The Larson's Harbor

I have a dream. Well, I've had dreams. They are about this idea I believe God has been building in me the past 5 or so years. The story starts with a simple man being presented a simple yet relevant idea to help mobilize the Kingdom of God through a series of eclectic visions, dreams, conversations, ideas, that have all pointed in the same direction....The League of Ordinary Gentlemen.

Much like yourself (Don) I have found myself bored at events (and with my life) that were supposed to be helping me grow as a believer and a person. These experiences haven't exclusively happened in my men's ministry involvement but I (or God) have chosen that arena as the place to begin a transformation. Most often when attending Men's ministry ( and again this could be other ministries as well) events at many churches, I have noticed there is a focus on ourselves; breakfasts, golf outings, wild game feeds....with the occasional service project. None of these in and of themselves are bad things, I just haven't seen the desired effect they are aiming for....growth. I believe this is because we ( the church) in many ways have lost track of the cause ( or Gospel/Great commission), therefore we have become self-focused and trying to become better Christians/people through small groups, worship events, seminars (he he) that are all inwardly focused.

The League of Ordinary Gentlemen is attempt to break out of the inward focus or simply step out of discussing discipleship and start applying it. The name is, yes, a play on the movie The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. In that movie (based on the novel of the same title) they form this 'dream team', if you will, of men with super powers to protect the interests of the British empire from Fu Manchu. It is a classic example of man's desire to have super powers, to do amazing things, to be heroes. You see this obsession of heroism all over the media specifically tied to male culture.

I remember watching this movie years ago and thinking why do we have this obsession with heroism. As a young child I remember wanting to be Luke Skywalker and join the rebellion against the evil empire, as many others I'm sure shared. As I continued to watch the movie I remember thinking, "Has there ever been a real life example of heroes or League of Extraordinary Gentlemen?" It was then that it came to me....the disciples. Only, the disciples were ordinary gentlemen Jesus picked to do extraordinary things. Thus, The League of Ordinary Gentlemen was born.

The idea is still that, an idea. However, over the past few years the idea has evolved ( in my mind at least. It is as follows...

The League of Ordinary Gentlemen would begin in a church's men's ministry. Sort of like a fraternity (I use that term reluctantly, as I know the negative connotation it sometimes holds) where the men of the church can gather united in a common cause (innovative, I know). The common cause for The League of Ordinary Gentlemen is mobilizing God's Kingdom into the world. Like most fraternities there would be some requirements to become a member, for instance, training in prayer and service, etc.. Each man, upon completion of requirements would be initiated into the group with a vow of humility ( rather than showcasing their super power).

Once initiated into the League they would be given a T-Shirt (uniform) that maybe had The League of Ordinary Gentlemen on their shirt and maybe a number on their sleeve (ex: Gentleman # 001) with a saying on the back something like, "It is not me, but He that is within me." There could be hats and other swag that our culture is into, as well.

Once the group has a critical mass ( not sure what that number would be) the League would need to be organized and then mobilized. How would this League be mobilized you ask? Well, it could happen many ways but this has what has crossed my mind thus far...

My thoughts have come together based on my place in life and the nature of today's culture. I attend a church of around a 1500 members. Of those 1500 members there are about 400-500 men. If we had just 300 of those men to participate we would have a significant pool of men to utilize. Most of us are fathers, we work and have numerous other obligations that we simply cannot abandon. Therefore, we tend to not get involved in fear of not being able to meet all of our commitments. However, as a larger group we can share the load and still remain in the cause!

My current thought is developing a dispatch system to call upon the large group to meet the needs of the community at large. In other words, use something like a web page with a text (cell) dispatch that sent out messages to all the Gentlemen when there was a request or need brought before the church and then the first two men to respond would take the assignment. I say two because of the example in the bible of Jesus sending the disciples out two by two. This I am sure he did for many reasons. The reasons I see most relevant to today are things like, wherever two are gathered, liability issues, practical reasons; two work better than one, etc.. I guess you could say by three (Holy Spirit).

What sort of things would they do? Well, the sky is the limit I guess but here are some things I have come up with... Fix leaky faucets, roofs, shovel a driveway, get some groceries, fix a furnace, fix cars, a flooded basement, give someone a ride, build something, demolish something, etc.

Who would they serve? Well, the bible talks a lot about the poor, the widowed, the elderly...but, I assume it could branch out from there to others, anyone who needed help.

After completing their practical service there is only one other thing they would do and that would be to ask the person(s) if there was anything they would like prayer for, pray for them right then and there, and be on their way. No payment necessary.

Why would this work? I'm not sure if it would. All I know is I have been a part of many churches over the years that have turned people in need away because they were afraid of the liability or they didn't have a ministry that would fit the particular need. I am hoping this could maybe address some of that.

Potential conflicts:

1. Liability: In our sue crazy society many churches are afraid to care for people in the chance that something bad would happen and their church would be held liable or simply be involved in something controversial. Also, churches ( and somewhat understandingly) are increasingly afraid of sending people out in to the community "unsupervised". In other words, there is a lack of trust. When you go to people's homes there are a lot of unknowns.

2. Being overwhelmed: Once a service like this got out (especially a free one) people would take advantage of it. Great, right?! Well, if it were not carefully prepared it could backfire, if people were asking for help and not receiving it. Much planning needed.

3. Loosing sight of the mission and vision of the ministry. The moment men were joining just to be a part of another club where they play cribbage, it has lost it's purpose.

4. In any endeavor, there is the possibility of failure. This something I'm used to, so I'm good, but others may struggle with it.

Possible Benefits:

1. People would be helped, served and hopefully loved by the kingdom of God.

2. The men participating would be applying the things they have read and studied about for years.

3. The church might just obtain a different reputation....something like, "Oh there are those Christian guys who help people and pray for them.

Why might the seminar be helpful to me?

Well, as you can see, I didn't really write this in a story format, so I could use a little more help on the creative/story end of things.

Disclaimer: I don't necessarily think this has to be a ministry just for men. I was simply using it as an example and that is where all my thoughts an ideas have evolved around. It could just as easily be called, The League of Ordinary Christians, The League of Ordinary People, The League of Ordinary Women, The League of Ordinary Disciples, The League of Ordinary Ragamuffins, etc..

Thanks for reading.

Ordinary Gentleman,

Andy Larson