John earned his undergraduate degree in Theater at Cal Poly, and directed a theater company in Los Angeles for several years before moving to Colorado with Focus on the Family, where he taught at the Focus on the Family Institute. But their romance did not begin until they each came to faith in Christ, after high school. John met his wife, Stasi, in high school (in drama class). John grew up in the suburbs of Los Angeles (which he hated), and spent his boyhood summers on his grandfather’s cattle ranch in eastern Oregon (which he loved). He is also president of Wild at Heart, a ministry devoted to helping people discover the heart of God, recover their own hearts in God's love, and learn to live in God's Kingdom. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.John Eldredge is an author (you probably figured that out), a counselor, and a teacher. Instead of relying on boyhood dreams as his model, he would have done well to be mindful of this verse from 1 Corinthians: "When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. It is unfortunate that the author chooses to degrade with simplistic imagery rather than finding a better way to communicate an important message. A nice guy is just as capable of facing challenges as the warrrior-prince. Being a man is not defined by the battles you fight, but how you face your life. Eldredge's nice guy model would dismiss him as a tamed, bored man who seldom took risks. When people who used to work with him tell me how much they relied on him and his word in their business - that is what impacted me the most about how to emulate him. What stands out to this day is the latter. The first set of lessons were not what impacted me for my daily life. The best lessons I learned from my "nice guy" dad were not where he wanted to teach me how to hunt, fish or work on cars, but how much honesty, integrity and care of family mattered. He took the ultimate risk, but was one of the humblest guys you could ever meet. A soft-spoken civilian scientist who is one of a handful of men to venture to the moon. There are plenty of mild-mannered heroes in the world. God did not make everyone to be a warrior. Eldredge is either trying to reach a particular demographic, or his world-view is way too simple. That's great advice, but he taints it throughout with his "William Wallace" imagery. He talks about challenging yourself when you are in a bad place, and being willing to take more risks. There's some good stuff in here, but it's rare. I don't think I've ever heard such utter junk. Our "wounds" at their hands have crippled our manhood. Fathers that should be teaching us to be hunters and fighters are instead themselves bored and check out. We aren't initiated into manhood by anyone. We forget this because our father (or father-figures) don't teach us to be wild any more. His rationale is that as boys, we all pretend to be knights, sheriffs and fighters, but that we forget this part of ourselves as we grow up and become bored, office-cubical workers. You are either a masculine, warrior-prince, or a whimpering, nice guy with dad-issues. In his view, there is nothing worse than being a "nice guy". Eldredge starts with the premise that modern men are no longer the men God meant us to be - that men have been tamed, and are therefore bored. It is provocative, to be sure, but it is way too simplistic. We did this book as part of our men's group this spring.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |