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Nathan at Science and Faith has written a great post on Men in the church and embracing ones uhm, well… masculinity. I appreciate his words very much.

I’ve never paid much attention to how men might feel about faith or the church, because honestly my life has never given me the luxury to do so. I have been far too busy simply placing my eyes on Godly men and watching how they walk in faith. It’s been a life saver really, ever since I was a child. Somehow Christ has always managed to place someone in my line of vision, someone just walking the walk, someone I needed to just see and draw strength and comfort from.

So, to those who wonder if it matters, to those who doubt their significance, it matters. There are always people watching how you move through the world, people who desperately need your example, people whose very lives can hinge on just seeing Christ  within you.

There are some men where I live who are outside of the church, who feel as if having a relationship with Jesus Christ is somehow a feminine thing, as if church is really just for girls, as if real men go hunting or worship in the great outdoors, God’s cathedral as they say, but most of these men really have little or no experience with church at all. I call this the Walton’s syndrome, because several of these men grew up watching the Waltons and what does Father Walton do? Refuse to get involved with the church, claiming to be worshiping in God’s great cathedral outdoors.

It wasn’t until I got on the internet however, that I discovered that there are some men who really do feel as if faith and masculinity can not go together. I think I’ve blogged many times about my struggles with the ‘spherians who run about saying this precise thing. To make matters worse, I’ve born witness to some pretty vile verbal persecution of Christian men, as if they are not masculine, as if faith is not actually about strength and power, protection, provision, the very epitome of healthy and positive masculinity and leadership.

I can’t tell you how false this attack on masculinity is, how annoyed it makes me, so I shall not go there, but that is a particularly offensive thing. Please don’t insult the men folk, some of us do not take kindly to it, and some of us have been so blessed by Godly men in our lives.

Let me tell you, faith is not for the faint of heart! It actually requires great strength within and without, and can take you to places you’ve never been before.

I speak a lot about men, not because women aren’t awesome too, not because we aren’t strong, but because the world really needs men, because when a system is broken, the most effective way to repair it is to look first at the foundation. Men are the foundation, the cornerstones of our culture, our society, even our faith.