A New Look for a New Day

August 30, 2022 in Man in the Mirror Blog

Welcome to the Man in the Mirror website. If you’ve been here before, you may have noticed some changes—a new look for a new day. Here’s what it’s all about!

By the Man in the Mirror Team

For more than 30 years, Man in the Mirror has been focused on men’s discipleship, with an emphasis on ministry leaders in the local church.

Today, our desires to serve pastors and leaders remain unchanged. But we’ve also sensed God leading us to expand our vision and methods, so over the last several months, our team has been engaged in a collaborative, prayerful effort to answer this key question—

Going forward, how do we best communicate our desire to disciple men, build the Kingdom, and bring glory to God?

First up: our logo. While this was actually the last step in our process, it is the most visible change. Our new logo was chosen with intentionality, inspired by:

An open book, signifying our commitment to Scripture
A mirror, representing 1) our vision to see men engage in honest self-reflection, 2) the earnest desire to reflect Christ, and, of course, 3) Pat’s book The Man in the Mirror that launched the ministry
Open church doors, which we want all men to enter to find freedom in the gospel and brothers in Christ
The letter M as a nod to existing brand awareness among churches and men with our previous logo

Vision and Mission

As a ministry, we want to clearly articulate what we are trying to achieve in the lives of men (the vision), as well as the strategic approach we are taking to accomplish that (the mission) so that we can serve you better!

After much discussion, prayer, and counsel, we have restated our mission:

Man in the Mirror equips Christian men around the world to engage in meaningful relationships that change lives and build the kingdom of God.

For a man who is new to our ministry, this statement at once answers the questions of who we serve, where we work, what we do, and why we do it. But we also believe it holds possibility and opportunity related to three critical areas: audience, emphasis, and purpose.

1) Audience

Although we have become experts in equipping leaders in the local church, we’ve long recognized that our audience is far more diverse!

We are affirming our calling and commitment to equip not just formal ministry leaders and pastors, but all men who want to grow in their faith and help others do the same, both inside and outside the church walls.Click To Tweet

Consider these recent, real-life examples of men who are a part of the Man in the Mirror community:

The older man serving as a spiritual mentor and friend to his younger colleague
The man ministering every week to a small group of recovering addicts
The businessman in Asia taking a group of men through a weekly book study
The prison chaplain looking for resources he can use in his work
The retired pastor leading a community-wide Bible Study on Saturday mornings
The young man engaging a small group of peers in meaningful conversations—believers and seekers—in his driveway on Sunday evenings

By adjusting our mission language to target “Christian men,” we are affirming our calling and commitment to equip not just formal ministry leaders and pastors, but also men like these—and like many of you—who want to grow in their faith and help others do the same, both inside and outside the church walls.

2) Emphasis

There’s a reason why every book we distribute includes discussion questions; why every men’s event ends with an invitation to join a small group; why our training is for teams of two or more; and why every Bible study video comes with group conversation starters. It’s simple: we know that discipleship is deeply relational.

We’ve worked with thousands of churches and impacted millions of men over the years, and we can say emphatically that the men who experience lasting transformation and vibrant life in Christ also experience meaningful Christian community.

That’s why we’ve adopted language that reflects the importance of these relationships to a man’s spiritual growth, health, and well-being—with two key verses in mind:

“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)

You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. (2 Timothy 2:2)

Discipleship is deeply relational.Click To Tweet

We want to ensure that everything we offer to men moves them closer to intentional, spiritual friendships with other men so that they can walk together—guiding and following when needed—in this journey of discipleship.

3) Purpose

We often say in our church consulting work that determination is not a strategy. When it comes to discipling men, we believe in the power of prayer and in careful planning and preparation.

However, when we share the vision for what we hope to see God do, we don’t want to reduce the great adventure of discipling men to language that is solely process oriented. On the contrary, the stories we hear each day that stir our hearts and spur us on in this work are outcome oriented, representing how a man—and everything around him—is being transformed.

We want to capture that for our allies, customers, and partners—those who are right alongside us in this mission. To this end, the restated vision of Man in the Mirror is:

For every man to reflect honestly, pursue God wholeheartedly, and live vibrantly.

Each of these phrases is rich with meaning about the Christian life, with various Scriptures underpinning them, including:

Reflect honestly—Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! (Psalm 139:23-24)
Pursue God wholeheartedly—You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13)
Live vibrantly—“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)

And there are several others (see Proverbs 27:19, John 8:32, Mark 12:30, Psalm 16:11) that have shaped our discussions leading up to this point.

As we continue guiding men toward the goodness and grace of God—and toward each other—please join us in praying that Man in the Mirror will be a symbol of help and hope for Christian men eager to grow and help others grow in their faith, for His glory.

♦♦♦