Men 2 Men
Christian men face some incredible challenges in the world today. Our ethics are tested daily in a workplace that has no concept of truth. Our purity is attacked from every side. The pressures of life demand a patience that is literally not of this world. The decisions that we face as husbands and fathers require more wisdom than we could ever possess. We struggle to demonstrate values that honor God, while immersed in a culture that more easily rejoices in evil than it does in true goodness. The world strives to beat us into its mold, while we are called to stand out among them as men alive in the aftermath of a slaughter. We long to demonstrate true love, in a world that sees no further than sexual fulfillment at any cost. In the midst of these circumstances, we must have the wisdom to recognize the right path, and the strength of character to walk it.
The Bible has a bit to say about men being wise and walking with integrity. Solomon wrote, in the book of Proverbs, “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens a man.” Men, in appropriate relationship with other men, have the effect of sharpening each other. A sharpened man is a wiser man. In Ecclesiastes Solomon addressed men’s need of strength in day to day life when he said “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their work. If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls, and has no one to help him up!” Later, Solomon said, “ Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Again men rightly related to other men are better able to develop the strength of character that we need to live successfully.
Men who have good relationships with other men will be wiser and stronger as they face the challenges of life in the 21 st century. But, we don’t seem to naturally form the kind of relationships that have this effect on our lives. Grace Chapel remains committed to seeing each of us be all that we are called by God to be, so we are launching a ministry called Man-2-Man.
Our purpose is “to enable men to develop godly relationships with other men resulting in growth in Christian maturity and ministry.” This is a new ministry and we’d like your ideas on how we can best accomplish our goal. If you are interested in participating, fill in one of our survey. If you’d like more information, talk to Ted McDermott, John Tudor or Paul Browne.