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July 8, 2026 · 29 min · Sleeping Giant
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The Crisis of Broken Male Culture 0:12 Hey, guys. I am so excited to welcome you to the Sleeping Giant men's ministry training experience. You've decided to be a part of this experience because I think, like me, God has burdened and God0:24 has called you to be a part of a move of God that is mobilizing men and waking what we're calling the sleeping giant in your local church. And so I want you to know a couple0:36 things as we get going. Just know number 1 that I've been praying for you. And I wanna personally thank you for being obedient to your kingdom calling. It's a really exciting time in history to0:48 be discussing men, masculinity, and ministry to men in the local church. And so that's why in session 1, we are going to talk about why our topic1:00 is so important. And what you're doing is super relevant and very powerful right now more than any other time in history. And so in this session, we're gonna talk about the1:12 cultural factors going on. We're gonna talk about the global factors going on with men. And we're gonna talk about the spiritual environment into which this movement and this1:24 model fits. And then after we're done, you're gonna see how the stage is set for a worldwide movement of God that calls on his church1:36 to agent a great harvest of salvation and transformation among men. And you are gonna be in the center of it. The 1st1:48 thing that I'd like you to see in terms of the men's environment is just the social reality of men's ministry. Are you ready? Everybody2:00 gets it. I'm gonna say it again. Everybody gets it. When a man's character and conduct become healthy, it changes things. Most directly, the women and children connected2:12 to their lives and choices, they suffer less and develop better. Everybody gets that. You see, there's fewer literal and emotional orphans in2:24 society that fall prey to evil cultural predators when men are healthy. But when men are unhealthy, the people connected to men get exploited. Their loneliness gets exploited.Global Statistics and Women's Independence 2:36 Their needs get exploited for evil purposes. Negative generational cycles come out of unhealthy men, negative cultural cycles of chaos2:48 and dysfunction and destruction. That all flows out of broken male culture, but it gets interrupted by healthy men. So in the crudest analysis,3:00 guys, when men have the capacity to act in the interest of others versus solely acting in the interest of themselves, the foundational infrastructures of3:12 societies and nations change. Wherever these men go, these healthy men, their character goes with them. Got the professional sector, the political sector, the social3:24 fabric, the cultural fabric, and the religious infrastructures become the beneficiaries of well formed men. And as a consequence, all of those niches in3:36 society become less corrupt and produce fewer cynics. So think about it. Maybe your family, maybe your country, maybe your community,3:48 or maybe your church could use a few more men like this. Men who bring hope by their very presence. Now intuitively, everybody knows that healthy and4:00 moral men are like sticks of dynamite. They can create blast zones of life that extend far into the fabric of society in which they find themselves. But on the other4:12 side, equally true is that those same sticks of dynamite can go off and produce blast zones of death and create massive collateral suffering as men4:24 self preserve, as men self protect, as men self indulge, and as men seek to be self important at the expense of others.4:35 So this powerful and dangerous potential is making headlines today like never before. I mean, you know something's happening when the Wall Street4:47 Journal, Newsweek, Time, the New York Times, the Atlantic Monthly, CNN, they're all covering stories within the last year targeting men,4:59 masculinity, all within the same time frame. And for every 1 of those major news stories, there's thousands of others flooding the web, blogs,5:11 websites, local newspapers, and TV outlets that are detailing both the spiraling and negative outcomes flowing from the beliefs and the behaviors of5:22 men around the world. I mean just pick up the paper or click on to a major news outlet, and within seconds you can lament men, whether it's sexual5:34 violence against women in Uganda or human trafficking in Thailand to Wall Street greed or epidemic fatherlessness in the United States. This5:46 age that we live in, the information age, it's virtually crushed the ability of men, male culture, and masculinity worldwide to escape the 1 thing it has relied on for centuries,5:58 staying invisible. And men do not like to be exposed or made to feel