Ever have a few days when everything seems related? Call it convergence.
While cruising by my regular blogs yesterday, I noticed that Church Marketing Sucks asks why men don’t like church. Short answer? It’s not macho.
According to David Murrow, author of Why Men Hate Going to Church, “today’s church culture favors, even expects, participation in intimate, nurturing behavior such as singing, hand-holding, sitting in circles and sharing feelings.”
Booklist expands on Murrow’s recommendations.
Murrow advocates injecting a strong shot of testosterone into the proceedings to restore the masculine spirit to the church. Churches need to provide a more challenging and confrontational approach to religion and spiritual issues instead of concentrating on more traditional — and female-oriented — calls for conformity, control, and ceremony.
Sounds good; I can’t argue with Murrow. Promise Keepers has had great success filling sports arenas with Christian men worshiping in a distinctly “manly” way in “macho” surroundings. I must admit, I’ve never done the wave while waiting for church to start before. At PK events, the speaking is direct and focused on challenging men to live up to their roles in family, church, and society.
So today, I cruise by Church Marketing Sucks again and read that The Meeting House has “purge Sundays” where they uninvite the pew sitters. Seriously, it’s get involved or get lost.
Wow! If that isn’t taking a “challenging and confrontational approach” as recommended by Murrow, I don’t know what is. The Meeting House must drip in testosterone.
Imagine my surprise on visiting their web site and reading, “Rather than come to start a new religion, Jesus himself was very clear that he came to call us into a new intimacy of relationship with the Creator of the universe.” What’s up with this “intimacy” and “relationship”? This isn’t the macho, confrontational stance I was expecting. Where’s the “I Want You” recruitment poster with God pointing His finger at me?
To be fair, The Meeting House is also non-traditional in its treatment of women. Read its FAQ on women in church leadership positions. You might find other interesting answers regarding The Meeting House’s decidedly irreligious take on church.
Looking for an explanation? Could it be that The Meeting House is in Canada?
In all seriousness, The Meeting House looks interesting. I discovered a cache of sermon archives in MP3 format with PDF sermon notes and PowerPoint slides. After reading Cracking DaVinci’s Code, I’m interested to hear Pastor Cavey’s take on the issue.