A guy called David Murrow, an author, speaker and pastor asked God a question one day. The question was 'God when you were on earth, how did you become a man'?
Now, that is a pretty sharp question. Anyway, God showed him Three Journeys that the Lord Jesus Christ as both Lamb and Lion took. The diagram above came out of what God showed him. The left side of the Mountain is the feminine side and the right side is the masculine side.
First Journey
It is from the book of Matthew. Chapter 1-7 the journey of Submission is the journey He took as the Lamb- for example in His Incarnation He comes to earth as a totally dependent and helpless baby and is hidden and silent for 30 years (apart from the incident at 12 years old in the Temple)
When He came into His public ministry He submits Himself to being tempted by the devil in the wilderness. He then taught the Sermon on the Mount. That was the journey of Submission as the Lamb
Second Journey
The Second Journey is in Matthew chapter 8-25. Now the Lamb of chapters 1-7 becomes a Lion. He comes down from the Mountain after His Sermon and begins to do battle with the powers of darkness, He begins to apply the core mission He specified in Luke 4v18-19 to:
'preach the Good News to the poor, set the captives free, bring recovery of sight to the blind, set free those who are oppressed and to proclaim the favourable year of the LORD'.
In chapters 8-25 the Lord is advancing His Kingdom and delivering those who have been oppressed by the devil. Although there is a lot of teaching in this section as well, like in the parables, but He is also equipping His disciples.
Chapter 8-25 show us that Jesus took the Journey of Strength as the Lion. The Journey of Strength is for others as we live sacrificially to bring healing, deliverance, freedom and power through the Gospel.
Third Journey
Then finally, Jesus takes the journey of Sacrifice and becomes the Lamb again as submits to the Father's will. He allows Himself to be arrested, to be put on trial in a false court with false witnesses. He is silent and does not open His mouth for the most part. He submits to the violence done to Him and surrenders to suffering to redeem others. He dies for the sins of His people- His Bride (the Ekklesia/Church)
David Murrow points out that this last journey of Sacrifice is quite rare. He says that Moses took this journey but David failed to walk the last journey.
Here he explains in more detail the Three Journeys also known as 'The Map' part 1.
In this talk, David Murrow explains that even before we begin to climb the 'Mountain of Manhood' we live in a feminine world. First, boys are in the womb and then bond to the Mother for the first 5 years.
But after 5 when boys go to school, we begin a journey toward the Masculine side of the Mountain.
During this period from 5 or 6 to our late teens, we have a very strong need to be much more masculine and do typical 'man stuff' usually to test ourselves. However, we don't realise what is really going on, unless we have health strong male role models.
So if the father is aware of the need for the boy to separate from the Mother and begin bonding to the father, then he will start to invest and engage very proactively from age 5-13 or thereabouts. This is a journey toward 'The Manly foothills' on the Masculine side of the Mountain of Manhood.
The 'Manly foothills' is like a miniature version of the Mountain. However these are 'macho foothills' and therefore it is when young boys or young men are all about being 'macho' so is very egotistical.
Moving on from the 'Macho foothills' is very important if we are to follow Jesus, but it is important for healthy masculine development generally. Many men get stuck in the 'Macho foothills' at the bottom of the Mountain of Manhood. Tragically there are men in their 30s, 40s, 50s and even 60s who are still stuck in the 'Macho foothills'.
David Murrow began to wonder:
'How do you remain a healthy masculine male while also moving on from the 'Macho foothills'?
'How do you get from the Macho foothills to the top of the Mountain of Manhood'?
That is when he opened up his Bible and asked God to 'Show me how You became a man'. The Three Journeys in the diagram above from the book of Matthew was God's Answer.
Does this mean that this is the Journey that men are to take in order to develop a strong sacrificial manhood that is ultimately for others?
What are the potential problems in these 3 Journeys?
The First Journey that the Lord Jesus Christ took in Matthew chapters 1-7 as noted above is a journey of surrender, submission and moves toward the Feminine side of the Mountain. He is tender, gentle, loving, and exhibits more Feminine traits before He becomes the mighty Lion.
