CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Men in Mission (LMM) will take aim at three targets in the coming years. The LMM board decided the men's ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will underscore its Bible program, men's health issues and getting young men involved in the church.
LMM's Bible program is "probably the most popular and effective thing we've ever done," said Douglas Haugen, LMM director, ELCA Division for Congregational Ministries. In cooperation with Serendipity House Publishers, LMM published the "Master Builders Bible for Men."
The Master Builders Bible for Men includes about 20,000 questions written into study notes "designed to help men build relationships within their groups as well as to get to know God better," said Haugen.
"The style of small-group Bible study that you have in the Master Builders Bible is really non-defensive. People are not going to be there and be embarrassed because they don't have the right answer," said Haugen. "It's set up in a way that it opens doors to relationships," he said.
Money from a donor made it possible for LMM to purchase its first 1,000 copies of the Master Builders Bible for Men and to give them away. They went so quickly that LMM published another 5,000 Bibles, gave some away and sold the others to cover the publishing costs, said Haugen. The 5,000 went quickly too, so LMM published another 1,000 of that edition.
Now in its second edition, LMM published 15,000 copies of the Master Builders Bible for Men. This edition includes the "Men's Ministry Action Plan" -- a 32-page section on how to develop men's ministry -- one of LMM's most popular resources, Haugen said.
"We have distributed more than 10,000 Bibles in one way or the other, and we still have a supply left," said Haugen. "Most of them are out in congregations with men's groups, but some of them have gone into places like detention centers and prisons" where LMM has placed them free of charge, he said.
"We find that, when we have events in our synods, or congregations, or churchwide events, we probably sell one Bible for every two men there," said Haugen.
Another area of interest for LMM involves the whole church, said Haugen. In the United States, men between the ages of 18 and 30 are the least likely to be in church, he said. Young men leave the church and tend not to return.
"Lutheran Men in Mission has committed itself, over the next two to three years, to focus on doing whatever it is we need to do in order to open up relationships among men of all generations and reach men in that age group for the church," said Haugen.
"To do this ministry among young men, we will be developing a number of partnerships," said Haugen. "One of those partnerships will probably be with the Youth and Family Institute at Augsburg College," Minneapolis. Augsburg is one of 28 colleges and universities of the ELCA.
The Rev. Richard A. Hardel, executive director, Youth and Family Institute, and the Rev. Roland D. Martinson, professor of pastoral care and Carrie Olson Baalson professor of children, youth and family ministry, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn., developed several LMM programs to help men relate across generations, said Haugen.
Hardel and Martinson "have a good feel for where men's ministry is and where it needs to go. They've been valuable partners for years already, and we are considering formalizing that relationship," he said.
Men's health is a third area of interest for LMM. "We find that younger men are interested in wellness and prevention," said Haugen. Older men have health concerns related to growing older, such as prostate cancer and heart disease, he said.
"We're going to be talking about these things and helping men to address them," said Haugen. Discussions have included holding health fairs in conjunction with LMM events, he said.
The three emphases will be topics during "Blueprints for Living," the LMM gathering that will bring hundreds of Lutheran men from across the United States and Caribbean to San Antonio, Texas, July 26-28. -- -- --
Lutheran Men in Mission maintains information about all its programs, resources and gatherings at http://www.elca.org/lmm/ on the ELCA Web site.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
