missed a session?

AHHHH....So far behind. I apologize for being, oh let's see, six sessions behind on my posts. I did however want to give you a great resource for making up any session you might have missed during the course of this journey. If you click on this link: MEN'S FRATERNITY.....it will direct you to a page where for only $3.00 you can purchase five viewings of any session you may have missed.

And sorry to disappoint, but the speaker (Robert Lewis) is of much higher quality and knowledge than the guy on Thursday mornings.

The link page will prompt you as to how to purchase view ect. Hope this helps.

facing the father wound

As we take our next step in this journey we come face to face with the Fatherhood wound. And by facing it head on we will be doing something very SIGNIFICANT. We are going to face it PROACTIVELY from two different standpoints and in doing so we have to address two very important questions:

As Fathers
1. How can I avoid inflicting a wound like we’ve been talking about on my sons?
2. How can I make up for the wound that I’ve already inflicted on my sons?

As Sons
1. How do I speak to the wound in my own life from my dad?
2. How do I get healing from that wound?

So as we take a bold step directly into this wound we must take it as Fathers and as Son’s.

When looking at scripture the level of importance placed on the relationship between Father and child is eternal. In the last verse of the last chapter of the last book of the Old Testament we find a profound prophecy that is not going to be fulfilled for another 400 years in the nation of Israel. It’s a prophecy concerning a renewal of spirituality brought on first by the coming of John the Baptist and then Jesus himself.

The chapter speaks of how John the Baptist will come and he will begin to stir the hearts of the people of Israel and a revival will break forth. And as we look at the last verse, of the last chapter of the last book of the Old Testament it speaks to that revival, and then the Old Testament closes. And here is how that last verse says you’ll know revival is in the land:

Malachi 4:6. “And he (that is, John the Baptist) will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children. And the hearts of the children to their fathers.”

That’s how you’ll know there’s revival in the land. There’ll be reconciliation between children and their dads. Now that is eternal significance and it holds true for you and me today.

HOW TO DEAL WITH THE FATHER WOUND
So how do we deal with the Father Wound? I’m going to give you 8 Proactive Remedies. Three of them are going to be for dads with their sons, and five of them are going to be for sons with their dads. Here’s the first one.

AS A FATHER
1. If you’re a dad, make sure your son has THE ESSENTIALS
It is critical that we as dad’s make sure that when the time comes for our son’s to leave home he has the ESSENTIALS that will ground him and add weight to his life.

The 3 things you need to make sure he hears are these:
a. I love you – That’s Affirmation: he needs to have that kind of affection from you. Not just the physical touch, but he needs to hear from you, dads, specifically – from your mouth: ‘I love you.’

b. ‘I’m proud of you – That’s Admiration: He needs admiration. He needs to know that he stands tall in your eyes.

c. He’s good – That’s Affirmation: you need to say, ‘Son, you’re good! I noticed you. And what I’m noticing in you are your strengths and I can name those strengths.

As dad’s it often easy to take for granted our son’s strengths and bring to light his weaknesses and to name those weaknesses. He needs us to name his strengths. To build him up and hold him high.

PUBLIC ADMIRATION FOR YOUR SON
And let me say this dad’s….There is so much power in naming your son’s strengths and admiring your son’s strengths in public. In front of other men and people he respects. You want to talk about something that will fill your son’s tank up, the next time you are in an appropriate setting with your son, share out loud your admiration for son’s strengths and then watch him fly.

THREE THINGS YOUR SON MUST HAVE
a. A manhood vision – and - A Manhood Ceremony to seal it
In the second half of this journey we will really dig into what that Manhood vision is and defining it for ourselves so that we can then pass that on to our son’s.
Next a son needs a manhood ceremony that seals his Manhood. Every son doesn’t just need to be told he’s a man, he needs to have an experience with dad and hopefully a community of other men where he is invited into the community of manhood. He knows: “ON THIS DAY I became a man, and the community recognized me for that.” That’s a ceremony and we’ll talk about how to do those ceremonies in the second half of this QUEST.

b. A Code of Conduct to live by - Primarily what you live by
He needs to see in us honesty, hard work, keeping our word, loyalty, purity and chivalry. We as a dad’s need to think about ‘what are my codes of conduct – what’s the moral code of my home that I am going to exhibit – that I want to be sure my son has?’ The only way he’ll have them is if we live by them and we can name them.

c. He needs a transcendent cause - Something to live for other than himself
We are the ones who helps instill in him that larger vision. See, so often a son growing up can become the whole focus of a our life. He can become self-centered, but one of the things we need to deposit in his life is, ‘Son, life is not just about you, there’s something much bigger than you in this world.’ To me it’s a spiritual cause and he needs to be introduced to that spiritual cause by us as a dad.

B. If you’re a dad it’s never too late to CLOSE THE GAP with your son, no matter how old he is.
There are some of you out there, that as we have broken into these issues of manhood wounds and the father wound your thoughts have gone to your son and perhaps the missed opportunities or hurt that has been caused. Perhaps your son is gone and you have this guilt that is hanging over you. If you are a dad and you have been feeling that way, LET ME TAKE THAT BURDEN FROM YOU. So you made some mistakes and perhaps messed up…But here is the blessing: IT IS NEVER, EVER TOO LATE TO CLOSE THE GAP WITH YOUR SON, NO MATTER HOW OLD HE IS. But it is up to you to make the call and begin the process of closing that gap.

C. If you’re a single dad – or if you’re a dad separated from your son by divorce – or if you’re a dad who has inherited a son through remarriage and you have a blended family – here’s my word for you. Seek help and a sound strategy.
And here is why: Because in many ways you, as a father, are in ‘uncharted waters.’
Even with the epidemic levels of divorce and blended families today, this area is still for most men UNCHARTED WATERS. And people are trying desperately to navigate those waters and unfortunately there are a lot more myths out there than facts.

So what do you do in those circumstances? Here are a three things I would recommend to you:
1. Read, read, read!
That’s the first principle. There are some great books out there like: “Raising Children in Blended Families” by Maxine Marsolini. If you are one of those Dad’s I mentioned it is absolutely critical that you find a book to read and develop a sound strategy just like you are doing being a part of this journey.
2. Find a Professional
Even after you have read you still may feel uncomfortable. If that is the case then you need to seek out a professional that can assist you in developing a strategy to over come some of the obstacles you are facing in your specific circumstances. If it cost you $100, $150 bucks to spend an hour with a professional, it will be worth it.
3. Develop a sound strategy
You know the Scripture says in Proverbs: ‘In a multitude of counselors there is victory’. You can get a number of those counselors through books and you can get some of them by just simply making an appointment.

