In churches, when men stop investing in younger men, younger men stop caring. And that’s definitely what’s happening in our churches.

Below is a transcript of a video from Darrin Patrick, author of the recently released book Church Planter. In it he charges pastors and other male leaders in our churches to invest in the next generation of men who will pastor the flock of God for years to come.

Please ponder this material and let the Lord use Darrin to haunt us with the possibility that churches will eventually die without strong men pastoring the flock.

But let Darrin also encourage us that one of the best ways for each of us not to waste our lives—whether we are pastors or not—is to invest in men who are younger than us, and to pass on to them a passion for the glory of God in the face of Christ.

For the women out there who are reading this blog, we have much to learn from you. My sense is that women intuitively know the value of mentoring younger women more easily than men perceive its value for younger men. But both men and women are to pass on their passion for Christ to the next generation (2 Timothy 2:2; Titus 2:4).

May God press home to us all this weighty and joyful responsibility. And may we both “be strengthened by the grace that is in Jesus” to do it well (2 Timothy 2:1).

Transcript of Darrin Patrick video:

I’m standing in a museum that used to be a church. In 1887, Pastor Henry and his wife Grace planted this church in a one-room schoolhouse just down the road. And in 1888 they were able to build this building. And they passed on their love for this community, because of the gospel, to a generation. And things were going really well. But two generations after this church was planted it died.

You can see the pictures behind me of the faithful members of this congregation. And many of them lie in the graveyard behind the church. This church had a man crisis. It was men who made this church come alive, and it was probably men who caused this church to die.

In churches, when men stop investing in younger men, younger men stop caring. That’s probably what happened to this church. And that’s definitely what’s happening in our churches.

Older gentlemen do not know how to finish well. They don’t know how to invest. And so middle-aged men don’t know how to stay married. They don’t know how to stay connected to the hearts of their children. And so younger men don’t even want to be men. And so younger men are prolonging their adolescence.

They’re doing this residentially. Guys in their 20’s and early 30’s, a third of them live with their parents. That’s a 100% increase in the last 20 years.

They’re doing it professionally. Men 18-42 will change jobs 11 times.

They’re doing it recreationally. The average age of video game users is 35 years old.

And when these men finally stop fondling the controller, they fondle themselves.
Every second of every day $3000 is spent on pornography. Every second.

We need better men. Which means we need better pastors.

We need pastors who are not boys but are men. Pastors who are not trying to prolong their adolescence but pastors who are trying to be the men that God has called them to be. They are qualified men in their character. They are called men to serve God’s church. They are determined men. They are dependent men.

They are tough men. They’re able to take a punch. They’re able to handle circumstances. They’re tender men. They’re able to love their wives and love their kids and to teach their church to love their community.

Tragically, the last time the gospel was preached from this pulpit to this church was in 1957. Three to four thousand churches this year will close just like this church. Why? Because the story and the glory of the church becomes bigger than the story and glory of God.

See, the men and women who planted this church, they actually believed this stuff. They actually believed that Jesus lived a perfect life, that he died a brutal death, and that he rose again, triumphing over sin and death. They believed it.

And because they believed it happened, they believed it had implications on their life, that their sin could be forgiven, that they could have a new identity, and that they could be sent on mission with this God who was on mission.

But the reality is that most Christians are not on mission. A recent poll said 60% of all Christians felt no obligation whatsoever to share their faith. Now the temptation for us pastors is to beat the sheep with a stat like that in our sermons. But here’s the reality, guys: they’re simply imitating and following our example. We need a glimpse of the God who is on mission.

My friend Dave was meeting with a consultant who asked him this question: “Dave, why do I have a bigger dream for your church and your city than you do?” I don’t know about you, but I don’t want anyone to have a bigger dream for my church and my city than me. And I don’t want to build a museum. I want to be a part of a movement.

Tom Steller is a Vocational Elder; Pastor for Leadership Development at Bethlehem Baptist Church; and Academic Dean, Bethlehem College and Seminary. This article first appeared in the John Piper blog, Desiring God, and is used with permission.