A Manly Characteristic - Determination

Have you ever felt like you were out there by yourself? Or have you ever experienced the feeling of being in a coordinated effort only to sense everyone else just give up and leave you leading a charge of one? Well, that describes what happened to this mighty man of David named Eleazar. Read the text below:

“And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite, one of the mighty men with David when he defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel had retreated. He arose and attacked the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand stuck to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to plunder.”  (2 Samuel 23:9-10 and 1 Chronicles 11:12)

Eleazar saw the injustice of the Philistine attacks, caught the vision of standing up against them, and threw himself into the fray. The only problem was “the men of Israel had retreated!” Oh, great! Eleazar is standing out there waling on the enemy and his companions have all abandoned him. He could have easily tucked tail and run with the rest of them, but he had something that marked him as unique, different, uncommon and I mean in a good way. He had determination.

Determination is one of those qualities that makes a man finish a task regardless of whether or not the situation changes or the stakes suddenly become heavier. Determination does not say, “Hey, now this is not fair, this is not what I signed up for!” Eleazar showed up and then the rest of his comrades checked out, but he stayed the course, he refused to give in, give up, or go home. The calling was to stand against the enemy shoulder to shoulder, but when everyone else gave up Eleazar reached into his heart and adjusted the calling to simply stand against the enemy, period. In a culture rife with so many wishy-washy, “fair-weather” Christians the need for “Eleazars” is immeasurable.

Another incredible symbolic message found in the life of this hero is in the phrase, “and his hand stuck to the sword.” The Hebrew word for “stuck” is ‘da vak,’ meaning to cleave, overtake, attach, or stick together. It’s a word picture of two things being glued together, in this case Eleazar’s hand and his sword. Now the word “sword” brings to mind the “sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Eph. 6:17).” Eleazar displays for us the indispensable connection of God’s warrior and his quick, sharp and powerful offensive weapon, the Bible (Heb. 4:12). We should be so attached to this Book, so affected by its influence that you can’t tell where your physical person ends and the Word of God begins! With such confidence and training in the Word, it would be natural for a person to be steadfast, immoveable, and determined.

 

A phrase used in this passage that I pray will happen over and over is “the Lord brought about a great victory that day.” If we as spiritual leaders made the commitment to dive into the Word of God, allowing that life-changing Book to penetrate our thoughts, actions, and attitudes there would be no other result but great victories! Dive in with determination, my faithful warriors.

Against All Odds, Part 2

The title gives you a clue that we are looking at the topic of being “against all odds,” a rightful description of the hero in 2 Samuel 23 named Adino. He had the “Rambo” experience of facing down 800 Philistines at one time and he kick serious backside. If you have forgotten the story, it’s just below this blog. Let’s continue…

The characteristic necessary to advance someone to this level of heroism is simply tenacity. You see it in his resolve to not give up or give in to the pressure of the hordes of opponents coming at him. It is an uncommon characteristic unique to heroes – they just “hunker-down” and refuse to quit. It’s “to the death” and they have no intention of dying! They cannot look at the odds-maker’s report, the pundits, or the press, they are in this to win regardless of the personal sacrifice or the buckets of sweat required. You just can’t help but admire this characteristic even if you don’t like the guy. It’s very rare.

 

Unfortunately, we ARE in an “against all odds” scenario today. The church is now the underdog, the one the odds-maker is betting against. Looking at the current statistics in church growth and development clearly explains this paragraph more succinctly. We are now in the lower 30^th percentile in the nation. And that’s in the Bible belt! We are fighting uphill against immeasurable numbers and each year that continues to become more and more frightening. This once Judeo-Christian, ethically-focused land has all but abandoned her former cultural norm in favor of a more socially antagonistic mindset that blatantly stands against basic Christian doctrine and principles. Today it is at least 800 to 1, and we are looking more outnumbered every day. Get yourself in shape, mighty warriors, because the battle is just cranking up!