AS A SON
D. If you’re a son, wounded by dad, choose to touch this wound RESPONSIBLY
You really have two choices:
1. You can choose to forgive your dad
Look at what Hebrews 12: 9-10 says. He’s comparing God as our Father with our earthly fathers in this particular text and he says:

“Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us; for they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them. But He [that is, God] disciplines us for our good…”

See that part in the middle: AS SEEMED BEST TO THEM. My thought is this: for the vast majority of us, our Dad’s did the best they new how to do, WHAT SEEMED BEST TO THEM. And minus a very small percentage of dad’s, my guess is that most of our dad’s never intended to hurt us. And that if given the opportunity would love to be more connected with us.

2. By choosing to believe in GOD’S JUSTICE
Now for that small percentage of dad’s that for whatever the reason in the face of family, chose to be evil. If that’s you, then you have another choice – and it’s more than just forgiving your dad, it’s also releasing your dad to God’s ultimate justice. Here’s what scripture says in Romans 12:19 says:

“Never take your own revenge, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘vengeance is Mine and I will repay.”

E. If you’re a son wounded by dad, Courageously Seek Reconciliation with your father.
Here is the deal with this principle: If you as a son suffer from a separation with dad, most likely, DAD IS NOT GOING TO COME TO YOU. And so here it is! For some of you, here is your first opportunity to really STEP UP INTO MANHOOD by going to dad and STEPPING DIRECTLY into this MANHOOD WOUND. But if we want reconciliation, if we are going to embrace this issue of AUTHENTIC MANHOOD, it is something we must do. And what’s amazing is when you do go to dad; you will begin to feel something change in you. And you will begin to feel that breech in your relationship heal.

F. If you’re a son wounded by dad, risk asking for your FATHER’S LOVE.
You know, there are probably many of you that have never the heard the words “I love you” from your father. And that is significant because each and everyone of desires and needs to hear that from our Dad’s. So if you want to hear it, then it’s time to put on the chin strap and go ask him.

G. If you’re a son wounded by dad, risk asking for your FATHER’S BLESSING.
Maybe some of you never got that verbal affirmation from our father, that blessing that said: “Son I am proud of you, I am proud of where you are in your life and where you are going and the way you are doing it” and so there has always been this vacuum inside, that questions how your dad really feels about you and if he is proud of you.

And you know, every man longs to have his fathers blessing. But if you haven’t, then maybe what you need to do is get up and go ask for it. THAT’S REAL MANHOOD.

H. If you’re a son wounded by dad, you can RECLAIM the relationship you missed as a son by becoming a GREAT DAD to your children.
The cycle has to stop with us. We have to make the conscious and intentional decision to ask for help, read books, and step up into AUTHENTIC MANHOOD for our children and our families.

It’s so much more than just being present. It’s connecting with them on a spiritual level. Investing in their lives so that they can take what we have we have given them and multiply it over generations. That is SIGNIFICANT.

And so as we look back at this Fatherhood Wound, we have to decide whether we are going to continue to compensate for it, continue to hide and hope we don’t feel, and hope it doesn’t inflict pain on our families, and continue to hide in BOYHOOD. Or we can strap it on, step out and face this wound HEAD ON and in doing so step directly into MANHOOD. It’s your choice. But let me say, IT IS SO VERY WERTH IT……For generations to come. You can do it. I know you can. And that is how we walk into the FATHERHOOD WOUND.

remembering dad

Ah, remembering dad. For most of us dad is what we like to call emotional whitewater. It truly is amazing the immense emotion that is wrapped up in a father son relationship.

See, every single one of us whether being a father ourselves or in remembering dad, there is this intense, undeserving admiration that takes place between son and father. There’s just this natural instinct for a son to worship his dad. And although undeserved, it exists. And here is why:

Proverbs 17:6 “The glory of sons is their dads.”

So dad can build on that advantage, that admiration, or he can squander it. But sons want desperately to be like dad. And they are watching us. And if that admiration is embraced and nurtured by dad then the son get’s to go out into life steadied and HIS LIFE IS BLESSED BY DAD. But if that admiration is squandered, then the son looses that advantage and will eventually come to realize that he has not been blessed, and that wound begins to rise up and he begins to hurt.

The unfortunate reality is that we are facing an epidemic in this country of fatherless homes and as a result boys are being inflicted with this wound on a daily bases. And the sad truth is that when DAD is missing in a son’s life, most times a son will not have the strength and stability to stand in life. And so as a result he sinks. He tends to drift in life and is incapable of living the kind of MANHOOD he was meant to live under the umbrella of that a healthy relationship with DAD. David Blankenhorn, in his book Fatherless America, said it this way:

“As a father, the good family man is not perfect, but he is good enough to be irreplaceable. He is a father on the premises. His children need him and he strives to give them what they need every day. He knows that nothing can substitute for him – nothing. Either he is a father, or his children are fatherless. He would never consider himself ‘not that important."

Son’s desperately need DAD to be a part of their lives.

DEFINING THE ABSENT FAHER WOUND

In session four we defined a WOUND and talked briefly about the MANHOOD wounds that we find in our suitcase or our lives. But as we REMEMBER DAD it is important that we clearly define what the Absent Father Wound is that may inflict us. The Absent Father Wound is defined as:

An ongoing emotional, social or spiritual DEFICIT that’s ordinarily met in a HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP with dad that now must be overcome by OTHER MEANS.

An emotional deficit = No a heart connection with Dad

A social deficit = No companionship with dad.

A spiritual deficit = No substantive connection or direction from dad.

MEMORIES

I have had the privilege of spending many hours just reliving memories that men have shared with me about their fathers. Many of them were great memories of fishing and hunting, camping, sports, and just spending time together.
A TRIBUTE

If you find yourself in this camp of great memories with dad, let me encourage you to write your father a tribute. Take the time to re-count the many great memories you are so grateful to your father for placing in your life. And then take that tribute, that letter, and frame it and present it to him. He deserves it and so do you.

BAD MEMORIES
On the other hand for some of us we find ourselves on the other side, the side of the ABSENT FATHER and the pain and frustration that goes with that. And so we recall the things that we missed, and wanted to receive, but never did.
THE EFFECTS OF THE ABSENT FATHER WOUND
If you look back at your life and what you discover is a wound, then we need to talk about the effects of the Absent Father Wound. So I want to give you four things we see in men that indicate they have the wound.

1. Anger and pain
Boys that grew up to be men without dad feel anger and they’re not sure why. They feel pain. But you know, the Bible speaks clearly to that? It shows the connection between a man’s anger and his dad. Two verses in particular point this out.

