Unite Mississippi was pleased to welcome guest speaker Chris Harper at the Equipping Luncheon on January 9, 2025.
Chris Harper is a speaker, writer, and disciple-maker serving as the CEO of BetterMan. Equipping more than 2500+ churches and 300,000+ men. BetterMan is calling the Church back to men.
Chris is passionate about biblical manhood and often speaks on topics such as a man’s identity in Christ and the importance of being a gospel-centered husband and father. Chris desires to see generations of men grasp who they are in Christ and come alive! Chris received his master’s degree from Dallas Theological Seminary and his doctorate from the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Chris and his wife, Ally, live with their four children – Scarlett, Malachi, Calvin, and Oliver – in Arlington, Texas. In addition to his family, Chris loves a pick-up basketball game, a good cheeseburger, and firmly believes Jordan is better than Lebron.
BetterMan was formed in 2018, but its origins can be found in a study on biblical manhood by Dr. Robert Lewis of Little Rock, Arkansas in 1990. This study grew to thousands of men who
participated weekly in the Bible study which then led to the launch of Men’s Fraternity. LifeWay published Men’s Fraternity, which impacted millions of men across the United States. BetterMan is the product of years of prayer for the transformation of men based on biblical principles. In 2020, BetterMan was launched nationally with an 11-week curriculum.
“Hospitality is the new evangelism, when we can come together as one around the table” shared Chris. BetterMan was birthed out of the need of “spiritual orphans – men who want to be good, but don’t know how. BetterMan is taking this next generation to the path of God. An entire generation of young men and women are looking for something, for a purpose. BetterMan puts King Jesus on display.” Today, 80% of all churches in North America have a functional women’s ministry while 7% have a functional men’s ministry and this usually consists of “parking lot duty and an annual fish and game dinner.
“You can’t become what you can’t define”, Chris explained. BetterMan’s 11-week Bible study starts with a definition and four principals of a biblical manhood:
- A real man courageously follows God’s WORD.
- A real man loves and protects God’s WOMAN.
- A real man excels at God’s WORK.
- A real man improves God’s WORLD.
“Satan is crafty but not creative. He has told humanity the same two lies throughout history. In the book of Genesis chapter 3, Satan tempted Eve (and later Adam) to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which would make them like God; meaning they didn’t need God. Satan also tell us we are so unworthy that God will never love us. Every man walks a fine line between these two lies. However, the Old Testament has two repetitive statements throughout its content which are: Fear Not… and Remember. God calls people to remember His goodness, for His plentiful blessing in our lives.”
When you take men on a spiritual journey, it will change their lives, and they will become instruments of grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness. This is the goal of BetterMan. “You will find hope upon hope when you trust in King Jesus.”
Chris believes Mississippi is on the cusp of revival, that a “moment is being born in Jackson, Mississippi that will spread throughout the South and then across the nation. He is praying that the goodness of King Jesus will flow out of Mississippi.”
The BetterMan Mississippi Conference is being held on March 1, 2025, at the Jackson Convention Center. For more information or to register, please visit: https://bettermanms.com.
Please make plans to join Unite Mississippi on Thursday, February 20, when guest speaker Sied Razinobakht will share his story as a reformed Muslim who is now walking with Christ. You can register for lunch, which is provided at no cost, by visiting: Eventbrite.
