A recent post by John about all the great men at CB got me to thinking about the critical role men play within The Body of Christ. A role which no one else can fill. Is it small wonder the enemy has not only tried to weaken the role of men in the world; he has tried to weaken it within The Body of Christ as well?

When I first entered the church building which I have attended for nearly six years, I was struck by something. I was struck by the presence of so many men. Not men who were just passively sitting there but they were engaged. I had always attended churches where the women far out-numbered the men. I don't know the exact ratio of course but I think the fact that I was shocked at the number of men tells you that is probably not the case at my current church.

When I switched to a church where there were so many men, the dynamics changed. There was a power and drive there which I had not experienced before. This is not to say that the Holy Spirit was not present in other congregations for He was. It's just that when men fulfill their God-given roles something amazing happens. I will add the same thing goes for women. We function well as the Body of Christ when we are all acting in a manner and doing the things the way God designed us to be.

I thought back over the years about men who have had a personal, positivel impact on me. Sadly enough... for most of my life there weren't too many.

My dad passed away when I was a teenager and although we had a good relationship, he did not come to Christ until three weeks before his death. I am very thankful for the lessons God taught me through my dad... even though that wasn't exactly what my dad intended to teach me at the time, LOL!

I never knew either of my grandfathers. One uncle passed away before I was born, another one was estranged and another one lived about 400 miles away. There were periodically men who passed through the doors of the church and made some impact on me as I was growing up but that was only in spurts here and there.

I'm very thankful that over the past decade, God has changed that. He has blessed me with Christian brothers who bless me, encourage me and pray for me. I will never forget how a group of men came around me at church one Sunday when I was going through chemo. I was feeling so weak and I knew it would hit me in about an hour and I'd be sick. These brothers came up and surrounded me and my husband. I could feel not only their strength but the strength of God as they supported us. They prayed, not just for me but for my husband as well. They told me that they "had us covered". What a blessing and encouragement that was!

I have some wonderful Christian brothers here at CB as well. There are brothers whom I have come to know over the past few years. They've prayed for me as I have battled various serious physical issues. They have sought to be an encouragement and a blessing not just to me but to others here at CB.

So I wanted to take a moment to thank all the wonderful brothers in Christ here at CB. May God bless you in all that you do as you faithfully labor for Him. Thank you for being men of God and for being...courageous.



Blessings!

K

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