The first is:

Ephesians 6:4. It says to dads: “And dads, do not provoke your children to anger, (Isn’t that interesting?) but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

The second is:

Colossians 3:21. It says: “Fathers, do not exasperate your children that they may lose heart.”

So when a boy has been wounded by dad he loses heart with life. He doesn’t feel like he is any good and he doesn’t feel like he is going anywhere. And so he turns in on himself and that makes him mad.

James Toney, who was once the International Federation middleweight boxing champ, was pictured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. They were asking him why he was such a tenacious boxer. I want you to listen to his words:

"I fight with anger. My dad – he did my mom wrong. He made my mom work two jobs, and he left his responsibilities behind, and I can never forgive that. I hope my father reads this article because if he ever decides to come out of the woodwork, I’ll be ready for him. Everything I do in the ring is about that. I look at my opponent and I see my dad, so I have to take him out. I’ll do anything I have to do to get my dad out of there.”

2. Extreme behaviors, specifically addictions or obsessions
And where anger is one way a son expresses the pain that has been inflicted, addictions are a way he suppresses the pain. So he takes the pain of that hole in his heart that has been left as a result of not having our fathers in our lives and he numbs the pain with things like DRUGS, ALCHOHAL, SEXUAL ADDICTION, and PORNOGROPHY. Because they are all a way for us as men to numb the pain that we do not understand.
And that’s why this issue of looking back is so very important, because it gives us the keys to unlocking the past that haunts us and drives us into the addictive and obsessive behaviors to numb a pain that we do not understand.

3. An inner sense of lostness – or incompleteness
So maybe you have not gone to the extremes of addictions or compulsive behaviors, but still you have this inner feeling of being lost, directionless, or just plain empty. Like there is just this piece missing inside that you just can’t get our hands around. It is a symptom of the Absent Father wound.

4. Homosexuality
Look closely at the words of Dr. Elizabeth Moberly of Oxford University. In her study on homosexuality she concluded that homosexuality, for the most part, in her words:

“Is a fracture of the relationship with the parent of the same sex. Homosexuality then becomes at an adult level a vain, eroticized attempt to recover from that fracture.” “Much, if not all, of homosexuality, depends on difficulties in the parent-child relationship, especially in the early years of life. The homosexual, whether a man or a woman, has suffered from some deficit in the relationship with the parent of the same sex, and later there is a corresponding drive to make good that deficit through the medium of same-sex, homosexual relationships as an adult.”

And so that wound left by the ABSENT FATHER creates this fissure -- this psychic fissure – or CRACK that a man wants to recover from as a result of the Absent Father Wound.

WHAT EVERY SON WANTS/NEEDS
So what is it that every son wants and needs from his father? Let me give you five things I think that every son wants and needs from his dad:

1. Time Together
You know the old adage: “It’s quality not quantity” it’s garbage. It’s a lie, unless you are talking about “QUALITY QUANTIY TIME”. Sons want dad’s time – they want those experiences and memories. Because it’s those positive experiences and memories that will give weight to his life. That will steady his soul.

2. LIFE SKILLS
Listen to what it says in Proverbs 22:6:

“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

He won’t depart from it because it will make sense:
o He’ll know how to write out a check and keep up with his account.
o He’ll know what to do when he and his date walk up to the door.
o He’ll know how to share his heart.
o He won’t feel like a fool in life, because you’ve trained him up in the way he should go.

That verse also speaks to the issue of being sensitive to your child’s bent or gift. It’s important that we pay attention to what our child’s strengths are, what their bent is, and help craft a path that will maximize that gift. If our child has a gift with art we can’t try and force him or her to be an athlete. We need to honor their gifts and empower them to maximize them.

3. Dad’s direction with solid ‘why’ answers
What a son needs from dad is a philosophy about what life is all about. Deuteronomy chapter six encourages dads to do this with their sons:

“And these words which I am commanding [God is saying I am commanding] you today. You take these words and they shall be on your heart [Dad] and you shall teach them to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by they way, and when you lie down and when you rise up.”

This scripture is right at the heart of what we talked about a few weeks ago when we said PASS THE GREAT STUFF ON TO YOUR SON. Going to his events, attending his games, and being involved in his life is all very good stuff. But what this is saying is TEACH HIM THE GREAT STUFF. Stuff like:

o what is life about?
o What does it mean to be a man?
o What does it mean to be a man with a woman?
o What happens to you when you die?’

That’s the kind of things dads need to be talking to their sons about when they lie down and when they rise up, and when they walk through the day.

4. Dad’s convictions through modeling

WRITE THIS DOWN:
We will leave in our son what we have lived out in our home
It’s not just what you say; it’s what you do. It’s the way you react and the son sees that and that builds conviction – a certain security about life.
Look at the way Paul says it in 1st Thessalonians as he uses an example of fathering to talk about spiritual fathering:

You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved towards you believers.

That is, ‘you saw our convictions.’ Just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children.
You see what a father IMPLORES and EXHORTS his own children with is his CONVICTIONS. And when a child sees those convictions and hears those words, it makes sense. And when you take your convictions and your modeling and your words together and you begin living what you are saying, we call that INTEGRITY INTEGRATION. And that’s what every child needs because it is easy to follow.

5. But most of all, what every son needs is his Dad’s heart.
Every son needs to be loved by dad and affirmed by dad and blessed by dad. In fact, if you’re a dad there are three things you’d better be sure your son leaves home with. He needs to hear from you:

(a) I love you,
(b) I’m proud of you,
(c) And you’re good at [something}

We get to see an incredible example of this scripture throught he life of Jesus. Yes that’s right Jesus. Because as a man His needs were not different that yours and mine. So at a critical time in Christs life in Mathew 17:5 we see the heavens open and the words of His father proclaim:

“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased. Listen to Him. "

Do you see it:
o “This is My beloved Son.” - ‘Son, I love You!’ Here it is, a critical moment in Jesus’ ministry and heaven opened up and the Father said, “I love You.”
o ‘in whom I am well-pleased’ “I’m proud of You!”
o And then He tells the disciples around Jesus, “Listen to Him!” (because He’s really good!)

I want you to know every son needs that kind of a blessing from dad. If a son doesn’t get time with his dad, or some life skills or some direction, some convictions or some heart, then it leaves this huge vacuum and void and wound in his life.

unpacking the past

For most of us, the past is riddled with both good and bad memories. With noble moments and not so noble moments. And yet in those memories leys the answers to who we are and why we do the things we do.

Each and everyone of us carries a suitcase on our journey through manhood. How we unpack that suitcase and deal with the UNFINISHED BUSINESS of the past will determine the type of man we will become.

