Eric Redmond: Where Are All the Brothers?

Eric Redmond, Where Are All the Brothers?: Straight Answers to Men’s Questions about the Church (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008), 112 pages, ISBN 9781433501784.

Where Are All The Brothers? Growing up in the Black church, I asked myself the question, more than once. The follow-on question is just as hard: “If there aren’t any men here, why am I here?”

Both questions should echo and reverberate through all Christian churches in America. There are not enough men in the pews. The men who are present should be more active for the Kingdom of God.

Where Are All The Brothers? is focused on the questions and concerns of African-American men, peering through the doors of African-American churches. It’s tone and purpose aims at men who have already been (at least somewhat) “snared” by the church. Pastor Eric C. Redmond makes a strong play to send questioning men down the road to becoming pillars of the congregation.

This book has a specialized audience and purpose. Where Are All The Brothers? specifically addresses the issues of Black men and Black churches. While not being a panacea for every American church, this book can be put to good use by other Christian traditions.

No church leader should expect to adopt a book or concept carte blanche. Still, make the effort to glean any kernel of truth or wisdom available. There is much wisdom and truth in this book.

Where Are All The Brothers? includes thorough scriptural references and ample bibliographic citations. Still, the questions have deep and complex circumstances, and the answers are potentially explosive. It is a good book, but it should come pinned-to-the-shirt of a mature and prepared saint of God.

My impression is that the book is intended to be used as a soul winning tool or pressed into the hands of a new Christian. It is my suggestion that a Pastor or Men’s Leader lead men through this book as evangelism or discipleship training. This book is full of great ammunition, but it needs to be in the hands of spiritual veterans.

If used in this way, Where Are All The Brothers? serves the two-fold purpose of equipping men to be effective soul winners, and reminds Gospel-soldiers of the Kingdom work they should be pursuing. Any book capable of simultaneously equipping evangelists and empowering disciples is valuable indeed. I strongly encourage church leaders to pursue properly deploying this work in local ministry.

Why do we need to ask, and answer, the questions of this book? Because the questions are real to new converts and seasoned saints. The need to understand is valid for winning the lost and building the church.

Look around in your local church. How many men and older boys are there? What are your men and soon-to-be-leaders doing for the Kingdom? If you don’t like the answers to those questions, Where Are All The Brothers? is a good starting place for you.

“Day 3: Isn’t The Church Geared Toward Women?” most likely jumps to a core issue. How do men regain stature and authority in the church without becoming women-hating bullies? What is the church doing that discourages not just the lost, but our own sons and brothers?

Even men of stature and maturity occasionally wonder why their church membership is so strongly feminine. There is a difference between pandering to the weak and making the Gospel available to the lost. This book points in the direction of winning men and their families .

How can the church create an environment that draws men and enables then to become strong vibrant Christians? Of course, the church must still value and comfort women, old and new. Any pastor who successfully (or even partially) answers those questions will have to struggle with an explosively growing local church. Is that Pastor you?

Reviewed by Kirk Hunt

Publisher’s page: http://www.crossway.org/books/where-are-all-the-brothers-tpb/