Every Man Ministries

We've already seen that God's man can miss the adventure that God has for him, as well as missing God's heart of love towards him. Beyond that we can be tempted to miss specific truths that Jesus wants to reveal to us. How can we live in such a way that we don't miss it?

Jesus Christ rescued us. Offering Himself in our place, restoring us to the Father and giving us new life! And yet….so many followers of Jesus are still…. missing it. Missing the adventure Christ invited them into, missing the excitement of learning to hear His voice, missing the joy of reading His word. Why? Simply put…we're distracted. […]

We all know what it’s like….to miss it. To miss a joke everyone is laughing at, to miss a train or a flight, and then to be forced to deal with the consequences. In these scenarios we are either the brunt of a joke or we find ourselves in an airport for longer than we'd […]

God is RELATIONAL. We start a relationship by believing in the person and work His Son. We believe that Jesus is God and that He died for us on the cross. When we do that God responds by saving us from sin and death and we become a child of God. That is called “Salvation.” […]

What upsets you? What really makes your blood boil? We'd like to think it's injustice, or sin or the oppression of the weak….but usually, when we're honest…what bothers us most is whenever we're inconvenienced. Whenever something doesn't work out, I get overlooked….or something is just uncomfortable. The god of comfort desires our worship. He wants us to […]

During His life and ministry, Jesus made many outrageous claims. Incredible claims which were all proven true. Of everything He claimed to be, to do or know, of all the counter cultural truths he shared….none were as controversial as His claim in John 12. “I am the way, and the truth and the life.” No […]

We live in a culture that has elevated freedom, independence and self reliance to an unhealthy level. Above all, we desire to call the shots. We want to do what we choose when we choose it. We want the freedom to pursue our passions, the ability to decide for ourselves…..perhaps even to live for ourselves. […]

The wisest man who ever lived sought out to experience the “good things” in life. At the top of his list….was pleasure.  Solomon denied himself no earthly thing… And yet he always came up empty. What can we learn from the life pursuits of Solomon? What promises does the ‘god of pleasure' make that he […]

Who is it that we serve? Who do we worship? For the believer the answer sounds obvious…Jesus! Right?!!?! With our mouths we claim Christ, but what about our hearts? What consumes our thoughts? Our emotions? What are we most excited about? Most concerned about? Do our attitudes and actions prove that Christ is our greatest pursuit….or are there “idols” we are worshiping. Idols? As in small figures from far away pagan lands…yes, and no. Idols are much shinier, much more accepted, and far more common than we believe. What if idolatry isn't an issue….what if it is the issue? What if we can pursue every false thought, pursuit and decision back to idolatry? Join us for “No other gods” as we unpack the lesser gods warring for our hearts!

A GAP is an unfilled space. Between teeth. Between people. Between where you are and where you want to be. Between knowing about something and really knowing it experientially. When it comes to God's love and your personal connection to Christ, God doesn't want a GAP. He wants a heart - not just a head - connection! There is a big gap between "I know a lot about God" and "I know him" by experiencing Him. It is the palpable difference between distance and detachment versus closeness and connection. In fact, the Bible says God's love was never intended to stay in your head. God's love is intended to travel from your head and flood light downward into your heart, displacing darknesses and conquering your "shadow self" for good. It is a battle you must fight and win. WHY? Because God's love IS a fact but He INTENDS it to be felt deep in your heart.

Who is the real you? The Bible says the real you is not who others believe you to be, not who you perceive yourself to be, not what you do professionally, and not even your own self description (good or bad). The Bible says the real you is reflected best in the character of your truest thoughts and your truest motives. And because this is true there is an all out war for your mind and how you manage it in the spiritual world. Control the thoughts of a man and you control the actions of a man. Our shadow selves - the man who struggles with his private thoughts and actions - is in a fist-fight with his own thoughts and which ones he will believe. It is called being conflicted and God does not protect us from these inner battles of the mind. In fact, His challenge to us is to manage our minds aggressively and choose (without anyone seeing what we are thinking) to LOVE HIM with our minds (which He sees). Are you ready to do battle? Many men have their best intentions sabotaged and have their minds HACKED into by the one Jesus identified as a "liar and the Father of Lies." It's subtle, it's powerful, and it's deadly. But God's Word - the Sword of the Spirit - is more than adequate to go deep into the heart of both the lie and Liar so you can come out of these internal battles victorious.

