Session on Biblical Manhood Encourages Men to Pursue God in Everything

by Madeleine Mosher

On Saturday December 2, over one hundred men from all over Cedarville’s campus gathered  in Stingers to gain wisdom from assistant professor of theology Dr. Jeremy Kimble. He spoke on the relationship between biblical manhood and lust.

The Manhood events are a series of lecture and Q&A sessions geared toward the men on Cedarville’s campus. Saturday’s event was the third and last for the fall semester, and Dan Tedone, senior biblical studies major who came up with the idea, is planning for more in the spring.

When Tedone came up with the idea for Manhood, he was having a discussion with a friend about what it means to be a man in a broken world, and he realized that there were very few opportunities for men to receive wisdom on how to succeed and be the men God wants them to be.

“I wanted to find a way to encourage men in ways that they could really apply in their own lives,” Tedone said.

In looking to find someone willing to discuss sensitive issues like pornography and purity, Tedone thought of Dr. Kimble. On Saturday, Kimble gave the students methods to apply to their lives. He discussed the everyday struggles that affect a man fighting against his lustful nature. He gave students tips to avoid lust on a daily basis, and constantly returned to the point that no amount of human willpower could ever win the battle against lust.

Kimble continued the discussion by telling the men the ways he would recommend avoiding temptation in every situation. He recommended that if a video game or TV show had the slightest chance to tempt them to look at pornography or fall into other sexual sin, to avoid it completely and set up accountability so that it wouldn’t tempt them again.

“There is no way that you will ever win this fight without being able to fully trust and find your joy in Christ,” Kimble said. “No matter what you do, you have to keep fighting and finding ways to not only remove yourself from the tempting situations, but also to plant yourself firmly in God’s word each and every hour.”

The event began with a set of worship songs and ended with a Q&A session where students were able to give their own advice on how to fight for purity or ask questions about specific struggles in their fight against lust. Students asked honest questions about how to resist the temptation to look at pornography when they feel they’re stuck in their sin, and others asked about how to completely avoid the temptation in the first place.

Joe Vroegop, senior molecular and cellular biology major, led the worship session before Dr. Kimble spoke. Vroegop was excited about the opportunity to be a part of the events.

“I love everything that the Manhood events mean for Cedarville students,” Vroegop said. “Each of these conversations have been honest and real, and they’ve given these guys a way to apply their faith each day.”

The events have been well-attended so far and Tedone is excited to see the ways God will continue to work as he keeps searching for speakers and topics for next semester.

“This all started with me just wanting the wisdom these incredible [speakers] have to be heard, and the guys all showed up,” Tedone said. “God’s working in awesome ways here, and I’m just pumped to be able to keep seeing Him work through this.”

Madeleine Mosher is a sophomore journalism major and a Campus News Co-editor for Cedars. When she’s not complaining about homework or having a snack, she enjoys coffee, words, and rock ‘n’ roll.