Florida vs. Ohio

So I grew up in Florida, but I live in Ohio. For those of you who have been to Ohio, you already understand the joke. I don't even need to say anything. For those of you who haven't, let me explain.

Florida is the Sunshine State. Ohio is the Buckeye State, so named for the Buckeye tree, or fetid buckeye, which derives its unflattering name from the disagreeable odor produced by its leaves and twigs. It also produces poisonous flowers and nuts, which the locals named their football team after (naturally).

In Florida, we could go to the beach in our free time. In Ohio, we … well, actually I've lived here almost a year and I'm still not sure what Ohioans do in their free time.

Florida's largest city is Miami, which has South Beach. Ohio's largest city is Cleveland, which is also known as "The Mistake by the Lake."

Florida is part of the Bible Belt. Ohio is part of the Rust Belt.

In Florida, it's sunny all year round. In Ohio … not so much. I broke my sunglasses last September and didn't even notice until this week.

However, the one thing I'll give Ohio is this: I never realized the joy of spring until I got here. This week, which is what I'm counting as the first week of spring, has been glorious. Real sunshine every day (I didn't realize this until I got here, but there is "fake" sunshine, when the sun is technically out but you can't really tell; and "real" sunshine, when you have to squint to see.) Highs in the low 80s. Constant breeze. The leaves are back. Flowers are blooming. Frankly, it's beautiful.

I never appreciated the joy of spring in Florida. In Florida, you take the good weather for granted. Not in Ohio. When it's nice, you appreciate it.

Sometimes I feel that way about my faith. If things are going well and everyone is doing fine, I often find that I take the joys of the Lord for granted. I get lazy and forget all the amazing things He has to offer me. The peace of prayer, the quiet wisdom of His Word, the joy of worship.

But when things are going rough, when it's the winter season in life, I tend to hold on to those joys more tightly. I'm much more aware of them and the importance of them in my life. That's why I love the "Blessed Be Your Name" song from Matt Redman. It hits you at whatever part of life you are in.

This year, I'm going to try to focus on the Lord even when things are going well—and not take Him for granted. Here's hoping that whether you are in a winter or summer season in your life, you won't either.

Being Superman

Last night my wife asked me to lift the mattress and tuck in the sheets, but that's not what I heard in my head. My brain translated that request as, "Oh, husband, could you use your burly arms to lift this giant weight and save me, your helpless wife, from my distress?" I jumped to action, only to be deflated when I actually had to struggle to lift the darn thing (hey, it's a big mattress).

One of my favorite stand-up routines from Jerry Seinfeld is when he talks about how, deep down, all men think they are Superman. He uses the example of the guy who is driving a mattress home from the store and, even though it's strapped down, he's still got an arm out the window holding on to it. The guy is thinking, If that strap breaks, don't worry, I got it. It's the same absurd thrill we get from moving heavy objects or from killing bugs while women are screaming.

God designed men to be leaders, protectors and providers. Those roles can sometimes be a little harder to find in 21st century America than they might have been in 17th century America. We're not plowing fields or repelling attackers or hunting for dinner, so we take what we can get. Sometimes that means getting a kick out of some minor skirmish with a centipede, but more often than not it means acting in the same ways that our manly forefathers would have, even though the scenarios are different.

We may not have to plow fields or build our own houses, but we still have to work hard. There's nothing more unmanly than a lazy guy, someone who isn't doing what is necessary to provide for the family. We may not have to repel attackers, but we definitely have to watch out for our wives and children, even though the threats may not be as obvious. And, like every man throughout history, we have to be leaders, especially when it comes to spiritual things.

That can be hard these days, because a lot of men have grown up with no father or with a father who did not display the godly principles he should have. That's why I was excited to find this week's lead story for the eMag—John Smithbaker's new ministry, Fathers in the Field. John has created a fantastic ministry for men to become father figures in the lives of boys who don't have one.

I'm also excited that we are starting the first of our biweekly columns from the leaders of Iron Sharpens Iron. The first one, from their president, Brian Doyle, explains what it means to be a spiritual leader in the home. Brian has been involved in working with and discipling men for a long time, and I am thrilled to get someone of his experience giving us insights.

At New Man, we want to help you become the Superman that God intended you to be. So, as always, we'd love for you to let us know how we're doing and how we can do it better.

The Challenge of Busyness

Hey guys, a change is coming to New Man and we believe you're going to like it! As a way to ease the burden on your time, we've decided to split the eMagazine into two parts during the week. Starting next week, you'll receive the first part on Tuesdays, with the great stories you've come to expect from us, and a new second part on Thursday, with my blog post and another great feature article.

