The world is selling men a fantasy of masculinity. The Church offers a far better vision

Louis Theroux’s Inside the Manosphere reveals a culture of men confusing dominance for strength, isolation for independence and control for confidence. Jamie Sewell says the Church must stop critiquing from the sidelines and get intentional about the formation of men

I found myself huddled at the bottom of a mountain, backpack strapped on, head torch flickering in the dark.

Around me stood 100 other men, head torches cutting through the darkness, all of us shivering, partly from the cold, partly from nerves, and partly from excitement.

As we awkwardly introduced ourselves to one another, it quickly became clear that, like me, none of us were entirely sure what lay ahead.

We were about to begin a three-day ‘Xtreme Character Challenge (XCC)’. No one knew the route. No one knew the plan. All we knew was that we were men, stepping into the unknown, together. Part of me hoped that somewhere along the challenge, we might gain something more than we arrived with, something like brotherhood.

The night before, I had been sitting on the sofa with my wife watching Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere.

It explored the world of the so-called “manosphere”, young men presenting themselves online as the finished article. Strong. Successful. Untouchable. Offering advice on how to “be a man”.

My wife watched with a sense of disgust.

I felt something different. I felt sad.