A Call to Arms

When Vince Lombardi took over as head coach for the Green Bay Packers he started with this quote on the first day of summer camp:"Gentlemen, this a football." and from there, he proceeded reteach the game of football. He expected them to ignore everything they ever thought they knew about the game and relearn it from the ground up. It paid off quickly. The Packers went from being a team that lost all but two of its games the previous year to having a record of 7 and 5 the next. And of course, Lombardi went on to great success; his name is on the Superbowl trophy and even the most casual of sports fans recognizes his name. It was a good plan. He set out to build a winning team from the ground up and started by reintroducing everyone to the game at the most fundamental level. I think that's a good place to start. Gentlemen, this is a Bible! Forget everything you think you know about the Bible and reacquaint yourself this book.I think this a good place to start because I don't believe the men of the Body of Christ really know what's in here. The Bible has some amazing expectations for men in it and if word ever got out about what God wants from the men in Church, they would be very eager to be a part of it.

Throughout our Country's history, the Church has had a larger female population than a male population. I find it so interesting that in a world where there is so much change, where trends move so rapidly that there has NEVER been a time when the population of our churches has been more male than female. Trends have changed in almost every other area of American life with regards to gender. I'm tempted to suspect that this is no accident. I'm tempted to suspect that somebody doesn't want men to come to church or know what the Bible says about them. In fact, I don't suspect it, I know it. There is someone who is profoundly interested in keeping men out of our Churches and out of their Bibles because he knows what happens when men get mobilized for war. He knows that an army of men, committed to a common goal, operating in their full capacity can conquer any foe. He knows that if the men of our churches were to ever turn their sights on him and mobilize in his direction, he'd have a world of trouble on his hands. Gentlemen, the time has come. We have an enemy with an endless supply of hatred for us and our families who has successfully kept us out of the fight and it's time we did something about him. It's time the men of God lay hold of all that Jesus bought for us and start reclaiming enemy ground.

This enemy teaches our children that they are nothing special and suicide is the only real answer to their problems. This enemy tells us that marriages aren't worth fighting for and it's better to get divorced than force the children to watch us fight all the time. This enemy tells us that it doesn't matter what you do in life, God's gonna do what God's gonna do and you have no part to play in the matter. These are all lies.

This enemy hides in plain sight and speaks to us from pulpits. He's not just slithering around in seedy strip clubs and bars. He's spewing his filth from some of our pulpits. He's using religion to tell us that God in his mysterious wisdom is working everything out for some greater good that we can't fathom so just sit down and be quiet. He tells the men of our churches that there's nothing we can do to make a difference so it's best if we just sit calmly and wait for God to do his thing. Well, that's NOT what the Bible says.

Men, this message is for you. I am sent here today to make a call to arms. It is my great privilege to blow the trumpet and assemble the troops. I've got good news for you men, I'm about to unleash you. What I'm about to share with you, will exhilarate you and you might be hard to handle once that happens. Some of your wives might be a little miffed with me when I'm done because things might get out of hand. If I do my job here, some of you won't be satisfied to sit idly by and watch your kids get robbed of their spiritual gifts. You might get your big clumsy paws involved in the spiritual training of your kids. You might get your big muddy boots all over family prayer time. You might start hearing from God while you're out fixing the car and drag one of the kids under there with you to tell them about it. Now all of a sudden, there's two greasy shirts to clean. You might get a revelation about God and develop a sudden boldness to tell your kids about it as you drive them to school. Next thing you know, they are bringing their troubled friends from school over to your house because they know you can help them. And before you know it, your kids think your cool and the place is just crawling with kids who might otherwise be getting drunk or pregnant. I'm warning you, this could upset your routine.

Men, be prepared to rethink everything you think you know about what the Bible says about your role in the Church. Be prepared to rethink what you've been taught about the Church. Be prepared to have your own expectations of yourself changed and refitted for battle. I'm warning you, once you get a taste for winning spiritual battles, you will not be satisfied with anything less. This could be your last chance to turn back. Continue at your own risk.