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Investing in Men
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by Brett Clemmer, Vice President of Man in the Mirror
“The heart of the world is breaking under this load of pride and pretense.” —A.W. Tozer Never has this seemed truer than today. The rhetoric of self-determination and moral deconstruction is all around us. Many in our culture are enamored with “enlightened” views that dismiss concepts like absolute truth, moral purity, and sacrificial love as quaint and out of touch. So, in light of this new “open-mindedness,” how are men doing? Frankly, the news isn’t good. By most measures—spiritual, educational, economic, and social—men are suffering. David Delk’s article, The State of Men in America, shows why it’s more important than ever that we invest in the lives of men. Everyone pays the consequences when men fail. How is Man in the Mirror addressing these turbulent times? By investing in the church—the best hope the world has of re-grasping the power and love of a benevolent God. The church is a hospital for men with broken wings, a training ground for those seeking truth, and an armory for those who would put on armor and battle for truth. There are three arrows in the “quiver” of tools that Man in the Mirror is providing to churches. First, since 2002, we’ve provided proven leadership training and principles through No Man Left Behind. The results? Churches trained and implementing the principles report an 84 percent increase in the number of men being discipled in just two and a half years. Next, the Journey to Biblical Manhood gives churches a flexible tool to implement the principles of No Man Left Behind by taking their men through 12 Challenges. One feature of the Journey is a built-in mechanism to measure the success of your efforts. Read about the Plan & Assess step in the article on page 7, Is It Working? Recognizing that most men’s discipleship leaders are men with families and jobs outside of the church that take the majority of their time, we’re enlisting 330 Area Directors around the country to act as coaches and consultants to local churches as they disciple men. Read more from and about these men in several articles this issue. We’re also excited to announce a brand new book from Patrick Morley, Is Christianity for You? You can get these books to give to church visitors and seekers you know through Books! by the Box. Read an excerpt from the book on page 9. Finally, as we celebrate the Accelerate Summit in late February, Pete Alwinson gives some practical advice on accelerating your ministry on page 8. And of course, you’ll find three months of powerful devotions written just for men. A great tool for personal study or small groups. With you in the Great Adventure,
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