Posted on 10/27/2006 7:01:58 AM PDT by klossg
HACKENSACK, N.J. - Is church too much of a girl thing?
That's the fear of some Christians around the country. They say American congregations need a dose of testosterone. So they've launched an effort to make church more of a guy thing.
An Essex County, N.J., congregation recently staged a special football service, with church women playing cheerleaders, the choir and pastor dressed in numbered jerseys and a banner proclaiming, "Christ: He gave his all for the team."
A Lincoln Park, N.J., church has invited men to occasional paintball competitions - in which players shoot gelatin pellets at each other from air guns. The pastor of a church in Midland Park, N.J., is trying to inject a more masculine edge into his sermons.
"The language of the modern church is feminine," the Rev. Scott Nichols said in an interview. "It's unappealing to men."
Nichols, pastor of Faith Reformed Church, is part of a small but growing movement that wants to lure more men into the pews.
"Park a Harley (Davidson) in the lobby or, better yet, right next to the pulpit," author David Murrow advises pastors on his Web site, churchformen.com. "It's also important to hide the quilted banners, lace doilies and fresh flowers."
But such thinking troubles some Christians.
"Creating a masculinized American church culture is something I don't see as a biblical mandate," said Mimi Haddad, president of the Minneapolis-based Christians for Biblical Equality.
P"You can't get away from what the Gospels say - and if you do, you've remade Christianity in your own image."
Others suggest that the movement is fueled by male anxiety about changes in gender roles and values - from women succeeding in the workplace to homosexuals seeking marriage rights to the emergence of "metrosexual" males obsessed with their appearance.
"There is a sense of being unmoored from what used to be stable anchors," said Evelyn Kirkley, associate professor of theology and religious studies at the University of San Diego. "There is no clear definition of what a real man is anymore, and that's troubling to some people."
Indeed, for the churches focusing on men, the model of manhood remains resolutely traditional. One congregation in the forefront of the movement adorns its worship hall with alpha male symbols, such as golf balls and footballs. The congregation, Grove Community Church of Peoria, Ill., shouts, "We are warriors," to open services and concludes with a men's huddle.
The church's home page - grovechurchonline.com - prominently displays a photograph of a man's hairy arm.
"When a guy comes in and is not churched, his perception is that it's a girl thing," said the Rev. Mark Doebler, who prefers the title "head coach" over pastor. "We want to combat that perception as soon as he walks in the door."
An East Orange, N.J., church erased any such perception during a spirited, football-themed service last month.
Hundreds of New Hope Baptist Church members came dressed in football jerseys. Cheerleaders rooted "go saints go," and the Rev. Dwight Gill told men to "get your head in the game!"
Yet there was more to the gathering than sports.
Gill told the predominantly African-American congregation that he had recently performed a funeral for an 18-year-old gang member. He said such deaths serve as a stark reminder of the need for strong, involved fathers.
"He died because we didn't stand up and be the men God called us to be," Gill said.
In an interview, he said men are all too frequently absent - from the church and from the community. He said the gender gap in his church on some Sundays can be as great as four women for every man.
"If we look at Christ, he went in the community, and he met people where they were," Gill said. "My feeling is that if we can get the men in, then we can get the (Gospel) message out.
"And when I get a man, I don't get just one man, I get families."
A minister from a predominantly white, suburban church agreed.
"Men are not as relational as women," said the Rev. Ron Rombough, pastor of small groups at Jacksonville Chapel in Lincoln Park. "They need extra prodding."
Rombough said his church tries a range of approaches, from paintball outings in Pennsylvania - which he said appeal to the "warrior" spirit - to pancake breakfasts.
But he stressed that every event has a higher purpose: presenting the Gospels and forming disciples.
"I think of it in the tradition of Billy Graham, who would go into a bar and share the Gospel," he said.
At the Midland Park church, Nichols tries to win over men by pointing out that Jesus had a strong, masculine side that was as important as his gentle side.
"Men want more out of Christian life than smiles, comfort and peace," Nichols said. "They really relate to that call to transform the world."
Nichols has also formed a softball team and Bible study group for men. He encourages Sunday morning banter about NASCAR, fishing and other distinctly male pursuits.
Such efforts, scholars say, are in keeping with a long Christian tradition of using the prevailing culture to reach people with the Gospel.
