we are leaders in the church and the church is changing so quickly.
Here are a few ideas on how to do this.
Get to the men.When I was a pastor in a local church, I always felt
that the men were strategic. Joe Aldrich said a long time ago, “All of
God’s people are precious, but not all of God’s people are equally
strategic.” He was absolutely right. It seemed to me then that if I could
get to the men and influence them, about ninety percent of my coun-
seling would be taken care of. If I could get the men in sync and help
them understand what it means to be a man and the spiritual leader, I
would be far down the road to having a healthy church.
Confront sin in the camp.God’s judgment will consume us all if we
don’t come to grips with individual and corporate sin in the local
church. Too often a scenario like this unwinds. Joe E. Evangelical
teaches Sunday school, has been through Bible Study Fellowship,
went to Promise Keepers and bought a hat, and is on the church
board. This guy’s spiritual resume is stellar, but then he hits midlife
crisis and gets involved with a single gal in the choir. He leaves his wife
and abandons his kids. What does the typical church do? Nothing.We
back off. We punt. I am sick and tired of that!
What are you supposed to do when a brother is stuck in sin? You
go and warn him. And if he doesn’t listen to you, you go to a couple
of other guys and say, “We know him and he is all messed up. We have
to go talk to him about his sin and turn him back.” This is not fun, but
we do it because God commands it. If you don’t think it is right to
“judge” this way, check out 1 Corinthians 5:12, where Paul says we are
to judge those who are in the church. We must implement the truth
of Galatians 6:1 (NASB): “Brethren, even if a man is caught in any tres-
pass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness;
each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted.”
“Defeminize” the church.I am not a woman-basher. What I will say
next has much more to say about the state of the church’s men than
its women. We need to insist that Christian men be allowed their mas-
culinity. Too many have the idea that it is unspiritual for a man to be
aggressive. We have taken qualities like sensitivity, gentleness, and vul-
nerability and elevated them over aggressiveness, boldness, and
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