This week our ministry to men, Worshipper Warrior Men’s Ministry, will travel to the Rocky Mountains with over one hundred men to conduct our eighth Wholeheart Advance. Not a retreat but an advance, we will challenge men over three days to live wholehearted lives for God. From the testimonies we’ve heard and seen, most of the men will never be the same.
Betrayal from Colleagues
God birthed this vision through great hardship in my life and in the life of our Executive Pastor, Ryan Styre. Nine and ten years ago, both he and I were experiencing deep betrayal from colleagues at work that pushed us together in some unexpected ways. It was in the loss of jobs and brokenness that we began to journey together. From that dark night of the soul we both sought God in prayer and discovered a new vision for men.
Toxic Masculinity
This is a very confusing time in national and world history. There is a movement afoot to destroy the biblical and traditional definition of masculinity. Generally, in the West and America in particular, academia and media forces are at work to dismantle the purpose and meaning of manhood. Using such terms as “toxic masculinity,” “homophobia,” and “hegemonic masculinity,” traditional gender roles are being challenged.
Certainly not everything being written under this rubric is bad or wrong. Sinful practices abound in all aspects of the human condition and the subject of unhealthy male dominance, physical abuse, and devaluation of women should be called out. I am in full agreement to these parts of masculinity that are indeed toxic.
The Masculine Heart
We don’t need more toxic masculinity. We need wholehearted men who have discovered their masculine heart. It’s our premise that men who don’t understand their heart due to sin, shame, and selfishness, will become toxic—to themselves and others. But men who discover the shame and sin of their life and realize God’s love and identity are transformed. It’s working and the proof is in the hundreds of men who are being reshaped into godly, powerful, and humble men.
Transformation from toxicity to health is only possible through an encounter with God’s grace in the midst of other men. It’s in seclusion from the world and inclusion with other wholehearted men, that men discover their true identity. This is what our culture and our churches desperately need.
Pastor Steve