Sleeping Giant: No Movement of God without Men of God, Kenny Luck, with Tom Crick, B&H Publishing Group, 2012
A Word for Pastors and Their Men
This book is dedicated to serving you! We have spent the last ten years serving our pastor, Rick Warren (perhaps trying to keep up with him is a better way to put it), by raising up leaders and forming the ranks of our men around the vision God has planted in our pastor. This is the essence of what Sleeping Giant is all about: serving the local pastor by helping to activate his men around the vision God has called him to fulfill.
Chapter 1 The “Resonating Revival”
Pain resonates deeply, and any person, group of people, or organization that successfully reduces suffering through touching and transforming men in their community becomes immediately relevant. As the church attempts to reach people, it should be asking: “What pervasive,, unresolved problems can we solve that dramatically impact the people and communities we are trying to reach?”
Chapter 2 The Eight-Hundred-Pound Gorilla
The church’s generosity toward helping men brings an equal and opposite reaction of generosity on the part of men toward the church. The opposite is also true. If the church sees but doesn’t treasure [a man], it does not bother to come alongside him in meaningful ways. It doesn’t invest in him. It’s outlook is unhealthy. This stinginess in our approach to him breeds an unhealthy and reciprocal stinginess from him back into our Body. We lose his energy, lose his light, lose his transformational health, and multiply the perception among the rest of the men to remain in the audience versus the army.
Chapter 3 Dealing Aces to the Devil
Satan wisely sees that men are leaders, influencers, and game-changing assets in the kingdom battle. He devotes massive resources to culturally lure, recruit, and use men to execute his evil plans in the world. He even thought he could win over the Son of God. He plans, plots, and consistently seeks to control the heart of every man on Earth. Do you believe that? The church, by contrast, unwisely sees men as the reserve players with a limited role in the big picture.
Chapter 4 One Men’s Movement
These parachurch men’s movements were high-definition signs glowing in plain sight for the whole world to see the power, hope, strength, unity, faith, and willingness of men to repent and renew their faith in Jesus. It was a vision of healing for the compound fracture among men in the body of Christ. In response the local church yawned and went on with business as usual for the most part.
Chapter 5 No Move of God without Men of God, Part I
What do you see when you see a group of men in your congregation or community? Scripture sees thermonuclear potential with the capability of changing the fabric of communities and countries.
Chapter 6 No Move of god without Men of God, Part II
But now God’s Spirit is rising in His church worldwide and calling it forward for a forceful advance and spiritual harvest. To do that God wants His men back serving with Him (versus the world) and gobbling up lots of spiritual real estate for the kingdom. Like the elders of Gilead, we need to “go get Jepthah from the land of Tob,” proactively pursuing men we have dismissed to other realms of existence. We also need to humbly borrow a line from them. “Nevertheless, we are turning to you now.”
Chapter 7 Eyeing the Men
“The men of Judah are the garden of his delight.” (Isa. 5:7). That revelation changes things. The idea that God models delighting in men and tracking them closely convicts me personally and burdens me deeply for the local church worldwide. But even stronger feelings should surface when you consider God checking in your specific “garden of his delight” and pondering: What does He see reflected in the character of the men? Do I even know what’s happening on a deep level with the men of my church?
Chapter 8 Forceful Movement, Forceful Men
In order to achieve over twenty centuries of church movement, God decided that three years, twelve guys, and the indwelling power and leadership from the Holy Spirit would cover it. Reexamining this linkage is mission critical to the present condition and future health of the church locally and globally. Hear me: the hope of the world is the local church and the untapped hope of the local church right now is it’s men.
Chapter 9 Step 1: Strong Vision and Mission
In the process of making them articulate what they want to see happen, we are able to unearth answers to several other important questions at the same time. Questions like:
- What unresolved problems will a strong men’s community help solve?
- Is there a sense of urgency?
- What pervasive problems are your men facing?
Step 1: clearly define the mission and vision of your men’s ministry.
In a world where excellence is expected on so many levels, it is mind-boggling how so many men’s ministries in the local church thrive on and accept mediocrity as they minister to men.
Chapter 10 Step 2: Strong Alignment with the Pastoral Vision
The power of the pastor to empower the men of a church is an untapped vein of gold that expands his relational capital a hundredfold if he simply knows how to mine and extract it.
Chapter 11 Step 3: Strong Funnels That Resonate with Men
After working with so many pastors and men’s leaders, we have discovered the main reason their ministries tend to overlook, avoid, or miss connecting with needful men. They would have to look at or reveal their own injuries, sin, fractures, fears, losses, or needs.
Chapter 12 Step 4: Strong Spiritual Pathway
Intentional funnel events and experiences need to link to a solid process for the development of a man.
GET IN – Connecting with other guys who share a commitment to grow.
GET HEALTHY – Identifying and meeting felt needs to triage a man to health.
GET STRONG – A higher commitment to be deeply discipled.
GET GOING – Reaching out to others, reproducing and training the next leaders.
Chapter 13 Step 5: Strong Relational Core
When you make authentic relational deposits, there is powerful relational capital to spend on strategic tasks.
“Sticky” men’s culture is:
- A culture of true concern
- A culture of sacrifice
- A culture of spiritual support
- A culture of proactive encouragement
- A culture that calls out men’s gifting
- A culture that speaks prophetically into men’s lives
- A culture that is sealed by spiritual bonds
- A culture that refuels men for the spiritual and emotional battle
Chapter 14 Step 6: Strong Alignment with Small Group Concepts
Every church with small groups is sitting on a gold mine for men’s ministry!
Chapter 15 Step 7: Strong Consistency of Culture
The principle is this: your men’s ministry must have the breadth and width to meet any man that encounters it meaningfully and in his context as a man. Whether it is in the context of a problem or a struggle to find his purpose in life.
Chapter 16 Where Are You in the Process?
1. Reflect honestly.
2. Recognize reality.
3. Respond practically.
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