The Scourge Of Racism
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“Get your head in the game,” coaches in all sports may be heard to firmly bark at a player that is not focused because of being distracted and making mistakes as a result. Spiritually speaking, “get your head in the game” is what the Lord Jesus is patiently, yet, insistently urging guilty pastors, other leaders and the churches they serve in this critical last two minutes before the world as we have known it in this present age comes to its end! Distracted by selfish and worldly motives in ministry and religion, they are not watching the unfolding of prophetic fulfillment or the corresponding clock indicating time is short. Kingdom work and priorities are not taking center stage as a result!
The Lord Jesus has set His Kingdom agenda in this present age as going into all the earth to preach the Gospel, make, baptize and teach disciples as He has equipped us with the Holy Spirit and gifts to do (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8; Ephesians 4:7-16)! In accord with the divine latter day prophetic emphasis and Christ’s focus and example, the first priority of His agenda is men so they may be restored and in turn, restore their families as I have written in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics and many other places (Malachi 4:5-6; Luke 1:5-17, 3:1-6, 5:1-11).1 This is the work with men as the priority we are to be fully engaged in until He returns (Luke 19:1-27).
Of my greatest sorrows in doing this Kingdom work and surely the Lord’s exasperation (Mark 9:14-19), however, is seeing great numbers of men and boys come to or rededicate to Him, but having very few churches for one or another mostly sinful reasons that I can send them to for quality discipleship and instruction in biblical manhood.2 These reasons include pastoral self-preoccupation, disinterest, lack of Kingdom vision and priorities through the practice of religion and tradition, fear of offending women, holding to a rebel feminist worldview, fear of virile men and exposure as spiritually weak and inadequate, racism, pride, envy, ignorance and no financial incentive to name some.3
I have also approached pastors and churches to stand with and support us in doing nothing but what is of the Lord’s Kingdom cause and work in the Gospel to restore men. Most of their reasons remain rooted in carnality and disobedience as distractions and keep them from doing so. Of course, some demonically inspired quick thinker will say, “Just because we have not supported your Ministry, does not mean the Lord is displeased with what we have chosen to do for Him.” And again, the Holy Spirit quickly reminds us all that stewards are not in a position to set their own agenda for what they have been entrusted and are insubordinate when they do (Matthew 25:14-30)!
Certainly, having been one, I understand that until now, a relative, faithful few local church pastors and their leadership teams might have said no to us because they act in obedience to what they have understood the Lord has directed them to do Kingdom-wise. The truly Kingdom minded, though, discern the importance of all Kingdom work and as we still do at this tiny Ministry, set aside a tenth of our income to support others doing what we are not! As a result, even among this group of pastors we are told no mostly because of an internal, often arrogant myopic focus that unless it fits their view of worthy, are in control or benefitted in some way, they will not support other ministries.
The pastors and church leadership teams in the majority, however, do not even have a vision for doing any Kingdom work much less its divinely insisted latter day return to restoration through the Gospel and priority of men or a budget! Thus, not having their heads in the King’s game at all because of distractions, they are set in church maintenance mode first which makes saying no to our Ministry doing Kingdom work easy. Once more, someone will say, “How can you ever expect pastors to support your work when you criticize them?” It is not with malice, but the heavy heart of the Lord in tears of love at times that I speak the truth and hope for repentance leading to revival among pastors (2 Corinthians 7:8-12) who in Christ’s image, should lead the way as team captains by precept and example in these last two minutes (Mark 10:32-34; John 12:26, 21:15-22; Hebrews 13:7).
I know that a few pastors bound by the human traditions of religion mean well, but all operate out of the same spiritual ignorance Israel’s religious establishment had when they called for Christ’s execution instead of receiving Him as their Messiah (Acts 3:11-17; 1 Corinthians 2:6-8). God in great patience gave those leaders a generation to repent from their ignorance before unleashing His wrath upon them and the entire nation at the hands of Rome in A.D. 70. There is no excuse for such willful ignorance among guilty pastors today, who want me to believe this or do that jumping through hoops before implying falsely they might do God’s will with men or help us. Like the proverbial frog in the pot, they do not realize God’s foretold judgment of His house first is in progress (1 Peter 4:17-18)!
Pastor, you will give an account! Your distractions of carnality and disobedience leading to dull hearing and lapsed watchfulness are destroying not only men’s lives, but churches in this final two minutes of the game (Luke 12:35-48; 1 Corinthians 3:1-23)!4 Business as usual church may have worked before what is almost unanimously understood as a post-Christian paradigm now in the West, but never again. And how will you justify your sinful distractions to King Jesus at His judgment seat (1 Corinthians 4:1-5; 2 Corinthians 5:9-11)? Let the willing that are guilty repent and get your heads back in the game before it is too late! Also, support ministries like ours already in the game! The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, “Who is on the Lord's side?”
1 My book in Print and E-Book editions is available in the Strong Man Store as well as all major internet booksellers including Christian Book and Rainbow West Christian Supply. For related Blogs, read the three part, In God’s Revival Men Are Restored, posted January 8-22, 2017 and all others this year under the category, The Cause.
2 Take a look at the number of churches listed on our Web Site Ministry and Church Link Page after seeking to engage pastors with Strong Man Ministries since 2005!
3 Read my two part Blog, Christianity The Religion Of Men, under the category, Instruction, the September 25, 2016 Blog, A Leadership Caused Failure and the October
2, 2016 post, Gifted With A Prophet’s Heart both under the category, Call To Repent for an elaboration on manmade religion as a significant hindrance to quality disciple-
ship and teaching of biblical manhood conducted by pastors in the churches.
4 Read my sobering August 23, 2015 Blog, Babylon Is Falling! under the category, Bible Prophecy and the two referenced in the footnote along with the related climatic
September 13, 2015 post on the coming end of the local brick and mortar churches as we have known them, Praise For The Lord God Almighty! under the category, Glory To God!
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)!
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