Biblical Men

May 1, 2012 at 9:45 am | Posted in Bible Studies | 7 Comments
Tags: Acts 6, Biblical manhood, Kingdom of Christ, manhood, men and women, men in church, women in church

Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost…

Acts 6:3-5

A while back I read a survey that said the typical U.S. church congregation is 61% female, and that women are also the force behind most lay organizations and volunteer activities, and that they make up the majority of church employees. This should be disturbing news for Christians. Women are certainly important to the work of the Church, but why are more men not stepping up? Of course, the modern-day church’s response to this has been (predictably) more pragmatic than Scriptural. Some people say that men don’t feel comfortable in church because there’s too much focus on the “love” of Christ, and not enough on the “Kingdom” of God. There’s too much emphasis, they say, on the “meekness” of Jesus, and not enough on the “military” symbols of advancing the Gospel. Too many floral arrangements and paisley carpet patterns; not enough mounted elks’ heads, swords, and battle hymns. One church I read about – in what has to be the lamest attempt I’ve ever heard of to attract men to church – decided to decorate the men’s room in NASCAR decor! Are these really the answers? It seems foolish to me to try to trick people with advertising gimmicks at the expense of preaching the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27).

Acts Chapter 6 records for us a time when the Church was just getting up and running. Some of the Greek-speaking widows were thought to be getting better treatment than the Hebrew- (or Aramaic-) speaking widows. The Apostles were spending too much time “waiting tables,” and it was taking away from their time studying the Word, preaching, and praying. So, inspired by the Holy Ghost, they commanded that seven men be found. These were men, not women. They were looking for certain qualifications: men of honest report, men full of the Holy Ghost, and men of wisdom. The reason that more men are not serving in church is not that the church environment is too “feminine.” It’s because the men who call themselves Christians are not living honestly, are not Spirit-filled, and are not applying the Bible to their lives.