Date of Award

2-2019

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Department

Seminary

First Advisor

Deborah Loyd, DMin

Second Advisor

Ron Clark, DMin

Abstract

Churches today face a unique crisis as most of them are either declining or plateaued, and the culture around them has changed, and men have not responded with faith and godliness, but instead with fear and withdrawal. Churches, especially conservative evangelical churches, who can overcome the worldview struggles and learn to embrace the postmodern, and overcome the struggles of patriarchy and learn to see how the power bestowed by society can be used for good, can see revitalization that will bring renewal to every part of their churches. Reaching these men usually brings new life to the entire church, as often the entire family will come with them.

Churches have tried many different ways to reconnect with men. Some work more effectively than others. There have been many movements to try and more effectively reach men, including two smaller recent movements the Mythopoetics and the Million Man March. Neither of these movements significantly impacted the church. The Promise Keepers movement made an impact on millions of men and their families and gave a quick shot in the arm to many churches, yet the long sustained impact on the local church was hard to discern. Church have also tried internal changes within the congregation, to help churches become friendlier to men. These were insightful and helpful for congregations who desire to keep men in the church. Yet these changes do not necessarily bring men into the church.

None of these attempts needs to be discarded, instead each can be learned from and churches can use similar programs to reach men in the future. However, given the churches’ call and struggle, there is a better way to effectively reach men, and this is the focus of Section 3, the proposed solution, discipling men. Training men to reach men v through discipleship is a way for churches to bring new men and their families into the life of the congregation. These new men and their families can then bring new energy and life to everyone in the congregation.

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