I would consider the past year of spiritual warfare my greatest experience in my personal relationship with God. Through this time I have redefined what worship means to me and the true peace that comes God. I have seen and felt the presence of God in offering peace that no one else can offer during times of struggles. I’ve experienced a whole new type of listening to His voice through many avenues by which God can speak to us. I’ve discovered the importance of placing my personal relationship before all things.

Through it all I believe I have a better understand in the direction He is calling me to serve at this time of my life. Through reading, talking with others, and listening to God I’ve opened my heart and desire to serve Him – not man. 1 Corinthians 12:12 has a whole new meaning to me:

• We cannot serve everyone.
• We cannot do it all.
• We cannot make everyone happy.
• True unity with man and Christ is powerful!
• God alone can do it all, and through us with the use of our God given bodies we can be his instrument.

Each person has their giftedness, passion and desire. When we follow God – God’s plan for us and others will be experienced. During my time of sabbatical I asked myself a question that has lingered in my mind, “Why will a dad spend three nights a week at football practice with their son and yet say they are too busy for worship, supporting a youth event that helps their child grow in faith?”

I did some reading and this quote really mad sense to me, “A child can lead a family to church, but a dad will take them away.” If you really think deep into this you’ll discover that ultimately God’s plan of man be head of the house is not happening. While moms may try to keep their family close to God, the battle is ultimately won due to a non-responsive dad. So ask yourself, “Is God grooming you for a whole new type of service to Him, has He given me an open eye to the core of the problem – men.”

I do not believe that a man ever really tried to fail on purpose. The society, the moral decline of our country, the information highway on the Internet and the acceptance of what can been seen and heard on television is allowing men to fail. Our society is filling our heads with the “It’s all good” attitude. The truth is; men are failing.

I recently read some statistic that stated 1/3 of ALL kids will not live with their biological parents by the age of eighteen. How can this be you might ask? Well it starts that every third child born in American is born out of wedlock. Add to that the number of divorces in American and you have 24 million kids without a dad at home. It also stated that children who come from a fatherless home are five times more likely to live in poverty, have emotional problems, and repeat a grade. All this leads to one important factor – men.

So why are so many men such failures? I believe if falls into the hands of the church to answer this question and repair the damage. As quoted in No Man Left Behind, “Men’s Ministry is rocket science.” Here’s the comparison:

• Gravity – Most men shoulder the burden of supporting a family financially, trying to be a good husband and father, and resisting the temptations of the world that wants to drag them down
• Velocity – New Christians go like gangbusters; but many men have been in church for a long time, and their enthusiasm is waning.
•  Angles of ascent – Some men get it and steadily move forward; others careen back and forth in their spiritual journey, veering off and hurting people as they go. The key is to make sure they are moving towards Christlikeness.
• Coefficient of drag – Jobs, soccer games, family problems, church commitments, hobbies…. All of these seem to hold men back – leaders too – as they seek to develop their faith and call to ministry.

"The discipleship system of a church is perfectly designed to produce the kind of men we have in the pews and the kind of men that are not sitting in the pews." So it’s the system – or lack of an effective system – that has allowed men to become such failures in being the spiritual leaders of their families, their church, who tithe; men who make a life in Christ a priority.

Recognizing that everything is all-inclusive in Men’s Ministry is important. It’s not just some Men’- Devo group or Saturday Morning Bible Study – is everything. If a man is a member of a church then they are a part of Men’s Ministry. So the question may be, “How do we change the cycle?” The process of moving men from relying on themselves or others to relying on God is discipleship. The order in which this happen is key.

The biblical case comes from 2 Timothy 3:15-17

First, a disciple is called to walk with Christ; they profess faith in Jesus Christ (GATHER)

Second, a disciple is equipped to live like Christ; they are engaged in a process of spiritual growth and transformation (GROW)

Third, a disciple is sent to work for Christ; they serve the Lord (GO)

Fourth, God has given us everything, we need to give back. (GIVE)

How do we motivate a man to do things God wants him to do? Not by just telling him to do them, but rather by helping him WANT to do the things God desires him to do. Christianity is about heart transformation – not behavior modification or service of duty.

Through time of reflection and listening God has opened my eyes to a ministry to men. He’s leading me to look deeper than surface level. The spiritual renewal of our society, our churches, starts with the spiritual renewal of men – the spiritual leader. We must look at the core of the problem.

It’s time to change the cycle. Band-Aid approaches do not work. So where does this all lead us? Matthew 28 contains the most effective speech ever given. More millions of people and billions of dollars have been mobilized by this one speech, “Therefore Go…” Matthew 25:19-20. This speech was heard by twelve ordinary men who included business owners, accountants, government employees and young guys. It’s the same today, we are all qualified.

So if we want to get society right we have to get the church right and if we want to get the church right we have to get families right and if we want to get families right we have to get marriages right and if we want to get marriages right we have to get MEN right.

Men’s ministry is a big undertaking, something I feel God has been equipping me for and now is ready to lead me and others on. The question the comes, is this something you would be interested in? Together we would build a team of men who have the passion and heart to reach out to our brothers.

Rod Lindemann

Comments and thoughts followed the reading of No Man Left Behind by Patrick Morley.