Concepts to Consider
By Brad Stine
There are 4 basic premises that seem to be the core of this event.
1) Men need a battle.
2) Men need weapons/tools to fight with
3) Men need to be taught how to use the weapons
4) The most neglected element..Men need to be told " Ok guys, lets go fight."
Each man will be able to leave with a clear plan as to how to begin implementing an actual fight plan into his life. The fact that he also leaves realizing he's in an army of like-minded men so that he not only doesn't fight alone , but he can't WIN alone should inspire and invigorate.
The fact that he is needed in the battle in exactly the package he comes in ( hyper intellect , blue collar , biker , CEO , etc) lets him feel secure in his unique place in the war.
I also believe that all the speakers should try to drive their talk with the thru-line of lifting men up. We don't need to be told what crappy fathers we are but need to do THIS instead. We don't need to be told how bad we are at being husbands/leaders etc.
Men are there presumably because they are looking for ways to improve in areas they are already aware they are lacking.
Lets give men one event where they are unapologetically celebrated for their innate maleness w/o it being intrinsically suspect.
Seems like womens events always assume the "unreleased beauty intrisic in the female that is just waiting to be birthed" kind of crap.In other words the benefit of the doubt.
Now it's our turn to give men a similar acknowledgement that much of how you feel and respond as a man is exactly what makes you crucial in your childs life , wifes life , and culture.To be anything less is denying the very element that society cannot get from women. This is not carte blanche saying that there aren't elements of our maleness that need to be disciplined and reigned in at times. Only that the basic foundation of what makes a man think and respond the way he does is common to man and by being here at this event he will realize he is among those of his own ilk. He has finally found his tribe.
By Brad Stine
There are 4 basic premises that seem to be the core of this event.
1) Men need a battle.
2) Men need weapons/tools to fight with
3) Men need to be taught how to use the weapons
4) The most neglected element..Men need to be told " Ok guys, lets go fight."
Each man will be able to leave with a clear plan as to how to begin implementing an actual fight plan into his life. The fact that he also leaves realizing he's in an army of like-minded men so that he not only doesn't fight alone , but he can't WIN alone should inspire and invigorate.
The fact that he is needed in the battle in exactly the package he comes in ( hyper intellect , blue collar , biker , CEO , etc) lets him feel secure in his unique place in the war.
I also believe that all the speakers should try to drive their talk with the thru-line of lifting men up. We don't need to be told what crappy fathers we are but need to do THIS instead. We don't need to be told how bad we are at being husbands/leaders etc.
Men are there presumably because they are looking for ways to improve in areas they are already aware they are lacking.
Lets give men one event where they are unapologetically celebrated for their innate maleness w/o it being intrinsically suspect.
Seems like womens events always assume the "unreleased beauty intrisic in the female that is just waiting to be birthed" kind of crap.In other words the benefit of the doubt.
Now it's our turn to give men a similar acknowledgement that much of how you feel and respond as a man is exactly what makes you crucial in your childs life , wifes life , and culture.To be anything less is denying the very element that society cannot get from women. This is not carte blanche saying that there aren't elements of our maleness that need to be disciplined and reigned in at times. Only that the basic foundation of what makes a man think and respond the way he does is common to man and by being here at this event he will realize he is among those of his own ilk. He has finally found his tribe.
12 Comments:
At 8:03 PM , J. Stamhouse said...
A little, hopefully, constructive advice. Drop the sophmoric course language..."crappy", "crap" and euphemisms of men growing bigger gonads. Jesus never resorted to such adolescent pandering and neither should you. Group chest pounding about being "Godmen" while jumping to rock music will not make you more effective disciples. What it will do is make you look ridiculous to a world in dire need of true Christ-likeness, which is characterized by action tempered with quiet humility. Are you guys serious? If you're tired of getting pushed around by women try "being" men instead of whipping up testosterone loaded men-fests. Or if you can't do that at least don't publicize your meetings. Heaven forbid that the world thinks all Christian men suffer such insecurity.
At 12:55 PM , Rev. Bob said...
"Lets give men one event where they are unapologetically celebrated for their innate maleness w/o it being intrinsically suspect"
I seriously am in question as to what characteristics you are pointing to as innately "male". This battered male syndrome you seem to be addressing cannot be remedied by holding group "chest pounding" therapy sessions. True manhood can never be "feminized" unless men first fail to occupy the void of leadership and defense of the home and family. Traditional church environments have not suffered from women being in charge, they have suffered from men not "getting it" (i.e. understanding what true male leadership and strength accomplishes when it reflects truely "Godly" traits - that's the real crux of the issue). More telling about your meetings is the exclusion of those under seventeen. I ask you this. What important male trait is it that I cannot affirm in the presence of a young man under seventeen? Belching and talking dirty? Brethren, controversy is not limited to being only an indicator of opposition to righteous efforts. You're right, your efforts will either crash and burn or they'll be revolutionary. I wonder how many mature Christians are really in support of what you are doing? May be, the answer to that question is your first warning.
