Empowering the Church by Empowering Men
By Jay Wegter
God has set forth a clear plan in Scripture that fellowship be spiritual fellowship. This involves edifying one another and not merely social fellowship. The strength of any individual local church depends upon whether or not the men are committed to Christ’s mandate to grow fully formed disciples through spiritual fellowship (Mt 28:18-20). Obedience to Christ’s discipleship mandate is only possible if we prayerfully speak the Word of God to one another and train one another. “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father” (Col 3:16-17). “And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another” (Rom 15:14).
Our fellowship is designed to build with Christ that we might move each member to maturity. “We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me” (Col 1:28-29). This is an immense part of our godly masculinity, men need to be empowered to wield the Sword of Truth and spiritually influence others with the truths of Scripture. Believing men are called by God to devote themselves to Bible doctrine so that they might grow to be examples in exercising spiritual leadership.
Central to empowering men is casting the vision for mature godly manhood. Christian men must develop into champions of the Word—‘truth-brokers’ if you will. God commands that we pursue Christian character with all of their might (2 Pet 1:5-8) so that we will have the lives to back up what we speak; proving to be the examples of godly manhood (1 Pet 5:1-5). “Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart” (2 Tim 2:20-23).
Adam’s original calling was not only to subdue the earth and make it fruitful by bringing order to it; he also was to raise-up God-fearing communities by consistently proclaiming God’s Word. So a huge part of our masculine calling is turning theology into life. But, because this biblical vision is so often neglected, the majority of men in our churches today are only capable of a spiritual diet of milk. “Concerning him (Christ) we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil” (Heb 5:11-14).
Without personal training in practical theology, Christian men have little experience or practice in turning doctrine into life. What is most common is for men to aspire to a truncated form of masculinity defined solely by cultural standards. Thus, the most Christian men only measure their manhood by their ability to protect, to provide covering, shelter and so on—all the while abdicating their God-given calling to be spiritual influencers of others.
The consequences are immense. When men abandon that role of influencing others spiritually, the vacuum tends to be filled by women. The male abdication of that role of spiritual influencer sets up the church for a feminized spirituality in which women step into the void, assuming spiritual leadership (but, it is most commonly a spiritual leadership without theology). We see this problem in our churches—it has become pandemic. Without men engaged in theologizing, the church becomes weak and essentially harmless to the powers of darkness, and the sacrifices necessary to fulfill the Great Commission become scarce if not altogether absent.
Men have a unique calling to be teachers in their homes and in their churches. There is no other way to have strong churches. Theology is a uniquely a masculine endeavor because theology is the life-transforming content of spiritual leadership. “Holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict” (Titus 1:9). “But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1).
The real issue is that believing men have a transcendent calling (a calling from God which transcends the temporal issues, cares, and responsibilities of life). We can refer to this transcendent cause as God’s call upon their lives to major in the divine truth so that that the Word of God is brought to bear on all of life. Thus, men are to be stewards of the great truths by which we order our lives and by which we live wisely unto God.
This masculine transcendent calling is not private piety; it is to be public in every sense of the word. Christo-centric biblical worldview is the very ‘glue’ that holds together a truly free community. (Biblical worldview simply means applying the truths of Scripture to every question and to every area of life.) Theology is the heart of worldview, and men (in their theologizing) are to be stewards of biblical worldview. God’s truth is to be pressed down upon the things which matter most so that one’s life and the lives of those around us are transformed by the principles of Scripture.
So, men, you need to study doctrine. You need to systematically study theology, because it is the power of doctrine applied that will empower you to take every thought captive (2 Cor 10:3-5). It is the power of doctrine spoken that will enable you to bring others closer to Christ. This is the only way our manhood is going to grow to that proper place of expression in our relationships.
Now there are inherent dangers in living in a culture which has made a peace treaty with sin. Men have allowed patterns of unresolved sin, sustained guilt, and ruling lusts to slay their God-given ‘internal warriors’ of masculinity. The result is that we are seeing generations of cowed, subdued, passive males who are not paragons of righteousness. God intends that masculinity function in a thrusting, commanding way accompanied by servant leadership. He has given us internal warriors which are designed to carry out our masculine function in a strong and influential manner. But, for most Christian men, their internal warriors lie prostrate in a useless comatose condition.
