Ryder Cup.

Francisco Molinari finished all-square with Tiger Woods on the 18th green to secure a European win by 14 1/2 points to 13 1/2. Martin Kaymer had already holed a six-foot putt to guarantee at least a tie for his side, ensuring that the trophy would be heading back to Europe, before Woods bogeyed the final hole.

USA had built an impressive lead in the match over the first two days, but Europe fought back, inspired by captain’s pick Ian Poulter who won all four of his matches over the weekend.

In the Premier League, Tottenham won at Old Trafford for the first time in the league for 22years as Manchester United lost ground on their title rivals.

Jan Vertonghen scored after just two minutes and Gareth Bale added to Spurs’ lead in the first half.  In three furious minutes at the start of the second half United scored two either side of Clint Dempsey’s winner and despite a late charge Spurs held on to win.

Chelsea’s fine run continued as they beat an in-form Arsenal side 2-1 at the Emirates stadium.

Fernando Torres got the better of Laurent Koscielny to find the net from a Juan Mata free kick and a second Mata set-piece provided the away side’s second goal, this time a free-kick which went straight in.

Gervinho had equalised before half-time but it was Chelsea who took all three points to maintain their position three points clear of the chasing pack at the top of the Premier League table..

Manchester City had to rely on a last-minute goal from substitute Edin Dzeko to get the better of Fulham to win 2-1.

Liverpool finally reached top gear, getting their first win of the season in emphatic style. They beat Norwich 5-2 at Carrow Road with Luis Suarez bagging a hat trick.

England beat New Zealand by six wickets on Saturday to put themselves in a good position going into the final round of Super 8 matches in the World Twenty20 Championship.

Luke Wright scored 76 off 43 in an innings which included five sizes, four of which came within seven balls. Steven Finn took three wickets for 16.

New Zealand won the inaugural Rugby Championship, thrashing Argentina 54-15, scoring seven tries.

Cory Jane scored a hat trick to help his side take the lead after their opponents had gone in front thanks to a Martin Landajo try.

Warrington trounced St Helens 36-18 to set up a Super League Grand Final meeting with Leeds, who beat Wigan 13-12.

In an emotional first home match for Liverpool since the findings of the Hillsborough Independent Panel were announced, Robin van Persie’s 81^st-minute penalty clinched all three points for Manchester United.

Steven Gerrard opened the scoring for the home side despite having Jonjo Shelvey sent off before the break. Defender Rafael da Silva equalised five minutes later before van Persie’s winner.

At the Etihad Stadium Manchester City drew 1-1 with Arsenal. Laurent Koscielny’s 82^nd-minute goal cancelled out Joleon Lescott’s first-half header

Demba Ba marked his return to the Newcastle starting line-up with a goal that proved the difference against Norwich. It leaves Chris Hughton, former Newcastle manager, still searching for his first win in charge of Norwich.

At White Hart Lane, Spurs were booed off at half-time, trailing 1-0 to Bobby Zamora’s strike but came back to beat QPR thanks to an own goal from Alejandro Faurlin and one from Jermain Defoe.

On Saturday, Chelsea maintained their lead at the top of the Premier League table with a 1-0 win against Stoke. Ashley Cole scored the winner in the 85^th minute.

There was still enough time for Jonathan Walters to head onto Petr Cech’s crossbar but Chelsea held onto the points.

John Terry announced his retirement from international football, one day before the FA’s disciplinary panel are due to rule on their charge of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand, citing his position as “untenable”.

India embarrassed England in their World Twenty20 match, bowling England out for just 80 runs after 14.4 overs.

India had posted a score of 170-4 thanks to knocks of 55 and 45 from Rohit Sharma and Gautam Ghambir respectively and they skittled England to condemn their opponents to their worst ever T20 defeat.

Sebastian Vettel won the Singapore Grand Prix, finishing ahead of Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso. Lewis Hamilton’s title hopes all but vanished after he was forced to retire with gearbox failure.

In the Aviva Premiership, Exeter edged out Saracens  14-12 to tighten things up at the top end of the table.

Sireli Naqelevuki scored the only try of the match to turn the match in Exeter’s favour and condemn Saracens to their first defeat of the season.

Champions Harlequins beat Leicester 22-9 to maintain their one-point lead at the top of the table over Northampton who beat Worcester 37-31.

Wigan Warriors have chosen to face Leeds Rhinos in the semi-finals of the Super League. Wigan, who earnt the right to choose their opponents by virtue of finishing top of the league, left St Helens and Warrington to face each other in the other semi-final.

Laura Robson reached her first WTA final at the Guangzhou Open but lost 6-3 5-7 6-4 to Hsieh Su-wei in the final, having led 3-0 in the deciding set.

Brandt Snedeker comfortably kept ahead of the field to finish ten under and win the PGA Tour Championship in Atlanta, three shots ahead of Justin Rose and four ahead of Luke Donald.

Years of working with children, then youth, and now young (and not-so-young) adults has led me to a conclusion:

We All Need An Adventure.

An adventure of risk, an adventure of faith, an adventure of learning, an adventure of experience, and an adventure that will shape us for a lifetime. So many of us have lives of ease and shallow living that we need a deep-dive into relationship, responsibility, and life. We need an event in our lives that will be an initiation into adulthood, something that we will never forget for the rest of our lives.

For me, that initiation was war: Surviving two deployments to Iraq shaped my thinking for the rest of my life and kick-started my passion and ethos to see men and women come alive by living life outside of their comfort zone. Blood, guts, and brotherhood.  Fight for something (or someONE) worth dying for.

For our ancestors, initiation was a rite of passage: Getting married early, and for life; hunting for food; building a home with their own hands; responsibility of protecting their family; or even physical scarring.

For most of us today: we have nothing. We have nothing that opens our eyes to the world past our computer screens and car dashboards. Nothing that pressures us into the responsibility of having other people’s lives in our hands. Nothing that teaches us to serve others with our whole hearts and commit to honest community.

So with the help of a great team, we’ve established Global Adventure.

The Mission, Should You Choose To Accept It

The mission of Global Adventure is two-fold:

• To plant the Kingdom of God where it doesn’t exist and to minister to the needs of lost & hurting people around the world.
• To give young adults an adventurous opportunity to see that there are needs in the world and that they have Christ-given authority and power to bring change.

The Global Adventure is an around-the-world mission to plant churches and develop men and women who are ready to make a change in this world. Our first trip leaves January 2013 from London and will take our first intrepid explorers to North America, South America, Australia/NZ, South East Asia, Africa, and finally Spain. Each stop will have a mission to serve and to learn. To serve communities struggling in the face of natural disaster or spiritual oppression, and to learn more about topics such as discipling, social justice, evangelism, community, and leadership. In Africa, we will spend two to three months first learning culture and language, then serving a community, and in partnership with a local pastor, plant a new church.

• Need life experience? Loads.
• Want to re-connect with real-life people? Spend 7 months with the same 12 people and you’ll learn about community and yourself in ways you never imagined
• Crave some adventure and fun? At each destination, there will be adventure challenges to complete with your mates.
• Looking for on-the-job leadership development? How about learning from experienced missionaries, pastors, leaders, and teachers as you work on projects around the world?
• Seeking something you’ve been missing? The Global Adventure might be it.

To Parents, Leaders, Teachers, Mentors…

This is internship to n^th power. We’ve specifically modeled Global Adventure to prepare young adults for a lifetime of leadership, service, and initiative. Our goal is to send each participant back home with the tools and experience needed to bring Christ to their village and city just as they brought it to the Andes Mountains, Cambodian jungles, or African bush.

If any of this has resonated with you, check out our website at www.GLOBAL-ADVENTURE.org and get in touch with our team.

The last time I was interviewed by Christian.co.uk, it was the most-read article on their website for weeks on end. This interview was written and first published by Sam Hailes here…

Having seen the head of Christian Vision for Men (CVM) give his seminar at New Wine, I waited patiently as a queue of people formed to speak to Carl. He would later reveal, while making a point about lust being a “primary issue” for men, that every conversation he had was about sexual sin.

After half an hour of Carl counseling and praying for people, we made our way to the speaker’s tent to discuss his vision of seeing a million men come to faith in Jesus.

One Million Men

Carl tells me that according to surveys, 75% of British men are antagonistic when it comes to the gospel. “Which leaves 25% who are not…I think we can take a million of that 25%. I think it’s a God given figure actually. I had a prophetic guy contact me recently who said ‘I don’t think a million is enough, you need to up your game’ which is quite interesting.”

Speaking bluntly throughout our interview, Carl keeps his answers to my questions brief and to the point. He’s just explained CVM’s four levels of evangelism. 500 small groups across the UK and beyond aim to: 1) Befriend other men 2) hold an event with a speaker who shares the gospel 3) organise an all male course further explaining the gospel 4) help people find a male friendly church.

Starting a fight

Next, the subject turns to testosterone.

“I’ve got my testosterone for a reason and since I don’t need to hunt a stag for dinner anymore, I might as well use it for something,” Carl says

“I’m trying to call the guys to get involved in a fight with something that’s noble and good.”

“We’ve been given a fighting spirit so I’m trying to call the guys to get involved in a fight with something that’s noble and good. I’m not talking about bar room brawls but the spiritual equivalent of that.”

“Let’s tackle issues like violence against women, seek to become better husbands and fathers or if we’re single keep our sexual integrity. We’re there to make a profound difference and bring men to Christ. So use your testosterone for good.”

The Code

The 12 point honour code Carl developed has resonated with thousands of men across the UK. What is it about?

“It’s like a new monastic order without the celibacy and we can still have a drink,” he says.

“The idea is you read it, are inspired by it and take action because of it. There’s things like ‘Jesus is my captain brother, rescuer and friend’ which is a declaration of faith and the last one is ‘I’ll never give up because he’ll never give on me’ which is a declaration of grace.”

