Monday, June 13, 2005
Why Men Avoid Church
I like the reasons that Bundschuh lists in Passed Thru Fire:
- Suspect leadership: church seems to favor academic and gentle end of male spectrum
- Too many women: "It's impossible to be one of the guys when surrounded by girls."
- Irrelevant to men: "if [church] does not challenge, invigorate or empower a man, why attend?"
- Indoor experiences: men tend to do things outdoors, rather than inside churches
- Dad doesn't go: they don't attend but tell their sons "you need to go!"
- Tendencies toward inefficiency: "Men often see the church as a social or emotional place but not a doing place."
- Avoids celebrating male sexuality: "[Sex] sells because men think about sex ... a lot. [...] Without godly and frank male-based guidance, a man can easily begin to see women only as objects[...] In many churches, boys are told not to think about sex -- if they're told anything at all -- rather than taught how to think about sex. The church needs to celebrate godly sexuality rather than be embarrased by it. It should be a comfortable subject [even a proud, God-given blessing] in our community not a tawdry one. The church should redeem and rescue sexuality from the domain of hedonism."
- Church is soft: "When challenged by our culture, the church rarely takes on a male voice or defends male sensibilities." (like banning dodgeball, let alone sponsoring/fielding a paintball team.)