Adino is translated as "slender," or "spear." You would think it meant "super-buff, gun-show, or ripped," or something of that nature. However, it shows a principle that is a part of the true makeup of a hero of God - the power not found IN the man, but "WITHIN" the man! The power of Almighty God working through the natural fabric of a simple, slender man that has chosen to sharpen himself with the 'whet stone' of God's Word, making every strike with precision, not wasting effort or energy since the battle demands that he work on such a way so that he remains standing in the end. This is the Adino of today! This is the demand for men of God today! We need men with tenacity.

Being a Benaiah, Part 2

The title gives you a hint that this is a continuation of thought. The earlier blog revealed the characteristics of a mighty man of David named, Benaiah, a man recorded as "more honorable than the other thirty," not an easy feat. He was so outstanding, David chose him to be his personal body guard (2 Sam. 23:23)! Wow, how would you like that responsibility! Personal body guard to the winningest warrior-king in the history of Israel, the one every other nation would love to destroy. We've looked at the nature of honor and how Benaiah won victories against the world, the flesh, and the devil, now let’s look at some other aspects related to this fascinating warrior.

In fighting with the Egyptian, the Bible says he “wrested the spear out of his hand and killed him with his own sword.” This shows a level of creativity to use the very weapons of the enemy against them. I see us as current Benaiahs being effective in using TV, Movies, Radio, and Social Media (a tool often used by our enemy) to “stab” our enemies and get the truth of the Gospel into the hearts and minds of those that have been duped by the world, the flesh, and the devil. Turning our enemy’s weapons back on them is a most creative and effective means of warfare. Benaiah gives us a beautiful picture of a cunning military maneuver.
 
In fighting with the Moabites, the Bible describes the fact that they were “lion-like,” demonstrating the ferocity and blind focus of this enemy. Being on guard against such a physically powerful enemy is vital in order to survive. The Scripture also says that there were two of them, a clear picture that this enemy comes in waves, never alone, and uses the strategy of flanking. In every man’s heart is the tendency to drift into fleshly pleasures, self-gratification, and carnality. We are prone to slip. Don't be lulled into thinking that this conflict with our flesh is not that big a deal. Seeing the battle from Benaiah’s perspective helps us to keep our guard up and to realize that since the Bible calls these Moabite’s, “heroes,” we must be a hero in order to defeat a hero!

The conflict with the lion is the most interesting. Notice that the Bible states that Benaiah "had gone down" to fight the lion. This shows personal initiative and confidence in doing the right thing. He didn't wait for the "fight" to come to him, but rather he engaged the enemy. Also, it shows the willingness to fight an impossible battle in the worst of situations. Samuel declares that Benaiah fought "a lion," the worst of enemies, "in a pit," the worst of locations, "on a snowy day," the worst of conditions! And, get this, he did it voluntarily! What a guy! What a great character to emulate and pattern our lives after. Here is the vital part of honor - doing what is right regardless of what it may cost, regardless of the circumstances, and regardless of the unforeseen consequences. Sadly, this characteristic is woefully lacking in our churches. Oh, Lord, please wake up some "Benaiahs" today!

Being a Benaiah, Part 1

Men that are real men – that’s what we desperately need! Just because a man can slam dunk a basketball, outrun everyone else on the field, and bench press more weight than a building crane it does NOT make him a real man, just a physically fit one.  I’ve seen athletes with these characteristics but they are selfish, conceited, emotional babies that cry anytime someone else looks at them sideways. If they don't get their way, well, honor is NOT the word that describes them.  What we need are more men like Benaiah. Read this short passage. 

“Benaiah was the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man from Kabzeel, who had done many deeds. He had killed two lion-like heroes of Moab. He also had gone down and killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day. And he killed an Egyptian, a spectacular man (the Chronicles account states the Egyptian was 5 cubits in height and his spear was the size of a weaver’s beam). The Egyptian had a spear in his hand; so he went down to him with a staff, wrested the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and killed him with his own spear. These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and won a name among the three mighty men. He was more honorable than the thirty, but he did not attain to the first three. And David appointed him over his guard.”  (2 Samuel 23:20-23 and 1 Chronicles 11:22-23)

 

Benaiah was “more honorable than the thirty.” Now, friends, that’s saying something! Those thirty were the “best of the best of the best, yes, sir!” and to say that this man was more honorable is staggering. The character quality of honor has become a rarity in our culture, making this study timely. Let’s tear open the wrappings around this fascinating man and observe the components of an honorable hero. Honor is doing the right thing at all times regardless of the cost or unexpected circumstances. Though our world has lowered the bar regarding honor (as well as the definition of what is “right”) this was also the case in Benaiah’s day. Remember, they had just emerged from the time of the Judges, an era where “every man did what was right in his own eyes.” Sound familiar? See, just as before, we need a generation of men that desire to be “more honorable!”

