Aaron Renn wrote an op-ed recently in the Wall Street Journal wondering why men turn to online influencers instead of traditional institutions and authorities. He pointed out five ways this is taking place:

  1. Online influencers (OI’s) are men speaking to men, whereas many (if not most) mainstream figures writing on men’s issues are women;
  2. OI’s treat men as ends, not just means… viewing men as important in their own right;
  3. They also provide an aspirational, appealing version of manhood in ways mainstream figures don’t;
  4. OI’s give practical, actionable advice to help men improve and attain their goals;
  5. They create community.

Renn believes traditional institutions can re-create the online influencers’ success: “They can have men talking to and about men.  They can acknowledge that men are important in themselves… They can craft an aspirational vision of manhood that includes elements of sacrifice and service.  They can build men up with practical insights and advice, even when the truth is unpopular.  And they can crystallize community around them.  None of these things are objectively hard to do.”

In my passion to speak to the masculine soul, I take to heart Renn’s comments that men are not merely a means to an end (godly husband and father) but also as an end in themselves (being a man of God).  It seems that many of the messages men get from the dominant media come primarily from women.  Men are told that their roles need to be “instrumentally good” and enable women to fulfill their life ambitions.  But what men sense is that “they don’t matter until they become a problem for somebody else that society actually cares about.”  Renn references Richard Reeves pointing out during the UN #HeForShe Summit that men’s issues (increasing suicide rates, educational underachievement, etc.) can easily end up in grievance politics.  Reeves stated that if problems like these are not addressed, “they can turn into grievances, and grievances are weaponized… We have a responsibility to take those problems seriously.”

My heart’s prayer with this blog is to speak to the masculine soul, treating manhood not just as a “means” but as an “end” as well.  When I started writing in 2009, I wrote a blog entitled “Themes for the Wildman Journey” and used Prov. 4:23 as a theme verse: “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”  I wrote, “This simply means that wildmen have come to the point in their lives when they know they have to pay attention to their hearts (soul)… I can say with deep conviction that men need to band together to deal with their soul lives.”

On that note, is it possible that too many men have seen the media, online influencers, or maybe even their own mothers or wives unduly influence the nature of their masculine soul and shape it in an unhealthy way?  I believe along with Renn that men need to build community and let the Lord define who they are.  Men need “soul care” groups to find healing, support and encouragement from other men, where they can will look to Jesus for inspiration and courage as men trying to find their way in modern society.

My journey of wholeness as a man has been going for many years.  I’m continually inspired by Psalm 71:18, “Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.”  And I sincerely pray that this blog will provide “practical, actionable advice” from a man who cares about the “soul life” of men.