Men at the
Cross to be
in St. Louis
July 11-12, 2008
By
Jim Day
What ever happened to discipleship?
Where are the Christian men in our churches who have been transformed by the
Spirit of God and are in a sharing relationship with another man on an
intentional journey to maturity in Jesus Christ? How seriously have we
taken the imperative of Jesus to “make disciples”?
Greg Ogden, in his book Transforming Discipleship,
contends we are aware of the “discipleship deficit” in our churches but are
not sure how to address it. He categorizes the state of 
discipleship
as “superficial” in a church growing in width but remaining shallow in depth.
He sees this condition as significantly contributing to the poor moral and
spiritual climate of our culture.
Oswald Chambers, in addressing our task as
Christian workers, speaks to the “commercial view” of our churches where we
count increasing numbers as pleasing to God. He goes on to say: “Salvation
and sanctification are the work of God’s sovereign grace; our work as His
disciples is to disciple lives until they are wholly yielded to God. One
life wholly devoted to God is of more value to God than one hundred lives
simply awakened by His Spirit. As
workers for God we must reproduce our own kind spiritually, and that will be
God’s witness to us as workers. God brings us to a standard of life by
His grace, and we are responsible for reproducing that standard in others.” (My Utmost for His Highest).
Enter Men at the Cross
In the words of Joe White, founder and
president of Men at the Cross, the ministry is a non-denominational movement of
Christ followers who are passionate about turning the heart of our nation back
to God. Joe states: “Men at the Cross will gather men from all walks of
life to consider the transforming grace of Jesus Christ and radically commit
our hearts to follow Him and engage in disciple making. Our focus will be
to empower men to enlist in a Paul/Timothy style discipleship process whereby
every man in every Men at the Cross arena and stadium gathering will be trained
and equipped to ‘find a Timothy’ and love him to Jesus until he’s ready to love
another man to Jesus. Each event
attendee will receive two 24-week training books that will teach ‘24 Pillars’
of the Christian faith to be used in the disciple making process.”
For those not familiar with Joe White, Joe
is also the president of Kanakuk Kamps for Christian youth (www.kanakuk.com) with
13 camps in Missouri and one in Colorado. (Kanakuk, by the way, is an Indian
word for “the loved one.”) Joe is perhaps best known for his dramatic
presentation acting out the part of a Roman cross maker which has lead
thousands to a saving knowledge of Christ Jesus.
In further elaborating on the mission of Men
at the Cross Joe explained, “Men at the Cross is designed to equip Christian
men in two crucial areas: One, to be disciplers of other men in the faith and two,
to help men be the leaders God intends them to be in their homes and
communities. The model for this equipping is based on 2 Timothy 2:2: ‘The things
you’ve heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to
faithful men who will be able to teach others also.’
“Our aim is to come alongside the local church
by empowering men to become disciple-makers for a lifetime. We’re going to
carry one-day and two-day programs to arenas across the nation, 
including
the first one, which will be in St. Louis.
“Men at the Cross is a revolution that seeks
to turn the heart of our nation back to the God who created us and to whom our
founders worshiped and gave credit for our inception and countless
blessings. As Christopher
Columbus wrote regarding his discovery voyage to today’s America, ‘There is no
question that the inspiration was from the Holy Spirit, because He comforted me
with rays of marvelous illumination from the Holy Scriptures.’ George
Washington in one of his famous declarations described the heart of America’s
founding ideals, ‘You do well to wish to learn our arts and ways of life, and
above all, the religion of Jesus Christ.’
“As it was with the vast majority of our founders
who were dedicated ‘men at the cross’ so it is with our heartbeat today. We
believe our nation is poised for a great revival unlike any before it. We
also believe that Jesus’ words in the Great Commission are crystal clear that
our calling is to ‘make disciples.’ Men
at the Cross will gather men from all walks of life to consider the transforming
grace of Jesus Christ and radically commit our hearts to follow Him and engage
in disciple making. If just one man
disciples one man and that man does the same and all disciples continue the
process, in less than two decades the whole world could be trained followers
of Jesus and diligent handlers of the Word of God. Our time is now.
The cause is essential. Our Savior is deserving. And, His grace is sufficient.
As 2 Peter 3:9 says, ‘God is patient and slow to anger not wanting
any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.’”
The Inaugural Conference
On July 11th and 12th the inaugural Men at
the Cross Conference will be held in St. Louis at the Scottrade Center (formerly
the Savvis Center) in downtown St. Louis, MO. Joe, and some of the very
best speakers and musicians to men today will be there to energize and empower
men to reach other men for Christ.
On Friday, July 11th the doors will open at
4:30 p.m. and the program will begin at 6:45 p.m. On Saturday, July 12th,
conference doors will open at 7 a.m. with the program starting at 8:15 a.m. The
conference is scheduled to end around noon.
The cost to attend the conference is $39
however, in partnership with the St.
Louis MetroVoice, Men at the Cross is offering a $5 discount on every
individual ticket purchased (see their ad on the back page for details). Group
ticket discounts are also available in that a free ticket will be given to the
group with the purchase of every 10 tickets.
Men at the Cross is also seeking both men and
women volunteers to help in a number of areas during the conference. Those
wishing to volunteer are encouraged to visit the Men at the Cross website
(www.menatthecross.org) and click on the volunteer link which will answer
all your questions. Those seeking more
information about Men at the Cross should also visit their site. Those who
do not have computers or Internet access can call Men at the Cross Regional
Director, Chad Bles, at (573) 587-1661 who will be happy to answer any questions.
