Greetings, 

1 Corinthians 16:13-14 says, "Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love."

I love Bonanza, the old western TV show that aired in the 1960s. It showed a picture of rugged, honorable, manhood with manners. The men were scholars as well as successful, hardworking, men of the west. 

As men we are called to lead well, be faithful and strong. We are expected to be the loving and supporting leaders in our home and church and we are to disciple well both by word and deed. The only way that we can ensure the spiritual temperature around us stays hot is to do what it takes to be spiritually hot in our own lives. We have to challenge ourselves more than we challenge others. We can not give away what we do not possess. If you are not a true disciple of Jesus then there is no way that you can lead others to become true disciples of Jesus. The measure of a man is not by what he has but what he gives--in his time, treasure and talent. 

There are many matters in life that we have no answers for, but we can answer some really big questions about how God wants us to live as men. He wants us to be mindful, watching and aware so as to not be blindsided by the enemy. When we, our church, or family are under fire, he wants us to stand firm, taking the enemy fire in protecting our loved ones. He gives us a directive to act like men. 

Within us we have a innate sense of what that looks like. Even if it was not modeled well to us as young men, we can identify the qualities of a good man. To be a man of God looks different than the display of manhood in the old westerns. We don’t punch first and ask questions later. We don’t live in a series of dramatic, unrealistic situations where we need to bail our brothers out of jail or often bury someone. We live in situations that require much more endurance and stamina.  We are called to be strong and love in every situation that we are facing. All the time. Daily standing firm in faith. Daily being strong. And daily loving in all that we do. That is not a easy call for men. It is, however, our duty to teach others what it means to become men of great character, men who obey the Lord. 

In order to teach it, we must first learn to live it. This fall I am going to begin a men’s discipleship challenge. We will be examining our lives, praying for each other, challenging each other and growing as disciples of Jesus. If you are interested in being a part of this challenge, let me know. We will begin meeting weekly on Wednesdays, starting on October 10th at 6:30pm. 

Love ya, 

Chris