Calling on the guys...

Luca
3 Comments »


Sorry ladies, this one is for the guys.

A lot has changed since the time that we were considering what it means to be a man.
Many of us embarked on that journey alone. You can probably see the lack of male leadership within society today, but you are most likely more acquainted with the prevalent attack upon masculinity within both our society and our churches. Wherever you are in the battle, you know from waging your own war that boys are being attacked from every angle today. For most teenage guys (I hate the term teenage or adolescent) they are caught off guard and are naive because they do not have someone like Solomon warning them. Instead, everywhere they turn they see images that the world tells them are masculine, they see the broken lives of their own father's pursuite of those things, and they hear the siren's call that leads to death at a very young age. As you may also know, the Creator of masculinity has a lot to say on the topic of being a man and how one is to keep his way blameless. So, there in lies the dilemma--how to strategically teach and train this generation of boys on how to be a biblical men. In the time of their lives when boys are transitioning to physical men, they need to identify and feel a call to true-biblical manhood from their peers, teachers, coaches and most importantly, their dads.

For the past several years I have been developing an inductive curriculum for ages 11-20ish guys in my discipleship group. Through partnering with the dads, the Lord has developed a healthy environment for both the guys and their dads to discover what God says about being a man who radically influences his culture by living out the truth of God’s word. Through discipleship and mentorship, boys2MEN gives the opportunity for dads or father figures/mentors in their lives to initiate and equip their sons for the war of biblical manhood that exists today. To bottom line it for you, they are learning what God says about being a man for themselves.

This is where you come in...
I have tested/piloted the study several times with guys and their dads. All of the guys though are currently in the trenches. As you think back to your growth as a man, what do you wish that someone had shared with you concerning this topic?

Your insight is greatly valued.

3 comments:

Stephen Hinkle said...

my dad didn't parent me perfectly, but he certainly didn't do a bad job, either. this is a topic that i've thought about a lot and have some good memories of... my dad invested in time with me, he took me out to breakfast, took me to the gym, verbally affirmed me as a man, identified gifts and calling from God in my life, disciplined me, discipled me in God's Word. as i look back, i also see that there were so many things that i resisted. when my dad initiated, i selfishly said no. i often kick myself and wish i could go back and change those choices.

so, for a lot of things, if i was lacking, it wasn't because my dad didn't provide them, it was because i rejected them. but there are some things that were lacking... financial responsibility (earning/saving/spending), also being made to do something hard. most everything has come easy for me and if it didn't come easy i didn't like it. i wish i was pushed to do hard things (yes, like the book). e.g. basketball. i remember the first basketball camp i went to the summer after 5th grade. my dad didn't really play sports with me, so handling the ball didn't come naturally and so after one week i decided that i wouldn't try it anymore. plus, the whole shirts vs. skins thing about freaked me out at that age. i was terrified that i would have to be one of the skins! haha!

now that my wife and i will be first-time parents in april, i've been thinking a lot about being a dad. i've decided i don't want to be the kind of dad that is bound and determined to fix everything that was wrong with my own childhood. i know dads like that and they're freakin' annoying! whether i have a son or a daughter, i want my wife and i to love and nurture this baby in the way of the Lord, being honest and broken even before him/her so that he/she will learn quickly about sin, and grace, and the gospel.

sorry, i'm not sure i completely stayed on track. these are early morning musings...

October 27, 2008 at 4:29 AM
Charlie Pratt said...

Getting a hold of one's manhood (stop snickering) is an elusive quest. Like squeezing a drop of mercury, it tends to move just when you want it to remain in place.

There are many different and oddly-shaped doors by which a fellow can find himself - it's rarely the one that you think. I think in terms of a Biblical sense of manhood, what is the mandate? Other than the picture of Jesus Christ (thanks, God), manhood is a dicey proposition at best. All of our heroes have some tragic flaw or recurring weakness, something in them to not emulate, as well as many things to emulate. So, we all seem to be in the same camp. This is an important distinction to teach, as it will prevent young men from thinking they are superior to another.

But simple emulation cannot be the thing we teach, for emulation rarely leads to truth. It leads to opaque, truth-scented masks, and the fewer of those we have at our disposal, the truer men we'll be.

Osmosis plays an important role, but even among good men, a fellow can become rotten.

I'd say start with truth. Then help shepherd that into honesty. Kindness. Peace. Self-control.

You know the rest.

Oh yeah, and the most precious commodity in the all of man-dom (and the one most seldom practiced):

Action.

October 27, 2008 at 6:57 AM
Luca said...

Great posts guys. Wish I would have gotten more on this one. If you know anyone else... send it there way.

December 30, 2008 at 3:10 PM

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