It’s Friday, friends; happy weekend to you! Yippee; yahoo; woot; whoo-hoo; youzers!
Okay, now you’ve all gotten over your euphoria about the end of the week, I have an important question I’m looking for some help with. You can “comment,” facebook message me, email me at derekmaul@gmail.com, or reach me through my website at http://www.derekmaul.com.
Here’s the question: “Are men in mainline churches interested in Bible study?”
Here’s why I’m asking: I’m in the process of framing out a new book. The basic idea is a Bible study designed specifically for men – most especially those men who are not caught up in the politics and the reactionary social conservatism of the evangelical right.
This week, during an interchange with a key player in the publishing world, I was presented with a question/observation that caught me off guard; Here it is: “Are men in mainline churches even interested in doing Bible study?”
I have to admit I was – I am – flabbergasted. So, guys out there – men, gents, dudes, hombres – do you want to do Bible study? Are the scriptures calling you? Are you at all motivated about getting in the Word?
- If the answer is, “No,” then help me out and tell me a little about why you’re not. Have you had a bad experience? Do you feel ill-equipped? Are you intimidated? Do you think the Bible isn’t that important?
- If your answer is “Yes,” then I’d appreciate some of your thoughts about how that might look to you. Do you want to go solo? Or is a small group a better fit for you? Maybe you like the anonymity of a large class? How do you feel about questions? Would a discussion based study float your boat? Or are you more interested in a carefully packaged product with tidy answers?
There is a lot to talk about here, and I promised the publisher I’d take this conversation “to the street.” This is the street. Imagine I’m a late-night talk show host shoving a microphone in your face. Ask your friends too. America wants to know; well, I do. “Are men interested in Bible study or not?”
Pen poised, at the ready – DEREK
Derek,
As a female, I would weigh in on the NO side. I am not trying to put down men as spiritual leaders. We have had a long history of defining women as the “nurturers” and men as the “providers.” This dichotomy is changing but we are not there yet. In my psych class, I read reflection after reflection from young men who defined living well as providing for their family and earning enough to support children. I was astounded by this traditional perspective. Perhaps the focal point of your new book may provide a vision for men as “nurturers” with spiritual formation (aka bible study) as the path/process to this end result.
I am going through two books by Dan and Chip Heath that have been NYT best sellers: Made to Stick and Switch. The first is about communicating messages that have sticking power and the second book is about making change. Their website http://heathbrothers.com/books has a number of resources/summaries for each of their books that allow you to dip in and then decide whether or not to read. I am trying to be more intentional about applying their suggestions to my communication as an educator.
Hope this is useful to you.
Chris
Thanks, Chris. I appreciate your insight.
I’ll check out the resources you reference. Sounds interesting.
Peace and blessings – DEREK
I will start this with some observations at my church, Bible centered, about 150-300 members and growing in Va. There are more active woman than men by far and good amount of children.
We do Bible study, currently “Twisted” by Andy Stanly. The Pastor asked me to help teach it and its discussion based with Video.
Maybe 1 man to each 5 woman and 30 to 60 attending. We talked about having men and woman separate but the Pastor decided against it.
I think it boils down to faith and have you picked up a bible on your own and read it? Today the bible comes at everyone in bits and pieces. Men often are OK with that I think but when you think of a group gathering to study it together the word “boring” jumps out there. Men do not talk as much as woman either. Men in general do not provide care for the children either and cook or do other activities at church. Why I say that is because those woman bond and its much easier getting a group together because of that. What is there for men to bond over at church? Not very much that I see and I have been to many in the past.
Bible study advances us spiritually but is not like a program at work or school that has practical means in todays world. Goes back to faith and its importance in your life.
Lastly there is hunger inside of me to learn more always and to hear others. Men need that personal invite by someone who has a margin of respect from them and is close to their age.
Sorry to wind on about this but bible study is important! The early churches I think were all about it!
Thanks for your daily uplifting post, Steve
Very helpful, Steve. Thanks.
You make some good points and I can sense your passion for faith.
Peace – DEREK
Of course I’m interested in Bible study. I’m a pastor. But I just had a conversation with a guy I met at the gym. His name, easy enough to remember is Jim. Jim from the gym. I’ve been saying hi over the last couple of months talking about weights, weather, and our community, We talked a little politics, too, and he agreed the only real solution to creating a better society is to see one heart at a time changed. Today I asked him if he’d be interested in Bible study because we’re starting one about being led by the Spirit called Experiencing God. He’d be interested, he said, but he works Sundays and doesn’t like to commit to things he can’t follow through on. And he went on to say, simply enough, that when he reads the Bible, it helps, and he has lots of stories.
Simple but powerful, Jesse.
I like the approach of inviting someone to Bible study rather than “church” as the automatic first choice – Bible study is a place where hunger is fed and they can meet Jesus.
Thanks
I am convinced that men want to study the Bible, but not like women study the Bible. Men are interested in applicable, tactile, useful, visceral truth. Most men I know want to wrestle with the Word, grapple with real thoughts, authentically argue it with other men…in short, study like men do. Hands on–elbow deep in applied truth.
I appreciate your perspective, Michael. Men and women approach many things differently. Sometimes that includes how we study too.
Peace and blessings – DEREK
Men & Bible Study: I am interested in Bible study but so often it is so superficial that I loose interest. I enjoy learning about what the depth of the scriptures convey and not just the words on a page. In my studies, I have learned that translators take liberties and some of those liberties have to do with the social and political (church polity too) things of the day in which they were written. These interpretations are then carried over and massaged for the current church.
That superficiality is critical, Les. Thanks for sharing. God cuts through the trivial 9like politics) and always meets us where it counts.
– DEREK
Where shall I begin? Well, I guess I should preface my remarks by saying that I am going to be brutally honest and that you should take that as a sign of immense respect: my brutal honesty is reserved only for those whom I hold in the highest regard! With that, the comment “those men who are not caught up in the politics and the reactionary social conservatism of the evangelical right” caused an incredibly visceral reaction for me. I grew up in that type of church and I am proud to say that I chose to be Presbyterian. That being said, I take a certain degree of offense at the comment because it immediately halts the conversation on its merits and reframes it as: “we’re smarter than they are…the silly reactionaries”. I know that is not what you meant, but it is my perception (sort of along the lines of I can call my little brother stupid all day long, but you never dare!).
Now that I have that off my chest, here are a few other thoughts:
• I am reading a book by Rev. Tim Keller (PCA pastor from Manhattan…I know, but I thought he was PCUSA when I bought it) called The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism. His thesis, as far as I can tell from reading about 3/8 of it, is that both secularism and orthodox religions are growing rapidly in modern America. He presents an orthodox (his preferred term over evangelical) view that is open to intelligent discussion. People want to learn more about Christ, but they want it presented in an intelligent, modern context that is true to the Word.
• I think that men of my age group (late 20’s to mid-40’s) want Bible study that is practical in application, open to spirited discussion, and respectful of our time and family commitments. That is to say, it is unreasonable to expect men with young families to be at church every Wednesday night at 7:00. I think that we need more flexibility in terms of schedules and location (i.e. a video conference option for when we have to stay at home with the kids).
• I consider myself to be well-educated (masters degree) and more comfortable than most people of my generation speaking about the church and the Bible (I am an elder and have four pastors in my immediate family), but I am still a bit intimidated by the intellectual and spiritual difficulty of the actual text of the Bible. I also think that my generation has been told the whole of our lives (almost) to not discuss religion, especially Christianity…so it is awkward to us.
• Irrespective of whether it is nature or nurture, men approach life differently than women. I think this difference needs to be acknowledged and embraced if you truly want a men’s Bible study. Why should I come to a men’s Bible study if it is going to have the same point of view as a women’s (or co-ed) group? No offense, but I’d rather sit next to my wife than some other guy, all things being equal. So give me the reason to hang out with only men—nurture our masculinity.
• Lastly, I will sort of circle back around to the reactionary evangelicals vs. mainline protestants. As an outsider to the PCUSA 15-20 years ago, I was astounded by what I perceived to be the moral relativism of some of the church’s doctrine. I think that it is a lot easier to shrug off the Bible and not attend a Bible study when there are so many shades of gray. If something is black and white, and my eternal soul depends on it, I had better learn the rules. When there is more nuance involved, it becomes easier to devalue the contents of the text itself. A simplistic analogy may be the study patterns of Biology majors (my wife) and Sociology majors (myself). Biology majors had to study vigorously because there were definite right answers and definite wrong answers. We Sociology majors were able to wing it more and study less—our grades did not come from facts per se; they came from our ability to take some knowledge and write about it in a well-reasoned argument. Hence, once we learned how to write well, studying the “facts” became much less important.
Sorry…that is kind of rambling. But you asked for it…ha!
Wow – you’ve said a mouthful!
Lots to digest here. Thanks a lot.
Not to be defensive… but I don’t think defining an approach as not the same as the evangelical right implies a sense of superiority.. just a clarification that more than one perspective is needed, and that the aforementioned approach doesn’t apply to all men.
However, as I said, lots to chew on here. Certainly too much to respond to in detail. But… it will be a very helpful part of my background work. I very much value your time and effort in framing these thoughts.
– DEREK
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Hi Derek, I am just catching up on some e-mails tonight, and finally got to your blog from last Friday. I don’t think the average man knows whether he wants to do a Bible Study or not. They need a push to try one out, and hopefully one that fits and meets their need. I think many fear to be stuck in a room with guys “holier than thou” where they will feel very uncomfortable if not just turned off by the hypocrisy. For me I like one where the men are “real” where they can openly speak of their struggles, while the rest self-reflect and nod along. One where we can laugh at our mistakes, short comings, misunderstandings, and move forward. One where we can be emotional if needed, even angry, and may be a colorful word slips out and no one is offended. One where we can disagree and not be threatened, offended or in fear of rejection. One where we can be at different levels of spiritual maturity without being proud or humiliated. So, even if they want to, I think they fear to, unless they get pulled into one that fits. For me the right fit is where men are keeping it real. Andre
Well said, Andre –
I’m pleaded with what is happening here (with much need to grow what we’re doing). What you wrote is exactly what my publisher needs to see – I pray more men will realize how important and wonderful Bible study is…