Preparing for the battle...
"What battle?" you ask. There is a fierce battle going on around us. The outcome of this battle will affect the future of the world. It is a battle with eternal significance... It is the battle for men's souls.
Don't think this battle is real? Check out the following...
- There are 108,000,000 men in America[1]. A staggering 66,000,0000 or 61% of these men make no profession of faith whatsoever.[2] Only 6,000,000 men in America are involved in discipleship or spiritual formation of some kind - that's 1 in 18 men in the total population or 1 in 7 men who claim to be believers (6,000,000 out of 42,000,000). [3]
- As many as 70% of men in America seek out pornography on a weekly basis.
- Almost 40% of the 72 million children in America will go to bed tonight without their biological father in the home.
- One-third of all babies in the U.S. are born to unmarried women (vs. 3.8% in 1940).[4]
- 50% of children from broken homes have not seen their father in over a year.
- Men are one-third more likely than women to be unchurched, and the percentage of unchurched men has increased each of the last 3 years.
- Only 30% of men in America report reading the Bible in the past week.[5]
- A chilling 93% of all people incarcerated are men, and 85% of them self-reported having no father figure while growing up. Prison worker Bill Glass states that of the thousands of prisoners he has met in 25 years of service, not one of them said they genuinely loved their dad.[6]
It is our belief that no man fails on purpose. Most wake up in the morning wanting to succeed. However, many men in the church today only know enough about God to be disappointed with Him, while others spend much of their Christian lives trying to prove to God they deserve salvation.
Lakewood Men's ministry seeks to fulfill the command given by Christ to "go and make disciples" by focusing on men's hearts. Why? Because most men do exactly what they want to do. Making disciples is not about behavior modification as much as it is about heart transformation. Changing the core affections of men's hearts is the key.
The challenge ahead of us is not an easy one. However, there is not a more significant or honorable cause in existence today. Why not stand up and commit to making a difference in the lives of men? Why not be like David and "run to the battle line" (1 Sam. 17:48) to meet the challenge?
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[1] Male Population. U.S. Census Bureau, "National Population Projections-Summary Tables"; 13 January 2000.
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[2] Barna Research Group. 39% of American men described themselves as a "born again Christian" in a 2001 survey.
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[3] Barna Research Group. 16% of America's 38,880,000 men who attend church are involved in discipleship = 6,000,000
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[4] James Dobson, Bringing Up Boys, (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001), 133.
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[5] Barna Research Group.
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[6] James Dobson, Bringing Up Boys, 60.
Preparing for the Battle.
Get your heart checked today!
Men, have you had your heart checked lately? Check out this list of 10 check-up questions for your heart.
