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Why another men’s magazine?

(By Rob McLeod)

As we introduce this first issue the question that could be asked is “Why provide another resource for men?” It’s a fair question and we hope that the answer is reflected by the title we have chosen for this publication---“Menbuilders”.

In his letter to the struggling church at Corinth, Paul told the believers, “Let all things be done for edification.” (See 1 Corinthians 14:26.) In Scripture, ‘edification’ refers to the intentional process of properly building someone up in their walk with the Lord. We want to see each Christian man built up into the man of valour that Jesus Christ wants him to be! In case you haven’t noticed, many Christian men in North America aren’t thriving spiritually. We are in a desperate spiritual battle. Let’s face it, if we are honest with ourselves, we must acknowledge that our enemies are rarely other people but rather our complacency and spiritual short sightedness. We have not truly sought the Lord with our whole heart. We have become men that are by-products of our generation rather than men that are spiritual leaders and intercessors for our generation. We often look like the world, talk like the world and have the same earth-focused goals as unsaved men. Thoughts of our next vacation, car purchase, romantic relationship or home improvement consume us and steal our emotional energy, time and potential for a proper eternal investment. This should not be.

If there is one thing on our heart as we periodically publish this magazine it is that each Christian man would become a mature servant-leader in his home, church and workplace. In 2 Corinthians 13:9 the apostle Paul writes, “And this also we pray, that you may be made complete.” Be acutely aware: the time at which we were born again, or ‘saved’, was just the beginning of a process that Scripture calls ‘sanctification’. We are on a life long journey of being transformed into the image of Christ. It will not always be a comfortable process. The cliché is that “life is a marathon not a sprint.” This is true. A new child in Christ must grow properly. The apostle Peter writes “As newborn babies, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.” In Colossians 1:9-11 Paul tells the believers in the city of Colossae (located in modern day Turkey) that he has a specific burden for them since he heard of their new faith in Jesus Christ. He writes, “We also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy.” Did you see that? Paul was praying earnestly that believers would be “fully pleasing” to the Lord. The implication is that the possibility exists that we may not be found fully pleasing at the Lord’s return. Our Christian walk is a process and a journey of submission to the Lord’s will as His Spirit speaks to us through His Word, prayer, circumstances and fellowship with other believers.

You may also have noticed the words ‘patience’ and ‘longsuffering’ in the preceding Scripture. These are not words that produce a lot of excitement in our hearts. We live in a culture that frequently eschews anything requiring commitment and delayed gratification. But the preceding Scripture also mentions being “fruitful in very good work” and “strengthened with all might” and having ‘joy’. Is this not what our heart really desires? So, let’s go on a journey together and be built up as the godly men that the Lord desires us to be. There may be an earthly cost but the impact for eternity will be absolutely worth it. Our families are worth it, our co-workers are worth it, the church life is worth it and a thriving personal relationship with Jesus Christ surpasses every earthly treasure!

We envision that the articles comprising each issue of Menbuilders will be a mixture of Biblical teaching, life stories and the addressing of issues specific to men. Our heart is that this will all be done in such a way that men are firmly built on the solid rock which is Jesus Christ.