1C. Alexander:Sunday, April 8th, 2006 at 10:05 pm

I believe there need to be a revival among christian men in this country and world. I am committed to praying for the Christian men and so are other women I know. Men are not bothered with spiritual things. I have not seen a difference with alot of christian and non christian men. I think they need to be more lead by the spirit and seek the Lord, the way they do sports and other things. Men on a whole are not relational human beings. It is the women who are relational. I believe men would be perfectly happy not talking and being by themselves.
I am teaching my 2 sons to be more relational so that when they are married they can have healthy mariages. I also have been teaching them to be leaders and godly men for their wifes. And to seek the Lord each day and for everything in there lives. But I believe this is a spiritual battle and needs to be won by prayer. If the family falls apart because the head is gone then satan can destroy what God has created.

2K. C.:Tuesday, April 10th, 2006 at 10:16 pm

I don’t think the church is failing the men, but men are in pursuit of happiness instead of righteousness. There interests are in sports, food etc. They would rather watch the Master’s than get to know and spend time with The Master! When there is a men’s retreat it is always at a golf course etc. If you told a group of women to get together for prayer ectc. it could be in a hole in the wall as long as they could get more inste or listen to God tell them something or learn something new...Most women in the church are by themselves because their husbands have either abandoned them, divorced them or separated from them. Or the wife is saved and not the husband therfore she worships alone. The women are seeking The master and trying to hold things together and are more serious about spiritual things. Since there husbands have left them, Jesus becomes their husband and they cling to him. We need more godly men that are in pursuit of holiness and being santified instead of going it the easy way out and throwing away their family because things get to hard and they give up, quit and take the easy way out and find a new model thinking that their problems will be solved and their lfe will be happier if they get someone new, (instead of working things out with their wives) only to find out they had problems too and then get divorced all over again… and the cycle goes on all because they didn’t do it God’s way because they chose to blame the spouse and not seek the Lord. I think their needs to be a revival of Christian men around the world who are seeking the Lord and getting serious about know ing God and not living the way the world does. There needs to be a revival of men reconciling with God and then their families. Divorce and separation need to be confronted and not accepted. We are no better than the world because most churches have accepted divorce and have not preached about reconciliation enough. Usually people think it is hopeless, but with God nothing is impossible. Also the men need to be held accountable by other men. Most men I know don’t want to confront other men. There is a tolerance of disobedience because no one wants to get involved or say anything to offend the man for fear he might leave or be offended. They should be offended and confronted. Women confront other women all the time and speak the truth whether they want to hear it or not. I’ll be praying and fasting for a revival of godly men that God will raise up to make a difference for HIm.

3CC:Thursday, April 12th, 2006 at 7:26 am

K.C. said, “I don’t think the church is failing the men, but men are in pursuit of happiness instead of righteousness.” I wonder, who doesn’t fall into this catergory?  I don’t think we as the church can just look at the trend and say, “we have no role in this, it is because they are selfish.  We have done what we can.” Have we?  If we have lost men from the church, what was it that made them go?  If men are not interested in the church, what is it that we are not doing to draw them in?  Is the answer to tell them to just stop sinning, because God says so?  I hope not, that hasn’t stopped me. 

K.C. wrote, “We need more godly men that are in pursuit of holiness and being santified instead of going it the easy way out and throwing away… their family because things get to hard and the cycle goes on all because they didn’t do it God’s way.

I would say that we need Godly men that are in pursuit of these men who are hurting out there.  And confronting them with their sins without proving that you truly care for them just doesn’t seem to be effective.  What if we were to spend time with these men, truly be friends with them, lay a foundation of trust with them, illustrate to them we care about what they care about? 