guilty, and yet now a very simple but powerful global realization has6:10 occurred. You ready? Suffering makes the news, and the behaviors of men are at the center of most of the suffering.6:22 Now why talk about that? Well, this is the 1st factor every church needs to be aware of when it comes to this resonating revival that's coming through men. Pain6:34 resonates deeply. And any person or group of people or organization that successfully reduces suffering through the touching and transforming of men in6:46 their community becomes immediately relevant. And so as the church attempts to reach people, it should be asking what problems can6:57 we solve that dramatically impact people and the communities we're trying to reach? Now answering that question from a purely practical perspective, men are7:09 the highest value target the church can pick in today's social fabric. I mean, think about it. 1st and most painfully, think about kind of the the darkness7:21 that's going on. Got 163000000 orphans worldwide. You've got 1200000 children that'll be orphaned this year worldwide.7:33 You've got close to 40000000 people with HIV in the world. You've got 26000000 prostitutes. You've got 28000000000 in annual revenue from forced prostitution. Did you7:45 know that that all prostitution amounts to 400000000000 dollars globally? Want a comparison? Global cigarette sales are 336000000000 a year. Did you know that7:57 globally, 1 in 10 men have purchased sex? Did you know that there's 27000000 modern day slaves? Just to give you, some handles on that 1, the total number of slaves over the 4008:09 years of the the transatlantic slave trade, only 12000000. Did you know that there's 2000000 sexually trafficked children in the world? Did you know that8:21 there's 32000000000 dollars in revenue from the sale of trafficked human beings? Human trafficking is the 2nd largest illegal criminal activity and it's8:33 2nd only to drugs. Do you know that 1 in 3 women worldwide have suffered domestic violence? Do you know there's 11.5 single, million single mothers in the United States raising8:44 20000000 children by themselves? Now why go through the statistics? It's because these statistics, as grave as they are, they don't even touch8:57 the secondary levels of injustice connected to pornography, massage parlors, sexual tourism. These statistics don't even consider the9:08 largest and most widely accepted injustice connected to us, men, fatherlessness. I mean, did you know that in metro urban areas, teen drug use, incarceration, unwed teen9:20 pregnancy, high school dropout rates, they all quadruple in the face of a 70 percent fatherlessness rate in homes according to the National Center of Fathering. So9:32 from Bangkok to Wall Street, broken male culture, and there's a term you're gonna be hearing, broken male culture, is the wallpaper of modern journalism and human interest stories. Now9:44 these metrics and movements that I just described as well as the monies that must be invested to support relief efforts and and all of these painful justice areas. These are all the painful outcomes9:55 related to male behavior currently covering the world. Now, there's another half of these statistics. The other half of these stories relates to10:07 the millions of dissatisfied and disaffected women worldwide who've been hurt or made to feel like 2nd class citizens. Hey,10:19 guys. They're making news as well because they are actively seeking and achieving in today's culture. It's important that you know this. Emotional independence from men. Professional10:30 independence from men. Relational independence from men. They're seeking and achieving political independence from men, financial independence from men, and spiritual independence from10:42 men. Right now, as we're having this conversation for the 1st time in world history, did you know women outnumber men in both undergraduate and graduate degrees? They10:54 outnumber men in managerial positions and in qualifying for the highest growth job sectors for the foreseeable future? Now to just give you an idea, aggressive feminism11:06 asserts, listen to this guys, that men have actually become the new ball and chain. And you know what? Hollywood's banking on this guy that they've created called omega male. See, it11:18 used to be alpha male, but now there's omega male. And Hollywood's banking on Omega Male, the new man, for big box office results. You know who he is? He's a new brand of man that's funny,11:30 hopelessly adolescent, and unable to be responsible. I mean, right now, guys, it's a heyday for misogynists or man haters. Now11:42 all of this negative exposure for men right now and these isolating trends, here's what's happened. They've added very dark emotions in men to very dark circumstances11:55 for men. I mean, think about it. Completely lacking moral