Are Young Men Being Drawn to Christ or Christian Culture?

More and more young men are being drawn to the culture of the church. Let’s invite them into obedience to Christ.

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Have you noticed more young men than usual showing up to your church on Sunday mornings? You’re not alone. For the first time in decades, more men than women are attending church regularly (43 percent of men in the United States report regularly attending church, compared to only 36 percent of women), a trend also emerging in the United Kingdom.

We should praise God for this quiet revival and eagerly welcome these new brothers into our congregations.

At the same time, we should also ask careful questions. What’s driving these young men to church? What are they looking for? Are we prepared to welcome them into lifelong discipleship to Jesus? The ongoing “masculinity crisis” in Western culture is likely part of what’s bringing young men to church.

This presents real opportunities for revival—but also dangers.

Masculinity in Crisis

Many have observed a “masculinity crisis” in contemporary Western culture. Whether the culprit is “toxic masculinity” or the “male loneliness epidemic,” the grifts of hustle-culture gurus or the percentage of young men “failing to launch” into adulthood, there’s a widespread consensus that something has gone wrong with young men in the West today. Speaking as a young man, I’m inclined to agree.

There has rarely been a more confusing time to be a man.

There has rarely been a more confusing time to be a man. Questions abound about what it means to be a man, how to be a good man, and how to navigate the cultural advantages and disadvantages of manhood. Confused and frustrated young men are searching for meaning in all kinds of places. Some are looking to neo-Stoic philosophy. Others are following self-proclaimed masculinity gurus with extreme and unsustainable lifestyles. Still others are falling deeply into addiction, feeling powerless as gaming, pornography, and online gambling rob them of real life.

Amid all this chaos, increasing numbers of young men are turning to the church for help.

Allure of Tradition

Last year, The New York Times suggested one major reason for this phenomenon: Young men today are becoming more conservative, while young women are becoming more progressive.

In response to cultural movements that have left young men confused about their masculinity, the traditionalist environment of the church naturally appeals. Derek Rishmawy, who leads a college ministry at the University of California, Irvine, explains in the Times article, “Religion is coded right, and coded more traditionalist.”

The Christian church represents traditional, conservative values, which are increasingly attractive to young men. They’re drawn to communities that prioritize the family unit, emphasize the distinct roles and responsibilities of men and women in marriage, and challenge men to step up with courage and virtue.

While secular Western values have bred confusion and frustration for young men, the Christian church’s counterculture is increasingly a haven for young men hungry for meaning, purpose, and clear identity.

This has the potential to be a beautiful thing, possibly sparking widespread revival among the next generation. Yet there are reasons to be cautious.

Danger of ‘Cultural Conversion’

Last year, famed atheist Richard Dawkins made a strange and surprising admission: “I count myself a cultural Christian.” What did he mean? Dawkins certainly doesn’t confess the creeds of the Christian faith. He explained,

I’m not a believer, but there’s a distinction between being a believing Christian and being a cultural Christian. . . . I love hymns and Christmas carols, and I sort of feel at home in the Christian ethos. I feel that we are a Christian country in that sense.

This attitude has been on the rise in recent years. Influencers like Jordan Peterson and Dennis Prager, who are prone to defend traditional “Western” values, have increasingly allied with Christians even if they don’t ascribe to the faith. Podcasters like Joe Rogan and Konstantin Kisin, both influential among young men, spoke about attending church and appreciating its benefits.

Similarly, some of the young men currently drawn to the church because of its culture run the risk of becoming nothing but cultural converts. They may fall in love with the atmosphere and traditions of the church but never learn to love and obey the person of Jesus Christ.

In a recent episode of the Breakpoint podcast, John Stonestreet and Shane Morris discuss the possibility that young men are returning to church for the wrong reasons: “Church should not be sold to them as a ‘based’ social club, but as a place that belongs to the God of the universe, and the faith as a way of seeing all of life and reality in surrender to Christ’s loving lordship.”

Churches experiencing an influx of young men should make sure their congregation doesn’t become a social club where young men are encouraged to be rebellious, angry, “macho” culture-warriors. Churches—including those within the Reformed tradition—can be tempted to indulge a certain brand of “muscular Christianity” that reinforces pride and anger among young men.

Power of Real Discipleship

If we want spiritual rebirth rather than cultural conversion for young men who might be drawn to church for the “wrong” reasons, we must be ready to practice genuine and rigorous discipleship.

After all, Jesus’s disciples didn’t all follow him for “good” reasons. Many of them hoped to end up in positions of power or influence or to topple the Roman imperial regime. They didn’t begin with the right intentions. But Jesus transformed their hearts. That’s what real discipleship does. Jesus’s first call to the first disciples was open-ended: “Come and see” (John 1:39, NKJV).

As young men “come and see” what church is all about, we should be ready to meet them not with a vague cultural vibe but a specific challenge: Will you live in submission to Christ, deny yourself, and take up your cross daily?

If we want spiritual rebirth rather than cultural conversion for young men, we must be ready to practice genuine and rigorous discipleship.

We should welcome these young men with rigorous discipleship, including biblical conceptions of cruciform masculinity that will help rescue them from the allure of alternative visions. Our discipleship should remind young men that the greatest in the kingdom of heaven are those who humble themselves and serve others (Matt. 23:11), based on the example of Christ’s profound humility (Phil. 2:5–11). This kind of humble submission doesn’t naturally appeal to young men, but it’s essential to godly, biblical masculinity.

In response to this generation of confused and searching young men, we have an incredible opportunity. They’re already being drawn to the culture of the church; now let’s invite them into obedience to Christ.