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BY MARVIN WAMBLE

A few years ago, Danny, one of the young men in our church, came to our house following a Sunday worship service. Family and friends were gathered around the television to watch a National Football League playoff game.

We were loud, rambunctious and quite animated as we watched the game?s ebb and flow. We talked strategy, criticized mistakes and even talked a little trash to each other.

Danny was in shock. He later told his mother, 'They are not who they seem.'

Danny is like many men who do not believe that Christians have fun. He was accustomed to seeing us dressed in our Sunday best and acting like faithful, somber Christians. He didn?t realize there was another side to us - a fun side.

There are a plethora of reasons men don?t come to church, but the fear of having to adopt a boring, straight-laced, fun-less lifestyle is near the top of the list.

Many men feel that becoming a Christian traps them in a life of boredom and constraints.

In church, they see the stoic usher who distributes bulletins at the front door. They see the dapper elderly man weeping during a hymn. They see the brothers in quiet, humble meditation during the service. Outside of church, they rarely see church-going men participating in activities they consider fun, spontaneous or daring.

Christian men must face the reality that the word on the street is: getting involved in church puts the brakes on having a good time.

We must understand that the sacrifices that must be made to come to Jesus scare many men away from open hearts, open minds and open doors.

It really shouldn?t be this way. Yes, there are lifestyle changes. Yes, there are sacrifices, but we all know Christian men who enjoy life to the fullest. After all, Jesus said he came that we might have life and have it more abundantly.

It should be made clear that Christian men, mighty men of valor, love sports, games and fun. We enjoy fishing and relish the concept of becoming Christ?s fishers of men. We are adept at dominoes, understanding how to 'slam the bones,' but we seek the word so that we do not become dry bones. We love to spend time on the golf course, but we know that only God can lead us successfully through the course of life.

The biggest difference between men who have accepted Jesus Christ and attend church and those who shun church like a trip to the dentist is an understanding of purpose. Christian men know that we are on a journey with our Creator who has placed destiny in our hearts, but it doesn?t mean we can?t have fun along the way.

So, what can be done to show men outside the church the well-rounded man of God who is a fun-loving disciple of Jesus Christ?

We need to have more activities to show who we really are. We need to take off our suits and ties and have a community bowling event and show the men of our neighborhood that we can roll with the best. We need to sponsor a video game tournament for the young men of the neighborhood to show that we can play hard and pray hard. We need to invite members of our church and our neighborhood to our homes to watch a football game and to prove to them that studying the Bible doesn?t mean we do not know the intricacies of a 'Cover-2' defense.

Of course, there are inherent risks in allowing people to see the real men of the church, because some men who attend church are not trying to be like Jesus Christ. But we run a greater risk by allowing the fallacies about docile, boring Christian men to linger in our communities without an appropriate response.

We must be bold and courageous, and let the men of the world know that we are real men of boldness and courage, who have fun and love Jesus. In fact, showing the joy of loving Jesus will give us the opportunity to share how this awesome love has changed our lives and our destinies for the better.

Marvin Wamble is the lay leader of the Washington East District and can be reached at