📖 Video Transcript: Men Like to Do Things

Lecture 4: Men Like to Do Things

Professor Steve Elzinga

All right, we’re back with lecture number four. And the title of lecture number four is: Men Like to Do Things.

So you have to understand that. Hopefully you’ve been keeping up on some of the homework. I hope you take it seriously. I mean, I’m not grading you, so I guess you don’t have to do it. But if you’re going to get anything out of this course, you have to put things into practice. You hear things, and then you go out and try them. You try things, and that’s how you’re going to learn.

So—men like to do things.

Men Like to Do Things Physically

Number one: men like to do things physically. They’re physically oriented. They’re adventure oriented.

So what kinds of things can you do with men that involve physicality?

Sports. Why do men like sports? Because you use your body. Men like to physically do something, whether it’s sports or whether it’s building something. They like to use their hands. They like to use their muscles.

And they’re very adventure prone—like attempting something, going out into nature, and trying something. Men like hunting, fishing, and exploration. They like the unknown. They like the uncertain. You know, that’s what adventure is—taking a trip where you don’t have everything figured out.

So if you want a men’s ministry, you have to do things physically. You have to figure out some kind of adventures that men can do together.

Men Like Problem-Solving

Number two: men like problem solving.

I mean, it’s weird, but we men typically like problems. We don’t like problems, but we gravitate toward problems. We like solving things.

A lot of times that’s what spouses don’t understand. A man’s wife brings him a problem, and what she wants him to do is just listen. She wants him to just sympathize with her. But what the man wants to do is solve the problem. She brings the problem, and everything in him wants to solve it.

Men like strategy. They like trying to figure out how we can do things better, how we can do things faster. That’s why men like the workplace. That’s why men like starting businesses. “How can we do things quicker? How can we do things more efficiently?”

Men like challenge. They like games. They like the arena where you can win and where you can lose.

So if you’re going to start a men’s ministry, problem solving and strategy—these kinds of things—have to be a part of it.

Men Like Building and Creating

Number three: men like building and creating.

God made men in His image. You know, He made women in His image too. But one of the image qualities of God is that God created. God created the world out of nothing.

Well, how did God do this? Men are interested in how things work. Men are interested in the construction business, and the construction business is populated mostly by men. Why? Because men gravitate toward building things—pounding things together, welding things, taking two pieces of metal that have nothing to do with each other, and then putting them together in an interesting and creative and purposeful way.

Men like building. They like architecture. They like formulas of load bearing. They like how far a beam can span. They like how you frame a window.

My son and I have been working on a house, and we put in 40 different windows. After putting in 40 windows, I know how to put a window in. I know how to frame a window. It’s really not that difficult. But we gravitate toward these things. We gravitate toward things that we can make with our hands. And then after a little while of hard work, we can look back and we can say, “We created this. We made this. We built this.”

Men like this.

Like in the Netherlands, for example. That’s where my ancestors come from. Men are into the art of flower arranging. In most cultures, flower arranging is something women do. But in the Netherlands, it’s become a sport, and men get into it. Why? Because they like the science of it. They like the competition of it.

Men Like Exploration and Mastery

Number four: men like exploration and mastery.

I remember my two brothers and I would go to my grandmother’s place. Behind her house were woods, and there was a river. We would go into this river, and every step along the way we would name different parts.

“This part of the river is called Pipes Up. This part of the river is called something else.”

We explored the river. We named each section. There was one part of the river where you could cross. It must have been a water pipe. I don’t know what kind of pipe it was, but it was about this big and went across the river about ten feet high.

And we would walk across this pipe to get to the other side. We were ten, eleven, twelve years old, and if you fell, you would fall ten feet into the river. It was like death.

But that adventure, the danger of it, appealed to us as young boys. We were exploring. We felt like we were Lewis and Clark, going across the continent, exploring unknown rivers.

No one else had ever seen this river. But we were the ones exploring it. We were the first ones who ever walked across this pipe to the other side.

What is on the other side? You can’t find out what’s on the other side unless you’re willing to risk death—to cross this pipe, and if you fall ten feet, you fall into the water.

That’s how we felt as kids, and that’s what men are attracted to. They want to explore. They want to go into the unknown. They want to have a sense of mastery. They want to work at something and become really good at it, whether it’s welding, or building, or whatever.

Men want a sense of making progress, of trying to do something they don’t know how to do. And they like that feeling of improvement.

Men Like Teamwork

Number five: men are oriented toward teamwork.

The reason is because you can build bigger things with a team. Men like making something big happen. But you can’t make something big happen on your own. You can only do it with a team.

That’s why men gravitate toward sports. Why? Because it’s a team effort. You can’t make a sports team work without having a group of guys banded together to make things happen.

Men like that sense of accomplishing something they couldn’t do on their own. And when they do it with a band of brothers, it feels like I accomplished this—even though it was more than I could ever hope for or imagine.

Spirituality Along the Way

So—men like to do things. If you’re going to have a successful men’s ministry, you’ve got to have things for men to do.

But what about the spiritual piece?

Well, the spiritual things happen on the way to doing something. The bonding, the closeness—all those things don’t happen when you set out to do them directly.

That’s the interesting thing about men’s ministry. If you start out saying, “Okay, men, we’re going to sit here and spiritually connect,” they’re not interested.

But if you say, “We’re going to do this project, or this adventure, and along the way, we’re going to connect spiritually and emotionally,” then it works.

The spiritual connections, the bonding, all the really good things we want in men’s ministry—they happen on the side, as you’re doing something.

Think of sports. The team scores a touchdown that seemed impossible. Suddenly, these big, strong, unemotional men are hugging each other in the end zone with all their might. They’d never do that in another context. They’d never go to a play and hug each other afterward. They wouldn’t do it after a Bible study.

But when they accomplish something together, they instinctively do it.

That’s how spirituality and bonding work for men. They happen as a byproduct of doing things together.

Practical Applications

So what can men do in your ministry?

• Build something. Rehab a church building. Work on a project together.
• Fix something. Use the varied skills in your group—plumbing, electrical, carpentry—to help people in the church or community.
• Learn something. Have men with expertise teach practical skills—plumbing, mechanics, photography, art.
• Mentor somebody. Encourage older men to teach younger men skills or spiritual wisdom.
• Go on an adventure. Camping, sailing, hiking—shared adventure builds connection.
• Integrate ministry. Use a Bible reading plan, theme verse, or guiding question alongside projects.

Men resist sitting in a circle answering questions. But while hammering nails, they’ll talk about their marriages. While driving somewhere, they’ll share honestly about their struggles.

That’s the genius of men’s ministry: create non-threatening, hands-on environments where spiritual conversations happen naturally.

Closing Challenge

So here’s the bottom line: men’s ministry isn’t just about Bible studies, singing songs, and praying for one another—though those are good. It’s about getting men to do things together—and then letting the spiritual connections, conversations, and discipleship happen along the way.

So go out and try it. Don’t just hear this lecture. Try it with a friend, try it with your family, try it with your coworkers.

When men do things together, God often shows up in powerful, unexpected ways.

All right, I think you’ve got it. Go out there and do it—and we’ll see you again next time