An Open Letter to the Apostolic Lady. An Open Plea to the Apostolic Man

As I meet and speak with our great fellowship of believers I must say I'm seeing an alarming decay. I'm seeing more and more the fading away of the masculinity in the role of the church and family. Its becoming more and more prevalent with each passing year and is being reflected in prayer less men, weak preaching and fashion trends that are becoming more and more famine. Let me be clear I'm tired of seeing men's ankles in short cut skinny jeans. I'm tired of their weak effeminate prayers and I'm tired of weak preaching that has capitulated to sin and sounds more like a pep talk than it does a sermon from the heart of God. I'm no curmudgeon and I have no ax to grind. However I do see biblical trends in the weak Christian male that unless is addressed will lead to the downfall of many.

I don't suppose we should be to surprised at the falling away of the strong male role model. (and by strong I mean in spirituality and character so stop flexing those biceps.)

It shouldn't be surprising seeing the falling away of the strong man due to our current political and social climate where both men and boys are being told that the testosterone that was placed in his body by the hand of God has become toxic and outdated. The teaching of this toxic masculinity theory has done much damage to the fabric of our country and will lead to much pain for our children someday.

To put it simply you cannot have a safe healthy society where only half of Gods divine order is being celebrated and recognized as healthy. In the beginning he created them both male and female: masculinity and femininity. When God took the women from the side of man it is my belief that he took out certain aspects of the nature of God that man was created with such as femininity. We see these traits in the nature of God but are not prevalent in the nature of men. We don't label it as femininity in God just like we don't label his masculine traits. It is the character and nature of a God that is above all through all and in you all.

Now before you blow a gasket on me I'm not about to start ending my prayer with Awomen! But the caring and nurturing side of humanity, the role of motherhood, did it not come from God? I believe this is why the church is referenced to in the female sense in the bible, because the church is show the same care and nurture as a mother does her children. So with the bases for my letter laid and my heart satisfied that you will read with the understanding that I am genuinely concerned for the future of the church let me move forward.

Dear Apostolic Lady,

I see you and I see your labor. I have grown up in this faith and I have both seen and heard the testimonies of your trials and struggles. I hear my wife when she speaks of how everyone in the room looks at her different because of how she dresses. I've heard the stories of how family members do not understand your commitments to God and because they don't understand they attack you and try to make you feel out of place in their company.

I know well that on a regular basis some women is pointing out your long hair and saying if you would just cut it off a little it would look so much better. I've heard the mean things that other people say to you both because they don't understand your walk with God and because they are intimidated by your walk with God. It is human nature. We attack what we don't understand and what intimidates us.

I have spent a lifetime walking stores with my mother first and now with my wife searching for clothes that will fit in a modest way. I've watched as you search rack by rack and store to store searching for modesty in an immodest world. You have learned to sew adding material where the original design fell short. You have kept the safety pin industry moving by adding pins to pull together gaps that were designed to draw men's eyes where they should not be.

I will never understand what it is like to be the embodiment of the bride of Christ. I will never understand having God dictate what I wear on my body as a way of showing a lost world the glory and beauty that is his church. I've never had someone attack my hairstyle to make me feel less than. So I will not act like I can relate anything about my commitments to God to what you do every day. But know this, we the apostolic men, your husbands and your sons, see you and we appreciate you.

While we may never know the struggle of finding Godly clothing or having someone attack our hairstyle as a way to make us feel less than, we stand and applaud your courage and grace. You walk with your head high as an example of what femininity and grace should be. You proudly wear your glory on your head and have power with God because you have chosen to be peculiar to a lost world. You have chosen to shun the outward adorning of gold and jewels to be instead adorned with a spirit that is in the sight of God a great price.

To the man I would say this, you too have seen the lives lived by our wives, daughters, mothers and sisters. you have seen the tear filled eyes after another encounter with a bully. Don't let them fight this struggle alone. It creates confusion in your home when you expect your wife or your daughter to dress one way then fill your screens with women who are anything but Holy. They need you to be strong. They need you to be the man.

You cannot set idly by as your spouse and your child carry the bulk of the standards of the church and endure the brunt of the attack of the enemy. We often quote 1 Tim.2:9-12 in our teaching of standards and separation but fail to mention 1 Tim 2:8 but in doing so we miss the mans role in holiness. I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. That is the likewise that Paul is linking to in his teaching on standards and dress for ladies. Praying, worshipping able to control their temper, faithful men.

First and foremost, we must cover our families with our prayers and our worship. Men should always be the first in and last out of the prayer closet and should be a driving force of worship in our homes and our churches.

Second we cannot remain silent. When Satan came to speak to Eve in the garden he twisted Gods words to make her doubt the goodness of God. All the while Satan was speaking doubt into Eves ear and causing her to question the ways of God Adam is silent. He set idle as his wife "bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh" was waging a war within herself. As the serpent spoke doubt and confusion rushed into the mind of Eve until the point came where she ate of the fruit. And Adam was still silent.

Genesis 3:6 says that she "gave also to her husband with her; and he did eat."

Adam was there for the entire thing. He saw this episode of temptation play out before his eyes and did not raise his voice. It should have been his heel that crushed the head of the serpent for speaking lies into the ear of Eve. Instead his silence lead to the downfall of humanity because it wasn't when Eve at of the tree that their eyes where opened its when he failed God. Adams failure began when he let was not the strong man that his wife needed in a moment of personal weakness.

We cannot set by as Satan speaks his lies into the ears of our families. We cannot let this fallen world dictate to our families what is right and moral. Men it is time to stand. It is time to put off the silly things we have let preoccupy our minds and it is time to rise up and be strong men for our families. It is time for you to take serious the charge of Paul to pray everywhere. Stop being intimidated on the job to let your coworkers see the Holy Ghost filled man of God you are. Your wife isn't incognito any where she goes, its time for you to borrow a piece of her backbone and be an Godly man wherever you are. No more being like King Saul and hide among the stuff. Stand up and stand out.