Christian Colleges Look for ‘Missing Men’

Perhaps men have figured out that college degrees do not benefit them that much anymore. College has gotten so expensive that if you took the money you would have spent on college and started your own business, you will likely be far ahead of those who went to college. Of course there are always exceptions, but college is not the ticket to financial security that it used to be.

The more pressing question is why do we have fewer men interested in ministry.

….have something to do with the Title IX “Dear Colleague” letter that Biden and Obama sent back in 2011, I believe, more or less eviscerating the rights of the accused in title IX sexual assault investigations. No right to counsel, no right to cross examination, preponderance of evidence instead of clear and convincing evidence of guilty beyond a reasonable doubt as the standard of proof, and all of that run by Title IX offices chosen on their predelection to favor the accuser (generally the woman) over the man in testimony. Is it any wonder that many men are retreating to majority-male environments like the trades to avoid that?

Then you’ve got pervasive indoctrination from administration and the liberal arts departments, admission of about a third of students who really don’t belong there and drag down the quality of instruction, and more. No surprise that men, who tend to be more conservative, aren’t signing up for that, either.

(plus what JD notes)

Regarding why we don’t have more men interested in ministry, my thought is that it has a lot to do with how too many pastors have been treated. Nearly infinite time expectations, low pay, very often lack of respect and the right boot of fellowship….our churches have some repenting to do. You can’t get a steady stream of college graduates applying for the job if that’s how you treat them.

1. My older son decided not to pursue a 4-year degree (despite my encouragement) because of the costs involved. He has his associates degree, but decided to attend the fire academy and become a firefighter instead of pursuing a finance degree. At 21, he’s now making $85K+ between his job at the firehouse and his home remodeling side job. He’s currently going to paramedics school, which will give him a raise at the firehouse once he’s finished.

2. As for ministry, I think we have too many men in ministry who shouldn’t be there to begin with. Are churches contributing to the lack of men entering ministry? Maybe, but I think the issue is something else.

T Howard. Your son’s experience mirrors what I am seeing from so many. They work hard, get a good job, and then prove themselves in that job and their employer pays for them to advance in that job. That way they are getting the specific skills they need to do the job best instead of just random skills that may or may not be helpful in their job. I have also seen the side gigs turn into careers. My side gig pays more than my pastoral job.

I am seeing this in my extended family as well. Both my daughters got college educations and are doing well with them (one in IT and one as a teacher), but my niece and nephew on my sister’s side have decided against college.

My nephew started college for a semester, then decided against it, went to training for HVAC work, and he does that now very successfully, having had a couple promotions already. He’s purchased his first starter home, and is planning to be married next month.

My niece went to the military, took MP school, and is now an MP with the National Guard with other side jobs. And, if she does that long enough, she could even go to college later if she chooses, with the military helping to pay for it.

There are definitely other education and career choices available to motivated young people that will not leave them with huge college debt.

….to outright endorse simply going into the trades is the issues of a trade becoming obsolete (e.g. Walter Williams joking about buggy whip manufacturers) and the possibility/likelihood that arthritis and the like would make it difficult to impossible to continue after age 50 or whatever.

So I’d always recommend that a guy have something in his back pocket, and a meaningful bachelor’s degree (one without the word “studies” in the major’s name) can be that. It’s not the only back pocket plan, but it is yet a good one.

I can go both ways on this. I’m all for preparation, but we can’t prepare for every contingency.

Certainly don’t read my previous comments as denigrating getting higher education. I have an M.S. myself, and my wife and daughters all have B.S. degrees in fields that actually are useful (math, computer science, and education) and allow careers that would actually pay them. I told both my daughters that even if they chose to just be stay-at-home housewives (a completely valid choice in my view, though neither has children and both work), their husbands might die or be disabled, and then what? Having an education gives them choices. However, even with a “non-physical” job, health conditions could always prevent working.

Plus, if you are looking for a fallback career and a degree that will pay, if you remove the humanities, the “studies” majors, and anything else mostly theoretical, it would leave only general degrees like business or accounting or similar. The STEM fields are pretty rigorous, and if you don’t keep up with them, and work in a STEM field, a 30-year old degree with no work experience won’t get you a job with equivalent pay to what you had at 50 when your knees give out, assuming you can get hired at all.

Preparation for the future is always good, but the expense could easily change the equation.

….but there are a number of jobs where HR really just wants to see a degree to measure your “get up and go”. Some of the best (and most underpaid) engineers I’ve met were without degrees, and some commented rather bitterly “obviously I’m dumb because I don’t have a BS”. And if you’re in a trade when the knees give out, sometimes that degree helps you move into the office jobs.

First, could fewer men be attending college because college has become more feminine or less masculine? Bert mentioned Title IX issues. I think that may be related, but are colleges supporting and catering now more to women in general? Of course, just asking this question could be seen by some as supporting misogyny.

Second, when men do attend public colleges / universities, are they being taught that masculinity is toxic and bad? Are they taught that they are oppressors and abusers and that their perspectives on a range of issues don’t matter or should be silenced? If so, I could understand why they wouldn’t want to stick around.

Third, I’d be curious to understand if this issue is more predominant in certain majors or fields of study.