But there's also a risk.
"The danger is when the medium becomes the message and Christianity loses its critical edge," said Kirkley, of the University of San Diego. "It's that whole tension of being in the world but not of the world."
"Wild at Heart" by John Eldredge bump
lol.....so this congregation thinks guys would now be thinking "hmmm, now that a football theme has been brought to church there's no need to watch the NFL and miss church this Sunday!"
LMAO. Maybe they should install beer taps in the pews!
Your point is well taken, while I can only speak as a Catholic, I interpret the article (even with all it kooky stuff) to be highlighting the fact that Liturgies, which exhalts the Word of God is becoming increasingly feminized.
The average Catholic Church these days has more women in the Sanctuary than men and is full of soupy songs by homosexual activists like Dan Schutte.
I think that's why you tend to find more men at more Traditional parishes (both Novus Ordo and Indult Communities).
Having read Leon Podles book, I feel confident in the assumption that you have a similar trend among all seperated Christian Brethren
well looky here...
They're not getting me back until they have free beer and live NASCAR on the Jumbotron.
Thanks for the reminder. I have that book but it hasn't yet made it to the top of my reading list.
The Church is the Bride of Chirst.
But masculine priests are needed to serve the Bride of Christ. Manly priests make the priesthood appealing to young men. Manly men, who lead their family in worship, make religion and spirituallity resonate with their children.
My brother wants to reestablish an order of warrior monks.
,Park a Harley (Davidson) in the lobby or, better yet, right next to the pulpit," author David Murrow advises pastors on his Web site, churchformen.com. "It's also important to hide the quilted banners, lace doilies and fresh flowers.
Yes, hide the quilts. Abso-beeping-lutely get rid of the crafty junk. And I was so glad when they took down the painted feminine angels out of the sanctuary of our church.
But, skip the Harley's and the feetball and the NASCAR. Does not move me. (A trip to the shooting range would be a fun outing.)
How about readings from the old and new testaments, prayers, a declaration of law and grace, and good hymns, sung all the way through.
In other words, church for grown ups.
I suppose you see what you want to see, Ms. Haddad. But all of the apostles, and all of the Seventy, were men. That seems to be significant to me.
the blood of Christ being insufficient (sarcasm)
An Essex County, N.J., congregation recently staged a special football service, with church women playing cheerleaders, the choir and pastor dressed in numbered jerseys and a banner proclaiming, "Christ: He gave his all for the team."
cheerleaders on tv nowadays are akin to soft porn stars
A Lincoln Park, N.J., church has invited men to occasional paintball competitions - in which players shoot gelatin pellets at each other from air guns. The pastor of a church in Midland Park, N.J., is trying to inject a more masculine edge into his sermons.
WWJD ? strap on a full auto CO2 marker?
"The language of the modern church is feminine," the Rev. Scott Nichols said in an interview. "It's unappealing to men."
Mr. Reformed preacher ought then to stop preaching a happy clappy Jesus and he wouldnt need this nonsense
On the other hand, at one time the Church had a much more masculine aspect, and I am NOT talking about (in my opinion) guy-zaniness like decorating the sanctuary with footballs.
I'm talking about the substantive fact that the Church in earth is the Church Militant. It is a Church that calls men to unit cohesion, fortitide in the face of pain, and supreme effort. It is kicking Satan in the butt and willing the world for Christ.
If you want to look up the biographies of heroes of the Faith like Edmund Campion, Isaac Jogues, Ignatius Loyola, and Francis Xavier, you'll see intense stories of struggle, physical toughness, risk, and mission.
Let me give you my favorite quote (Edmund Campion to Queen Elizabeth I):
"Be it known to you that we have made a league - all the Jesuits in the world - cheerfully to carry the cross you shall lay upon us, and never to despair your recovery, while we have a man left to enjoy your Tyburn, or to be racked with your torments or consumed with your prisons. The expense is reckoned, the enterprise is begun; it is of God, it cannot be withstood. So the faith was planted; so it must be restored. "
bump
I read that book...didn't even know it was supposed to be for guys until much later. It was a good book, though.
The post is right, church has become too feminized. There doesn't seem to be anywhere for the men to go. Truth be told I LIKE having the men in charge.
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