An Open Letter to Men

"Be brave. Seek truth. Speak from your heart."

In my morning meditation, these are the words God breathed into my quiet time. When I began to examine myself in their light, I became unsettled. Bravery, truth, heart. As my True Father leads me further along a renewed path of masculine initiation, such words are both familiar signposts and silent warnings. Yet, in my walk with Him, I choose peace -- not fear.

"Be brave..."

Here and now, I seek to live as a man of integrity, accountability, and connection to feeling. Do you? I sometimes look around me at church and see men who are...boring. A love of theology and doctrine, good works and compassion is not, of itself, wrong -- but if I'm brave enough to look at myself as a man (created in His image and likeness), I long to see myself as powerful, authentic, and bold. In Wild at Heart (2001: Thomas Nelson, Inc.), John Eldredge asks and answers: "The Lord is a gentleman??? Not if you're in the service of His enemy. God has a battle to fight, and the battle is for our freedom." (p. 25)

Where are the brave men who live authentically from the heart, who identify feelings with clarity and maturity, and who bring intimacy into their relationships? Where are the brave men who long to support other men in their journey, who are accountable and responsible for their own behavior, and who are living life as a man -- not a little boy in disguise? Where are the brave men who stand in integrity, who seek empowerment over victimhood, who live intentionally, and who are willing to be courageous enough to get clean with themselves and others in search of true forgiveness? Where are the brave men who have a sense of mission, a heart of passion, who live for dreams even though some shatter, and see the beauty and strength of masculinity?

Be brave -- looking into the mirror, you may see that such a man is you. If not, who do you see in the reflection? Created in His image...Where are you going to find this man?

"Seek the truth..."

In his song, The Boxer, Paul Simon speaks about the fight each man must engage: "In the clearing stands a boxer/And a fighter by his trade/And he carries the reminders/Of every glove that laid him down/and cut him till he cried out/in his anger and his shame/'I am leaving, I am leaving'/But the fighter still remains." (© 1968 by Paul Simon)

As a man among men, I am always in the hunt for truth -- and I will have to climb into the ring to fight for it. The world, in case you aren't up on current events (many men choose sleep over vigilance), is a continuum of lies. The One who created me has also declared: "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." (John 8:31-32 NASB)

I run from the truth as a man held captive by the world and its lies as much as I seek the truth as a man created in His image. I run from it (or used to) with drugs, pornography, self-destructive emotions, isolation, arrogance, hedonism, laziness, vulgarity over honesty, material selfishness, gluttony, and fear of both failure and success.

Where are the honest men, seeking truth over the plastic smiles and "Everything's fine!!" smiles, seeking truth in their hearts instead of their wallets, and willing to admit they aren't cutting it as friends, brothers, fathers, or husbands? Where are the honest men, seeking truth in the darkest places of their souls, remaining in the fight despite the pummeling blows of the Lie Maker, fighting on in the Name of Truth, in the image and likeness of the One who created them? Where are the men seeking truth who are willing to pull the Arrows out of their own wounds and not fire them back at other men, and where are the honest men who, when pulling the Arrows out, are willing to seek the truth as to who fired them into their heart?

Be honest -- looking at your life, you may discover that such a man is you. If not, are you longing to seek the truth in your life? Created in His image...How are you going to seek this man?

"Speak from the heart..."

In a speech given by Nelson Mandela, the words used from the heart -- spoken by a man and resonating with this man -- give a sense of a powerful voice that has been silenced by an absence of masculine initiation in our culture: "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us...And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

So, ponder this question: In your life as a man, do you want more? I speak from my heart -- as a man among men, I will go the distance to become wholehearted. My Mission is to make manifest the glory of God by loving me and loving you.

I seek to serve as an individual man with passion and responsibility while serving in communities of men whose goal is to create a safe world. And, from the heart, I accept the call to initiation at the hands of He who created me in His image and likeness.

Are you ready? Men are waiting...

For more information on men's work at the local level here in KY, please visit The ManKind Project of Kentucky, Inc.™ at http://www.mkpky.org/. For further insight into the work of John Eldredge, please visit http://www.ransomedheart.com/. To keep up-to-date with my journey of masculine initiation and men's work, please subscribe to this site (http://www.hisgraceamazing.blogspot.com/).