Mentoring Our Boys –

The Road to Hell …

It’s been said, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” With the busyness arranged for us by Satan (or that we’ve brought on to ourselves), the deceiver knows we’ll probably keep those good intentions right where they are. And he’s just fine with that. If we intend to mentor our sons in biblical manhood, but are too busy and distracted to move forward with a deliberate plan, Satan is pleased.

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How to Stay Committed

The most effective way to stay committed is within a group program and the most effective group format for Christ-centered manhood training is one that is dedicated just for that purpose. Building such a program from ground up is a significant commitment, but there are those of you prepared to take on such a commitment. I’ll cover a detailed plan for this later, but first consider this:

Why build a program from scratch when there are many programs already in existence? They may be lacking in the manhood training element, but building a new program from ground up may not be necessary. A few good men willing to offer short Christ-centered manhood lessons could make a huge difference with these existing programs.

Support Other Programs

So you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Maybe you’re already involved with youth Sunday School or Youth Group. Maybe your son is in the Boys Scouts and you’re a registered leader. Maybe you coach a team sport and have the leeway to offer Christian truths to your team. The only element missing in these existing programs may be a focus on Christian biblical manhood.

Church youth groups are usually co-ed, so they tend to fall short of defining manhood and of offering a masculine set of ideals. The Boy Scout program is not a Christian organization and falls short in the emphasis of God’s design for family. But Boy Scout leaders are permitted to bring their religion into the program. Athletic programs teach teamwork and leadership, but lean too heavy on competitiveness, self-glory and money. Your initiative and vision can supplement these existing athletic programs.

Step forward with your plan. Motivate the leaders with the issues I’m sharing on this blog and in Squires to Knights - issues such as the rite of passage, culture’s influences, role modeling and mentoring. Offer a biblical perspective for the mentorship of the boys - a perspective that reveals the shortfalls of today’s programs and even many of today’s families.

These current programs are compatible with our vision for tomorrow’s knights.

Sunday School/Youth Group Leader

You could offer some boys-only classes to the church Sunday School or Youth Group. These classes could be offered during the existing time slots or added as Sunday afternoon activities. They could be weekly or monthly. You could offer six-week semester classes just for the guys. (Look for Sunday School/Youth Group curriculums in the future at www.s2kyouthgroups.com.)

Boy Scout Chaplain

You could become the Boy Scout Troop Chaplain and offer a Chaplain’s Minute after each troop meeting (plan on 5 to 10 minutes), expanding from the Scout Oath and Law with the Bible’s teaching on manhood. Better yet, the entire Scoutmaster Corp could trade off leading these devotions, thereby reenforcing the common vision of all the adult leaders. Encourage the boys to earn the Boy Scout religious award, God and Country, and offer the necessary counseling for the award. As a Troop Chaplain, you could mentor a youth Chaplain’s Aid, guiding his leadership training with this teaching plan. (For resources see www.boyscoutchaplain.com)

Athletic Team Chaplain

Even athletic teams can utilize a team chaplain and offer routine lessons and discussions for our purpose. (For resources see www.boysyouthsports.com) Jeffrey Marx shares in his book, Season of Life, the story of ex-NFL football player Joe Ehrmann. The story focuses on Joe’s biblical manhood mentorship to a youth football team. In the book, Mr. Marx quotes Joe in a remark about our society: “We simply don’t do a good enough job of teaching boys how to be men.” A team chaplain could teach a short devotional at each practice, focusing on - you guessed it, Christ-centered manhood. View clip from HBO Real Sports

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Posted on December 24th, 2007 by Jeff Purkiss
Filed under: Fathering/Mentoring, Guy Kinda Fun