The story is told that in 1913, Ernest Shackleton needed a crew for his ship. The mission: to be the first expedition to walk across  Antarctica. He posted the following advertisement in an English newspaper:

MEN WANTED: FOR HAZARDOUS JOURNEY. SMALL WAGES, BITTER COLD, LONG MONTHS OF COMPLETE DARKNESS, CONSTANT DANGER, SAFE RETURN DOUBTFUL. HONOUR AND RECOGNITION IN CASE OF SUCCESS.  – SIR ERNEST SHACKLETON

Shackleton needed less than 30 men. More than 5,000 applied. I say “the story is told…” because some sources say it is apocryphal, and yet I find it thoroughly believable. In my experience most men long for a challenge, something to lift us from our selfish lives, something that will make a difference. Men look for a reason to be better men. Yet I wonder how often the men in our churches look at the gospel with this level of excitement?

Jesus, the greatest of men (the God-man), calls us to stop living insignificant lives and follow him. We are to commit ourselves to being men of faith in God, who will live sacrificially for others, and who will lay down their lives for their families.

Our strength, gifts and resources are to be put at his service as we join the great rescue mission bent on saving others from a lost eternity.

That sense of vision is not just essential for men but for the life of the church. David Murrow says, “If men don’t have a vision of what God is doing in a church they will not invest themselves. They will see it as a club, not a cause. Christianity becomes either an exercise in moral improvement or pointless busyness. But with vision even menial tasks can become meaningful … Here’s the problem: we put men to work duplicating tapes, and they think they are duplicating tapes. They are not; they are creating lifeboats that can rescue drowning souls. They are forging swords that can pierce the darkness that binds the captives. Every usher and parking lot attendant, every teacher and team leader must see himself as a link in a chain going back to Christ himself, a foot soldier in the army that is transforming the world. That’s the power of vision and without it men perish!”

Jesus says take up your cross and follow me, and we will save people for eternity. What is the vision of your church? And how can you tell if the men know what the vision is? If you have the right vision – you’ll see it in their eyes as they walk through the door.