Authentic Manhood

In Men’s ministry these are the buzz words of all buzzwords. Authentic Manhood; it sounds impressive and yet simple. Yet it no doubt has a certain mystique or mystery to it. Men wonder what it really means and how they can get to the top of this magnificent summit. Then they believe, they will have concurred life and everything that stands in the way of their feeling like a man.

Is it really possible that there is a Christian version of the Dos Equis guy hiding within all of us? Say it with me now; “Stay thirsty my friends.” I doubt it; at least I don’t see how that works. Funny thing is that even the Dos Equis guy is poser. We all know he is just a rip off Spanish version of Sean Connery anyway. Besides we’ve seen Sean Connery do much cooler stuff. So needless to say, I am not buying it.

Let’s take a look at the famous buzz words for a bit. Authentic means real or genuine. Manhood is the state of being a man. Why not just call it what it is then; being a real man. 

I’m a real man. That’s right, I said it. That’s the statement we are all trying to make. If we are going to discuss authentic manhood let’s just keep it simple. What does it mean to be a real man? Let’s be real with it instead of trying to fancy it up with some sort of mystique. We don’t need to be like the Dos Equis guy and hide it behind some sort of ripped off identity.

What does it mean to be a real man? This is me asking you the question and challenging you to figure it out for yourself. I am going to give you my answer. Feel free to use it if you like, but please make it unique to you in your own way. My answer is found all over the ministry I lead. You really don’t need to look any further than our logo and its all there. A real man follows Jesus and leads his world. Please allow me to work my way though that definition with you all.

It takes a man who’s got a pair to actually follow Jesus, especially in our world today. Let’s get one thing straight, right here and right now. I said follow Jesus, not believe in Jesus. The rich young ruler believed in Jesus, but he didn’t have the “boys” to go and sell off all his stuff and follow Him. So did countless other people, including Judas and some of the Pharisees. Plenty of men believe in Jesus and few men follow Him. If you are going to ask yourself the question of I am a real man, you ought to start here. Do I believe in Jesus or do I follow Him? There is a real difference between the two.

Now to the second part of the definition; the word leads. If you don’t think Jesus is calling you to become a leader then you probably aren’t following Him. In fact I can guarantee you are ignoring the last words He spoke to all of His followers. “Go into the world and make disciples…” If you’ve got a way to make disciples and not be a leader I would love to hear about it. So then, how does one lead? If you focus on Jesus and follow Him, leadership is an automatic outcome. Surely it can’t be that simple? John Maxwell defined leadership as influence. So if you follow Jesus then you influence people, you teach them and encourage them to follow Jesus with you. Yes, for heaven’s sake (literally) you live by example. Leadership is as simple as following Jesus.

The last part of the definition is his world. I can’t tell you what your world is, that’s between you and God. I am willing to suggest that it ought to start close to home though. Let me just say this; a real man cares about his family and is willing to bust his tail to get his family life right. That may mean your wife and kids, or it may mean your parents or neighbors. For some of us our family is our friends. Your world is your mission field, it’s your responsibility and it’s as big as you’ve got the guts to make it.

Sure, I could have come up with something a little easier and something that sounds like a lot more fun. I know it may not be the most attractive definition of what it means to be a real man, but there you have it. A real man follows Jesus and leads his world. It’s really the only way I know how to put it. There is no promise of conquest or success, no monetary measuring stick and it doesn’t come with a fake persona to hide behind. In fact the persona most important in it isn’t yours. It’s that of Jesus. Am I suggesting that being a real man isn’t about you? Yes, I am. That is exactly the point. You my friend are flawed and so am I. Being a real man isn’t about me or you, it’s all about following Jesus.

Stay thirsty for that my friends.

ryanreeves@menofjesus.org

Leaders of Significance

I believe every man has something inside of him which drives him to become a man who leaves a significant impact on our world. My quest for significance has driven me to the place where I am today. In my attempt to follow the calling the Lord has placed on my heart I have started an organization called Men of Jesus. My passion is leadership and to see the people of our world led based on the Truth which God has given us since the day of our creation. For me significance lies in the ability to lead based on God’s Truth. I firmly believe that when people follow a leader; regardless of their worldly position of leadership; who leads based on the Truth which is Christ, they will be directly and eternally impacted for God. This can easily be said in the following statement. As followers of Christ we are to not only lead other believers but we are to lead our world. When the people of this world are lead by a true authentic follower of Christ they will be changed, their eyes will be opened, they will see Christ living in that person and they will at the least become aware of the presence of God in their world today.

There are many great men out there who are calling men to impact the lives of other men one by one. They are suggesting spiritual reproduction through one on one discipleship. I completely agree with, support and take part in following this approach. The relationship Paul and Timothy had is nearly always referenced. It teaches that the spiritually mature should mentor and disciple others so that they too can become mature. Then they are to do the same for others. It’s a kind of pay it forward principle. Invest in the lives of other men and have them do the same. Then we will have more great men out there to spread the word of God. This philosophy is critical to the continued growth of men who are in our Churches today.

I want to express my concern about the men who are not in our Churches today. I heard a very scary statistic a few months back while I was watching an Acquire the Fire conference on TV. It said that of our current youth today less than four percent of them are bible believing Christians. Less than Four percent! Where is our world going to be when that generation is leading it? The United States will no longer be a Christian nation in 20 years. We are on the verge of losing that right now. I want you to think about what life in our country will look like when Christians are no longer a majority. It’s hard for most American born Christians to think about living in a society where their faith is anything but the most prevalent. Most of us have no clue what that would be like. We have no concept of the type of religious persecution we would no doubt begin to face. The need for leaders of significance is about to become painfully obvious.

Let’s take this discussion to a place that hits home with all guys. How many of us have Christian leader in our work place today? I mean you specifically report to a Manager or Director who is a Christian. Chances are that if you don’t work somewhere in the Church or a Christian organization you don’t have a Christian leader. I had the opportunity to ask that question recently at an Iron Sharpens Iron conference which Men of Jesus helped to sponsor. In the five minutes I had to address the men at the conference I asked them to raise their hand if they had a Christian leader at work. About 15 – 20 hands went up out of around 400 men. I then asked those who worked in a Church or any other Christian organization to put their hands down. We were left with somewhere between 6-8 hands. Out of the 400 or so guys there about 8 who worked for a Christian outside of the Church. That’s about 2%.

Let’s fast forward twenty years. Now consider this, if only four percent of today’s youth are bible believing Christians. Twenty years from now how many people in this world will have a leader in their work place who demonstrates authentic quality’s of Christ in a way that makes them aware of God’s existence in their world. The answer is unknown but I would guess it to be less than ½ of one percent. There will virtually be no one who works outside of the Church who is being lead by a Man of Jesus.

That is why the vision of Men of Jesus is to see men lead our world by following Christ. We have a responsibility to ensure that our world is lead by Christian leaders. John Maxwell made a statement that I love; he said that leaders must ask themselves whether they are working for survival, success of significance. I am going to suggest that we as followers of Christ; had better ensure that we first have leaders of whom to ask that question. Otherwise we won’t get past survival.

For more information about Men of Jesus visit us online at http://www.menofjesus.org/.

Ryan Reeves
President and Founder
Men of Jesus