Description
Book SynopsisA look inside one of America''s most politically consequential churchesMark Driscoll, the founding pastor of Seattle''s Mars Hill Church, indelibly impacted American evangelicalism. Driscoll''s brash, authoritarian, and profanity-laden leadership grew Mars Hill Church into one of the fastest growing, most innovative, and most influential churches in the country--not an easy task in one of America''s most secular cities. Driscoll''s gender theology put men at the forefront of American Christianity, rebranding Jesus from a gay hippie in a dress to a sword-carrying, robe-dipped-in-blood warrior. This type of rhetoric paved the way for evangelicals'' embrace of hypermasculine Christianity, priming the pump for their unprecedented support of Donald Trump in the 2016 and 2020 Presidential elections.Making Christianity Manly Again places Driscoll''s gender theology in its social and historical contexts and analyzes the contemporary social patterns that explain how a hypermasculine theology he
Trade ReviewMaking Christianity Manly Again is a powerful addition to the literature on American evangelicalism, gender, and Christian nationalism in the Trump era. McKinney's meticulous analysis of Mark Driscoll's sermons and writings generates an illuminating picture of his misogynistic theology and view of the U.S. as a "pussified nation." Her in-depth interviews show how Mars Hill church members experienced and lived out that theology (successfully or not) in their daily lives. An impressively researched and highly informative book. * R. Marie Griffith, author of Moral Combat: How Sex Divided American Christians and Fractured American Politics *
As US politics increasingly reveals intertwined relations of religion and masculinity, there is a great need for careful social analysis. In Making Christianity Manly Again, Jennifer McKinney—one of the most seasoned observers of this scene—provides a careful and detailed account of the high-profile rise and fall of an icon of the times. Its pages reveal deep insights into broad questions that should concern us all. * Stewart M. Hoover, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Media Studies and the Department of Religious Studies, University of Colorado Boulder *
Jennifer McKinney's Making Christianity Manly Again is a devastating account of a cultural car wreck. The man driving the car, Mark Driscoll, is both the maestro and engineer of its demise, with enough talent to attract money and followers, but with an ego that consumes everything in its tracks. McKinney shows the self-destructive and catastrophic nature of how a religion of the poor and peacemaker became an engine for money and manhood. This must-read book startles with details and testimony to the tragedy of an American evangelical church and its whoring after power, treasure, and empire. * Jim Wellman, author of High on God: How Megachurches Won the Heart of America *
This is a solid study of a very influential church, resting on an interesting theoretical foundation. * Choice *
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Pussified Nation Chapter One: Evangelicals and Gender: The Road to Mars Hill Chapter Two: Real Men (Don't Wear Sweater-Vests) Chapter Three: Real Women: Wives, Mothers, and Lovers Chapter Four: Real Family: Dating and Marriage Chapter Five: Real Consequences Conclusion: Question Mark Notes Appendix A Bibliography
