Why Men Hate Going to Church
by David Murrow
Nelson Books, March 2005
ISBN 0-7852-6038-2
224 pages, $13.99
http://www.churchformen.com
From the book:
• The typical U.S. Congregation draws an adult crowd that’s 61% female, 39% male. This gender gap shows up in all age categories.
• On any given Sunday there are 13 million more adult women than men in America’s churches.
• This Sunday almost 25 percent of married, churchgoing women will worship without their husbands.
• Midweek activities often draw 70 to 80 percent female participants.
• As many as 90 percent of the boys who are being raised in church will abandon it by their 20th birthday. Many of these boys will never return.
• More than 90 percent of American men believe in God, and five out of six call themselves Christians. But only two out of six attend church on a given Sunday. The average man accepts the reality of Jesus Christ, but fails to see any value in going to church.
David Murrow accuses believers today of feminizing Christianity.
We strive to create a stable security-oriented church environment that promotes love, relationships, responsibility and unity. (See the BB poll on Church Participation)
Men and young adults (18-29) are looking for a bold adventurous challenge-oriented environment. Competition, adventure, independence, and risk (or heroic sacrifice) are not values that we find in today's church.
Today’s church has a “women and children first” mentality. I see it in my church. We use the AWANA program and our Daycare ministry to draw families into the ministry. Our position is that if we can get the kids to church, we will eventually draw the whole family. Unfortunately the strategy isn’t working as well as we’d like. We can draw the women and children, but male presence is lagging. My church is typical of congregation’s worldwide.
Men are attracted to masculine activities. The military, competitive sports and even Moslems do not have trouble recruiting men into their groups (Moslems have tripled in number since the 1950’s). The widespread opinion among men is that ”Church is for women, children and wimps.” “Men regard Church like a prostrate exam; it’s something that can save their lives, but it’s so unpleasant…”
Morrows solutions are not easy.
He challenges pastors but doesn’t stop there.
Restoring the masculine spirit doesn’t mean adjusting our present activities to make men more tolerant. It means meeting men’s needs.
In the last half of the book David Murrow explores what men are looking for and recommends some ways that today’s churches can begin to draw men into their ministries.
Now there’s a challenge.
I’d highly recommend this book for both men and women and their pastors.
Rob
by David Murrow
Nelson Books, March 2005
ISBN 0-7852-6038-2
224 pages, $13.99
http://www.churchformen.com
From the book:
• The typical U.S. Congregation draws an adult crowd that’s 61% female, 39% male. This gender gap shows up in all age categories.
• On any given Sunday there are 13 million more adult women than men in America’s churches.
• This Sunday almost 25 percent of married, churchgoing women will worship without their husbands.
• Midweek activities often draw 70 to 80 percent female participants.
• As many as 90 percent of the boys who are being raised in church will abandon it by their 20th birthday. Many of these boys will never return.
• More than 90 percent of American men believe in God, and five out of six call themselves Christians. But only two out of six attend church on a given Sunday. The average man accepts the reality of Jesus Christ, but fails to see any value in going to church.
David Murrow accuses believers today of feminizing Christianity.
We strive to create a stable security-oriented church environment that promotes love, relationships, responsibility and unity. (See the BB poll on Church Participation)
Men and young adults (18-29) are looking for a bold adventurous challenge-oriented environment. Competition, adventure, independence, and risk (or heroic sacrifice) are not values that we find in today's church.
Today’s church has a “women and children first” mentality. I see it in my church. We use the AWANA program and our Daycare ministry to draw families into the ministry. Our position is that if we can get the kids to church, we will eventually draw the whole family. Unfortunately the strategy isn’t working as well as we’d like. We can draw the women and children, but male presence is lagging. My church is typical of congregation’s worldwide.
Men are attracted to masculine activities. The military, competitive sports and even Moslems do not have trouble recruiting men into their groups (Moslems have tripled in number since the 1950’s). The widespread opinion among men is that ”Church is for women, children and wimps.” “Men regard Church like a prostrate exam; it’s something that can save their lives, but it’s so unpleasant…”
Morrows solutions are not easy.
He challenges pastors but doesn’t stop there.
Restoring the masculine spirit doesn’t mean adjusting our present activities to make men more tolerant. It means meeting men’s needs.
In the last half of the book David Murrow explores what men are looking for and recommends some ways that today’s churches can begin to draw men into their ministries.
Now there’s a challenge.
I’d highly recommend this book for both men and women and their pastors.
Rob