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HonorBound: Men's Ministries is more than a name
for Men's Ministries. It is a new way of looking at oneself as a godly man.
As a result, it embodies the vision of where we are trying to go with all
the men. The major philosophy is to challenge men to think about who they
are in Christ when they think of the name HonorBound. HonorBound rests on
four basic principles, all of which come from the Word of God.
- In John 5:23, Jesus declares that to honor Him is
to honor our Father who is in heaven.
- In Matthew 15:4, the Lord also said that we are to
honor our father and mother; and in this statement laid down a principle
for honoring our families.
- And then the apostle Paul, in 1 Timothy 5:3, said
we are to make provisions for those who are in need.
- In 1 Peter 2:17, the apostle Peter says we are to
honor those who are in authority over us.
These four principles paint a picture of what it means
to be an HonorBound man. At the very core of being HonorBound is the idea of
honor in every sense of the word. If a man can look himself in the mirror
and see himself as someone different, someone dressed in the full armor of
God, fully ready to take on life as a man of honor, then we will have
accomplished the vision of HonorBound.
Kingdom Service
HonorBound signifies that we are men with potential for service in the
Kingdom, and that we are linked to the promise of the Holy Spirit as we see
Him empowering the lives of disciples in the Early Church. The ultimate goal
is to challenge men to become godly husbands, godly fathers, godly
supporters of their pastors, and full-fledged servants of the Lord Jesus.
Spiritual Leaders
We believe there must be an emphasis on becoming spiritual leaders in our
homes and families. This emphasis shifts the pendulum from what our
traditional approach to men's ministry has been, from only getting men
involved in ministry activities, to challenging men to become the spiritual
leaders in their homes and churches. To do this, it is important that men be
engaged in a lifetime of discipleship development and training. The sad fact
is that very few men, including pastors, have had effective discipling by
men who were fully discipled themselves. It's also intended that we would
equip, motivate, and challenge men who are fathers to improve their
fathering skills and become godly fathers. Most family problems come from
father failure, and may be neutralized by strong paternal leadership.
Unfortunately, in the United States since 1900, fathers have been
emotionally focused on the marketplace instead of the home. While men have
become very competent businessmen, many have made terrible fathers. With
two-income families the norm, not the exception, children do not receive the
character training and role modeling they need.
It is critical that HonorBound focus on the development
of fathering. This, as much as any other issue, requires immediate attention
and is embedded in the philosophy of our ministry. To achieve this vision
for HonorBound it is important that pastors and lay leaders pursue ministry
to their men in a new and fresh way. There are five building blocks that
will contribute to the accomplishment of this goal:
- Men's Ministry must be seen from a spiritual
perspective. It must be bathed in prayer. It must be considered as much
a part of the work of the Holy Spirit as any other area of ministry.
- The second building block must be a balanced
emphasis on being versus doing. In other words, emphasis on what a man
becomes versus what he does.
- There must be gender-specificity. There is a
difference between how one ministers to men versus how one ministers to
women. Activities targeted at men must be tailored for men. There must
be a goal orientation to these activities and ministries with a clear
sense of achievement evident at their conclusion.
- The fourth building block is intentionality. This
simply means that the outcome must be decided upon up front with a clear
vision of what the major purpose is.
- There must be pastoral involvement. This building
block calls for pastors to become involved with their men, supporting
ministry to their men, and setting the example for their men.
It is the sincere hope that HonorBound will become the
model for ministry to men throughout this country, regardless of fellowship
or denomination.
Copyright 2000-2006 The General Council of the Assemblies of
God
HonorBound: Men's Ministry, 1445 Boonville
Avenue, Springfield, MO 65802-1894. HonorBound is a registered
trademark. All rights reserved
mms@faithagljky.org
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