authority. No longer needed or able to provide and not being turned to for the emotional support.12:07 K? Men around the world are running more than scared. And in response, what are we doing? Some are withdrawing completely. Some are filling with anger. Some12:19 are reacting with passivity. All of which cause more suffering. So I know what you're thinking. Can it get any worse? Or12:31 could it be that this black backdrop of men cooperating with evil, not growing up and and being impulsive, provide a contrast12:44 for a shining movement of men who stand out and manifest the glory of God through their transformation? Could it be that like a jeweler whoThe Contrast: Awakening the Sleeping Giant 12:55 shows his precious diamonds against a carpet of black velvet, that God will use the dark contrast of the suffering I just described to highlight a13:07 movement of health among his men? Could it be that the sleeping giant called the men in the church are God's diamonds in the bag?13:20 See, that's why we have to move from talking about the practical and cultural and global meaning of why we're having this discussion to the direct spiritual implications13:33 for the local church and what's happening right now in that realm. K? Here's some statistics. According to the statistical experts, we've got 2100000000 Christians in the world. What13:45 does that mean? That means that between 500 to 700000000 affiliated Christian men are roaming planet Earth right now. And just as there have13:57 been political uprising dominating the news cycle across the Middle East, A similar dynamic is invading men's cultures across the globe that makes a very powerfulChurch Failures and 10 Observations 14:08 case that not only is all not lost, but that there's a huge upside to healthy faith led male counterculture. I know because I've seen14:20 it. I see it in the Glovino Glovimo movement in Uganda. I see it in the Joshua generation in Brazil. I see it in the Sons of Congo movement. I see it in the over 8000 men14:32 in small groups at my own church. What do I see? I see men being called by God into a movement of spirituality and justice. I see thousands14:44 of churches across the globe right now as we talk being called to invest in conferences and programs for its men. I see pastors for the 1st time turning14:56 to and telling their men how needed they are for the mission. I see men in small groups and life groups subgrouping apart from the women15:08 and studying the word as men in that group and talking honestly and accelerating their growth. I'm seeing waves of good men making good decisions out of strong15:19 convictions about right and wrong in the little spaces of family life and social life. I even see men in the church humbly forming ranks around their pastors15:32 and making themselves available for leader development and leader deployment to get the job done. I get emails from women and children everywhere who are in awe over the changes15:44 in young men and husbands and dads. I see men winning over temptation. I see them disciplining themselves toward relationships. I see men leading their families by example. I see men honoring women.15:56 I see men even entering the most dark injustices and confronting evil out in the open. So what do we call that? What do we16:08 call a healthy men's culture where consistency of convictions is prevalent in big numbers among men bringing justice, and with justice, bringing hope to people.16:21 Call that a solution. And the hope of the world is the local church. But I'm gonna say something. The hope of the local church right now is its men. And it's16:33 not that our sisters in Christ or women in the church are inadequate to the fulfillment of the church's mission in this hour. Not at all. K? In fact, their patience and perseverance16:45 spiritually with us guys is gonna be richly rewarded by God. But it is this. It's that the men who name the name of Jesus and have a heart for him must also grow a16:57 spine for him. There's nothing more pathetic than a Christian man who has a heart for God and his purposes, but no spine. And how can it be that millions17:09 of Christian men are in there, are in the world and in these different societies, but the world can't distinguish us from the larger culture. Now the reason why I say17:20 that is look at Jesus. Jesus Christ entered a broken male culture, not unlike the ones that foster so much pain today, and promptly started breaking the rules. You say, what do17:32 you mean, Kenny? Well, the 1st century Jewish man thought like this. He thanked God that he wasn't a woman, a child, or a gentile or foreigner. And what did Jesus do? Jesus17:44 made it a point to connect with and bring dignity to all 3 populations. He had a spine. He spoke with the Samaritan woman. He had a spine. He told the disciples, hey, let