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| Knighthood: An Outline for Bringing Your Son to Manhood by Robert Lewis Though historians would probably say the knight once popularized by literature was more an ideal than a reality, still he remains a powerful metaphor. In fact, I will be so bold as to argue that knighthood—despite some of its shortcomings—offers to any dad a powerful outline for his son’s successful journey to manhood. Three Dads With a Mission Two other dads and I fell upon this knighthood concept some years back as we wrestled with how to help our sons become the kind of men we and God would be proud of. … Bill Parkinson, Bill Wellons, and I first met at the University of Arkansas during the late ’60s. … By 1989, with seven sons now growing up underneath us, we began to feel an urgency to give them some clear masculine tracks on which to run. ... Our sons needed something more from us than just love and support. They needed help in becoming men. But what would that help look like? We were amazed at the lack of answers and resources available. … (A) question was how to teach this concept of manhood to our sons in a way that would be life-changing. Someone suggested that we create a family crest to help present our manhood concepts symbolically. This crest could not only hang in each of our homes, but also be passed down to each of our sons. Having spent the previous summer in Poland on a missions trip, I had explored a number of castles and seen a number of knightly crests still hanging along the corridors. So, our discussion went from crests to castles to . . . knights, and how one became a knight, and if knighthood could be used as an outline to move our sons to manhood. The answer we found was “Yes!” ... A whole manhood language evolved among us and our sons. We established special ceremonies to mark specific moments in our boys’ journey to manhood. Puberty, for instance, became more than just a passing moment of physical transformation. It also became a key moment of manhood instruction and challenge, celebrated by a ceremony that would leave an unforgettable mark on each son as to who he was becoming and where he was going. Other dads around us began to pick up on the things we were doing. … They began to take our ideas and personalize them with their own sons. The feedback from these dads confirmed that their experiences were just as exciting as ours! Sons delight in knowing about manhood. In the sacredness of these manhood ceremonies, they bond with their dads in a way that must be experienced to be fully appreciated. Sons need fathers who are involved in their lives—dads who will love them, teach them, and discipline them. But clearly, sons also need a masculine vision. They need a manhood language. They need a ceremony. And they need other men. Knighthood, as an outline, offers all this and more. Excerpted from Raising a Modern-Day Knight: A Father’s Role in Guiding His Son to Authentic Manhood, by Robert Lewis (Tyndale House Publishers, 2007). Robert Lewis is pastor-at-large for Fellowship Bible Church in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he served as the directional leader for more than 20 years. He is also chairman of the board of Fellowship Associates, a church consulting and leadership training organization, and executive director of Global Reach, a research and resource organization. Robert is passionate about helping men discover the biblical principles of authentic manhood. He founded and developed Men’s Fraternity in 1990, a ministry that today reaches men worldwide. How do you share a "manhood language" with your son? | Top | Share Your Thoughts... Be the first to comment on this article! |
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