ADDRESSING THE UNFINISHED BUSINESS OF OUR PAST

When talking about ADDRESSING UNFINISHED BUSINESS we are not talking about blaming the past for who we are today. It’s much bigger and important than that. What we are talking about is really getting in touch with our past and understanding it so that I can be the man I need to be. And I can then change the things I need to change. And the POWER is that we are able to alter our focus and begin stabilizing our stance so that we can start moving forward in an empowered way.

THE WOUNDS OF A MAN’S SOUL

The unfinished business of a man’s life are wounds that have been inflicted on him in his past. We define a wound as:

Any UNRESOLVED ISSUE where a lack of closure adversely impacts and shapes the DIRECTION and DYNAMICS of a man’s life now.

THE FIVE MANHOOD WOUNDS

1. The ABSENT FATHER Wound
Now when we say “absent father” we mean either a dad who wasn’t there altogether, or a dad who was there, but he wasn’t there.
And when dad is not there, it leaves a huge gaping wound in our lives. Sadly a lot of young men have never, ever finished this business with dad. It’s so easy in the midst of that wound to either get angry and close the lid on our feelings or pretend that it’s just going to go away. But we have to know, it doesn’t “just go away” until we deal with it in an appropriate way. Then we can put it to rest and can go on to live an authentic manhood life. That’s what we mean when we talk about this Father Wound. It is so important.

2. Overly-BONDED with MOTHER Wound

The Overly-Bonded with Mother wound often occurs when we were growing up, and mom – for whatever reason – invested too strongly in us. She didn’t mean to hurt us; that was not her intention. Many times she rushed in because she was trying to compensate for the dad that wasn’t there. Or maybe he was there, and not involved – but she got over-involved and she overly nurtured us, and overly controlled us, and she touched our world too much. She bonded with us too deeply and she took care of us too often.

And the result is a man who goes out into the world wounded by being OVERLY-BNDED with MOM and often has one of two reactions:

1. He resented that control and fought with that control, and didn’t like that control and so he goes out with an image of ‘I’m not going to be controlled by anyone, particularly women’! So he always has a difficult time with women, because he either has to dominate them, or he’s scared of them, because he sees the shadow of mother in all of them.
2. Or, like a lot of guys today, he succumbed to the control and he succumbed to this power that bonded with him too deeply and so here he is at 25 or 35 or 45 or 55 and mom, in whatever way – from whatever distance – is still dictating the terms, controlling their emotions, and violating the boundaries of his family.

3. The ALL-ALONE Wound
Far too often as men we find ourselves all alone on this journey of manhood. And as badly as we might want to be connected, we walk through life completely disconnected from other men that are on the same journey. Friends who in the midst of turmoil are there to hold us up and can CHEER for us in the noble things of life.

We develop these large BLIND SPOTS in life that everyone else seems to be able to see but us. And with the ALL-ALONE wound we damn ourselves to continually making the same mistakes over and over again because we ourselves do not have the perspective too be able to see them because we are disconnected and all alone.

You know, one of the ingredients in modern life that’s so desperately missing? It is older men attaching themselves, in friendship, to younger men. Older men who connect with younger men to encourage them and mentor them. Mentoring seems to be missing in our world today and most young men have no older man around them who are just admiring and encouraging them in their life.

4. The Lack of a Manhood VISION Wound
This wound is as a result of having no clear vision of who you are going to be. And so we then become subjected to a societal driven “CONVINTIONAL VISION OF MANHOOD” which says:

“If you’ll put your warrior face on. If you clamp down the armor tight and you work really hard, I mean really hard -- I know it’s going to hurt you, and it’s probably going to hurt your family, too -- but if you’ll work really hard, in the end you’re going to get what you want and then you won’t need anybody. You’ll get there! You’ll be on top of the mountain!”

And so Generation after generation of men set out “TO TAKE THE HILL” of this CONVINTIONAL VISION OF MANHOOD” to find out at 35, 45, or 55, that it aint workin and so they burn out. Or for those select few that do make it, the few that make it to the top, they quickly find out that they had been climbing the wrong mountain all along and that the CONVINTIONAL VISION OF MANHOOD was a LIE!

And it creates a great wound because we have no vision that will take us over a lifetime into a noble masculinity.

5. The Heart Wound
The Heart wound is a wound that everyone has, because it is not a wound of NURTURE; it is a wound that we’re born with. It is a wound of NATURE.

Since the beginning of time, man has questioned why he feels drawn to do evil. Just think for a moment. Have there ever been times in your life when you just sat back and said to yourself, ‘Why do I find myself doing the things that I don’t want to do? That I know are wrong? Why do I keep investing myself in things that I know are going to hurt me and my family, and yet I keep doing it? Why do I get out of control? Why do I give in to temptation? To anger? Why is it that the things I know are right, and I know would help everyone – I can’t find the power to do?’ Have you ever asked those questions of yourself? Sure you have. We’ve all experienced this particular wound at one time or another.

The answer to all those questions is this, we all have a wound of the soul and spirit that no counselor can fix. It’s just part of our birthright, unfortunately. It’s a wound that requires a deeper answer. And unless we’ve learned how to fix it, this problem will continually – every day – undercut our masculinity and our attempts at authentic manhood. That’s what the HEART wound represents.

You see, how a man addresses this unfinished business will determine the kind of man he will become. So, the first issue in authentic manhood is addressing the unfinished business of my past.

looking back

Does yesterday really matter? According to Tiger Woods and Gillette (The Best A Man Can Get) yesterday is nothing more than a “Nice Memory” and TODAY is all that matters. Man, if only that were true.

What is true however, is that on this journey of Manhood, in order for us to truly embrace Authentic Manhood, it starts with LOOKING BACK. See the past holds the keys to who we are and how we live our lives today. And we all have a past. We all have a story. A story full of events and circumstances that have shaped our lives.

The tragedy is most of us have never really taken the time to think through our past and to analyze it in a way that explains why we are the way we are and why do things the way we do. Because without that kind of understanding it is impossible for us to change the things that need to be changed in order to grasp the AUTHENTIC MANHOOD we were meant to live. Because without that understanding we are driven by forces that we do not understand or are not willing to face and they rob us of living a life of AUTHENTIC MANHOOD.

SIX OBSERVATION ABOUT LOOKING BACK

1. My story is not UNIQUE. As a man I am not ALONE.
Man is that ever the truth. We as men are so good at convincing ourselves we are alone in the things we struggle with and no one else could possibly understand. You know what I find? A lot of guys think everybody had it better than them. But that’s just not true. No matter how good you look on the outside, there’s a lot of stuff going on inside every man. Some of those things are hurtful; some of those things feel like vacuums and missed moments. Some of those things are noble. But everybody has a story, and discovering that other men are like you is one of the great benefits of a meeting with and sharing with other men.