the17:56 children come. He had a spine. He defended the woman caught in adultery and stood between her and the stones. He had a spine. He touched the physically unacceptable.18:08 Jesus had a spine. He touched the ethnically unacceptable. He had a spine. He associated with the morally unacceptable. He had a spine. What's my point?18:20 For Jesus, sympathy was not a substitute for action. He had a spine. And similarly, there is nothing more tragic than a church18:32 with the heart to do the work of Jesus, but no muscle to pull it off. So many churches that I've talked to register the very same complaint. We make the call and the men don't show18:44 up. And interestingly, they declare it as if it's the man's problem and not the church's problem. The church is like that figurative man described in the 1st chapter of18:56 the book of James who looks into a mirror and fails to see the reality when he looks in the mirror. Deluded about his condition. And what does that mean in a masculine context? Well, in aCall to Action and Preview 19:07 masculine context, deluded is defined as making no deposits in men as the church and then trying to write checks out of a bank account that is19:19 empty of relationship. You know, churches that are confused over the commitments of its men should take a hard look at the church's own commitment to them as a marker. And so19:31 as pastors and as men's leaders, we can't expect strong energy and expression of our men to come from a weak connection and investment in them. You see, pancake breakfast and Father's Day mentions19:43 don't produce a lot of loyalty. So pastors, can you blame the men? Like me, I know that you see something horribly19:55 confusing and obvious within the body of Christ. We see men in the audience of the church, but not in the army. We see millions of affiliated men who can be activated20:07 powerfully. And after 20 years on my part of evangelizing and pastoring men, speaking into the lives of hundreds of thousands of men, conducting hundreds of conferences, training20:19 hundreds of churches, and reading tens of thousands of personal letters, emails, and evaluations from men, interviewing pastors all over the world, and receiving lots of feedback from20:31 women. I wanna share with you some inescapable and somewhat uncomfortable conclusions that help make the issue of this sleeping giant clear for your church.20:43 Here's the 1st observation. If the men of our churches are not healthy, then our churches are not healthy. Here's the 2nd observation. If the men of our churches20:55 are affiliated and attending but not activated toward helping the vision of the local church, we have an underutilized asset and that's on the21:06 church, not the men. Here's my 3rd observation. If the church is reaching men poorly, then it's delivering God's justice poorly in the cultures and communities where those churches are planted21:19 are being newly planted because men are at the root of injustice. The 4th observation is if churches were intentionally investing in men, they would have a robust21:30 leadership engine and have to hire fewer professional staff. Here's my 5th observation. If church men were activated versus just affiliated, church initiatives would be21:42 accelerated and achieved faster. Every pastor wants that. And here's my 6th observation. If male involvement in the local church is weak, it is because our vision in the church for21:54 them is weak. Here's my 7th observation. If the church is unintentional with its men, it is permitting culture to shape the identities of22:06 its men, steal their energy, and shape their expression. Here's my 8th critical observation. If the church continues to attract women and children,22:19 it will not attract men or draw from diverse segments of society. Now my my 9th observation is the opposite of that. If the church becomes a center of masculine22:30 transformation, it will attract multiple segments of society crossing gender lines, racial lines, intellectual lines, and economic lines. Here's my 10th observation.22:42 If the church doesn't deal with the issue of the invisibility of its men, Metaphorically speaking, an embarrassing part of our body, the body of22:54 Christ will continue to be exposed. So what about this 800 pound gorilla in the room of our church family? Well, let's be sure about 1 thing, guys.23:06 It's a him, not a her. Pastors intuitively sense the reality. They sense the urgency. They sense the potency of male leadership, but they're just at a23:18 loss for how to meaningful evangelize meaningfully evangelize and equip guys in a proactive way. K? Pancake breakfast meetings,23:30 outdoor activities, sermon mentions, Father's Day prayers, and once a year conferences with no larger message to the men other than this is something you23:42 should do or this is good for you does