New City Men: Disciples Making Disciples
by Jonathan Pless and Greg Wood
I presume you, dear reader, have been accosted by a Hallmark or similar romance movie. These classic (canned) movies typically involve a young woman, distraught at the lack of real men in town. Without fail, a long-lost man comes into town. He sweeps her off her feet and by movie’s end they fall in love. Usually, they even live happily ever after.
But is “love” the right word to describe what happens between the couple in these flics? Recently someone said, “We’re using the same words but different dictionaries.” I appreciate that. “Love” is used to mean a lot of things.
I think a better word for the type of “love” we repeatedly see in these movies would be “infatuation.” It’s an intense and irrational attraction, full of passion, based on physical or superficial attributes rather than a deep connection.
The infatuation we see in these movies has its place, no doubt. But, when we know someone little, we truly love them little. As our knowledge of something or someone grows, so does our love.
There’s a direct relationship between knowledge and love.
Announcing: New City Men
In a few weeks, we will officially launch New City Men, a discipleship ministry aimed at the gap between knowledge and love. The mission of New City Men is to help men live in light of the gospel of Jesus Christ by growing in their knowledge of and love for God and neighbor. Break that down a little:
We aim to grow men in their knowledge of God. We want to look to what He has told us of Himself in the Bible. By doing this, our love of God will grow.
If men truly know and love God, men will inevitably know and love those around them. Relationships at home, work, and throughout the body of Christ will grow.
Being a man in today’s culture is not all that difficult. Seriously. What is really required? Just look out for number one, make decent money, look presentable, be a slick talker, and sleep with a plethora of women. Those men are the ones our culture looks to as role models and examples to follow.
Being a man according to the Bible involves a much different task. Some describe biblical masculinity as the glad assumption of sacrificial responsibility. Robert Lewis defines a man as "someone who rejects passivity, accepts responsibility, leads courageously, and expects a greater reward."
There is so much more to dive into on the subject though. Really, that's the point of this blog post. New City seeks to help others live in light of the gospel. Men are certainly part of that, and New City Men is launching to give a particular focus to helping men in this mission.
When we know little we love little. Whether it is the depths of grace given to us at the cross, the kindness that God shows us every day in the fellowship of His Spirit, or the glorious future He has promised us in His eternal presence, knowledge of the truth grows our capacities to love.
We have an earnest desire to grow men in the knowledge and understanding of the Bible and the God who wrote it. There is so much joy to be had in Him, brothers, and we experience that joy and learn of its breadth in the Scripture! We want men to know more, rejoice more in the truth of the gospel, and love more. If men know and love more, and if we worship with rejoicing, then our families, workplaces, church, cities, and world will be changed.
We’re beginning with a class this February called How To Read Your Bible.
We begin with how to read your Bible because it is foundational to our faith. In the class we will move beyond seeing mere words on a page. We want to help you peel back the layers, dig deeper into the Scripture, and learn to savor the goodness of God in it. We’re going to learn and grow, and we’re going to grow in our love for Christ and the Gospel.
In the Hallmark movies knowledge is little, love is little, and rejoicing is actually short-lived.
Come join us men as we apply ourselves to the study of Scripture, and the Scripture to real life We will ask the Lord to increase our knowledge and our love of God and neighbor.
“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” 2 Peter 3:18