Rob's Thoughts

in 1999 Leon Poddles wrote an insightful work about the feminization of the Church.  His main premise was that in the west the Church has become increasingly unattractive to men, and he sought to explain why this is and what can be done about it.

“After documenting the highly feminized state of Western Christianity, Dr. Podles identifies the masculine traits that once characterized the Christian life but are now commonly considered incompatible with it. In an original and challenging account, he traces this feminization to three contemporaneous medieval sources: the writings of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, the rise of scholasticism, and the expansion of female monasticism. He contends that though masculinity has been marginalized within Christianity, it cannot be expunged from human society. If detached from Christianity, it reappears as a substitute religion, with unwholesome and even horrific consequences. The church, too, is diminished by its emasculation. Its spirituality becomes individualistic and erotic, tending toward universalism and quietism. In his concluding assessment of the future of men in the church, Dr. Podles examines three aspects of Christianity-initiation, struggle, and fraternal love-through which its virility might be restored.

In the otherwise stale and overworked field of “gender studies,” The Church Impotent is the only book to confront the lopsidedly feminine cast of modern Christianity with a profound analysis of its historical and sociological roots. Dr. Podles presents the fruit of his meticulous scholarship in a lucid and readable style thoroughly accessible to the non-specialist.”  (The Amazon Product Description)

After this work came the best selling response to Poddles’ call for reaching the masculine population: Wild at Heart by John Eldridge.  While Eldridge largely missed the theological boat and misleads men to a dangerous non-biblical understanding of masculinity his work was still important in seeking to address the issue, and for the discerning reader will prove to be an minimum an entertaining and slightly helpful read.   A better more recent effort by Mark Chansky called Manly Dominion put’s forth a lucid practical theology on manhood that deserves a fair read by all.  The problem is that men don’t read.  And when they do if it’s not mind-candy they put it down before they get to chapter 2.  And Chansky’s book isn’t exactly man-mindcandy.

Here’s a call to anyone who thinks they might have the ability to write a book that men will read about what it means to be a real man.  Here’s what I think the criteria is (in no particular order):

1.  It needs to be short enough to not turn to drudgery for the average guy working 10 hours a day.  (Or if not short, entertaining enough to keep the attention.)  Better yet: both.

2.  It needs to begin with the premise that God’s word puts forth sin as the number 1 problem facing men today: (the fatal flaw with Eldridge is that he didn’t do this.)

3.  It needs to be gritty dealing with issues like pornography, prostitution, faithfulness, and the consequences of not spending time with your children (Like your daughter ends up the object of pornography and prostitution) .

4.  It needs to be practical – (Eldridge’s practicality tells us that real men run through the woods… naked – we need something a little more helpful to men’s lives than this.)

5.  It needs to be biblical.  I mean really biblical (not proof text biblical).  It must take in the larger theological context of order in creation, Christ’s manhood, and God’s Fatherliness.

6.  It needs to explain how men can be men and still be called to be part of the bride of christ – a thoroughly effeminate  idea on the surface – but a thoroughly masculine idea if understood within the larger context of biblical manhood.

7.  It needs to explain the sociological consequences of an effeminate church (something Poddles has done very well).

8.  It needs to be thoroughly God-Centered.  I know this is a buzz-word, what I mean is that it must help men to see that God is big, and great, and his design for men is nothing short of fantastic.

9.  It needs to appeal to more than just married men with kids.

Any Takers?

Okay, the spring semester is underway and I’m almost caught up on all my school assignments thanks to a beautiful snow day where they Canceled class.  Thank you Lord!  So I thought I would use this fortunate turn of events to break my blogging silence.  Hello Everyone.  The subject of this blog is the Haitian Missionaries.  If your interested read below.

Almost a month ago now a group of 10 now famous (or infamous – depending on your perspective) missionaries went to haiti to expedite the establishment of an orphanage that had been in the planning phase for some time.  Under the leadership of Laura Silsby this group gathered orphans and children who’s parents were too poor to feed them.  The plan was to take the children – 33 in all – to a hotel that had been rented in the Dominican Republic, feed them, care for them, educate them, etc.  Eventually, the orphanage would build or buy a compound that would house these children, and more, permanently.  As the world now knows, this plan never came to fruition.

Sometimes when we hear things like this via the media we forget that the media covers real people, with real families, real jobs, real churches, and real lives.  For example, One of the girls that went on this mission trip was an 18 year old homeschooled student who was excited to go play with children less fortunate than herself.  Many of the team members are mothers, fathers, husbands, etc.  Who’s families sent them on what they thought was a short term mission to fulfill a biblical obligation to help those in need.

As I mentioned earlier this plan never came to fruition.  Depending on the news organization you tune into these missionaries are either Christian Zealots who rushed headlong into a situation they had no business being in (CNN, MSNBC).  Or they are the victims of a corrupt government seeking to put on a show trial for the world to see (Fox News).  I think the truth is probably somewhere in between.

The reality is that Laura Silsby probably didn’t have all her ducks in a row and was trying to gather the necessary documents on the fly.   Probably not the best idea – and consequences that nobody could have foreseen occurred.   But hind sight is 20/2o isn’t it?  The reaction both in the media and the government is staggering.  The Media has used this circumstance to criminalize the word missionary, and has painted the group, especially Laura Silsby to be an evil person.  And the government has allowed these 10 american citizens to face the most corrupt legal system in the western hemisphere on charges of kidnapping!  If you follow the blogs these missionaries have been called every name in the book, and most people would just assume that book be thrown at them.

So here is the question.  Is it right to imprison 10 missionaries who desire to help homeless and impoverished children get on their feet, for not having the right paperwork?  Seriously?

Reality Check #1: 4000 hardened criminals escaped the main prison on the island when the earthquake happened and the haitian government is focusing their legal system on holding 10 american missionaries captive for not having the correct documents to move homeless and impoverished children to an orphanage.

Reality Check #2:  It’s easy to sit in judgement from our living room couches when we haven’t lifted a finger to help (save those who have supported Haitian relief through their checkbooks).  Perhaps the only people who have the right to judge in this case are those who patiently and diligently went through the proper channels in order to accomplish the same thing.

Reality Check #3:  Sweden just appealed to NORTH KOREA to free an american missionary who went into the land to tell Kim Jong Ill to resign.  How is it that our own government wont intervene to help 10 american citizens who were trying to rescue children in Haiti?

Reality Check #4: Have you ever gone to the DMV to get your license plates renewed?  Did you have your proof of insurance?  If not did you get thrown in Jail?  Probably not.  Yet it’s probably stated on every DMV website as well as on the front door of every DMV office that you must have your proof of insurance.  The penalty for not having insurance is up to two years in prison.  But your DMV isn’t going to call an officer and have him take you away because you failed to bring your proof of insurance.  Yet that iss effectively what happened to these 10 Americans.  They were turned back at the boarder because they didn’t have a document.  When they went to get the document (IN ORDER TO CONFORM TO THE LAW) they were arrested.  Let me say that again, they were arrested while trying to procure the proper paper work!

What can you do to help.  Probably the best and maybe the only thing you can do to help, is stop judging and then after you’ve gotten all your nastiness taken care of email the state department (you can go to whitehouse.gov).  And ask for Hillary to do something about this unfortunate situation.

p.s. I’m not saying that the group shouldn’t have been more careful, or had the proper paperwork, I’m just asking for reasonable response by the media, government, and average american citizen.