Misguided Church Program Lets Down Men and Women
On Sunday I visited a large church in the Birmingham, Alabama area. They have a lot of great Bible studies, fellowship groups, outreach opportunities, and other programs that make for a thriving congregation of Christians. But I was started by an announcement about their “Passion and Purity” program, in which the men of the church have pledged themselves to sexual purity and the women have pledged themselves to pray for the men.
Hurrah to the men who have taken this pledge; may the power of the Holy Spirit strengthen them to keep it. But why aren’t the women concerned about their own sexual purity? Is not such a pledge appropriate for them as well? Wouldn’t it be less likely for an adulterous relationship to begin—at least within the congregation—if the “desperate housewives” were as committed to purity as their male counterparts? Knowing the women are praying for your commitment is no doubt encouraging to the men; knowing that the women have also committed to guard their own sexuality would be even more heartening.
I couldn’t help but wonder how much more effective this program would be if the leadership threw off the traditional stereotypes of men as sexual and women as emotional, and recognized that all adult human beings, male and female, face sexual temptation—on their televisions, computers, and magazines; in the workplace; and, yes, even in the church. What a powerful congregation would exist if the men and women respected each other as fallen-but-redeemed brothers and sisters, and prayed for each other to be transformed body and soul into Christ’s image!
1. Have you been in a church with a similar program but one which successfully avoided the stereotypes? Was it effective in spiritually encouraging both men and women?
2. What other church programs have you observed that start with the right motive of encouraging biblical living, but miss the mark because of gender stereotypes?
3. What might be an appropriate method of respectfully protesting such programs and presenting to the church leadership an alternate program grounded in a fuller biblical view of humanity?