Category: Basic Training

In the prior posts in this series about the foundations for my God Buddy concept, I wrote about addressing the five significant wounds that impact many men and the mask we wear to cover ourselves up. Another concept was to learn how to properly apply the four faces of the authentic man.  The Need for Balanced Men According to Dr. Robert Lewis, author of The Quest for Authentic Manhood study that I attended, men today are confused. Society portrays the need for us to be Mr. Perfect but we simply cannot meet that lofty standard, which is a terrible way to live and pretty much impossible to do. The media also portrays immature men floating with the “winds of culture” trying to please everyone and still acting like fraternity boys well into their adult lives. Neither is the godly standard.    “Without wearing any mask we are conscious of, we

In my last post in this series on the foundations for my God Buddy concept, I wrote about the 5 most common “wounds” men face based on Dr. Robert Lewis’ study, The Quest for Authentic Manhood. In that study, we also learned that many men hide behind one of several “masks” in order to cover their weaknesses and flaws. However, Dr. Lewis suggested these masks actually keep us from the deeper discussions that develop the true, authentic relationships we really need.  One book on this very topic is The Mask of Masculinity by Lewis Howes. I found his book very helpful to understand why men avoid being vulnerable with each other. As I wrote about in Traits of a God Buddy, vulnerability is one of the important characteristics. Like many fathers of my generation (I’m a Baby Boomer), Howes’ dad rarely talked about his feelings. He said he and his

In the previous post in this series about the foundations for my God Buddy concept, I wrote about gaining a better understanding of God’s design for manhood by attending a study called The Quest for Authentic Manhood. Another concept in the study was that there were 3 critical issues that men face: In my prior post about The Quest for Authentic Manhood, I explained Dr. Robert Lewis’ starting point of a concise vision statement about God’s design for me as a man: “An authentic man is one who… Rejects Passivity, Accepts his Responsibility, Leads Courageously, and Expects The Greater Reward of Heaven.” — Dr. Robert Lewis, The Quest for Authentic Manhood Prior to giving us this vision though, Dr. Lewis unpacked what he called the five significant “wounds” of a man’s past that keep us from living fully into our God-given potential. Here is a brief outline of each: 1. The