Where are the men?
Two thoughts come to mind:
-men are turned off by Jesus is my boyfriend songs ("Hold me close, wrap your arms around me..")
-men's ministries are patterned after women's ministies. Men want to jump off cliffs into rivers and fish/hunt. Not sit around and talk about their feelings
my 0.02 cents
ping to 13
In my case, it was the Planck length-thick teaching (and the scowls at those of us who asked difficult questions and pursued deeper issues--not primarily from the leadership, but from the other laity!) that first stirred me to go hunting for a new congregation.
Read: The Church Impotent: The Feminization of Christianity by Leon Podles. He is Catholic but his comments apply (and are directed) at Protestantism as well. Interestingly, he asserts that the Eastern Orthodox don't have this problem.
men's ministries are patterned after women's ministies. Men want to jump off cliffs into rivers and fish/hunt. Not sit around and talk about their feelings
Amen and Amen. The pagans are way ahead of us on how to have a really cool men's retreat
That would be 0.02 dollars.
That is very funny.
Or even, go dancing with me:
"Dance then, whereever you may be
For I am the Lord of the Dance," said He
"And I'll lead you all, whereever you may be
And I'll lead you all in the Dance," said He
Not every man wants to dance with Jesus. And if he is dancing, the man takes the lead.
Can't say as I've seen this in our Reformed church, we men are the deacons, elders, and decision-makers.
In our previous American Baptist/Sunday Pot-luck/Extremely Liberal Theology church, it was the opposite, and the women outnumbered the men 4-1.
When the Truth is preached unapologetically, the Lord blesses. When the preaching is weak and shallow, strife abounds.