Why is it that when men are looking for purpose in our increasingly purposeless culture, they seldom look to the Church? When men are looking for masculine role models, why do they rarely seek them in Christian leaders? Jordan Peterson’s masculine message to the Church may not be the Gospel but it reminds us how badly the Church has failed to reach men in its mission.
Sadly, many churches today are so busy apologising for masculinity that they’re unable to even define what men (or women) are, let alone tell them what men and women are for. Still less are they able show them a way to be what they are. For men, this means they usually end up looking elsewhere for wisdom on what it means to be men. This is where Jordan Peterson comes in.
Podcast and Peterson
Earlier this week, Andy Bannister and I discussed Peterson several times on our podcast episode, Men, Masculinity, and Mission. We talked about men being drawn to faith by voices beyond the Church; of the need for the Church to wake up to reach the many desperate young men who feel disenfranchised by the effeminate posture of Christianity. We talked about the dangers of such men otherwise looking further afield, even beyond the likes of Peterson, to more troubling voices to his Right.
By providence or coincidence, the very next day after we released that podcast, Peterson released a punchy speech which immediately started trending, called Message to the Christian Churches. In this speech he literally issued a direct evangelistic summons to the Church: “Invite the young men back…”. It was rather fascinating to see in action what we had been talking about just the day before.
It was by no means the first time Peterson has talked overtly about Christianity. He mentions it fairly frequently when reflecting on moral decline within western society, and clearly feels personally drawn to Christ, as exemplified in another famous video where Peterson cries when trying to articulate what he believes about Jesus. Yet this was the first time he explicitly spoke into the problem of churches not doing what they’re supposed to be doing, not calling men to the high demands and purposes for which they were made.
Insights from Young Men
There may well be numerous issues with the speech, of course (the last three minutes or so are perhaps the most relevant). What I found most insightful were the many comments on the video, from non-Christian men. Here’s a brief selection:
This speech motivated me to want to go back to church after 4 years more than any other pastor or religious video I’ve ever seen.
I’ve been struggling so hard with the idea of going to church, but these words of encouragement (almost warning) kindled something within myself. I might go, and I hope I meet some of you guys there so we can get to fix whatever has to get fixed together.
I stopped going to church when I was 25 – I have been inspired to go back and be a contributing member…”
It’s so strange, I had a similar epiphany a few weeks ago and started going to church again.
It’s crazy how good it feels to hear someone say “you’re invited” and “I expect more from you”.
What do these responses tell us? They tell us there are scores of men out there crying out for great purpose and great demand for their life, but who never knew they could find these things in church. At the very least, this serves as a wake-up call to church leaders who may have ignored or downplayed the significance of men and masculinity to the mission of the Church.
Thanks to Peterson’s ostensibly masculine exhortation, many men currently looking to him for guidance (perhaps even for “salvation”) may now look beyond him, to Christianity.
Evangelism to the Evangelists
Curiously, when I posted on social media that Peterson’s video was “a direct evangelistic summons to the Church”, I received – amidst much positive feedback – various disgruntled responses too. One in particular was from David Robertson, a solid evangelical author who often speaks feistily into the issues of western culture and the Church. Essentially, Robertson was concerned that we ought not get too carried away here given that Peterson wasn’t actually preaching the Gospel:
Without the good news it is not evangelism. He was not summoning us to tell men the good news about Christ – he was summoning us to get men involved in church. Of course it is a good idea to invite men to church – but not for the reasons that Peterson puts across – and not in the angry tone he uses…It is also a little optimistic to assume that people will hear the gospel if they go to church – in many (most?) churches they will not.
This objection did not seem to grasp that Peterson’s exhortation was not received as “evangelism to men” but was rather seen as a summons for the Church “to evangelise men”. Naturally, it’s always possible that such men may turn up at a random church and not hear the Gospel. But right now, such men are not in any church. That is what ought to cause us more disgruntlement than whether or not Jordan Peterson is telling them all they need to know on their way in!
Opportunity for Discipleship
It’s also plausible to assume that the kind of men drawn to Peterson’s message are unlikely to be drawn to a non-Gospel-preaching progressive church anyway. Liberal churches are not the go-to places for the cultivation of masculine virtue. That’s precisely why this offers a great opportunity for faithful evangelical churches to reach out to such men off the back of Peterson’s salty exhortation, however imperfectly toned we may believe it to be.
There’s also a general indication in Peterson’s speech that the Church should be more about the business of “saving souls” than “saving the planet”. Broadly speaking, this denotes a standard distinction between evangelical and progressive churches on the attention given to either eternal salvation or social justice. Thus, it’s actually quite likely that the likes of those men quoted above will turn up at a Church that will actually preach the Gospel to them.
The basic fact that Peterson is telling men to go to Church and telling the Church to welcome men who’ve previously felt disenfranchised, is no bad thing. There’s much more that may need to be ironed out in such men, for sure. But that’s where faithful churches will need to come in, evangelising and discipling them well.
The Gospel of Peterson?
Even so, are we in danger of lionising Peterson too much as a Christian missionary? I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that Christ is using him to draw people to his kingdom at this time.
It was not
“evangelism
to men” but
a summons
“to evangelise
men”
Christ uses lots of people in often bizarre and unexpected ways to bring about His purposes in the world. Why not Peterson? We need not pretend that Peterson is a harbinger of evangelical orthodoxy in order to affirm the clarity amidst the confusion.
It’s noteworthy, for example, that on the same day as the “churches” video, Peterson also issued a Message to Muslims! He was making very different points in that video, for sure. For example, in contrast to the message to the churches, he doesn’t call mosques to reach out to men so that men might find their purpose in life. What this omission may indicate, we cannot be entirely sure, but we could hazard a few guesses.
