There was a story on ESPN the other day when I was at the gym about celebrity athletes and the church. The story focused on the "Health and Wealth" preachers who had mega-churches with famous athletes who gave multi-millions of dollars in tithes.

What interested me the most was an analyst who said that some of these churches targeted the athletes because it was so difficult to get men involved in the church, since the church was perceived to be by-and-large effeminate.

I have heard this time and time again over the years, but is it true? Is the church feminine? Or is there a place for masculinity? Let's think about it.

The Church is based upon the life of a man who endured homelessness, rejection by his family, rejection by the established religious leaders, threats against his life, and eventual torture and death. He never ran. He never wandered from his mission. He never blinked. The people who were most inspired by him also gave everything they had, even their lives to follow him.

Peter asked to be crucified upside down because he did not feel worthy to die in the same manner as Jesus. Paul suffered beatings, imprisonment, hunger, and rejection. Many early believers faced execution in the Roman arena rather than denounce their faith. Through the centuries people have given up their lives to live as impoverished missionaries. At the heart of the Church is a constant battle for the hearts and minds of people.

Yes, Christianity teaches peace, love, contentment, nurturing, kindness, gentleness, and self-control, but are these things inherently feminine? Or has our understanding of masculinity become so skewed that we cannot see the testosterone necessary to conduct true spiritual warfare?

What may be lacking is the determination to fight, the strength to resist temptation, the nerve to stand against Satan, the greatest and most dangerous enemy of all. The weapons of prayer and self-control are far more powerful than any knife, gun, cannon, or ballistic missile, yet so few know how to use them.

The Marines have the motto: "The Few. The Proud. The Marines." They are known for taking beachheads and attacking fortified positions without concern for their own lives -- truly a masculine pursuit. Jesus said if we want to follow Him we must take up our cross and release any care we might have for our own lives. Again, a truly masculine pursuit. Sadly, the problem is not that the church is effeminit, but that there are not enough truly masculine men willing to take up the fight.

The church is filled with women, not because it is feminine, but because so many men have abandoned the fight. Even attracting star athletes won't fix the problem, because men brought into the church through them still want to be more like them than they want to be like Jesus. It is true that seeing a masculine man, as defined by culture, in the church does help men see other possibilities for themselves, but so would a closer look at Jesus.

Jesus stood alone against the world. He lived through the Roman torture. He restrained Himself from destroying what He had come to save. Finally, He rose from the grave and defeated death itself, something that no athlete or warrior can ever do. No, the church is as masculine as it is feminine.

The question is, "Where have all the soldiers gone?"