The name Strong-Hearted Men comes from the dichotomy found in the calling of a godly man. We naturally assume that a man who is strong and determined must also be cold, harsh, and unyielding. Or, in an effort to play it safe, we suggest that a Christian man must always be passive and yielding, seeking only to live a quiet and peaceable life. Scripture presents a fuller picture: “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love” (1 Corinthians 16:13–14).

A Christian man must be meek without weakness and strong without cruelty. He must be gentle toward those entrusted to his care, yet unyielding before falsehood and evil. These qualities are not opposites between which we must find a comfortable middle. They must live side by side in the Christian man’s heart and mind, each brought to its proper fullness and exercised according to the need.

God calls us to live peaceably with all people so far as it depends upon us. Yet Scripture also teaches us to hate what God hates and to stand firmly against those things that oppose His holy rule: “Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies” (Psalm 139:21–22). This is not a license for personal malice or cruelty, but a call to wholehearted allegiance to God. We must bear patiently with the weak, forgive those who wrong us, and show compassion to those who suffer; yet we must also resist sin, defend those entrusted to our care, and refuse to yield where God has spoken.

Even this strength is not our own. As the psalmist writes, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:26). The strong-hearted man is not the self-sufficient man, but the man whose heart is strengthened by the Lord.

It is our prayer as a committee that God would bless and encourage us, together with every man who attends. May He strengthen us through His Word, deepen our dependence upon Him, and equip us with the whole armor of God to fight against sin, the devil, and his whole dominion. Above all, may every aspect of this conference bring glory to our great God and Father.