✝️ The Absence of Discipleship and a Call to Action

Good morning, my brothers! My heart hurts as I grasp the truth that there is a lack of true discipleship for most Christian men in America today. I sense that you and I have been called together for such a time as this and today’s newsletter is a call to action for us who desire to be More The Man. Dig in with me this morning; there’s work to do! Let’s go!

This week’s manly topics (5-min read):

⛑️ MIND SET We are sometimes so overwhelmed with our own sense of isolation that we don’t realize the multitude of men around us who are also overwhelmed. We think it’s time to take action.
📰  NEWS We take a look at some encouraging news that shows that exercise and nutrition fortify our bodies and brains against age-related decline.
🎁 OFFER This week’s sponsor, BetterHelp, offers MTM subscribers 30% off three months of convenient, virtual counseling.

MISSION
The Absence of Discipleship and a Call to Action

When I first surrendered to Jesus in 1991 at the age of 25, I had no idea how fortunate I was to have my pastor disciple me one-on-one for a full year. We'd meet for breakfast every two weeks at 6 AM, and he would systematically walk me through the basics of the Christian faith and the disciplines that I should incorporate into my life to know Jesus better. After our year together, he plugged me into a small group of guys my age.

I thought this was the experience for every new believer: receiving Christ, being mentored on what it means to be a Christ-follower, immediately getting plugged into a group of like-minded men, having a band of brothers to grow with, sharing life at a deep level, and holding each other accountable to Biblical manhood.

It hurts my heart to say that I was wrong. What I experienced is not the norm at all. And I think, at a fundamental level, this is exactly why so many of us are struggling, that Christian men feel so alone, confused, and frustrated.

I get dozens of emails every day from you guys. I read them and pray over them. There is a constant refrain in the emails that you send: We feel like we're fighting our battles alone, with no armor bearers to hold us up when we're struggling. We want to grow in our intimacy with the Lord, but we're not sure where to start and what it looks like to be a Christ-follower. It's an epidemic among Christian men … even those who go to church!

Discipleship builds Christian brotherhood

If you haven't watched the movie The Forge yet, I highly suggest you watch it. It's a movie about the importance of dads, brotherhood, discipleship, accountability, forgiveness, and love by the Kendrick Brothers.

As I watched it last week, tears streamed down my face as I thought about the millions of young men today growing up in homes without a father. I wept over the burden that millions of single moms take on as both mother and “father.”

One of the main characters, Joshua Moore, convicted me. He invested countless hours mentoring other men on what it meant to be a Christian man, both young and old. Christ-likeness exuded from Joshua, whose name seemed fitting for his role.

Guys, as I've been thinking about our fraternity, now made up of thousands of men nationwide, I believe God is calling us to be part of the solution. Not to grow More The Man or bring any attention to it, but to help Christian men across this country and, eventually, maybe the globe grow in intimacy with Jesus, becoming more like Him each day and becoming disciple-makers with a multiplication effect.

The answer to what ails this country, our world, and what ails you and me is JESUS: He becoming greater in our lives, you and me becoming less; you and I understanding our role as the vessel He can use to share the saving message of the Gospel in our families, communities, and nation … and helping other men do the same.

January 28: A call to action

I don't have a clear picture of what this might look like, but I am confident He does. I'm still focused on the mission the Lord laid on my heart when I started More The Man: helping one man grow closer to Jesus. I don't care about numbers, but I do care about being obedient to Him. I want to join Him in what He is doing and will do. I'm tired of staying on the sidelines, and I sense He also wants you to join in.

I don't want us to get ahead of God or be slow to respond in immediate obedience when He does move. My prayer is seek; wait, move, repeat.

Brothers, I'm calling us to a day of fasting and prayer on Tuesday, January 28th.

Whether you fast from food for the entire day or skip a single meal, let’s unite in seeking God's wisdom and direction in prayer – both for our individual walks and for More The Man’s role in building Christian brotherhood. Have your Bible next to you as He might direct you to specific Scripture. Mark your calendar now. We explore the specific prayer points below.