The characteristics that gave Benaiah the mantle of honor starts with the subtle explanation of the three battles that are listed twice in the Scriptures (noted above). He fought an Egyptian, a couple of Moabites, and a lion. Interestingly, Egypt is always a picture of “the world,” the cultural norms and pinnacle of human achievements. The Moabites started out through vile immorality and are constantly guilty of sensual, lascivious actions that were a perverse and unfortunately strong influence on Israel; this is a picture of “the flesh.” (Note: Rahab was the ONLY bright spot in Moab’s history, and an encouragement for us all.) The third battle Benaiah fought was with a lion, an obvious picture that the Apostle Peter described of our most dreadful enemy, “the devil.” So there you have the story in a nutshell – Benaiah overcame the “world,” the “flesh,” and the “devil,” key ingredients of a man of honor. We all face these three enemies on a daily basis, some more often than others, but the man of honor learns how to defeat them all. It’s no surprise that all of our armed forces use the word, “honor,” to describe the caliber of warrior they desire to inspire.

Take notice this week of the number of encounters you face with these three enemies. Mentally record the battles you win and the ones you lose. (Don't pretend you can't do that - we're men, we always keep score!) Go for the gold, my fellow heroic protege', and make the score an annihilation of the adversary, a complete victory, and give no ground over to these 'life-eaters.' This is a choice, a conscious decision. Make it, and make it again, and again. Be a Benaiah.

Issachar Intel, Part 2

“Of the sons of Issachar, who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their command.”  (1 Chronicles 12:32)

To go to war without strategic intelligence (intel) is just plain stupid! The sons of Issachar were blessed with the tools to accomplish two great skills: 1) to understand the times and 2) to know what Israel should do. Last week we looked at the first one and now we focus on the second.

The phrase, “knowing what Israel ought to do,” is actually not as “crystal ball-ish” as one might think. Yes, it did have a certain appearance of prognostication, but the truth is they simply put two and two together! It’s really not a supernatural, out of this world gift given to a special few. Since they could see the “times” and realize that Saul’s continued disobedience in refusing to listen to the wise counsel of Nathan (just like he did with Samuel), his obsession with trying to kill David (a more godly man, one called a “man after God’s Own heart”), and the abuse of power (along with the wasting of military resources) was a recipe for disaster. They saw the current losses to the Philistines in subsequent battles was only going to continue under the current leadership and policies and “knew what Israel ought to do,” i.e., get back to God-fearing governance and national obedience like they had under Joshua.

The sons of Issachar were also listed as mighty men of valor, a picture of able-bodied men that were a force to be reckoned with. This demonstrated a level of comprehensive, well-rounded development in these guys, spiritual acuity along with physical discipline and preparedness. Now is a good time to quote the passage in 1 Timothy 4:8, “Bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things.” These sons of Issachar understood this principle as they “exercised” godliness even more than they exercised their bodies, yet they were physically an intimidating lot.  They clearly understood authority, or the chain-of-command principle, as it stated that the 200 chiefs had the command over their brethren. This shows such a genuine level of wisdom being able to put themselves under authority. In Matthew 8, Jesus saw the centurion understand this principle and He claimed He had “never seen such faith, not in all of Israel.”

The cry for heroes today that can see current trends and patterns from a biblical worldview and give futuristic advice, warnings, and strategy is at DEFCON 1! We have never had a more drastic abandonment of our children away from the evangelical church than we are currently experiencing. Oh my dear leaders, pray that God will raise up in your ranks some "sons of Issachar" that can give clear, confident, godly counsel to this emotionally-driven church culture.  The time for godly heroes that can demonstrate and express what the church must do is NOW!

