If I had to choose one silver lining to the Coronavirus cloud it would be this, God is using the crisis to raise up men in the local church. In the last three months we have seen an unusual surge of men who want to get their lives right with God. They have come to our church and they have found out they need to repent of their sin, trust in Christ as their Lord, and dive in to life in the local church. We have also seen men who were already in the church step up to lead and become more involved in the church family. This has been a great encouragement to us and I hope it will be an encouragement to those reading as well. God is on the move!
This desire for men to rise up during the crisis is not just limited to our church. I was able to see it first hand when I went to a meeting this week for the Central Valley extension of The Master’s Seminary. What a joy to see dozens of men come from all over the valley to learn about how to be trained to preach God’s word! For two glorious hours my mind was turned from political turmoil and pandemic fear-mongering to the spiritual reality that God is at work in the hearts of men.
The more I heard from the students and pastors the more excited I became. These men understand what the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, “Preach the word, be ready in season and out of season” (2 Tim. 4:2). They recognize the need for men to preach and to entrust God’s word to faithful men “who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Tim. 2:2) Paul did not include a qualifying statement that said, “Take a break during a pandemic.” No! The Great Commission’s command to make disciples should not be hindered by what is being reported in the news. If anything, Christians should be even more motivated to share the gospel because people are desperate to know where they can find peace during this time of crisis.
The men at the pastor’s meeting represented over a dozen churches. I was struck by the impact they could have if God used them to stir up the saints in their own church communities. So much of our society is entrapped in a spirit of fear. Imagine if these men beat back the fear by standing for the truth? We need men who will understand what Paul meant when he told Timothy, “Fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” The men in our churches are all gifted differently, but all of them need to be reminded that God wants them to stand up and lead. We are not to live in fear. We are not to think of this year as a time of spiritual retreat and isolation. This is a time to spread God’s word. This is a time to make disciples. This is a time to pray for revival, and I know this is a time to pray for our men because God brings true revival through the leadership of men.
E. M. Bounds understood the importance of men in the local church. He wrote, “What the Church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use, men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men, men of prayer.” I hope you will join me in praying for God to raise up men in our churches who will stand firm in the gospel.