2. When a boy fails to CONNECT with his dad, DEMONS of one kind or another often fill the void.
When dad is not there, it leaves a hole in a son’s psyche. Whether dad wasn’t there emotionally, or whether he wasn’t there altogether, it leaves a hole and the son’s going to fill it with something, something that is a cheap and tragic substitute like - being a workaholic, sexual addiction, alcoholism, or other extremes. It’s all seeking to compensate for something that should have been there, but wasn’t. And what often isn’t there in a man’s life, is a reconciled, healthy relationship with the most significant person in his life growing up – HIS DAD.

3. Many men have yet to reckon with their PAST, or close out the UNFINISHED BUSINESS that still lives there.
This may be due to denial, or refusing to look back. It might be due to a lack of courage or just plain ignorance about the past and how the past affects now. But regardless of the reason, the truth is that some men are still trying at 30, 40, or even 50 to win mom or dad’s approval. And they don’t even know they’re doing it. And so a lot of men spend their lives trying to run from a past that they have absolutely no understanding of.

4. Until a man UNPACKS HIS PAST and deals with the THEMES and the PAINS that reside there, he can never be an authentic man.
Until we as men unpack those things that are in our past that haunt us, we can never achieve Authentic Manhood.
* Always living in the past, men, is not manhood. It’s boyhood.
* Playing the victim because of your past is not manhood; its boyhood.
* Working all the time to achieve things that you don’t even understand is not manhood; it’s boyhood.
* Denying your feelings, rather than grieving over your pain – which you may need to do – is not manhood; it’s boyhood.
* Disconnecting from your past, rather than connecting with it and understanding it, and having the courage to deal with it is not manhood; it’s boyhood.

5. You cannot become a real man without HELP. There is no such thing as a SELF-MADE MAN.
The Scripture says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” The truth of the matter is no man can become an authentic man without the help of other men. We need their insight; we need their accountability; we need their balance in our life.
There are men who have self-made success, but they may have that success at the expense of a number of other things personally. They may be short-sighted; they may be unhealthy; they may be imbalanced and they may be riddled with a number of blind spots. But a healthy man has other men in his life to help make him who needs to be.

For better or worse, we are all significantly shaped by the FAMILY LIFE we experienced.
Our past helps explain you and me: WE ARE PRODUCTS OF THE PAST, BUT WE ARE NOT PRISONERS OF THE PAST.

UNLESS WE CHOOSE TO BE! Unless we choose to ignore our past, or deny our past, or worse, surrender to our past. That’s why it’s important to unpack our past, so we can take a look at what’s in there and we can choose to keep the things that have influenced us in a good sense. At the same time, by unpacking the past and telling our story and explaining ourselves – not just to us, but to others – we can invite help and assistance to break free of those things from our past that are holding us back from the kind of manhood we need to achieve.

It can be done, and it’s FREEING because it ushers us into a whole new existence called AUTHENTIC MANHOOD.

the four faces of manhood

For many of us, the vision of manhood that has been laid at our feet is one of perfection as the humorist Garrison Keeler so eloquently portrayed when he wrote:

“Plato, St. Francis, Leonardo daVinci, Vince Lombardi, Yogi Berra --You don’t find guys of that caliber today. What you find is terrible gender anxiety. Guys desperately trying to be Mr. Right: the man who can bake a cherry pie; go shoot skeet; come back, toss the salad, converse intimately about intimate matters; cry if need be, laugh, hug, be vulnerable, perform passionately that night, and then the next day, go off and lift them bales and tote that barge. You know, trying to be Mr. Perfect, is a terrible way to spend your life.”

And for so many of us we carry this burden of perfection and with it a recipe for failure as men. When in reality what the world really needs, what the world is longing for and what we as men desire is a balance of four expressions, four noble faces in a man’s life.

THE FOUR FACES OF MANHOOD

1. The King Face – It’s a face that doesn’t come easily in a man’s life. The fact is this face has to be cultivated over time. There has to be a number of ingredients that go into helping a man put this face on. It’s through his parents; it’s through mentors; it’s through heroes; stories, faith; persevering through special problems. It comes about through integrating his religion into his life. All of which cultivates in a man’s soul over time. The King Face is forged in the crucible of a man’s life. The King Face has a love of right over comfort and ease.

It’s the face a man shows when he’s asked to cheat on a business deal. It’s the face a man shows when it comes time to keep his promise, although now keeping his promise is going to be extremely difficult. It’s the face a man shows when he makes good on his debt. The face shows when he risks his own life to save another person, or when he’s on a business trip and he’s propositioned by a female companion. It’s the face he shows when he could take advantage of someone else, but he chooses not to. Or he stands up to a good friend whose life is out of control, and risks the friendship in order to call the friend back to what is noble, and what is just. It’s that face he shows without blinking in the face of danger. It’s the fact that doesn’t waiver – even though he knows there are risks and consequences by standing up to that which is ignoble and wrong.

The King Face:

Reflects - Righteous Energy

Proverbs 4:18, “But the path of the righteous is like the light of the dawn that shines brighter and brighter until the full day.”

Is Characterized By :

1. Strong Convictions
2. Courageous moral choices
3. A servant spirit
4. Righteous Leadership

2. The Warrior Face – The Warrior face is the most celebrated and honored of all of the four faces in a man’s life. We love to celebrate great warriors of the past like George Patton ,Teddy Roosevelt, and William Wallace or great sports warriors like Michael Jordan, Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods, and Cal Ripken. We love to honor warriors.
And all of that stirs our soul because there’s something within us that enjoys a good fight. And that’s the Warrior Face. It’s the man who can take life head-on and win; it’s the guy that can take the other guy’s best shot and still say CAGSOT (Come And Get Some Of This). It’s the man who works the hardest or the longest and outlasts the competition. We like the Warrior Face.

The Warrior Face:

Reflects – Conquering Energy

Is Characterized By:

1. Initiative - He goes after it on his own

2. Protecting – He is the one who shields and defends
3. Providing - It goes out and gets and says, ‘I’m going to take care of you. No matter what it takes.’
4. Persevering – amidst all kinds of adversity it

still goes on
5. Fighting - It’s the face that fights

The Warrior face is not a destructive force but rather a Positive Energy Force.

3. The Face of the Lover - The Lover is a face that is as unnatural to a man as the Warrior is natural because love is way more difficult for most of us as men.

It’s the Lover Who:
· picks up on his wife’s real needs;
· is willing to let go of another good business deal in order to spend more time at home.
· can open his heart and share the things that he really feels and who can crack open the door and share the hurt in his life and the pain, and he can connect around that kind of sensitivity of feelings, rather than hide them because he feels like he has to have a front for strenght

The Face of the Lover:

Reflects – Romantic Energy

Is Characterized by:

1. tenderness
2. sensitivity
3. sacrificial care
4. emotional openness
5. physical affection

Ephesians 5:25: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church.”

4. The Face of the Friend - You know the truth is as men we really don’t have friends. Don’t get me wrong, we have a lot of buddies, guys we might golf or fish or hunt or work with.

But we generally really have very few friends at all. The kind of friend that can connect with us at the soul level. The kind of friend that will talk tough to us and get in our face if need be. And quite honestly, as much as may want a friend like that, who has the time or energy.

The Friend Face:
Reflects – Connecting Energy

If you’re going to be the kind of man you’re supposed to be – you have to be connected with other men who can speak into your life; who can call out the best in you; who can cheer for your successes; admire your efforts and be your friend, because that’s what a real friend is.

Proverbs 27:17 “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”

Characterized By :

1. Loyalty
2. Accountability
3. Challenge
4. Fun

Our world today is in desperate need of seeing in men the balanced and synchronized FOUR FACES of Manhood.

in the starting blocks of authentic manhood

What does it mean to be a Man? A question that might seem so simple to answer has become one of the most confusing, misguided, and misunderstood in our society today. Yet here we stand in the STARTING BLOCKS of this journey The Quest for Authentic Manhood, taking the first steps in clearly and succinctly defining what manhood is in our specific lives.

As all journey’s do, this journey will require GEAR….the kind of gear essential not only for survival but for excellence as well. The gear required is this:

Toughness – to stand up to 24 weeks of study and self discovery. Toughness to battle the many distractions and emotions that will fight to tear down and discourage your enthusiasm.

Willingness - specific willingness on your part to be real with other men. Willingness to share pain and celebrate victory.

Courage – the kind of courage required for you to examine in a very real close way your life as a man. It is hard sometimes for men to open up their chest and look inside and see what’s there.

Commitment – to see this journey through. And not just commitment to yourself, but commitment to your family, your wife, your children, and those men taking this journey with you to become an Authentic Man. Many times INTRESTED can disguise itself as commitment and there is an enormous difference. If you are only interested, then you are only IN as long as it’s good for you. Once what’s in it for you is no longer fun or meeting your perceived needs, you’re OUT. Commitment never looks back.


5 MANHOOD PRESUPISITIONS

1. Manhood is in a state of confusion – We live in a society that has lost touch with what a man’s role is in his world. And this has resulted in a mass role reversal between men and women creating confusion and chaos as it relates to real authentic manhood. Confusion and chaos that has fostered an unsettledness and restlessness about life that can be narrowed down to three things:

a. What - The what is this, it’s a disappointment with life. For most of men life has fallen way short of meeting the expectations we may have had early on after graduating college, or moving into the professional world.

b. Pain - Underneath the surface of men’s lives there’s a lot of pain that they haven’t resolved. And honestly we have no idea how to talk about it.

c. Loneliness/Isolation - It’s really amazing that in the connected world we live in today we are so disconnected and alone. As men no one really has true intament access to us – and we have no idea how to get connected in a way that would be satisfying to us.

2. Confused men create major problems - All we have to do is watch TV or read a magazine or read the newspaper, or hear the latest statistics from the government, and we will find that most of the social problems in our society -- for whatever reasons – seem to rest at the feet of men. For some reason, as strong as we are, we are a fragile bunch.

3. Confused men settle for less in their life - And so we go out and get this job we’re supposed to have, and money we’re supposed to make; and things we’re supposed to have, and a wife we’re supposed to marry. And we move into that thinking because we’ve been told that if we have all those things we’ll be alive. And what happens is we get spinning in this process of life “THE PERVIABLE TOILET BOWL” and we have no higher calling on our lives other than ourselves and it so very un-satisfying.

4. There is no lofty vision of manhood - Not the kind that is compelling to men, the kind of manhood that calls men up.

5. The Bible has helpful insights - to all of the above presuppositions. It is an invaluable tool on this journey that is full of time tested wisdom and principles that have been proven out over the ages.


THE JOURNEY BEGINS NOW!

THE QUEST - July 20-21

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

it's coming

jerry's kids

May 15th 2007 was one of those days. A day that deadlocks the traffic of life’s routine and gives cause to stop and reflect. Perhaps much like 9/11, or the day that President Ronald Reagan passed away. One of those days when the whole world, for a moment, seems to stop and you find yourself all-consumed, soaking up every last emotion of that moment.

May 15th 2007 was one of those days. A day that became muddied by a heaviness of heart. One that allowed me to reflect on all that one man had added and invested in my life. A heaviness of heart not for one man’s soul but rather the void his departure will leave in a society and culture in desperate need of such a moral icon. Such a Man of God.

May 15th 2007 was one of those days. A day spent recounting the legacy that one man’s unwavering pursuit of spreading the word of God all over the world has had on a culture, a society, a world, and my life. Polarizing? Yes. Committed? For certain. A world changer? Absolutely. A life dedicated to a God given transcendent vision that changed my life and countless others for eternity.

May 15th 2007 was one of those days. A day to cry out in thanks giving for the legacy that one man passed on not to ten or a hundred or a thousand or ten thousand, but ten’s and hundreds of thousands of young men and women across this country and around the world. And so a heavy heart rejoiced knowing that one man committed his life to the mission of Matt. 28:18-20 empowering thousands to fill in the gap that one man would leave. He embodied the life of a visioneer and spent every breath in its pursuit. A life spent in the “ARENA” many times “marred by dust and sweat and blood” knowing the great enthusiasms and great devotions of a life that honored his Lord and Savior.

May 15th 2007 was one of those days. A day that left me asking “HOW”. How can I honor all that this one man and his vision have added to my life? What of my life and the calling that might be placed on it? And so it must be a life of “What ever it takes”. A life in that same arena, unwavering, un-stoppable to the fulfillment of the vision my Heavenly Father has passed on to me. A life committed to the mission of Matt. 28: 18-20. This I believe honors that one man and ultimately THE ONE MAN!

May 15th 2007 was one of those days. A day that dawned great hope for a nation desperately in need of a spiritual awakening. A hope vested in the foundational vision of a man planted deep in the fertile soil of men and women all over the world. For a man has sewn much seed whose fruit is overflowing the void left by his departure from this life and is now resting in the arms of his Savior.

