Edward T. Welch. The Humility Project for Men: The Way to Strength, Honor, and
Contentment. Greensboro, NC: New Growth Press, 2026.
Pride is simultaneously one of the most influential yet elusive sins people encounter in life. It rarely draws direct attention to itself, but is visible in the self-centered and self-seeking actions of man. Pride protects itself from rebuke while also confidently spotlighting the actions and motives of others. Pride believes that rules apply to others but not to itself. Pride demands from others what it is unwilling to offer in return. Pride gets what it wants, and it does not matter who stands in the way. Pride is a spiritual pandemic destroying families, businesses, churches, and eventually, its host.
Pride is a problem that many Christians face, but particularly confronts Christian men. Created to lead within the home, church, and society, the male psyche is prone to a whole host of unhealthy pathologies—from the self-sufficient lone ranger to the womanizing playboy or more recent “red pilled” narcissist. Importantly, each of these various caricatures of masculinity finds resolution within an unexpected spiritual virtue, humility. This important issue is at the heart of the latest book from CCEF faculty member and seasoned biblical counselor Ed Welch, The Humility Project for Men: The Way of Strength, Honor, and Contentment.
The Humility Project for Men is a New Growth Press devotional that takes men on a forty-two-day journey exploring the nature and fruit of humility in the Christian life. Each entry contains a three-to-four-page reflection as Welch takes readers through a self-guided tour on the biblical path toward humility. Humility, Welch begins, “means that you live before God, dependent on him, with a heart that listens” (4). This truth may seem counterintuitive since many Christian men profess to know God and walk with him, yet can be self-deceived about the prevalence of pride in their lives. Nevertheless, pride often reveals how little we truly understand concerning who our God truly is, and therefore how dependent and sinful we are in comparison to Him.
After several introductory reflections, the devotion opens into two sections: Humility before God and humility before other people made in his image. Paralleling Isaiah’s sudden rapture into the throne room of heaven in Isaiah 6, Welch begins the first section by fixing our attention upon the greatness of our God. “Humility is your response to the greatness of God” (20). Like Job, our perspective changes when we stop holding God to our own expectations and standards and begin to behold his sovereignty and glory. This God-centered vision should radically transform our posture since humility “is knowing that your God sees your heart” (33). Knowing God should automatically result in greater self-awareness of our sins and shortcomings.
Once this realization is impressed upon the prideful heart, it produces a cascading effect of other biblical realizations about our lives on this earth. A greater vision of God’s nature and glory leads Christian men to own their sins, reframe their identity and callings, and walk before others with greater transparency and—as the book suggests—humility. Welch summarizes the intended result of an accurate view of humility in the following quote:
Humility means that you live before God alone, dependent on him, honoring him, fearing him, loving him, listening to him. You wake up in the morning, throw away your resume—again—and say “Your will be done.” You reject the old project of personal reputation and status. You are not your own. You belong to another, and you couldn’t be more pleased. (73)
From this vantage point, the reader is now ready to consider humility before others. Thankfully, our Savior has perfectly outlined and traversed this path in his journey from the right hand of the Father to the cross, empty tomb, and then his ascension. As the journey continues, Welch discusses various applications of humility to our relationships with others, including how to handle anger, shame, and insults, as well as how to respond with gentleness and compassion. Welch concludes this work with this reflection and charge:
Humility is the way to fruitfulness. When dependent people take small steps, relationships change, local communities are known by their love, and the world is turned upside down. (143)
Our churches can be defined by a puzzling paradox. Many Christian men love the privileges that come with complementarianism and biblical headship within the home and church. Yet, why are so many of our men unwilling to lead their families in following Jesus’s path of humility? Why are men so often the first ones to respond with sinful anger to the smallest slight to their “dignity” or “honor”? Why are Christian families held captive by men who have no desire to submit their parenting and marriage to the spiritual oversight of other qualified brothers in the church? Why are wives, children, and grandchildren grieved for decades as they watch their spiritual “heads” avoid accountability and plague their homes with besetting sins such as pornography or drunkenness?
While each of these situations may look different, they all share one common theme—the self-deception of spiritual pride. Therefore, they all share one common solution—a true view of God that produces self-awareness and results in humility. Spiritual blindness is one of the most stubborn obstacles for Christian men to overcome. As one small comment, I did not find the use of the Message translation entirely necessary in several places, with other, more trustworthy translations available. Nevertheless, Welch’s The Humility Project for Men is a great place for husbands and fathers to begin on the path that leads to humility.
