Men Discipling Men
We are men in love with Christ Jesus. Our walk with the Lord takes place at church, at work, at play, at school, at home, at the ballgame, at dinner, breakfast and at lunch. This Christian thing is not just a Sunday 11-12. It's 24/7/365. M.O.C. are sinners that are forgiven solely by the grace of our loving savior Jesus. We encourage each other to be the man God called us to be. Our commitment as a follower of Christ is to live the life He has commanded and to "Disciple every man as far as he is willing to go".
C. S. Lewis said: "to love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one. Wrap it around carefully with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket of your selfishness. But in that casket -- safe, dark, motionless, airless -- it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable .... The only place outside heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers of love is .... Hell."
Someone asked Luther, “Do you feel that you have been forgiven?” He answered, “No!but I’m as sure as there’s a God in Heaven .” “For feeling come and feelings go, and feelings are deceiving;my warrant is the Word of God, nought else is worth believing.”
Redeeming Vocation
Who is in the ministry?
It’s really easy for “ordinary” believers in Jesus Christ to feel like they are second-class citizens in the Kingdom of God. They often feel disenfranchised from the faith which they cherish and from the Lord Whom they love.
Why do they feel this way? Because frequently the language used in our churches conveys the clear message that only pastors, missionaries, evangelists, and other “full-time Christian workers” are called into the ministry serving God. Everybody else just has a secular job. John Stott explains the problem like this.
We often give the impression that if a young Christian man is really keen for Christ he will undoubtedly become a foreign missionary, that if he is not quite as keens as that he will stay at home and become a pastor, that if he lacks the dedication to be a pastor, he will no doubt serve as a doctor or teacher, while those who end up in social work or the media or (worst of all) in politics are not far removed from serious backsliding.[1]
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Why do they feel this way? Because frequently the language used in our churches conveys the clear message that only pastors, missionaries, evangelists, and other “full-time Christian workers” are called into the ministry serving God. Everybody else just has a secular job. John Stott explains the problem like this.
We often give the impression that if a young Christian man is really keen for Christ he will undoubtedly become a foreign missionary, that if he is not quite as keens as that he will stay at home and become a pastor, that if he lacks the dedication to be a pastor, he will no doubt serve as a doctor or teacher, while those who end up in social work or the media or (worst of all) in politics are not far removed from serious backsliding.[1]
see the rest of story
Hostile spiritual environment dictates a firm confession of faith.
I think that you are all at least familiar with the TV show “Survivor,” whether you have watched it or not. It is what they call now a “reality” game show. 16 people are put into an environment like an island, and the goal is to be the winner of a $1 million prize. Fortunately for the participants, they are voted off by the other participants, not burned at the stake of sacrificed to a volcano. After they are voted off about the worst thing that happens is they might be humiliated on the internet. In fact, they are flown from the hostile environment in which they have been living, and taken to a posh resort. Many of them make TV appearances and some even are able to launch a new career afterward.
The modern day game show “Survivor” pales in comparison to the high stakes game of life that Martin Luther became involved in when he opposed the established authorities in the Church. For Martin Luther spiritual survival was of foremost importance, and he understood how important that was for every person. No matter what may happen in life, no matter how bad circumstances may get, spiritual survival comes first. Martin Luther had it straight. He knew that spiritual survival in a hostile spiritual environment dictates a firm confession of faith.
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