Mark's Notebook


	If Jesus Christ were to come today, people would not even crucify him. They would ask him to dinner, and hear what he had to say, and make fun of him. - Thomas Carlyle

Why Men Hate Going to Church

Mississippi Clarion-Ledger

Tuesday 30 August 2005, 11:58 am
Keywords: Christian Topics , News Articles

By Jean Gordon

Men lead most Christian churches, but observers agree it's the women who dominate the flocks. Though theories about the church gender gap have longed blamed men for their spiritual apathy, a new book finds another force driving men away from church: the church itself.

"The church is like a white cake with chocolate frosting," said David Murrow, author of Why Men Hate Going to Church (Nelson Books, $13.99). "If you look at the icing, it's male dominated. But if you plunge below, it's feminine all the way."

With its easy listening music, pastel-hued decor and an emphasis on comfort and nurturing, Murrow said modern church culture fails men craving a challenge.

A man's project-oriented, outdoorsy nature is not conducive to passively sitting through a worship service or volunteering to lead a children's ministry.

And beyond excuses ranging from boredom to lack of time to an aversion to being asked for money, Murrow said men stay away from church because their skeptical natures resist taking a leap of faith.

"Men like to question and answer and give and take," he said. "The church's style of lecturing is not as conducive to spiritual growth."

Churches that do the best job of attracting men, Murrow said, are mission-focused evangelical congregations.

"There's an element of risk there," he said. "It's more risky to go on a foreign mission trip than to volunteer at a soup kitchen."

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050821/FEAT05/50821031
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