Font Size
100%
Archive
Quinn Dombrowski
Religious Outsiders: Feeling Ignored in Houses of Worship
August 23, 2016
We hear from people who, for one reason or another, feel rejected, excluded, or ignored in their houses of prayer. On our list: introverts, the disabled... and men.
Thomas Nelson
Men: Missing From the Pews August 23, 2016
From the moment a man walks into a church, he gets the message that he doesn’t belong. That's according to David Murrow, who likes to point out the “Victorian parlor motif" he often sees in church sanctuaries: quilted banners, flowers, lace doilies, boxes of tissues. And don't forget the sermons, which in the evangelical world can present men as lost, broken souls who need to be saved. No wonder guys make up less than 40 percent of church-goers.

David Murrow, author of Why Men Hate Going to Church
Nguyen Hung Vu
Introverts: Craving Sanctuary August 23, 2016
There's a certain restless energy that defines many evangelical church services. There’s the pastor with the big personality, the sharing of personal testimonies, singing, dancing, clapping, and hugging. All this activity can leave introspective worshippers feeling drained, ignored, and worst of all, less faithful. Adam McHugh, a proud introvert and ordained Presbyterian minister, is trying to change that.

Rev. Adam McHugh, author of Introverts in the Church: Finding our Place in an Extroverted Culture
Laura Lee Wright
The Disabled: Becoming Visible August 23, 2016
Laura Lee Wright says that houses of worship have long ignored the needs of the disabled. The challenges run the gamut, from non-existent wheelchair ramps to scripture type so tiny even people with normal sight can barely read it. But the barriers aren’t just in architecture and font sizes... they’re in mindsets, too.

Laura Lee Wright, Director of Christian Partnerships at Bethesda Lutheran Communities