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If there is a glaring crack in America today it has to be the area of male leadership. It seems that strong male leadership is becoming a thing of the past. In our land divorce and separation rates have passed 70%. What that means is, less than one third of the boys growing up today are coming out of homes with a dad who lived under the same roof while they grew up. That is horrible. Men make marital vows and then think nothing of breaking them. They re-marry and then lack the intestinal fortitude to stand up to the new wife on behalf of their own children. I must admit I’m a little weary with men who boast of their courage and brag about their past exploits but now are afraid to cross the line with the little lady. Young men need patterns; they need role models. It seems that the days of dad being the role model are gone. Make no mistake; someone will fill this vacuum.

In our churches across America this void of male leadership is being filled by women. Did you know that there are almost 4,000 licensed and ordained women in the Assemblies of God. There are 1,225 ordained Southern Baptist women with roughly 200 of the ordained women serving as pastors and associate pastors. The United Methodist Church has 4,743 women "clergy." The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has 2,419 female leaders. This isn’t a new trend, all the way back in 1979 the United Presbyterian Church, forerunner of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A., adopted a resolution REQUIRING the congregations to elect women elders. This politically correct denomination also voted to ban the ordination of any man who opposed women clergy and gave such men 10 years to change their minds or get out (AP News Service, June 21, 1980).

Before you say too much about these liberals, have a look around our churches. In most cases there are twice as many women as there are men. Most of the work is done by the women. One pastor said, he dare not say too much about the women, since they gave as much in his church as the men did. Clearly, much can be said about women who have left their proper places in the home and in the church. But let’s face it, this is primarily the result of men who are ignoring their responsibilities and abdicating their role. The Bible says in I Corinthians 16:13, “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.” That verse requires special explanation now. In the past acting like a man used to mean standing fast. That used to mean being strong. That is what the traditional man used to be!

Men, your word is your bond. If your word has no value, you have no value. Make your commitments carefully, but once you make them, keep them or die trying. Sir, remember it takes character to give up your bad habits, like smoking and cussing. It takes character to be faithful to church. It takes character to be the example your wife and children need.

A generational cycle has been started. It needs to be stopped. You dads out there, get some guts, be a leader at the house and the church. If you’ve got children, be an example to them. Be a real man! The buck stops with you. God made you the leader of your home. God give us some real men.

Pastor Steven E. Mays – Faith Baptist Church, Laurens, SC.
BroMays@FaithBaptistTrumpet.org