subscribesubscriber servicescontact usabout ussite mapBuy a Classified
Thu, May 15 2008 
Breaking News:  Centaur gives gaming board deadline for license  May 15, 2008 01:03 pm

Published April 12, 2007 07:47 am -

TESTOSTERONE TEACHINGS: Men-only church meets in gym


New Castle News

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — No hymnals. No pews. No steeple. No stained glass windows. And no women.

The Church For Men flips around the look and feel of worship and its leader says that’s a good thing — guys are “bored stiff” in many churches today.

“We try to make it interesting for them. We meet in a gym and we talk about issues that mess men up,” said 46-year-old Mike Ellis, the church’s founder.

The Church For Men meets one Saturday evening a month, drawing about 70 guys dressed in everything but straight-laced shirts and neckties. The service features a rock band, a shot clock to time the preacher’s message and a one-hour in-and-out guarantee.

Ellis’ church is part of a national movement to reverse a long-standing problem. Studies show that men are less likely than women to show up on Sunday mornings, and now churches around the country are reaching out to men, teaching theology with a twist of testosterone in the presentation.

One study found that the average U.S. adult church congregation is 61 percent female, said David Murrow, author of “Why Men Hate Going To Church.” The research shows women are more likely to attend church, Sunday school and small church groups.

“Going to church is perceived as womanly behavior,” said Murrow, who is based in Anchorage, Alaska, and travels the country lecturing about the issue. “We don’t go to church for the same reason we don’t wear pink.”

Communication skills, public forms of affection, such as hugs and hand holding, and other “soft skills” make many men feel uncomfortable in church, Murrow said.

And long church services also cause men to leave the fold, said Ellis, who first got the idea for a man-only church six years ago. “I have the attention span of a flea,” he said.

To that end, followers at Church For Men meet on a basketball court, a large scoreboard with a time clock ensures the preacher’s message is delivered in 15 minutes, and the same rock band that opened for Bad Company and the Georgia Satellites a month ago bangs out a three-song set.

Ellis maintains his church is not a replacement for the traditional weekly service but an outreach to what he calls the “largest unreached people group.”

Guest preacher Tom Trageser, 45, talked about lust during the church’s March service. He finished his message, prayer and all, with five seconds left on the clock.

Christian comedian and blogger Chris Elrod recently wrote in his blog: “Musically (men) want AC/DC and we give them Celine Dion. Lyrically (men) want Tom Clancy and we give them Danielle Steel. Spiritually (men) want ’Braveheart’ and we give them ’Sleepless In Seattle.”’

The trend, some men feel, has deep roots.

The Second Great Awakening, during the early 1800s, helped to advance the liberation of women and changed some of the dynamics of churchgoing. Not only were women attracted to the sweeping reforms pushed by revivalists of this period, but the evangelists would also attempt to reach men through their wives, hoping the wives would pressure husbands and sons to join them in the church, writes Leon Podles in his book, “The Church Impotent: The Feminization of Christianity.”



print this story    email this story    comment on this story   

Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.




monster
wheels
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide
Premier Guide
Premium Jobs

EAST SIDE
$425+ utilities 831-251-5833 or 724-797-3983...>MORE

RN/LPN
Needed, New Wilmington Wednesday-Friday evening shift. Ellwood City-Saturday & Sunday nights. Beaver-weekday evenings & ...>MORE

UNION TOWNSHIP
***NEW CONSTRUCTION***
Beautiful new split level with oak raise panel kitchen including 3’x 7’ breakfast bar & cera
...>MORE

See all ads

Premium Homes

EAST SIDE
$425+ utilities 831-251-5833 or 724-797-3983...>MORE

See all ads


ncnewsmedia

ncnewsmedia
Subscribe Today Click Here.

New Castle News

 

Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.CNHI Classified Advertising NetworkCNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2008. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope and our Internet Yellow Pages site is powered by PremierGuide.
Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
View our Privacy Policy
Advertiser index

rc