Men and Local Church Ministry

We live in a day and age when the world has confused the definition of a man and a woman.

Questions like "What does it mean to be a man or a woman?" are not answered because of confusion or political gain.

Terms like toxic masculinity are used so broadly that they have lost any original meaning. 
There are men who are abusive and hurtful. This is wrong.

At a 2026 CrossCon breakout session on Biblical Manhood, the speaker said, "What gets called Toxic Masculinity is actually Anemic Masculinity, the absence of what makes for high-quality men."

The extremes of manhood seen in the world today are harsh and macho or soft and effeminate.

In this lesson, we are going to look at what Biblical Masculinity and Manhood are.  Not worldly masculinity.  Some of this material was adapted from Help!  I Want to Be a Manly Man  by Andrew Naselli and Biblical Manhood by Stuart Scott.

What does the Bible say it means to be a man?

First Timothy 3 and Titus 1 contain the qualifications of an elder.  The interesting thing about these are how ordinary they are for a Christian.  Above reproach, husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not greedy,  manages his home well, and is not conceited.  These are the characteristics of a Christian man, any Christian man.

Two of them are a little more specific for the elders of the church:  not a new convert, and able to teach.  

Please understand what I am saying and what I am not saying.  These qualifications are not automatic when a man becomes a Christian.  These are characteristics a godly man wants to grow into more and more. Elders and potential elders are examples of these attributes in the church.  

The two more specific characteristics - not a new convert and able to teach - show that the elder has (1) consistently demonstrated these characteristics over time and (2) an ability to help other men grow in these areas.

Andrew Naselli writes, "A manly man is simply. a faithful and fruitful Christian man."

He goes on to say that a manly man is 
on a mission - two parts of this mission are exercise dominion (Genesis 2) and obey the Great Commission (Matthew 28),
responsible,
hardworking and
strong.

The other characteristic we covered in class was Christ-like.
Here are Biblical examples of Jesus Christ's attitudes and actions, the perfect man.  Men, we need to strive to live like Jesus, and this can only be done if you have been saved by Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and trusting in God the Father.

Attitudes	Actions	References
Eternal Mindset	Did the will and work of the Father	Jn 4:34; 5:30;  8:28-29
	Was filled with the Spirit (Word)	Lk 4:1, 14
	Gave the Gospel to others	Mk 1:14-15; Jn 3-4
	Lived a holy, obedient life	1 Pt 2:22; Phil 2:8
Love  and  Understanding	Sought to meet the needs of others	Mt 4:23; Luke 4:18-21
	Sacrificed self and own desires	Lk 22:42; Phil 2:6-8
	Was gentle whenever possible	Mt 11:29; Jn 21:15 - 19
Zeal  Courage Confidence in the LORD	Led the disciples and others	Lk 9:6; Jn 6:2
	Showed initiative when he should have	Mk 5:34-44;  Lk 6:12 - 19
	Confronted when necessary	Mt 23:1-36;  Mk 11:15-18
	Was decisive according to God’s revealed will	Mt 4:1-11 Mk 8:31-38
Conscientious	Fulfilled responsibilities	Jn 17:4; 19:30
	Was diligent	Jn 5:17; Heb 12:3-3
Humility	Served and listened to others in His leadership	Jn 13:12 - 17; 6:5 - 10
	Glorified another (the Father)	Jn 8:50, 54; 17:1, 4

This week's Lead Principle from Paul Tripp was WAR