1. "I refuse to believe it. It's just not true. There's absolutely nothing wrong with church."
2. "Men have the issue. So they need to change. There's absolutely nothing wrong with church."
3. "Hmmm.... we do seem to struggle to reach men with the message of Jesus. And Jesus did command us to take the gospel to all people. Perhaps we could show some humility, accept that we are not perfect, and be open to learning how we might better represent Jesus to the male population."
Whatever stage you're at, David Murrow's book Why Men Hate Going To Church is an informative read. Though you'll get most out of it if you're at stage 3.
He explores the reasons why Christ's body (the church) is so out-of-balance, and what can be done to remedy the problem.
From time to time on this blog, i'll give some of my examples, but David Murrow is all over this issue. Coming from a background in the media, he has a unique insight as to how church presents itself almost exclusively to a female demographic. Often i think it's a tribute to the awesome power of the Holy Spirit that any men attend church at all.
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ps. His site Church for Men is not to be taken as the opposite to a church for women. It is meant to be the opposite of what we have now - a church against men.
2 comments:
Cheers David, I've read most of this book [I had to put it down, it was too depressing, not because the book wasn't good, because I knew how hard it would be too change the church I am the Minister at!].
Anyway, this year for Father's Day we did church as men might like it 'Big Boys Toys!' We invited men to bring their hotrods and woodwork to display and be blessed. We closed off the street, didn't go in the building, but had a BBQ, relaxed, a short drama presentation [with Pirate sword fighting] and it was great. 200-400 people came [usual attendance 60-90], and they raved about it and NEXT year!
Hi Paul,
Sad to read the first bit, but the second bit sounds like a fantastic idea that worked really well!
One might hope that this experience might alert churchgoers to more inclusive ways of reaching people - as they return to the old ways and have a gathering about a quarter of the size.
Perhaps events like this might become more frequent - or better still, perhaps the traditional gathering may even shed some of its anti-male aspects. :)
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