Stand Firm, Stand Up, Stand Together: A Vision for Men of Faith

The Vision of Stand

At the start of this new academic year, we took time during our last Stand Gathering to consider the vision of this ministry. I believe it’s important to share this with you as we look ahead. In short, the vision of Stand is to see the men in our church Stand Firm, Stand Up, and Stand Together. I want to invite and encourage you to be part of this vision moving forward.

Stand Firm

1 Corinthians 16:13 – “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.”

Whenever I think about or pray for the men of our church, I am drawn to this verse. We all know that the walk of faith is not an easy one. In the face of life’s difficulties and challenges, we want to be Men of God who are watchful, or as the NIV puts it, “on guard.” We believe Stand is a key way for us to grow as men who guard our faith and work through the challenges of our walk. I shared at Stand three key challenges I believe we as men in The City Church need to be watchful of:

1. Apathy
   It’s hard to stay passionate. Life has an amazing way of draining our energy and enthusiasm for the Lord. Brothers, be watchful of this. Don’t allow your heart to grow cold towards Christ—guard against apathy. We often blame busyness for why we aren’t growing in our walk with Christ, citing that we don’t have time for Him. Yet, I wonder if the problem is more about our priorities. Our apathy has led us to spend hours watching Netflix or enjoying our hobbies, neglecting time with our Lord.

2. Burdens
   The pressures and responsibilities we carry can result in us neglecting our first priority—Christ. Our time, energy, emotions, and thoughts are poured into work, family, and leadership, making Jesus an afterthought. Brother, be watchful. Have your responsibilities pushed you away from Jesus rather than toward Him? Have your devotions to Christ become shallow and rushed rather than deep and slow?

3. Consumerism
   Be watchful that your spiritual life isn’t becoming a consumeristic one. Are we focused on what we get from God and the Church, while ignoring what we can give? Do we discipline ourselves in the pursuit of God, or are we expecting Him to deliver everything to us on a silver plate?

All of us will see that one or more of these challenges are present in our walk with God. So, the charge to Stand Firm is for all of us. It means to hold on and keep walking. This command to “stand firm” is not found only in 1 Corinthians. In fact, in the ESV it appears 13 times, calling us to stand firm. This is not just a call to the Christians in Corinth but to all the saints, including you and me. The Lord knows that the walk of faith is hard; He isn’t disappointed or frustrated with us in our struggles. He understands and sympathizes. So, brothers, our heart is that we would all be Men of God who learn how to Stand Firm.

Ephesians 6:13
"Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm."

Let’s get practical. What does it look like to Stand Firm?

1. Showing Up
   We stay in the fight. No matter what struggles and challenges we face, by God’s grace, we are able to remain present and involved at home, at work, and in the church.

2. Taking the Lead
   We refuse to allow ourselves to settle or stagnate. We aim to go deeper into the things of God—from our devotional lives to our marriages or singleness. We are men who lead in pursuing God.

3. Being Real
   We won’t pretend with the Lord, ourselves, or one another. We will be honest and vulnerable about our sins, struggles, and worries. We will ask for help and go deep with each other.

Stand Up

Psalm 94:16 – “Who rises up for me against the wicked? Who stands up for me against evildoers?”

This Psalm is a prayer to God, where the people of God cry out and declare His character as one who stands up against the wicked and evildoers. Brothers, we are image-bearers of God, called to be Jesus’ ambassadors in this world. Part of that means we are to be men who Stand Up, or as Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 16:13, “Act like men, be strong.” That means we are courageous, not cowards. We step out for the Lord and shine in the darkness.

Too many of us have swallowed the western dream, where our life goals are to have a comfortable and quiet life, with a big house, a great job, and a beautiful family. This leads us to compromise in our faith. We allow ourselves to be reshaped by the world; our language and lifestyle don’t reflect the God we love. We compromise in our homes, with husbands failing to love and lead their wives as Christ loved the Church, and fathers failing to prioritize the spiritual leadership of their households. We also compromise in the workplace in pursuit of success. This results in Men of God who are spiritually hiding, not taking responsibility for themselves or others.

We want to be men who Stand Up for Jesus—not subtly sliding into compromise but continually striving for holiness. What does this look like?

1. Take Responsibility
   We stop making excuses and take a stand. We seek to grow in our walk with Jesus, deepening our devotion and cultivating spiritual disciplines that help us grow.

2. Take a Risk
   We step out in faith. Rather than spiritually hiding, we grow in boldness, sharing our faith with those who don’t yet know Jesus. We step out in the church, using our gifts and passions for the glory of God, the good of others, and our own growth.

3. Take a Stance
   We make a stand when it comes to purity. We will live in a manner worthy of our calling, refusing to subtly slide into compromise but growing in holiness. Whether it’s fighting greed, lust, jealousy, anger, slothfulness, gossip, or any other vice, we will refuse to make excuses for our sins.

Stand Together

Hebrews 10:24-25 – “Let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another.”

Finally, we want to be men who Stand Together. Notice how the writer of Hebrews urges us to consider how we can do this—we must be intentional in walking this life with others. The enemy’s tactic is to isolate, and in our age of individualism, we are being taught that we can do life alone. Brothers, let’s be Men of God who intentionally walk this life together.

Standing Together benefits us all. As we see in Hebrews, it’s about spurring one another toward love and good deeds. The purpose of togetherness is growth: growth in our love for God, the Church, and the lost, and growth in our holiness in words and deeds. We want to be intentional in encouraging and challenging one another to be holy as Christ is holy.

Let’s not neglect meeting together. We want to be men who prioritize one another, being there for each other, encouraging, strengthening, and building one another up. I have never met a mature man or woman of God who doesn’t prioritize the Church, investing in and getting involved in many areas of Church life.

So, what does it look like for us to Stand Together as men?

1. Gathering
   If anything I’ve written has stirred your heart or resonates with you, I encourage you to prioritize joining us at Stand. We meet on Sunday evenings, six times a year, for our pizza evenings. Between those, we have our huddles, where we aim to form discipleship relationships. Come and join us on this journey.

2. Going Deep
   When we come together, we want to spur one another on. For that to happen, we need to commit to making our time together a space for depth. We look at the Word, share our struggles, and pray and prophesy over one another. We want relationships where conversations go deeper than work or football.

3. Calling Things Out
   To Stand Together means we challenge one another in love. We don’t ignore the sins in our own lives or in each other’s lives. We are quick to confess sin, repent, and seek forgiveness, but we’re also quick to lovingly call out issues in one another’s lives.

This is a counter-cultural vision, brothers. I would love to see us grow as Men of God who Stand Firm, Stand Up, and Stand Together. Please join us on this journey. If you know there are areas in your life that need to change and input from godly brothers would help you, make Stand a priority. Or, if you are in a season where you feel like you’re walking well with the Lord and knowing His victory, make Stand a priority and come stand with others, encouraging and sharpening them with your godly example.

You can sign up for our next Stand Gathering here.

Love in Him,
Martin