God is calling men out to repentance, to be reconciled – and according to Dr. Thomas Fortson, speaking at a national men’s conference at the Hope for Life Restoration Ministries in Arnos Vale last Saturday, February 19, that is what being a Transformed Man is.{{more}}

Fortson is the President and CEO of Transformed Men, a ministry focusing on the spiritual development and family life of men worldwide.

Last Saturday’s conference, which was organized by Transformed Men SVG, sought to equip and train Vincentian men on life’s critical issues and to assist them in obtaining a better understanding of what it means to be a man from a biblical perspective.

Or as Fortson put it, he enjoys challenging men, but men have too many issues.

“I have a vision for the region to gather men because men are hungry for the truth,” he said.

According to Fortson, God has given him a second chance.

“God is a God of second chances. Whatever we were involved in, God overlooks that.”

His journey began, he said, with a routine check to the doctor which revealed that he had an E-coli infection.

After repeated tests, he was later diagnosed with other more severe medical complications including prostate and kidney problems.

Fortson said that his state prompted a self examination and the question: “Did I do what I came to do?”

This is what led him on a journey to want to take men out from the kingdom of darkness.

But men have five characteristics, according to Fortson.

These characteristics as outlined by Fortson are: Men are afraid to talk to each other. Men are emotionally isolated, or they stifle their emotions. They are confused over their masculinity. They are success driven and Men are constantly searching spiritually.

Fortson also contended that some men are bitter because they did not have a father.

“The glory of children is their father,” he said, adding that there is something about a father’s presence within a household.

“If you don’t have fathers in the home, you’re going to have a lot of angry men,” Fortson contended.

He was also of the view that the absence of a father had detrimental effects on the society.

Fortson made the point based on his personal struggle with his own father, saying that for years, he needed to hear affirmation from his father that he was loved.

And so that was why according to Fortson, there are so many angry men, because men often felt abandoned. He, however, maintained that men needed to deal with it and step up to God’s call to be righteous men.

“God is calling men out. Our call is to proclaim the message that we have come short,” Fortson said. (DD)