God Calls Biblical Masculinity ‘Very Good.’ Stop Caricaturing It.

"A friend of mine on Facebook observed that there seems to be a new procedure for writing on the subject of masculinity: 1.) Pick a typically masculine trait (say, strength). 2.) Create a false dilemma between this trait and an approved trait (say, gentleness). 3.) Pen an article expounding this false dilemma by using corruptions and exaggerations of the masculine trait to prove its incompatibility with the approved trait (for example, “traditionally strong men cannot be gentle”). 4.) Redefine the masculine trait as equivalent to the approved trait (e.g., “The Strongest Men Are Gentle”).

This in fact was the headline of a recent article at Desiring God, which isn’t that bad taken on its own terms, but turns on the bizarre premise that gentleness is in short supply among today’s Christian men (it even includes the awkwardly allusive subheading: “Let’s Bring Gentle Back”).

Here’s the thing: I don’t think gentleness went anywhere. To put it in modest terms, if a visitor from an exoplanet orbiting the hypergiant Arcturus landed in the average evangelical congregation this Sunday, I doubt he would say “Whoa, testosterone overload! It’s like a WWE match in here, you guys need to rediscover gentleness.” On the contrary. Drowning in tensile denim, man-buns, vocal fry and uptalk-inflected sentences that begin almost exclusively with “I feel like,” this extraterrestrial would likely wonder how our species ever found the courage to sail across oceans and colonize new continents, and where we mustered the intestinal fortitude to visit the moon.

All of this makes it even odder that so many Christians are in such a tizzy over “toxic masculinity.” It is, quite obviously to anyone with two working peepers, the vice of which we are least in danger. As premiere news source The Babylon Bee reports, “Least Masculine Society In Human History Decides Masculinity Is A Growing Threat.”

I’m not just picking on one writer, here. Aimee Byrd of Carl Trueman’s popular “Mortification of Spin” podcast recently shared how “triggered” she is by the “pervasive” emphasis on masculinity in the evangelical church. In reaction to a Patheos blog post by one pastor who advised men to give firm handshakes and limit how often they touch other men’s wives, Byrd heaps 1,600 words of scorn and 1950s caricatures on the very idea that we need to raise men to act differently from women. This is the same Aimee Byrd, by the way, who thinks the “Mike Pence Rule” is “pickpocketing purity,” and argues in a recent book that men and women ought to have more frequent and intimate one-on-one friendships with one another (what could go wrong?).

Discipling Men in the Local Church

Brothers in Christ,

Let me begin with the testimony of an older saint named Michael Hyatt.  Mike recently posted on Facebook the following word of encouragement/perspective- “I’m not exaggerating when I say reading changed my life. What started as a childhood hobby became a lifetime obsession. Not only did my insatiable reading habit eventually lead me to become CEO of Thomas Nelson, one of the largest publishing houses in the world, but it allowed me to learn early on how important it was to become a lifetime learner. I can honestly tell you that reading is one of THE MOST effective ways to achieve personal and professional growth. Now, I won’t lie. It’s not always easy to know which books are actually worth your time. And unless you’re in publishing (or a full time pastor), you probably don’t have hours to spend pouring over pages to find the best resources…..”

The goal of men’s leadership training and development is to pick some of the very best Christian resources related to important BIBLICAL subjects, and to come together once a month as men, and encourage one another to think, speak, and live biblically. Every New Testament passage that talks about biblical growth drips with sanctified sweat. It’s why we’re called “to discipline ourselves for the purpose of godliness” and “to work out our salvation with fear and trembling” and to “take EVERY thought captive to the obedience of Christ” and “contend earnestly for the faith” “and to passionately guard the deposit of sound doctrine.” These are God’s Words to his Church (not the opinion of man). By Divine design, men are uniquely called to be spiritual leaders. The Sr. Pastor should be heavily invested in this process "until Christ is formed in you."

A number of good thoughts, observations, and questions have come in during and after our first nine sessions of Men’s Leadership Track 1. Let me try and highlight a few of them:

1) Leaders are readers. But not all men gravitate towards reading. Some men are exceptionally gifted when it comes to working with their hands! PTL for that. We all don’t have the same skill set.

Just a little history- the men’s leadership ministry that I implemented last year was originally put together by a veteran pastor in another state. His discipleship efforts yielded wonderful fruit in the life of his local church. I’ve tweaked what this godly man does (and what many other like-minded pastors have done in different places) to try and meet the pressing needs of THIS particular congregation.

Unlike LCBC, in a previous church context most of the men I led were blue collar guys. Hunters and farmers and factory workers…. Manly men who (in general) did not read much beyond the newspaper… I told them that I know with God’s help and a little accountability/encouragement you guys will be able to read 4-5 sanctifying books over the course of 10 months. Seven years later the vast majority of blue collar men had read 30+ books… 

Now I can hear someone say- “Pastor, knowledge alone PUFFETH UP.” That’s so true… But the Lord who created our amazing brains uses biblical instruction/doctrine/truth to move our religious affections, to deepen our core convictions, and to help us become better Christ-glorifying churchmen, husbands, fathers, deacons, elders, members, etc. That’s the heartbeat of this ministry. Read through 1-2 Timothy this week and you’ll see what a heavy premium the Holy Spirit places on sound doctrine and biblical instruction. The early church in Acts 2:42 is said to have “DEVOTED THEMSELVES to the apostles doctrine…..” as should we.

