Nov 01 2006
Real Men and the Church
Bill at Thinklings provides a list of attributes of real men that have been somewhat lacking in the church. Why has the church been so feminized over the past few decades/centuries? Guys have been absent, at least in heart. Church has been an obligation, not a demonstration of a living relationship. Be a manly man, step up to the plate and git ‘er done.
1. Real men have vision: They can see the truth in situations. They see with God’s eyes. They see people as they really are, not as they seem. They see people as they will be, not as they are. They don’t write people off because they appear useless. They know that every child of God is their brother or sister, and they will lead the rescue mission, leaving the 99 to find the 1. Real men also see themselves as God does, and they throw aside every weight and entangling sin and they run, with their vision firmly set on Jesus.
2. Real men train: How are our spiritual disciplines doing? Spiritual disciplines are how we train for battle and, frankly guys, the women are kicking our pasty white behinds in this area. Our goal, our destiny is to be like Christ. We need to be working toward that goal. To become “those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” (Hebrews 5:14). Bible study is not just for chicks, men. Dig in.
3. Real men are brave: Brave, not full of bravado. Look at the life of Jesus. Jesus was brave. Brave enough to sacrifice it all. He’s our model. And - no - he didn’t spend every day turning over tables, although you wouldn’t know that from reading some of the Manly Christian books out these days. But he did speak the truth to the powerful. He called a spade a spade. That took guts. If Jesus saw something that was wrong, he dealt with it. He didn’t shrug his shoulders, run home, and get comfortable in his easy chair and his excuses. He also reached out to the undesirables. He was willing to commit social suicide to help the ones no one else would touch. And he was man enough to preach astonishing humility and astonishing generosity.
4. Real men sacrifice: The human mind is wired to make excuses. You can’t go to church, because it’s too feminized. Look at that statement for a second - do you see the circular logic embedded in it? Men, you RUN THE CHURCH! Why are you running from it? If it’s feminized, it’s your fault. Maybe the real reason is you’re not willing to expend the energy required. Maybe sacrifice scares you (it scares me too). But it there’s one thing shouted from the New Testament about men it’s that we are called to sacrifice.
5. Real men know the meaning of “nice”: Frankly, I’m tired of seeing that good word dragged through the mud. “Nice” is not “weak”. Sometimes weak masquerades as nice, but that’s a different issue. Perhaps a better word is “kind”. Kindness is a fruit of the spirit, which means it’s a trait we all should be developing. Even if we think being kind is for wimps. Even if we shy away from fruit. Jesus was the perfect mix of firmness and gentleness, and it’s no mistake that the trait of gentleness is so highly spoken of in the New Testament. It’s the mark of a truly strong man. Self Control. There’s another good trait. If you’re always flying off the handle in manly rage, maybe you need to get your manliness redefined.
6. Real men don’t complain, they fix: God may be calling you to sacrificially pour yourself out in service to others in your local church. If you’re a real man, you’ll answer that call. Without complaining.
November 1st, 2006 at 13:24 pm
[...] Or not. The point is that members of churches also woke up and found that manliness was ’somewhat lacking’ (as Steve of Careful Thoughts so carefully puts it), and that we need to get it back. Bill at Thinklings has thought about it and made a list of what attributes men should have to call themselves *real men* (in church or somewhere else). It’s written like real men deliver phone messages; brief and straight to the point. [...]