Issachar Intel

The current topic is characteristics of Biblical Heroes and how we can emulate those giant-killers. The need for solid, genuine, selfless, Christ-like “Spiritual-Rambos” is unprecedented. Without some heroes of biblical proportion our nation is likely to become a by-word and the church in America will continue to slide into oblivion. I’d like to continue this topic looking at the sons of Issachar and their valuable impact of being mentally conditioned. Check out this passage:
“Of the sons of Issachar, who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their command.”  (1 Chronicles 12:32)

 If the description of the Gadites was small, the Issachar boys’ is miniscule! The above verse (and 7:5, “mighty men of valor”) is all that is said about them. Though the information is limited, the skill and contribution they brought to David was immeasurable. What price do military leaders put on good Intel!? This was probably one of the most strategic pieces of the puzzle of David’s flawless crusades. Ask any commander how important good, relevant, timely information is to his decision making process. These sons of Issachar were worth their weight in gold! They were mentally conditioned. What exactly does that look like?

Two statements are key: 1) “understanding of the times,” and 2) “knowing what Israel ought to do.” This blog will focus on the first one. In order to understand the times there must be a frame of reference, a base line of fundamental standards. One cannot truly understand current conditions without having a grasp of historical circumstances and events to overlay across present trends. When a person is mentally conditioned he has an ability to see future successes in the here and now because of the natural cause and effect relationship with obedience and submission to Almighty God that has been proven throughout history.

In the case of Israel, the sons of Issachar had to know the promises of God to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the subsequent leadership of Moses through the wilderness wanderings, and the successful venture of Joshua’s direction into the Promised Land. The collapse during the time of the Judges leading into the disappointment of the Kingship gave a clear picture to these alert young men that certain actions and attitudes came with drastic consequences! They had the ability to reasonably and logically conclude that disobedience toward God and His principles would lead to negative outcomes for the entire nation. They saw that following Saul was only going to continue the downward spiral of defeat and national despair. David was not only a better option, he was the only wise choice. The sons of Issachar saw future events by understanding the former process of obedience and by refusing to embrace that failed continuance of “doing what was right in their own eyes,” the choice of Saul and the mantra of the time of the Judges.

This is a cry for men to stop coasting in neutral and put it into overdrive! We need, like never before, godly men that have a grasp of what God wants us to do here and now and to make that knowledge vocal. Oh sons of Issachar, come out and be heard! Israel had these mental giants, the times call for them again.

Personal Diversion

I'm breaking off with my Characteristics of Biblical Heroes series to express a thought that still fits our topic. Bear with me as I take a personal diversion.

(David says to Goliath) “This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.”  1 Samuel 17:46

Big words from a little shepherd boy! God uniquely designed us men with a strong desire to achieve. It is in our DNA to do more, to do greater, and to accomplish something far more spectacular. Over time we experience setbacks, disappointments, failures, and shattered plans and dreams that can stifle this natural propensity for success. Right before David said this bold declaration to a 9 foot, 6 inch giant, his big brother condescendingly questioned why he was even there (v. 28). David looked past the insult and saw the true prize – to take away this reproach from Israel (and the king’s bounty wasn’t bad, either!).

I realized about three years ago that my body had become a bit lethargic, slothful, and soft. I had not really pressed myself to do anything athletic throughout my entire 40’s and it had taken its toll physically. My son-in-law, a former PT (physical trainer) for the Air Force, “provoked” me to do something about it. He recommended a workout video that he had been using and I agreed that I would do it. For the first three weeks I really did think I was going to die. No, I mean it! I could not think of one nice thing to say about my son-in-law. I couldn’t walk right, sit right, nor could I get up naturally from a prone position! I felt sick to my stomach every time I worked out. There were times when I really felt I was near certain death if I didn’t stop, and I actually would have welcomed it! I regretted having asked him to help me. I thought of every excuse to quit, to not thoroughly dread another workout, to stop the madness!

