Why MEN need to LEAD!

WHY MEN NEED TO LEAD

Allan addressing MEN at The Game Changer Forum, October 2013, in Nairobi

As the opening trainer on this program, I felt a great burden to "justify" why the program is worthwhile. I asked God to help me see if such a justification does in fact exist. My struggle was, "How could I speak to men in private and go out and tell the public I have a message just for MEN?". In today's era, that could easily come across as "sexist".  How would I be able to face a woman, after this session, and explain that the message was, "just for MEN" (as opposed to women) and that I would do it again if I needed to.

I secretly hoped that there would be some women here today so that they can go tell other women that there is a good reason why this program is for men. And that the program is NOT a male chauvinist gathering of an extreme sect of fanatical, conservative Christian men who profess a confused doctrine of self-righteousness leveled against women's empowerment.

In my struggle, I was led back to Genesis, to examine the foundations of humanity. This was so important to me that I suspended all preparations for this training until I had satisfactorily justified this program to myself.  I also invite you to wrestle with the same question and prove me wrong. But if I am not wrong, then we need to submit and commit to be the urgently needed MEN in our world today.

THE GENESIS ACCOUNT;  Gen 1-26-28. Gen 2.25

So what does this account translate to in leadership terms? God created all things, gave men and women equal status and gave them responsibility to rule over everything he had created.  God made them leaders over animals, birds, fish and every living thing. He made men and women equals. They were both naked and were not ashamed embarrassed or demeaned by each other in any way. In other words, there was no advantage of one over the other. I am not sure there is anything that makes two people more equal than when they find equality when stripped of everything – degrees, clothes, jobs, houses and cars. The only concept that comes close to that kind of equality is the equality found in a marriage between  a woman and a man. A man should not be ashamed, embarrassed or believe themselves to be exalted to be a man. While a woman should not be ashamed, embarrassed or feel self-righteous because she is a woman! God gave both Adam and Eve the same (equal) command; be fruitful, multiply, dominate and subdue the earth.

KEY LEADERSHIP WORDS; Rule, dominion, subdue

While "rule" and "dominion" are fairly straightforward leadership terms. Subdue is not. Subdue implies the existence of  "wild, unschooled,  corrupt or incomplete circumstances. It implies potential growth that could become malignant and in danger of becoming chaotic or mutant. Things that need to be subdued, need to be tamed and transformed. God, in fact, sent both man and woman on a mission to complete the job of creation, create order and transform the world into what He intended it to be. If man did not take responsibility to tame and transform the  world , wild growth, corruption, decadence and decay would soon overtake  and destroy not only what God had made, but what he intended to be made.  Ponder this; the dysfunctional state of the world today may be evidence of the urgent need for leadership & transformation!

So what happened next after Gods initial instructions?  THE FALL

Everything went well for Adam and Eve until Satan showed up. His objective; "to confuse the leadership team".  Satan accomplished his mission and so followed the first incident of the most embarrassing statement in the history of MEN everywhere. You know the statement it reads, "The woman made me do it". Satan thought he had won. But that was before half time. The game was about to change.  Gen 3: 1-7

HALFTIME: The Game Changer

Genesis 3: 8-19. There are many lessons that come out of this passage, but we shall focus on those that lend themselves to the challenges of leadership. (Meditate on verses 16 & 17.

1.       Everybody's responsibility is nobody's duty. Neither the woman nor the man accepted the blame for what had happened.

2.       The Man and Woman had failed but God did NOT withdraw their leadership responsibility. God punished all parties concerned, stated the end, (re)defined the goal, clarified roles, re-stated responsibility, reassigned authority and gave specific tasks to each person to occupy and not confuse them. Amazingly, corporate leaders do this all the time. The mission is not abandoned because of a single failure!

3.       The author of the first human leadership crisis was Satan. He refused to submit to God and convinced Eve not to submit to God. Eve then encouraged her husband not to submit to God. However, Satan  was not entirely to blame for man's problems. Both Adam and Eve had independently, jointly and severally disobeyed Gods command. To obey is to submit. What men and many women need to know today is that to SUBMIT is a condition of leadership (see the relationship between Father, Son & Holy Spirit)

4.       New responsibility emerged for Adam to rule over Eve! Man and woman were given specific responsibility, empowerment and authority pegged to accountability. Adam was given authority to provide leadership. If men do not lead, law and order will collapse, chaos will reign and people will go wild. The leadership role for women, will be addressed at the "Women of Purpose" seminar, but the specific message for men is to take authority, take charge and lead humanity! Men need to lead, order and transform the earth. Never again can a man say, "The woman made me do it". God requires leadership from men - first. Clearly, the game (of life) had changed.

THE CHALLENGE FOR MEN

1.       The challenge men face today is no ordinary challenge. It requires a "double portion" of conviction, courage and competence to lead a person who is your complete and capable equal. You can work hard to appear better, but unless they submit, you are both damned and there is very little you can do. However, if they do submit, you have a greater responsibility to provide for them (Leadership is provision).  This, in modern terms, is a "catch 22" situation. It is a delicate situation where you must pay a high price for whichever option you choose. The best thing to do is to choose the lesser evil to accomplish the greatest good.

2.       Men are accountable for the current state of affairs on earth and must take responsibility to reclaim the world and reconcile it back to God. That is an awesome task cannot be done without the skill, will, authority and power from God himself. A team without leadership and without submission is a team without hope.

3.       Today submission is a dirty word and thought to be some great evil, wickedness, weakness and curse. Yet Christ himself, submits to the Fathers will. For many people, the original sin was eating the apple, but the origin of sin is NOT to submit to God. Men and women today do not submit to anyone let alone submit to God.. But when we don't submit who suffers? The answer is;- Men, Women, Children and ALL OF CREATION!  The salvation of the world was earned by submission. Submission is not only an act of salvation but also an act of supreme leadership. Men (and women) of purpose submit to Gods will!

Today, men need the Skill, Will, Authority and the Power of God to restore the world to its original purpose and transform it to its intended design. If nothing else, the understanding of this message gives all MEN a clear, specific  purpose, mission, meaning and identity on earth and a chance to serve Gods purposes in this and every generation until Christ comes.  This is, I believe, is the spirit and the essence of The Game Changer Forum. ......    Commit these things to faithful men – everywhere!