I grew up without a father’s blessing. Since my father’s dad died when he was quite young, I’m sure he grew up without one too. He and I are two generations in our family that suffered loss. When it came to raising a family, neither of us had a role model for blessing the next generation. Now that my own children are steaming into adulthood, and I desire to pass a blessing on to them, this absence has become more pronounced.
Men of Honor, Women of Virtue: The Power of Rites of Passage Into Adulthood (Seismic Publishing Group, 2010) is an indispensable resource for those of us desiring to bless our next generation in ways we’ve not personally experienced. Written by Dr. Chuck Stecker, President and Founder of A Chosen Generation, Men of Honor, Women of Virtue explores the confusing signals our culture sends to young people about what it means to be an adult and offers parents helpful strategies in guiding their children toward godly adulthood. Because many of us have grown up with our own unhealed wounds, Stecker graciously provides the dual balm of perspective and encouragement. “If we parents cling tightly to the hurt in our own hearts due to the lack of a father’s blessing, it’s hard to imagine how we can help our children walk in the fullness of who God created them to be,” he writes. And so, before laying a strategy for blessing our children, he deals with our own hearts and hurts.
Over the past five years I’ve gotten to know Dr. Stecker through the National Coalition of Men’s Ministry. Dr. Stecker is the real deal. I’ve watched him from a distance and up close. His passion for helping church communities become truly intergenerational is inspiring. His burden for youth is infectious. And his love for God and people is indisputable. He’s never hesitated or withheld a helpful word of advice when I’ve sought it from him on numerous occasions. As a parent desiring to give my children blessings I’ve not personally experienced, his counsel to me has been invaluable. Fortunately for all of us, much of that counsel is now captured in Men of Honor, Women of Virtue.