Repentance and Submission
To follow Jesus, the first thing that He calls us to is repentance, which means to move toward the feminine side of the Mountain. We have to humble ourselves before God, and God begins to break our deeply ingrained independence and flesh life. It's not unusual in this journey in submission and repentance for a man to weep and become more gentle. King David shed many tears but he was a fierce warrior- a bit like Jesus.
Now this is a good thing.....for a while. But if men then camp out on the feminine side of the Mountain, they will not then go on to take a journey of Strength for others. They will be 'Nice' guys but have no life giving energy. Unfortunately most churches are full of these 'Nice' guys.....but would you want to go to war with them?
However, the very real challenge is that if most men have been moving toward the 'Macho foothills' from a young boy of 5-6 until late teens then the last thing they would want to do is to move back toward a feminine environment or toward feminine characteristics. It will feel deeply emasculating . This of course applies to all men who are still camped out in the Macho foothills whatever their age.
This presents a challenge also in talking to men about the Gospel and especially the way we talk to men. Bearing in mind that the Church in the UK in particular is marked by a 65/35 gender split in favour of women according to the missionary organisation Tearfund-
So the Western Church is a more feminine environment than masculine. This is tough for many men. Think of men in the army, or traditionally masculine trades like the Building trade or Mechanics, or hardened criminals, or any predominantly masculine work place. This challenge applies to men in any 'Macho' expression of manhood. Gang culture, men in prison etc etc.
How do we address this?.
The crucial difference between a macho version of manhood and the journey of Strength is that the macho man is only oriented toward himself and his ego, he is self-centred and actually insecure because he has to prove himself all the time.
But a man who has been truly broken of his independence, self-sufficiency, and let go of the addictions and false selves can like David be a warrior-shepherd type of man that balances both the Lamb and the Lion qualities of the Lord Jesus.
Too much Lamb you get a weak passive man. Too much Lion you get a macho fool. Both are needed.
What approach would facilitate men?
That is what is discussed briefly in Part 2
In this 8 min Part 2 talk, he starts at 2:42 to discuss different ways that men get stuck in taking these Three Journeys and most importantly the clarity we need and how men can facilitate other men to move on from where they are.
This will be helpful- Check it out.
Men’s group for followers of Jesus Christ? MANHOOD
Authentic manhood
The heart of a king is a pro-visionary heart, that looks ahead, watches over, and provides order, mercy and justice. The heart of a warrior is a protective heart, the warrior shields, defends, stands between and guards. A warrior is a protector. Men stand tallest when they are protecting and defending.
The heart of a mentor is a teaching heart. The mentor knows. He wants others to know. He models, explains, and trains. He disciples-first his wife and kids, then others. He has a spiritual heart…he exercises the energy of initiation and transformation. The heart of a friend is a loving heart. It is a care-giving heart. Passionate, yes. But more. Compassionate (‘I will be with you’).
The friend in a man is a commitment maker. And a promise keeper. His is the ‘energy that connects men to others and to the world’. Sourced in Scripture, observed in history, and experienced personally, these four pillars bear the weight of authentic masculinity.
They co-exist. They overlap. And when they come together in a man, you will know it. You will feel it. You will be touched by it. Like four strands of steel in a cable, they will hold you’. (Stu Weber, Tender Warrior p42-3) http://authenticmanhood.com/
I reckon there must be some Christian men out there who just don’t experience the camaraderie in church-that we long for.
Are we not as men wired for camaraderie, a true sense of brotherhood that transcends the usual wearing of a mask? The key word is intentional.
If men are not intentional about creating authentic brotherhood then it is not going to happen is it? Going through the motions in a once a week meeting doesn’t develop authenticity. There are guys out there who don’t jive with the church deal. There’s a big disconnect.
I would love to hear from passionate followers of Jesus who want to get down to the bone real and are prepared to be intentional about developing something more authentic than ‘singing, sermons and socialising’ on a Sunday morning.
If you’re in the trenches alone and the bullets are coming from all directions, what kind of guy would you want next to you? Middle class respectability in an Institutional Sacred-Secular Dualistic Ghetto does not cut it in the trenches- the real battle zones that we are trying to cope with.
Church for men
Here is a great website with many many links to men’s ministries, resources, ideas, although they are based mostly in the States, this site is full of practical information and men’s ministry ideas that can really help to get men engaged where they need to be….
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