Erwin McManus - Awakening the Warrior Poet

What does a spiritually enlightened man look like? Nurturing and compassionate? Fierce and uncompromising? Idealistic and visionary? History provides us with many different examples—from the sacrifice of Jesus and the compassion of the Buddha to the bold, nonviolent leadership of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.  At the beginning of the twenty-first century, do we need new expressions of masculine spiritual development or are the old ones sufficient?

In preparation for our issue on men and masculinity, we asked this question to a broad range of philosophers, spiritual teachers, and cultural pioneers. One of our favorite responses came from Erwin McManus, an innovative Christian minister, activist, filmmaker, and leader of a unique Los Angeles spiritual community called Mosaic.

In this interview with EnlightenNext’s Carter Phipps, McManus explains why he thinks a truly spiritual man must become a “warrior poet.” Using biblical stories (Christ and the money lenders, David and Goliath) as well as stories from his own work as a mentor to thousands of men in his own spiritual community, he paints the picture of a new, more complex man than we’ve seen before—one who has the ability to stand up to the lower parts of himself and society with the determination of a warrior while at the same time maintaining the sensitivity and artistry of a poet.

BIO

Erwin Raphael McManus is a Christian author, speaker, activist, and filmmaker who specializes in developing personal and organizational creativity, innovation, and diversity. McManus currently serves as the lead pastor and cultural architect of Mosaic, a spiritual community in Los Angeles. His speaking tours have taken him to more than thirty countries, and he has spoken to more than a million people from a wide variety of audiences, including the NFL, Lionsgate Films, and New Line Cinema. His work is featured in numerous films, articles, and magazines across the United States and internationally.

McManus is the author of many books, including An Unstoppable Force, which was a Gold Medallion Award finalist; Chasing Daylight; Uprising: A Revolution of the Soul; The Barbarian Way; Stand Against the Wind; Soul Cravings: and Wide Awake (July 2008).

McManus is a native of El Salvador and is a graduate of the University of North Carolina and Southwestern Theological Seminary. He and his wife Kim live in Los Angeles and have two children, Aaron and Mariah, and a foster daughter Paty.