I read The Barbarian Way: Unleash the Untamed Faith Within by Erwin McManus and now I wanna scream, “I wanna be a barbarian!” Surely, this is not the surefire way to captivate a man’s heart, but the book so aptly echoes the recent cry of my heart – that I would truly love God and grow ever closer to Him. Initially, I wished McManus took a little more time to find a better word than “barbarian” to describe this kind of raw faith but in the end, a rose by any other name would smell as sweet (as one W. Shakespeare wrote).
Yet I couldn’t, and perhaps still can’t, get away from this notion that the word “barbarian” and the concept thereof as McManus lays out in his book are inherently (but not exclusively) masculine. So then I began to wonder why women outnumber men in the World Race; currently, of the thirteen participants slated to leave in October, two are men.
I’m sure I’m not the only nor the first one to have noticed that in recent years, women seem to outnumber men in church in general in the US (well, it seems to be the case at my church). This leads to an increase in women who lead in the church, which is fine; the problem is when the number of men who lead remains the same or, worse, decreases.
Many of us have been touched and inspired by the five men – Jim Elliot, Pete Fleming, Ed McCully, Nate Saint and Roger Youderian – who were martyred for blazing the trail to an indigenous people group in Ecuador for the sake of the call and the gospel. Their story evokes a visceral response, forcing me to wonder if I dare love the Lord so recklessly. And yet, it is the example of the women who followed them that truly challenges me. Rachel Saint and Elizabeth Elliot (with baby daughter Valerie in tow), traveled the path that the five men forged and delivered the good news.
Some have to survey and explore the frontier; others are called to settle in it. Had the five not risked their lives, the two wouldn’t have been able to follow through further. The death of the five for the gospel would’ve been in vain had the two of them not chosen to do the more difficult work of living out the gospel.
I find it interesting that God likens the church as His bride and Himself as the bridegroom; and Paul writes in Ephesians that wives ought to submit to their husbands and that husbands ought to love their wives as Christ loved the church. And what was the ultimate demonstration of His love? His death.
I say all this to encourage my brothers in the Lord to man up. We need more Jims, Petes, Eds, Nates and Rogers, who imitated Christ in life and death, in my generation. I want future generations to look at my generation and ask, “Where are the [insert your name here]s of our time?” Read The Barbarian Way; I give you permission to be barbaric.
Then, apply for the World Race – October 2008.
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