Recently I’ve been thinking about why Christianity seems to currently appeal more to women than it does to men. As a man, I’ve found church services somewhat difficult for years now, despite acknowledging Christ as my King and Saviour and leading and teaching my family the faith.
A recent thought I’ve had is the images or metaphors we use for the faith. Some of these are more feminine and others more masculine. Consider first the way Christianity can be described as a relationship with Jesus. Songs can be sung about this relationship and we can celebrate Jesus as our friend and the lover of our soul. Obviously, these are biblical truths. This metaphor appeals to a more feminine approach to faith.
Now consider the way we can describe the faith in military terms. Jesus is our king. We are in a battle, but the powers of darkness are being subdued and Christ will make a footstall of all of his enemies. Again, biblical truths, but this imagery resonates far more with a masculine approach to faith.
Does the church need to balance out the relational imagery a bit more with the more masculine warfare imagery to engage men? Imagine if in our church services we sung more songs that focus on the kingship and authority of Christ and the destruction of evil and the danger of the battle we faced. Imagine if the tunes we used were more majestic and triumphant. Imagine if our services were like military briefings where the troops were updated on the battle, encouraged and given their orders as they go back out into the battle during the week.
I’m pretty sure this isn’t the main issue men have with church, but I think the imagery we use is probably symptomatic of a larger problem – a feminine approach to faith that disengages men.