What is a JourneyMan?

Seven Commitments of a JourneyMan
...More on Commitment #1
...More on Commitment #2
...More on Commitment #3
...More on Commitment #4
...More on Commitment #5
...More on Commitment #7

Hot Rods & JourneyMen
JourneyMen Are the Workers of Matt. 9:37-38
JourneyMen Require Margin
Look Also to the Interests of Others

JourneyMen:

On the right hand side, you see short notes and quotes. Below that is a table of contents ("Blog Archive") showing postings by month. Click on the triangles to see details, and click on any title to be taken right to it.

Below the Blog Archive you'll find a number of links to helpful websites ("Suggested Resources") dealing with faith in the workplace and other topics of interest to JourneyMen.

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Have a great seven days!

What is a JourneyMan?

..and what does he aspire to?

A JourneyMan is a man of God whose allegiance is to Christ. His mission is the Great Commission; his mandate, the Great Commandment. His guide is the Word of God.

Living one life in Christ, a JourneyMan is not content with compartmental living. He rejects the false ideas that his work is somehow "secular", while his religious life is "sacred". He views his entire life, everywhere he lives it, as a sacred calling.

A JourneyMan is not only appointed by God to his vocations; he is called to take possession of the land and to build Godly influence with those he serves and leads.

Embracing his calling, a JourneyMan is committed to purposeful living. He is not content to hold ground and has no interest in treading water. In his commitment to the Great Commission, he seeks forward progress more than ease and comfort. He is able to articulate his God-given life purpose, and in all his endeavors, a JourneyMan is committed to excellence.

Yet, a JourneyMan respects his own physical, spiritual and emotional limits. A man of balance, he knows how to say "yes", and "no", and he means what he says. A JourneyMan is watchful lest he become overloaded with activity, commitments, debt, expectations, information or possessions. He’s certainly not lazy, yet he firmly resists the trap of the workaholic.

A JourneyMan has no interest in living in isolation from other men of God, but prefers brotherhood. He is committed to his fellow JourneyMen, challenging and being challenged, encouraging and being encouraged, equipping and being equipped. As iron sharpens iron, so one JourneyMan sharpens another.

Expecting victory rather than defeat, a JourneyMan does not easily surrender himself to unprofitable or destructive habits. He is neither a victim nor a people pleaser, but a subject of the Great King of Kings; thus, a JourneyMan does not rely on worldly entitlements, but on God to meet his needs by whatever means God chooses.

A JourneyMan extends grace where he can, shows mercy if possible, and does battle when necessary. Embracing the Great Commandment, he looks for the best in others, and he does what he can to help. He loves, serves and leads his family. He is not afraid of His role as a spiritual leader, nor is he afraid to seek input and influence from those he serves and leads. He is generous with his time, talents and resources.

When setbacks or difficulties arise, a JourneyMan does not give up, and he does not run. Instead, relying on God for direction, strength, and favor, he takes the next indicated step on his journey. He is not slow to ask his fellow JourneyMen for assistance, nor in confessing his shortcomings.

A JourneyMan is swift to assist and encourage a brother in Christ, and he is quick to forgive.

A JourneyMan is called, equipped and appointed to make a difference for Christ, seven days a week, in the community and culture in which he lives and works. This is the awesome responsibility and the great privilege of a JourneyMan.

Seven Commitments of a JourneyMan

1. Devotion to Prayer, Worship and the Word of God; read more about Commitment #1

2. A Great Commitment to The Great Commission and The Great Commandments; read more about Commitment #2

3. Intentional Living and Holy Spirit Empowerment, seven days a week; read more about Commitment #3

4. Challenging, encouraging, equipping and serving our families and brothers in Christ; read more about Commitment #4

5. Godly values, character and integrity at work, home, church, and in the community;
read more about Commitment #5

6. Building Godly influence with others, wherever we are called; and

7. Impacting the marketplace for Christ through deliberate servant leadership. read more about Commitment #7

Commitment # 1 - Devotion to Prayer, Worship and the Word of God

A JourneyMan knows these are not only essential to his authentic Christianity, but are very much in his own best interest.

We might think of a man's life as an arrow. Prayer, worship and the Word of God form the feathers, without which the arrow will certainly go somewhere, but not likely to its target.

A JourneyMan finds himself and his God in and through the scriptures. Preachers and expositors of various kinds are certainly helpful, but the value of their assistance depends on their adherence to the Word of God. The man who is in the Word, and who knows the Word, will not be easily deceived.

A man grounded in the Word finds prayer as necessary as breathing. A JourneyMan honors the example of the Son of God, who prayed earnestly and often. He expresses his gratitude to God, and he asks on behalf of himself and others for guidance, victory, strength, healing, protection, wisdom, and much more. Not only does he ask, but he learns to listen.

A JourneyMan learns to reject the false notion of "prayer by exception". This is the idea that prayer is necessary only when there is some kind of emergency, or when a course correction is required. On the contrary, a JourneyMan strives to develop a consistent attitude of prayer.

Just as he knows prayer need not be confined to five minutes on his knees, a JourneyMan understands worship to be far more than singing and praising God on Sunday morning. He sees worship as both constant and universal, for everyone worships a good deal of the time, whatever they might believe otherwise.

How can we say this?