Why is it that men get such a bad rap in culture? Part of it has to do with choices men make that are selfish and inconsistent with their age. We can't overcome the boy inside - we want what we want, can't say no to ourselves, and, in the process, smash our relationships against the wall of our own immaturity. These poor choices make us feel small and when a man feels small he feels bad and when a man feels bad about himself he wants to "feel" better. At that point, WATCH OUT! So what do we do? Why can't we defeat our shadow self? Great believers can greatly struggle with sin. As the Apostle Paul! Fortunately, he both asked and answered that same question above. His answer is now God's Word - the sword with which you can slay that dragon.

We call it "acting out of character" or we say "I don't know what I was thinking!" But the fact of the matter is that all of our choices and behavior come from somewhere and personal thoughts always drive personal actions. We DO know what we were thinking but the thought is so dark or selfish we don't want it to see the light of day! So what do we do? We rationalize, deflect, excuse, or worse, accuse others. It's all smoke. But like the old saying goes "the truth eventually comes out" and we have to face the music. Our shadow self will get exposed and in that moment we have a choice - a BIG choice. God wants you to win that moment. In Part 2 we are going to see a King (and his shadow self) confronted by a prophet with no where to run.

The hidden you. It is the man that - humanly speaking - only you know, sort of. Only you know him because he exists in the shadows, thinking things and doing things you can't really celebrate in the open because you battle him privately. David had a shadow self. The Apostle Paul has one too. Every man has one and this shadow self sabotages your best intentions in your relationship with God and in your relationships with others. Your shadow self is a mystery to you and pulls you in wrong directions consciously and subconsciously. You think or do things and you can't put your finger on why. Something triggers you and you behave out of character. Both you and those around ask: Where did that come from? You wish you knew. The good news in all this? God knows and wants to show you to you. Humility, courage, and faith is all you need.

In our fourth and final session in Rhythm of Life….we pause. At the end of the day God's man pauses and sets aside time to allow the Holy Spirit to “search him, and know him”….join us as we unpack the Rhythms of Rest and Reflection. Anything that lies unexamined and unprocessed, remains unknown and un-used and this includes our experiences. How do we look back, in order to look forward? Join us for our final session in Rhythm of Life.

We are not looking for more “rules”, rather we are searching for the “rhythms” that defined the life of Christ. What governed his emotions, thoughts and actions? We've already looked at the rhythms of daily connecting with what is true, and the rhythms of living that our in our places of work. Today, we turn towards the rhythms surrounding community. What does it look like to gather in deep and authentic community? Why do we avoid it? What fears surface in our hearts when we are close to becoming “known”? Join us for session three of Life Rhythms!

Most men see their work as either their ultimate goal or a necessary evil, but scripture paints a very different picture of work. We were certainly made to work, but not to worship it. How then does our faith and our work coexist? What was God's original intent for work? What Rhythms of Life did Christ model for us, to live out from 9-5? Join us for session two in our brand new series Rhythm of Life.

Rhythm of Life: We often wrongly equate our discipleship with disciple. Effort = effectiveness. While it is not wrong to work towards our faith, we must remember that Christ invited us on a journey. An adventure. A “way” of living. Christ's life wasn't defined by a list of rules, or to-dos…bur rather of a beautiful series of life giving “rhythms”. In this brand new series we will unpack a day in the life of God's man and the rhythms of connecting with God's truth through the scripture, Being God's Man at Work, Gathering and Community and finishing up with the rhythms of Reflection and Sabbath.