At 5:32 PM , Lewsterrett said...
Honor, Brothers, Honor
I honor my brothers for reaching the unreachable. I saw a man the other day standing in the middle of nowhere on the side of a road in a small patch of open land with a sign "church meeting here". My wife and I said to ourselves. There is an honorable man who is taking the gospel to the one that will stop by. Maybe someone stopped maybe someone didnt. But the fact is that the man in faith stood out there in the driving wind holding a sign to spread the gospel to the one driving down that road that needed a touch from god. What Im trying to get at brothers is please dont tear each other down for symantics but edify one another for the glory of the Lord. I honor these men and if i lived in that part of the country i would like to attend and If my finances supported such a trip i would go.
In essence I pray that you reflect on how or if you were saved. Was it a friend inviting you for church? was it Billy Graham on TV? Was it a radio program? Someone somewhere the Lord used someone else to get even you saved. Honor these men for their ministry. Lest we lose our salvation by unforgiveness and sin. By honoring the men in God's will doing God's work then yourself be honor and blessing upon yourself. Amen
At 11:24 PM , Sodbuster said...
Manhood is defined by Jesus Christ, the Second Adam, not by frat houses or street gangs.
Real men are like farm dogs - gentle and playful with the family, and very, very dangerous to trespassers.
Real men are meek: we humbly obey our lawful King - Jesus, and we resist all false authority.
Real men do not call themselves by a definition of God the Son (except for Him, of course)
Real men are knights, not warriors. Learn what that statement means. Learn of St. Martin and the first code of chivalry.
At 4:53 AM , Anonymous said...
I support Brad Stine's efforts because they are Biblical. If one has taken the time to read the entire Bible (not just your favorite verses) one would know that this is in fact the case. Read Psalm 144:1, 149:6-9 for starters. Paul the Apostle, in II Corinthians 11:22-28, provides a list that practically definines the resume of a "tough guy." Unfortunately most Christian men would wince at the thought of enduring even one of the trials Paul endured in the cause of Christ. Yes, men need to step up & not only lead in their churches but once again lead this country or it will be lost to those who are enemies of the Gospel.
Aaron
Denver, CO
At 11:16 AM , Hersh said...
Brad and the boys...
I wish the best for you and PRAY that everything you do brings another to the Saving Grace of God!!! In 2000 getting ready to backpack to Oregon, standing at the border of Mexico facing North I asked God one question, "Lord why is it when I look at Christianity in AMERICA I see very few new converts considering how much money and effort is being put forth?"
To you guys/gals that are bashing this effort... consider if you will that the Masses are Asses (donkeys) whether inside or outside the church! And if that IS true and I believe that it is... the church is full of donkeys that waste people's time, money and hopefullness on STUPID ideas of "Man" that have produced very few REAL/STRONG Believers that truly understand that GRACE needs to abound for the sake of the Lost or new babes in Christ.
You so-called men of God (Not GODMEN) for God's sakes grow up and grow a spine...
Words/langauge is nothing more than a tool to communicate. My mother believes the "F" word has the letters A,R,T in it, not uck. The whole purpose of NOT speaking profanity is cultural based. Lenny Bruce in the 50's I understand tried to get across to the MASSES of ASSES... it didn't go well for him.
If the cultural of the unsaved is OFFENDED by us because we are offended by them and their so-call language, who is going to break the tie? Aren't we who claim to have Christ's Love, Grace, Grace, Grace, WISDOM and Patience called to forgive them if what they do truly need is OUR forgiveness?
Come on boys of God...GROW UP and do what's neccessary to reach out to the Lost... remember... Jesus...??? HE DID!!!
Brad, Keep fighting the Masses who are running the American Churches in the ground i.e. White Sepulchers full of Dead "boys" bones!!!
Consider you bunch of sissy's REBUKED!!!
Oh yeah... Rebuked in Love
Hersh
At 1:04 AM , danny said...
All this jabbering about cussing, testosterone and having a battle to fight just seems very immature and unmanly.
Want a battle? Go spread the Gospel in Iran, Iraq and China...that's where the battle is, not in some air conditioned coference center.
I mean, this is almost laughable.
At 10:58 AM , fightingpreacher said...