 

Gutting it out did eventually pay off.  I remember starting to count my push-ups. When I first began I was proud to get to 27. Months later I was doing 50, then 70, then 100. Though improvement was ever so gradual, noticing that I was getting fit was quite an adrenaline rush, a male source of personal accomplishment and progress. It also helped that my wife took notice and expressed her approval. It was taking all of 35 – 45 minutes a day, 5 days a week of gruelingly painful exercise to reach these goals, though the 45 minutes seemed much longer! I had an experiential revelation during this era of “self-flagellation;” men were made for challenges and we are at our best when we have and pursue goals that are against-all-odds, a “David vs. Goliath” scenario. The discipline in my physical life has bled into my spiritual disciplines making everything else have greater perspective and clarity.

My diversion this week is to encourage all men to see that they have been specifically programmed to be more than the sum of their parts. We have mind-numbing lostness in our current culture and in all of our neighborhoods. This Goliath is real. It is big, smelly, and wants you to just shut up and go away. Go find the stones that fit your sling and take his head off! We were made for such a time as this.

Big, Bad Benjaminites! Part 2

The passage of Scripture that we are studying in this continued look at “Characteristics of Biblical Heroes” is 1 Chronicles 12:1-2 (it is in the previous blog in italics). The Benjaminites were unusual in that they possessed the ability to fight and fire weapons with both hands. We looked at this importance of this characteristic in the last blog, but there is still much we can learn from these big, bad boys. We each are equipped with skills, abilities, talents, and natural tendencies that are unique and specialized and we have these qualities through the combined “blessings” of giftedness, aptitude, experience, and upbringing. That is what makes each one of us so different. The “Weapons of our Warfare,” is still the Sword of the Spirit, the infallible, inerrant, living words of Holy Writ. How we utilize, wield, and display our own personal technique of “Sword play” is as unique as each one of us, allowing those individual “blessings” to create our own style of methodology in Weaponry. What we must do is learn the Sword and then allow that knowledge to permeate our own talents, thinking, and skillset. Such a person is indeed formidable!

Studying these Benjaminites also reveals that they were the first group to respond to David’s leadership. This quality of immediate response to a calling or need is attractive and shows initiative and commitment. Chronicles also describes them as blood kin to the present king, “Saul’s brethren,” making the current affairs of state quite personal being directly related to the sitting leadership. They confronted the reality of Saul’s lack of obedience, irrational use of military resources, and poor decision making skills. Notice how they looked past the “blood is thicker than water” tendency and saw that David would provide the type of godly direction Israel needed. Application? Heroes do not give family or acquaintances a pass just because they are personally close. Equally as important they take the initiative in creating the environment for change. These two attributes together illustrate a critical attitude in the heart of a hero.

 

The take away this week is the fact that we could all do a better job increasing our skill in using the Weapons of our Warfare, the Scriptures. We you consider that Jesus used this very weapon when tempted by the devil (Matt. 4, Mark 1, Luke 4), who are we to think that we could somehow do a better job with some other tool?! There is not a better exercise program we can engage in than to the one that extends our reach, builds our strength, and widens our target by the acquisition of God's Holy Word in our hearts and minds. In essence, Biblical strength training and conditioning IS the breakfast of Spiritual Champions!

Big Bad Benjaminites! Part 1

Our current topic is characteristics of Biblical Heroes. We’ve looked at the lessons from the Gadites and determined that they scream out Personal Discipline. Let’s add to their foundational skeleton the meaty message from the boys of Benjamin. Here is the text.

“Now these were the men who came to David at Ziklag while he was still a fugitive from Saul the son of Kish; and they were among the mighty men, helpers in the war, armed with bows, using both the right hand and the left in hurling stones and shooting arrows with the bow. They were of Benjamin, Saul’s brethren.”  (1 Chronicles 12:1-2)

Unlike our previous examples (the Gadites) these Benjaminites are given much less ‘air time’ in the Word. Only a brief description is listed, but there are certain aspects that give us a clear picture of the Heroes’ Characteristic that is attributed to these 22 Benjaminites. One thing you pick up quickly from these two short verses is that they were Weapon’s Trained. The A-K 47’s of their day were arrows, swords, and stones. These guys had two of the three down very well!

