The Scourge Of Racism
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Released January 5, 2024
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As I have written in other places over the years, my passion to reach and restore men did not come about as a vision I had one day in the flesh for a new fangled approach to church growth. It is the direct result of the visionary leadership of the risen Christ in me to see my own unmet needs for instruction and development as a Christian man and what I soon discovered were those of a great number of other men in and out of the churches! Though many Christian men out of spiritual ignorance and church neglect were not pressing their pastors for teaching that addressed issues of biblical manhood and mission, like me, they were seeing the lack of it in weak and defeated lives.1
For this reason, I was among the throngs of men in Promise Keeper events during the last decade of the 20th century searching for answers. And while I had some powerful instruction and so enjoyed the amazing temporary experiences of multi-ethnic men loving on Jesus and each other, I still lacked a biblical worldview of manhood that transcended hypocritical conservative white, middle class moral definitions of responsibility. Men of my race were hurting as I was and hungry for an authentic Word from the Lord that spoke of manhood without having to be white or tormented with the charge to responsibly provide, while because of racism, being denied equal opportunities to do so.
So, I began to earnestly seek the Lord and study His Word for answers knowing Him to have been true to it in many other questions of this life I had previously brought to Him (Luke 11:9-13; James 1:5-8). In the process of time, the Lord helped me to see and begin to deal with the mental and emotional issues I grappled with as a black American male. As a pastor in 1998, I was led by the Lord to share what I had learned in a seminar growing out of the continuing From Slavery To Victory Education Project entitled, “Releasing The Strong Man.”2 But very few proud black men turned out. I continued praying, studying, learning, growing, teaching and writing about biblical manhood.
In the meantime, the Lord was also enlarging His vision in me for restoring men. He showed me the havoc my own failures had caused especially to my progeny and what was happening in black communities, our nation and the world because men were without Him and a biblical worldview of manhood. With the advice and consent of our Ministry board of directors, Strong Man Ministries was launched on October 1, 2005 to restore men, their families and communities! The Lord has more than amply shown it is of Him in the fruitfulness He has brought forth from our labor. Indeed, this past June sixty men incarcerated and in recovery made decisions through our Strong Man Of God Rally.
Such decisions and males taught through our Strong Man Institute and Strong Man Academy number close to a thousand now--to the glory of God! The opportunities are such that we are in need of more laborers in the harvest and continue to call for them among Christian men in the churches.3 But for the many reasons I have written about in all of my blogs--being unsaved, untaught, unchallenged and comfortable on the bench in passivity among them, very few respond. Few too are those that see our obviously God enabled fruitfulness in the work and step up to financially support us knowing that this Ministry with all others must have it to continue to exist and operate.
Understanding how bombarded all of us feel by the seemingly endless appeals for donations to the many worthy causes today, I have refrained from speaking much in the body of a blog about our ongoing financial need. I have instead, urged readers in footnotes to purchase items in our Web Site store as a means to help us. But this is one of the rare times that I am appealing to any readers that are faithful Christians to please seek the Lord about how you might commit to become a financial supporter of this Ministry as a continuing partner or by making a generous one time, tax-deductible gift. The reason again is simple. It takes funds to carry on our work and the Ministry receives very little relative to our labor and fruitful results God brings forth annually to His glory!4
We have not made seeking funds from secular sources a priority, but the Lord’s people and churches because this is the biblical pattern and faithful Christians are supposedly highly motivated in love for the Lord to see His genuine Kingdom causes be supported (Luke 8:1-3; Galatians 6:6; 3 John 5-8). Heading this Ministry since 1985 (laboring 28 of those years without a salary), I can affirm this is a bona fide work of the Lord zealously engaged in His Kingdom causes; uppermost of which is to restore men with the Gospel and instruction on biblical manhood! We are accounted for with God’s faithful in this two minute drill leading finally to Christ’s game ending touchdown! What about you? If you can or will do nothing else, please stand with and support us as we keep after it (Mark 9:38-41)!
1 I am thoroughly convinced of the Lord the practice of Christianity as a manmade religion is the number one reason men in the churches are not getting the instruction they need! Read my two part Blog, Christianity The Religion Of Men, under the category, Instruction and the October 2, 2016 post, Gifted With A Prophet’s Heart, un- der the category, CallTo Repent.
2 Read the seven part 2006 article, The Renewing Of Our Minds drawing from the seminar in the Journal Archives.
3 Learn more about serving with us on the Ministry Activity Summary Page.
4 Those of you that would like to see an ECFA affiliation attached to ministries you support do not see it with our Ministry since the minimum annual income required to be
be a member is $50,000. We are small in size and income, but our God is still using us to do a work so much greater than these. As a result, the faithful must recognize
He is working in us and come along side to support (Mark 8:13-21)!
Relative to the time of mankind on earth (interestingly, whoever’s clock is used), this era of rebellion in all of its manifestations including feminism that launched full throttle in the middle of the last century will be very short-lived in accord with God’s prophetic Word in the Bible. The apostle John called his epoch “the last hour,” (1 John 2:18, NKJV). If this great eyewitness apostle of Christ was moved of the Holy Spirit to speak in this way of his time nearly two millennia ago, we must now be in the last two minutes! Fans of sports such as football played by the clock, know the last two minutes in a game are critical especially if the defending team is ahead, but the other team is driving.
John hung the appraisal of his time on the fact many antichrists as apostates were leaving the church and deceitful deniers of Jesus as the Christ active. We too have many antichrists from within and without the local churches that have apostatized from the faith and deny Christ in foretold heretical teachings (1 Timothy 4:1-5; 2 Peter 2:1-3, 12-22; 1 John 2:19-23). Wars combined with unusual weather and foretold calamities of human and natural origin in ever intensifying severity characterize our time. Anxiety and fear are also leading to foretold rising civil unrest, anarchy, violent conflicts, lawlessness and the increase of cold hearts (Matthew 24:6-8, 12; Revelation 6:1-8).
Foretold, pre-great tribulation persecution of faithful Christians by unbelievers, professed Christian religionists, heretics and apostates is reaching global proportions (Matthew 24:9-11; Mark 13:9-13; Luke 21:12-17; John 16:1-4). All of these signs pointing to the nearness of Christ’s return have created the greatest two minutes to go in the game scenario ever in the history of the world and most of our best players--men as aspiring strong men of God in the image of Jesus Christ--are sitting on the bench!1 They have been benched by political correctness, tolerance and a feminist worldview of egalitarianism that devalues men by marginalizing and re-defining them as I wrote in a blog series.2
No team on earth in its right mind would have its best and most capable players sitting on the bench with the game on the line in the last two minutes! Yet, the world is doing this because it is completely deceived by its ruler, Satan (1 John 5:19; Revelation 12:9). Working as boldly deceitful as in Eden with Eve, only Satan could deceive and stir up women and gladly obliging men to rebel against God’s design, order and purposes of mankind to marginalize and re-define men in purposely taking them out of the game at this critical time. As was his evil strategy in the Garden, so now, he neutralizes men as leaders that the remaining body of mankind may be destroyed (Romans 5:12)!
Knowing these truths contained in God’s Word, it would be baffling beyond measure that many professed Christians are also deceived and take the side of the world if it were not for the fact we are told about them in advance. Hence, passive men are figuratively sitting on the bench by marginalization and re-definition as well as literally by way of the pew in many churches. But this is not what Christ came to restore men to do. We are saved and enlisted in His Kingdom cause in the Gospel to liberate other men and their families from captivity to Satan through the Holy Spirit’s power for their restoration too; even snatching some out of Hell's fire (Mark 8:34-38, 16:15; Jude 20-23)!
Or have we Christians forgotten the world’s rebellion ends in the wrath of God that accompanies the events of Christ’s Second Coming (Revelation 6:12-17)? Though we cannot know the exact day or hour of His coming, He has commanded us to “watch” for such signs that are now clear and multiplying in these last two minutes (Matthew 24:32-51, NKJV). The foretold two minute drill of the faithful requires aspiring strong men of God in the image of Christ to get off of the bench and into the game; zealously cooperating with God to continue restoring men until the world driving against us, scores what appears to be the winning point with the Antichrist. But he will be crushed by the touchdown of Christ on the final play of the game (Daniel 7:19-25, 8:23-25; Revelation 19:11-21)!
When you think soberly about it, spiritual warfare is the only right way for warriors at heart to go out (Philippians 1:27-30). God has presented this opportunity to those of us aspiring to be strong men of God in Christ’s image and as He did Samson, benched prospects who now resemble him in condition (Judges 16:15-31). Our families and fellow saints are today and will soon even more be looking to us for courageous and decisive leadership in witnessing Christ and standing against the deep darkness taking hold on our nation and world. Repent from listening to the world rather than God about who and what you are as a man and be revived by the Holy Spirit (Romans 13:11-14)!3 The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, “Who is on the Lord's side?”
1 To learn more about what the strong man of God is, get the Print or E-Book Editions of The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics available at all major internet book selling outlets and our Strong Man Store.
2 See all of the June 2017 posts in the series, The Value Of Men, under the Category, The Cause.
3 As a great help in understanding yourself as the man--though fallen--God designed, purchase my newly released audio series, “I AM A MAN” available exclusively in the Strong Man Store. Proceeds from all purchases go to help fund the work of Strong Man Ministries and our passionate cause to restore men! We also welcome your tax-deductible gift you can supply securely via our Web Site or by regular mail: Strong Man Ministries, P.O. BOX 56704, Portland, OR 97238.
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