The Tragedy of the Passive Man

      "Mom, there's a man down there praying!" Those were the words of a surprised little boy to his mother when he first noticed a man at the altar praying during the invitation time after Sunday morning worship. It seems that he assumed prayer at the altar was something for women and occasionally a teenager from the youth group. He reasoned that praying at the altar was something men didn't do, primarily because he had never seen one there. What a tragedy!
   
      The reality is, this little boy was being discipled by the men in his church. Yes, I said it... discipled. This young boy was not learning from strong men leading in the church, but rather from the passive men. He was receiving subtle messages that there is no room for men to lead and to serve because that's what the women are called to do. Listen when I tell you this: the message that little boy has heard comes from the same hissing voice that whispered a message of destruction to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Satan's plot from the very beginning has been to marginalize men and their role within the home and the church. In Genesis 3:1, we see that Satan's temptation was directed at the woman. He tempted Eve to act, apart from the knowledge of her husband, in disobedience to God.  In doing so, he was marginalizing the man's role of protecting and shepherding his wife. However, after the fall, who did God come looking for? Adam! Why? Because God held Adam ultimately responsible for the spiritual state of his family. Adam was given the role of shepherding his family. He was responsible for what happened on that day. As awful as this insightful instance was, it didn't stop there. Generation after generation of men have followed in the footsteps of Adam, failing to lead their families spiritually. We've allowed Satan to marginalize men within their homes, thereby marginalizing them within the church.
   
      So, what do we do about it? How do we combat this tendency of men to develop as passive puppets of Satan rather than warrior disciples for Christ? We go to war! I've recently been encouraged by a group of men in our church who have been waging cosmic warfare within their homes and our faith family. These men have acknowledged the sin problem. Now, they're determined to do what it takes to buck the current trend and become leaders within their homes and the church. Does this mean we're doing everything perfectly? Absolutely not! (Just ask our wives!) However, we're determined to measure ourselves daily against the teaching of Scripture, so that we may be conformed more into the men that God would have us to be.

      So, how do we ignite the men in our church toward leadership? Well let me go out on a limb and submit to you that only God can stir the hearts and minds of men in your church. So, first begin with prayer. Second, find a few serious men and commit to meet weekly. In this time, seek to build true biblical community together. Make this a time where the study of God's Word is central. . . a time when confession and repentance happen frequently. (And for us at 6:00 AM . . . at time when coffee is abundant!) Make this a time where men are continually measuring their thoughts and actions against what the Bible says. One particular resource that we have used during our weekly men's group is the Danver's Statement. This statement stands as the core beliefs of The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, the mecca for all things complementarian. (For sake of time, I'll save defining and explaining complementarianism for a later blog post.) Over the course of 10 weeks, we used these affirmations to guide our discussion, but the primary thing we set out to accomplish was the study of the key Bible passages in which these affirmations were conceived. That may not seem like much to you, but in reality, it's been cosmic warfare. I've seen God light the affections of these men on fire for His Word, and big things are beginning to happen! In our meetings, we've covered topics such as marriage, parenting, biblical theology, systematic theology, adoption and so much more. Better yet, these men aren't just being hearers of the Word, but they are actually doing what it says! (Matt 7:24-29). Regardless of what resources are used, I would encourage Christian men/men's groups to measure yourselves up against what the Bible is calling you to be within your home and the church. Ask yourself, am I seeking to lead my family spiritually? Am I striving, by the power of the Spirit, to love my wife like Christ loved the church? Do I even have a desire to seek the face of God? Pray that God would cultivate these desires within your life and within the men in your church.

The next generation is not waiting to be discipled, they are being discipled. What type of disciples are we making?