Men and Church Attendance

Over the last ten or so years I have wondered why we see less men attending church. This morning I put the question to my Pastor, who also happens to be my husband, none the less he is my Pastor. Why are men less likely to be faithful attenders to Church services, and why are our services predominantly female? Do men not recognise their need for Christ in their lives?

We would say there is no easy answer to these questions but maybe the answer that my Pastor gave me is the simple answer which should make us sit up and listen. The first answer that obviously comes to mind is that as our congregations age they do become predominantly female as women live longer than men. But, and a big but, this is too simple of an answer. It also becomes an excuse and we do not delve any deeper into the question.

My Pastor believes that we have feminised God. What does he mean by that? So much of Christendom has become about feelings, you know the touchy, feely, stuff. Many written Bible Studies are more about us and what we have or have not done and should do. Are we acting like the people we find in the Bible who we often show to be wonderful role models? Are we reaching out in understanding and love? The 'love' that is so often put out there in Christendom is the touchy feely type of love. The type of 'love' that women understand, but what of the men?

Take a look at contemporary Christian music that has flooded the markets and our Christendom homes in the past few decades. Are they not more like love songs to and about Jesus or God? Don't they talk more as if our Triune God is our boyfriend? As a woman I can understand these lyrics but are they relevant to who our Triune God truly is?

Now lets return to the males of our species. We women know men truly do not understand our touchy feely actions and talk. They just don't get it! But have we not made our Lord and Saviour into a touchy feely person? We talk of a loving God but only in the essence of our feminine understanding. We don't show God as a Judge who hates our sin and cannot have us in His presence, unless we are robed with the Righteousness of Christ. This does not reflect a touchy feely God!

So the next question has to be; how do we return our teachings and actions to reflect our Triune God as he truly is? How do we turn the tables to show Jesus Christ and Him crucified for us and taking the punishment that we deserve from being a touchy feely type of person to a God understood and relevant to men. We so want God to be accessible, to be our friend, that we have placed Him out of reach to the average man, God is no longer relevant or understandable or recognisable as needed their lives.

No the answer is not so simple as an aging population which has become predominantly female but one of placing God out of reach for the male side of creation, making Him no longer relevant to them, because men do not understand touchy feely!