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The author presented several compelling concepts - how does a Man know when he is a man. I found this to be a powerful concept. I also really liked the idea of writing a code for boys to understand what it means to be a man, and to “train to it” while growing up. Knights are the example the writer teaches his son, who took boys as squires since 13 and used them to fetch them things and later taught them how to fight.
The very best thing this book did for me was to intentional with my children in the truths of the faith and who they are in Gods eyes. That my kids need markers along the way. They need their manhood/womanhood affirmed one day. I found the book to be challenging and inspiring as I look for tangibles in raising my own two-year-old son. While I wouldn't necessarily be agreeing with all of the theology in the book, this isn't a book of theology -- it's a book about fatherhood. I first heard about RAMDK from a pastor a few years ago.
Resource Spotlight
It's a book about the importance of being a father of integrity. It's a book about how to give your son something that will allow him to become a man because he's been taught about becoming an adult, keeping him from having to figure it all out on his own. In much the same way, Raising a Modern-Day Knight will show how you, too, can confidently guide your son to the kind of authentic, biblical manhood that can change our world. Second, this book unexpectedly opened some deep wounds for me .
In this book, the author shares that no one ever told him when he officially became a man or what it meant. He and his friends were inspired to create an experience for their sons, akin to the journey a boy took to become a knight. This book shares their story, examples of what they did, and ways that you could do the same.
Raising a Modern Day Knight
There are two reasons that I didn’t give it a higher rating. First, it got really weird when Lewis stated that he believed that Jesus placed his baptism above anything that he did while on the earth, you know, greater than the whole crucifixion and resurrection thing. He was trying to prove the point that ceremony is important. I agree, however, there is no need to cutesify Jesus in order to prove your point. I think this is a great book for any man raising boys.
The ceremony that happened in this blog post — is not one from the book. Most of the boys involved or represented aren’t old enough yet to become a “page.” There are several different ceremonies to help the boys know that they are getting older . Maybe it was not as applicable to me because my stepson is so young and this is geared more for sons that are older. It had many great stories about what he did with his sons, but that was also 25 years ago and those things seem a little odd today. The book came off more like a memoir than as a how to book.
Bringing Up Boys 2014
I was also stricken by the power of ceremony and rites of passage and their nearly complete absence in modern America. We have fallen so far away and don't even realize it. It brought tears to my eyes about my own childhood and underscored both my duty to raise my sons and my startling lack of knowledge or preparation on how to do that.
What a powerful, life changing moment that really can be so simple. However, there are two things that take the book down a notch. For one, he urges men to build a strong network that will provide for accountability, encouragement, and support. In the time that has passed since he began his friendship with the men in his circle, time and culture have made it more difficult for men to form tight bonds. The second issue I have is that there is more must go into a father/son relationship for all the training and ceremony to truly take hold. Admittedly, that could be covered outside of this book, but I still think that there is some foundational work that must be done for these lessons to have the impact he describes.
Raising A Modern Day Knight
I especially liked how it crystallized the goals for raising godly men into clear and concise statements of purpose. That clarity of purpose is essential in the child rearing process but is often lacking in the day to day. It wasn't really what I was expecting but it was a great book overall. Some ideas were a little far fetched for me personally, but the main focus was zeroed in on a scriptural vision for manhood and I appreciated that. It is very prescriptive on how to create ceremonies, rituals and a code for becoming a man.
Written by Fathers for Fathers who wish to help their sons discover the path from boyhood to manhood with honor, ceremony, purpose, scriptural understanding. This book is brilliant, warm, inviting and manly. Thank God for another great tool to have in the toolbox of raising our boys into Godly men.
Time to dust this book off and re-read it. This is an excellent book detailing how to raise a boy to become a man, following in the example of Jesus Christ. It shows intentional steps one can take to facilitate this process.
God has given us a wonderful son, we are blessed, but we also want to do all we can, that God calls us to do, to help him as he transitions to manhood. May I challenge you to invest in your sons and teach them how to be a Modern Day Knight in our technology driven society. Our journey initially led us to A Family Guide of Biblical Holidays. There are lots of other areas that I took note of, specifically leveraging other men to formally assist in raising your son. The only mention of a gay person is someone who, oh what a disgrace! Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
If you are around us, you will hear us encouraging our boys to be dangerous. We purposefully try to NOT say, “Be careful.” While we don’t want them to get hurt, we also don’t want them to fear life. My three boys deserve my very best as a Father and Man.
Moreover, how do you as a father instill that reality in your son? If your son is pretty young, you may like to wait until they are old enough to grasp the manhood-definition ideals so they can help with the design. However, in the meantime, you might like to pull this site up as it is an easy interactive way to get them excited about being a part of the process. Below are helpful links and information to help kick start your project. Remember, this is a process—nothing that has a deadline. However, it should put some ‘flesh & bones’ to your discussion with your sons about the four definitions of manhood.
A Challenge to Families with Boys
It had some encouraging tips, but mostly impractical stories of what he did in his atypical setting. Only a knight can raise a knight brings about self-doubt in the reader. Might read it again later when my stepson is older but it was useless for me now. Then it proceeds to say that boys need to have ceremonies/rights of passage to manhood and celebrate their masculinity which is being smothered by feminism. Pleasantly void of any "taking back American Christianity from effeminate culture" language, this book is not about raising up your son to be a 'Manly Man'. It's a book about the importance of teaching your son values in a way that he hears them and they take root in his character.
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