We have lost our way because of cultural pressure. Men are seen as wimps, incompetent, foolish, childish, 30 is the new 15. Men are not maturing beyond playing with toys – the toys just have more horsepower and cost more. They resist taking responsibility. Men have stepped away from taking charge and leading. Culture says it, so men follow. We have turned from what works, what God put in place.
I had lunch with a friend awhile back and one of the topics we discussed was men’s lack of willingness or desire to get together and study the Bible. He explained that men he knows are giving him studies/ research stating that men in their late 30’s and younger don’t want to get together with other guys and study the Bible but they want to do “adventurous” things.
They say they get enough Bible teaching at church on Sunday. I’m not surprised, I’ve seen this attitude/mindset myself. Unfortunately, we miss the opportunity to sit with one another and discuss how we, as men, become leaders in our homes, community, workplace, and the church, develop accountability, and sharpen each other as iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17).
My thought is that most men don’t want to think about leading – it scares them. They don’t understand the plan God has for men in telling His story to the world. From the time of Adam men have avoided leadership and have let women lead. I once heard a man say he didn’t care if his wife or dog was leading the family, as long as someone or something is. REALLY?
Men have not made a passionate relationship with God a priority. Instead they have their idols: sports, toys, work, hobbies, pornography, etc. I submit that God is not real to them. They may, and most probably do, need an encounter with Him, an encounter that will break them. And that is a sad situation. Instead of having a relationship with a mentor who can pour into them and guide them, they want to play and not face the opportunity before them to lead.
The best example we have of a group of men who sat at the feet of a mentor is that of Jesus and the twelve men He chose to spend time with, twelve ordinary, run-of-the-mill men. They had their adventures I’m sure. But what they really had was an intense three-year mentoring opportunity with the best leader the world has ever seen.
However, because that would require vulnerability and accountability, men avoid it and go for adventures. And we have allowed studies and surveys to allow cultural desires to overshadow what our examples have been for years: the apprentice/mentor model.
So, what do we do? We have choices. We can do what culture dictates, or better said, what young men say they want. We can do nothing and let young men flounder. Or, we can provide opportunities for older men to come alongside younger men and train them up in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6) to develop leaders that would be the caliber of Caleb and Joshua, chosen by Moses, and not afraid to go into Canaan and take the land (Numbers 13).
I will seek men who want to lead as God intended, provide opportunity to join and study the Bible to raise up men that want to impact this world. Along the way we will have adventure, but our desire to seek out the God who brought Israel out of Egypt will not be overshadowed by it.
Who is with me?
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