Technology May Be Salvation for Luring Men Back to Church

c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) For more than a century, women have outnumbered men in the pews of America’s churches. For almost as long, concerned Christians have been wondering where all the men went _ and how to get them back. Now some are seeing glimmers of hope coming from a most unlikely place: […]

c. 2006 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) For more than a century, women have outnumbered men in the pews of America’s churches. For almost as long, concerned Christians have been wondering where all the men went _ and how to get them back. Now some are seeing glimmers of hope coming from a most unlikely place: flickering computer screens. Religious software has become an $80 million industry in the United States, thanks to a clientele that’s predominantly male. According to a survey conducted last year, 77 percent of all Bible software users are men. For niche-leading Logos Bible Software, which sells about 12 percent of all religious software, nine out of every 10 customers are men. As devout men demonstrate a holy zeal for study at the “feet” of electronic platforms, evangelists are pondering the broader implications and possibilities. Perhaps, the thinking goes, men turned off by preaching, small talk and shared feelings in tight-knit groups will be receptive to the gospel when it’s delivered instead via technology. A man “might be on a spiritual journey and not want anyone to know about it,” said the Rev. Rick Kingham, president of the National Coalition of Men’s Ministries, which is based near Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Wash. Just as “a guy can be sneaky” to access pornography on the Internet, he says, so also can he seek knowledge of God privately in settings where “being a Christian isn’t cool.” “I think God’s going to use the same technology and the same system to in fact spread (faith) like wildfire,” Kingham said, “even amongst those who are just on a spiritual journey and are doing it very anonymously.” But even if men do get inspired by electronic resources, they won’t necessarily get more interested in congregational life, says David Murrow, author of “Why Men Hate Going to Church.” In fact, he says, the opposite could occur. “It might actually cause men to be more isolated from a local church body because, you know, they’re not interested in the church politics or the sermon or the singing that we offer. They just want to know about God,” Murrow says. “And if they can bypass that bore that we call `Sunday morning worship,’ they’ll do it.” The trend of men using religious software as a devotional tool seems equally true from one faith to the next. Islamic publisher Astrolabe LLC, for instance, has seen software sales climb by about 25 percent in the past three years (actual sales figures are proprietary). The firm’s mostly male clientele is apparently boning up on Scripture with the help of such products as Learn Arabic Now 9.0 and the Holy Quran Digital Book, which recites verses aloud as the text scrolls on the screen. (BEGIN FIRST OPTIONAL TRIM) Women, meanwhile, aren’t quite sold. Sahara Software targets “financially comfortable” women over age 30 with New Age programs that substitute for human readers of, for instance, Tarot cards and the I Ching. “It has not been an easy ride to convince people interested in New Age spirituality to deepen their experience via electronic resources,” said Samer Saab, Sahara’s vice president of marketing. “We have tried going to many trade shows and exhibits pertaining to the subject, and have noticed that a very small minority of the attendees were actually interested in a computerized version of the reading.” (END FIRST OPTIONAL TRIM) Men say they appreciate the convenience of electronic resources, since they don’t require arranging meetings with other people or lugging around a sack of books. Example: The Rev. Mike Laird configures his laptop to open to sacredspace.ie, where he gets a daily devotional from Irish Jesuits as soon as he logs on. “If I’m in Panera (coffee shop) working on my sermon, I can log on and it’s right there,” says Laird, pastor of North Shore Chapel, which meets in a movie theater in Danvers, Mass. “Before I know it, I’m already into the day’s meditation.” During Sunday worship, Laird lets loose a manly passion for gadgetry each time he fires up the MediaShout projection system software. The software, which lets religious communities blend music, text and moving pictures, more often than not attracts men to its control buttons, according to Jann Saulsberry, vice president of marketing at MediaComplete, maker of MediaShout. The technologies men love are fast becoming staples of worship in many of America’s churches. More than 60 percent of Protestant congregations now use large-screen projection systems and show video clips during worship, according to a September 2005 survey from Barna Research Group, a leading Christian trend tracker. That trend could bode well for getting at least a few more men to darken the door of a church, according to Quentin Schultze, professor of faith and communication at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich. “Men have become more involved in worship planning and worship itself by participating in the use of technology in worship, such as PowerPoint and special software designed for worship presentations,” Schultze said. However, he cautions that those who run the gadgets aren’t likely to join small discussion groups any time soon. “There is a general stereotype that men use communication technologies to escape relationships, and women use them to foster relationships,” Schultze said. “It tends to be true.” (SECOND OPTIONAL TRIM FOLLOWS) Technology alone won’t overcome all the reasons why many men of faith don’t like going to church, Murrow says. Men “are drawn to risk, challenge and adventure,” he says, “but these things are discouraged in the local church. Instead, most congregations offer a safe, nurturing community _ an oasis of stability and predictability” that appeals more to women and seniors. But competent usage of technology, he argues, can be a helpful start for churches aiming to make men feel comfortable. “A church that uses the latest technology to teach and encourage,” Murrow writes in his book, “will be sending a strong message to men and young adults: we speak your language.”

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