Recently I read two articles, each containing a statement that I thought was  insightful for those of are followers of Jesus in our present day culture. The first was from Robert P. George, professor of jurisprudence at Princeton University and a professing Christian.  He stated:  “The days of acceptable Christianity are over.”  He observed that…

Leanne Payne, whose ministry of inner healing has been very formative in my life, uses the phrase, “stand in your pain.”  She is referring, of course, to the pain caused by our sins and the sins of others becoming lodged in our souls. John Eldredge calls them “arrows”.  As we deal with this pain, we…

Men, we need as followers of Jesus to be aware of being contaminated by  “Pharisee yeast”  on our journey with Jesus.  Listen to this warning from Jesus. “Watch yourselves carefully so you don’t get contaminated with Pharisee yeast. Pharisee phoniness.  You  can’t keep your true self hidden forever; before long you’ll be exposed.  You can’t…

Having worked with men’s groups for many years, I have learned to identify three levels of conversation among Christian brothers.  First there is the general “guy talk”.  Men are most comfortable at this level. Wes Yoder suggests that the perfect conversation for men can be summed up in eight words, “Can you believe the weather…

For many years I have known that my call has been to minister to “the soul life” of men.  The “care of souls” has defined much of what motivates me in men’s ministry.   I started using the word “soul” intentionally, when others were shying away from “soul talk.”  So I was thrilled to see…

I recently came across a new term related to men in our culture.  It is called the “man box.”  “In the absence of emotional authenticity, American men become homogeneous in their expression of self.  This encourages their location, willingly or otherwise, in what many writers have come to call the Man Box.  The Man Box…

In Luke 21, Jesus is talking about the future when he says, “They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be  brought  before kings and governors, and all on account of my name.  And so you will bear testimony to me” (v. 12-13).  Could the time come when…

Another subject that came up at our recent “Wildman” Saturday was the relationship with our fathers.  Some still had dads alive, while others had lost their dads.  When men get honest about their past unresolved pain, the subject often turns to our fathers.  So we talked about the struggle of “honoring” our fathers, even though…

During this Lenten season I have been reflecting on the passion of our Lord.  Peter keeps  coming to mind as I think of the men who read this blog.  Peter can be a great encouragement for us, when we fail our Lord. I consider Peter the Patron Saint of  a men’s “Soul Care” group. Peter…

These words “Here is the man.” (John 19:4)  were uttered by Pilate as he gave into the demands of the crowd wanting Jesus to be crucified.  Jesus stood with Pilate before the crowd after being flogged and mocked by Pilate’s soldiers.  He stood in humiliation, wearing a crown of thorns and a purple robe, as…