God's Mandate for Men: Why Brotherhood Makes us Stronger
by Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers
For over a decade, I’ve spoken at men’s conferences and retreats around the world. But time and again, I saw a pattern: men left these experiences fired up, only to burn out a few months later. Why? No follow-through. That needs to change.
After one such event in Milwaukee, a group of us gathered to confront the problem. Heroic Men was born.
Let’s be honest: Manhood today is in a crisis
It’s been marginalized, undervalued, and misunderstood. And some of that is our fault. We’ve allowed the culture to define us. We’ve been seduced by the “dictatorship of relativism,” and lost sight of our biblical mission.
Take this stat: 31% of Catholic men who attend Mass regularly report not having even one close friend. One. That’s a Brotherhood crisis.
My own story reflects this hunger for Brotherhood. My dad left our family. As the oldest, I helped my mother raise my siblings. She knew she couldn’t teach me how to be a man, so she surrounded me with Godly men. They didn’t replace my father, but they modeled fatherhood, strength, and faith.
Many young men don’t have that. And they suffer for it.
Genesis 2:15 gives us our first job description: God placed man in the garden to “till and to keep it” – Hebrew words that mean to serve, protect, and defend.
That mandate hasn’t changed. Every man is still called to serve, protect, and defend what’s been entrusted to him. But we can’t do this alone.
Even Jesus needed help carrying His cross.
What Happens When Men Step Back
1 Maccabees lays it out clearly. When the king forbade the Jews from worshiping God, many caved. They burned the scriptures. They abandoned the covenant. They killed infants. Why? Because no heroic men stood in the gap. We’re seeing the same decay in our culture: abortion, pornography, fatherlessness. It’s not just policy failure. Without heroic men, cultures collapse.
Matthathias refused to bow. He gathered his sons and brothers and said: We will not obey the king. We will live by the covenant. That’s our call.
Jesus did the same. He didn’t just preach. He formed a brotherhood. From the 12 to the 70, He sent them out. Not in comfort, but into a world of wolves. And that’s us. Men being sent into hostile ground to reclaim lost territory.
God has given men a sacred task. He lets us borrow His own name: Father. That’s not just honor; it’s a command. It means we’re called to image His life-giving love in our families and in this culture of death.
Like Matthathias, we must cry out: “Everyone zealous for the law and the covenant, come with me!”
We are not fighting with the weapons of the world. Ours is a spiritual battle. But we need laborers. The harvest is rich, but the workers are few. And yes, it will cost us. I left a career in law enforcement to speak full-time. It felt irresponsible. But through prayer, and through the Brotherhood of wise, Godly men, I found courage. And I found blessing. More than I ever imagined.
This isn’t just theory. At a recent event, a young priest came up to me and said, “You don’t remember me, but you spoke at my high school ten years ago. Your talk helped me say yes to my vocation. I’m a priest today because of it.”
Heroic Men exists to make moments like that possible.
Across Nigeria, the Philippines, Australia, and more – men are awakening to their mission.
Psalm 144:1-2 says: “Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for battle, my fingers for war. He is my fortress, my stronghold, my shield.”
Men, the battle is now. The battle is in front of us and behind us. Our families need us. Our Church needs us. Our culture needs us.
Join us.