“There’s stuff like ‘I’ll treat all men and women as brothers and sisters.’ If you do that you’re not going to jack off to porn because she’s a potential sister in Christ.”

“We thought about 12 areas of a man’s life that need to be brought into sharp focus. It took two years to work out 12 statements. Normally I do things in half an hour so that was quite challenging,” he admits.

The Manual
Following on from The Code, Carl has just released a series of short snappy devotions for men called The Manual.

“On the basis that most men’s attention span is short and we like things that are blunt and direct we thought we’d pick on the issues that man are facing. They are 200-300 words long and start with a verse and end with a prayer. The idea is everyday a guy can pick them up, read it and get something out of it. It’s not irrelevant fluffy stuff, it’s real stuff that men are facing.”

Although these devotions are hot off the press, feedback has been rolling in already. “I had one guy saying he’s reading it outside of work with two younger men he’s led to Christ before they walk through the office doors. Crucially what we’ve done is we haven’t dated it, we’ve numbered it. If blokes miss the date they won’t look back at it through guilt but if they are looking at number 13 it doesn’t really matter.”

“It’s not irrelevant fluffy stuff, it’s real stuff that men are facing”

‘Why are there tissues everywhere?!’

Those familiar with Carl and his ministry will be unsurprised to hear him complain about what he calls the “romanticisation” of the Church. His seminar at New Wine included a moment where he kicked a box of tissues across the stage asking, “Why are there tissues everywhere!? Do they think we’re all going to cry or something!?”

It was moments like this that made me compare Carl to the controversial US pastor Mark Driscoll. “Yeah people say that,” he replies when I put this to him. “We’re the same age but I’m not as belligerent as he is. I don’t know. I think I’m my own man.”

CVM’s annual event, The Gathering certainly sounds like an event for manly men. “1500 guys together in a field. We burn stuff, eat stuff and talk to people about Jesus. We sing hymns, we don’t sing romantic songs. We make a lot of noise and it’s great fun. We have sports cars and that kind of stuff, it’s good blokey fun.”

Inflicting intimacy

Carl says the women he speaks to hate the romanticisation of the church too. “There’s a really small group of people who are really heavily into some of the intimacy stuff and I wouldn’t want to take that away from them but I would say is ‘don’t inflict that on the rest of us who don’t get it.’”

“A lot of people think you’ve not achieved this revelation of God if you’re not in that zone. They think you’ve got issues because you can’t say ‘Jesus is my lover’ or ‘He is beautiful’. I say ‘if that means I’ve got issues then I’ll keep them! I like those issues!’”

Amusing throughout our short conversation, Carl isn’t afraid to be direct and make important and weighty points. But he isn’t quite as macho as he sometimes comes across. “I drink warm beer in warm pubs with newspapers,” he says as we finish our conversation.

After thanking him for his time, I get up to leave. “Don’t write anything that will make people hate me too much,” he asks. Smiling I reply, “I’ll do my best!”

“Christianity? There are some good points to it, but I just can’t believe that one faith is superior to others. That view is intolerant.” You know the idea, it has been said in many ways. Christianity, it is understood, is basically unfair because it says that everyone else is wrong. Oh, the arrogance of this, the intolerance to other ideas and people!

In Britain today there are many people of different backgrounds, from all types of races and people groups. We can enjoy just about any food from around the world and explore just about any belief without ever leaving these fair shores. The world has come to this country and along with it has come a wonderful variety of customs, traditions, and of course, religions.

Unity in all of this diversity is greatly prized. Ideas which threaten the peace are pounced upon quickly. We can of course agree, discrimination against individuals can and should be fought against. We applaud the efforts of organisations such as FIFA to eradicate racism, a horrible and cruel practice. We celebrate equality for women in the work place as noble and worthy. But does it mean that we have to accept all religions as having equal weight? Is it discrimination to say that just one religion is correct?

Essentially this argument boils down to truth claims. When someone says that they don’t like Christianity because it is intolerant they are making a claim about truth. “I don’t like your exclusivity. I don’t like that you say that Jesus is the only way.” But as we examine those very statements being made we realise that the person making them is asserting an exclusive view too! The person who doesn’t like Christianity’s truth claims is in fact saying that their view of truth – that many viewpoints are equally valid – is the right way, the only way, to proceed. In fact, exclusivity is OK – it just must be this type of exclusivity. But hold on, within this belief this person must grant Christianity’s view too. It all starts to unravel somewhat.

The question in fact reveals that Christianity – or any religion – can’t be written off simply for making exclusive claims. All religions and ways of thinking hold some kind of exclusivity at some point. What we must do is investigate the claims that Christianity makes. Do they stack up? Does the evidence fit? Does Christianity make more sense of the world than other religions and belief systems? What we really need to do is investigate, as Alister McGrath says, what Christianity is all about. This is what we will begin to look at in future columns.

This article first appeared in the Sep/Oct edition of Sorted Magazine.