I am sick to death of hearing church leaders complain about the “feminization” of culture (whatever that purports to name). It presumes definitions of femininity and masculinity that should be interrogated in light of the Gospel. Jesus was so gentle he wouldn’t break off a reed already bent or snuff out a smoldering candle wick and yet he is our model of humanity – for both males and females.

The problem isn’t that we don’t make manly men, it’s that we’ve completely lost sight of what it means to be human. Instead of sanctifying violent manhood, those of us who follow Jesus should be redefining masculinity along the lines of Mr. Rogers. The world can have John Wayne, Chuck Norris, Arnold Schwarzenegger. My heroes look like this: