4 "C"s Versus 3 "C"s

I'm in Japan. Just had breakfast with Shawn Shavers, a church planter in Okinawa. His congregation is international (bi-lingual services) and has lots of single women plus many military men.

Shawn said that his congregation has become a haven for single-moms and their kids whom he sees as the widows and orphans of the modern world. Many are Okinawan women whose American husband has left them either on deployment or through divorce.

The church has built a strong balance between men and women with men taking a strong role in leadership. 

It is the men's approach to ministering to women that caught my attention. Shawn says that women used to come to church looking for what he calls 3 "C" men--that is men who were calm, cool and collected. This is especially true of women hoping to marry (I believe the church should be a mating ground and that pastors should pray for this, actively).

But, this church has moved from 3 Cs to 4 Cs. The men have decided to lead by serving. they are Cleaning, Cooking, Caring for children and Christ centered. And they do all of this in a practical manner; in a way that disciples men into servant leadership in church and at home.

Men figure big in the leadership of this church. But they also volunteer to serve during an after-service discipleship time for the ladies. During this time, men clean up the church, cook barbecue, care for the children while the ladies have discipleship--and all this is done in a manner where the pastor is teaching them Christlike qualities during the process.

I've never seen anything like this. And, it is effective. This is a military/local congregation and the US military produces many broken marriages between servicemen and Okinawan women, usually the product of culture and language barriers. But the church has proven stellar at healing broken marriages. As a result the word is spreading, "If your marriage is in trouble go to Noah Community Church..." 

By the way, the church name comes from the concept of Noah providing a lifeline of hope during dark days. This church plant is a strong and healthy lifeline to hope. I want to teach the 4 Cs to our own guys...