Call to Arms!

Thanks to Mark Driscoll for the following observation:

"Lots of Christian men are weak effeminate cowardly jokes who are not funny. 60% of Christians are women - 10-13 million more women than men. We need not exclude women, but include men. From prom songs to Jesus as worship to "preachers" who chat about their golf game and feelings any guy who is devoted to heterosexuality, competition, & being a dude finds those churches as inviting as a cat does water. Throw in any guy who changes his oil, owns a gun, or watches cage fighting & the odds are better that he'll get pregnant than saved in a church like that."

Now, it's obviously impossible for a man to fall pregnant and I don't think Mark is limiting the power of God to touch anyone he wants to but the exaggeration of his point brings a few things into focus.

1) Who are we targeting in church today when things like coffee, tablecloths and decorations seem to take a lot of our focus and energy when preparing our services?

2) "Prom songs to Jesus" is an american way to say it but just wander over to your cd collection and pick up the latest worship album from any of todays large, popular, recording churches and see how many of the songs still work if you replace Jesus, Lord, God, Savior, etc for baby, girl, sweetheart...... surprised? I was.
Where are all the songs about war, fighting, blood, heroics, power, anger, righteousness? Where are the battle crys of todays church? What are the men singing as they head to war? My sweet Jesus? Sweet Jesus indeed!

3)I know it's a commonly known fact that if you get the mums/wives into church then the men and families will follow. this may be true but is it right? Are we, the church, supposed to bow to the worlds rules? As far as I can see if we keep using this plan we are certain to end up with more "weak effeminate cowardly jokes" in our ranks. The men are the head of the house and we should start seeing them as such and treating them appropriately, whether they are in or out of the church! Tell men they have some power in this womans world and see what happens.

In the army of God we need men, not boys or jokes or emasculated eunics! Just as the Spartans knew they were warriors first, that war was their trade and was what defined them, we too need to redefine what it is to be a man in the 3rd millenium church.