(Intro to a 10-week series excerpted from The Christian Man [Zondervan, May 2019])
No man fails on purpose. Quite the opposite. When our feet hit the floor every morning, we’re looking for a win.
But these are turbulent times to be a man. Most of the Christian men I talk to find it increasingly difficult to juggle all their responsibilities as men, husbands, fathers, friends, workers, churchmen, and citizens. As my friend Nick put it, “It feels almost impossible to live out a biblical model of manhood.”
We all feel it, don’t we? Something about this world just isn’t right. There are so many “hollow and deceptive” voices phishing to get inside our heads. It feels like we’re being “hacked.” Spiritually hacked.
However, just as no man fails on purpose, as my colleague Jamie says, “No man succeeds by accident.” Which is why I felt strongly led to write a new book, The Christian Man, to pass on to the next generation of Christian men the best of what I’ve learned about biblical manhood during several decades of working with men as my vocation.
To make sure this book scratches where you itch, I gathered twenty-four Christian men from twenty-four to forty-seven years of age (mostly mid-thirties) on a Saturday morning to storyboard the question, “What are the issues and topics that would make you feel compelled to pick up and read a book for men?”
When the dust settled, we had a list of ten issues that mattered most. That list formed the table of contents. Can you guess what they said? Here’s the list…
- Identity: Settling Who I Am and What My Life Is About
- Life Balance: How to Be Faithful with Everything Entrusted to Me
- Growth: Becoming a More Kingdom-Minded Man
- Marriage: Finding a New Best Friend in My Wife
- Children: A Dad Who Really Makes a Difference
- Friendships: Finding and Keeping Godly Friends
- Work: How Should I Think about My Work?
- Lust: The Right Way to Deal with This Powerful Drive
- Culture: The Role of a Christian Man in Our Culture
- Sharing My Faith: Having Authentic Spiritual Conversations with My Friends
Over the next ten weeks I’ll post an excerpt each week from one chapter until the book’s release date of May 19, 2019. Hope you enjoy the series!
Patrick Morley
