Lavender Masculinity

I read a great article from USA Today several weeks ago about how churches are attempting to reclaim lost masculinity. At first, most long-time church-goers will mock this pursuit, calling it "trivial" or "menial" and then throwing around "holier-than-thou" phrases like, "lack of focus" and "not the real mission of the church" and "let's keep the MAIN THING the main thing." The more I read, though, the more I began to agree with the author. The article told stories of the "guy-church" concept developing in the central states, where the auditoriums, special events, and general "feel" of the church have had a significant amount of the 60's and 70's feminism extracted from them and a subtle amount of testosterone re-injected into the life of the church. The practical app may sound silly, but the premise is this: if you want to encourage your men to get involved and take the responsibility of leadership roles, you will need to subliminally infiltrate more masculinity into the physical aspects of the church. Events such as "you kill it, you eat it" cookouts for hunter-types, outdoor work service teams, and sports-oriented sketches for the worship service are on the rise. Darker, more invoking colors are being used in auditoriums; traded up from softer, more reflective pastels. Some churches are even throwing out the "funeral parlor" furniture for more "living room" acceptable pieces. The goal? Get men to take ownership in church, get involved in service for the kingdom, and be primary role models and mentors for the young leaders of the Church's future; reclaim the stagnant men who felt disconnected and detached from an environment which was obviously generated by and catered to the feminine gender. Promise Keepers fought that battle for 10 years, and lost on the church front, because in many smaller churches, women retained the keys to the decorating, calendaring, and event planning of their church. Even my wife would be the first to admit that churches cater to women in their decorating. So, it's not just a select few who see it; it's just a painful uphill climb to get people to admit it. So, my church is taking the plunge this week...trading up the pastel lavender for a warm tan color, called Filoli Antique Lace. Check out the picture on the right. Just to give you a point of reference for our stage wall color: that shirt Jennifer is wearing at the piano is actually a very bright lavender, and she practically chameleons into the wall with it.

So, painting begins Sunday, as we pursue the long-awaited infusion of masculinity at its finest into the interior of our worship center... WAIT A MINUTE!!! ... Filoli Antique Lace?!?...what the heck?



[edit: Nov 12, 2008 - So, we completed the painting, and our over-saturated point-and-click Kodak made the room look yellow. It's really a light brown, I think, but what do I know?]

oh well,
me