The Void Will Be Filled

There's a war being waged for the souls of young men, and most of the church is losing.

Not because the enemy's message is better. It isn't. But because the enemy is actually showing up. He's filling a void that we've left empty. He's offering something, even if it's poison, to men who are starving for anything at all.

Young men today describe feeling voiceless, invisible, and disrespected. They don't know who they're supposed to be. They don't know what they're supposed to do. They've been told what NOT to be, criticized for traditional masculinity, but never given a compelling vision for what they SHOULD become.

Into that vacuum rushes anyone willing to offer answers.

What Men Are Looking For

Research consistently shows that young men flooding toward extreme communities are driven by three core needs:

These aren't unreasonable requests. These are basic human needs. And when legitimate sources don't meet them, illegitimate ones will.

Why the Manosphere Is Winning

The so-called "manosphere," the network of podcasts, YouTube channels, and social media accounts peddling extreme ideas about masculinity, is growing because they're the only ones talking.

They're telling young men: You matter. You have value. The world isn't fair to you. Here's what to do about it. Here's how to become powerful. Here's how to get respect.

Is it often toxic? Yes. Does it blend legitimate observations about male struggle with misogyny and conspiracy theories? Absolutely. Does it sometimes lead men toward authoritarianism, violence, or dysfunction? It can.

But at least it's talking to them.

Meanwhile, much of mainstream culture either ignores young men or treats them as a problem to be solved rather than people to be reached. And the church? Often we've been so afraid of being associated with "toxic masculinity" that we've stopped speaking to masculinity at all.

We've left the field. And we're shocked that someone else is playing on it.

The consequences of ceding this ground are severe. Men who find their identity in these spaces become more angry, more distrustful, more likely to embrace extremism. But they didn't start there. They were just looking for belonging. For purpose. For someone to tell them they mattered.

What We Should Be Offering

Here's the thing: Christianity has better answers.

We have a purpose that transcends career success or sexual conquest. We have a structure that's been forming men for two thousand years. We have a Father who knows every man by name and a brotherhood that crosses every demographic line.

We have everything young men are looking for. We just haven't been offering it.

The gospel speaks directly to the masculine need for purpose. You were created for something. There's a mission for your life. You're not just consuming oxygen until you die. You're called to build the kingdom, to protect the vulnerable, to lead your family, to advance light in a dark world.

The church provides structure when it's functioning correctly. There are rhythms of prayer and worship. There's a community with expectations. There are rites of passage and sacraments that mark the stages of a man's life. There's accountability and discipline.

And Scripture is full of mentorship. Paul and Timothy. Moses and Joshua. Elijah and Elisha. Jesus and the twelve. The model has always been older men investing in younger men, showing them the way, walking alongside them until they're ready to lead.

We have what they need. We just haven't been giving it to them.

A Better Masculinity

Let's be clear about what healthy masculinity looks like. It's not the caricature of the sensitive, passive man who's apologizing for his existence. But it's also not the caricature of the aggressive alpha who dominates everyone around him.

Real masculinity is strength under control. Power in service of others. The capacity for violence paired with the restraint to use it only when necessary. Leadership that serves those being led. Courage that protects the vulnerable. Discipline that delays gratification for greater goods.

Jesus showed us what it looks like. He was strong enough to clear the temple with a whip and gentle enough to hold children in his arms. He spoke with authority that amazed crowds and washed his disciples' feet like a servant. He could have called legions of angels but chose the cross instead.

That's not toxic masculinity. That's not passive masculinity. That's true masculinity. And it's what every young man is hungry for, whether he knows it or not.

The Responsibility of Older Men

If you're a man who's further along the path, you have a responsibility.

There are young men in your church, your neighborhood, your workplace who are drowning. They don't know who they're supposed to be. They don't have fathers who showed them the way. They're looking at their screens for answers because no one in their actual life is offering any.

What if you did?

What if you reached out to that young man who seems lost? What if you invited him to coffee, asked about his life, listened to his struggles? What if you modeled what it looks like to be a man who leads his family, serves his community, and walks with God?

What if you offered what the manosphere never can: actual relationship with an actual man who actually cares?

The void will be filled. That's a law of human nature. When people are hungry, they will eat whatever's available. The question is whether they'll find bread or poison. And that depends on who shows up with food.

What You Can Do

If you're a young man who's been drawn to these spaces: We understand why. The hunger you're feeling is real and legitimate. But there's something better. There's a masculinity that serves instead of dominates, that protects instead of exploits, that leads by example instead of force. You don't have to choose between being dismissed and being toxic. There's a third way, and it's the way of the lion who is also a lamb.

If you're an older man who's been on the sidelines: Get in the game. Find a young man and invest in him. Start a men's group at your church. Be present, be available, be willing to go first with vulnerability. The young men around you need to see what mature masculinity looks like. They can't become what they've never seen.

If you're a father: Your sons are watching everything you do. They're learning what a man is from you, whether you're intentional about it or not. Be intentional. Show them what it looks like to be strong and kind, to lead and serve, to fight for what matters and rest in who you are.

If you're a pastor or church leader: Stop being afraid of masculinity. Preach to men. Challenge men. Call men to more than comfort and consumption. Create spaces where men can be men, where they can struggle and grow without judgment, where they can find the purpose and structure and mentorship they're starving for.

Fill the Void

The battle for young men's souls isn't happening in the future. It's happening right now. Every day, algorithms are serving content to boys and young men that shapes how they see themselves, women, and the world.

We can't just critique from the sidelines. We can't just point out what's wrong with the manosphere while offering nothing in its place. Nature abhors a vacuum. If we don't fill it with something good, something bad will rush in.

This is the calling of our moment. To speak to men. To offer purpose, structure, and mentorship. To model a masculinity that's both strong and good. To show up where young men are struggling and offer them bread instead of stones.

The void will be filled.

Let it be filled with something true.