It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?), and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. ~ 1 Timothy 3:1-7
In a conversation about the issues surrounding God, men, and marriage, a person responded to my comments with obvious disdain, “Oh, that’s right. You’re into that macho stuff!” What shocked me was that this comment was not only from a man—a man’s man by my opinion of him—but a follower of Jesus nonetheless.
Oh, how our message needs to be constantly clarified to a world that has vilified men! That got me thinking, what does “macho stuff” generally and personally mean to men?
Generally, our message is simple since we are unashamed followers of the ultimate man—Jesus. Church leaders, if you want to reach men you need to speak their language (sadly, many pastors speak church language but not man language). You need to reach men where they are, and you won’t find them in flower-decorated stages, overly-heated sanctuaries, effeminate worship lyrics, and weak men preaching a watered-down version of the Bible. You will find him in dark, cooler spaces with an outdoors motif, and a lovingly bold man in the pulpit.
Specifically speaking, our message is simpler yet. “macho stuff” means relentless trust in our Creator—Jesus, loving and serving one woman for a lifetime, and expanding God’s kingdom by giving one’s self to others.
If this is the “Macho stuff” we are accused of, then I plead guilty as charged!
In the Men in the Arena’s official Man Bible (www.meninthearena.org)—Life Essentials Bible—Gene Getz specifically addresses these fifteen aspirations of manhood listed in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 in one of his 1,500 teaching videos.
But there are more than fifteen macho man aspirations. There are actually twenty measures of manhood in the Bible that Gene unpacks in, The Measure of a Man, which should be in every man’s personal library.
Living by these twenty “measures of manhood” should be the goal of every man.
So, let’s end with a simple question. Are you a man in the arena? Are you a macho man? It’s our prayer that you are.
