Introduction Boys to Men
[pg. 0 - 18 Summary] [Preface: Why Another Book for Men] When writing a book, appealing to a broad audience is often the author’s first intention. Brain shared that men do not represent a vast market when it comes to reading books; they are often a challenging audience to reach. His original inspiration for writing this was to introduce manhood to his son at an early age. However, he hoped it could serve as a compass for other men, guiding them towards manhood. American males are in facing crisis nowadays. Either men aren’t wired to exist in modern culture, or modern culture lacks what they need to thrive. Men today are facing challenges no other men, in any corner of the globe, in any period, have encountered. These include: New Expectations, Paranoid Assumptions, and Lack of Physical Skills.
• New Expectations: Today’s current cultural expectations must be put into check. Maybe then we would be more likely to develop our soul instead of losing it. We need deep and vulnerable relational bonds with other men that provide emotional stability. We also need spiritual pursuits that give us a strength that can’t be achieved in the gym.
• Paranoid Assumptions: Brain cites an example of this in his own life as an American Mega Church pastor, noting that many people assume he must be an overpaid, egotistical hypocrite who secretly beds other women. Such assumptions do not bring-out the best in him nor his fellow men. Negative assumptions, like people expecting the worst from you, often bring out the worst in anyone. Brain claims many males are weary to stand against the rising tide of pessimism in our culture, and have simply given up.
• Lack of Physical Skills: A man is designed to be a physical force of nature. Something goes dead in a man if he can’t ever point to something physical he’s done, built, of fixed. A part of him fades when he isn’t creatively and physically engaged with other people.
