If there is never an uncomfortable moment for you in a dangerous good community of men, then you are not with God’s rapscallions up to no bad. There must be tension inside of you in order for an advance of Christlikeness to take place in you.
Recently, I learned the term "himpathy." This term is used to describe what happens when men rally around men who have been accused of something. They support them simply because they are men and they have put themselves in the shoes of the accused.
In these days of #MeToo and #ChurchToo, after Bill Hybels and Paige Patterson have very publicly fallen from lofty perches in the Evangelical world, let's turn to a Bible story written more than 2,500 years ago for a blueprint for productive relationships between men and women.
It just takes a hint of inappropriate behavior to take down a leader of God's flock in today's socially charged environment. Bill Hybels is just like all of us, but his success and influence makes us believe that his ministry somehow translates into impeccable private character.
A person — not policy or politics — committed this atrocity.
Sexual revelations about their children shake most parents to the core.
As children move though the teen years they desire to pole vault into independence. This, mixed with a bubbling set of hormones and an ever-expanding understanding of society, can make fathering teens one of the hardest, emotionally charged tasks for God's man.
You might be surprised to know that I don't think the No. 1 threat to marriage is infidelity. Of course, cheating can certainly cause divorce and make it extremely difficult to recover a healthy marriage. And, yes, I agree women can be highly tempting, but they are merely accomplices—because the hunger for power, money, fame and success can also consume a man and wreck a marriage.
It's inevitable and universal, as soon as Christmas winds down and December 31 appears on our phones, we all face a new year with new opportunities. Many are resolving to lose weight or gain greater income or set some other goal, typically requiring will power and time management skills -- both of which often fade within a few weeks. If God were writing our resolutions, what do you think He would come up with?
Silver bells, tinsel and mistletoe are being replaced with smartphones, tablets, computers and social media. Our youth are catching on to the technology-driven era at younger and younger ages. They pay more attention to screens than people.