not repeat, does not stir the masculine soul. In place of intelligent and in in intentional men's community23:53 is a view that's very deceptive in the church when it comes to men. Here it is. The thought that knowledge alone will transform a man. And as a consequence,24:05 men are are kind of treated that way. They're treated like, hey, here's the information and you're like the quirky uncle in the spiritual family. You know, we invite and welcome you to some special occasions, but, you24:16 know, not for the big 1st family events. K? We don't make men a stakeholder or God forbid, critical to the success of the church's mission. So24:28 pastors faced with that pervading sense that connecting with men is just too hard or it's too much of a threat or too chauvinistic to address aggressively.24:41 The men respond in kind. I mean, they're they're thinking themselves as as the church behaves 1 way, they're thinking to themselves. And you know what they're saying to themselves? I don't think I'm really needed here.24:52 You know? The church wants to use my energy and resources, but they have no plan to help me or develop me meaningfully as a man. Guys are thinking, you know, I can't see where I25:04 fit into this place significantly. You know, other guys have emailed me and said, you know, I know where I am welcomed and I do know where I fit in outside of the church.25:17 Other men think, alright. They've got me. I'm here. But they don't know what to do with me. Okay. Other men, millions of men are saying, you know what? I like the weekend messages. They sound good enough. So so I'll25:28 attend, but I'm not gonna be activated. And then a lot of men just are getting cynical. Man, that's leadership lip service, but no meaningful action. And here's the result for the25:40 church. Men never move from their seat in the audience to being on their feet and into the army of leaders who form ranks around their pastor and25:52 the vision that God has called that pastor to pursue in big numbers. They affiliate, but they don't activate. There's no perceived meaning or context for them to26:04 be or do more. I mean, how many times have you heard a senior pastor say this to his guys? Fellas, the vision God has given this church is way bigger than me and I'm not gonna be able to26:16 pull it off by myself and I need your help. That is meaningful. But you don't hear many pastors saying that. No. Instead, the men are forced to look26:28 to the broken male culture around them to validate their needs for significance and their need for substance. And there's a huge cost26:40 and consequence of that. See? Of not moving men from the weekend structure into a strong secondary community and then into the leadership community of the local church. And that cost is high. The cost is26:52 unnecessary, and it's tragic for the man and for the kingdom of God in that community. But here's the thing, above all in 1 form or another, Satan27:04 wins. So now you know why you are setting out to accomplish. What you are setting out to accomplish has a little bit of meaning27:16 just beyond the walls of your church. The meaning is you are falling into a global movement of God for this time in history. Now you know why the God27:28 who loves justice can't deliver it practically in the world without a movement of his men in the church addressing the root cause. Men.27:40 And now you know why God is calling his church right now to wake the sleeping giant and make the bride of Christ glow with strength and health, a bride27:52 worthy of Jesus' return. Now you know the social, the cultural, the global, and the spiritual dimensions of your efforts.28:05 Now you know the why. And it's really important that you do know the why behind why we're doing this experience. In sessions 2 through 6, what we're going to do28:16 guys is we're gonna engage scripture. And when we engage scripture, we're gonna see very clearly God's pattern and purpose with men. And then from there, we're gonna go into28:28 the actual process of implementing what I call a breakthrough men's ministry in your local church. It's not gonna be the same old men's ministry. It's gonna be a breakthrough men's ministry.28:40 And each step of the way, you're gonna feel some things. You're gonna feel God affirming your call to this movement of his spirit, and you're gonna feel a sense28:52 of confidence as we apply the sleeping giant model, which is a tested model and a tested pathway 10 years in the making. So guys, I'm looking forward to that time with you,29:04 and we'll see you in session 2.In this video 0:00 The Crisis of Broken Male Culture2:36 Global Statistics and Women's Independence12:48 The Contrast: Awakening the Sleeping Giant13:58 Church Failures and 10 Observations19:00 Call to Action and Preview
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