Posted on 09/28/2014 5:32:33 AM PDT by SkyPilot
The leaders of a new, Christian movement think they’ve solved a centuries-old mystery: why men are absent from church. But their answer isn’t politically correct.
They believe Christianity has become feminized.
There are generally more women than men in every type of church, in every part of the world, according to church growth experts like Patrick Johnstone, author of Operation World.
A traditional explanation is that women are more spiritual than men. But the leaders of this new movement suggest that the church’s music, messages and ministries cater to women. One of the leaders is David Murrow, author of a provocative book Why Men Hate Going to Church (Nelson Books), who spoke with Biola Connections.
The result of this feminization is that many men, even Christian men, view churches as “ladies clubs” and don’t go — or they often go to please their wives. Murrow’s solution is to restore a masculine ethos. Many men’s ministers, including some Biolans, agree.
But isn’t the reverse true — that the church is controlled by men?
True, 93 percent of senior pastors in America are men, according to evangelical pollster George Barna. But, the majority of attendees in a typical church are women. Barna goes so far as to refer to women as “the backbone of the Christian congregations in America.”
“[I]t’s not too hard to discern the target audience of the modern church: a middle-aged to elderly woman,” Murrow said in an interview with Faithreader.com.
The same claim was made by an earlier, more academic book, The Church Impotent: The Feminization of Christianity (Spence Publishing Company), by Leon J. Podles, a senior editor of Touchstone Magazine. But Murrow’s book has had a bigger impact among evangelicals and has been featured by the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal.
(Excerpt) Read more at magazine.biola.edu ...
A woman who smells like fish is without a man.
bless you!
have manly men in charge.
The most amazing thing to me was that no one man stood up with me. I find more fellow warriors outside the church than in.
That's because if a guy is a "fellow warrior", he will be shown the door if he challenges the female leadership.
The only solution is to show your back to such a church.
It won't be found in any hymn period.
The word is "vinyard".
Well I’ll be dipped.
That ain’t they way I’ve always heard it.. and kind of makes no sense.. but there you go.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.