'Why men hate going to church' - review

I chose this book to read worried that maybe it wasn't for me (being a woman) but I was wrong. It’s really a book for everyone. I was hoping it might be helpful for me as a wife and mum of three boys and I was right.

David Murrow has written ‘Why men hate going to church’ to address the glaring problem in churches all over the world today; women outnumber (sometimes by huge proportions) the men. His first section deals with this issue, describing the problem and defining exactly why it’s a problem.

Part 2 (the best part in a book for me) analyses church history (going as far back as the industrial revolution) and church culture. Murrow demonstrates why and how the church is slowly but surely become more for women, more about women, and more enjoyable for women.

Part three gives us plenty of strategies for what to actually do about this problem. Murrow does a great job of reassuring his readers that it is possible and a lot of his suggestions are quite simple; they just require some intention to carry out. One of the highlights for me was chapter 20 when Murrow says that the willingness of women to crossover to a man’s role is important. For example, many women would happily attend a DIY workshop at a hardware store or break into a male dominated career but most men could not tolerate attending a knitting class or breaking into the nursing profession! Because of the fact that women can ‘do’ masculine, Murrow asserts that our churches should ditch the feminine aspects of our worship and embrace the masculine.

I love this book. I especially loved that dissection of church history from a gender specific point of view.  I would recommend this to any Christian who wants to see the men in their life follow Christ. I believe it is especially important for church leaders and women to understand the concepts in this book. It is through them that the church can become more effective in reaching men. Five stars from me.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”