As my oldest son grew up, my desire to help him become a Godly man also developed. It started when I heard a speaker at a conference talking about making a list of things that young men should be able to do when the leave home. This led to a discussion with a Bible study group. This led to a long lag in development because life crept back in. As my son got older I ran across a book that really cemented my desire to teach my son to be a man also also an interest in assisting other dads in the journey.
Raising a Modern Day Knight by Robert Lewis went way beyond what I had been thinking. And yes I did read the whole book.
Lewis likens raising sons to the training and development of a knight. It should be intentional. It should build character. It should equip him for the future. It should be special and full of ceremony. Now I will admit some of the knight imagery was a bit corny for me but I'm an adapter so that was no problem.
As summer approached when my oldest son was 13 I started to get ready to do something, but honestly I wasn't sure what it was going to be. I asked some friends to join me on a trip to Colorado with our sons to start the process of welcoming them into manhood. Much to my surprise the accepted. I picked up the book again and over the course of a few days the plan just poured out. Honestly I'm not that creative, I really consider it a God thing. What I ended up with and what we used on the trip is what I now call 13toMan.
Over the next few posts I will cover the definition of a man we use in the 13toMan seminar which happens to be based on Robert Lewis' principles in the book. It is something the boys going through the program learn (5 years later my son still knows it.) It is something they should be able to explain to others. It is something that gives them a guideline as they make the journey into manhood.
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