Last week, a moment at a men's event in Springfield, Missouri, went viral. Opening the Stronger Men's Conference was professional sword-swallower and go-go dancer Alex Magala—a two-time Guinness World Record holder, Olympic Games Opening Ceremony performer, and America's Got Talent champion.
Magala [and the conference] made headlines when Pastor Mark Driscoll, speaking at the conference, publicly rebuked his [Magala's] performance, describing it as a "strip club" act. Regarding Magala's performance, Driscoll told conference attendees that a "Jezebel spirit opened our event." He compared the performance to Old Testament pagan idol worship. At that point, event organizer John Lindell, lead pastor of the James River Church in Missouri, could be heard calling Driscoll's name and telling him that he [Driscoll] was "out of line." Lindell then says, "You're [Driscoll] done," to which Driscoll promptly leaves the stage. Disorder ensues as the crowd erupts, some applauding Driscoll's departure and many chanting, "Bring him back!" Later in the conference, Lindell and Driscoll come out on stage to reconcile.
Since the event, the evangelical world has been up in arms, asking who was right and who was wrong. And, per usual, we are asking the wrong question.
Whether Driscoll should have publicly rebuked the performance is irrelevant. The question we should be asking is, "What are we doing?"
Is this what men need?
What does a sword-swallower have to do with biblical manhood and masculinity in the first place?
The Stronger Men's event is no stranger to spectacle—two years ago, the conference opened with Chuck Norris driving a tank through the arena. The crowd went bananas (for the record, I love Chuck Norris, the GOAT of 80's action films).
I want to remind Driscoll, Lindell, and the other event organizers of something Charles Spurgeon said centuries ago: "If you have to give a carnival to get people to come to church, then you will have to keep giving carnivals to keep them coming back."
In other words, what you win men with is what you win men to.
What Men Need
Men need God's Word, and men need other men. Anything that detracts from His Word and the community of other men is vain and possibly dangerous.
At some point, we men's leaders must accept that we will not entertain men into Christ-likeness. Jake Paul is far more provoking than the Church will ever be, which is fine. As a man wanting to be more like King Jesus, I don't need Jake Paul; I need the Apostle Paul.
And listen, I get it. Tyson v. Jake Paul will draw infinitely more men than a conference on Ephesians 5. Honestly, I'll probably tune in on July 20 to watch Tyson destroy Paul—the pinnacle of entertainment. What I don't need is Jake Paul [or Alex Magala, for that matter] headlining my spiritual development. I need God's Word and a community of older, wiser, faithful men showing me the way.
Today, men are confused. We are more biblically illiterate and lonelier than ever. This is not by chance. For decades, the Church has been serving men wild game and sideshow acts in hopes of... honestly, I am not sure what we hoped to accomplish. What we have managed to do is become a spectacle. Those watching the Stronger Men's debacle see this circus act and think, "Is this what Biblical masculinity is all about? Christ lived, died, and rose for go-go dancing and 80's movie stars driving decommissioned army tanks?"
Is it any wonder we can't get men to follow Jesus wholeheartedly?
My advice. Ditch the circus acts. Give men what they need: God's Word and community. Will that sell out an arena? Probably not. But that's okay. Honestly, we have to be careful with large religious crowds—it was a large religious crowd that crucified Jesus. Give me a faithful few. After all, it was one Man who saved the world and twelve men who changed it.
- Chris Harper