They are certainly not like the typical intellectual, wise-in-their-own-eyes brothers these days who ridicule others (including "chicks" and homosexuals) to affirm their "macho" masculinity. And they do not define leadership in terms of being authoritative over a woman; they define what it means to lead by the example of tenderness and humility and servant-hood that Jesus Christ demonstrated. They strive to possess the qualities that real Christian leaders should exemplify - qualities that can be found in passages such as Malachi 6:8:
"He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
God is raising up people to fight against the evil that is sweeping the globe and brutally stealing the innocence and dignity of women and children (and boys) worldwide.The only problem for Christian men is...the people fighting on the home front are mostly women...and our men are playing around as if there wasn't a war waged against us all. No, many of them are actually jumping in bed with the enemy and assaulting the innocence and dignity of the woman or child he has chained there. So what we have now are a number of Deborah and Jaels, doing as the men are not doing, and stepping out of their comfort zones to courageously pursue the glory of God in hope and faith. They know what men forget: when men bail out of the war...it is always the women and children who suffer most and God is heartbroken at their suffering and at the failure of men to be men.
Yet what I see are these few humble men, not seeking the spotlight with outrageous displays for shock value or by flaunting the gifts God has given them for their own exaltation; and who are not preoccupied with using the Scriptures to subjugate women in order to stroke their own egos and affirm their masculinity, but with a genuine mercy and passion to uphold, and seek, and preserve, and fight, for the glory of God.
Christian men, with all due respect, maybe it's about time for you to spend the larger portion of your energies, not arguing about who is right, but doing what you continue to complain that we women are not allowing you to do - lead.
Some key issues that the women (who you claim you have a responsibility to protect and lead) are being hurt by are:
Abortion
Prostitution
Pornography
The following audio was a recorded message from Dan Allender at the Samaritan's Purse conference on the Exploitation of women and children.
Please, really examine your hearts and ask whether or not you as a man are striving to lead with the same godly intentions and integrity as these men. They are good examples of courageous and masculine men.
