Exhorting Biblical Manhood

“Likewise, exhort the young men to be sober-minded, in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.”

Titus 2:6–8 (NKJV)

Exhorting Biblical Manhood

Last summer, the brotherhood at Prospect MBC began searching for a way to help young men gain practical skills and biblical truth. It began with a discussion about the lack of practical skills that too many young men seem to have.

One brother said a young man who was newly hired to work for a construction crew was told to plug in an extension cord to get electricity for the power tools. The young man stretched the cord out to the temporary electrical connection on the worksite but then came back saying something was wrong: the cord wouldn’t plug in. As it turned out, there was something wrong, but it had nothing to do with the cord; the young man was trying to plug the wrong end into the electrical supply.

This story is both funny and sad. There are some practical skills that every young man needs to possess, but, even more importantly, there are spiritual truths that every young man needs to be taught. The brotherhood at Prospect chose to try and impact both: we began Men Making Men, or M3 for short.

M3 - One Skill, One Truth, Once a Month

M3 meets on the third Tuesday of each month from 6-7:30. Our goal for each meeting is to teach a practical skill and a related spiritual truth. We eat for 20 minutes, have some sort of game for 10 minutes, teach a practical skill for 30 minutes, and then a related spiritual truth for the final 30 minutes. The times are flexible, but the goal is to get all four sections completed by 7:30 so as to not keep the young men out too late.

We have taught skills with drills, welding, plumbing, sharpening knives, and leadership. We have tied ties, changed tires on a vehicle, balanced checking accounts, and toured a running cotton gin.

One brother each M3 session teaches a skill he has volunteered to teach and shares the related spiritual truth as well. Other brothers are responsible for the food, game, and transportation of the young men if needed. M3 has been a growth opportunity for everyone involved. The young men learn practical skills and spiritual truths, and the older men are getting to know the younger men and helping them grow in Christ. It’s definitely a win-win situation.

Trying Instead of Sighing

I’m sharing this not to brag on Prospect’s brotherhood because, as Jerry Reed sings, “we’ve got a long way to go and a short time to get there,” but, much like MD5, we are trying to do something instead of just shaking our heads and sighing at this generation of young men.

Maybe there are a few young men in your sphere of influence that could use some practical skills and spiritual truths. Maybe there are some older brothers who can impart some desperately needed skills and truth to this generation. Maybe you want to give M3 a try. Feel free to use the name if you want; we were going to call it 3M but it didn’t stick. ;)

RALI on, brothers!

Michael Book

MD5 Facilitator