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Welcome to the Men's Hall: Sacred Masculinity

A Different Type of Man

Before my wife, only one other person had ever styled my hair. His name was Chris,¹ and he had good fashion sense, was musically inclined, and walked smoother than other guys. Needless to say, many homosexual-related comments were made behind his back, punctuated by derogatory laughter.

Though we weren't best friends, Chris and I spent a decent amount of time together outside of school. In fact, we double-dated to prom my junior year in high school (yes, we both took girls), which was the solitary instance of hair-styling that I would tolerate during the entirety of my premarital existence.

Admittedly, Chris was not a typical guy, but I have to wonder, is he less of a man because he doesn't act like most other men? How are we to determine what a man should or shouldn't be?

Finding Mr. Right Question

In order to find out what it means to be a man, we need to start with the best question, which is an important part of our quest in the Men's Hall: To determine the right questions so that we can more better² get to the right answers.

My proposal for the right questions are these: What is God's purpose for men as men?

C O F F E E  S H O P

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If you believe that the proper starting point is God, what is his purpose for men as men?

Join the discussion!

The reason I like this question is that, first of all, it assumes that God meant to create a distinction between men and women. Second, it assumes that this purpose came from somewhere besides our own arbitrary ideals. Said differently, it may be true that God intended all men to hunt and kill, but if it is true, it's because God purposed us to hunt and kill, not simply because we like the idea.

I should say here that I'm aware that there are biological distinctions that make men who they are. In addition, these unique elements affect how we think and how we act. I would still argue, however, that these biological features are innate because they were purposed to be innate; therefore, in order to realize the most accurate understanding of these biological aspects, we need to first determine their underlying purpose. (I also want to say here that I am in no way qualified to speak to the relationship between our biological makeup and our behavior. There are people out there who know what they're talking about and I'd have to point you in their direction.³)

So, where do I think our starting point is located?

Real Men Are Like Me

Given that I believe that men and women were created the way they are on purpose, I would say that we need to start with the Creator, the God revealed in the Bible. I know this seems oversimplified, but many times, our descriptions of God suffer from the same shortcomings as our descriptions of "real men"; that is, it is easy to see the qualities that we like most about ourselves as the primary qualities of God. To try and correct this, we need to be careful to listen to the way that God speaks of Himself.

If we use our individual experiences to begin our discussions, we will fall into the trap of standardizing our lives.⁴ For example, if I were to begin with myself, I could say that men should: enjoy playing all the major "ball" sports (basketball, baseball, football, etc.), major in biblical studies, play guitar, let their wives comb their hair, like cats, etc. Of course, my life may not be the standard of manhood. In fact, if we bypass the Creator and begin with ourselves, why wouldn't Chris (the guy I mentioned before) be the example of the ideal man? If this were the case, men should: play a woodwind, love acting and singing, be artistic, spend time styling their hair, speak softly, not be outdoorsy, and so on.

I understand that we may have a lot in common, but if we don't start with the Creator, these commonalities are merely coincidences⁵; that is, they have no purpose because they just are.

Welcome

As the "RA" of the Men's Hall, I am extremely interested in hearing your thoughts on these issues. If you've struggled with these same questions, you're in the right place. I am not here to provide all the answers because I don't have them. I'm here for the same reason you are: To discover the truth about God's purpose for manhood.

One last thing. We at TrueU.org believe that holding a set of correct beliefs does not correspond to holding a biblical worldview. This is because, in order to adhere to a biblical worldview, one has to practice those beliefs — they cannot be separated. As Christ summarized, it's about loving God and loving others (Matthew 22:34 – 40). Therefore, I ask that love be manifested in our interaction with each other.

With that, I welcome you to the Men's Hall, where the goal is to support each other as we seek to find out who Jesus Christ expects men to be, and to live out those expectations even when no one else is looking.