Role of Men in the Church

Session 2 Study Questions - The Feminization of the 21^st Century Church

"I will be a father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." II Corinthians 6:18

1. Are women more likely to attend services of the church than men? If so, what would be your guess at the percentage? Are women more likely to declare themselves religious than men? What do you believe the trend has been over the past 30 years? Do you believe this was the case in New Testament times? (Find a passage to substantiate your views if you do.)
2. Are women more likely to hold positions of authority in the church today than, say, 30 years ago? If so, do you think there has been a dramatic shift to more female leadership and authority in the church? In our class on the role of women in the church we examined leadership roles of women in the New Testament church. What were some of those possible roles of leadership? (Find passages to substantiate your views if you believe that women held positions of leadership.)
3. If you believe that women are more active in the Christian church in the United States, do you believe that this trend persists in other parts of the world among Christians?
4. What do you believe to be the relative interest in and participation in religious activities by men compared to women among the Jews, the Muslims and the Eastern Orthodox?
5. Do you believe there is something inherently more appealing about Christianity to women compared to men? Do you view certain aspects of our society to encourage women to be more active in the church than men?
6. Can you identify distinctly masculine Christian expressions during the centuries. (Hint: Martin Luther wrote a famous hymn which can be found in our song books. Does this hymn have a "masculine" ring to it?)
7. Some have suggested that the Restoration Church exhibited distinctly masculine characteristics. Can you think of what those characteristics might be? (Don't worry about this question if you are not familiar with Restoration Church history.)
8. Occasional commentators upon our society have suggested that men have developed their own "religion" which replaces Christianity (and other established religions). What might be some of the characteristics of this religion?
9. Do you believe that the women's movement in society and in the church has created a major (perhaps the major) problem with men finding their role in the church?