7 Steps to Become a Leader of Men
Titles vs. Leadership
In the classic men’s movie, Braveheart, William Wallace’s character admonished young Robert the Bruce with, “People don’t follow titles. They follow courage.” Unfortunately, we live in a world where titles—positional leadership—are often praised over influential leadership.
Global Outreach
Our primary emphasis in 2024 is to launch teams of men; small groups meeting around the planet. In June, we hired Jay Penton as our Global Outreach Director, whose primary role is to launch teams of men in churches, active duty military, first responders, and men in underdeveloped nations.
Our electronic curriculum is offered free of charge to the latter groups. Sign up to join a team here. Email Jay if you would like more information about starting a team.
Beyond being biblically qualified, all you need is to walk through the following seven steps to launch an effective men’s small group or Men in the Arena team:
Launch Step #1: Get a Co-Captain
There will be times when you can’t make it to the group, and it’s good to know that someone has your back. If your co-captain is unfamiliar with Men in the Arena, send him to our website to learn about the ministry.
Once you have your co-captain, move to Launch Step Two.
Launch Step #2: Build Your Hit Lists
Jesus recruited a larger group of disciples before he chose the Twelve.
“One of those days, Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James, son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.” - Luke 6:12-16
You and your co-captain will each create a Hit List (two lists total) of no less than 15 potential recruits on each list. Once both lists have been compiled, contact the men. Team size should range from a minimum of eight to twenty members max.
Once the Hit List is created move on to Launch Step Three.
Launch Step #3: The Call
Before you officially call each man, make sure you have the day, time, and date of your team launch. This is important! Don’t ask the men what they prefer. Decide on a day and time, then invite men to join your team. Some men won’t be able to join your team simply because of your meeting times. That’s OK.
Once verbal commitments are made move on to Launch Step Four.
Launch Step #4: Team List
Use the Team List (list of committed team members) to remind the men about your weekly meetings. Create a message thread (we recommend Telegram over Facebook). This will keep your men in constant communication with each other.
Once you finish this step, move to Launch Step Five.
Launch Step #5: Team and Spouses Gathering
We can’t over-emphasize the importance of the couple's gathering for all local teams. Use your Team List to communicate the time and date of the Team and Spouses' Gathering.
Your goal is 100% attendance with the goal of total buy-in from the wives and having all questions answered.
Launch Step #6: The Buy-In (at least two weeks before Launch Day)
All that is left is to order the books, which they can get here. Attrition will most likely claim some (20%) of the men, but we have found that the more the men buy in, the more committed they will be. Do not pay for their books. Men need to take this step of commitment.
Once you finish this step, move to Launch Step Seven.
Launch Step #7: Captain Commission
The Twelve Apostles, Apostle Paul, and Jesus himself were commissioned into ministry. We highly recommend it as a model for spiritual leadership. Arrange to be commissioned by your pastor or by me. (The sooner this is set up with me, the better. It should be ASAP.) Commission Day should happen 1-2 weeks after your team launch.
It Takes Guts to Lead
For more about courageous fathering, I am excited to announce the Audible release of my books Strong Men Dangerous Times: Five Essentials Every Man Must Possess to Change His World, and Guts and Manhood: Four Irrefutable Attributes of Courage.
Happy Fatherhood Awareness Month! We celebrate you, Dad!
