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Interview with Thomas E. Trask
Winning and Transforming Men
Leading men to Jesus Christ must be at the top of every church’s agenda. When we reach a man for Christ and disciple him, we begin the process of transforming society.
Leadership, whether on the local or national level, must set the pace when it comes to reaching and training men. Nowhere is this passion for reaching men more evident than in the life of Thomas E. Trask, general superintendent of the Assemblies of God (1993-2007).
This quarterly Ask the Superintendent interview will both inspire and motivate you to be about the Master’s business of winning and transforming men.
Why is it important to reach men?
Trask: Scripture indicates that a man is to be the spiritual head of his home. This is the order God has put in place. When we reach a man, we reach his home. Reaching men is effective, particularly in our society where the role of men has been diminished.
We read statistics about the many children who are being raised without a father. When there is a male role model, especially when he is a Christian, he fills the role God ordained for him. A Christian husband can bring harmony and success in the home, family, and in his marriage.
What responsibility does the church have to the men of its community?
Trask: Men can reach men. When I pastored, I had a program entitled "Men Investing in Men." We had a monthly dinner, and I asked the men in the church to buy a ticket for an unsaved friend. We had Christian businessmen as guest speakers. Many times a man won’t come to a church service, but you can get him to come to a dinner or other activity if you bring him.
How can we reach our neighbors more effectively?
Trask: First, we must live out our Christianity. Then we must look for opportunities to befriend them. Steve, a medical doctor, lives across the street from us. One Saturday Steve asked to borrow my extension ladder so he could clean out his gutters.
As I was getting the ladder, the Spirit spoke to my heart and asked me to clean Steve’s gutters. I don’t like heights and my gutters weren’t cleaned out, but I said, "Steve, I’ll clean your gutters for you." When I finished, he thanked me and I put the ladder away and went into the house.
My wife, Shirley, asked, "What were you doing cleaning Steve’s gutters? Ours aren’t clean."
I said, "I know, but the Lord spoke to my heart. We are trying to win him to Jesus, and here’s a way to demonstrate the love of Christ."
A few months later Steve gave his heart to the Lord, and a year later his wife, Linda, got saved. My philosophy is this: if I can win them to me, then I have an open door to witness. After I’ve won their respect, then I can talk to them about Jesus.
Here is another example. Tony, a businessman, had been to Africa on a safari. A Christian guide there said, "Tony, when you get back, I want you to send me a box of religious books. I was a Muslim. Now I want to propagate Christianity."
This businessman said to me, "Reverend, can you get me a box of books to send this man?"
I said, "Sure I can." I gathered a box of books, including three or four Bibles. Then I went to a Christian bookstore and bought Tony a Bible and had his name imprinted on it.
I took the box to his office and he wasn’t there, so I left it and the Bible. When I went back a week later, he hugged me and said, "Thank you. Now I have my own Bible." Then he asked, "Will you go for a ride with me?" When we got back, he asked, "Reverend, how do I get born again?" I never thought Tony would ask me that, but God was working in his heart.
You are intentional about interacting with unchurched men.
Trask: Jesus met with publicans and sinners. Why did He eat with sinners? They needed Him.
There is a difference between keeping company and having an acquaintance. I would not keep company on a frequent basis with the unsaved because we don’t have anything in common. Our language and lives are not the same. But we need acquaintances for the purpose of winning them to the Lord.
Describe the process of being comfortable enough with yourself to win men to you so you can lead them to Christ?
Trask: First, this has to come out of our relationship with Jesus. I’m not afraid to have someone look at my life because I have nothing to hide. This doesn’t mean I’m perfect. No one is perfect, but we must be living right. There are men in the workplace who witness to others but don’t live consistent Christian lives. When a dirty story is being told, they are part of the group that listens. The unsaved man doesn’t understand this. If Christians are different, why do they take part in something ungodly? We are salt and light by virtue of whom we are in Christ. Salt and light will accomplish the purposes for which they were created.
Second, I love people and enjoy being around them. It has never been hard for me to make an acquaintance. That’s not true for everybody, but every man in his own way can be a testimony. Some of the most powerful testimonies I know are men who say very little but live exemplary lives.
I have a responsibility before God for the spiritual well-being of unsaved men. It is easy for ministers to only fellowship with Christians. But if we do this, we lose touch with the reality that men are going into eternity without Jesus Christ. That has to move us.
You build bridges with men through shared interests. How would you encourage pastors to build bridges with men in their communities?
Trask: If a pastor becomes a part of the community by joining the Rotary Club or some public service organization, this puts him out in the community. They know he’s a pastor. When a crisis comes, they will come to him.
A while back I had replacement surgery on my knee. Sometime after my surgery my doctor’s girlfriend was killed in a car accident. When I was in his office, I told him, "I’ve been praying for you."
He replied, "You’re the first person I thought about calling when my girlfriend was killed. But I didn’t think it was proper for me to call you."
I said, "I wished you had." When I said that, he fell into my arms and began to cry. When a crisis arises in a man’s life, he needs a person who can help him spiritually.
What ministry activities can the pastor delegate to men in his church?
Trask: Scripture says in Ephesians 4 that God gave pastors to the church for equipping the saints for the work of the ministry. It is the pastor’s responsibility to prepare men for ministry. One of the best ways for a pastor to grow a staff is to develop men within the congregation for ministry. One of the surest ways to have loyalty in a staff is to have men who have been saved under your ministry or who have come up through the church. They know your vision and goals and are committed to them.
One of the mistakes pastors make is trying to do it all. Instead, they need to train men. Another thing needed in the church is for the pastor to believe that God will call men into the ministry. God helped me in 13 years at Brightmoor Tabernacle to have 32 men go into full-time ministry. My goal was to see God call men into ministry.
What kind of ministries can a pastor use to engage men who are not yet fully committed to Christ?
Trask: Churches can utilize the skills of men to minister to the needs of people. Let me give an example. Suppose a church has a ministry that paints and repairs widows’ homes. If pastors can get an unsaved man involved in this outreach, this man begins to develop an interest in the church. He knows he’s not saved, and you might hear some bad words when he’s working with your people. That’s OK. But you’ve exposed him to Christians in a different setting from church. You have given him an opportunity to realize he needs to be saved. Before long he’ll make that commitment.
What about fears that an unsaved man could influence and disrupt the church?
Trask: Those cases are so rare I never worried about that. We had the unsaved outnumbered. There were times when we had several unsaved men helping with a project. But that is healthy because it gives the men in the church opportunity to share their faith while sitting around at lunch at a work project.
A significant number of men in our society, and even in the church, are wrestling with addictions. What can the church do to address this issue?
Trask: If this is happening in the church, it’s a spiritual matter. Men need to understand there is hope and deliverance through Christ, but they must want help.
Also, the church is here to bring help and hope to the community. A church can offer the community biblical solutions through its various ministries designed to help those with life-controlling addictions.
What would you say to ministers to help them be more intentional in reaching the men of their community?
Trask: Pastors must have a passion to reach lost people. This isn’t something pastors necessarily learn in Bible college. And it will not happen if they sit in the office all day. Pastors need to get out and rub elbows with those who are lost.
There were many times I left the pulpit at the close of an altar service and put my arm around a man who I knew was unsaved. I would ask if I could pray with him, and that’s all he needed. Pastors need to seize the opportunity and then God does the work.
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