The Feminization of the Church
Holly Pivec in the Spring 2006 issue of the Biola Connections magazine pens an outstanding article entitled The Feminization of the Church: Why Its Music, Messages and Ministries Are Driving Men Away. She cites numerous Christian leaders, like Patrick Johnstone (Operation World) and David Murrow (author of Why Men Hate Going to Church). Nancy Pearcey is another who touches on these themes in Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from Its Cultural Captivity.
Some excerpts:
"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.'"
"In America, among evangelical churches, 57 percent of members are women and, among mainline Protestant churches, 66 percent are women, according to a 1998 book American Evangelicalism (University of Chicago Press)."
"The imbalance is greatest in rural churches, small churches, older churches, traditionally black denominations, and in liberal churches, Murrow said, citing research from the 1998 National Congregations Study. It’s smallest in non-denominational and Baptist churches, he said."
Johnstone believes the feminist movement in mainline churches has contributed to the decline in male membership.
(Comment: I agree with Johnstone; manliness has less of a home in egalitarian churches. These churches tend to, eventually, become accepting of homosexuality, resulting in further shrinking numbers. In church history, I'm told that the resulting smaller denominations later merge, and the cycle repeats itself.)
Pivec's article goes on to discuss "love songs to Jesus" and "feminine spirituality" as well as "touchy-feely sermons."
Last excerpt: "When a mother comes to faith in Christ, her family follows 34 percent of the time, but when a father comes to faith his family follows 93 percent of the time."
Lesson: Preach the whole counsel of God. God is unambiguously revealed in masculine traits throughout the Bible. The emasculation of God is rampant in many churches today. Build up the men, and you'll get women and children too. Aim primarily for women, and the men will scram. Going back to Mansfield's point (from my last post) -- men need to have their sense of masculinity validated. This is not chauvinism but a God-given pointer to the role God intends men to play in the family, the church, and (to some degree) in society at large.
Comments
The rub is when we "need to feel important". The church is not about me. It's not about making me feel important. True maturity is not about some need to feel important either --- little children are wonderful at expressing their need to feel oh so much more important than they really are.
In the Bible, we read how John the Baptist expressed the desire that he would decrease and Jesus would increase. Less of me; more of Him. That confronts our sin of pride. Big time.
Instead of telling churches that they need to make men feel important and build men up, perhaps we need to focus more on confronting pride in both genders.
Many women that I know are drawn to the message of the gospel because it brings meaning to their struggles. Sacrifice is a huge part of Christianity, and it is a constant theme of motherhood. How wonderful that Jesus empowers us to live sacrifically for our children. When we are weak, He is strong. I have seen exhausted mothers with prodigal children, mothers who are so tired of having to "be the strong one", of trying to hold the family together, dissolve in tears at hearing the invitiation of their Savior, "Come unto Me, all you who are weak and heavy-laden!" When you know you need Jesus, when you have come to the end of yourself, no words are more welcome.
A man, or woman, who wants to feel important and who wants to be built up, will not want to be thought of as weak and burdened. That person will not want to admit to brokenness or any need for a Savior. The answer is not to make the gospel more appealing to prideful men. The gospel call is not, "Come and feel important! We will build you up!" Far from it.
Posted by: Rebecca | July 26, 2006 10:34 AM
Rebecca,
Thanks for the comment. I agree that neither gender should think the church is "about me." And I agree that pride in both genders needs to be confronted.
I see your point about women with relational struggles (e.g., prodigal children) being drawn to the gospel. I'm not sure if perhaps you are suggesting that men are less naturally inclined to acknowledge such burdens (and the implication that we are all weak and needy).
Even if that were true, it seems significant to me that the more "mainstream" the church, the greater the imbalance in male participation. I think what is going on here is that mainstream churches are more egalitarian with respect to women in leadership. Furthermore, evangelicalism, as a whole, tilts towards egalitarianism.
Such churches tend to disproportionally lose their male representation (notice the 66% versus the 57%). Men who lack masculine role models in church leadership refuse to sit under such leadership.
Posted by: Alex Chediak | July 30, 2006 05:50 PM