And then I caught the lesson God was telling me - 'Do you trust me like that? Will you step with boldness into the life of another?' Are you willing to notice others, connect with them, and become an everyday hero as you build into their lives? We each have our own assignments. As I trust, God is going to use me. Each of us have the opportunity to be an everyday hero in the lives of others.
In a culture that declares masculinity is toxic and struggles to provide any coherent definition of what a man is or should be, Christmas is an incredible opportunity to talk with boys and young men about the example of Christ. What did it mean for him to become a man? What character traits did he display? What was unique about the life he lived? What implications does his life have for us as men?
Parenting is a journey. It’s not a journey of raising kids - it’s a journey of making disciples. I am on this journey with you. My wife April and I have been married 24 years and we’re raising five future men.
The full keynote and abridged transcript that follow were presented on Thursday, July 25th at the Trail Life USA Summer Adventure and Family Convention.
A RETURN TO SCOUTING’S ROOTS
The Trail Life movement represents a return to the founding principles of youth scouting as articulated by Lord Robert Baden-Powell, a British army officer and founder of the modern youth scouting movement.
What follows is a partial transcript of John Stemberger’s keynote address entitled “Protecting Boys From the Lies of This World.” The speech was delivered on Sunday, July 21st at the Trail Life USA Summer Adventure and Family Convention. To hear the message in its entirety, click the video link below.
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As a young man in high school and college, I stopped going hunting with my dad because I was just too busy, I got married and had kids. Classic adult excuses, but I just didn’t think about hunting until one fall day in 2011. Visiting with my Dad one day, out of the blue he asked if I was interested in going elk hunting with him that year. I had never been elk hunting and honestly was surprised and excited about his invitation.
“The fix for this stuff isn’t gun control and all the other things we’re debating,” Trail Life USA CEO Mark Hancock told The Todd Starnes Show. “It’s fathers and father-likes that step up and find ways to provide moral, strong, clear, leadership.”
These days there is a lot of pressure to “civilize” boys, to make them less strong and aggressive. Today we we want to talk about the uniqueness of raising boys in this culture, where there is confusion about masculinity and femininity, where there is confusion about what it is supposed to look like.
In this edition of Family Talk, Dr. Tim Clinton talks with Trail Life CEO, Mark Hancock about the important role of Trail Life USA is playing to equip churches who engage men in using outdoor adventure as a tool to raise up young men who have a healthy understanding of biblical manhood and who are prepared to be leaders of character in their home, their community, and their country.
1. Cultivate Relationships
Boys need men willing to carve time out of their busy lives to intentionally cultivate healthy relationships. Men who remember the joy of racing matchbox cars through grass jungles in the backyard and waging nerf battles from furniture forts. Men who build rail worlds for Thomas the Train, share hot dogs and cracker jacks at a baseball game, throw a football in the front yard, bait a hook on the bank of a lake, and pause to roast one last s’more before crawling into a tent and camping under the stars. Boys need men who understand the language of boyhood.
