Thanks for joining me as we continue the journey! Each week, I’ll share with you “man to man” on one of our most primal and deeply felt needs. Let’s dive in.

The Battle for Men’s Souls

As men, we all want the same things. We want our lives to count and make a difference. We want to succeed and have great relationships. We want to be great husbands and fathers. We want to be fully alive.

What we want is so clear. But equally clear are the soul-crushing obstacles, blows, sorrows, and even defeats that block the way.

Truth? There is raging all around us a battle for men’s souls. It’s a battle we can win. And a battle we cannot afford to lose.

But how? Here are three approaches I see a lot in men’s ministry.

First, “slug your way out.” You can do this. Man up, ramp up, amp up, jack up. Do right and get a reward. Try hard enough and you will win. “Slug it out” is performance-based Christianity. Taking a cue from pop culture, it tries a bit too hard to be hip and trendy. It’s accountability but without enough compassion. It’s exhausting and leads to burnout—even apostasy.

Second, “hug your way out.” Many men are bruised reeds. Hurt. Wounded in the battle. Scars to prove it. Used. Maybe abused. So, we bend over backwards to not ask too much of them. That’s compassion but without enough accountability. It’s a form of enabling that leads to spectating, not participating.

Third, “disciple your way out.” The Jesus way says, “No matter how you got into your current battle, the only solution is to disciple your way out.” Discipleship is “speaking the truth in love, so we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of…Christ” (Ephesians 4:15). “Making disciples” blends just the right cocktail of compassion and accountability. It’s powerful and leads to a man becoming fully alive.

So, whether you’re just starting to follow Jesus, still investigating, have been off track for a while and want to reconnect with God, or you’re going strong and want to stay that way—once a week I’ll share with you man-to-man about a deeply felt need. I’ll give you my thoughts on how to “disciple your way out” of the battle. We will always be better together!