Church-a place for women of both sexes?
In his recent book, Why men hate going to church, published by Thomas Nelson, David Murrow suggests that church is a feminine environment where men are uncomfortable. Church, he argues, is designed to meet the needs of a female audience. Its langague [comforting rather than challanging], and activities [nurturing, caring and supporting rather than risk taking and adventurous] are more geared to women than men.
Worship is semtimentalised, Jesus is emasculated[a bearded lady] and service is mundane. Men's passivity in church springs not from laziness but from uneasiness. What is needed is a rediscovery of the masculine spirit and a greater recognition of the distinctive needs of men. Our worship is touchy feely and need centred, which excludes a lot of men. We sentimentalise the Cross when in fact it was brutal and shocking. Church is safe and nurturring rather than thrusting and provocative.
It raises the question, "what makes a man a man?" Is it his penis? Or is it something else?
Stay tuned and I will explore this tomorrow....girls!
posted by Paul Reid at 11:13 AM
3 Comments:
Paul I,ve had a look at the David Murrows book on the internet & liked the sound of it- I've ordered it on Amazon.I can relate to the points he makes.I have a husband (a Christian) who doesn't like long sermons, isn't touchy feely & doesn't feel particularly needy or insecure. I also have two sons in their late teens who have opted out of church altogether (although not their faith) because they're just not interested in what goes on and don't feel like they fit in. I'd love you to talk about this more - I wonder is there enough for the ordinary, stable, secure, intelligent men in our church who don't feel comfortable standing in a circle holding hands and sometimes find what happens in church irrelevant to their real lives.(ps I'm ok - but then I'm a woman!)
8:03 PM
Spot on Paul, some how we have to engage men more without going back to some of the old leadership is male thinking.
11:09 AM
paul, what about a 1 hour service for us men with short attention spans? Jesus' parables were sort and sweet, yet very effective, so that men could remember them and pass them on!!
12:09 PM
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