Bishop David G. Evans: Be a Man

CBN.com GROWING UP, FATHERLESS
“It’s not where you start, but where you finish.”

There are few people this phrase epitomizes better than Bishop David G. Evans. Coming from a troubled home, David’s life was the perfect recipe for a statistic. But God had a plan for this young man.

David grew up in a low income housing development in Chester, Pennsylvania. His mother was a Christian, and his father was an alcoholic. His parents divorced when he was in the third grade. Fortunately, his grandparents lived in the same neighborhood and helped to raise David.

“I had a very strong grandfather. He was a strong example of a man in my life. I emulated him.” With the encouragement of his grandfather, David graduated from Lincoln University in 1973 and pursued employment in the corporate world. His experience includes serving as a Vice President for a commercial lending corporation and as the owner/operator of a commercial cleaning company.

As David grew into a man he began to realize that the resentment he carried for his father started to affect the way he tried to live his life. “There was a place that I kept people out of. I shielded myself, and I needed to let God into that place so He could reach down and take the weight out of it. I was sabotaging things based on the negative relationship I had with my dad,” recalls David.

“I began searching for spiritual balance in my life,” remembers David. One morning, he called his mother at 6:00 a.m and asked if she was going to the early service at her church. She was shocked and speechless. Although David was exposed to God growing up, he did not trust his father and therefore had a tendency not to trust God. He met his mom for the early service that morning and three weeks later, David asked God into the empty place of his heart and asked God to be his father. “I learned in the Bible how to be a man and God showed me what a father should be. When I became that to other people, it healed me of the fact that I did not have a good dad,” recalls David.

WHAT IS A MAN?
The definition of a “man” has changed through the years due to cultural and religious expectations. The absence of authentic role models leaves many men trying to emulate the wrong idea of manhood. For years, David did not know who he was supposed to be. He had a distorted image of himself that did not reflect an image of God, but rather a broken hearted boy who daily came home to a father who abused substances. When he discovered the Bible he found the information he needed – ancient truths about what is right, good, and wholesome concerning relationship, responsibility, fathers, and manhood. “I saw the image of my Heavenly Father and heard a call to manhood through my grandfather,” says David.

A man is who God says he is. “At your core," David writes, “Your manhood is not defined by who others think you are or even by who you think you are. God made every man to be a profound and complex, marvelous, mighty, valiant, prudent warrior for truth.” David encourages all men to take the dare and become a “real man” by following God’s example for manhood.

Topics include:

• Dare to be a man of vision - In order to be a “real man,” a man must dare to center his vision on duplicating the image of God, shares David. Men who do so will bring order and peace to their environment and lead to productive, satisfying relationships.
• Dare to have a voice - Men need to rediscover their voice. “You have influence…you must become the solution in each situation,” comments David. As a result, your reputation as a man will change.
• Dare to obey - Obedience is a key element in the development of your manhood. When a man knows how to obey God, he creates a “safe place” to dwell for those he loves. Obedience and consistency lay the foundation for manhood and balanced leadership.
• Dare to commit - Commitment must be consistent or a man will develop a reputation for unreliability. A reputation for responsibility is built on consistency.

David recalls his grandfather as a “tower of strength.” David says, “I never expected him to fail in his commitments. I had confidence he could do whatever he said he could.” Men must build a legacy of responsibility.

UNDERSTANDING A MAN
“Boiling a guy down to sex, food, and work is often a mistake with a contemporary man,” shares David. “Over simplifying men based on the misconception that simplistic means simple is a mistake. Men are consistent, but tend to be complex.”

This is just one reason why men are often so confusing to the women in their lives. When a man becomes obedient to God, only then can he make himself ready for the woman who loves him. David shares some “man secrets” that every woman should know in order to deal with and relate to the men in their lives.

• Men have to learn how to speak “woman” and women need to learn how to speak “man” in order to bridge the communication gap. Men have to be a little more detail oriented, while women must realize that too much detail obscures the issue when communicating with men.
• Men have to go through trails to develop into full manhood. If women rescue a man from the things that build godly manhood, he will never develop to the level of maturity he needs to assume the role that God designed for him.
• Men are called to be a warrior, not a whimp. Women should encourage a man to channel his warrior energy in ways that are pleasing to God.

David was called to the ministry in 1979. He was licensed by Reverend H.R. Lusk of Greater Exodus Baptist Church in Philadelphia, PA, and was ordained by the Bethany Association in 1989. David accepted the pastorate of Bethany Baptist Church in Lindenwold, NJ, with 29 members in 1990. Today, more than 27,000 men, women, and children attend Bethany. When asked about the secret to the church’s growth, David says that it’s actually no secret at all: “Evangelism is the purpose of the church. That combined with a very strong healing and deliverance ministry and a tremendous economical development tool has been a big part of the miraculous growth of the church.”

The church has implemented ministry outreaches that are impacting the region, country, and even the world. With a goal of economic empowerment for church members, the church has instituted perhaps the largest faith-based mortgage lending institution in the country, licensed in all 50 states.