Friday, July 11, 2008

Why Men Hate Going to Church - David Murrow

This is unlikely to be my last post on this book; Why Men Hate Going to Church - David Murrow.

There's a good link to some of it's key points here. Some good background reading on the issues raised is at church for men.

I have not yet finished reading the book but it already has provoked quite a reaction in me. Mostly that it's very frustrating and I'd like to throw it away or shred it! I'm struggling to read it partly because I don't like how it's written, partly because the pace of the book is slow and therefore frustrating and partly because I cannot decide what I think about it.

It's either a genius piece of research and commissioning or it's awful rubbish interspersed with a few genuinely useful points. At least David Murrow doesn't present it as a 'complete' work.

I don't wish to be rude about it, but because it focuses so heavily on men, and I believe in family and the usefulness of the unique skills of both of the sexes, it's hard to keep pushing on. I just hope it delivers on it promises.

I'm reminded of a phrase I used to find helpful (I may have coined it, or not)

Feminism stole my masculinity and I want it back!






Anyone else read it?

3 comments:

  1. The church in the west has to face the fact that western culture has no passage into manhood – the Jews have the bar-mitzvah and the Masai warriors call out their boys to be trained as men. We have a society where men beat their wives and get their girlfriends pregnant and take no responsibility – manhood in the west is broken and the Church has to face up to it. Personally I’m very secure in my manhood and image – I wear pink ties and can do more press-ups than my wife. All joking aside equality is not the issue it’s about allowing women to be fully who they are and not held back. Same for men – they need to shown what manhood is and allowed to walk in it.

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  2. That's all true, but I think I'm wondering how we make church accessible for those guys AND help them transistion in to 'men'.

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  3. Anonymous3:28 pm

    I have some words for you... not sure if they are what you are looking for... also working through another one.

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