2) I don’t think God is ever going to call me to be an elder or deacon, isn’t that the primary target of this ministry? If so, is it worth my time to be part of “Iron Men?” Those are great questions. Three things: 1) Yes, one of the goals of this ministry is to develop future leaders and to help current leaders become even more useful to the Lord (1 Tim. 4:15; 2 Tim. 2:2). Biblical and faithful lay leaders are the backbone of the local church. 2) Some of you men are so humble that you have no idea the great things God would like to do in and through you. When you study the 4 Gospels, who would have ever thought that 12 ordinary men (most of whom were “uneducated” fishermen) would be used to “turn the world upside down” for Christ!!! When I look into a room full of (FAT) F.aithful, A.vailable and T.eachable LCBC men I see loads of POTENTIAL. The father of modern missions Willam Carey said, “Except great things from God; attempt great things for God.” Amen and amen! 3) The class is broad enough to help any man become a more useful/biblical church member and to hopefully become an even better spiritual leader at home. However, this is not the only ministry under the banner of men’s ministries. Kim Benson leads a small group Bible Study. Tim Buege leads a monthly prayer meeting and is helping to coordinate QTRLY men’s breakfast gatherings (the next one is taking place this Saturday). Denny VanCleve put together a summer Bible study. And Mike Umlands leads a time of relationship building called “Geezers.” For a 200 person church we offer so many different ministries- in large part, because we have so many faithful lay people actively serving (1 Pet. 4:10-11; 1 Cor. 12-14).

"Act Like Men! Be Strong!" (Despite the Feminization Trend of the Church)

A recent N.Y. Post story was recently released with a most unexpected title (for a secular news organization)- Feminism Has Destabilized the American Family.  Despite such admissions, Christian feminism has made a resurgence within conservative evangelical camps- from the PCA to Southern Baptist to non-denominational churches. 

A Pastor-friend of mine summarized the biblical view of manhood and womanhood as follows: The woman was created from the man TO SHOW THE MAN that he is to cherish his wife as he does his own flesh.

The woman was not created from his head TO SHOW HER that she is not to usurp his authority as her head.

But the woman was also not created from his feet TO SHOW HIM that she is not to be trampled and walked upon as if she does not also bear the image and dignity of God.

The woman is created not from the head or the feet of man, but from his rib, from his side, and close to his heart. She is his companion. She complements him; completes him.  In the great mystery of Divinely instituted marriage the two become one.

Man and woman are "joined at the hip". They flourish in the world when they join one another in showcasing their distinctions. In this God is glorified and the gospel put on effective and full display.

Today's post by Pastor Buice goes along with a series of articles on Troubling Trends Influencing the Christian Church.

"Satan delights in denigrating what God created as good. It has always been God’s plan for his Church to possess a certain masculinity in leadership and that masculinity flows into the general membership as well. One of the depressing realities of our modern culture is the assault upon masculinity as if it’s somehow a bad thing. While we can all certainly agree that male dominance is not God’s plan for his Church—the plan to extract male leadership and characteristics from God’s Church is certainly not healthy—in fact it’s downright sinful.

When Paul was closing out his letter to the church in the city of Corinth, he wrote these words in 1 Corinthians 16:13-14, “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” We must recall that Paul was writing to a church that was in desperate need of theological and practical correction. The apostle took a firm stance against their sin, and then pointed them to the proper means of living out the gospel of Christ. Apparently one of their struggles was centered on love and their lack of manliness. William Robertson Nicoll observes that these exhortations are “directed respectively against the heedlessness, fickleness, childishness, and moral enervation of the” church at Corinth. [1]

Meditations For Christian Singles: The Disciplines of a Godly Man

Meditations for Single Men. One of LCBC's members who is on fire for Christ has put together an excellent blog series for young men. It is worth your time (whether or not you are single).  Here is Dan's first entry.

"There are many topics that I could have chosen to write about for this first series but my heart is burdened with one topic in particular at the moment, singleness. More specifically a burden for single men. Why? Because the vast majority of young men in the church that I have come into contact with over the last ten years (there are exceptions to this), since being saved, has revealed a common trajectory. I have consistently seen young men living laissez-faire lives in the things that matter. I have consistently seen young men showing more concern for being cool and popular over having sound biblical convictions. I have consistently seen young men have such a comfortability with sin that fleeing sin is viewed as too extreme. I have consistently seen young men so focused on talking a good relationship “game” that godly character takes a backseat. The amount of men in their twenties who are seeking to be godly is pitifully small!

We need convictional men that can’t get enough of God’s word (Psalm 119:20). Convictional men that are growing in their understanding of the great doctrines of Scripture (1 Timothy 4:6-8). Convictional men that are intentional and constant in prayer (Colossians 4:2; Romans 12:12c). Convictional men who are boldly living out the truth and pursuing holiness (1 Timothy 4:12; 1 Peter 1:13-16). Convictional men who are unashamed in sharing the gospel (Romans 1:16-17). Convictional men who sacrifice to compassionately love and serve others (Philippians 2:3-4). Convictional men who are generous and good stewards with all the Lord has given them (1 Timothy 6:17-19; Romans 12:13). We desperately need these kinds of men! Gentlemen your future marriage is a picture of the gospel (Ephesians 5:25-32). If you are not actively modeling the gospel in your singleness you will not model the gospel in your marriage. What you do or don’t do in this season of singleness will impact the rest of your life. It is a myth that you can presently live with a YOLO mentality and your future family will escape unscathed. If you are not denying yourself now in the pursuit of Christ, you will not deny yourself in the pursuit of your wife when you are married. So why do I write this series? Because, single men, my heart aches with the desire that “Christ be formed in you” (Galatians 4:19) and that you would fight the battles that really matter! Your future wife and future kids need this. Your church, friends, and coworkers need this. Our country and ultimately the world needs you to be this kind of man (Matthew 28:18-20).