I blogged recently about how churches need to man-up but perhaps your church doesn't know the modern man. It shouldn't take a marketing guru to tell you that in order to reach your audience you must first know your audience. AskMen.com recently polled their readers to examine who and what is the "modern man.”
Given the nature of this mainstream magazine, the results may have a higher than usual unchurched perspective, which means it offers valuable insights into the lifestyle and psyche of the men who need church the most.
Some highlights include:
What makes a man a manly man in 2008?
>> 52% say, “Being a good father and/or husband who takes care of his family.”
>> 19% say, “Being a leader and motivator.”
>> 16% say, “Having many skills, like the ability to fix things.”
>>7% say, “Being charismatic and popular.”
>> 4% say, “Being a great seducer and/or lover.”
>> 2% say, “Being wealthy.”
Have rumors of a recession affected your spending habits?
>> 47% say, “No, I’m still spending the way I always have.”
>> 40% say, “Yes, I’ve tightened up my budget to meet increasing prices.”
>> 13% say, “Yes, I’ve tightened up my budget to put emergency money aside.”
Do you believe in marriage?
>> 70% say, “Yes, I believe it is a necessary institution, and one that I will participate in to help preserve.”
>> 20% say, “No, I don’t believe in it strongly but I’ll probably end up getting married anyway.”
>> 6% say, “Yes, I believe in it as an institution, but it’s not for me.”
>> 4% say, “No, I think it’s a dead institution.”
Should a couple live together before marriage?
>> 60% say, “Yes, it is a good test to put the relationship through before marriage.”
>> 21%say, “Yes, living together is pretty casual.”
>> 10% say, “No, a man should enjoy his freedom while he can.”
>> 9% say, “No, it is not morally acceptable.”
If there was no chance your partner would find out, would you cheat on her?
>> 37% say, “No, I might be tempted, but I love and respect her too much.”
>> 32% say, “No, I might be tempted, but cheating violates my morals.”
>> 15% say, “Yes, but I would feel guilty nonetheless.”
>> 13% say, “Yes, she can’t be hurt if she doesn’t know about it.”
>> 3% say, “Yes, I already cheated on her.”
How old were you when you lost your virginity? (67% as a teenager)
>> 2% at 12 or younger
>> 2% at 13 (7th/8th grade)
>> 4% at 14 (8th/9th grade)
>> 7% at 15 (11th/10th grade)
>> 13% at 16 (10th/11th grade)
>> 15% at 17 (11th/12th grade)
>> 15% at 18 (12th grade)
>> 9% at 19
Some Other Interesting Finds:
Anything surprising about the results? What are the best ways for the church to reach the modern man? Is your church pursuing today's modern man?
(ht to Kent Shaffer), (Graphic: Church Relevance)
Labels: Church, Creative, Culture, Hot Topics, Issues, Leadership, Marketing, Resources, Youth Pastors
I wonder if they had the option to choose 'still a virgin' in the 'virginity' question. I think that says alot about our culture if they didn't.
i found the answer to "living together before marriage" very interesting when compared with the answers to the other questions. a rather large % consider a good idea?
and the answers to "manly man" were a little surprising, but in a good way.
overall, it's what i would expect. and i think it sums up the idea of why men stay away from church. i think it comes down to:
1. the general fight against authority. we want to be our own gods
2. a misunderstanding about "christian" and "religion".
when people hear church, they think religion. when they think religion, they think, works. they think their righteousness is dependent on works, so they need to be perfect. and they need to appear righteous, so they fake it especially in church (and does that get tiring or what?!). they think they have to look "gentle, kind, composed, quiet, pious" which they translate "feminine".
what they don't understand is that as Christians our salvation and righteousness is not dependent at all on our works. it is only dependent on grace. we should be the most free people to admit our mistakes. and as a result, we will be more free to celebrate the masculine characteristics we have, because they will be out in the open and more in-line with how God designed them to be used. we won't be stuffing our sin plus sexuality in the "i'm ashamed" bag before church. instead we can admit we are sinners, we get tempted. we can ask forgiveness for mistakes, and we don't have to be castrated so we can look holy.