Our word "worship" comes from the old English worth-ship, "to ascribe great worth or value to a person or thing." Thus worship is something everyone does, Christian or not, whether they know it or not. The real question is: are we worshipping "in spirit and in truth", or are we engaging in false worship? A JourneyMan learns to interrupt himself with the question, Who am I worshipping right now?

One may worship by ascribing great value to celebrities, athletes, scientists, preachers, bosses, politicians or others. He may move about from place to place and from day to day "worshipping" any number of people or things. He might even engage in self-worship by ascribing to himself a kind of power, importance, entitlement or control he could never authentically possess. A man might not equate any of these practices or attitudes with acts of worship, but he may deceive himself.

Some have acquired the habit of worshipping watered down, pathetic versions of the True God. These false gods might resemble good luck charms, genies from a lamp, or personal assistants. They are easily summoned, and just as easily dismissed. JourneyMen learn to recognize and reject these pseudo-gods in favor of a real relationship with the True God.

Here is the simple reality of the matter. The more we worship God, the more we ask and listen in prayer, and the more we are grounded in God's Word, the greater His presence and power in our lives.

See All Seven Commitments of a JourneyMan

Commitment # 2 - The Great Commitment

Jesus said, "…go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:18-20). We refer to this as the Great Commission. Jesus also said, "…you will …be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8).

Many professing Christians have opted to hire out the Great Commission, expecting professional ministers and missionaries to do most of the work.

An alternative view is that we are each personally called to Great Commission living. This gives meaning to such terms as "lifestyle evangelism" and "evangelical Christian". It holds that we are to carry out the Great Commission in and through our everyday lives, whatever our various assignments and callings might be.

In making the personal decision of whether to hire out or carry out the Great Commission, we would do well to make two basic observations.

First, Jesus said the greatest and most important commandments are to love God with everything in us, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. (Mark 12:29). These Great Commandments compel us to action, and to carrying out, rather than hiring out, the Great Commission.

Second, we are hard pressed to find any Biblical examples of someone subcontracting their Great Commission responsibilities. Jesus did not say, "You will pay someone else to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." He did not say, "Go do something else, and be grateful the television evangelists are getting it done…" No such loopholes were present in our Lord's Great Commission instructions.

Yes, we support the work of missionaries and ministers, but the Great Commitment of a JourneyMan hardly ends there. Every JourneyMan is called to love, serve and influence others, sharing his faith and hope in Christ. In this way, a JourneyMan carries out his Great Commitment at home, at work and in his community - making a difference, seven days a week.

See all Seven Commitments of a JourneyMan

Commitment # 3 - Intentionality & the Holy Spirit

Living "intentionally" means living on purpose, not just "putting it out there" and hoping it all comes together some day in the great somewhere. Living and working intentionally is only possible with an objective purpose clearly in mind.

In order to live intentionally, a JourneyMan understands the need to embrace his own God-given purpose. He knows that vague living will not move him towards the sort of intentionality that makes a real difference, seven days a week. As he understands and embraces his God-given calling, a man can transform ordinary life into purposeful, intentional, Great Commission living.

Those who have undertaken the "on purpose" lifestyle find it immensely satisfying. They also discover that their own personal strength will take them only so far. Intentional living based on personal calling places a man in direct day-by-day partnership with the God who assigns, calls and equips him.

What could be better than living "on purpose", intentionally working out our personal calling each day, and depending on the Holy Spirit every step of the way? This approach will produce results, " 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty". (Zechariah 4:6)

Notice the balance between intentionality and reliance upon the Holy Spirit as exhibited by the shepherd boy David, who was assigned, called and equipped by God:

"David said to Saul, 'Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.' Saul replied, 'You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth.' But David said to Saul, 'Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.' " …(then, after a very brief fight)… "David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine's sword and drew it from the scabbard. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword. …" (I Samuel 17: 32-37 & 51)

See All Seven Commitments of a JourneyMan

Commitment # 4 - Challenging, Encouraging, Equipping and Serving our Families and Brothers in Christ

We JourneyMen take our vocations seriously. We understand that God Himself assigns, calls and equips us, and we know that all of our vocations are sacred pursuits.

Of all our vocations, none is more sacred than family vocations. We are called into families as husbands, fathers, brothers, sons, and so on.

The Bible has plenty to say about this. For example, we are instructed in the strongest terms to provide for our families. We are also admonished to love our wives as Christ loved the church, to honor our mother and father, and to raise our children in the training and instruction of the Lord. God intends for us to place high priority on our family roles and relationships.

Have we considered the fact that all of these instructions concerning the family can be applied to our church family?

The apostle John wrote: "… to all who received Him, to those who believed on His name, he gave the right to become children of God - children not born of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God." (John 1:12-13)."

When Jesus said "I will build my church," He announced the establishment of our extended family!

Our family vocations and responsibilities do not stop on our own front porch. When we were "born again", we are adopted into a literal family, with God as our father and other believers as our brothers and sisters. We are called to be family men, not only at home, but also in the church.

God made us brothers, and as JourneyMen we stand together, side by side and back-to-back.

(Ref. I Tim. 5:8, Eph. 5:25-33, Eph. 6:2-4, Col. 3:18-25, Prov. 22:17, Matt. 20:25-26, Mark 10:43-45, John 1;12-13)

See All Seven Commitments of a JourneyMan