The choice to be a mighty man of God is personal and it also takes group effort. “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” – Proverbs 27:17 (NIV) There are desires that God puts in our hearts which when implemented, you look back and realize it was the best choice ever. With a heart full of joy, gratitude and no regrets, the story I am about to share with you is one such. The Mighty Man of God program was one of the best decisions ever made by 13 brothers from Nairobi Christian Church, Southern block, inspired by a desire to change and to stop living in mediocrity as Christians. The program was inspired by Sam Laing’s book, Mighty Man of God . The participants of the program were brothers from the Rongai and Dynasty sectors. God gave me the opportunity to coordinate the program. We studied Sam’s book which is based on the theme of David’s mighty men in 1 Chronicles 11, 12 and 2 Samuel 38:8 – 39. We cannot even claim to be like any of David’s mighty men, but there is always a beginning and an example of how to proceed. Sam Laing starts his book by outlining why he wrote it to the men. He had seen the ‘Men’s ministry’ decline and he wanted the men to rise up. He had a number of questions to the men, “Where are the men of God’s kingdom? Where are the men to lead the way in evangelism, in prayer, in love and in faith? Is it not the women who so often set the pace in spirituality, in numerical growth and in hearts devoted to God? And so one day, he invited the men of his group to a meeting at 5:30am. He told them that “the inconvenience of the hour was by design” meaning the sacrifice was worth the trouble. I discovered the book in 2000 from my friend and then discipler Pharis Mukuria. He had called our men’s group to an early morning meeting at 6:30 am. Pharis introduced, Mighty Man of God to us. He wanted to motivate men to rise up! We started the study and met consistently to complete the book. It inspired me and changed my life. Each time I read Mighty Man of God , I get new inspiration. It changed how I carry myself as a man and a disciple in the Kingdom of God. It also helped me change my attitudes at work and business, at home with my family and socially with friends. The thoughts that Sam shared helped me have a great regard and consideration for men first in the church and all around my life. I make every effort to encourage men to be better in all aspects of their lives. I notice that the world moves in certain ways because of how men carry themselves. With God’s help, I coordinated a similar program in men’s groups of the Kampala International Church of Christ when I worked in Uganda. Now that I have returned to Kenya, I believe God has called me to work with the men here as well.
As we started the study in August 2017, we acknowledged that we needed to boost the Men’s Ministry. We noticed that men in general do not make much effort to work together toward personal development. Every year at church we have a ‘Women’s Day’ but it is rare to have a Men’s Forum! I felt God put in my heart a deep burning desire to empower my brothers. After seeking advice and direction, I shared with the brothers about Mighty Man of God , to the effect that it could be a useful tool to help us in building our spirituality and other Godly characters in order to be better men, better disciples in the kingdom of God. After reviewing the introductions and understanding the writer’s motivation, the brothers agreed to give it a try. We prayed about it and asked God for guidance. We agreed to be meeting fortnightly on Saturdays. Together we agreed to the length and format for the study. We also set some ground rules concerning distractions and participation. We committed to be genuine and vulnerable in our sharing, disclose lessons learned and areas of weakness in a way that we would help each other grow. We would let go of our male egos, get out of our comfort zones and let go of the need for control. This gradual shift in relating made us feel closer to each other and the bond still exists. We have a common agenda, glory be to God. Topics we studied included spirituality, humility, purity, courage, nobility, honor, joy, discipline, lovingkindness, friendship, family and fitness among others. We capped it off with the epilogue about our Lord Jesus Christ, the mightiest man of all and whom we should strive to emulate as his disciples. Every one of us had lessons to learn and convictions to take home. What stuck out to me the most is that the spirituality of men is typically shallow. As Sam Laing puts it, “Many of us are focused on doing, not being. We want to work, accomplish and achieve for God, but we do not desire to draw near to God and deal with our inner selves. Venturing into the deep waters frightens us, so we wade in the shallows…” Therefore there was a need for depth, in prayer, in the study of God’s word, in relationships, in our expression of love, and in our commitment. It was an amazing walk with the brothers as they each reflected and applied these principles in their lives. The spirit of brotherhood grew steadily. God is super faithful and we learned a lot. As a result, we decided to organize a graduation ceremony which was held on 16th December 2018. It was officiated by our Evangelist, William Auki who also awarded the certificates of completion. It was a great success, glory be to God. Our wives and children, who will daily be the beneficiaries of our resolutions, joined us in the great celebration. In the book, there were continuous references to wives and children being the beneficiaries of the man’s godly character. As we graduated, I can testify that we are more unified than we were a year ago. For personal testimonials and more pictures, click here.
