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Friday, December 2, 2011

Why Men Hate Going To Church-by David Murrow

Why Men Hate Going To Church tries to reveal the real reasons why the number of men in church congregations has been steadily decreasing over the past few decades and warns us that if we don't change something soon not only our congregations but our clergy will be utterly devoid of the male persuasion.

This book is broken up into three parts:

Part 1 - Where Are The Men
  • Gives us a picture of what happened to the church that started to drive men away and when it happened
  • Gives us a surprising distinction between the Lamb of God and the Lion of Judah and how each is portrayed in the church 
  • Gives us insight into the kind of men who are missing from the church. 

Part 2 - Church Culture vs. Man Culture
  • Tells us the twelve things men fear about church
  • Talks about the affects of Contemporary Worship and Modern church lingo on men
  • How churches feminize over time
  • How we are driving our young boys away from the Christian Faith

Part 3 - Calling The Church Back To Men
  • Explains why Mega Churches are Mega...no it's not because they have more money and resources.
  • How men relate to Pastors 
  • How to teach men
  • How men minister to others and to other men
  • How churches like Willow Creek, Saddle Back, and Mars Hill saw the problem and changed their church culture to attract men

I found this book to be very helpful and for the most part true. I am not a girlie girl so I too have struggled with some of the same issues that this book talks about concerning church. David Murrow does address the fact that there are some women who think more along the lines of the typical male mind and that they too are struggling with our modern church culture. There were only a couple of places in the book where I disagreed with the author concerning reasons why men don't attend church. My husband and I have discussed these areas and he agreed that a couple of the reasons stated in the book are not reasons but rather excuses. However, all in all, this book is dead on. 

I do highly recommend this book for any church member or pastor who has noticed that a certain portion of the male population has gone missing from their congregation. Read some of the insights in this book then take a look at your church atmosphere and see if the book isn't correct.

My only concern with this book is that some may take it too far the other direction and use this as an excuse to demean or dominate women which is not what the author intended nor God. We must have a balance so that all can learn, thrive, and serve!

2 comments:

Gayle said...

This sounds like a very interesting book and concept. Should probably be read by a lot of pastors and lay leaders. Good article!

Auntie M said...

Thanks, Gayle. It was very eye opening for me. Something to think about at least.

Thanks for reading. Don't forget to sign up to my email list. Auntie M has a newsletter coming starting in January 2012. I don't want you to miss it!

-Auntie M