Ramblings on Church Growth; Reaching Men

In economics class I learned about the reality of unintended consequences. Often economic policy through say “minimum wage” or “tariffs on foreign imports” are enacted with good intentions: to get the laborer in a low-income job a little fatter check every two weeks; to give domestic companies the upper hand against the often-subsidized international competition. But what man intended for good, man often just makes plain worse. That minimum wage hike may be more likely to get the laborer laid off than promoted; and that home team advantage tariff is likely to burden your own people just as much as it does the outside competition.

Outside of economics, just about every well-intended decision has some kind of unforeseen, unintended consequence. I want to talk about the American church’s well-intentioned plan to make church more appealing to the lost. In the 1990s to the early 2000s seeker sensitivity was all the rage. They argued that with the rise in Biblical illiteracy, churches need to lighten the preaching, become modern in their presentation, and the music needs to emulate what is listened to on the radio. If we can get people to church, they reasoned, we will make more Christians. And so the church growth movement arrived. Applying additional marketing, business techniques to make the church more accommodating to the unregenerate Joneses across the street.

There is no inherent problem with modern church buildings or modern music. The main issue with the church growth movement was that it did not foresee how the alterations in methodology would actually alter their message, changing the actual substance of the preaching from something traditionally challenging, convicting, difficult to hear—to something more positive and encouraging. And in one of the many ironies of life, the church growth movement did not grow churches. It proved that positive and encouraging messaging, over time, did not really create the substantive faith that would last the coming storm. Another words, it may have attracted numbers, but it did not win souls.

We see increasing data show that people are done with church. Young people in particular seem so aligned with the popular culture that they cannot reconcile their new religion with the old one. Men also are less likely to come to church, less likely to purchase Christian music, less likely to participate in supporting ministries than their female counterparts. While studies show that if men are involved in church, the family will join him, nevertheless many men would rather watch Sunday Football Pregame than turn up on a Sunday morning. Why is it this way? Christianity started as a movement of predominately men, filled with the Spirit of God, speaking the message of the resurrected Christ—who absolutely changed the world. History is full of Christian men who rose up against the darkness, condemned heresies, gave up their bodies to be burned, held the ground when all else was caving in. Why does our modern evangelicalism fall so short from the martial movements of the past? Why are men more compelled to live life watching other men compete in sport than etch their names forever as participants in the cosmic story of God’s redemption of mankind?

I blame, largely, modern preaching. I blame the messaging that was instrumental in the church growth movement. We know the common refrains: “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life”. “Jesus is head over heals about you, he has great blessings in store if you will only believe in Him.” Gone was the fire and brimstone of the bygone yesteryears. Gone were the references to repentance, or the calls to come and die and carry your cross. Paul’s guarantees of persecution were side stepped for easier words declaring, “all these things shall be added unto you.” This was well intentioned to attract unbelievers, but in reality, I do not think it was attractive. And if it was for some, it was not attractive to most of the males in attendance.

If I have found anything to be true in the last few years, it is that men need challenge. Men desire something to push against with all their weight. Far from wanting to be free of all demands, men are aching to give themselves wholly to a cause that demands everything of them. Though men have been conditioned to lose much of their fighting spirit by our modernized, sanitized society, there remains at the root of every man’s heart a desire to struggle. A desire to bleed. We want to march to battle fully aware that some of us are not coming back. This appeals to men because this is the way God made men.

When we take the heavy gospel of Jesus Christ and we turn it into gospel-light, when we cut around the demands and hard sayings of Christ, when we make following Jesus everything that is easy and wonderful in the world—we lose the men. It is true many may give credence to the message; but they will not be captivated by it. They might show up, but they will not rise up and contend. Why would they? When everything is given them by a simple prayer and an accommodating worship services, when all that is demanded is a simple moral code, what is there to get excited about?

I have been reading William Gurnall’s The Christian in Complete Armour and it is like nothing I have ever read in the best way possible. Gurnall was a 17th century pastor in England, and all he really left us is this one, massive book, all about Ephesians 6:11-20. It is warlike in the extreme. He calls out the man to stand firm and make unrelenting war. Christianity is not a piece of cake moral additive; no, it more than anything else requires courage. Indeed, according to Gurnall there is nothing in the Christian walk that can be done without courage. The spiritual realities are laid bare and Gurnall gives us a true glimpse of the staggering opposition every Christian is up against. Much like John Bunyan, every inch of ground the Christian walks will be disputed by the Enemy. Few will make it to the end. This is not to say Gurnall is ungracious or “legalistic”—the gospel of Christ’s strength in our weakness permeates the pages. He gives us the full message and call of Christ, only the demands not skirted. It is a strongly worded, but I will say Biblically. We can learn something from that today.

My inspiration from Gurnall notwithstanding, the church does not need to reproduce some ancient writings from hard and grisled Puritans of the past to make the church great again. We do not need to resurrect some culturally skewed view of “manly men” to appeal to men in our churches. All we need to do is preach the simple Word of God with all its power, not evading a single word. There is nothing more freeing, yet more demanding than that Word. He calls us, He saves us, and He commissions us out of His good pleasure. There is nothing more compelling than a Christ who tells me:

Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.

That is a cause I want to devote my life towards; and I do not think I am alone in that.