Can I be real with you for a minute? I am easily distracted by shiny things. I chase squirrels (real ones and metaphorical ones). I love adventure and challenge. Journey is more important to me than destination.
These admissions about my character and nature make the story of Noble Warriors a bit of a miracle, right?
Numerous twists and turns mark the journey of this ministry, yet the direction has remained consistent throughout our history. The Lord has graciously kept me focused on biblical manhood and discipling men. Generally, when someone hears “Noble Warriors,” they think Men’s Ministry. And by God’s grace, across the state, when someone thinks “men’s ministry,” they remember Noble Warriors.
We just celebrated twenty years of the Lord’s faithfulness in and through the ministry of Noble Warriors. It has been delightful, encouraging, and humbling to meet with friends of Noble Warriors across the state to share stories, remember the past, and look toward the future. At the core of it all, has been the clear conviction that our mission is serving churches as they equip men to walk with Christ and lead well.
At each stop on our Anniversary Road Trip, I talked with friends about the components of our mission statement:
We serve churches – The church is the Bride of Christ. Christ lived and died for the church. The church is not a strategy or one of many strategies but the strategy that God ordained to advance His Kingdom and bring Him glory. We evaluate every aspect of Noble Warriors ministry by asking, “Does this serve the church?”
As they equip men – We believe it is the responsibility of the church to do the work of discipleship. Further, we affirm that there should be a special and specific emphasis on discipling men. Consequently, our work is to engage, equip, and encourage pastors and church leaders with effective strategies and excellent resources to disciple men.
To walk with Christ – This is the critical issue. We don’t want to simply help men be better, or exercise some nebulous morality. Our prayerful desire is to see men who join Paul in saying, “Follow me as I follow the example of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1). Jesus is the example of manhood. We must point men to Christ consistently, confidently, and constantly.
And lead well – From Genesis to Revelation we see that God designed and ordained men to lead in their homes and the church. There’s much to be unpacked here, but I maintain that men’s discipleship is synonymous with leadership development. When we invest in men (of all ages and stages) we are equipping them to lead sacrificially and selflessly according to God’s design and Jesus’ example.
I believe the Lord has given Noble Warriors favor with churches, pastors, denominations and individuals because He has helped us maintain acute focus on one issue for over twenty years. Noble Warriors exemplifies “long obedience in the same direction.” This phrase was coined by Frederich Nietzsche but popularized by Eugene Peterson in a book about discipleship.
It has been and continues to be interesting for our team to reach out to leaders or churches for years (and now decades) with no response. Then, suddenly, they reach out to us or begin to pay attention to discipling men. The Lord has given us grace to not take any of this personally or even get frustrated, but to simply continue the work of helping churches reach and build men, following Blackaby’s advice to find where God is working and join him there.1 Our desire is to always be prepared to serve a pastor or leader who is interested in discipling men.
The Lord continues to affirm our commitments and our posture by growing the footprint and influence of Noble Warriors across Virginia and beyond. By His hand, we have been faithful to this calling for two decades. It was exciting to share this video, What are Men Supposed to Be? at each stop on the Anniversary Road Trip. Some friends of Noble Warriors created the video nearly twenty years ago. Most of the challenges remain relevant; some have become more acute, and others have evolved. Yet our focus remains to help churches build noble warriors!
The ministry has experienced growth, but we believe the next few years could be a season of unprecedented opportunity. To this end, I will be traveling the state again in October to host Church Champion training events.
Church Champions for Men
The future of Noble Warriors is multiplication. Not multiplication of events, but multiplication of leaders who do ministry with a men’s discipleship perspective. In the coming months, we hope to call out and call up men who disciple other men, but more than that…
- Men who are thinking about how to reach and build men through the local church.
- Men who invest in marriages by discipling men to love their wives as Christ loves the church. (Ephesians 5:25)
- Men who invest in their children as they get up, when they lie down, and as they walk along the way. (Deuteronomy 6:7)
- Men who pray for their pastors not only as preachers but as men, husbands, and fathers.
- Men who intentionally and instinctively invest in the next generations.
- Men who call other men to go with them on this adventure with Jesus.
Could you be a Champion for Men in your church?
God is also calling us to multiply through Centurions, who will work with about one hundred churches in a region to encourage and equip pastors and leaders to disciple men well. You’ll hear more about this initiative in the future. But, for now, here’s how I hope you’ll engage in this direction…
- Continue to walk faithfully with the Lord in prayer, Bible study, and church engagement. Love and lead well in your family, and in any other context.
- Connect with some other guys. I meet with my “wise guys” every week. I need godly wisdom from other men who know me and want to see me walk faithfully with the Lord.
- Invest in another man. (Preferably a younger man!) Always find ways to share what you’re learning or have learned from the Lord with other men. Don’t waste what the Lord has taught you.
- Pray for God’s guidance in your own life. Pray for your family. Pray for co-workers, friends, and neighbors. Pray specifically for some young men in your life. Remember that Jesus would often steal away from great opportunities to meet with His Father. We should follow this example.