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Iron Sharpens Iron
This dynamic fast-growing ministry works hand-in-hand with the local church to challenge men to be leaders at home, at work and in the church
By Drew Dyck
Robert couldn’t get the name right. His tongue kept sliding into King James English.
“Iron Sharpeneth Iron,” he repeatedly called the West Hartford-based men’s ministry, Iron Sharpens Iron, which takes its name from Proverbs 27:17: “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”
I couldn’t fault him for the slipup. A lot of guys have nostalgia for the poetic prose of the classic translation. And besides, the men’s ministry in question had only been around since 2001, which was hard to believe considering its already impressive size and scope.
In a mere seven years, Iron Sharpens Iron (ISI) has grown dramatically and changed the face of men’s ministry in North America. Last year ISI worked with local men’s ministries to hold conferences in 24 cities. This year 36 conferences are planned. In 2009 ISI plans to hold 50 conferences throughout the country. These meetings—which can draw thousands of men—feature lively worship, seminars, top-notch speakers and unforgettable times of fellowship.
No description, however, can capture the white-hot excitement that these meetings generate.
“You really have to be here to experience it,” says ISI President Brian Doyle.
In the near future many men will have the opportunity to do just that. On Saturday, March 8 (this weekend) there will be ISI conferences in California, Virginia, Illinois, Florida and Connecticut. The Connecticut conference in Hartford is the longest-running conference, and hits capacity at 3,000 men each year.
ISI is also leading the way to reconcile the rocky relationship between the church and men’s ministry in general. In the past, some churches have felt threatened by the ability of outside ministries to draw large numbers of men. And once the hype of the conferences faded, there was often no plan to engage the newly energized attendees into the life of a local body.
But ISI has been intentional about bridging that traditional gap. First, ISI does not go it alone. Every conference is hosted by a local men's ministry that is focused on equipping churches to train men for spiritual leadership in the home, church and community. The one-day men's conference is merely the most visible resource that is offered to the church and is provided only in addition to the on-the-ground consulting, training, coaching, equipping and encouraging that takes place all year round.
Doyle believes the ministry provides a much-needed corrective for men. He feels churches have gone too easy on the male members of their congregations in the past.
“The church has taken the pressure off men—in a bad way,” Doyle says. “If we can get our families to church, then we think we’ve done our job spiritually. We give the spiritual responsibility over to ‘the professionals,’” he says.
The result, Doyle observes, is that men have a hands-off approach to guiding their families spiritually.
That’s exactly what ISI seeks to change.
“When you equip men to be God’s man in the home, very quickly they become God’s man outside the home,” Doyle points out. “Rarely does it happen the other way around.”
The ministry does not compete with the local church. Rather, it aims to empower it.
“Our goal is to give the church the tools and resources to mobilize and equip men,” Doyle says. “We’re all about training and encouraging the local church.”
The ministry has chosen a coalition structure over a monolithic model.
“I want to share this ministry with men all over the country,” Doyle notes. “I want them to bring this to their local churches and change men’s lives.”
He emphasizes the need for men to connect with other men in order for those changes to occur, adding that “none of this happens in isolation.” Getting men together is a challenge, he explains.
“As men, we are generally well-connected when we’re young. We play sports in high school. In college we have lots of friends. But then we get into careers and get isolated. We usually do very little to form new relationships.”
Doyle sees today’s Christian men’s movement as “much more diverse, entrepreneurial and less organized.” All those changes, he believes, are for the best. Yet he still sees a place for the large, catalytic event, like those which ISI holds all over the country.
“When you have a mass of men, they worship differently,” Doyle says. “They can get lost and let down their guard. That’s a very special place.”
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