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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS 97" by SUSAN PEEK on April 15, 1997 at 14:24
Eastern, about DAILY NEWS RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (154
notes).

Note 152 by UMNS on June 12, 1997 at 15:42 Eastern (5106 characters).

Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

CONTACT: Linda Green                           340(10-31-71B){152}
         Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470             June 12, 1997

Editors: A photo is available

Men at a crossroads in church life, 
new United Methodist Men's leader says

                          A UMNS Feature
                          by Linda Green*

     The church is at a critical crossroads in its ministry with
men according to an Oklahoma clergyman who was elected recently to
head a new United Methodist Commission on United Methodist Men.
     In an interview at his Nashville, Tenn., office, the Rev.
Joseph L. Harris, 46, said the church can either take advantage of
the heightened awareness of men's ministry throughout the country
or stand by as men turn to other outlets to get their spiritual
needs met.
      Harris said he believes a window of opportunity has been
opened for the denomination to speak to needs of men at a variety
of levels. "If we don't take advantage of this time, God will
raise someone else up to do it," he said.  "The United Methodist
Church is poised at a time in history to take advantage of men's
spiritual hunger."
     Created by the church's top legislative body in 1996, the
commission is charged with developing programs and resources for
men's ministries within the 8.5 million-member denomination.  It
expects to produce curriculum for men's Sunday school classes and
small groups, books, videos, and other materials for men of all
ages to assist in spiritual development.
   The United Methodist Men's organization previously was related
to the Nashville-based Board of Discipleship but the new
commission is accountable to the General Council on Ministries,
headquartered in Dayton, Ohio.
     Pushing for a broader concept of ministry with men, Harris
said they need Christian fellowship, an understanding of their
place beyond working to make money, an understanding of their
roles in society as they relate to the church and scripture, and
an understanding of how the Bible defines men, fathers, brothers
and uncles. 
     Harris applauded United Methodist programs such as the Walk
to Emmaus and Disciple Bible Study but said ecumenical movements
such as Promise Keepers are feeding men's spiritual hunger in a
dramatic way and are appealing to contemporary men.
     A participant in two Promise Keepers events, Harris said he
sees the organization as one tool that God is using to involve men
in the church.
     Harris said he did not see the commission and Promise Keepers
in competition with each other. The danger, he said, is when
individuals make a movement their church.  "I don't believe
Promise Keepers intends for that to happen.  Their purpose is to
provide disciples for the local church of Jesus Christ ... We want
to be a leaven with Promise Keepers so that they can learn from us
and we can learn from them."
     The commission is seeking to change the image of United
Methodist Men by designing the kinds of ministries that appeal to
young men and by being the church that speaks to the needs of all,
Harris said.
     "There is no reason that United Methodist Men cannot capture
the spirit generated from Promise Keepers," he said. "That
spirituality is not exclusive. There are some exciting United
Methodist Men's groups. We have to make the excitement more broad-
based and intergenerational."
     Harris said the large gatherings characteristic of Promise
Keepers are nothing new for United Methodist Men who have held
stadium-like events since 1913. The quadrennial international
Congress of United Methodist Men "has been every bit as uplifting
for men as any Promise Keepers event," he said. 
     The next congress to be held July 11-13 at Purdue University,
West Lafayette, Ind., will attract approximately 6,000 men for
inspirational addresses, Bible study, worship, and workshops.
     Harris described the United Methodist Men's organization as a
focused group of men who are involved in mission and spiritual
discipline to help change the local church, the community and the
world.  His goal as director is to help the commission incorporate
more men into local churches and other organizations where they
can grow spiritually. He also wants the church to be more relevant
to a wide age-range of men and to men  of all ethnic groups. 
     Specifically, Harris wants to reach out to men in the three
historically-black Methodist denominations that have just begun
preliminary discussions about possible union. "I am not going to
wait until the churches decide to merge," he said. "I want us
involved in cooperative ventures now."
       Harris said that he knows that his job will be a challenge
and he solicits the help of all United Methodist men "to begin a
movement that will shape and shake the church for years to come."
                              #  #  #

     * Green is News Director of the Nashville office of United
Methodist News Service.

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