Over the past century or so, the evangelical church-at-large has grown increasingly effeminate. Church has become a soft, delicate, and dainty. The hard truths are softened, the rough edges are sanded down. Our sanctuaries are decorated with flowers and pastels. The hard hitting truths of Scripture are replaced with lessons on getting in touch with our emotions, or discussion on our hurts, feelings, and personal relationships. There are in my opinion two causes of the demise of ecclesiastical masculinity.
First, is the acceptance and normalization of feminist ideology. Masculinity has become a four letter word, a character flaw that must be fixed.
The foremost culprit, however, is us men, and our disobedience to our Scriptural role. Since the Garden of Eden, men have abdicated their spiritual duties. The problem is that men are too timid, too lazy, too immature, too ignorant, or simply too carnal. It’s no wonder that the church has grown more feminine, there has not been enough manly influence to balance the equation.
A recent trend has emerged in an attempt to recover masculine identity in the church. Vile, corrupt, and filthy language from the pulpit, crude jokes, back woods retreats, men's fellowships at the saloon, cigar smoking, violent movies, and sporting events are all too common techniques. The problem is that these appeal to a worldly definition of manliness, not the Biblical and Christ-centered example.
So in celebration of Fathers Day, I am beginning a mini-series on Manly Biblical Mandates of Masculinity for Men.
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