Advent is a season around the world where believers in Jesus are watching and wanting, looking and longing, inviting Christ to come once more and be born again in their lives and in their world. Are you? Because our culture focuses on the material over the spiritual and the events of Christmas over engaging personally in the Spirit of Christmas, we can miss the awe, wonder, and intention of God. Don't let that happen! Join your forever brothers in Christ and set your Christmas and your heart on fire for Jesus. Let him be born again in you!

Advent is a season around the world where believers in Jesus are watching and wanting, looking and longing, inviting Christ to come once more and be born again in their lives and in their world. Are you? Because our culture focuses on the material over the spiritual and the events of Christmas over engaging personally in the Spirit of Christmas, we can miss the awe, wonder, and intention of God. Don't let that happen! Join your forever brothers in Christ and set your Christmas and your heart on fire for Jesus. Let him be born again in you!

Advent is a season around the world where believers in Jesus are watching and wanting, looking and longing, inviting Christ to come once more and be born again in their lives and in their world. Are you? Because our culture focuses on the material over the spiritual and the events of Christmas over engaging personally in the Spirit of Christmas, we can miss the awe, wonder, and intention of God. Don't let that happen! Join your forever brothers in Christ and set your Christmas and your heart on fire for Jesus. Let him be born again in you!

Our culture wants everything fast. Overnight delivery, immediate results, fad diets, and microwave faith. Make me better….NOW! Yet Christ formation so often takes a lifetime. How can we remain faithful? Join us for our final installment of One Changed Man as we look at the life of Timothy, a man of generational faith and uncommon character!

We've seen how God changed Paul, The Demoniac, Moses & in this session we turn our eyes towards The Rock. Simon Peter. The coward. The brave. The passionate and often misguided. The one who Christ made STRONG and made NEW. Where is it that God desires to give you new strength? Because, for Gods man….power is a PROMISE! You won't want to miss session 3 of One Changed Man.

What is in control of your life? Who, or what makes the decisions? What calls the shots? Is it your appetite? Desires? Plans? Hopes? Dreams….or is it Jesus? What Christ desires of us is surrender. That we would relinquish what control we think we have, over to the One who holds all things. But…it's not as easy as it sounds! So many voices vying for our attention, so many things claiming to be true…how does God's man know what to do? Join us for week two of One Changed Man, where we'll unpack the freedom we find when Jesus Christ becomes the King over our entire lives.

We often wonder what difference our life is making, or if it is making a difference at all. In such a vast world it is easy to feel insignificant. BUT…the Creator God has planned, purposed, and placed Every Man to make an impact for His Kingdom. The true question is not if my life is having an impact, but rather what kind of impact is my life having? As God begins to change us, to transform us He always does so with a purpose in mind. We are changed, to be used to change others. What can our God do, through One Changed Man? In this series we'll study the lives of 4 men whom God changed, and then used powerfully to change many others.

In the Star Wars meta-verse there is one saying you can count on when something intense or meaningful is going to take place. Do you know what it is? When one character in the resistance must leave or separate from another brother in the resistance to head out to battle the dark side, the one staying will always say to the other: "May the force be with you." Upon leaving earth to return to heaven Jesus asked the Father to protect his men who would remain on earth to fight evil and advance his Kingdom as well. His prayer would travel down through the ages to this moment, to me, and to you as we enter the battles of our era in his name. He asked for UNITY among his men so the world would know that He was the Son of God. In other words, Jesus says "The force is with US." He says that the power of his kingdom will manifest when his people are unified AS ONE.

Ever heard a friendship described as two people being "thick as thieves"?  It means they have secrets and experiences only they know about - they are bonded by unique history and events.  Their connection is THICK.  The fact of friendships is that the good ones cost you.  A price has been paid for it - choices that reflect uninhibited commitment.   It is rare air to find and keep a relationship like this.  Few reach that space - as it should be.   They have "place."  Imagine the small triangle space at the top a large pyramid versus the large spacious base.  That's the difference between consecrated relationships which are few and casual relationships which are many.  The Bible says to "consecrate yourselves to the Lord" or set that relationship apart as special.  The same is true with godly friendships.  Who in your life is "set apart" as friends under God? Who is at the top of the pyramid?  Who is a true forever brother? What does spiritually "thick" look like?

