‘Dangerous Good’ Challenges Men to Aggressively Live Out Their Faith

Kenny Luck throws down the gauntlet to a generation of men who have become comfortable with a culturally safe Christian faith in his new book, Dangerous Good: The Coming Revolution of Men Who Care (July 3, 2018, NavPress, $15.99, ISBN 978-1-63146-890-2).NEWS RELEASE - A. LARRY ROSS COMMUNICATION“Too often men suffer from a malaise that leads them to settle for mediocrity, play it safe and blend into our broken culture,” Luck, founder of Every Man Ministries, said. “But deep inside every man is the impulse to confront the evil around him, to embrace the ‘dangerous good’ that comes with being a committed follower of Christ. I want this book to awaken the sleeping giant within the community of men that will be an aggressive force for good.”

EVERY MAN LIVE STREAM

Throughout the book, Luck explains how Jesus was considered radical in his time and the perfect model for the dangerous good man who is not defined by his feelings, circumstances, material possessions, successes or failures. Instead, this man is defined by God and God alone. Jesus consorted with social outcasts like lepers, tax collectors and prostitutes. And He not only overturned the moneychangers’ tables in the temple, He flouted every kind of social and religious convention.“Dangerous good behavior is Spirit-empowered behavior that is counter-intuitive to a watching world,” Luck writes in the book. “It’s show stopping: Just when they expect you to do the self-protective thing, you do a Spirit-filled thing out of love for God and people. You take the road less traveled, and the tension inside of you releases itself into faithfulness to Christ for the sake of another.”Using examples from his personal life and the Bible, Luck provides men with the tools to be who God has called them to be and put an end to today’s gender wars, as seen through the relationship between Barak and Deborah in the Book of Judges. Together they led Israel to victory against the Canaanites. Barak set an example that is still worth following today. “Smart men honor, dignify and partner with great women to achieve far more than they ever would by themselves,” Luck writes.“My prayer is that this book helps men to realize that we need to stop sitting on the sidelines because the fact is it’s the opposite of who we are,” Luck said. “We were called to be an active fighter in the battle between good and evil. God expects us to fight for the good of our faith, restating our identity in Christ to the world.”MEDIA CONTACTKristin Nill, A. Larry Ross Communication, 972-267-1111, knill@alarryross.com

3 Easy Ways To Know If You Are Looking Or Lusting

Is looking the same as lusting?

BY CARL THOMASXXXCHURCH

You’d think that the answer to that question would be pretty obvious, but I believe more often than not, people get confused when it comes to these two topics (especially Christian people).Here’s the thing:You can lust after anything, not just the opposite sex.You can lust after money.You can lust after a carYou can lust after power.And the list goes on.The word lust simply means having a passionate or overmastering desire or craving for something. It’s just that, in our culture, we generally connect lust with “sexual lust.”Looking, however, is a bit different.I can look at something without having a strong desire for it.I can even admire something (like a car) without lusting after it.But because sexual matters are so sensitive, we often have a hard time trying to distinguish the difference between looking and lusting when it comes to those we’re attracted to.Your spouse probably would have no problem with you saying, “Hey, that new sports car our neighbor got is pretty great-looking.”However, try saying that same thing about your neighbor’s spouse.Wow! It’s off to couch city for the next few nights.But the truth is, looking and lusting are entirely different. The reason we have a hard time recognizing this fact is either because of “religious guilt” or insecurity.So, for those of you who are constantly asking yourselves, “Am I looking or lusting?” here are 3 ways you can tell:

1) You just can’t look enough.

Hey, she’s good-looking.I get it.You didn’t ask to see her; she just ended up crossing your path today.Looking at her and noticing that fact is not wrong. And it’s not lust.But how many times do you need to go back to the well for a drink?Chances are if your head keeps turning like it’s on a swivel, you’re doing more than just “looking.” You are looking for a reason.And often that reason is lust. You like what you see and you want to see more because there is some strong desire there.

2) You are “coveting” what you see.

Take my earlier example of the neighbor with the “new” good-looking spouse.Whether you end up on the couch or not, the truth is, you are not lusting after your neighbor’s spouse simply because you acknowledged that they have some visual appeal.However, if you follow up your look and unwelcomed observation with the thought, “Boy, I wouldn’t mind if that person was my spouse,” then there is a problem.You now have crossed the line.You are coveting.Coveting is an older term we find in the Bible a lot but basically means “to have a strong desire for.” So in this case, since your “strong desire” is for someone other than the person you’re committed to, then it’s safe to say you’ve wandered into the lust territory.------------------------------

Ignite LA Men's Conference from Every Man Ministries

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3) It makes your “special areas” all warm and tingly … and you want more.

Now, I know I may catch some heat for this one, but the truth is men are wired very differently than women and respond accordingly.While women visually process things, men are far more visual, and our biological responses to what we see are practically hard-wired.If a man sees a woman who’s very attractive (and especially dressed in a provocative nature), he is going to feel some sort of primal response. In other words, his brain is going to let him know it likes what it sees.Not much we can do about that.However, it doesn’t have to go any further than that. There are ways to keep that look from drifting into the lust arena (I wrote a post on that HERE).But, say you feel all warm and fuzzy and decide to let that look linger because you want more of that feeling. Or, after you are done looking, you keep recalling in your mind what you just witnessed and how great it made you feel.Well, now you officially crossed over into the lust area.You see, the first situation is a physical and biochemical response. But the continuation is an intentional decision to elicit sexual pleasure from what you’ve seen.And if what you’ve seen is not your spouse, then it’s time to have a talk with that accountability partner of yours.Hey, I understand. This topic is a little sensitive.Especially if you are talking about it with your spouse.But don’t confuse looking with lusting.Don’t let religious guilt or insecurities lead you to self-imposed and needless shame.But at the same time recognize that looking can lead to lusting very quickly if left unchecked.So be aware.Be intentional.Be accountable.And seriously, be honest enough to talk about this stuff.The above article written by Carl Thomas was originally published at XXXchurch.com and republished with permission. Ministry and website founder Craig Gross was a speaker at the Together LA 2015 conference.