A Guide for Local Men’s Ministry Leaders
Webster’s, mandate, n, an authorization to act given to a representative.
Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: “God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age. Matthew 28: 18-20 (The Message)
True bands of brothers are not created and bonded together in a training mode that never goes operational! The reality is that brothers are bonded in the crucible of total commitment to a higher calling, in the pursuit of a noble quest and by their love for each other. That is simply the way Our Father designed the masculine gender to function. Just consider any athletic team training camp, “day after day after day”, there is training and practice in the execution of each player position. Then the team plays are practiced “day after day after day” all in the hope that, one day, will be game day. 2 Timothy 2:2-6 makes it very clear that the path to our victory in the Christian life is one of proving individual reliability, exercising personal discipline and demonstrating the ability to operate with specific boundaries. If “making disciples” were easy…everyone would be making disciples.
The essence of discipleship is contained in a sobering ancient truth that I often used as a Naval Officer and law enforcement official to illustrate the critical relationship of training to operational success: “The courage of a soldier is heightened by his knowledge of his profession, and he only wants an opportunity to execute what he is convinced he has been perfectly taught. A handful of men inured to war, proceed to certain victory, while on the contrary, armies of raw undisciplined troops are but multitudes of men dragged to slaughter.” FlaviusVegetius, 4th Century writer, historian and Roman general who, we should know, identified as a Christian.
Webster’s 1944 Collegiate defines discipline, the noun, as: “Training which corrects, molds, perfects and strengthens the moral character and mental faculties of an individual.” I often tell trainers, in various disciplines, that they are narrowers of the way. If you have ever heard stories about a military boot camp or viewed a program or movie regarding boot camp, you would be familiar with Webster’s definition. The simple truth is that correcting and molding is necessary to bring about perfecting and strengthening for a military recruit or a Christian convert. Paul identifies this “basic training” deficiency in 1 Corinthians 3:1-2, “I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it.” One fruit of men not being discipled in 2023 is the chaotic results of fatherlessness all around us.
I believe that the Ekklesia has four essential Biblical mandates with regard to the discipleship of men: (1) To Recruit, that is to bring men into a new Kingdom, with a saving knowledge and relationship to Jesus Christ; Matthew 9:36-38; (2) To Train and Equip, that is to change their world view, to disciple men in God’s Word and equip them for service to God and to others, in the Kingdom. Ephesians 4:11-13; 2 Timothy 2:2; (3) To Train to Fight, that is to lead men onto these various spiritual battlefields and assume a spiritual fighting stance, and train them how to stand against the evil spiritual darkness arrayed against our families, our communities and our cities. 2 Corinthians 10:4, Ephesians 6: 10-17; and (4) Instill a Mindset to Conquer, to come out of our defensive, under-siege mentality and assume an offensive posture as “career soldiers” of The Cross. Matthew 28:19, 1 Timothy 6:12. The recent Covid pandemic and related chaos has served to exacerbate the Ekklesia’s tepid response to these mandates in past decades.
I was once recruited to be a Naval Aviator and I immediately became immersed in a very intense and deliberate discipleship process. We must understand that discipleship is not a religious term. Once our military recruiting commands had complied with their mandate then it was up to our training commands to comply with their mandate, to train and equip men for war. I was in various aviation training commands for about 20 months prior to arriving to a combat unit.
The unit was a navy gunship squadron, The Seawolves, whose mission was to support navy SEAL teams, swift boats and other special warfare units. I was initially more of a liability than an asset, however, I was carefully mentored and disciplined by seasoned warriors and after a few combat missions I became a bit more of an asset and a bit less a liability. It was as if 2 Timothy 2:2 was part of the squadron’s tactical doctrine. Without this bi-directional level of commitment and desire, the art of combat aviation could not have been transmitted to and acquired by me. This same principle applies to spiritual warfare and “making disciples”, who become spiritual warriors. Again, if making disciples were easy, everyone would be doing it.
You may recall that in Genesis 14, Abram takes his 318 trained, covenant men on a hostage rescue mission. Abram did not do a “head count”, as we often do, because he knew this mission required a “heart count”. The mission consisted of a long march to find and then launch a complex, night attack against a formidable enemy. I would love to have been on that mission as Abram, “during the night divided his men to attack them and routed them.” Abram rescued all the hostages and retrieved all of his “stuff”.
The Hebrew word chaniyk, translates trained-initiated-practiced, and clearlyillustrates this Genesis principle of discipleship. Abram knew it would be foolish to take untrained, unpracticed, uninitiated men to war. This would be a good spot to re-read paragraph 3 above. Our old pal, Vegetius, could well have been a student of Abram’s strategerie. In 2023, we have many men who have been taken hostage by various evil spiritual forces. If not us, then who will “prepare to GO” and rescue them?
Men’s ministry in many 21st century American churches often feature heavy doses of high-tech, action-packed video delivery. The glitz and dazzle they feature may even be competitive with professional sports and other entertainment venues. A major problem can be that this often exists with no connectivity to some or all of the four essential Biblical mandates. We men are very visual creatures and while there is nothing inherently wrong with glitz and dazzle, they are but entertainment, and have no substance or staying power disconnected from spiritual truth.
It is critical to remember that we recruit and train men for a purpose…so that they can be discipled to fulfill the purpose that Christ came, “to destroy the works of the devil”, 1 John 3:8 (b). We train so we can wage war but not as the world does, to armor up, demolish arguments, stand firm, take thoughts captive, fight the good fight, resist the devil and be more than conquerors. The core of our mission is to triumph over evil in Jesus’ name. We men really are God’s Plan “A”, created and destined to prevail in a dangerous and uncertain world! We must remember that activity and “involvement in programs” must not be confused with and/or substituted for discipleship. There is not a Plan “B”.
Jesus voiced the Father’s command to make disciples so that the Ekklesia could field an army of spiritual warriors to contend with satanic forces for the souls of men. This harvest of souls is the quest before us…Always remember, “I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age”. Jesus
Barney Barnes, Warrior Spirit Ministries, 06-05-2023