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Sleeping Giant: No Movement of God without Men of God
The church has an “800 pound gorilla” in the room: Men.
Many pastors see the need but are at a loss for how to really engage men in their culture and church context. Deep down they know they haven’t yet inspired men into the mission and vision of the local church on the same scale as women. Meanwhile, most men feel further detached from worship, left only with worldly expressions of manhood to fuel their identity.
Sleeping Giant is a punch in the gut and pat on the back for pastors and men worldwide, a powerful biblical approach that will bring them together and awaken some serious ministry potential.
And a church that gets men right can slay another dragon: Global injustice.
Injustice against women, children, and all innocents is rooted in broken male culture. The Bible says “Just as through the disobedience of the one man many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of one man many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:19). As the church disciples men into an identity and purpose that transcends culture, they will move from Adam and death over to Jesus and life.
You can see it taking place in Acts 2 following Pentecost, when widespread repentance and changing of men’s hearts brought God’s justice and relief to people. A masculine revolution happened then, and it can happen today.
“In Sleeping Giant, my men’s pastor Kenny Luck gives you a local church blue print for moving men from the audience to the army in your congregation. Let him help you build a leader making engine that supports the vision of your church.”
Rick Warren, senior pastor, Saddleback Church; author, The Purpose Driven Life
"Sleeping Giant does what it infers – awakening men to their calling and potential. It’s a life-changer and a church-changer.”
George O. Wood, general superintendent, The General Council of the Assemblies of God
“Kenny Luck has a proven track record of raising up a generation of Godly men and equipping them to make a difference. I highly recommend this book for you and your church.”
Chris Hodges, founding and senior pastor, Church of the Highlands
“Few books that I have seen in recent years so explore unexplored potential in the church as this one does. Kenny Luck has offered an opportunity that we must not miss. Here is HELP for all of us, don’t miss it!”
Clive Calver, former president, World Relief
“Kenny Luck has faithfully and effectively led an army of men in the mission of God. Sleeping Giant skillfully shows church leaders how to reach and launch men into a world of great need for God's great glory. Devour this book!”
Thom Rainer, president/CEO, Lifeway Christian Resources
Many pastors see the need but are at a loss for how to really engage men in their culture and church context. Deep down they know they haven’t yet inspired men into the mission and vision of the local church on the same scale as women. Meanwhile, most men feel further detached from worship, left only with worldly expressions of manhood to fuel their identity.
Sleeping Giant is a punch in the gut and pat on the back for pastors and men worldwide, a powerful biblical approach that will bring them together and awaken some serious ministry potential.
And a church that gets men right can slay another dragon: Global injustice.
Injustice against women, children, and all innocents is rooted in broken male culture. The Bible says “Just as through the disobedience of the one man many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of one man many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:19). As the church disciples men into an identity and purpose that transcends culture, they will move from Adam and death over to Jesus and life.
You can see it taking place in Acts 2 following Pentecost, when widespread repentance and changing of men’s hearts brought God’s justice and relief to people. A masculine revolution happened then, and it can happen today.
“In Sleeping Giant, my men’s pastor Kenny Luck gives you a local church blue print for moving men from the audience to the army in your congregation. Let him help you build a leader making engine that supports the vision of your church.”
Rick Warren, senior pastor, Saddleback Church; author, The Purpose Driven Life
"Sleeping Giant does what it infers – awakening men to their calling and potential. It’s a life-changer and a church-changer.”
George O. Wood, general superintendent, The General Council of the Assemblies of God
“Kenny Luck has a proven track record of raising up a generation of Godly men and equipping them to make a difference. I highly recommend this book for you and your church.”
Chris Hodges, founding and senior pastor, Church of the Highlands
“Few books that I have seen in recent years so explore unexplored potential in the church as this one does. Kenny Luck has offered an opportunity that we must not miss. Here is HELP for all of us, don’t miss it!”
Clive Calver, former president, World Relief
“Kenny Luck has faithfully and effectively led an army of men in the mission of God. Sleeping Giant skillfully shows church leaders how to reach and launch men into a world of great need for God's great glory. Devour this book!”
