With special guest:
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Ian Watson.
A leader in the field of mentoring his fellow man, Ian Watson is a shining light of hope and encouragement to those suffering at the hands of agenda driven zealots, who are hell bent on destroying the resilience and natural inner strength of men and boys.
He runs popular monthly men’s gatherings where men talk men’s business. Ian’s well attended “Transit Lounge” gatherings, provide a welcome sanctuary from the many real life experiences men suffer at the hands of government sponsored agencies and the media, whilst many of their kids are forced to live in fatherless households.
While the gender war against men and boys rages unabated around the globe, we see an apathetic and ignorant community laughing at all the demeaning anti male advertising propaganda, that sees them easily drawn into joining the “all men are perpetrators ” domestic violence hysteria.
However, there are encouraging signs that men have just about had enough, and are collectively starting to show their enthusiasm for more pro-active engagement with one another. Mentoring is fast becoming the accepted new communication tool to support those that have fallen victim to some of the worse excesses of male bashing persecution, the world has ever witnessed.
We also broadcast a recording made at the National Men’s Health Convention recently, of the presentation made by psychologist Drew Cowen who works in the Family Court in Newcastle, and who’s theme was “Giving Kids the Best Dad they can have: Helping Fathers and Kids to have strong healthy relationships when they don’t live in the same home”.
Now on the face of it, such a caring sounding title would indicate an understanding of what fathers and their kids are forced to endure , as they desperately try to keep their parent/child relationships intact following separation. But to many dads in the audience it appeared that the one preaching to them, was part of the problem and not the solution.
Ian Watson, one of the founders of Australia’s men’s shed movement, lives by a very simple motto: “Come and let me treat you like a champion because, when you come to know the ‘Big Fella’ upstairs and realise you’re his son, you know you’re a champion.”
The motto has worked well for Ian who, for more than 19 years, has run a truck driver training school in South East Queensland.
“God has granted me this fantastic opportunity to teach and encourage Aussie men on a one-to-one basis, in order to get their truck license.”
Encouraging men of all ages, as they drive along the long roads on the North side of Brisbane, is a far cry from Ian’s previous life working in the public service.
“I had always wanted to be school teacher, teaching physical education, but I didn’t get good enough results to go to Teacher’s College. So my father suggested I join the public service which had good benefits and provided a great superannuation plan. I did that for over 20 years and it made me feel brain dead… I was doing a lot of soul searching when a young man, whom my wife and I were helping out, suggested I buy a truck. I asked God and then the next thing I knew I owned a truck.”
It wasn’t many years later before Ian was making weekly runs to Petrie Police Station in order for his son and his friends to get their truck licenses. It was on one of these occasions as he was waiting outside the police station that a strange bloke approached him and told him to think about becoming a truck driving trainer.
“Careful how you entertain a stranger,” Ian says, as he thinks back to that day. “For you never know when God is going to put an angel on your path in the form of a human.”
Ian could not get that man’s suggestion out of his head as he drove home that day.
“It nagged away at me, until I finally asked God if he thought it was a good idea. His response was, ‘Yeah Ian. But remember these are Aussie blokes you’re teaching so it’s got to be personal and it’s got to be one on one.’”
It was along similar principles that Ian, four years ago, helped establish his local men’s shed night at his truck driving depot at Murrumba Downs, Queensland. The monthly shed night, known as ‘Shed Happens’ usually has between 80–100 men in attendance, of all ages and all walks of life. As Ian says, “All you have to do to qualify to come to shed night is to be a bloke. No girls allowed”.
Unlike many community-run men’s shed nights, Ian says ‘Shed Happens’ sets out to provide Christian ministry to men in a way that they can understand and relate to.
“It’s not like a regular church service where someone stands up the front and preaches at you. Each meeting, we ask a couple of members of the group to tell us about how God is working in different areas of their lives and what they think the ‘Big Fella’ upstairs wants us to get out of this experience. We pull the chairs up really close so we can all hear what he has to say and we turn down the lights so that if men want to share their emotions without being watched, they can.”
The Shed night has been highly successful. Many men travel from other towns in Queensland for the meeting, only to return to set up their own shed nights. Ian puts the expansion of these ministry-based shed nights down to the Aussie blokes’ underlying wish to know more about God.
“Contrary to the experts, my research from sitting in a truck for over 20 years talking to blokes, says that we are a God country and our men are God-believing men.”
So while the award-winning burgers certainly entice men to this monthly gathering, it’s the conversations afterwards that the men hang around for.
“We finish the night at 8.30 on the dot. But many men can still be found having a chat until 10.30-11.00 at night, especially if they have issues in their life… You see there are some things in life men learn best from other men. For instance, how to best relate to your kids and to love and respect your wife or partner.”
It seems that, by providing a comfortable environment where men can come to learn, have a yarn and enjoy a good burger, Ian has discovered the formula for running a perfect men’s shed night and he’s prepared to share it with anyone who wants to come and attend a night.
“My dream is to one day hold a meeting in the Telstra Dome in Melbourne, where men can come and meet and share about God… it’s the biggest shed I know.”