sacred effort

Fellas,

This is a strange ask for me as I’ve never quite done something like this (you'll find the regular email at bottom of this email). But I’ve had enough conversations with you all I wanted to bring it to this community. 

As you know Jefferson Bethke and I have been focusing on serving men through writing, retreats, conferences, and our forthcoming book. 

And to be honest, the depth of response has been humbling and overwhelming. We are constantly amazed at the passion and hunger to see God work in the hearts of men around the world. 

We have been trying to discern what the next steps are for us, and how we can more strategically formalize the momentum and calling into something that serves men with more intentionality and skill.

So we are excited to announce we are launching a non-profit ministry under which a ton of these initiatives will be housed.

We want to be able to offer events and resources for free, for the men who need them most. We want to serve Gen Z, men in under resourced communities, and church communities. We want to get a property that becomes a hub for men to visit and find formation.

And that’s where we are looking for a few specific guys to be stakeholders and early stage donors for this ministry. 

To do this we are hosting a retreat in PA/NY in May, for about 20 men who want to be early advisors, and founding large donors for the ministry. We still have a couple spots open.

I thought I would reach out and see if helping fund a new mens ministry stirs any of your hearts. To be clear, this is a resource raising event to push back the kingdom of darkness for years to come--not just hang time :) but thought I would put it out there. 

The expenses for the retreat are covered (except airfare), and the food alone will be life changing—but we’ll mainly be giving you a 36 hour time to replenish your soul while casting vision on what we sense God has in store. 

And if this isn’t the right spot for you, we would covet your prayers and support as we move ahead. 

We will be hosting other events for pastors and leaders on how we see the nonprofit serving them in the future as we get farther down the road.

You can reach out to Jeff at jeff@formingmen.com for more info. Maybe let him know a little bit about you as well on the email.

Grateful for you all,

Now on to this week’s email.

______________________

On Saturday, March 4, 1865, President Lincoln stood up in front of the nation to give his second inaugural address. Lincoln was a man deeply marked by the passage of time. A darkness seemed to hang over him and his large frame was bent heavy with grief. The nation was devastated by the civil war, and the casualties were almost inconceivable for the time.  In a few brief paragraphs, Lincoln shared his heart, shared his sorrow, and called the nation forward.

Lincoln was unsure of how this speech was received in the midst of such division and pain. 

In seeing Frederick Douglass, he asked him what he thought. 

“Mr. Lincoln,” Douglass replied, “that was a sacred effort.”

A sacred effort.

Is there really anything more that a man can give than that?

We live today in a world marked be mediocrity.

Halfhearted men giving a percentage of their potential to those around them. 

You can see this everywhere.

Politicians marked by narcissism and corruption, serving themselves. Selfish effort.

Products being sloppily built without thought of who will use them. Halfhearted effort.

Indifferent customer service causing frustration and disappointment. Halfhearted effort.

Kids at the park while their dads stare at their screens. Halfhearted effort.

In the book of Malachi God rebukes the priest and the people for halfhearted effort. 

Malachi writes. 

“A son honors his father, and a slave his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the LORD Almighty.

“It is you priests who show contempt for my name.

“But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’

“By offering defiled food on my altar.

“But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’

“By saying that the LORD’s table is contemptible. When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the LORD Almighty.

God was grieved by the contempt shown to his name for the leaders bringing half hearted offerings. They gave God the scraps of their wealth, the leftovers of their love and somehow thought he wouldn’t mind.

It’s not hard for a man to stand out in a world of mediocrity. 

Just do things with sacred effort.

Treat your kids like it will be the last time you see them. One day it will be true.

Treat your wife like you have an enemy seeking to destroy your marriage. You do.

Do your work with excellence like it’s for Jesus himself. It is. 

Worship like you are preparing for eternal life. You are. 

We can’t change everything, fix everything, or save everyone, but we can do what God puts in front of us with sacred effort. And in a mediocre world, that is enough.

Thanks for reading.

Cheers.

Jon.