Men Standing as Men

God did not create all of us the same - He will express Himself through each human being who is submitted to Christ. And, in a passage in Titus 2, we find that God recognizes two qualities - age and sex, and the writer, Paul, provides specific instructions:
1 But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine:
2 that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience;
3 the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things--
4 that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,
5 to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.
6 Likewise exhort the young men to be sober-minded...

He goes on from there to exhort the young men to do good works. As Denny Burk writes: "In scripture, Christlikeness and masculinity/femininity are not in opposition to one another. They are complements. To pit them against one another is highly misleading."  Overall, such elements as age or sex should not divide us but bring us together, recognizing that under the banner of the cross, we are one body of Christ, comprised of individuals who possess the nature of God and His giftedness.

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God empowers us to behave in the manner that He intends, so that we please Him and bring Him glory. 1st Corinthians 16 states:
13 Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.
14 Let all that you do be done with love.
15 I urge you, brethren--you know the household of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the ministry of the saints--
16 that you also submit to such, and to everyone who works and labors with us.
17 I am glad about the coming of Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, for what was lacking on your part they supplied.
18 For they refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore acknowledge such men.

Verse 13 of that passage - where the New King James uses the phrase, "be brave," other translations use the phrase, "act like men."

I came across a refreshingly positive article about Christian manhood recently in an unlikely place: the New York Times website.  The religion writer Ruth Graham highlighted an evangelistic movement called, F3, which stands for "fitness, fellowship, and faith." 

The article describes F3 as "a fast-growing network of men’s workouts that combine exercise with spiritually inflected camaraderie. After its founding in 2011 as a free, outdoor group workout, its popularity exploded during the pandemic, expanding to some 3,400 groups across the country from 1,900..."

The leader of the network says that it is trying to address "a problem that society at large and men definitely didn’t even know they had: middle-age male loneliness.”

Graham profiled one of the groups in the Houston area. One man who is involved says that it provides an outlet through which one can "...really care for others and be cared for, to acknowledge others and be acknowledged." Another said that it "embraces healthy male masculinity."

In this group, the workout is followed by a 30-minute session led by a local pastor. 

F3 is a men's movement that is thriving because it enables men to enter into accountable relationships with one another, and you might say, gives them a chance to be part of something greater.

Ken Harrison of Promise Keepers attributed the early success of that movement to a similar desire in yesterday's Meeting House interview; he said, "I think men want to be a part of something that matters." In a piece for Risen Magazine, he related: "I think that is the biggest cancer that’s eroding the souls of men is a lack of accountability. I would just say to you that when a man understands who he is, and what his role is, and what victory is and that he’s accountable to make that happen, he stops making excuses and whining. Not looking around for someone to blame, like his father...that will massively change that guy, he doesn’t need to look beyond that."

The Bible is clear - men and women are not the same, and that includes the giftedness that God bestows.  It is important that each of us functions in our Biblical roles; without stereotyping, we can certainly see that men and women have different roles and responsibilities in life and in the Church.

There are standards for Biblical masculinity that are laid out in Scripture. In a culture that is quick to define men in negative ways, Christian men can take the initiative to walk in the calling that God has given to them.  But, men have to walk humbly before God and exhibit Christ-like love, depending on Him to demonstrate God's presence through them.