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This is probably the stupidest preaching I've ever heard. What next? "Tune in, kids, turn on, drop out. Mom and dad are pigs. Come live in the park . . ." |
Posted on 04/17/2004 1:06:57 PM PDT by DemWatch
Have you ever asked yourself, “Self … why do churches today look more like the lingerie department at Wal-Mart, than a battalion of men poised to plunder the powers of darkness?” Why do men avoid going to church, and what can be done about it?
Certainly, the lack of men in church is not at all difficult to see. Just open your eyes any Sunday morning and go to church. Then, count the number of ladies in the pews, and the number of men. The result: you’re slapped in the face with the Jose Cuervo-like reality that men are avoiding church like Michael Jackson avoids reality.
More and more, we are seeing fewer and fewer mature and responsible, evil-challenging tripods who love leadership, the struggle and aren’t afraid to boldly face an increasingly godless environment with conviction, power and the love of God.
So why do most men avoid church? Here’s the veneer stripped-away answer: going to church for the majority of men is an exercise in unwanted effeminacy. Church, for most men, has not only become irrelevant; it has also become effeminate. Hanging out in church for most extra-Y chromosomes seems unmanly and most men more than anything want to be masculine!
The current lack of strong men within the Church, both in the numeric and leadership sense, has crippled our cathedrals and has helped devastate our nation ethically. The masculine spirit being absent from the pulpit, the pew and subsequently the public square has not only slowed down the forward progress of the Church, it has also weakened our nation’s morality, increased our country’s secularity, and has assisted [owing to our absence] the lascivious Left’s re-definition of life, sex, marriage and law.
So how do we regain the masculine spirit in our houses of worship? How do we gird the Church to press on with that which is holy, just and good? How can we Christians fight the good fight honorably, for freedom, family and the flag? Here are a few things the Church can do.…
· Put an end to preaching by cheesy, whiny, quiche eating, preening Nancy Boys ... right now! It freaks us meat eaters out. Get it? Hire a pastor who throws off a good John Wayne vibe instead of that Boy George feeling. Know what I mean? And cheer on “Pastor Wayne” to serve up the solid meat of the scripture … the stuff that prods the congregation to biblical maturity rather than prolonging their infancy.
· Ditto regarding the worship/music leader. And make sure your new testosterone laden songmeister is outfitted with weighty worship music instead of the saccharine-laced slush we have had to sing ad nauseam et infinitum for the last, oh, 100 years. That’s a pretty simple can-do … don’t you think?
· Enough with the Precious Moments prints and figurines -- okay? How about decking out the sanctuary with serious transcendent art work that stops us in our tracks, rather than ubiquitous prints of fat baby angels who look like they’ve got a good buzz going from too much Mountain Dew and children’s aspirin?
· Lose the Church’s “I’m in therapy for ever” feel. Yes, yes, we’re all a work in progress but the co-dependant, extended womb the Church has wrongfully created has allowed congregants to not get a life because of some difficult doo-doo in their lives. Sure life’s hard, little Sally, and the sooner, we celebrate the struggle the quicker we will draw men back to our houses of worship.
If the Church wants to recover its losses, we’ve got to draw the knuckle draggers back to church. Masculine men are pretty easy. Toss in reason, competition, initiation, struggle, fun and a problem to spiritually throttle, and we’ll be there like stink on a monkey. Blow off, suppress, and spiritually emasculate the environment of these holy testicular necessities and your church, as far as men go, will be more empty than an Oktoberfest in Hialeah.
My ClashPoint is this: if concerned conservative Christians want to improve our nation biblically, then the Church has got to eliminate its effeminate drift and re-establish a masculine base. Our times demand strong men: the Church must produce them, not repel them. The Church needs men, who start a ministry, start a business; get involved in politics, the arts and education, and who are not afraid of the secular thugs and pimps who try to keep Christians marginalized in a religious ghetto.
One last word for the young Christian man: Do you want to grow up quickly? Then leave mommy’s familiar, safe haven and venture out into the danger zone. As Leon Podles said, “Go find your Holy Grail; go meet the strange, meet the unfamiliar.” Protect people; lead people; rescue people. Fight inequities and absurdities. Beware, young man, of parents and pastors who want to “mother” you. Avoid the secure; Fear over-protection; and happily accept the masculine task of the patriarch, the prophet, the warrior and wild man.
Get to a place, young warrior, where pain is not a big deal, where you embrace resistance. And by your example, you will encourage others to resist self-doubt, squeamishness, indecision and the impulse to surrender and withdraw into the warm, wet womb of Wussville.
I second that emotion. 'Pod is definitely not a fan of what passes for contemporary hymns in church these days.
I highly recommend the book Wild at Heart by John Eldredge. He speaks to this issue at length. It has had a profound impact on my life.
I particularly like this passage from "Pilgrim's Progress" by John Bunyan:
Then the Interpreter took Christian and led him up toward the door of the palace; and behold, at the door stood a great company of men, as desirous to go in, but dared not. There also sat a man at a little distance from the door, at a tableside, with a book and his inkhorn before him, to take the names of them that should enter therein; he saw also that in the doorway stood many men in armor to keep it, being resolved to do the men that would enter what hurt and mischief they could. Now was Christian somewhat in amaze. At last, when every man fell back for fear of the armed men, Christian saw a man of a very stout countenance come up to the man that sat there to write, saying, "Set down my name, sir," the which when he had done, he saw the man draw his sword, and put a helmet upon his head, and rush toward the door upon the armed men, who laid upon him with deadly force; but the man, not at all discouraged, fell to cutting and hacking most fiercely. So after he had received and given many wounds to those that attempted to keep him out, he cut his way through them all, and pressed forward into the palace.
IMHO, Jesus was a tough-as-nails, macho kind of guy.
MY God is no pansy!
I suspect to answer your question of why men are not going to church is that church does not seem to be meeting this conservative purpose as effectively as it once did. For example, Vatican II and the rise in scandals. I personally have seen an increase in politics of the church, such as those concerning Iraq. This is not why I go to church. As for me, a hard-core mathematician and software architect, religion has but one single purpose: It's all about being a good person. If I feel that the church is not making me become a better person, but rather wasting my time and money, I will stop going, as I have recently.
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This is probably the stupidest preaching I've ever heard. What next? "Tune in, kids, turn on, drop out. Mom and dad are pigs. Come live in the park . . ." |
cheer on “Pastor Wayne” to serve up the solid meat of the scripture.
When God is preached, then God will draw men to Himself. Any other philosophy which is contradictory to God's Word is NOT God's philosophy.
The writer didn't say this exactly, but get women out of places of preaching. It is contrary to Scripture and therefore, shouldn't happen.
Ditto for my Anglican church. Skewed a bit by the number of widows, but that's balanced by the RC wives who usually are elsewhere.
And we have two excellent, strong voices out in front in the hymns (1940 hymnal, with plenty that's not saccharin) -- both male.
Nope, never.
First lesson in writing, pal - don't lose your audience in the first line!
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