I think men are seeking some form of adventure in a life that has become routine.  That is why they are watching the masters, or any other sporting event that may be on.  And the thing is we are able to offer them the greatest adventure in life.  We get to know our Creator and spend our lives following where He may lead us.  And that is more exciting than any sporting event that may be on any given day.  But are we living like that and illustrating it to others?  Are we preaching and teaching like that?  Or is it just stop sinning cause the Bible says so.  Go to church cause that is what “good” men do.  Attend Sunday school, because that is what good Christians do...sounds like law to me, and you can keep it.  I’ll take the adventure.

4Becky:Saturday, April 14th, 2006 at 12:39 pm

Is the church failing men? Will we get the full answer when we overgeneralize and make catagorical statements about why men don’t make church attendance and involvement a priority? The reasons for their absence must be as varied as the reasons that women are more often present.

Is it really a matter of failing to accomodate male comfort zones? What makes any of us think that church is supposed to be a place where we are totally comfortable? In this world we’ll never have just the right amount of singing, preaching, fellowshiping - or hugging.

On the other hand, we need men in the Church using their gifts whole heartedly to make the Church more of what the Pattern calls us to be. The Word is clear that they are to put their shoulders - and their gifts - to the wheel to move this imperfect vehicle forward. It’s a matter of obedience out of gratefulness.

On the other hand, women need to stop using the shortcomings of men as an excuse to whine and be sanctimonious and self-righteous and to be slow to obey themselves. What ugly martyrs we make! We are all -women and men - desperate, inadequate parts of the body who often get it more wrong than right. (I know that sounds pretty tough toward the sisters.)

On the other hand, (I know - that’s three hands) this kind of change will only come out of regenerated and sanctified hearts - a work only done by the Spirit of God. So, we examine ourselves and pray - fervantly and faithfully.

PS - One often ignored reason men may put their loyalties elsewhere might be the way church leadership is frequently set in place. When church leadership only echoes the good ole boy, power broker games that are found in the surrounding culture, it’s no wonder that men don’t fall in line and get in the parade. Men can’t be expected to follow anything but Biblical let’s-get-real, strong-enough-to-be-gentle, fruit-of-the-Spirit, servant leadership. I’ve seen church when it’s missing and I don’t blame men for their reluctance to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with anything less. When we’re cleaning house, or church, we’d do well to start at the top and the pews will fill up as God so chooses.

5Pastor-E:Wednesday, April 18th, 2006 at 2:38 pm

I think there are a lot of great men in church

6Glenn Curran:Saturday, July 28th, 2006 at 5:19 pm

Want more men in church?  We need to quit beating them up! 

The radical feminization of the evangelical church is driving men (and boys) away in droves.  Easy, annual example:  Most churches (I say as if I could actually know) on Mothers Day place mothers on pedestals with sermons approaching veneration. Most Father’s Day sermons are mixes between apologies (“I know a lot of you had bad fathers, but God is not like that . . . .”) and rebukes (“C’mon you guys and be servant leaders or you’re not worthy to be called a Christian.”) Being a male in many Christian churches means being a boring, failing, door mat.

And what of the young males?  Do you think a young boy watching and listening in what I might call the feminized church wants to grow up to be what he is seeing?  Trust me, he doesn’t.  Men and boys have something inside of them that does not “resonate” when they walk into many churches.  Like it or not, Eldridge is correct when he writes that “Deep in his heart, every man longs for a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to rescue.  That is how he bears the image of God; that is what God made him to be.” If that is correct (and it is), it is plain to see why men are not flocking to buildings to be told to sit there and “be nice.” (Side thought:  Could this be part of the reason for the apparent growth of Islam?  Is it possible that we mis-portray Christianity to the point that in the marketplace of ideas Islam is more attractive to young males?  Just a thought.)

Old paintings notwithstanding, I don’t think Jesus was effeminate.  I think this construction worker (was he not?), temple-clearing, man among men confronted the authorities of his day with vigor.  His strength was feared to the point that they crucified him!  (Do you think the chief priests and elders would have sent “a large crowd with swords and clubs” to fetch a limp-wristed, lisping fellow in order to deliver him up to die?)

Until we get this straight, churches are just not going to draw men in the same way they draw women.