The good news is that as we feed on doctrine and the love of the truth, our internal warriors are resurrected. As that takes place, all of the masculine aspects of godliness can come forth and be expressed. Then we will begin taking risks for the sake of Christ and making hard choices for the sake of the Kingdom. Godly manhood is essential if we are to be a defender of principle, contending earnestly for the Truth. Godly manhood makes us willing to speak into the lives of others in life on life soul care (and when necessary, also speak to those in the body who living in compromising with sin).
So, as we apply ourselves to theology, our full-orbed godly masculinity increases. By reasoning our way through biblical doctrine, and applying that doctrine to life, we are theologizing—we are bringing big thoughts of God to the world around us. We are majoring in the ‘big picture’—and as a result our lives will possess an attraction which draws other men into this transcendent vision for life. This is what it means to fulfill our biblical calling as men. In the process we become able to spiritually influence others for the sake of Christ.
By their lives and by their message, Christian men are to exert gospel-based moral authority in their spheres of influence—this is spiritual leadership by means of the truth. The truth proclaimed, backed up by holiness of life radically shapes the collective social conscience of any community. But, when men abandon their transcendent cause, society undergoes a moral revolution in the direction of evil.
In our own nation, the paradigm shift from Christian worldview to secular humanism to full-blown paganism is now manifesting itself in the push for normalizing homosexual marriage. This involves new laws, the legislation of vices if you will. The prophet Isaiah described this kind of perversity over 2500 years ago. “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” (Is 5:20).
In every age in which there is a massive departure from the truth, God lays the blame at the feet of the men for abandoning their role as spiritual influencers. “Have you forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? But they have not become contrite even to this day, nor have they feared nor walked in My law or My statutes, which I have set before you and before your fathers” (Jer 44:9-10).
We now find ourselves living in post-Christian nation which is increasingly hostile to the claims of our Creator. The apostle Paul describes the satanically energized world system as, “a crooked and perverse generation” (Phil 2:15). We live in a society of crass materialism, anti-God postmodern relativism, and sexual idolatry. The holy angels won’t change this downward slide. God has appointed His people to be both salt and light which is to hold back the decay of society. We desperately need to exhort believing men to takes risks for the cause of Christ—to exercise their godly masculinity as worldview changers in a society that has turned its back upon God.
There are three stages in occupying one’s transcendent cause and in assuming the role of spiritual influencer. The FIRST STAGE addresses your relationship to God through Scripture. And, in this foundational stage there is an attitude of heart which ought to characterize every Christian man: “I cannot live without the Bible. I have to know what it means. I have committed myself to study it and understand it because I can’t live without it—my life is utterly dependent upon it.” That’s called building upon the Rock (Mt 7:24ff.). “My relationship to the Word is my lifeline in my walk with God. The Word feeds my faith and worship; the Word gets me to God in communion and fellowship.” It was Luther who stated that the believer’s contact with God is mediated by Scripture.
And then there is STAGE TWO: “I have to apply the Bible to my life and allow it to define and order every area of my life, prioritizing my world, and controlling my affections and decisions. I will walk by the Spirit so as to make it my ambition to be pleasing to the Lord (2 Cor 5:9). I will see myself as living in the presence of God, presenting myself back to Him daily because He bought me and I am not my own, He has taken possession of me” (Rom 6:11-13; 1 Cor 6:19-20).
As a man continues to grow in stage two, navigating by the Word of God, there will be countless course corrections. Thus, the godly man practices ongoing repentance as he frequently adjusts his heading to the imperatives of Scripture. He seeks the Lord in the Word and in prayer and he is constantly aware of the grace of God restoring, renewing, and rectifying his life.
Out of Gospel promises believed and lived, comes an ethical lifestyle of sanctification characterized by conformity to the truth. “Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Pet 1:5-8).
The ability to enter STAGE THREE of course depends upon the prerequisites of living obediently in stages one and two. Stage number three means that you wield the Sword of Truth on others by way of encouragement, edification, exhortation, and admonishment (2 Tim 3:16-17). This is only possible because you have become experienced at wielding the Sword of Truth on yourself (you are masterful at biblical self-confrontation).
The pervasive problem today in the church is that we have so many Christian men who are harmless to the powers of darkness—their swords are permanently corroded and held fast in their sheathes by years of rust and disuse. They’ve just been neutralized, they’re not spiritual influencers; they are paralyzed spiritually. They have forgotten that to follow Christ is to wage war with the Word of Truth. That’s what a Christ follower does. A true disciple is constantly battling and waging war by means of the Words of Truth. A true follower of Christ is a fisher of men, a disciple-maker (Mt 4:19; Mk 1:17).