No one disagrees with this simple fact: relationships are a risk- especially at the start. You can't know before the fact if they are gonna work out. At the same time, when your risk of connecting was rewarded with close, lifelong friendship you believe the risk we took was worth it! The same is true with God. We must - by faith - risk toward the relationship without knowing the outcome in advance and we are glad we did! Jesus delights in our faith placed in him, his ways, and his words. If that's the model - risking for relationship - then how does that apply to the family of God and being a brother? For those relationships to be great shouldn't we have to risk as well? But how? In what specific ways? Are you ready to take the leap into better community? If so, God says you are gonna have to take some new risks.

Masculine and intimacy are not a natural pairing of words.  And yet, survey after survey shows that the greatest need among men to combat isolation is closeness with a few other men.  If you follow Jesus, know THIS:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are close.  The Bible represents our own relationship with God as a Good Shepherd who loves the sheep and the sheep desperately need him and each other.  But because of cultural, familial, religious, or traumatic factors men are failing at friendships.  In fact, every 11 minutes, desperation and deception win, a man believes a suicide lie and takes life - literally - with his own hand.  While you may not be in that category, every man is vulnerable when isolated to believe things.  The "solution" is community - the real kind you drink in like a fine wine and treasure.  Do you have that?  Solid, consistent, meaningful connection is God's plan.  But no one can force you.  Could it be that the missing piece of your "success" formula is simply better friendships? GO TO: promisedlandliving.com/emm 

God has a plan for your friendships. Do you know what that is? Seems silly but most men don't enter into things which could change the course of their lives dramatically without doing a little research first. But when it comes to the men closest to us we tend to have a "go with he flow mentality" as long as we are having fun and no one is getting harmed. This lack of intentionality in community is definitely NOT God's plan. In fact, God's Word is crystal clear with respect to what he wants for your community of buddies who know Jesus and are connected to you -- and it is not as simple as gathering and studying the Bible. It SO MUCH MORE! The bottom line for Christ-centered brotherhood is a willingness to risk in the direction of your identity in Christ and then live that identity out with other men in community as intentionally as possible.

What one word comes to mind when you think about God? Loving? All powerful? Gracious? Truth? God is many things all at once but a word not frequently used to describe God is RELATIONAL. In Jesus' final prayer to the Father about and for us he paints a picture of interwoven relationship that he desires for you and me with God at the center: "...that they may all be one, even as you, Father, are in me and I in You, that they may also be in US, so that the world will believe You sent Me." Close, eternal bonds are the driving force for the Godhead and his people. Can the same be said of God's men today? Are we connected eternally first and socially, professionally, and ethnically second? Is our identity and its connection to eternity resulting in a powerfully intimate and strong community? Jesus said to his men, "For one is your Teacher and you are all brothers." Then, just like now, acting and connecting like forever brothers holds the key to the life God wants for us. You can't become like Jesus by yourself. You can if you have FOREVER BROTHERS taking you deeper. Do you?

“It is only the true gospel that protects the heart of God's man. But, what does it protect him from? From the love of money, from the pursuit of worldly things, and from ever thinking he can either EARN or LOSE the love of God. For God's man, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is everything. Don't miss the sixth and final session in our series “Inside Out”.

Why is it that the elderly are so revered in scripture, and so ignored in culture? When did men decide to take cues from our culture or our flesh rather than the word of God? 1 Timothy 5 will begin with a quick counter cultural calling for God's man to honor the more aged members of society...but the truth doesn't stop there! Join us for week 5 of From The Inside Out!

Our culture is eroding truth itself. We have subjective versions of truth; your truth, my truth…but, how do we know what is ACTUALLY the truth? We will only be able to spot a lie, to the extent that we know the truth. So what do we do? As God's Man we feast on the truth…DAILY! Join us as we unpack 1 Timothy 4, in our series “From The Inside Out!

