Following the Steve's recent envisioning for the Men of the Anlaby Churches to meet with one another to share their lives and faith in small groups of about 4's; we are keen to have a monthly gathering for men to come together to encourage and challenge one another to run the race well. This is open to all men and 14+ at the Anlaby Churches.

The opportunities to meet together so far have been varied in style, day, time and location - and this will continue. However, there will be some common activities to each gathering:

1. Food
2. Activity
3. Focus

In all of these we are aiming to facilitate us learning to: have fun; know each other better; spur one another on to resist sin and to follow Jesus well - living distinctly for him; being satisfied in God and hence to glorify him more. 

Save the Dates: Upcoming Gatherings:

• Saturday 25th June 19:30-21:30 @St Mark's - How do I kill my Pride?
  
• Saturday 16th July 10:00-12:30 - Walkabout Location TBC

If you've been to the gatherings and enjoyed them, then please share your enthusiasm with other men at the Anlaby Churches who did not attend and offer them a personal invitation to join us next time. 

As the weather improves we will venture outside, if you have any suggestions for other activities or topics that you would be interested in, could run or contribute to helping organize with Chris then please let him know. 

Killing Pride

The next men's gathering will take place on Saturday 25th June at St Mark's Church, between 7:30pm and 9:30pm. 

Pride, as a lack of humility, is a major issue that many struggle with. Pride can kill our faith and destroy relationships. God has gifted us with natural abilities and supernatural gifts to be used to serve one another, but our pride can turn this blessing that builds up into a curse that tears down. Join us as we consider how we can actively put our pride to death.

Chris: When I was working as ministry trainee one of the practical activities that reminded me that 'ministry' means serving others rather than being a status symbol was to serve in the mundane everyday tasks. One of the major factors in keeping my pride in check, whilst I had more upfront areas of service was to clear down the hall for the 0-5's playgroup and sweep the floors. As I serve in more upfront capacities I continue to look for ways to serve in the mundane - from moving chairs to putting the bibles away! As a way of encouraging this perspective the activity for this men's gathering will be moving the furniture back to the recently refurbished vestry!

During Killing Pride we will:

• Move furniture from the band room to the recently refurbished vestry
• Listen to a Podcast (<12 mins) featuring John Piper entitled: How do I Kill my Pride?
• Discuss what this means for us and what it could mean for the vision for us as men at the Anlaby Churches

Grace

The previous men's gathering took place on Saturday 21st May at St Mark's Church, between 7:30pm and 9:30pm. 

During Grace we:

• Had opportunity to catch-up with one another over drinks and nibbles
• Listened to a Podcast featuring John Piper entitled: What is Grace? You can listen to this here.
• We then discussed what this means for us and what it could mean for the vision for us as men at the Anlaby Churches

• How does what you have heard tonight compare to what have you previously understood by the term grace? 
• How is grace as undeserved favour an encouragement to you?
• How readily do you remember this in your own life?o How readily do you apply this in your attitude towards others?
• In what ways have you been actively seeking to grow as a Christian? AND How have you observed grace as power for living in this?
• What are your reflections on Piper’s suggested approach for all Christians (not just theologians) in having a deeper understanding of how it all fits together? 
• How easy do you find it to let go (repent) of your previous preconceptions when the Bible clearly shows something to be wider or different to what you had presumed?
• How could these two complimentary definitions of grace be applied to shape how we come together in 3’s and 4’s?
• How well do the members of the Anlaby Churches demonstrate and apply both of these definitions in their relationships with one another? With visitors / attendees of events? To a watching world?
• Is there anything that we (the Anlaby Churches) do that contradicts this? 
• Is there anything we need to repent (say sorry and turn to face the other direction) of collectively?

As men, we are at an exciting phase of our life at the Anlaby Churches. Please watch the video (posted Jan 2022) below for more information about how you can be involved. If you'd like to know more read on or ask one of the men at the Anlaby Churches. if you do not know anyone then you could email our Pastor Steve using steve.wilcox@anlabychurches.org.uk

We are keen that that putting the vision into practice is led by God the Holy Spirit so that it grows by relationship and his leading not by our own plans or agenda. We should be weary of picking groups based on friendships and those who are most like us in some way. The church is  a body of many parts and we all need each other, we need those not like us with different gifts and personalities to flourish. However this does not mean that we will not need to make plans - after all leadership and administration can also be spiritual gifts.

