Friday, May 4, 2012

Mike Horton on "Masculine Christianity"

Within the New Calvinist movement, and evangelicalism in general, there are many who would advocate for a more "masculine" Christianity. Mike Horton responds in this recent article from Modern Reformation magazine. In it he gives an interesting take on gender stereotyping within the church, and the need for our ideas to be more grounded in the Scriptures.

It is well worth reading the whole thing, and I recommend you do so. But if you want just a summation, here is where he ends up:
My point is that the larger goal here shouldn't be to trot out more gender stereotypes from our culture, whether feminist or neo-Victorian, but rather to rediscover the ministry that Christ has ordained for making disciples of all nations, all generations, and both genders. We need less niche marketing and more meat-and-potatoes service to the whole body of Christ. There, men and women, the young and the old and the middle aged, black, white, Latino, Asian, rich and poor hear God's Word together, pray and sing God's Word together, and are made one body by receiving Christ's body and blood together: "one Lord, one faith, one baptism." In that place, at least, there are no women's Bible studies and men's Bible studies, distracted youth groups and child-free golden oldies clubs, but brothers and sisters on pilgrimage to a better homeland than those that have been fashioned for us by this passing evil age.

No comments: