My Brothers Aaron, Eric, Jared, Myself, Kent, Justin, and Josh.
Where are the men?… Such a deep-rooted question. Where are the fathers of today, where are the leaders of today, where are the Godly men? 9/10 times when I go to see the congregation at a church there are mostly women and children. Even The squad that I am on now has 5 men and 40 women. This isn’t to say that there aren’t any men by any means, but to address an observation that we are lacking. As much as I love hiking, fishing, and sports, this is a time for conversation to save our men.
This is an international trend. Where men have forgotten how to pray, how to read a bible, how to lead in the congregation, how to lead in a household spiritually. Ladies, I don’t believe it was purposed for you to drag your husband or boyfriend etc. to go to a church service with you. I also don’t believe that society helps the cause to strive to be a man of God. I’d say that from a young age, boys are programmed to play sports, not wear pink or be girly, eat meat, and burp. After this stage it’s time to learn some responsibility, discipline, value of education, work, provision, and the art of catching a girl. Then it’s time to grow up, get a job, and explore the sea.
I did the typical things growing up too. I played football, I devoured burgers, and worked hard in school. It’s what the rest of my peers were doing and what the men around me were doing. And it wasn’t until much later in life that I realized in life I was missing out on a much greater calling than simply being a future doctor, husband, and father. A calling to be a man of God.
So how did we miss this calling? It’s a questions that’s been on my mind more than usual. As I walk through crowds and watch men attempt to talk to some of the women on our squad saying things like “Hey baby *kissing noises*”, “Hey you come here, I must talk to you now”, “Hey, I need a white wife”, and trying to grab them forcefully it makes me wonder what is going through their head. Are men so caught up in the lust for a woman that they forget they are people and not objects? It’s sad, and it’s what the world has taught some of us.
SHIFTING GEARS:
Note to the men: There’s a disconnect if we can fish for women and not treasure a wife. There’s a disconnect if we can quote all the statistics of a sports game and not be able to articulate the Lord’s word. There’s a disconnect if we are slowly leaving the household and causing a chain reaction in children’s lives. There is a disconnect if we chase wealth and power for the wrong reasons. There is a disconnect if we do not catch these issues that matriculates into the generations, and no this isn’t to pass judgement or say not to know cool facts about these famous athletes, but I feel compelled to paint this portrait that there is SO MUCH MORE to being a man than what the world has shown us!
….. So let’s reconnect some thoughts.
Genesis 1:26-27-Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
God called men to work for His Kingdom. Jesus called us to be fishers of men (Luke 5:1-11) and to bring people to know the Kingdom of God. So we must paint this vision, because a man without a vision can not lead.
So, I remember when I was first called into leading a ministry. My friend Oyinemi approached me about starting a group with some friends and the Lord allowed us to launch a group called Kings with my Brothers Stuart, Seun, Dominic, Chris, and Jazz. The vision of the group was: To bring together young ambitious, bible believing men to a place where they can commune and fellowship in Christ as they endeavor to achieve the visions, goals, and dreams that God has laid in their hearts. It is an environment where men come to learn from other men about how to be men. Our paradigm is the life that Jesus Christ lived, as a man of God. Our goals were to walk in integrity, humility, authority, and most of all, love in order to engage our community and share the love of Christ that rests in us. All men are created to be kings and it is for every member of the body to recognize that and walk out that right that has been endowed to us by our creator.” WHAT A LIFE JOURNEY AND TASK!
As I began to equip myself to lead better I began to read a book titled “The Measure of a Man” by Gene Getz. It lead me to read scripture in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 where it talks about the qualifications for overseers. ”The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money, He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may became puffed up with conceit, and fall into condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.”
These scriptures lay out principles to abide by for a NOBLE TASK. Of course there is grace if we aren’t quite there yet, for all fall short of perfection. This isn’t about perfection, but progression. A call to move forward and seek righteousness. To seek more than the superficial things of this world that pass away when we return to dust at the end of our days here.
Men, we need to do better. We need to step it up and to continue striving. There will always be room for improvement. There will always be a time to persevere and chase after God. There will always be more. I know we want to be great men, great leaders, great Fathers, great husbands, great brothers, etc. We want to be providers and know how to take care of business. We want to be breadwinners and manly men. Those are great desires that the Lord has put on our hearts and I understand the struggle. Reality is it’s hard. It’s hard working endless hours to provide for a family. It’s hard studying for hours on end to create a brighter future. It’s hard when every distraction in the world seems to be in front of you. It’s hard. So we must realize as a community (both men and women) that there is an attack. Not just to recognize it, but to respond to it and cultivate a culture that pushes each other closer to a relationship with Christ.
Let’s not just be Christians, but disciples. Let’s not just people who talk, but people of action. Let’s do it. Pick up our crosses daily and follow the Lord. Let’s not allow ourselves to be assassinated in silence.
Prayer Requests:
-Pray for the strength of men. For those who are strong to rely on the Lord, weak to rely on the Lord and for those chasing after the Lord. Cry out for the leaders. That they would not fall and that it would not be a “typical” thing. For pastors, husbands, fathers, young men, young boys to know the calling and the vision
-Pray for those who are working towards this goal. That they would keep progressing every day and challenge themselves
-Pray for those who don’t believe. That they would understand the call.
-Pray for what the Lord has put on our heart.
Challenges:
- Think of an area that you are lacking in or want to grow in and begin a plan to achieve it. (Ex. Not familiar with scripture—take time to be in the Word and ask questions when we do not understand)
- Find a good community of believers with wisdom that will push you, and remain humble through the process.
- See how you can put more time into your personal relationship with Christ, even when it seems like there’s no time.
PS: I am still and will always be learning, growing, and expanding my mind. Of course..there is much more to this story… Please leave any thoughts, feedback, etc. below! My mind is always racing with more thoughts on this topic and I’d love to hear yours as well.
