If you are looking for a great book that will explain God’s design for men, you need to read A Guide to Biblical Manhood by Randy Stinson and Dan Dumas. Youth pastors, youth leaders, and parents, if you are looking for a resource to help you with inspiration, information and ideas on how to raise boys to be men of God who are doers of the word for the sake of the gospel, you need to read A Guide to Biblical Manhood. Stinson and Dumas have written an excellent book that is relatively short (just over 100 pages) and inexpensive ($4.49 for the paperback, $3.49 for the electronic version). This is especially helpful when the intended readers are men. I plan to keep several copies around in my biblical counseling office for the men and teenage boys that I see in my practice.
Lessons in Manhood. Stinson and Dumas begin the book with lessons in manhood gained through the study of Adam, Job, Solomon, Paul, and especially Jesus. From Adam, the authors provide lessons in biblical leadership. Job’s difficult life provides lessons in spiritual ruggedness. From David’s last words to Solomon in 1 Kings 2:1-9, the reader is admonished to “show yourself a man”. This section also provides helpful insights on sexual temptation from Proverbs 5 and on humble repentance from Psalm 51. Lessons drawn from Paul’s charge to the men of Corinth in 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 deal with grace and grit for the gospel. And, of course, Jesus is presented as the crux of biblical manhood. By looking at who Jesus was as a man and what he came to do, men are challenged to wrestle with the man Jesus and to live out what he has called us to as men today.
A Guide for Husbands, Fathers and Pastors. The book also includes chapters with specific guidance for husbands, fathers and pastors on the biblical role of men in these domains. Husbands are challenged to lead in love, be quick to repent and forgive, serve their wives by being willing to lay down their lives for them, and to take the lead in spiritual matters, dating, and faithful intimacy. Fathers are instructed on how to lead their children with intentionality. This chapter includes two wonderful sections that I especially enjoyed, titled “25 Things A Dad Should Teach A Boy” and “Take Me Out to the Ballgame: Baseball, Biblical Masculinity, and Godly Character.” Most importantly, the section for fathers includes a critical essay on winning the hearts of their children for the gospel. The chapter for pastors is really guidance for all men in their shepherding role. All men are pastors within the context of the family, and the encouragements to shepherd well and to not give up presented in this section are crucial for husbands, fathers, mentors and church leaders. A Guide to Biblical Manhood also includes an excellent list of other resources on biblical manhood.
A Guide to Biblical Manhood is a well-written, comprehensive introduction to the topic of biblical manhood appropriate for small groups, mentoring, and counseling for men in all stages of life. It is saturated with the gospel, and I highly recommend it.
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