Thoughts From Nashville on the Need for Men’s Ministry in America

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I was in Nashville earlier this week meeting with men’s ministry leaders from around the country. I almost didn’t go. I’ve had sinus issues for the past ten weeks. But I drug myself to Denver International, plopped my body in a plane seat, survived pressurized acute sinusitis at 30,000 feet, and landed in Country Music City, USA.

I’m glad I made it. The speakers were great – at least the ones I heard when I wasn’t wiped out in my hotel room. And, as always at these annual National Coalition of Ministries to Men conferences, I enjoyed catching up with old friends and making new ones.

Unfortunately, I spent half my time holed up in my hotel room trying to drum up strength to go to the next session. To fill the time, I watched the news. What was interesting was that the news was saying the same thing the conference was saying: MEN ARE JERKS! And women are finally getting up the nerve to say so in public – and name names.?

I’m back in Denver now, ruminating on both the conference and those news stories. Why doesn’t someone just say it loud and clear: “What men in America need is someone to introduce them to Jesus and train them to follow his example – to disciple them.”

Oh, wait a minute, that’s what I do. Those important and powerful men I’m seeing on TV fall like dominoes? They need someone like me to tell them about Jesus Christ and show them how he delivers from slavery to lust and a host of other besetting sins.

So here are my four takeaways for this week:

• America desperately needs men’s ministry. Here’s a hard and fast reality: the further America gets away from Jesus Christ, the church, and the Bible, the worse its men are going to get. We are, right now, witnessing this truth. The situation will not improve until churches rediscover the importance of men’s ministry and until Christian men relearn the ability to disciple other men by the thousands and millions.
• Jesus has the ability to turn asses into assets. That’s right. Jesus turns destructive, self centered, immature men into men who know what it means to be a blessing to everyone around them.
• It’s time we men’s ministry leaders got a fire in our belly. This is not an exaggeration: the destiny of our country depends on men’s ministry. How we execute our responsibility to make disciples of Jesus Christ will determine whether or not we remain a free and prosperous country.
• Our end product is the proof of our value. Our only product is men who love and follow Jesus Christ. Their lives, their love, their faith, and their work is what validates our ministry.

So there it is. Now it’s time to get to work.

This post first appeared in NewCommandment.org.

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