Gentleman, Brad is right we must have a battle to fight, weapons to fight with, then we must be trained to use those weapons, and finally we have to be given our marching orders.
Before we can invade (spiritually speaking) Iran, Iraq, or any other 10/40 country we must be trained. No one is saying that no one will go to these countries! But listen, you can occupy territory and then before you build up your forces launch out to the next objective leaving your home base unsecure and not protected.
At 11:14 AM , phill said...
Dear Brad,
It seems to me you are confusing aggression with masculinity and type A behavior with manhood. Certainly most men can go there, but this is no definition of what it means to be a man, or a Christian man. This is simply the lowest common denominator of maleness. It's boorish.
As a martial artist and high adventure leader I don't think I fall into your "wuss" catagory, yet I find your narrow understanding of Christian manhood nothing much more than Animal House with the sign of the cross.
I've written on this subject extensively. Check out COMING OF AGE, EXPLORING IDENTITY AND SPIRITUALITY IN YOUNGER MEN.
By the way, my daughter does all the manly adventure stuff too. Yet she is fully feminine as well.
See how narrow a swath you are working?
At 12:43 AM , Xtian said...
As for the 4 core subjects that Brad writes about, lets look at these, and if us men really need another testosterone filled event to help do all these things…
1) Men need a battle -
Yep and its against our sin, our flesh, & spiritual forces, etc…Eph 6:12 “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (IOW it’s all spiritual & the majority of it deals with us being obedient regardless of gender to our Lord and Savior).
2) Men need weapons/tools to fight with -
Guess what? They are all found in the bible; the problem is most men look to things that are outside of the bible (most men would rather do an event, meeting, or activity than puts God’s word into practice). Most men are also too ashamed of Christ and His word (remember Jesus said that those who are ashamed of Him and His words - those who don’t acknowledge Him before men, He will not acknowledge before the Father). Most are disobedient to His word and commands, and I think its because most do not have a close relationship with Jesus to begin with (the SBC did a study and stated that if they really applied God’s word to their denomination, only 10-15% would actually be considered “saved” with evidence of spiritual fruit – ouchie).
3) Men need to be taught how to use the weapons –
The bible teaches this too, but unfortunately most would rather grunt, yell and rant about testosterone, etc, than learn about “defensive tactics” such as practicing holiness, righteousness, prayer, study to be approved, etc, or the “offensive weapons” such as witnessing and ministry to the poor, orphans, widows, etc; The witnessing one really gets under the enemy’s skin – as we are invading Satan’s territory and doing what we are commanded to do (teach and preach the good news to the whole of creation). Again it comes down to not just hearing, ranting and yelling about God’s word, but doing what we are supposed to do.
4) The most neglected element, Men need to be told "Ok guys, lets go fight." -
Yea this is a huge problem that usually stems from a combination of things. 1. not reading God’s word; and/or 2. not obeying what you read. Its not a matter of wuss-ification, but rather a matter of disobedience which the main cause comes from not having a real relationship with Jesus Christ.
As for the comment “We don't need to be told what crappy fathers we are but need to do THIS instead. We don't need to be told how bad we are at being husbands/leaders etc.
Men are there presumably because they are looking for ways to improve in areas they are already aware they are lacking.”
Well its been my experience of leading hundreds and teaching thousands of soldiers that most men do not look for ways to improve in areas they are lacking in (until they have been taught the appropriate standard and why its important for them to change – which usually requires sacrifice and self-less service). The undisciplined, if they are bad fathers, husbands, leaders, etc, most look for ways to minimize & ignore the faults and overcompensate in other areas that require little or no obedience; that deal on being something that has very little substance, but big on show and appearance. I really hope this is not the case with this event, but from what I have seen so far, it has a lot of generic holes if you know what I mean.
Now I would like to attend this event to see what is really being taught and compare it to God’s word. Well see what happens.
Take care & God bless,
Xtian
p.s. BTW are we to celebrate men for their maleness, or are we to celebrate the victory that Christ made over sin and death, of which we are all to testify and preach to others about? Remember that the God of the bible is a jealous God and doesn’t share his glory with any other (IOW don’t let this get to the point where we make our maleness become a graven image (it seems to have already gotten to this unfortunately)– its that whole second commandment thing).
At 9:30 AM , phill said...
I continue to be amazed that the martial metaphor is the way the Brad Stine defines manhood. This isn't manhood, this is giving into our lowest nature. As any martial artist will tell you, manhood is about control...not chest pounding agression. Brad you are doing a disservice to men, manhood and Christianity.
At 3:35 PM , Anonymous said...
Hey Phill -
Can you restate your exact same comment in yet ANOTHER way for us please? Thanks.
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home