I love the fact that these Benjaminites were not one-dimensional thinkers! They were not just good with their right hands, but were equally as dangerous with their left! They didn’t just knock you out with a perfectly thrown stone, they could bull’s eye an arrow right on your backside! These were very well trained militia, equally as dangerous when partially injured since you would have to take out both arms, not just one. Think about it, comfortable using both hands- the natural and the unnatural! To be even mildly adept at using your unnatural hand at anything requires an insane amount of practice.

I played basketball in my youth. One of the skills that we had to master was the ability to dribble with both hands and perform layups (the shots directly under the rim) with equal ability from either hand. If a guy shot a layup with his right hand from the left side of the basket he would hear about it even if it went in! It was imperative that we had a more versatile offensive weapon when close to the goal. I look like some kind of freak when I try to throw a football with my left hand because I never practiced that skill. However, I can still shoot a layup with my opposite hand best because of the loathsome training I was required to endure. Make no mistake, unnatural-handed training did not come easily to the Benjaminites, but it made them quite a formidable enemy. Being fully trained to use weapons from either hand made you much more of a threat and a desired ally.

Here is my point. According to Paul's Ephesians 6 description of our Spiritual Armor, the ONLY offensive weapon we carry is the "Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." WE MUST be trained, and I mean WELL trained, in the basics as well as the 'not-so-well-known' parts of this incredible Weapon. We must know and be able to use those parts that are "natural," popular and a natural fit for our personal giftedness and temperament. But we must also be trained in the parts that are obscure, unfamiliar to most, and not as "comfortable" with our personal wiring. Real heroes accept the challenge and make the difference so they can be effective at all times, regardless of the circumstances, climate, or environment. Train up, my good men, completely in the Holy Word.

Hero-Factories

On a cellular level, men and women are not even on the same planet. Not just the obvious physiological differences but in ways not as easily recognized. For instance, every muscle fiber in a man’s body has 50% more brute strength (fiber per fiber) than the average woman’s. The average man has a lung capacity that is about 30% greater than the average woman (the reason woman tend to faint more easily), giving him a much higher consistency of oxygenated blood. This super-charged blood allows him to have greater stamina, energy, and endurance. Since this is true, our very bodies make it clearly obvious that God has created us men to guard, protect, lead, defend, and be the hero in times of danger and threat. It’s not that women can’t be strong or develop endurance; it’s just that they are not as genetically fashioned to do so. So here is my point –

Since men are designed to provide heroic leadership and protection, should not the Church provide the best training grounds for such development? We should be a Hero-Factory!

Ok, reality check – my opinion on this topic written in this blog is not going to make any difference in the grand scheme of things. I can’t make a significant shift on a western, church-culture paradigm with a simple 5-paragraph opinion column, but if I can at least get some of you thinking on how to “undo” the damage to the male psyche by our current trends, I will certainly put this in the “win” column! I have been talking with a friend (Al Stone) that has given his lifelong, ministerial energies to seeing Men’s Ministries develop and become an established vehicle in each church. He has expressed a concern that the need for such training as well as the opportunities for men to have an outlet for using their unique gifts has grown to a dangerous level the last several years. Well, I agree with Al, and I would at least like to give some ideas that can help create an environment that will allow some ‘Davids’ to be birthed, developed, and freed to defeat the Goliaths in our current era.

My earlier blogs touched on the focus of our contemporary worship services and how they tend to leave out the manly man. I’m not going to get on a rant here, but at least look at your music selection and make sure there are some “token” manly songs included. Try not to repeat phrases over and over to elicit an emotional response. Men are uncomfortable in that arena. Sing it a couple of times and go to another song. Preach strong doctrine to men. Stop diluting the tough standards and directives from the Scriptures to men that need and desire to be spoken to firmly and unapologetically. Every David needs a Nathan that will point their finger in our face and declare, “Thou art the man!” Strong preaching will create strong leadership from your men! We NEED tough messages that get in our face!