So many things seek to control the heart, and the life of God's man. The desire to accumulate and achieve, the things we do for fun, the quest for meaning and purpose…but God's man is to be controlled by one thing… the Spirit of God. Join us for week 3 of our series “Inside Out” where we continue to unpack Paul's encouragement to Timothy.

In any battle, in any skirmish or military effort one of the initial and most important tactical attacks….is upon communication. If you can disrupt communication, you can defeat your enemy. For God's Man, prayer is our direct line of communication to our leader…Jesus Christ. Prayer is the method through which God reveals His plan, encourages our hearts, and leads our lives. The question is…are we men of prayer? Will we become men of prayer? Join us for session two as we unpack the power of a praying Man!

Everything that God wants to unlock in our lives, all of the places He wants to use us powerfully, everything He desires to do THROUGH us….begins by things unlocking WITHIN us. In a time when he deeply needed encouragement, Timothy received a letter from his lifelong mentor and friend..Paul. Through the book of 1 Timothy we will find out that God's man is made strong in the inner places, so that he can build the kingdom in the spaces and places God has placed Him. The Christian life is truly lived…. From The Inside Out.

TO REGISTER FOR THE EMM PROMISE LAND LIVING GROUP SIGN UP AT: https://promisedlandliving.com/emm/ When things are not going well materially in a man's life he tends to believe that things aren't going well spiritually. The thought is: "Maybe God isn't pleased with how I am living my life?" The translation or thinking behind that thought is that God is less present in financial adversity and more present in financial prosperity. WHOA! WHOA! WHOA! We all know poor people who live lives rich in love and God and rich people who live lives bankrupt in the same. So that can't be right and, according to the Bible, isn't! So how should we think about material prosperity? What should our attitude be about our financial condition? How do we get our heads right about this all consuming emphasis of life so that our peace is not robbed and we live joyfully and gratefully in God? Hit PLAY on session 5 of The Secret Life with Kenny Luck and find out.

Time is to relationships is what oxygen is to life - you can't have one without the other. The fact of the matter is that every man wants great relationships but not every man disciplines himself toward that strong hope. Any man who has ever taken an interest in a woman understands this! If he hopes to be with her in any way, he must discipline himself to get her attention, spend time, and risk acceptance or rejection. When it comes to getting close to God, that same hope and that same pursuit is met with acceptance one hundred percent of the time. Oh, and God loves when it is just you and him. Do we dare stand him up? Not if we desire closeness and connection. Join men's expert and Pastor Kenny Luck for a deep dive into Jesus' call for a secret life of spiritual disciplines.

My third grade teacher wrote on my progress report "Kenny is a bright student but he has diahrrea of the mouth." WOW. Point taken. I said a lot of words but they were not connected in the moment and I was not self aware - ruining the hope for meaningful connection with anybody! Jesus says "When you pray don't heap up empty phrases like the Gentiles do, for they think they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them." WOW. This is strong medicine when it comes to the discipline of prayer and what meaningful conversation with God looks like. What would Jesus write on our PRAYER PROGRESS REPORT? Sometimes we need to get it straight from Jesus - unfiltered. Join men's expert and pastor Kenny Luck on how a secret life of prayer can change everything.

Public visibility is the wallpaper of today's culture.  Before the advent of social media only the notorious or the glorious became visible by virtue of their victories, their vice or their violence.  Infamous.  The rest of humanity remained unseen.  Being seen is a primal human desire but being seen by God who has perfect knowledge, constant presence, and offers full acceptance - like the bible teaches - is seemingly not enough for most Christians.  So in response, and in an evil twist, Christians use their faith to be seen by others.  True in Jesus time.  True now.  True of you?  "That's not me!" you say? Self righteousness is not only powerfully deceptive, it's subtle but NOT a secret to those around you and to God himself.  At stake?  Your glory or God's glory.  One life makes religious life public by intention and the other makes it hidden by intention. Curious which is you? Join men's expert and pastor Kenny Luck for the answer to a challenging issue facing all Christians.

