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The plight of young American men has become a serious concern<\/a> of late. They\u2019re earning fewer college degrees<\/a> compared to women, falling out of the labor market<\/a>, and dying from overdose or suicide more often than women<\/a>. Many are addicted to porn, video games, or online outrage.<\/p>\n They\u2019re \u201ctrying on new identities, many of them ugly, all gesturing toward a desire to belong,\u201d writes Christine Emba in an incisive essay<\/a> for The Washington Post<\/em>. \u201cIt felt like a widespread identity crisis\u2014as if they didn\u2019t know how to be<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s the cause of all this trouble? Some argue for a purely materialist explanation<\/a> by looking at the decline of manufacturing jobs that used to provide a steady income for men without college degrees. Others suggest that men are merely entitled brats\u2014so accustomed to patriarchy that now \u201cequality feels like oppression<\/a>.\u201d Still others, like Richard Reeves in The Atlantic<\/em>, point<\/a> to problems with our education systems.<\/p>\n The sheer scope of the problem has led to \u201cmanosphere\u201d influencers<\/a> who offer a vision of masculinity and the steps to achieve it.<\/p>\n Aaron Renn has been a persistent critic of the church\u2019s overfeminization, accusing<\/a> both liberal and conservative Christians of \u201cvicious negativity towards men and excessive pedestalization of women\u201d that \u201crepels men.\u201d The popular psychologist Jordan Peterson has shaped<\/a> these conversations for years. On the far right, Andrew Tate<\/a>, the former champion kickboxer found guilty of sex trafficking, has a massive social media presence built from vulgar hedonism and brazen materialism.<\/p>\n If their collective followings are any indication, it\u2019s clear that many young men are attracted to a vision of masculinity that draws more from Nietzsche than Jesus Christ. American Reformer<\/em> contributor John Ehrett calls it vitalism<\/a>.<\/p>\n Some commentators are warning<\/a> that the post-Christian Right will seduce aimless young men grasping for a sense of self. They urge the church to embrace a \u201cmasculine Christianity\u201d that emphasizes dominion, male leadership in the home and the church, and physical fitness to keep men from being drawn into the vile world that sees women as sex objects and pushes Nazi propaganda about superior races.<\/p>\n I won\u2019t argue against positive role models and physical health. But here\u2019s where these critics go wrong: Christianity can never compete with vitalism on vitalism\u2019s terms, just like a church service will always be less exciting than a rock concert on a rock concert\u2019s terms.<\/p>\n If a young man wants an ideology that allows him to treat women with contempt and consider himself Nietzsche\u2019s \u00dcbermensch<\/em>, social media gurus will always win out over Scripture. You can have a men\u2019s conference with fireworks and a working military tank<\/a>, but the Bible will still show us that the greatest man who ever lived submitted himself to a humiliating death and told us the meek are truly blessed.<\/p>\n The masculinity crisis has major consequences for the church. It feels harder than ever for young Christian women who want to get married and have children to find young men who make decent husbands and fathers. More broadly, congregations are suffering as young men that could be blessing the church are instead wasting their lives away in front of screens.<\/p>\n How should Christians respond?<\/p>\n The church has always struggled with gender imbalance, as Lyman Stone notes<\/a>. As far back as the Roman era, more women than men have flocked to sanctuaries, and finding marriageable Christian men has never been easy.<\/p>\n Furthermore, every church is different. On the extremes, some still operate according to a more rigid gender hierarchy while others ignore the idea of God-given gender differences.<\/p>\n As a missionary in East Africa, I can tell you that a culture where gender differences are still respected doesn\u2019t draw more men to church. Women still outnumber men here too. And the cultural commitment to traditional sexual ethics brings lots of problems, including much higher rates of violence against women<\/a>.<\/p>\n The simplest fix might be to erase any gender distinctives and encourage each young man to simply be \u201ca good person\u201d rather than \u201ca good man.\u201d There\u2019s some truth to this, as church is the place where men call themselves a bride<\/a> and women can say they\u2019re more than conquerors. The fruit of the Spirit are the same for both sexes.<\/p>\n However, as Emba puts it in a follow-up essay<\/a>, \u201cyoung men and boys are telling <\/em>us, often literally, that they desperately need and desire direction, norms, and a concrete rubric for how to be a man<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n In theological terms, we are created in the image of God, male and female, and that distinction has consequences for how we think about ourselves. When one set of cultural currents is trying to erase those distinctions altogether by telling men their manhood isn\u2019t real or meaningful, many of them will simply be discouraged from even trying to be good people.<\/p>\n In The Toxic War on Masculinity<\/span>, Nancy Pearcey calls<\/a> for a greater ministry focus on boys without fathers, and she\u2019s absolutely right. Rather than compete with manosphere influencers who think expensive cars and sexual conquests define masculinity, we need Christian families to invite young men into their lives and homes. There, they can learn about the virtues of masculinity by observation rather than didactic (and often harmful) instruction.<\/p>\n Single people, elderly couples, and families with children can all participate. Helping care for others\u2019 kids, sharing life together, and talking about something other than social media will do far more for young men than any blogs or podcasts. (Pro tip for young men who want to find a Christian wife: Do the dishes after dinner. Trust me on this one.)<\/p>\n The crisis of masculinity is real, and the church has a role to play. Rather than complaining about feminism or \u201cbeta male\u201d pastors, we need to participate in mentoring and building relationships with young men. Military hardware and empty admonitions to \u201cbe a man\u201d can\u2019t substitute for genuine connections between people. The church has a calling to celebrate the goodness and beauty of God\u2019s choice to create us in his image, male and female, and those distinct identities emerge best in community.<\/p>\n As we attend to the masculinity crisis, opening our doors and making space at our tables is something we can all do to keep lost boys from going astray.<\/p>\n Matthew Loftus lives with his family in Kenya, where he teaches and practices family medicine. You can learn more about his work and writing at matthewandmaggie.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n