Unmanly · Part Five
The Church and Male Formation
We are formed before we are informed. The church's task is not to make men more masculine but more faithful, through Scripture read in full, shared worship, confession and accountability, and the patient retraining of instincts that cultural formation has produced.
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What role do formation and constraint play in producing faithful male disciples?
Formation is the process by which the practices, communities, and patterns of life we inhabit shape us below the level of conscious decision. We are formed before we are informed.
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How should the church form men rather than masculinize them, and what does the result look like?
The church's formational task for men is not to make them more masculine but to make them more faithful, which, for male and female disciples, involves becoming more fully human after the pattern of Christ. Forming men faithfully involves several things.