It is the stuff of news headlines when the private life of a public person goes viral. People are hungry to know what goes on in the private worlds of others lives - especially when they work hard to keep things unknown! The Bible says that there is no such thing as secret life when there is God. We can hide things from people. We can keep our thoughts to ourselves. Or we can compartmentalize the reality of God's omniscience neatly boxed away on a shelf in our brain to make space for certain behaviors. In fact, many times our hidden life reveals the person we don't want to be. But Jesus says there is another secret life that we can live that is invisible to men but visible to God which he desires to bless which forces a choice. We can live a secret life God will ultimately reveal or we can live a secret life that God will ultimately reward. Which life are you living? Join men's expert and pastor Kenny Luck for this powerful session introducing you to the secret life God sees, knows, and wants you to live with him.

In our last session, we discussed the reality that WHEN Christ returns, as well as HOW Christ returns is not nearly as impactful in our lives as the reality THAT Christ is returning. Chapter 5 does begin to give us a picture of what that day will look like…. And it will be unexpected! The reality of Christ's return informs everything in our lives…including how we encourage one another. Join us for our final session in 1 Thess.

For so many, death and hope cannot coexist. Death is the ultimate expression of hope that failed….but not for God's man! Through Christ, we realize that death can contain incredible hope…in fact, it is through the death of Christ that all hope is birthed! But how can we be prepared, aware and ready when our number is called? Join us as we complete chapter 4 of 1 Thess.

If the enemy can lower our view of scripture, he wins. Such a challenging and ominous reality in a world that is continuing to lower its view of the Bible. BUT, God's man recognizes that the words of Paul to the Thessalonians were, in fact, the very words of God brought by the Holy Spirit! Our view of the word shapes our view of everything! Join us as we jump into the first 12 verses of chapter 4.

Culture has sold us a brand of Christianity that promised no pain, no struggle and no conflict. Health, wealth and prosperity all wrapped up in an easy life…..but Paul loved us enough to lay it out plainly. We were not only promised troubles…we were destined for them BUT God's man can find peace, strength and even joy in the struggle. How? Tune into week 3!

The unity between us, comes from the Spirit of God living within us. Oftentimes, the challenges we faith in this live cause us to retreat. To retreat physically into isolation, and mentally and physically into a desperate aloneness making us vulnerable to the enemy. How can we turn towards one another during our most challenging seasons? How can our faith encourage another, and how can the faith of another protect a protective shield to me in times of trouble? Tune in to find out!

We live in an age where people cling tightly to their beliefs, and aren't afraid to cancel those who disagree. Our culture is politically minded and dangerously divided. I wonder, is the church any different? Christ's final prayer was that we would be unified. That we would be one. Truly, if Christ is what unites us? What thoughts, opinions or viewpoints could be strong enough to divide us? As God's men we must reclaim the unity of the body of Christ if we are to move forward and display Jesus to a world that desperately needs to meet Him.

GOD is a giver. In case you have ever doubted that aspect of his character or plain forgot that, just remind yourself that God "so loved the world that he GAVE his only Son" to save you. Ponder that again. Unlike us, God is not a witholder when the stakes are high. God does not operate on the scarcity principle. God unleashes generosity on us like parents unleash it on Christmas morning - we don't deserve all the stuff we get but we get it anyways! So if that is him, if that is what he models, then the actions of his kids follows the example of the Father right? We multiply what he gives us with others right? Hard stop.The answers to those simple but raw questions is the acid test of real Christianity. The other stuff is fluff. Generosity reveals our reality spiritually and will shape our eternity.

Anybody ever said to you, "You are so good at that?" Remembering that the least objective person about you is you (lol), ALL of us have abilities that we possess that rank higher than others. We often say things like "I am better with hammer than I am with a paint brush" or "I don't have the musical gene in this family." Some of our abilities we were born with and some that we have are "gifts" from the Holy Spirit. God's Word says that in both cases - He is the source and he wants you to use and multiply them for his purposes. He knows what talents and gifts He has given you and why. Do you? Join pastor and men's expert Kenny Luck for a deep dive into your personal and spiritual skill sets and how you can use them to fulfill his purposes.