The following was written in honor of Dr. Falwell by his son Jonathan Falwell:

Honoring My Father

In I Kings chapter 2, the great King David spoke to his son Solomon about the important things in life. David, who was on his deathbed, shared with Solomon the importance of always following God's will in his life. David told his son to be strong, to obey God's laws, and to never stray from what he had learned about God's promises. In the end, David promised Solomon that if he would follow God throughout his life, he would be able to accomplish great things.

These principles that David shared with his son are the same principles that my dad followed throughout his life. He held God's promises close to his heart throughout his 55 years as a Christian and more than 50 years as a pastor, never losing sight of the unique vision God had planted in his heart.

I saw through the years that my dad always sought God's direction and then boldly, even audaciously, went to work to carry out what God placed in his heart.

As David shared those principles with Solomon thousands of years ago, my dad also shared the same principles with my brother Jerry Jr., my sister Jeanie, and with me. He not only verbally shared them with us; he lived them out in amazing ways.

I never once saw my father stray from God's direction. I never doubted dad's walk with God because I witnessed his unswerving commitment to follow God's principles every step of the way. What a legacy!

I am praying now that I can live my life as a humble and committed servant of God, as my dad did, as my family continues to keep the vision alive.

My dad frequently quoted Proverbs 29:18, which simply states, "Where there is no vision, the people perish." My dad was most definitely a man of vision.

As his son, I had a unique perspective on the growth of Thomas Road Baptist Church and Liberty University. I have witnessed many events, both good and bad, in their histories. One thing that was always evident was that dad never stopped believing in the vision that God placed on his heart. He was simply tenacious in following God's instructions.

I was born in 1966, ten years after dad started his public ministry. As far back as I can remember, my memories of dad are of a man who was fully committed to doing everything he possibly could to further the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I remember many days and nights when he would come home and would tell the family the plans that God had laid on his heart for new ministries. I remember those first conversations about starting a college. His vision was to build a college that would further the educational arm of the ministry that had already begun with the founding of Lynchburg Christian Academy. He was buzzing with excitement at this new venture God had placed in his heart.
I remember his conversations about expanding the television ministry across America to reach every possible home with the Gospel.

I remember those early conversations about trying to impact the culture by getting involved in politics.

I remember him sharing his passion to bring Christians to the political table.
All along the way, my dad never got discouraged or sidetracked from the vision. He remained steadfast in a way that only Jerry Falwell could.

As I think back on my dad's nearly 51 years of ministry, I can only attribute its great success to God and a man who understood vision. I hope that I, too, will be able to effectively teach these principles to my children in the years to come.

And, I hope that as I continue teaching these principles - to the church and to my own family - that it will be far more than just words. I am praying that God will allow me to embody the dedication to the Gospel in my life that I saw in my father's life.

May people see these principles lived out every day in my life, just as I had the great privilege of witnessing this in my dad's life.

The Falwell Confidential Will Continue On
One of the ways in which I will keep my dad's legacy alive is to take on his role in writing the Falwell Confidential. I will be working with the National Liberty Journal staff and continuing to confront the culture through this communiqué. I ask that you pray for me as I take up the mantle of Jerry Falwell in this manner. I certainly feel humbled by the great challenge of filling his shoes in this way. But I believe this is how he would want it to be.

my desert

The other day amongst sushi rolls and bento boxes, a close friend and I conversed over our recent spiritual journeys or perhaps lack there of. Sitting here now it is funny to me how egocentric I can be as it relates to my own personal journey of holiness. Because surely I am alone, drudging my way through this vast wasteland of spiritual isolation wandering aimlessly as a blind man. And yet there we sat side by side, wind blown from days in the desert, our faces chaffed from being beaten by the sun and blowing sand. Our lips cracked and bleeding repelling any desire to speak. Yet not alone….not remotely alone.

Perhaps it was a shift in the gusting winds that began to change the formation of this desert I found myself in, but with each gust a dune was removed and a fellow journeyman was revealed. A hurting soul in need of counsel, a wanderer eternally lost with no compass, a warrior paralyzed with fear. Each one in search of “Living Water”.

Without questions there are vast spiritual deserts we can find ourselves in while living life. Some much more desolate and deadly than others. Some we are driven into resulting from circumstances well beyond our control. Yet in common they all are isolating, lifeless, spiritually dehydrating, PLACES OF GROWTH.

It’s all too easy to associate a feeling with our spiritual walk, much like we do with love. Yet our Lord command us to Love Him with “all of our heart, soul, and mind”. Not “Love me if and when you feel like loving me”. I believe it is our time in the desert that sifts through the baggage of emotion and roots out our commitment to Love Him, or red flags our Love of CONVENIENCE.

So I suppose my desert was one of work rather than joy. Much like my athletic career, there were many times I had no desire to practice or train, but it was the commitment to success that drove me to grind through. And so my commitment to loving Him forces me to grind through His word daily and commit to Him my struggle of joy. For He is our source of living water. Water that will bring us up out of the mire of our desert and into joyful fellowship with Him.



Rev. 7:17
For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

homosexual indoctrination of kindergartners

And were back. As you can see, I was enjoying a much needed hiatus with some very close friends. We did our best in no uncertain terms to make it clear to our buddy Al that global warming was the last thing he need be concerned about on our little expedition. I guess DUCK means different things to different people.

I found the following little gem while combing the pages of my monthly edition of the National Liberty Journal. Although aware of this issue prior I thought I would share it with you along with a short clip of my own commentary regarding it’s content:


In February, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by Christian parents who challenged a school policy wherein their children were being taught about homosexuality in their classroom and bringing home gay-themed books from school.

U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf, noting that other federal courts have protected schools’ rights to teach topics that counter parental teachings, said in his ruling, “In essence, under the Constitution public schools are entitled to teach anything that is reasonably related to the goals of preparing students to become engaged and productive citizens in our democracy.”

Two couples, David and Tonia Parker and Robert and Robin Wirthlin, brought the suit. The Parkers sued after their five-year-old son brought home from kindergarten a book featuring a homosexual family. The book, Who’s in a Family? was brought home in a “diversity book bag.” The Wirthlins joined the suit after a teacher read a fairy tale about two princes falling in love in their child’s second grade class.

WorldNetDaily.com reported that Judge Wolf “essentially adopted the reasoning in a brief submitted by a number of homosexual-advocacy groups, who said ‘the rights of religious freedom and parental control over the upbringing of children … would undermine teaching and learning ….’”

