Church Talk Makes Men Walk: What the Research Shows and What to Do – eBook

The mystery of the missing men can be answered in one sentence: The church has forgotten how to speak to men. While the church's language has excluded women in its use of nouns and pronouns, it has excluded men in everything else. Its content, character, and construction say, "You don't belong here." Church Talk Makes Men Walk: – Corrects the myth that men are innately non-religious or non-spiritual; – Demonstrates how the culture increasingly reflected in church talk has filtered action-oriented people out of the church in favor of relationally orientated ones; – Demonstrates that the same factors that have driven most men from the church have also driven like-minded women away; – Provides research-based and theologically informed solutions to the problem of the missing action-oriented men and women. Chapters presenting well-documented social science research alternate with chapters presenting practical steps that answer the question, "So what should the church do?" Written in a conversational, humorous, and sometimes confessional style, Church Talk bridges the gap between the academy and the local church. It shows how language that is inclusive of both women and men, relational and action-oriented, can create a church that is once again gender-balanced and missional.