Heading Off the Sweetest Boy . . .

“At the same time, because of sentimentalism and pietism, the definitions of piety have become increasingly feminized. The definition of what constitutes devout piety has drifted into feminine territory, and ministers have labored to keep up with the shifting expectations. The sweetest and gentlest boy in the church is the one who is told repeatedly while growing up that he really ought to consider seminary. The boy who garnered seventeen black eyes and three broken arms while growing up is never told that by anybody” (Why Ministers Must Be Men, p. 42).