“The ruling goes to extraordinary lengths to legitimize and reinforce the ‘right’ (and even the duty) of schools to normalize homosexual behavior to even the youngest of children,” said MassResistance.org, a pro-traditional family Massachusetts organization. “In the ruling, Wolf makes the absurd claim that normalizing homosexuality to young children is ‘reasonably related to the goals of preparing students to become engaged and productive citizens in our democracy.’ According to (Judge) Wolf, this means teaching ‘diversity,’ which includes ‘differences in sexual orientation.’”

The families say they will appeal the judge’s ruling.

So, this concerns me on a couple of levels. The first being that I fear we spend far too much time consumed with politics on the federal level, when the real battle is being waged very much locally. The truth is that once social issues such as this reach the federal level, they have already infiltrated and permeated social perception through local grassroots venues, such as the education system. It has to be stopped on the local level. As a traditionalist and a matter of conviction I will always vote social conservatism over fiscal conservatism each and every time.

The second is the unconscionable effort of a judge to “normalize homosexuality” and legislating that by doing so it will aid in preparing them for becoming engaged and productive citizens in our democracy. How can this be?

MIRROR CHECK

I will devote space at the beginning of each week to share thoughts of others who are much more intelligent and insightful than I, with the hope that their words encourage and challenge you as much as they have me. This weeks thoughts are from Andy Stanley's book: The Best Question Ever

The bible has a term for the person who refuses wise counsel: fool. Solomon summed it up this way: “The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice” (Proverbs 12:15, NIV). In our culture it sounds harsh to refer to someone as a fool, so we soften by saying, “He acted foolishly” or, “How could I have been so foolish?” But the reality is, when we refuse to listen, when we dodge the truth, when we insist on having our own way, we are fools.

Wise people know when they don’t know. The fool is the person who convinces himself he knows more than he really knows and doesn’t need to ask anybody anything. At the end of the day, the wise man breaths a sigh of relief; the fool, a sigh of regret.

Bottom line, when we resist presenting our options to the wise people around us for fear of hearing what we don’t want to hear, we are fools. When we insist on ignoring the warning signs and pressing on anyway, we are fools. And in the end, we pay. Fools always pay.

God knows there will be times when you lack wisdom, times when you will ask the Best Question Ever and come up short.

If you are in the midst of an emotionally challenging situation and circumstances require you to make a decision, go for help. Don’t trust your judgment alone. Just as there are times when physical pain makes us incapable of caring for ourselves, so emotional pain can drive us to the place where we need assistance.

If you are being called upon to make a decision that is out of your league in terms of experience or education, get some help. Don’t pretend. Don’t fake it. Asking for help is not a reflection of your lack of wisdom. Asking for input is evidence of wisdom. When the Best Question Ever doesn’t yield the clarity you need, ask someone you trust, “In light of my past experiences, current circumstances, and future hopes and dreams, what do you believe is the wise thing for me to do?”

After all, wise people know when they don’t know and aren’t afraid to go to those who do.

The Best Question Ever

to spank or not to spank

First let me apologize for the lack luster effort on the blogg this week. I am traveling however and missing my wife and kids greatly. Oh, and I am using dial up to boot. Thus no picture.

The following was an article that I pulled out of news week a couple of days ago. I will reply to the post with my comments, but wanted to open up for all of your comments, reaction, ect. Cant wait to hear your feedback…..


TABOO
SPANKING SMACKDOWN

The uproar over a California assembly women’s announcement that she wants to make it illegal for parents to spank their own toddlers raises an interesting question: how many parents actually spank their kids? We may have to beat them to get the truth. A new study of more than 2,000 parents in the Journal of Clinical Pediatrics found fewer than 9 percent explicitly admit to spanking their kids ages 2-11 – while at the same time, 40 percent say they were spanked as a child and use the same discipline techniques as their parents. “People don’t want to admit it, even in an anonymous, confidential questionnaire,” says Dr. Shari Barkin, lead author of the study and chief of general pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Children’s Hospital. This is a big change in social attitudes from a few decades ago: national surveys in 1975 and 1985 found that more than 90 percent of parents spanked their three year olds. In 1988, two thirds of mothers with kids under 6 said they routinely HIT their child three times a week. By the 1990’s however, it was widely agreed in the medical community that corporal punishment does not work, is less effective than other discipline techniques and has the potentially harmful side effects. (Interestingly, a third of parents in the new study say their discipline approach is ineffective.)

So are fewer people actually spanking, or are they just less willing to admit it? Dr. Robert Murray, who studied the issue of corporal punishment in schools for the American Academy of Pediatrics, says both are true, and the stigma surrounding spanking is a good thing. “When there was a social norm of spanking, it shielded abuse,” he says. Maybe if parents are scared to admit to spanking, they’ll think twice about actually doing it.

WE’RE ASKING THE WRONG QUESTIONS

I will devote space at the beginning of each week to share thoughts of others who are much more intelligent and insightful than I, with the hope that their words encourage and challenge you as much as they have me. This weeks thoughts are from Andy Stanley's book: The Best Question Ever


Typically when making choices, we run our options and opportunities through a more generic and far less helpful grid. There are several variations, but basically the question we ask ourselves is this: Is there anything wrong with it?

The assumption is that if there is nothing wrong with what we’re doing, it must be okay. If it is not illegal, unethical, or immoral, then it qualifies as a live option, right? Biblically speaking, if there is not a “Thou shalt not” associated with it, then it’s safe to assume it qualifies as a “Thou certainly shalt if thou please.”

Unfortunately, that kind of thinking sets us up for another question that we rarely verbalize or even allow to surface to the level of conscious thought. Yet if we are honest, this is a question that drives far too many of our choices. It goes something like this: How close can I get to the line between right and wrong without actually doing something wrong? The Christian version goes like this: How close to sin can I actually get without sinning?

This is a question that every teenage guy has asked in some way at some point in his dating career. It’s a question everyone on a diet asks every day. It is a question attorneys make a living asking on behalf of their clients.

But it does not stop there. Inevitably, once we have come this far we find ourselves asking, How far over the line of right and wrong can I go without experiencing consequences? In other words, how unethical, immoral, or insensitive can I be without suffering any unmanageable outcomes? How long can I neglect my family, finances, or professional responsibilities without feeling the effects? How far over the speed limit can I drive without getting pulled over? How far can I indulge in an addictive behavior without actually becoming addicted?

It is a slippery slope, both subtle and sinister. It all begins so innocently by asking what seems to be a noble question, Is there anything wrong with it? But it ultimately leads to yet another question. One we have all asked at one time or another: How did I get myself into this mess?



The Best Question Ever