Why do men today think church is a spectator sport? Show up on Sunday—put my time in—check. According to the Barna Group, only 18% of men volunteer at church during a typical week. It’s the old 80/20 Rule—more people get involved while fewer people watch. Why isn’t being part of the church family seen as a priority? Men have so many gifts to share. Being part of something larger than...
When God wants to accomplish something great, He doesn’t look for the most talented, educated, influencer in the room—He looks for the available one. From Genesis to Revelation, that’s the pattern. Abraham wasn’t a young visionary but a seventy-year-old wandering nomad when God called him to father a nation. Moses was an 80-year-old fugitive who was not a public speaker. Gideon was hiding in a...
Does what I’m doing even matter? You show up. You do what’s asked. You stay late, clean up, and lock the doors. You’re dependable. You start to wonder if your contribution is necessary. If you’ve served at church for any length of time, you’ve thought your service has been “unseen” at times. I think of the person who arrives early on Sunday mornings to turn the...
Every man wrestles with the question of why he serves. The truth is, our reasons aren’t always as clean as we’d like them to be. Some of us serve out of gratitude — because we’re thankful for what God’s done. Some serve out of love — wanting to make life a little lighter for someone else. Others serve out of obedience, seeing it as a natural response to Jesus’ call. Those are the good motives —...
Every man wants his life to matter. We want to know that when the dust settles and our time on this earth is done, something about our presence made a difference — that the people around us were better because we showed up. The problem is, the world keeps feeding us the wrong definition of greatness. It tells us greatness is found in position, power, or performance. It’s in how high you climb...
Your phone may be the loudest voice in your life — and it’s drowning out God. Silence used to be part of our lives. You’d take a walk with only your thoughts. Wait in line without checking your feed. Sit at a red light without checking email. But somewhere along the way, the stillness got replaced by scrolls, likes, buzzes, and pings. I may be showing my age, but I remember when our family got...
Every man carries invisible fingerprints on his soul. We’ve all been shaped—by family, culture, mentors, heroes, even by the absence of the voices we longed to hear. For many, the lessons started early: “Real men don’t cry.” “Man up.” “Handle your own problems.” Some of these messages helped us push through challenges, but others subtly distorted our understanding of God, ourselves, and what it...
Ask ten men what it means to be a “real man,” and you’ll get ten different answers. Some will talk about toughness—being strong, independent, and never backing down. Others will point to leadership—providing, protecting, staying in control. Even in the church, we tend to adopt the same ideals with a spiritual spin: men are told to lead, serve, give, attend, and, for heaven’s sake, don’t screw up...
Every man is keeping score, whether he admits it or not. Some tally numbers in the bank account, square footage in the house, or the horsepower under the hood. Others measure it by job titles, social media followers, or how quickly people return their calls. From the time we’re young, the world hands us a scoreboard and says, “Here’s how you know you’re winning.” I was a card-carrying member of...
The lies men pick up along the way seem to stick. Some lies were spoken outright—by a father who said you’d never measure up, by a coach who told you toughness means you’re a real man, or by a boss who managed by intimidation. Other lies are quieter, picked up from culture, comparison, or even church traditions that twisted God’s truth. Unfortunately, these lies don’t stay in our heads;...
John is a best-selling author, technologist, and entrepreneur with a passion for helping men grow in faith and purpose. He combines decades of experience in business and ministry to write books and devotionals that speak to the real-life challenges men face.