The Need is Obvious
Just like me, I am sure you are sick of hearing about the tragic events in places like Uvalde, Highland Park, and other incidents. A lone gunman, always a young-adult male, selects a target and begins to randomly shoot victims. It is senseless and often defies any attempt to determine a motive. These events capture our attention, break our hearts, and drive us to a feeling of helpless anger. I can hear myself silently scream, “Someone has to do something!”
I wish I could have known you when you were a little younger…
At the risk of sounding like a sensationalist, I would like to throw one more “something” into the mix. Every time I hear a story like this, where a young man is so lost, he violently imposes that anger and hate onto innocent members of society, my mind begins to play a few lyrics from an old Johnny Cash song called The Baron. The lyrics I think of are these:
I wish I could have known you when you were a little younger,
around me you might have learned a thing or two
If I’d known you longer you might be a little stronger
Maybe you’d *think* straighter than you do…
I wonder: did any of these young men have a “Baron” in their lives? … a Spiritual father… a godly, masculine influence? It doesn’t appear so to me. I just can’t help but imagine how the lives of these men could have been radically changed as a result of the influence of a man who loved them unconditionally and gave them a living example of biblical manhood to pattern their lives after. Not only could the lives of these killers have been rescued from the fate we know them for, but many other lives could have been spared as a result.
I genuinely believe that Discipleship Changes Everything!
That’s a huge part of why I do what I do and why Man in the Mirror exists. We believe the equipped and energized disciple-making, local church is the most effective means for life change… and I believe the church is a better answer than any of the other things being tossed around.
Somebody has to do something!
With your help, we are doing something! …and that “something” is making disciples. Discipleship Changes Everything! There is a generation of young men that the church today struggles to know how to reach and disciple. They acknowledge no religious affiliation at all. That doesn’t mean they have no spiritual interest; most do.
Our aim is to cooperate with the local church to train, equip, and mobilize 10,000 mature Christian men across the US who will intentionally build relationships with young, unchurched men (18-35 years of age). This is not a fad or a program. This is reaching back to the first century to embrace the movement Christ called us to in Matthew 28.
As I write this, we are in the midst of a 7-city tour from Naples, FL to San Diego, CA, where we are hosting one-day orientations. …training and equipping older men to intentionally build relationships with younger men.
This is not a Bible study (although Scripture will certainly be part of interaction); it’s not a 6-week, or 6-month… or even 6-year “program”. The goal is a lifelong friendship with definite purpose but no set agenda. A friendship that advances the Kingdom, impacts the culture, and changes fate of a generation. It’s called Discipleship, and Discipleship Changes Everything!