Men's Fraternity

The Men's Fraternity website has tons of info on the various group study materials they provide including info on the Raising a Modern Day Knight video series. If you are looking for a good study to go through as part of a men's ministry, you are sure to find something here.

Caleb's Prayer Certificate

I am always looking for people's stories of Christian rites-of-passages. Here's an example of a recent men's ministry manhood ceremony. Attached is the actual image of the certificate.

We recently completed The Great Adventure (DVD series from Men's Fraternity). We wanted to offer an no-cost/low-cost keepsake for the men.

Consequently we printed Caleb's Prayer onto a parchment certificate with a large image of a vertical sword penetrating an open Bible. It was quite nice and very suitable for framing.

At the very end of lesson 20, Robert says "...let us pray." At that moment we had predesignated individuals pass out theses certificates, each was rolled and tied with a ribbon (like a diploma). We also had the words to the prayer on two final slides. We all then stood and recited Caleb's Prayer as our closing. Our men really enjoyed this material and closing.

Rick Tolis
Man to Man Men's Ministry Coordinator
Christ Community Church
Tucson, AZ

CalebsPrayer72.jpg

Covenant Games

Our family is into games of all types: card games, board games, word games, etc, etc. Far from just limiting games to a "Family Game Night", we find playing games to be a great way to spend time together, to learn, and to have fun at any time.

Sometimes it can be a little hard to find the right games that work for everyone in the family, that's why this website may come in handy. Their stated mission is:

to promote and distribute Bible based and Family Friendly Games for the purpose of giving kids and parents a source of games that are Christian Friendly and to increase awareness that games can be fun, challenging, and safe all at the same time.

I have not ordered from them yet, but will next time we want something that we can't get our hands on locally.

Check them out at:

http://www.covenantgames.com/index.htm

Men of Legacy

I'm always keeping an eye out for other blogs or websites that have similar visions/missions as Warrior's Hand. Here's one that looks very interesting that has been around since 2006.

A quick scan of recent posts makes it seem like there is a strong focus on Hillcrest Church in Dallas, TX but several posts have applicability to all Christian men.

From the blog:

The mission of "Men of Legacy" is to provide men with real tools that teach them how to live lives of authentic manhood as modeled by Jesus Christ and directed by the Word of God.

Check it out:

Men of Legacy

Masculinity vs. Maturity

I like this little article from the Thinklings blog (seven Christian guys sharing a common sounding board) concerning the difference between masculinity and maturity which sometimes get confused. From the article:

Suggestion #1: Church leaders concerned about the state of manhood in the church: please ditch the “all church guys are chicks” talk. It’s not true. I mean, it sounds good, it sells books, it spices up sermons when you describe the alleged wussification of men in our society ... the men in our churches that are part of the problem are not wusses, they just aren’t men. They are boys. The problem is a lack of maturity, not a lack of masculinity.

Check out the full article here: http://thinklings.org/?post_id=3332

Say Goodbye to Whining...

Look this book up on Amazon and you will be overcome by the hype! The reality is that the book has a great perspective and several good pointers for restoring honor to your household....but don't expect an "out-of-the-box system" that will fix all the problems you are facing.

I enjoyed the book and was able to extract many ideas and tips that I could use in my family. Also included are a few family time activities. However, if you are looking to this book to present an easy, fail-proof system you will be disappointed. I am learning over time that nothing replaces the hard work of parenting your kids with consistent, loving correction.

Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes in You and Your Kids
Author:	Scott Turansky, Joanne Miller
Publisher:	WaterBrook Press
ISBN:	0877883548
Genre:	Religion & Spirituality/Christianity
Recommended:	Yes
Score:	7 out of 10

Dad the Family Shepherd

According to their site, Dad the Family Shepherd has been in existence for over 20 years to inspire and train dads to live out their fathering responsibilities. The ministry seeks to support the local church by motivating and equipping men to live the Biblical values of fathering.

Conferences have been held in every state and 11 foreign countries. Over 100,000 men have attended these events. Small group resources help men to maintain accountability at a grass roots level. Events are presented live and through video tape.

Check it out at:

http://www.dtfs.org/

Father/Son Quest

This father/son retreat website captures the essence of what Warrior's Hand Ministry is all about...believing there is unique power in marking key milestones and making lifetime memories to help our boys in their journey to manhood.

Designed for fathers with sons 12 years of age and older, this getaway encourages the deepening of relationships between a father and son in a rustic north woods Minnesota setting. It’s a special three-day weekend of godly fellowship and character-building activities in a personalized, one-on-one discipleship mode.

Find out more at:

http://www.fathersonquest.com/

Follow Me Boys

Finding wholesome entertainment that everyone in our family will enjoy is hard. I have to admit we are getting a little tired of all the over-the-top CGI animal movies with "witty" banter and slap stick humor. So, we have gone back to some of the many live action Disney films that I remember from my childhood.

One of the more obscure and least "sugary" is Follow Me Boys!, a drama/comedy that has leading man Fred MacMurray as an honorable, wise, knowing figure, who as a scout leader is very much a role model to the boys in a small town.

We all loved this movie so much we bought the DVD and take it out every few months.

One of the biggest side benefits is the great hiking/marching song that the scouts sing throughout the movie. We have used it on many a family hike. I have attached a link to the lyrics.

http://conklins.googlepages.com/followmeboys.txt

A Grieving Father Speaks

The tragedy at Virginia Tech made me recall the stirring words of the father of one of the Columbine high school shooting victims from 1999. I believe it is apropos.

Spiritual influences were present within our educational systems for most of our nation's history. Many of our major colleges began as theological seminaries. This is a historic fact.

What has happened to us as a nation? We have refused to honor God and in doing so, we open the doors to hatred and violence.

Full text is here:

http://www.crossroad.to/Victory/testimonies/darrell-scott.htm

And here is an opinion article on how such a thing can happen:

http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/teen-rage.htm