By Rebekah Theilen
A pastor once taught me that the story of the world could
be told in six words: “Adam messed up.
Jesus mopped up.” It’s been more
famously said that the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good
men to do nothing. I recently read a book that combines both ideas. Man
Up! The Quest for Masculinity by Pastor Jeff Hemmer is a noteworthy
effort from a man who is tired of sitting around.
Yet no amount of human work can save us from this
troubled hour. From chapter one all the way to the singing end,
Pastor Hemmer makes it clear this is not a book about being the man with the
fastest truck or the biggest muscles, but about being a man of the one and only
God. A man is not doomed to forever fall short, nor is toxic masculinity
the will of God for His sons. The first
man, Adam, was made in God’s image, and contrary to all who would point you to
a mirror, manhood is all about the image of God. You’re not going to find
Him in pornography’s
latest short film. Look to the Man on the cross, Jesus Christ, for
“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature”
(Hebrews 1:3).
The author minces no words, be it on “niceness,” selfishness, or sexual sin. But there is also much encouragement and hope
to be found. Over and over, Pastor Hemmer points to Jesus as the
epitome of manhood. Christ does not blame-shift; He takes on the
blame. Christ is not cruel; He is
righteous and just. Christ is not
passive, but picks up His Cross. The Son
of Man was given as a Prophet, Priest, and King that He might bring light to
the children of men. Man’s purposes in Genesis to protect, provide, and
fill the earth are not God’s condemnation to a vain and meaningless life, but
finely coincide with the real and core desires God has etched upon man’s soul.
Man Up is obviously written for men. Yet women and
men are intrinsically linked. As a female, something I listen for when reading about masculinity and manhood is how the author speaks about women. Is he clear about the value God places on women? Does the author, as a man, seem to
reasonably like women? Does he possess
specific insight into male and female relationships? In other words, does
he demonstrate the gentleness and hands-on humility required to effectively
love and understand a woman? I would
answer yes to all of these questions. Pastor Hemmer tells the truth, often reiterating that he is far from the
ideal man, and far from being a masculinity expert. I take him at
his word.
One thing caught me off guard while reading. In these
days of #MeToo and ongoing discussions
of how churches handle or fail to handle variants of abuse, I believe
it is worth bringing up because of its relevance and potential impact on the
entire Christian conversation about men and women and the way we think about,
speak about, and act toward one another. The book contained an unfamiliar (to
me) translation of a Genesis passage I have many times puzzled over. I
have typically seen Genesis 3:16 read something like “Your desire shall be
for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” In at least two places in Man Up (pages 56 & 70), while
describing the consequences of the woman’s fall into sin, the author quotes
Genesis 3:16 as saying, “Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but
he shall rule over you.” Something about this translation feels very
wrong to me. I’ve seen tiny footnotes before with words like “against” to
explain the word “for,” but nothing like this where the translation itself
connotes inherent hostility on the part of the woman and her mysterious desire.