Either way, he did seem to encourage Muslims to try to gain more converts, to “stop squabbling over trinkets and details” and to forge unity with other religious people. He said this is needed primarily in order to combat contemporary evil ideologies in the culture, and to bring greater unity within Islam (e.g. between Sunni and Shia Muslims).
Peterson essentially labels all Muslims – along with Jews and Christians – followers of the same God. Much of this demonstrates Peterson’s somewhat confused theological approach. Indeed, although he clearly seems to have a special spot for Christ and the Church, it has always been the case that Peterson has affirmed the general validity of Abrahamic religion/spirituality. As we’ve known since Peterson first arrived on the scene, Christians are right to show some caution when interpreting any of his directly theological statements.
Praiseworthy Wisdom
Peterson is
clearly seeing
and saying
things the
Church ought
to be seeing
and saying,
but isn’t.
The value of Peterson’s work, however, lies not in his theological insights, but in his anthropological and sociological insights, and his exemplification of them in his actions. He is able to articulate truths about human beings, behaviour, society, ideology, and culture with a sharpness and clarity often lacking in those with a greater knowledge of ultimate truth.
As with the men he summons to church, we hope and pray that Peterson too will come to a full revelation of the truth through Jesus Christ in all that He is and all that He calls us to be and do. But there’s no need to haul Peterson before a doctrinal high council just yet. No one’s calling him a pastor or a theologian, nor even an evangelist (except perhaps indirectly). He’s a wise man, from whose wisdom we have much to learn.
Overall, Peterson’s exhortation should give us far more cause for encouragement than disgruntlement. Peterson is clearly seeing and saying things the Church ought to be seeing and saying, but isn’t. And men are listening to him in ways they would not listen to most Christians. Peterson’s virtuous masculine example has no doubt already helped many Christian men to be better men, let alone the many who don’t yet know Christ. Aaron Renn’s post on Jordan Peterson (which, like our podcast, also came out not long before Peterson’s message) also points to this. Peterson offers men a genuinely good example of masculine integrity, competence, and courage. These are surely the kinds of things over which Paul could say:
whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Phil. 4:8)
If the Men Come Back
It’s important to remember that the men Peterson is calling back to church need Christ, not just a societally purposeful “religion”. If they go to church merely to get something out of it to make them better men, or better Petersonians, purely on their own terms, they may be disappointed. But who knows what God might do with them once they come through the doors? We also mustn’t forget that in church history God has often used what were originally utilitarian or political conversions (e.g. conversions of entire nations) to catalyse genuine faith in Christ in many people.
Imperfections aside, there should be no shame in rejoicing when we see encouraging signs like this. We can hope and pray, of course, that if and when such men do return to a church, they find not merely a community, not merely a social body which gives them generic “purpose”, but that they find themselves summoned to the head of that body, Jesus Christ:
And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. (Eph. 1:22-23)
True, some of them may well get a shock when they hear about what it truly means to submit to Christ as their head, including all they may need to lay down for him. But that can get worked out along the way, just as Jesus did with his own imperfect and edgy disciples.
Virtue and Faith
In many ways, such men as Peterson draws may have already been inculcated with many virtues which characterise the life of discipleship, like self-sacrifice, love, diligence, self-control, courage, etc. Virtues alone cannot save us, but neither are they irrelevant to the life of faith. Peter actually says that such characteristics are essential to our effectiveness as disciples:
make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2Peter 1:5-8)
Christian men have been starved of virtuous brotherhood for far too long. If Peterson can play a role in helping foster that, this is surely something in which we can rejoice.
Men, Church, and Purpose
There is more significance to Peterson’s message than simply getting men to show up to churches and help out. By calling such men to things like purpose, marriage, cultivation, labour, sacrifice, and fruitfulness, he is not only tapping into fundamental masculine desires, he is evoking something that is, in fact, germane to the mission of the Church. Such things may not in themselves be “the Gospel”, but they are fundamentally bound up in the living-out of the Gospel in the Church’s mission here on earth. So, although some adding (and subtracting) may be needed with Peterson’s message, many elements are more supportive of how the Church ought to see its mission than might at first appear.
When they’ve
read Paul saying
“act like men”
(1Cor. 16:13),
they’ve known
what this meant.
I fear that most
Christian men
today do not.
Indeed, having a load of men turn up who fundamentally understand the importance of things like masculine authority, love, and responsibility, could be a refreshing alternative to the often limp-wristed effeminacy we’ve cultivated in our churches under the guise of Christian humility and meekness. Many Christian men can tick the “Gospel” box, but don’t actually resemble the Biblical disciples who preached that Gospel in the earliest years of the Church.
Not only Jesus’ disciples, but virtually all the great missionary men in church history have exhibited masculine traits. They’ve needed them in order to be fruitful and effective in pioneering, risk-taking, and holiness in their good fight. When they’ve read Paul saying “act like men” (1Cor. 16:13), they’ve known what this meant. I fear that many Christian men today do not.
A Direct and Indirect Challenge
Peterson’s direct message, his indirect example, and his insightful respondents, tell us there’s something missing in how the Church seeks to reach men. As Dave Murrow argued in Why Men Hate Going to Church, for too long we’ve accepted an effeminate version of Christian ministry which instinctively repels scores of men.
How willing are we to change this? Are we truly willing to become, indeed, “all things to all men” (1Cor. 9:22)? Do we know what it might truly mean to be serious about restoring the fighting spirit of the Christian faith to the Church? Are we willing to get called names, or worse, if we do so? What might a restoration of a Christian masculine ethos look like in your church?