I finally "went commercial" and set up an Amazon store.
Really, I'm setting it up not because I want/expect revenue from it, but because I thought it would be a nice place to have an easy-to-navigate list of books & movies that have been meaningful to me in my journey through manhood and fatherhood.
If I make $1 off of it I will be surprised! If it helps one person find the right resource, I will be satisfied!
Good to see other fellowships running the same 6-week RMDK series we are running at Colonial:
New Life Band of Brothers
This website looks to be a Texas-based ministry formed by men looking to create a sense of Fraternity focused on the Word of God:
FELLOWSHIP OF THE SWORD is a fellowship formed around the Word of God that is a God-centered ministry to men and women and ultimately their families. When and only when we focus our gaze on Father and seek His heart and His desire will we see Him work in earth-changing ways.
FELLOWSHIP OF THE SWORD is committed to being a world-impacting force in the lives of men and women. Our vision – our very destiny – is found in unlocking the passionate heart placed in everyone from the beginning of time.
While most of the resources I share on this blog are oriented towards fathers becoming strategic in raising their own children, my heart is also burdened for the fatherless.
For a few years I participated in sharing a weekly Bible study at a Wake County Juvenile Detention Center which really made me appreciate what a struggle life is for young boys without a strong male role model.
Here's a ministry that is doing something about it. From the website:
Every Sunday morning, our churches are full of moms who are praying for a godly man to take an interest in their sons, to mentor them; they need help. Even more importantly, those boys need help. In the absence of a father, they need Christian men in their lives to guide them on their journey to manhood
Men lay the foundation for boys in their journey to manhood, helping them discover who they are. More importantly, as Christian men, they show them that God has a plan for their lives. EVERY MAN IS A MENTOR!
The heart of this ministry is to SAVE THE BOYS by encouraging, challenging, and equipping men to make a difference, to be a godly influence in the lives of their sons and the many fatherless boys in their churches and neighborhoods. Absentee fathers have created a huge new mission field -- Fatherless Boys -- and we need men to help those boys become men of character and integrity, men of faith.
It is really exciting to see the "next generation" of authors beginning to write about being strategic in raising sons & daughters with a core of moral substance.
While I will always go back to the founding fathers of this genre (Robert Lewis, Steve Farrar, Stu Weber), it is nice to hear new voices too.
While I haven't yet read his books, Rick Johnson looks very promising as one of those new voices. From his website:
I believe families, communities, and our society can grow stronger when parents begin to realize the unique power and influence we have in the lives of our sons and daughters. This goal is reflected both in the books I've written and through Better Dads, a fathering skills ministry that now equips both men and women to become better parents, spouses, and leaders.
I'm finally getting around to journaling my youngest son's first ceremony.
The weakest link in the chain of these "rights of passage" I've been doing with my boys is the capturing on paper(or computer) of what we did, how it went, and most importantly the feelings
and impact it made on us.
My hope is that writing it up will encourage and inspire other dads as well as be a lasting keepsake for my boys...something that will be a legacy they can share with their kids someday.
Robert Lewis makes this point by using the Legacy Album. Another approach I've seen is Letters from Dad.
If/when I finish journalling, I'll post it here.
In the meantime, here is a picture of my youngest son after the ceremony holding the rock he received as an object lesson as well as a filled in Manhood Ceremony Plan that reflects what we actually did:
Focus on the Family recently had Robert Lewis (author of Raising a Modern Day Knight) on the program.
Check it out:
As I've mentioned, my oldest son has a ceremony coming up. It is scheduled for this weekend. Using the sword as the metaphor, here are the principles I'll be imparting for this "stage":
A True Man has a Purpose. He has:
I've heard of Gordon Dalbey but have never read any of his books.
From the looks of his website, he is yet another voice in the modern men's movement: stressing the importance of healing our "father wound", pointing us to Jesus as the definition of manhood, and providing resources to teach and encourage as we become the men God wants us to be.
I definitely like the tagline for his ministry: "a real man is a man who's real".
I'll try to squeeze in some time to read one of his books. In the meantime check out the website:
