Men of Courage: God's Call to Move Beyond the Silence of Adam (2013) by Larry Crabb is the best book I have read on masculinity. Crabb begins the book with a brief discussion of how Adam remained silent, commenting, "the silence of Adam is the beginning of every man's failure." Against that backdrop, he spends the rest of the book encouraging men to "remember and move." In other words, we are to remember what God has said and have the courage to move into darkness, confusion, and chaos. Unfortunately, in our fallen society men hear a cacophony of voices telling them what it means to be a man, with most voices missing the mark. Though we may enjoy adrenaline pumping activities, we have the tendency as men to stay on the surface, to avoid real risk. Relational risk. Crabb writes, "Men are called to move into darkness, to keep moving ahead with purpose and strength even when they cannot clearly see the path before them" (p. 70). Most of us are reluctant to do this.
Crabb also argues that "the design of every man is to talk and be talked to" (p. 104). This runs contrary to what many modern notions of manhood imply. However, it seems to me that our failure to talk is rooted in fear of uncertainty and confusion about who we are. To counteract this trend, Crabb encourages us to get into real relationships--with fathers, with brothers, with other men.
Father's Day is coming soon. This may be one of the best gifts for men who desire to live a godly life. I would like to get this message out to every man that I know.
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