Church Leadership

Over the years as a minister the discussion of women and their role in the church has sometimes put me at odds with fellow ministers. In some churches it will look as though Christianity is oppressive to women. But I will contend that Christianity has been taken over by women. Is this a bad thing? No. Yet, there is a visible lack of men in church attendance. Why? It could be that the church has been taken over by women. Let me first say, most churches would have closed their doors had it not been for the faithfulness of women in the role of leadership. God has used women from the beginning of the church, the first messenger of the resurrection—a woman. She was commissioned by Jesus to tell his disciples he was risen. With that let me say, I am in agreement with Isaiah the prophet, “As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead you cause you to err, and destroy the way of your paths.” This is the judgment of God upon a nation where men have failed to be the leaders.

Since the laity is mostly women, ministers have adapted their message to women. And men and women have different characteristics. Women will try to gain the goodwill or favor of someone; they try to maintain bonds of friendship; they try to avoid conflict—and all these feminine tendencies have affected both the way churches operate and what doctrines are taught. Example, most agree that sin and evil exist but to personalize sin and evil is damaging to self-esteem. It is not nice to call someone a sinner or to say they are evil. The result is a “believism” rather than a conversion which is through conviction, repentance, and new creation. The Scriptural plan of salvation is distasteful so it is not the accepted method in the profession of Christianity.

I find it amazing that twelve men were the core of leadership in the beginning of the Church appealing to other men to the point that in twenty-four months they turned the world up side down. Has the Scripture changed? Has the message of salvation changed? Has the message of love become an emotional, squishy relationship of touchy-feely. Why is it the we have the highest enlistment for military service and love for our county but not for the church? Yet, 83% of American call themselves Christians. Could it be Christianity has lost this masculine sense of a struggle against the forces of evil. Is it that the message has been watered down to passionate feelings and emotional response that men find difficult to identify with?

Paul used expressions that appealed to men, his description of evil was in military terms like-- conflict, swords, armor, battles and warfare. Men outside the church consider going to church, to be a place for passive wimps and other weak people who need help. That may be the reason military enlistment has been on a voluntary basis for the past several years. Men are conquerors and protectors and are supposed to be strong. The church has changed the message to appeal to women not men. The warrior class is missing.  Sunday School lessons are written for the most part by women, devotional and self-help are written to attract the woman reader.

Christianity has become an emotional religion of the heart. Over the years the terminology of the Church has became feminized, the predominance of feminine emotions or religion of the heart has brought about a subtle change in Christianity to make it conform more to the desires of the feminine heart. A change in the emphasis on the emotion from the true evil nature of sin has shaped a religion that is difficult to distinguish from the Christianity of the Gospels. The struggle for inner peace and the eradicating of sin has all but disappeared from modern Christianity, in favor of a message of universal acceptance that does not require holiness but rather goodness.

A large number of women who are leaders in the “church” have constructed an image of Jesus as they wished men were: sensitive, always ready to talk about their relationship, loving, kind, and not willing to show anger. This Jesus is not the Jesus of the Scriptures. This is a perverted view of Jesus, making him a wimp in the eyes of men.

Men who are attracted to the Church will not stay in a feminized church. The Church must develop a right understanding of the meaning of masculinity and femininity, an understanding that is consistent with a balanced view of Scriptures. Only then will men return to the Church and become the leaders they are called to be. I might add, most women I know in the church would be happy to have men in roles of leadership.

So men, if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior you have accepted a commission to serve in the Army of the Lord. With that commission comes an oath of service to protect the church against enemies both within and without the church. Those failing to preform the duties of leadership are traitors. Give the women a break, its time to step up and be the leader you have been called to be.