Experiences with God...

My older brother and myself have been trying to put on an Alpha course for new believers and seekers of the gospel. Alpha was designed at Trinity Brompton in England and has been used all over the world to teach a foundation to Christianinty. He had conducted several at his home already and seen many new believers come to faith and be baptized. We have both left the church we were attending and have been visiting another and are not completely plugged in, but it was decided to have another Alpha class at his home. It has not been easy. It's amazing the excuses people use to back out of anyhting that could bring them closer to God even after commiting themselves to go. Anyway this past Sunday we were to meet again and a friend of mine who said he would go was supposed to attend. I had made alternate plans (since I am part of another group that meets every other Sunday) and couldn't attend so I called him to let him know. Immediately his response was then he probably wouldn't go either. Through a "twist" of fate I mentioned how my brother, whom he grew up with, would be there and a few other tidbits of information that may make him more comfortable to the surroundings. After this I said, "so if you could find the Courage to attend you would be well rewarded." As soon as the word Courage was mentioned, all changed. Of course he had he Courage and so he went and was blessed. I pondered this and from reading "Wild at Heart" by John Eldredge I realized that if you want to get a man to do God's will apeal to their courage and they'll have a much harder time saying No. What man wants to be considered a coward? Bravery, strength, courage, the longings of the heart of man and the qualities so seldom seen in today's churches. Even my brother Dave doesn't want to become a Christian since most of the "men" he sees at church have a rather effeminate and passive disposition. But was Jesus like this, the apostles? No they took the world on and spoke the truth even to the point of death. They stood up, addressed crowds when not asked to, said the most politically incorrect teachings of their time and many wanted to rid the earth of them. Their mission was not for the faint hearted and neither is ours. If men, including myself, could rise above this "Mr. Roger's" type Jesus and see him for who he is, it would change the world. He drove out the money changers without permission, told parables about the leaders that offended them and made them want to kill him. He never appologized for who He was and made no concession to the enemy to appease him. He touched the untouchable, loved the unloveable, and constantly embarrased his followers. He always spoke his mind and was completly fearless as to the opinions of others. How many Christian men do you know like that today? Would you want to be one of them?