So here is what I sense the Lord is asking of us this week:

SEEK

• During our January 28th fast, use your meal times that you skip to get alone with God and ask Him:

  • Change my heart, Lord, so I delight in You and Your Word and can’t go a day without spending time with You

  • Show me what you are doing around me, Lord, and that You want me to join

  • Show me what You want More The Man to do as a next step in encouraging discipleship and brotherhood in my community and in this world

WAIT

• Keep praying until God speaks

• Be ok in the waiting. Rest in Him

• Stay close to Him by reading the Word and in prayer daily

MOVE

• When He speaks, respond - immediately

• If it's something directly for you … just do it

• If you sense He has something for you to share with the rest of us at More The Man, PLEASE email me what you're sensing so we can pray together

If you're willing to join in on this call to fast and pray, please respond to this email with a simple “YES.”

Regardless, please pray for us as men that we will grow as disciples (learners, followers) of Christ, help make disciples of other men, and be guided by Him to our own band of brothers in our local communities.

SURVEY: Where are you from?

 Please participate in this one-question survey that will help us understand MTM’s geographic footprint. This information will help us as we plan future MTM fraternity events.

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THIS JUST IN
📣 NEWS FROM AROUND THE WEB 📣 

Training
“For physical training is of some value …” 1 Timothy 4:8

• The emergence of crippling neurodegenerative diseases that disrupt your brain’s ability to control your muscles, like Parkinson’s and ALS, are commonly associated with aging. A recent MIT study discovered that the extension and contraction of muscle (mouse muscles … unless you want to volunteer your muscles) caused the neurons connected to those muscles to grow as the muscles themselves grew. It may be that exercise (particularly resistance training) not only prevents the degenerating atrophy to which we are all prey but it may retard or prevent the onset of genetically-triggered diseases. Either way, let’s get moving! Courtesy ScienceDirect

Nutrition
“… your bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 6:19

• Multiple scientific studies confirmed that the emergence of Alzheimer's and dementia are related to insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is a disorder that interferes with your ability to metabolize glucose (blood sugar.) In a recent clinical trial, 40 older adults — who were an average age of 63 years old — with insulin resistance were randomly chosen to follow a 5:2 intermittent fasting diet, which involves restricting calories to a quarter of the recommended daily intake for two consecutive days per week. The results showed that intermittent fasting reduced the pace of brain aging and improved cognition and insulin resistance. Intermittent fasting also led to greater improvements in executive function and more weight loss. Check out MTM #4’s biohack for more details about intermittent fasting. Courtesy National Institute on Aging

Sleep
“I lie down to sleep; I wake again because the Lord sustains me.” Psalms 3:5

• Aside from being a brilliantly-branded product, does SleepyTime Tea actually help produce a good night of sleep? From personal experience, Jeremy says, “most definitely” but took a deeper look and found this helpful review of the active ingredients in sleep-promoting tea. The answer is “Yes”, sleep tea works and it works best in the context of a daily routine that starts when you wake - see MTM #3 Biohack. Courtesy Healthline Media

Gear
“The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” Genesis 3:21

• For those of us old enough to remember the skepticism Certs* inspired when it proudly announced it generously added “another” drop of mystery chemical “Retsyn” (gee, thanks, Certs!), you may feel the same way when you see ads promoting the seemingly magical benefits of copper-infused clothing. But before we dismiss copper clothing as the snake oil of the moment, it turns out that copper infused clothing produces a significant reduction in muscle inflammation. Copper ions suppress the production of macrophages which are white blood cells that are the T-Rexs your immune system deploys to chomp harmful pathogens. The problem occurs when macrophages are produced in response to exercise-related tissue damage which produces unhelpful inflammation that creates more problems than it solves. Courtesy National Library of Medicine

  • *Certs may have made your breath fresh but it also made your coronary arteries clogged because its primary ingredient was partially hydrogenated oil. Halitosis or heart attack … hmmmmm?