DOMINGO (download file)

GOLDSMITH (download file)

REILLY (download file)

 As a “men-gineer,” you strive to live life as a Christ-filled man of God, but any man seeking to love, follow, and glorify Jesus is in a constant battle with Satan (the Enemy), whose best weapon is to tempt Christians with Biblical and relational apathy, laziness, comfort, selfishness, and isolation while on earth. Frequently we fall into the aforementioned traps of the enemy by wrongly believing that we may never have to fight, march, or ride in a spiritual war. Moreover, when it comes to sharing the gospel and our personal sin, we often value our pride and comfort over humility and sacrifice. These attitudes are sinful, selfish, and dangerous. They can lull a person to sleep and render them useless for the sake of Christ, hence giving Satan a foothold. Our work as men of God will continue until the day we leave this earth. It seems simple enough, but many men including Christians live their life in denial of this truth, seeking something akin to eternal retirement.

The need for “life engineering” or “life planning” is paramount in life of a godly man. Life engineering involves outlining a clearly defined set of guiding principles and priorities, picking a date in the future, writing a thorough list of goals to be accomplished by that date, and then working backwards to strategically plan how you’ll achieve those goals. In the sermons from our previous post, Driscoll supports this life engineering paradigm with a list of Biblical references to further cement the fact that strategic planning is synonymous with Biblical manhood.

If you’re saying to yourself, “I’m not a planner. I don’t need that kind of pressure. I’m led by the Spirit, and I don’t need to write anything down.” You need to take a look at the Bible in your hand, and realize that the Holy Spirit has written a lot of stuff down, and maybe you should rethink that whole position. Without a set of Biblical principles, priorities, and goals to live your life by, you will inevitably get pushed around by the circumstances of life, and you’ll struggle to fulfill the calling that God has placed before you. And in your daily life, without proper planning, you will conform to the urgent. Without forward momentum in our lives, God can’t work or guide us. But part of being a man of God is actually stepping out in faith, acting on a plan, and trusting God to direct us in the path that brings glory to Him and blessing to His people.

It all starts with the 7 Principles concept. If you’re not really sure where to begin, a good starting point would be to look at the qualifications for a pastor (or “elder” ) according to the biblical criteria for the office, as described in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and elsewhere (namely, Acts 20 and Titus 1):

• Above reproach
• Able to teach
• A mature Christian
• A husband to one wife
• A father to obedient children
• A good manager of his family
• Temperate
• Self-controlled
• Not given to drunkenness
• Not a lover of money
• Respectable
• Hospitable
• Not violent
• Gentle
• Not contentious
• Good reputation with outsiders