In the early stages of putting this vision into action it will be important for men who want to meet with others in small groups about 4 to get to know others who want the same; to figure out who there is, when and where they can meet and for those who are not sure what this could look like or are nervous of what this could mean for them to have opportunity to decide for themselves. I would like to say from the outset that this idea is not a new one. Jesus met with 3 others within the 12. It is not something that is for the super-spiritual - this is ordinary life as a Christian, we've just been slow to get going. I would encourage those who feel uncomfortable about this or any spiritual activity to discern for themselves whether this is caution from God the Holy Spirit, or temptation from the enemy that means we fail to do the good we know we should - of course I am speaking generally here and not specifically to this vision.

Once groups are somewhat established it will be good to encourage meeting altogether to share stories of what God has done , as well as to continue to facilitate further growth and unity among men and establish new groups as needed. As part of the vision the groups will have a best before date of 2 years; but need about a year become mature! 

When Steve shared the vision with the elders (warden team) we have agreed that we should lead by example and form the first few groups with each of us in different groups. Steve has formed a group of 3 who meet on a Saturday morning (Steve, Al, Adam) and are prayerfully considering whether someone else will join them. Chris has formed a group of 4 who meet alternate Wednesday mornings near Hull University (Chris, Ben, James, Joseph). Don M has formed a group of 3 (Don M, Jim & ?) who meet on a Wednesday night fortnightly at his house. Gordon is happy to meet with anyone who wants (Last Updated 15th May)

However, we would be delighted to hear from you if you feel led to organise your own group and encourage you strongly to do so. Since we want organic growth - all the groups will and should look different to one another in how they function and feel. The elders (warden team) are keen to ensure that all groups have common elements:

• To have a focus on the Word, Prayerful dependence on God and sharing our lives and faith
• Commitment to meet regularly for at least 1 year
• To have permission to share openly, and to speak the truth into one another's lives - encouraging the fruit of the Spirit (being more like Jesus) and challenging the desires of the flesh (worldly & sinful thinking or actions).
• To keep matters shared within the group (unless there are safeguarding issues - which must be reported for the safety and well being of all: harm to self or to others).
• To communicate with Steve or Don M as men's coordinators who is in the group and any changes as needed so that we can ensure that no one is in more than one group and no one who wants to meet with others is left out.
• To bring any concerns or conflicts that cannot be resolved to the attention of the elders - preserving our unity and not our pride is of the upmost importance.

Escape!

The men's gathering took place on Monday 28th March at St Mark's Church, between 7:30pm and 9:30pm. 

During Escape we:

• Played the beginnings of an escape room game called Exit! Some of us planned to meet to finish the game started.
• Listened to a Podcast featuring John Piper entitled: Escaping the Love of Comfort and Safety
• Discussed what this means for us and what it could mean for the vision for us as men at the Anlaby Churches

If you've been to the gatherings and enjoyed them, then please share your enthusiasm with other men at the Anlaby Churches who did not attend and offer them a personal invitation to join us next time. 

As the weather improves we will venture outside, if you have any suggestions for other activities that you would be interested in, could run or contribute to helping organize with Chris then please let him know. 

The men's gathering Play, Pizza & Pastor took place on Saturday 19th February.

At Play, Pizza & Pastor we:

• Played some group games - particularly focusing on word games that were quick and easy to play.
• We ate Pizza from one of our local pizzerias
• We listened to a 10 minute podcast featuring John Piper called: What is Discipleship and How is it Done?
• We discussed what it means to us and what it could mean for the vision for us as men at the Anlaby Churches.
• We finished around 10pm having spent much more time discussing than playing,
• All in all, we had a good time together getting know one another better and spurring one another on to love and good works (Heb 3:13)

For those who were unable to join us, why not join the conversation with your fellow men? Listen to the Podcast as linked above and reflect on some of the questions below. We can talk after the service, meet up or discuss further in our groups of 3's and 4's.

• How does what you have heard compare to what have you previously understood by the term discipleship? 
• In what ways have you been actively seeking to grow as a Christian – learning from Jesus and to think and feel in line with the truth of the gospel? (Your own discipleship)
• In what ways have you been actively seeking to help others become Christians or Christians to grow in their faith? (Making disciples)
• In the previous two questions the term actively was used. To what extent has your own discipleship or your making disciples been active? Has it been too passive?
• Which opportunities in the Anlaby Churches have helped you to grow the most? Is there anything missing or that could be developed?
• Do you think that the Anlaby Churches have been guilty now or in the past of promoting the falsehood of “Second Stage Christians”? How could we safeguard against this attitude for ourselves or as we share with others? 
• What are your reflections on the vision for men’s ministry that Steve recently shared? How could these ideas about discipleship be made a reality through this? Do you have any concerns?