Man Up! – Part 1

Yesterday I sat under the preaching of my beloved pastor and friend Tullian as I always do each Sunday.  I had the privilege of sitting in the pulpit with him as I assisted him in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper.  Tullian delivered the sermon rooted in Colossians 3:18-19, “Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.  Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.”  He focused on the “man” portion of this verse and what he had to say to every man was as powerful as it was penetrating.  From where I was sitting, it was easy to see most men squirming a bit in their seats.  I wonder how many saw me squirming in my seat up in the pulpit.    

I am going to devote all three days this week to the inspiration I received from Tullian’s sermon.  So if you are a man or if you are connected to a man in anyway, please read on today, Wednesday, and Friday.  I will build my blog on the following quote from Tullian, “When we apply the Gospel to our relationships—by loving one another, by serving one another, by laying down our lives for one another—the power of God is unleashed in our relationships.”  If the church of Jesus Christ is going to maximize its impact in this world for the glory of the King, every man must be willing to “man up” by taking responsibility for being the spiritual leaders God designed them to be.  God made the man to be the head…not the tail, and passivity which passes itself off as piety is a plague among men in the church today. 

So what does it mean to lead spiritually?  Tullian said, “If leadership means power, then it is power to serve, not to be served; to care, not to crush.”  Tullian understands leadership from a biblical perspective because the Gospel not only informs his life, it shapes it.  Those who “man up” lead in ways that others want to follow because their leadership style is marked by service and care for others.  When the Gospel informs and shapes our lives, we are compelled to move beyond the borders of meeting our own needs and satisfying our own desires.  We are compelled to lay our lives down for others and begin putting others first.  In doing so, we live lives of personal sacrifice that at the deepest level, begin to model our Master.  Jesus gave up everything, including His relationship with His Father as He hung on the cross.  He held nothing back from us and He is asking us to hold nothing back from Him, not so He can control us, but so we can get out from under the control of everything smaller than God. 

The call to “man up” is a call for every man to live for the Master regardless of the cost or circumstance.  And to live for the Master is to die to the self.  When we deeply understand and daily act upon the truths of the Gospel, God’s power is unleashed in unimaginable ways.  Selfish men become serving men.  Careless men become caring men.  Faithless men become faithful men.  Lusting men become loving men.  Angry men become anointed men.  These are men who were once living for nothing bigger than their own lives but are now living for others and the glory of the King.  This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT…AMEN!