Breaking The Ties That Bind

Breaking The Ties That Bind

2 Chronicles

Father's Day is a very special day for us here at Britton Christian Church. I believe that it is vitally important for us to develop a three-fold ministry to the men of our church and this community. First, we must call the men to surrender their lives to Jesus Christ. Second, those men who have taken a stand for Jesus must be encouraged to enlist in a strong discipleship program so that they can go out and fulfill the Great Commission by making disciples. Third, we must teach our men how to pray - how to commit their time to drawing near to the holy presence of God on a regular basis. A consistent and dedicated prayer life is the power supply for any Christian man. If we, as the men of Britton Christian Church, will make this commitment then we will see God use us as change agents in our homes, church, and community.

My passion for reaching men for the Kingdom of God is kindled by a real crisis that we are experiencing in our land today. Throughout history God has given men the charge of being the protectors of society-both from a spiritual and physical standpoint. Men, God has set us up as the watchmen on the wall of the city to guard the spiritual and physical well being of those within our realm of influence. A good soldier never leaves his post, but what we are experiencing today is a mass exodus of men from our homes, churches, and communities. While the city wall is being vacated by the watchmen the Enemy continues his march in conquest of the city.

This past week I saw three glaring examples of this crisis. I was at Kids Across America for a few days this past week and while I was there I attended an "open mike" session for all of the adults who took kids to camp. A big, strong man from New Orleans stood up and urged us to never give up on the kids. He said, "I am one of these kids. I was labeled as learning disabled when I was a child. I got into trouble. I was raised by my great aunt and great uncle who loved me very much and knew they had to get me out of my neighborhood. Because of their love for me and God's grace I graduated from high school, went to college, and God changed my life."

He began to choke up as he told us about his father. He said, "I've only seen my father three times in my life. I know where he lives - he lives in Houston, but he's never wanted anything to do with me. When I was a teenager he came to see me for the first time, but it was only to let me know that he didn't want his wife to know that I even existed. He has four daughters from his marriage, but when he got ill and thought he was dying he called me to take care of him." This big hunk of a man cried before all of us as you could see his broken heart on display.

Where was the man who was given the charge by God to stand watch over the heart of his little boy? Why did his father leave his post and allow the Enemy to invade?

On Monday I left Kids Across America to go to St. Louis to meet with other leaders from our denomination in the Bethany Project. One of the issues we tackled was the graying of the ministers of our denomination and the lack of strong young leaders coming into the ministry. If we do not fervently pray for God to send laborers then this will be a major crisis in the future when we don't have pastors to lead our churches.

One young man who is part of our group spoke up and said, "I don't have any good male role models in the ministry who could share their wisdom and mentor me. One of the ministers in my community who has been a leader has recently left the ministry for improper behavior and I really feel angry about it. " He said, "I got to thinking about how starved I am for older men in the ministry who could share their wisdom with me and I feel alone. I looked at my ordination certificate the other day and every minister who signed my certificate is now out of the ministry except for one."

Where are the sentries God has set on the wall of the Church to guard the physical and spiritual well being of the members of the Body of Christ? Where are the mighty men of God in the church who refuse to play games with God and take a stand for the Kingdom? Where are God's men who will willingly serve as spiritual pacesetters for the young people?