 Baptism is Christianity’s most physical sacrament. It’s a whole-body reminder that our old self has died with Christ, and that a new creation has been born. (I Cor. 5:17).
I’ve been thinking of ways to enhance this experience for men, while staying true to scripture. And I’ve got an idea. I call it tap-out baptism, and it allows the candidate to play a more active role. Here’s how it would work.
The minister stands in the water with the candidate, and says all the usual words. Up to this point, nothing is different from a traditional immersion baptism. But then the minister places a hand on the top of the candidate’s head and pushes him straight down into the water as the candidate bends his knees. The minister holds the candidate underwater for as long as the candidate wants to remain submerged. When the candidate “taps out” minister releases his hold and the candidate comes shooting out of the water, to the cheers of those assembled.
Now, before you dismiss this as a crackpot idea, hear me out.
Continue reading Baptism for men
 A couple of years ago, my church, out of convenience, began supplying the congregation with prefilled communion cups with a wafer attached to the top. I’m not much of a traditionalist; however, these sterile elements really bothered me. I struggled to know why. The bread and cup are just symbols, so quality shouldn’t matter, should it?
I studied the scriptures and a little church history, and I’ve come to the conclusion that the quality of the communion elements matters a great deal – especially in Protestant churches. Using the right elements will greatly enhance the communion experience for men.
Continue reading Communion for Men
David Murrow has just released a brand new DVD to accompany his bestselling book, Why Men Hate Going to Church.
This new DVD is packed with new content, new surprises and new laughs! Take a look:
This new DVD gives you more than two hours of great teaching and interviews, including:
Why Men Hate Going to Church
Ten Ways to [...]
 The Islamic Center of America in Detroit is the largest mosque in the U.S. Photo by Anne B. Hood. One evening I was speaking to a group in upstate New York. I posed the rhetorical question, “Why do men flock to Islam, while avoiding Christianity?” I didn’t expect an answer, but one woman blurted out, “If Christianity required women to walk behind their husbands and wear burquas, then we’d have a church full of men.”
So is that why Islam is the world’s fastest growing religion? Must a religion oppress women to attract men? Why do men flock to Islam, while avoiding Christianity? I posed this question to David DeMeo, professor of Middle Eastern and Arabic studies at Harvard. I sum up his response this way: Islam is a religion that delivers results for men. Too often, Christianity does not.
Continue reading Why Men Flock to Islam
 Rev. John Richardson is an Anglican priest who has spent most of his pastorate ministering in a village by the name of Ugley. (John tells me the town is home to The Ugley Women’s Institute. Really.)
John is daily steeped in the feminine teapot of modern Anglicanism. After he read my book he felt inspired to write a guest column for the Church for Men newsletter and Web site. I’ve reprinted it here. Enjoy:
When I arrived in 2000, the congregation was warm, faithful — and elderly. Obviously something would have to be done, and soon, if there was to be a worshipping community in ten years’ time. By the grace of God, and with a few changes, we managed to draw in some new faces, particularly families with children, so that despite the losses through deaths, our numbers went up. But here was the problem: although the mums and kids were attending regularly, the dads were not. I’d had contact with the dads. In one case the dad had been the reason why his family started coming to church. But we were not keeping the dads, hence David’s book.
What I got from it, however, was more than an insight on my problem. Rather, it was one of those ‘Oh my goodness!’ experiences, like noticing your fly has been open all the time you’ve been giving a public speech. As I read, I realized that the problem is not just with our congregation — it is with our entire denomination, and indeed with our culture.
Continue reading English Vicar Battles Feminized Church
The Protestant church is in the midst of something called, “The Praise and Worship Movement,” or PWM for short. The pipe organ is out – the drum set is in. Even traditional churches have seen the writing on the wall and are grudgingly offering contemporary worship services featuring praise singing in an effort to attract the younger generation.
But there’s more to PWM than electric guitars. An effective praise set moves the congregation on an emotional level. It helps the body feel the very presence of Jesus.
Many would agree the PWM has breathed new life into the church. But even the healthiest movements have unexpected consequences. I believe PNW is having the unintended result of feminizing the worship experience – and making it harder for men to connect with God in church.
Continue reading Men vs. Praise and Worship (1)
 Apparently, the battle to re-engage men in the church has been fought — and won — before. An earlier crusade to re-engage men reached churches, businesses — even the White House.
I’m reading a fascinating book titled Muscular Christianity: Manhood and Sports in Protestant America, 1880-1920. The book catalogs an earlier movement to restore the masculine spirit in mainline Protestant churches. The movement was large and widespread, and ushered in an unprecedented period of health and prosperity for the churches that participated.
Continue reading This Battle has been Fought Before
 As I write this, the world is gripped with sports fever. Here in North America big-league hockey and basketball have just crowned new champions. The rest of the planet is focused on the World Cup, where the best soccer teams are battling it out for football supremacy.
Men are the primary audience for these sporting matches. So if men can sit through a 3 hour-long hockey game, why is it so hard for men to focus for a 45-minute sermon?
Continue reading Why Men Watch 3-Hour Football Games, but Fall Asleep During a 45-Minute Sermon
Reform Jewish Synagogues are losing their young men, so says reporter Debra Nussbaum-Cohen in an article in the New York Times. The most liberal wing of Judaism is in the same sinking boat as many liberal Christian denominations.
Not only are they studying the problem, but a group of courageous Jews is taking a step most churches [...]
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