We found that a lot of you guys didn't have time to go through all nine articles in the eMag at once, so we hope this change will make it a little easier for you to digest all that we offer, without sacrificing any of the content. We'd really like to hear your feedback, though. Tell us what you think about the new two-issue format. Love it? Hate it? Let us know in the Comments section.

This hits on the point I wanted to talk about this week, which is how the typical American Christian guy is one of the busiest creatures on the planet. One of the things that struck me as I was talking to the men from Iron Sharpens Iron a few weeks ago was how challenging it is to get men involved in life of the church. Most pastors find it downright discouraging how few men they can get to volunteer, join a small group or even come to events.

Part of the problem is a spiritual one; the lack of good male leadership in this country is something we all can agree on. But one of the things that those in men's ministry have realized is that many Christian men would love to be involved in more things in the life of their churches—they just don't have the time. Iron Sharpens Iron director Brian Doyle said that getting a man to come to a one-day conference is a huge thing to ask. In order to do it, he said, you have to convince him that attending is worth his one Saturday of the week—a Saturday when he could be spending time with his wife, playing with his kids, getting household duties done, relaxing or taking care of people who rely on him, such as elderly parents.

It's amazing how busy most of us are. If we want to do something, usually we have to check three different schedules as well as ask our wives before we can be sure it's possible. This is the same reason that men's small groups tend to happen at ridiculously early hours of the morning. It's the only time in the day we've got!

This is one of the toughest battles we can face because there are so many legitimate pulls on our time. As men of God, we should be responsible, work our jobs and handle our responsibilities around the home. We need to be investing in our marriages—spending quality time with our wives to keep the relationship growing. Those with kids at home know that children require more time than anything else yet are more important than anything else that demands our time. Add to this the time we should be spending with God, and all of it combined can drive a man crazy. Trying to take one more responsibility at church can feel like promising time that doesn't even exist. There's really no easy solution to this, other than the fact that we do need to prioritize our lives.

If you know you are terminally busy, make sure that you are busy for the right reasons. Do you really need to be spending that extra half hour at work? How important is time in front of the TV? What would happen if you woke up a half an hour earlier? As long as we are recognizing this problem and making conscious decisions about how to spend our days, we can overcome it. If you just do whatever comes up and don't prioritize, your time will be eaten away.

Men's Ministry and New Man

Men's ministries and New Man have always had a close-knit relationship. Our magazine was actually launched as the official Promise Keepers magazine when that organization was starting to hit it big in the mid-1990s, and we have been inseparable from the movement ever since. We have the same goals, the same audience and the same issues.

That's why I'm excited to announce a new partnership between New Man and Iron Sharpens Iron, an amazing ministry that has grown dramatically in the last few years. As you can read about in the main story, Iron Sharpens Iron is actually a group of ministries dedicated to reaching men through conferences, discipleship and the local church. God has given them a clear vision and a heart for the men of this country, and it's been so exciting to talk with them and hear their passion over the past few weeks.

One of the best parts about this new partnership is that you, the readers, are going to benefit. Starting soon, we will be running columns from the various leaders in Iron Sharpens Iron at least once a month. This will be all-new content from guys with years of experience in ministering to men. You're probably thinking, "Wait, I read Chris' column every week, why would I need another one?" I know, that's what I thought, too. (Note to all blog posters: that was a joke).

But I'm seriously excited to hear from these men. As a young Christian, I can only talk about and discuss certain things. I'm in no position to offer advice on marriages, fatherhood or discipling. I just don't have the experience. These guys have been doing it for years, and they know how to do it right.

Look for these new columns to start soon!

The Positive Side of Recession

One of the strange things I keep hearing as I've been interviewing Christian leaders and authors in recent months is how much more open people are to hearing the gospel and the Word of God since the economic recession started. Many of them are saying they are seeing more people respond to their messages, more people interested in their faith, and more people learning to rely on God.

Of course, in many ways this isn't strange. Anyone who has been in a crisis and seen God pull them through can testify to how powerful it was for their faith and their life. It's one thing to put your faith in God when things are going well. It's entirely different to do it when things are really tough. But those are the times when God works most powerfully.

When you can literally see God provide for you or give you comfort and aid in a really tough time, the power of Christ is never more evident. This is why Christianity is spreading so quickly and powerfully in poor or oppressed portions of the world right now. You will rely on God when you have no one else to turn to.

Since the time I was a kid, it seems like one of modern-day America's biggest hurdles in turning to God has been our prosperity. We don't need God to provide for us because we have money. We don't constantly turn to him in prayer because we have so many other things to do. But when times get tough, that's when the important things surface.

I've experienced that in my own life in recent months. It's amazing to see how God has provided for my wife and me over the time we've been married. It seems that every time we hit a major hurdle, whether it's financial or otherwise, He is there to provide for us (even if it's usually at the last second). If you are going through a rough time, know that God is in control and turn to Him.