Faith with swagger

I’m not sure where the mindset comes from or who began painting the faith of men “pink”, but we’ve all been duped.  Somehow, we’ve turned this gritty, gut wrenching, intentional statement of faith into a blue blazer-white shirt-tie-khaki-hurry up preacher-it’s almost noon-ceremony.  I don’t wear a tie… I swore those off when my job allowed me to get out of the noose… and I am NOT going to wear one on Sunday because it’s “right”… or that somehow it leads me closer to God… good grief. 

I DO NOT want to be behind you at the pearly gates when you say… “but LORD… I wore a tie every Sunday!”… If I am… I will laugh… and that wouldn’t be cool.

What happend guys? I stood up among my peers, said I believe in Jesus Christ, I realize that the nails driven in His hands were meant for me, and that He ignored death and was resurrected to show me that He’s in charge of literally – everything.  After I joined the club, it seems that I’m told that Christian Men should sit down, be quiet, be nice, turn the other cheek, smile when I get smacked, don’t raise my voice, and let everyone have their “way” with me because as a Christian Man I am supposed to be a servant.  I’m here to tell you that it takes guts to serve… but it doesn’t mean that we are doormats. Go read Paul Coughlin’s book:  “No More Christian Nice Guy”.  He nailed it.

Jesus did not paint a picture for us to live as a doormats, nor did He live that life!  Go read the book of Mark and get back to me on that one.  I appreciate the WWJD bracelets, but if you don’t know how Jesus lived, then you aren’t qualified to wear it…because you don’t know what Jesus would do.

Jesus walked with a swagger.  Guys, we can appreciate an “all or nothing” mentality that requires guts, grit, determination, strategy, and winning.  Faith in God requires a lot more than putting on your Sunday clothes and “talking about your feelings”.

You can have your average once a week gathering that equals that of a pre-season football game — It’s intriguing enough to watch, but not exciting enough to keep you tuned in.

For me…show me a couple of guys with sweat on their brow, dirt under their fingernails, and the Word of God in action… and I’m there.  Christ Jesus’ ministry is compelling because it’s a challenge and you can’t go at it with half a heart.  It’s all in or all out… I dig that.

I challenge every denomination with a men’s ministry to throw away the tired, old material and actually offer something with substance.  What you’re doing now isn’t working and you have no proof that it is.  Don’t brag to me that you’re attendace is up by 30%.  Brag when your entire community of men are clawing at your door to be a part of your faithful group of men.  In the book of Acts, we read the formula that makes this possible: The men prayed, the foundations were shaken, the Holy Spirit was indwelling, and the men stood and spoke about God and Christ Jesus with boldness (Acts 4:31)

May we all wake up and see that what was… was.  And that we work together to find out what’s next!  I am on the journey…i’m in. 

You in?

About

Welcome, and thanks for dragging yourself over to Live|Bold! My name is Greg Arnold and I am pumped to see you here. This interactive online community is here to point every man toward the cross. Whether you have been a follower of Christ for ages, or you are just stumbling into this strange new world of faith, we have something of value to offer you. This online e-zine is a cross between a blog, a social network, a resource center, and a pulpit. My hope is to inspire you to live your faith on the outside and be a real man for God. We need you in the fight.