21Summit Pushing Back by Diane Woerner

Men and Women who Want to be Men and Women Find a Voice

Recently a diverse congregation of men gathered in Orlando to bond and collectively shake their fist at our feminized culture. With the byline of “Make Men Alpha Again,” the 21Convention, which began 16 years ago, now takes place in five nations and draws hundreds of men who see what is currently disparaged as “toxic masculinity” as something they want to return to. In their words:

Society wants you to be a fat, sloppy, obedient beta male. The blood of your ancestors that went through hell is screaming for you to become an alpha male. To be strong, to be confident, to be competent, to be a man of honor and conviction.

The speakers come from all corners of manhood, including entrepreneurs, coaches, pastors, psychologists, legal experts, fitness trainers, and more, who together have a strong media presence impacting multiplied millions of people.

With their trademark bluntness, here’s how they view the enemy:

Somewhere along the way, at least for the past 50 years, something went extremely wrong in our culture. Men were gradually emasculated, masculinity was neutered one paper cut at a time, then exponentially. Before we knew it, two genders became 200, and masculinity went from being viewed as great, to tolerable, to evil seemingly overnight....

Common sense values like masculine men, feminine women, and family itself are under all out attack by a woke mob of lunatics in pink hats. They want you to be beta, lost, confused, and powerless. They want you to live in a state of constant fear, anxiety, and hate yourself for being born a man - to apologize for your very existence.

Three years ago, the organization, whose umbrella name is 21Summit, opened its doors to women in an adjunct conference called 22Convention, with the byline of “Make Women Great Again.” At first taught only by men, they have now added a few female speakers to the roster. The inducement for women?

Face it. You want an alpha male. 100% alpha, 0% beta. Every woman wants one. Yet finding and keeping one seems about as easy as winning the lottery these days....

You want a strong man who is unapologetically masculine and leads with absolute conviction in his voice, his life, and his soul. Only a worthy woman unapologetically feminine in nature deserves such a man. We’ll teach you how to boost your femininity by over 500%, find these unicorns, get wifed up and knocked up.

While not all the speakers and speeches are this earthy, the message is clear: patriarchy in its original design is the treasure which has been ruthlessly obscured and desperately needs to be recovered. A third co-conference, the Patriarch Convention, focuses on men’s roles as fathers.

Against the Tide, but in Line with Truth

Not surprisingly, this significantly out-of-step cultural phenomenon has caught the attention (and raised the ire) of many in the mainstream media. For a snapshot of the blowback, check out the trailer for last year’s women’s conference.

As a Christian, I’ve pondered how this fits into our message and purpose. It clearly draws its energy from a return to God’s ordering for men and women. Men can take the curse of social insignificance for only so long. Women are catching on to the lie that says careers are ultimately more fulfilling than children. There is no question, therefore, that these conferences will provide nourishment to those who are starved for reason and reality.

But can this infusion of sanity have a permanent impact on today’s powerful cultural momentum? Personally, I am not optimistic. However, I will say that especially when 21Summit insights are woven into the larger framework of biblical Truth, it could enable individuals, families, and even communities to better flourish and to resist the tides of our time.

In addition, I believe the church would benefit from greater exposure to the issues and ideas these men are bringing into the public arena. When viewed through the right lenses, examples of strong masculinity are everywhere in Scripture. While perhaps acknowledging briefly the foibles of these men, we would do well to intentionally focus on and laud their courage, endurance, faith, loyalty, and triumphs in a generation that is starved for authentic heroes.

Of course, the only perfect representation of masculinity was Christ himself. He not only modeled strength without vulgarity, leadership without abuse, and compassion without compromise, he also gave us a glimpse into the glory of the divine hierarchy, through which his full submission to his Father made possible the restoration of us all.

To the extent 21Summit attendees (and the millions who later hear the talks) are able to discover and develop this kind of masculinity, along with its corresponding femininity, all of us—men, women and children—should find new stability, appropriate honor, and meaningful purpose in life as God intends it.

Official event trailer for The 2022 Convention: Make Men Alpha Again ℠: