Reclaiming the Masculine Hearts of Men

By Kerry R. Mackey

You might be wondering if there is a need for reclaiming the masculine hearts of men. Well, let’s think about it.

• Men are less likely to attend church. There are some 330,000 churches in America with an additional 4,000 more being started yearly, where attendance is made up of 60% women.
• Men are less likely to lead the church. And it’s just not the attendance where men trail women. Men are also less likely to lead, volunteer, and give. Leon Podles puts it this way: “The modern church is an army of women led by a few male generals”.

I recently had a gentlemen tell me he had stopped attending church because he was “bored with the lack of true masculinity from male leadership within the church, starting with the pastoral staff.” Men are looking for true masculinity, true manhood, not some half baked faith that is afraid to get in their faces. Men are drawn to risk, challenge, and adventure. If we are to lead men to be spiritual leaders, healthy husbands, and faithful fathers, we must lead them from a warrior heart for the masculinity of Jesus.

How to Reclaim the Masculine Hearts of Men:

• Lead men to reject passivity, lead courageously, accept responsibility, and pursue proper rewards. Robert Lewis says a masculine man, “rejects passivity, leads courageously, accepts responsibility, and expects the greater reward”. 
• Lead men to do something greater than themselves. Leading men to a masculine heart is leading them to something far greater than themselves without having them check their man card at the door. 

Why is this critical?
Because, like my own journey as a child of a single parent home, there are 22 million children in the U.S. who will go to bed tonight without a father in there lives, and 84% of those children are exclusively parented by their mothers. Where did we become ok with that being the norm?

The time is now for us to engage the heart of a man. To do so the church must take a significant look at the way we do church. What are you willing to do?

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© Kerry R. Mackey, is founder of Man Up Outdoors, LLC and a member of the 4:12 Network.