Feeling needed

There are two things I'd like to mention today. The first is this: Why Men Hate Going to Church It's the result of research by David Murrow. His work is tackling the issue of a feminised church. For example, he writes:

Church offers the things women crave: safety, relationships, nurturing, and close-knit community. The rules are: be nice. Be sensitive. Be gentle... On the other hand, men need adventure, challenge and risk – but these things are discouraged in church... Any man who tries to bring risk into his local congregation will quickly find himself in the gun sights of a longtime member... Volunteer opportunities in the local church revolve around traditionally feminine roles: childcare, teaching, music, hospitality and cooking. Men who want to serve in church often end up passing out bulletins or attending meetings. Where is the adventure in that?... Men are dying for a leader, but we’ve turned Christ into a lover.

You may not agree with the above but I find it interesting to comment on because of something that the Spirit said to my church decades ago was: 'Focus on the men and the women will come.' And we've found it to be true. Our church is 50-50% male/female which is very unusual in today's churches.

It is an interesting topic and it has nothing to do oppressing women, but if you don't encourage men to take their place as pioneers and leaders women will happily organise things in a way that suits them. Men find themselves disengaged and will ultimately seek other ways to satisfy their masculine minds. In contrast when men are encouraged to work out their roles in the church women don't need to find interests elsewhere but still get on with whatever it is that they do best.

Tonight we have a leaders meeting for the national church. It will be all male. There's something very raw and inspiring about men getting together to worship and seek God's wisdom. Something very humbling about seeing men make strong decisions for the good of the whole. Pray for us, we intend to do well.

I won't comment on the other thing now, perhaps I'll leave it for another time. Suffice to say it concerned a sister who felt a bit worn out yesterday. She has a very good ministry to some of the younger guys and I hope to make sure she gets some encouragement.

Tags: church, men, women, feminism, masculinity, leadership, equality, ministry, roles, religion