Thom Rainer, president/CEO, Lifeway Christian Resources
243 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2012
21 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
About the author
Kenny Luck
53 books9 followersKenneth L. Luck (b.1964) is the founder of Every Man Ministries, which serves to grow healthy mens' communities. He is also the Men's Pastor at Saddleback Chuch, Lake Forest, California. Kenny is a graduate of UCLA.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 5, 2018
I am rethinking what it means to reach men after reading this book. Very good book with lots to ponder. If you want to intentionally reach men in your church then you need to read this book.
December 23, 2014
It's hard to imagine a more prominent church in America today than Saddleback - the Southern California, Southern Baptist megachurch pastored by Rick Warren. That prominence translates into a seemingly endless appetite for books penned by the Saddleback’s pastoral staff. There’s Steve Gladen on small groups, Rick Muchow on Worship, Lance Witt, Tom Holloday, John Baker and on and on. And don't forget Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here for?, which sold more than 30 million copies before recently releasing a 10th anniversary edition.
One of the latest offerings from that pastoral staff is Andrew Luck’s call for churches to awaken their men, which he refers to in the title of his book as the Sleeping Giant. Luck is the men’s pastor at Saddleback and ten years ago founded Every Man Ministries, which is described as “a church-based, church-to-church movement of intentional men's ministry.”
Although the book is divided into three sections, it felt like more like two distinct halves. In the first half, Pastor Luck makes the case for why men’s ministry is important. To sum it up: men are the cause of and solution to most of the world’s problems.
The first half of that sentence - men cause most of the world's problems - is pretty straightforward. Most of the pressing social justice issues are caused by men behaving badly. But when the church addresses these issues, Luck sees it as only pursuing a partial solution rather than getting at the root cause. As “helping victims of broken men’s culture” rather than helping broken men.
It’s the second half of my summary sentence - that moving men from the church audience to the church army is the solution - that Pastor Luck acknowledges is contentious. He writes:
“The local church is the hope of the world, and the hope of the local church in this hour is her men...The emotional heart of the church (aka it’s women) is beating strong while the New Testament power and aggression of its men are absent, needed, and being called on by the Holy Spirit for God’s purposes right now.” (47)
Pastor Luck bolsters his case with scripture, noting that all of God’s major moves “are undisputedly connected to selected men [Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, the 12 Disciples, etc.] of God’s choosing.”
But that strikes me a little like saying that if you want to emulate the success of Saddleback church, your leadership team needs to be made up of Southern Californians. One could point out that men led the movements of God because men led most everything 2,000+ years ago. If God worked within the existing power structure then, is it inconceivable that he would work within a different one now?
But even if you don't agree with Pastor Luck's somewhat contentious claims in the first half of the book, that would in in no way detract from the second half. Here, he draws on his experience leading 7,000 men in weekly small groups, authoring or co-authoring 20 books, and founding a men’s ministry, to lay out a seven step process any church can follow to activate their men in the mission of their church.
Most churches today are doing men's events disconnected from the mission of the church; they've “gone rogue” as Pastor Luck puts it. The first two steps bring the vision and mission of men’s ministry in line with the mission and vision of their church. The other five steps comprise a detailed plan for getting and keeping men involved in that mission and vision.
Early in the book, Pastor Luck rhetorically asks “Why are there three times as many women in church as men?” Whatever your answer is to that question, it has to involve the acknowledgement that the church does have a problem. And whatever your proposed solution to the problem, it could benefit from the thoughts and direction of Pastor Luck.
One of the latest offerings from that pastoral staff is Andrew Luck’s call for churches to awaken their men, which he refers to in the title of his book as the Sleeping Giant. Luck is the men’s pastor at Saddleback and ten years ago founded Every Man Ministries, which is described as “a church-based, church-to-church movement of intentional men's ministry.”
Although the book is divided into three sections, it felt like more like two distinct halves. In the first half, Pastor Luck makes the case for why men’s ministry is important. To sum it up: men are the cause of and solution to most of the world’s problems.
The first half of that sentence - men cause most of the world's problems - is pretty straightforward. Most of the pressing social justice issues are caused by men behaving badly. But when the church addresses these issues, Luck sees it as only pursuing a partial solution rather than getting at the root cause. As “helping victims of broken men’s culture” rather than helping broken men.
It’s the second half of my summary sentence - that moving men from the church audience to the church army is the solution - that Pastor Luck acknowledges is contentious. He writes:
“The local church is the hope of the world, and the hope of the local church in this hour is her men...The emotional heart of the church (aka it’s women) is beating strong while the New Testament power and aggression of its men are absent, needed, and being called on by the Holy Spirit for God’s purposes right now.” (47)
Pastor Luck bolsters his case with scripture, noting that all of God’s major moves “are undisputedly connected to selected men [Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, the 12 Disciples, etc.] of God’s choosing.”
But that strikes me a little like saying that if you want to emulate the success of Saddleback church, your leadership team needs to be made up of Southern Californians. One could point out that men led the movements of God because men led most everything 2,000+ years ago. If God worked within the existing power structure then, is it inconceivable that he would work within a different one now?
But even if you don't agree with Pastor Luck's somewhat contentious claims in the first half of the book, that would in in no way detract from the second half. Here, he draws on his experience leading 7,000 men in weekly small groups, authoring or co-authoring 20 books, and founding a men’s ministry, to lay out a seven step process any church can follow to activate their men in the mission of their church.
Most churches today are doing men's events disconnected from the mission of the church; they've “gone rogue” as Pastor Luck puts it. The first two steps bring the vision and mission of men’s ministry in line with the mission and vision of their church. The other five steps comprise a detailed plan for getting and keeping men involved in that mission and vision.
Early in the book, Pastor Luck rhetorically asks “Why are there three times as many women in church as men?” Whatever your answer is to that question, it has to involve the acknowledgement that the church does have a problem. And whatever your proposed solution to the problem, it could benefit from the thoughts and direction of Pastor Luck.
March 11, 2014
Kenny Luck brings to one's awareness how change seems to be a repeat of historical events but with different characters who influence outcomes. The Bible is Kenny's perfect historical reference to demonstrate this phenomena. Documented events support the old saying, "The more things change, the more they stay the same."
The Sleeping Giant: No Movement of God without Men of God, reads well and makes one think about where society is heading, today. The book challenges the reader about Faith in God and even God's existence. One can relate to the need for change because of mankind's obvious flawed nature. The inevitable changes in society can be a benefit or a disaster, good or evil, depending on one's perspective. The writings of Kenny Luck inspire one to become the positive difference in the changing dynamic world through the relationship one has with the Creator rather than a sleeping passenger drowning in the rapids of current events.
The Sleeping Giant: No Movement of God without Men of God, reads well and makes one think about where society is heading, today. The book challenges the reader about Faith in God and even God's existence. One can relate to the need for change because of mankind's obvious flawed nature. The inevitable changes in society can be a benefit or a disaster, good or evil, depending on one's perspective. The writings of Kenny Luck inspire one to become the positive difference in the changing dynamic world through the relationship one has with the Creator rather than a sleeping passenger drowning in the rapids of current events.
December 30, 2012
A more needed book for ministry today I cannot imagine, but this one simply falls to inspire and explain how to create a men's movement in the local church. It begins well but eventually starts to sound terribly repetitive and overly complicated. One thing sorely lacking are examples of how multiple churches are motivating and equipping men as lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ. I love the title and subtitle of this book as they capture the purpose of it, but the content of the book itself does not illuminate as much as I had hoped.
October 15, 2012
most important book I have read since the bible
December 17, 2012
Good read. At times long winded in explanation, but accomplishes the goal of laying out effective approaches to Men's Ministry.
March 30, 2014
This is a great book. I was able to lead a small group study using this material and it challenged me every through our the whole study. I like how everything is backed up with scripture.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews