1. Cultivate Relationships

Boys need dads who remember the world of backyard matchbox cars. Who can recall the time when dirt roads were carved from mulch beds, rocks became doughnut shops, cars drove to the tops of trees, and perils awaited in the grass jungles.

Manhood is in crisis today. The increasingly accurate term “perpetual adolescence” is not a reference to girls failing to grow up. We intuitively know it refers to 20- and 30-something men. Men are falling behind women in college enrollment and graduation; they’re increasingly unemployed; and traditionally male-dominated industries are disappearing. They are more likely to be homeless and to use and abuse all almost all types of illicit drugs and alcohol. Ninety-nine percent of all prison inmates are male, as well as 98 percent of death-row inmates. Men are not doing well. In many ways, they are becoming the “weaker sex.”

Happy President's Day from Trail Life! Today we celebrate the men who have lead our country and honor our first president—Statesman, Military General, and Founding Father of the United States of America.  

Boyhood is a time of daring adventure, exploration, action and personal growth – that’s why adventure is a fundamental part of Trail Life’s mission. Adventure is a terrific way to capture the heart of a boy and teach important life lessons. Boys need godly men to lead the way. A boy without a mentor showing him the way is like an explorer without a compass, without a map.

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?

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. 

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.

No one can be a good American unless he is a good citizen, and every boy ought to train himself so that as a man he will be able to do his full duty to the community …[to] act in a way that will give them a country to be proud of. 

No matter what our culture says, boys and girls are different. Discussions about “toxic masculinity,” a blurring of gender lines, fewer and fewer fathers in the home, and the watering down or extinction of programs that train and equip boys to become men have left too many boys frustrated, fearful, and floundering in their struggle to understand what it means to be a man. More than ever, boys need a uniquely masculine program where their assertive, audacious, and adventurous nature is celebrated, not sequestered.