Masculinity & Femininity in Worship

 Today I was involved in a little bit of a debate involving the position of men, and masculinity in church service related worship. The writer Doug Wils discussed a concern for the loss of masculinity in the church. In his post he created a list that was a bit abrasive in its delivery, but did manage to make a valid point. I have observed both in his reader's responses, and in the responses I noted on Facebook that there was a misunderstanding of his topic: Effeminate behavior. This was not a slight of the role that women play in worship, but rather a call to recognize the loss, or criminalization of masculinity.

I actually agree with what Doug was attempting to get across. Many modern churches accommodate an effeminate mentality. (Although Doug is a little excessive with his list.) the point is that his fellow Christians are going to ream him out rather than respect his opinion. I do want to point out that he didn't say that femininity is a bad thing...simply that there is a lack of masculinity in the church. I think a great resource, that paints a little bit of a better example, is "Wild at Heart" by John Eldridge....

In the argument there was an assumption that masculinity is only considered akin to the "Braveheart" mentality. The Braveheart, 300, Gladiator, kind of masculinity where men are warriors, and defenders of their loved ones. I feel like David is an excellent Biblical example of masculinity and faith. People tend to focus only on the fact that David was a psalmist, and worshiped with beautiful language, and an honest heart. I love David as an example of creative musical worship, but he was not only a musician. 

People tend to forget that David was a warrior, and that sometimes God would put a call on him and others to go to war to defend their families, and faith. These wars were not fought with words-they were bloody and violent. Take the story of Goliath's fall...it has been simplified for the teaching of children so as not to jade them with the violence of what David accomplished. (Showing a shot of a young child hitting Goliath in the head with a stone, and essentially causing him to "pass out.") This is a great introductory for children to learn about David. However, the biblical account says that David was a young man (not a child) and that he stunned Goliath with one stone, and then proceeded to decapitate Goliath with the giant's own sword and carried the head around as a trophy of sorts. 

This was an act of obedience and worship to God. The honoring of God, the defense of his family, and in the end the celebration of victory, through God, is all part of worship. I would say that it is acceptable for men in church to worship emotionally, but it is a great disservice to men to discount a warrior spirit of worship. Not to say we should burst into bloody wars during church, but that a battle cry amongst our men to defend Faith in Christ is something that could inspire a fiery passion for God.

On of the responders to Doug's post, Valerie, noted some very interesting thoughts in the interest of complimenting femininity and masculinity in worship.

 Valerie posted this on her blog and I have re-posted this below. If you would like to follow her blog you can access it from the link in this sentence.

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1 Samuel 2 was where my bookmark was this morning. As I read Hannah’s song of thanksgiving, I thought of the hymns of other women in the Bible: Miriam, Deborah, and Mary. (Did I miss any?) So I read them all and jotted down these reflections (edited for public consumption):

• Exodus 15:21 – Miriam’s brief hymn is sung in response to Moses’ longer song. Her song is responsive, not initiative. The occasion was not formal worship, in which case she wouldn’t have been soloing at all. She sings of Yahweh’s violent triumph over the chariots of Egypt.
• Judges 5 — Deborah and Barak’s song is, again, not in the context of worship, but public celebration. Deborah does not lead out on her own, even despite Barak’s less-than-exemplary manliness in the previous chapter. She sings of Yahweh’s marching, which shook the earth. She sings of His fighting the enemies of His people. She rejoices in the death of His enemies.
• 1 Samuel 2:1-10 — Hannah’s song is a personal exultation in Yahweh. She speaks boldly against her enemies because she has Yahweh’s salvation to rejoice in. She rejoices in Yahweh’s triumphs over His enemies by which He delivers His people, and she draws strength and courage from that. In Hannah’s case the enemy wasn’t a mighty army, but a petty personal adversary, but she speaks in strong military terms of how Yahweh put Peninnah in her place. She rejoices that God is the Judge of the whole earth.
• Luke 1: 46-45 – Mary, again in a private context, also rejoices in God as Savior, exulting in His triumph and judgment.

That gives us a few ideas of what feminine worship should look like:

• It doesn’t barge ahead of male leadership.
• It rejoices in God’s judgment, even when it’s violent.
• It is safe and secure in the knowledge of his powerful salvation.

So when wise men write against effeminate worship, they aren’t bashing women at all, because effeminate worship is nothing like feminine worship. Effeminate worship denies male leadership, downplays God’s judgment, and leaves women insecure under the ill-conceived notion that it’s better if both God and men are too nicey-nice to defend or protect them.

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