“But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.” 2 Timothy 4:5
Yes, soul-winning is our thrust, but we recognize also that God didn’t tell everyone to be an evangelist. He said to do the work of an evangelist. What is the work of an evangelist? It’s to tell people about Jesus, lead them to Christ and to help build the church. As believers, we have been commanded to take the Gospel to our neighborhood, city, nation and the world.
Who is going to do it? I tell the men to do it! Does this mean women aren’t called to win souls and minister to the lost? Of course not! God does not esteem one gender over another. (Genesis 2:24)
Women are well equipped for lifestyle evangelism because women are typically great at relationships. It’s not an abundance of females in the Body of Christ that’s a problem today. It’s the lack of male participation that has slowed us down! From reports I’ve read over the years, the average church congregation is still 80% female and 20% male. The harvest is plenteous, but the men are few! “Adam, where art thou?”
Men Must Produce
A man’s creativity, productivity, and ability gives him worth, value, and a sense of dignity. For that reason, unemployment is a devastating, soul-damaging condition, and one of the greatest stresses in a man’s life. A man who can’t exercise his ability to be productive and earn money for his family tends to lose his sense of worth.
Have you ever wondered why crime is so high in low-income areas? It’s not because people who live there have less morals or ethics. It’s because unemployment tends to be as high as 25% to 30% in such areas, which is what makes them low income.
A man without a job or a means of maximizing his creativity or abilities will search for another outlet to express himself, often illegally. The reason why a young man deals drugs on the street is because he finds fulfillment and value in his ability to earn money. He also gets to use his creativity to avoid the law and that adds to his feeling of satisfaction.
We can’t just tell a man to quit dealing drugs and not give him a job. Somehow, somewhere, he desires an outlet for his ability, creativity and productivity. When a man walks down the street with a one hundred dollar bill in his pocket, he feels he has it made. But a man without a penny to his name feels emasculated. Men who are unemployed, whose wives become dependent on the welfare system, don’t even have the satisfaction of a healthy, respect-filled relationship. Her source of provision becomes the government instead of her husband.
The Gospel Welfare System
We shudder when society’s unemployment rises into two digits. But in the church, we settle for unemployment as high as 80% to 95%!
Spiritually unemployed people in the church experience the same loss of value as unemployed people in the world. When 80% of the people are not doing the work of an evangelist, the majority of the congregation depends on the pastor, like a gospel welfare system.
In a gospel welfare system, the pastor becomes the source for all revelation and spiritual help. I’m a minister, but I won’t deny that some ministers perpetuate dependency because they get a feeling of importance. But ministers of the whole gospel teach the five-fold ministries out of Ephesians that equip the Body for the work of the ministry.
The Church depends on every member doing the work of an evangelist. Church members must take responsibility for the move of God in the local church. I learned this principle first from Dr. Cole’s book Strong Men in Tough Times, but I’ve witnessed it, experienced it, and preached it so much, it’s mine now! It’s just so true.
Spiritually unemployed people are the most likely to become dissatisfied with the church and turn to illicit, ungodly, even illegal sources of pleasure. The Church overall is struggling with a plague of immorality, due in large measure to the high spiritual unemployment rate. Church members with little to do spend their time flirting with sin until they fall right into it.
A church full of spiritually employed members accomplishes the vision at a much faster pace, with a fraction of the need for counseling and crisis management. By mobilizing men to do their share of the work, we work smarter, not harder. We need members to move from the pew to the plow. It starts by employing men.
This, again, is not to minimize the service of women. No way! Women are shouldering much of the load today because of the absence of men. We need the head, the laborer, doing his part. Men are to be setting the example for their family, and instead they are just sitting. Men, let’s get off the bench and get in the game!
A great understanding of this is that men (Adam) were the first laborers put into the garden to till it or work the harvest! God in His infinite wisdom took Eve out of Adam and made a statement—“The two shall become one.” We are truly the “laborer” when we are unified and one together in the harvest. The most efficient laborer in the harvest is the husband and wife as one working together.
At PowerHouse Church, our calling is to restore the man so he can restore, teach, and lead his family as Christ leads the church. I invite you to come and see the vision next Sunday @ 9am or 11am, or check out ManChurch on Wednesdays at 7:30pm. I also encourage you to check out www.dangerousgames.org as a resource to help men be who God has called them to be.
