Arlene

I have learned that it’s about life… if a church is dying, men will not attend.  When i first began ministry in a small rural church there were mostly women.  But the men returned as the church revived and came to life.  While I was worried about the masculinity movement’s claims, those claims did not prove to be true.  When we looked at healthy functioning and did leadership development with the leadership team (a mixed gender group) health returned.  After a couple of years, life returned, men returned, the young returned.

While men, like women do have some specific needs they are not all alike.  Some men prefer mixed groups, my husband included.  Others enjoy gathering around activites such as sports, canoe trips and outdoor activities.  Some women also enjoy these activities.  In our rural context, we have women hunters and outdoor activists as well as men.  BTW, my husband grows flowers for a living and likes to garden–that does not make him feminine.

I also preach a robust gospel that invites hearers to know God deeply and live couregeously in their daily lives.  We are called to live in a new kingdom governed by Christ.  That kingdom is different than kingdoms of the world.  That kingdom runs by a different set of values, is centered in Christ and what he has done.  Following Christ calls for courage from both men and women because it is counter cultural.

The masculinity movement caters to a culturally derived concept of maleness imposed on the scripture.  The masculinity movement is not counter cultural but capitulates to a Hollywood version of masculinity and bears little resemblance to the Christ of the Bible.   True Biblical Christianity exposes our stereotypes and calls us to be like Christ.  And I don’t see a male way to be like Christ or a female way to be like Christ.
Christ says follow me, count the cost, be willing to give your life in following.

I have been thinking about difference and maybe much of this has been said.   but here goes anyway…

First… a woman is human and shares human characteristics with a man.  I hear no discussion about what men and women share as human beings.  How are we alike?

Second while a woman is different and being female is a part of my identity, it is not all of my identity.  I am a mother,  but also a teacher, athelete, scandinavian, passionate Christian.  Being female is part but not all of who I am and it does not define everything about me.

Third, the difference argument is often used to justify strict roles.  Much like a similar difference argument was used to justify slavery.
It comes from the same foul source.

Fourth, I do not see scripture dividing the attributes of the Trinity when he created the man and woman.  We are made in God’s image.  That image involves ruling and tending, building community, the ability to reason, etc.  Both men and women share this image of God according to Genesis 1:26

Fifth, if we used the same argument for men (because women can bear children, that is their role and life call) that is used on women it would go like this:  Because men can father children, their role should be to father children… Because they were to till the soil, they may only farm… no computer training, no mechanics, no business degrees, men must only farm and father children.   They use a limiting hermeneutic on women and a broad one for men.