So here at CVM we have been long-time supporters of encouraging men into men\u2019s groups, and I thought that now would be a great time to just write a few blogs about it: why we are so focussed on it and how you and your mates can benefit from them. So, without further ado \u2013 let\u2019s go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I heard you<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I picked up my daughter and her mate the other day, and as we drove along, I observed an incredible conversation taking place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It wasn\u2019t what was being said, to be honest I zoned out from that almost instantly, but it was the way the conversation was going. My daughter was talking to her mate, but as my daughter slowed to end her point or sentence her mate jumped straight in with her sentence ready. I soon realised that her mate wasn\u2019t actually listening; she was just thinking about what she wanted to say next while my daughter spoke to her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, I am not favouring my daughter here, which would of course be completely normal \u2013 I have seen my daughter do it to me. Point is, we all want someone to listen to us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I went to Bible college years ago, we did an exercise called \u2018active listening\u2019. We had to sit for five minutes, face to face with the person we had been assigned and actively listen. Not speak back, share our own ideas or connect verbally with their story \u2013 I just had to listen. It wasn\u2019t easy and after five minutes that felt like a lifetime it was my turn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was hesitant to start with but in no time at all I was away! It was a funny thing to do, but it was really revealing how much we can be \u2018listening\u2019 to people, but in reality, we are also preparing our own reply, take, view, opinion, say, or whatever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the things that impacted me about my men\u2019s group is that we do story<\/em>. After the fire is lit, we will give space for guys to speak. Often stuff is going off in someone\u2019s life and we need to hear it, they need to be heard, so we listen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We may ask questions, refine details and seek clarity but it\u2019s active listening and acknowledging another man\u2019s story, journey, pleasure or pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let me ask you, where else does this happen? When did you last feel like someone really heard you? Not just literally \u2018your voice was heard\u2019 but you<\/em> behind the voice, when did you feel that recently?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now CVM is all about equipping men to share the gospel, to reach 1 million men with the truth of Jesus, I think this is a vital part of the DNA of why we form men\u2019s groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You need to be heard, you need to know your story, that your energy and fight is seen, valued and heard. From that place of acceptance, we build in and set a framework for Jesus to give us voice, to validate us and remind us we are His and He is ours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s where serious gospel work is grounded, I think, equipping us to be seriously on message and living what we preach, keeping our feet on the narrow paths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s one reason why at CVM we really want to encourage guys to be in a men\u2019s group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you want to know more about setting up a men\u2019s group, some tools and ideas to kick things off then you can get in touch with us here<\/a> at CVM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can partner a men\u2019s group with us and get plugged into the movement of CVM to introduce 1 million men to Jesus.<\/p>\n