Inside the Manosphere shows a generation of men that desperately need Jesus

Last week, I watched the Louis Theroux Netflix documentary, Inside The Manosphere. I was fascinated at the two worlds colliding: the journalist peering awkwardly into the lives of young, outspoken, testosterone-fuelled male influencers.

By the end I was deeply moved, stirred as a father of teenage boys and provoked as a church leader to ask: How can we better engage young men?

In the same week, a student powerlifter was instantly healed at Openheaven church in Loughborough after dropping a 250kg weight on his foot. I also heard about a rugby lad who read the story of Jesus walking on water to his two mates, and they both wept and gave their lives to Christ.

There is always hope in the mess.

Inside The Manosphere has received some criticism for its lack of depth. But I would argue that it is the young men who lack depth, not the documentary. Theroux can’t generate what isn’t there, he can only expose the emptiness. Looking into the cavernous void that is their aggressive existence, my heart was filled with compassion. I saw young men (boys really) with insatiable appetites and ambitious minds, desperately searching for the approval of peers.

A lost generation

All around me, I see a fatherless generation who need to be taught how to treat other people with dignity and respect. I see young lads rutting to prove their value because they haven’t had older male role models to build a world in which their dreams can safely flourish.

These are uninitiated men. Our culture has lost the rites of passage for young men that most other cultures have. These are young boys who see Donald Trump – a petulant boy disguised as an old man - as their ultimate role model. His words and actions communicate a toxic message to the manosphere that basically says: “Rise up, revolt and take back power.”

The problem? The people they believe hold that power are the same ones they seek to oppress. If someone could hold up the mirror, they would see that they already have what they are trying to gain.

There is a gargantuan need for spiritual parents to a spiritually hungry generation

As I watched this documentary, I could almost hear the keyboards of outraged people clattering. “How dare they…who do they think they are…it’s all social media’s fault…” I understand the feelings but let me encourage you: this isn’t a new phenomenon. And Jesus still has the answer.

We’ve seen this story before. It is Lord of the Flies. Manosphere influencers Harrison, Myron and Sneako are William Golding’s Jack and his band of wild boys baying for Piggy’s blood and smearing war paint across their angry faces. They are the punks of the 70s, the yuppy city boys of the 80s, the lad culture of the 90s and every generation since.

It is a common story for young men to feel abandoned, let down and alone in this world. Their response is to demand control and dominate others. This documentary doesn’t herald the end of humanity; it points to a gaping wound in our culture. We need compassion not judgement. If they met the real Jesus, they would fall at his feet.

Turning to Jesus

In the last couple of years, we have seen growing numbers of young men becoming Christians. You’ve seen the statistics and heard the stories. In the university landscape, I can testify that it really is happening. Most churches used to have mainly female students with 2-3 males making up the balance. But this has been readdressed and, in some places, there are more men than women.

Why is this happening? There isn’t a programme of men’s events that every church has been running or anything that ‘we’ have done. The Spirit of God is moving and men are looking for meaning. They are searching for something true and real in a world that presents as false and fake. They are longing for answers to their existential questions. They have found solace in the Church and purpose in the person of Jesus Christ who is “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). He is all they are looking for.

Looking into the void that is their aggressive existence, my heart was filled with compassion

So how do we respond as a Church? The young men featured in Theroux’s documentary were all fatherless. Or at least, they didn’t have a father figure of whom they could speak well. Lads need good dads - and if they don’t have them in the natural, they need them in the spiritual.

There is a gargantuan need for spiritual parents to a spiritually hungry generation of young people. This is the job of the Church. In St Swithin’s church in Lincoln, there is a group of retired men who meet to intercede for the student generation. They are the spiritual granddads to the young people who are coming to Jesus.

Is there a group like that in your church? Is it you? It’s time for us to step in and engage. Turn off the outrage and the cynicism. Switch on the compassion and go.

Inside the Manosphere is streaming now on Netflix