Here is a suggestion that I have some experience with and a passion for seeing implemented. Try to develop ministry opportunities that allow men to use their giftedness, interests, and muscle. For instance, create a construction team that uses mission’s moneys to help rebuild porches, walkways, simple home repairs, or additions for single moms, seniors, or someone that is less fortunate. A car ministry team that has a special day each month to change oil, do simple repairs, etc. for widows, single moms, and the less fortunate in your church and community. Have a team of men that teach marksmanship for bow and gun to younger boys. Provide annual father/son camping adventures with fishing, hunting, and survival techniques emphasized. Have men with experience or knowledge in a particular sport provide lessons for up and coming young men so to give them an advantage when they begin tryouts.  Coordinate the classes to begin right before each season (example – ‘baseball basics’ on Saturday afternoons in February, basketball fundamentals in September), using men with experience, talent, and a willingness to invest in kids.

We need our heroes. There has been a glut in the Goliath market, in every sector, every community. Let’s provide the Lord a place to raise up a host of Davids to match them. If every church viewed their men and the men in their community as mighty warriors looking for a place to do battle against immeasurable odds … well, we might just do things differently. We ought to be a hero-factory!

Are You Running Off Potential Heroes?

If this is your first visit to this blog it might be best to read the short edition right below this one to get some perspective. The topic at hand is how we are unwittingly driving away or emasculating our true male heroes from the modern church. To start with I want to clearly point out that this is not an attack or even a hint of disrespect leveled at our “women folk.” They have historically been the ones to carry the weight of actual church ministry and have always outnumbered their bearded counterparts. They were the only ones to show up at the most important grave side gathering! We are indebted to them and this is not an attack on their contributions or their value to the church. The person of the Lord Jesus was unique in that He perfectly represented the natural strengths found in both sexes. My point here is that He demonstrated a complete picture, both necessary elements for a healthy church – (1) the caring, accepting, forgiving Nurturer, and (2) a confident, strong, disciplining, masculine Leader.

Today, we only have half of that combination in most of our churches. Church life has become very emotive, feeling, and nurturing with strong emphasis on deeds over creeds.  Yes, we all know Jesus was “meek and mild, gentle and kind,” but He also cleared the Temple, making a whip out of cords and driving out the money changers, overturning tables, and notice, no one stood up to Him! He called one of his best friends “the devil,” and don’t forget the 30 years of grueling carpentry work! He did NOT look like those Renaissance pictures of some girlie-man with long hair, frail and effeminate. That image is not the Son of God that was beaten and bloodied, whipped and crucified on a rugged tree, hanging for three long hours. When you compare those classic paintings with the description of Him in Revelation 19:11-16 you just have to scratch your head.

Have you noticed the current move in our society to render real men impotent? Owning guns is now considered a Neanderthal practice, hunting is viewed even worse, and contact sports is doing all it can to lower the aggressiveness so to eradicate any possible injury although the very nature of the activity is to crash wildly into each other in an effort to win. The word I’m looking for here is RISK! The most content men alive are those that have been given a larger-than-life challenge and the opportunity to achieve that impossibility (a definition of risk). However, when men are not challenged at home, at work, or at church they can easily slide into taking other “secret” risks. These can develop into aberrant behavior and suck the very “hero-style” life out of them leaving them disillusioned and in their wake destroyed sons, daughters, and families.

A key ingredient in the development of a hero is a nebulous “something”- it’s this larger than life quality that he is willing to die for as well as live for, and it requires a large dose of risk before it clicks. This, of course, is melded with godly fear.  Without it, men go back on the shelf, living out their “manliness” vicariously through some fictional TV character or worse, some professional sports icon. The bottom line is without this hero mentality they DO nothing. You may have unknowingly shelved heroes, not to mention overlooked the supermen that are in your community, men that will never darken the door of your church because they believe “stallions go to bars and geldings go to church,” and you give them no reason to think otherwise!

Here is my first observation that points the finger at how the church has contributed to the “emasculated men syndrome.” Some of you are NOT going to like this! Just try to critically observe the “worship” music that has become very popular in many of our contemporary settings. This is NOT a rant on contemporary music; however some of the lyrics are extremely feminine, speaking of love affairs with Jesus in words that no real man would ever consider using with another man. Just stop and read some of those lines. You need to realize that men visualize Christ as our Commander and Chief, our King, our Lord, and believe it or not ladies, this is a type of male intimacy. But when almost every song is touchy, touchy, feely, feely we are unable to sing those words with any self-respect. To us, those words come out as forced, disingenuous, and it’s like an affront to how He created us as men. There are plenty of contemporary songs that appeal to men (i.e., the “Promise Keepers” litany of albums) but they are rarely used, opting for the more “emotionally charged” songs. I’m just asking for some consideration, a balance, more songs on His character, nature, holiness and less on how we feel about Him.

This phenomena in music is completely unintentional, but with men making up less than 34 % of the average church membership, and even less of them actively involved, it’s time for us to start contemplating what is keeping away those “mighty men of David.” We desperately need strong, biblically-seasoned, male heroes. This is observation number one, and there are several more to follow. Stay tuned!

Shift from Non-Christian to Anti-Christian Culture

Check out this very short description of some superheroes that served under King David! "...the sons of Issachar, who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do (1 Chron. 12:32)"  Man, that's pretty much all it says about them, but they were so necessary. What they had can be summed up in one word - VISION!

I don’t consider myself a “son of Issachar,” nor am I a “prophet, or the son of a prophet,” and my prognostication skills have never been my strong suit, but I would like to look at an important trend facing the future church.

The Shift from “non-Christian” to “Anti-Christian” Culture

Most people living today in America do not remember Bible reading done in their public schools. They may have  heard about it but have no personal experience of a thoroughly Judeo-Christian ethic being the norm of all of society. It dictated how the family lived, how the “village” operated, and it was all directly connected to the church. Our society was a moral haven, not that everyone was a Christian, but the acceptable bar of behavior centered on the precepts of Scripture and especially the Big Ten. That is why the French historian, Alexis de Tocqueville made the famous phrase in 1840, “America is great because Americans are good.” Well, Lexi, times have certainly changed!
 

For the last half century our common struggle has been the world’s encroachment on our children, the humanistic philosophies stealing the hearts and minds of our future. We have watched a non-Christian world slowly bleed out our sons and daughters spiritually, leaving them morally incompetent and inept. Although you may still see yourself in this fight, the times have changed yet again. No longer are we living in a non-Christian culture, we have changed the address to an “Anti-Christian” culture. Today we are considered wrong, nay I say, evil, for having Judeo-Christian principles that guide our lives. We are boldly and loudly called names like intolerant, homophobes, Neanderthals, flat-earthers, and “hate-criminals” if we hold to the basic ethical doctrines of God’s Word. Any moral challenge we give to an aberrant behavior from a Biblical perspective is met with vicious outrage, even borderline violence, which is considered a just reward. Our Christian students are not only fighting the immoral onslaught of secular hedonism and rampant sensuality, they are fighting for their lives. One reason most are very timid about sharing their faith is not the embarrassment, it’s because of the popular opinion that Christians are the new Nazis. We are no longer at odds, we are at war, and the culture is the one waging it! What used to be a line drawn in the sand has become a rampart with bludgeoning repercussions. It’s no longer the 90’s!  

If a man makes a poorly produced “YouTube” video that portrays Mohammad in a bad light he will spend over 3 months in jail. Would he have been given the same treatment if he had done the exact same thing defaming the person of Jesus Christ? Think about it. On April 7, 2009 in an unclassified Department of Homeland Security report, “right-wing extremist” were considered a major homegrown threat to national security. It goes on to clarify groups such as Christians, returning US Soldiers, supporters of far-right candidates, homeschoolers, and NRA members should be assessed as a high level of threat. The outcry was deafening and because of that they have since pulled this report, but the fact is our government sees us, Judeo-Christian ethic, Bible believers, as a national security threat! Because we stand for something holy we are now guilty of hate-crimes! How long before they issue another such declaration and there is no outcry? The new culture is Anti-Christian!