What’s the Problem?
America’s got problems. Problems at work, in government, in the home, in entertainment, and across every denomination of the Christian church. These problems are everywhere, and they are especially evident among modern day Protestant American Evangelical Christianity. They are not simply a result of the failures of the fallen men and women in the pews, but also stem from the poor biblical teaching (or lack thereof) and cowardice in our homes and churches and our rebellion to God. Churches are charged by God to teach and exhort us, practice the sacraments of Baptism and Communion, and bring God’s Kingdom to earth as salt and light, even if it means speaking on difficult or offensive topics. But instead, most churches today spend the majority of their time placating to culture, venerating women, and vilifying men.
These thirty-minute life coach sermons are typically nothing more than a feel-good Hallmark special, paired with an emotional contemporary woman-led worship “experience” when you sing about your feelings for your boyfriend, Jesus. You’re lucky if they even read Scripture and explain it to the church. By the end of the fifty-five minute service you have enough Evangestrogen (Evangelical estrogen) to last you until next week when you can fill up on more cry-juice again. (barf) Then, with every head bowed and every eye closed (more barf) there’s an altar call, and someone is “stirred in their hearts to accept Jesus.”
These short weekly sermons speak all about the sinful behavior of men and the destruction our sins can bring upon us. The sins of pride, abuse of power, deceit, addictions and adultery. And this is all true. We certainly should be preaching on that. But rarely, if ever, do we hear about the sins of women. The sins of gossip, slander, envy, greed, and rebellion. The sins of refusing to embrace their God-given roles and station as mothers and wives- the helper of man. Our churches have separated themselves from the world; not for sanctification, but for safety. They have retreated from culture wars and they avoid speaking plainly about sin, repentance, and political issues at all costs. They remain silent while our culture embraces abortion and same-sex relationships and they elevate women into leadership positions in the workplace and in church. By simply attending the modern evangelical church of today, you have done nothing but make the problem worse, and the Kingdom of God is no closer now than it was last week. There has been no talk of duty, Christian excellence, and no taking dominion. Just a bunch of feel-good soft squishy emotionalism geared towards women and cultural conformity. And people wonder why men think the church is gay.
Servant Leader
The term “Servant Leader” is consistently regurgitated in most evangelical churches to reflect how men should behave. After all, Jesus is the pattern of ultimate manhood and He led by sacrificially serving and dying for His Church, right? This is true. Jesus is the ultimate example of manhood. We should pattern ourselves and our lives after Him. And Ephesians 5 clearly teaches how men are to treat their wives as Christ treated His church. But, that’s not all Jesus is.
He is also the LORD that meets Abraham and judges Sodom (Genesis 18), He promised Hagar He would multiply her offspring (Gen 16:7-14), He provided a substitutional sacrifice for Isaac (Gen 22:11-18), He spoke to Moses in the burning bush (Exodus 3:2-6), He wrestled Jacob (Gen 32:22-32), He led Moses and guided the Israelites out of captivity (Exodus 23:20-21), He was the Commander of the LORD’s Army (Joshua 5:13-15), and He single handedly slaughtered 185,000 Assyrian soldiers overnight. Did you get that? He killed 185k men by Himself! Jesus ain’t no pansy. But when was the last time you heard a sermon on the righteous slaughter of the wicked, or the bold unapologetic judgment of homosexuality that deserves the destruction of an entire city? Never. Because 63% of church attendance is female and females don’t like conflict. They want nice sermons that won’t offend anyone. They have friends who are effeminate or gay and don’t want to hurt their feelings. They have friends that grosely mischaracterize “abuse” as an excuse to divorce their husband. After all, failing to meet every single emotional need is, of course, spousal abuse in America today.
So, the model of Servant Leader is fine, if the leader is a badass beast that can kill a man with his bare hands and stand stoically over the dead corpse. But, most of the time it just means a sissy doormat beta male that takes all the blame as the source of evil in the world.
You Better Know What You’re Talking About
Another reason the church is in such a mess is because men have no idea what the Bible actually says. That is a great tragedy.
If you are a Christian man, you need to know Scripture.
If you’re a Christian husband, you need to know Scripture.
If you’re a Christian father, you need to know Scripture.
You are a man and you have the responsibility to lead, tech, and protect your family. This protection is not simply to protect from invaders in your home, but also invaders of the minds of your wife, your children, and your church. You have been given a mandate by God to raise up a family in the LORD, and most men are complete failures in this regard. Humanity is running off the rails right now because men and women are failing to submit to God and bring His Kingdom to earth.
What’s Your Purpose?
- Know and Worship God
- Bring God’s Kingdom to Earth
In today’s church, if you ask about the purpose of man you will get a response like, “to glorify God,” or “to have a personal relationship with Jesus.” And of course that’s true. The chief end of man is to glorify God. (Psalm 145, Ecclesiastes 12:13-14) But, just like that woman-centered feel-good sermon, that’s only half of the story.
The other half of the story is the physical world. God created Adam to take control of the earth and everything in it. To cultivate the land- to plant, harvest, reap, and bring God’s Kingdom to earth. (Matthew 28:18-20) And He gave him a physical body and a wife to carry on that task. (Gen 1:26-28, 2:15-23)
Summary
The problems of today have a great deal to do with men and women rejecting their purpose. Man’s purpose is to glorify God, take dominion over the earth, and usher in God’s Kingdom. And a woman’s purpose is to glorify man and help him complete his God-given mission together in a unified family. But, man cannot do that if we don’t act. If we simply sit on our hands and listen to the effeminate pastor talk about his boyfriend, Jesus, and placate the women in the audience, the world will never become God’s Kingdom, you will continue to fail in your responsibility, and your wife will never have the brave masculine leader she needs and deserves.
Brothers, I urge you to be the godly man you were designed to be. Lead your wife and children in prayer and worship. Be the badass servant leader that can kill a man with his bare hands, yet remains humble, kind, and gentle. Be like Jesus and exemplify the essence of meekness (power under control) in your home and community. Be the example of biblical masculinity.