Man Ministry, or “Manistry”, is a setting apart of the men for one month to grow together, love together and work together. During our month of Manistry we stayed on the mountaintop of El Shaddai in Swaziland. Most of the month consisted of manual labor, such as starting fire breaks to prevent wildfires from coming up to the orphanage as well as digging a huge pit that would turn into toilets for the preschool kids. When not doing manual labor we were investing in the lives of the boys at El Shaddai. These boys ranged from infant to middle school aged. For two hours each day we helped them with homework, prepare for tests and play tons of soccer.
Going into Manistry I felt God was calling our group of men to go deep and be vulnerable. Being squad leader I knew I had some great resources at my fingertips to help (our coaches and mentor). For weeks I read up, researched and listened to God’s will for the month. As a result, for many Swaziland was a defining moment in their walk from spiritual boyhood to manhood. My mentor, Chris Scott, sent me a list from theologian Richard Rohr called “5 Truths That Will Set You Free”. These truths helped us to start ground up at the beginning of the month defining what it means to be a man of God. They are:
1. Life is hard
2. Your life is not about you
3. You are not in control
4. You are not that important
5. You are going to die
With these hard truths we created a list of over 40 characteristics of a man of God, these included: integrity, honor, servant, humility, solitude, learner, leader, teacher, worship, health-conscious, fasting, brotherly love, prayer, selflessness, father, husband, mentor, disciple and more. Most nights we would pick one or two of these characteristics and spend up to an hour discussing each.
In my early twenties one of the best things that happened to me was the opportunity to share my entire testimony with 7 of my Christian brothers during a summer internship. We each shared every moment in our lives that shaped us into who we are today. There are some things in a man’s testimony that cannot be shared with women and I wanted to make sure we had an environment during Manistry for each man to be completely vulnerable. One of the greatest feelings is to be fully known. So we each gave our testimony and shared things that, had we not been given the opportunity, would have carried that sin and shame to the grave. Instead, each of us men are now fully known by each other. How wonderful and how amazing that feels.
Manistry was epic. Manistry was liberating. Manistry was brotherhood and manhood. When we first went up the mountain to El Shaddai some of us were still boys spiritually, but when we went down the mountain we were walking into manhood. I pray each of us men continue that walk and bring many other boys we know into Christian manhood.