Now by way of review: in stage one your relationship to the Word of God becomes a barometer of your relationship to God himself. In stage two, you have learned to wield the Sword of Truth on yourself with biblical self-confrontation, believing, repenting, seeking God and ordering your walk before Him. In stage three you spiritually influence all those around you that they might catch fire, that they might be ignited and the desires of their heart might be aligned with God’s Word. We call this “theologizing.” In other words, it is bringing theology and doctrine to life in your conversations and relationships. Theologizing brings the biblical lens to all of life so that the partitions in your personal compartmentalized world are kicked down and the Lord of glory begins to define every area of your life. The benefits are matchless. Not only do we begin to enter a more fully unified Christian experience, but we grow exponentially in our ability to provide a theocentric worldview to those around us. This is not reserved for pastors and missionaries. This is to be the transcendent cause of every Christian man.
Now without the diligent pursuit of these stages—and without this vision to spiritually influence others by means of Holy Scripture, you are walking around with only half of your masculinity enlisted and engaged. Our full masculinity depends upon bringing the story of God to all around us because our world is perishing. God defines believing men as His ambassadors (2 Cor 5:20), as His witnesses (Is 43:10-12). This world is getting darker every day. So the challenge is this: “Men, will you confirm the fruits of faith? The only faith that can take you to heaven is a faith that is confirmed by fruits of good works (James 2:14ff.). The only kind of faith that can take you to heaven is a faith that is zealous for good works.”
The cross produces this zeal for good works in every true believer (Titus 2:14). According to the parable of the soils, genuine faith is tied to the Word of God which dominates exceptionally so that it brings fruit to harvest (Mt 13:23). You do need to examine yourself (2 Cor 13:5). If you are apathetic about serving God, if you are unconcerned about fruit-bearing, and if you are listless about abiding in Christ, then that does not bode well that you have the right kind of faith (Jn 15:6; 1 Jn 2:28).
Power comes through submission to Christ. This is the great issue in our lives: what is most important to you? What matters most? What does God demand that my life look like? What does God require of me as a disciple surrendered to Him? He requires that I take up my cross, that I practice self-denial as I follow Him (Lu 9:23-26). That’s the only way that you are going to discover your biblical calling, your biblical role in the Church. There is no other way of effectively finding your place in the Body of Christ.
But lest we imagine that everything written above is a personal methodology for self-improvement, let us remember that Christ’s pattern for this growth is by means of discipleship. The Word enjoins the formation of partnerships for the purpose of discipleship (spiritual parenting). As we edify one another through the gospel, we will want to make the sacrifices necessary to grow a culture of discipleship.
Everything necessary to empower men is best communicated in a relational space of caring soul care and spiritual friendships with mentors. It is absurd to think that the ministry of the pulpit can do it all. The Sunday sermon can be like a 45 minute cloudburst, the vast majority of the moisture runs off without soaking in. Deep change takes place in discipleship.
We need to frequently stress that all of our relationships have a context for eternity. Our relationships exist to bring others closer to Christ. God has invited us into His redemptive plot. Therefore we need to be speaking the evangel so that through Christ that the image of God might be recovered in fallen sinners. That people may be freed from idolatry. Remember, backsliding, going back into the world, going back into the fleshly passions, is to reject God’s entire redemptive order (of the restoration of fallen men to the image of God in Christ) and to go back into that destructive force that wrecks the image of God: idolatry.
In God’s great redemptive story, history begins with the creation of man in God’s own image. But, after Lucifer falls, the devil says something like this to himself, “Well I’m going to wreck that image through idolatry.” But, God be praised, the Lord is restoring people to the image of God through Christ and the Gospel. As men exercising our divine calling we are in cooperating with God in that great purpose to restore people to the image of God. Satan wants to obliterate the image of God through idol worship; for idolatry has the devilish power to fragment us and bring us into servitude.
Men, in order to be Christ’s warriors, you need to study doctrine. You need to systematically study theology, because it is by the power of doctrine applied that you will take every thought captive and you will bring others closer to Christ. This is the only way our manhood is going to grow to that proper level of spiritual influence.
So consider with me, what would our churches look like if we empowered the men by training them through discipleship to step into full biblical manhood? How would it change our local churches if every man in our assemblies fit the description of godly manhood in this article? What powerhouses our churches would be if men fully assumed the mantle of their calling to be spiritual influencers. How insipid by comparison would be the reigning feminized spirituality we see today with its harmless passivity, overly meek spirit of consensus, and market-driven consumerism.