It’s Time to Behave like Men
At an alarming rate, our congregations are changing. They are becoming older, emptier, or filled with innovation. Where are the men to stand in the gap (Ezekiel 22:30)? Some people are calling out warnings (Ezekiel 33), but we need men to lead and engage the Christians.
Men, stand up! Grab the Word. Share it! Lead!
So many congregations are sheep without shepherds. They have no leadership. They have no elders. They have no direction. They have no discipline. Those who could be qualified don’t want to step up. They do not want the responsibility of guiding the souls around them. Running the church by men’s meeting seems to be the appropriate scapegoat for responsibility. God did not intend for unqualified people to guide His Church (I Tim 3, Titus 1). They run like Jonah, make excuses like Moses, or hide like Elijah when it comes time to show their faith by their works (James 2:20). They could be great with God on their side, but they choose timidity.
Where are the men? Where are the men of God who are sculpting their entire lives so they can be qualified to say, “Here Am I Send Me!” (Isaiah 6:8)? When the Church is afraid, discouraged, feeling alone, Godly men show courage! They lead! Maintaining discipline, the Word of God is followed. Righteous men are the first to be out evangelizing. They show others how it is done, enacting the Word of God (Joshua 1:6). They rely on God as David did leading the people of God to victory (I Samuel 17). When they trust in God, the ranks swell. When men who should be leaders behave as feeble women, the congregations sputter and die. Drop the excuses of: “People are too busy today”, “this is just a difficult town”, “we tried that before”, or “folks just aren’t friendly” – Faithful men such as Stephen (Acts 7/8) or Paul (2 Corinthians 11) likely have little sympathy for such excuses.
What fear is grappling so many elderships and Christian men today that stops them from doing the work of the Lord? Have they bought a field, oxen, or taken a wife (Luke 14:16-24)? Why are they staying behind when it is the time to go to war (2 Samuel 11)? It seems they prefer administration and talking of great things, rather than humbly, yet boldly working in their communities sharing the Word of God. Their fear breeds fear among all the Christians. Their laziness breeds generations of slothfulness. “What, could ye not watch with me one hour?” (Matthew 26:40). There is a time for rest, but now is not that time!
As the Lord, told Job, “Gird up now thy loins like a man” (Job 38:3, 40:7). God has called Christians to be soldiers, to put on his armor (Eph. 6). Yet, the only battles many see are gossip and backbiting within the Church. It’s time for the gray haired to dust off their Bibles and share the knowledge of the ages with the lost. Do something before life is gone. Finish the fight in the glory of service while you still can! Do not hold onto pews in fear and shame any longer. Teach the young men to be shepherds, not sheep. Instruct the world in the compassion and wrath of a righteous God, lest you too become a victim of His wrath.
1 Corinthians 16:13 – “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.”