Raising Men Not Boys

“That squirmy little infant you bring home from the hospital is, in a short number of years, intended by God’s design to step into His world as a young man who will make a difference for Christ. Your job is to release him to this reality.” 

– Mike Fabarez

Title: Raising Men Not Boys

Author: Mike Fabarez

Who should read this? Parents of sons (however, parents of daughters will benefit from it too!)

Summary: Mike Fabarez starts by reminding parents of the big picture. The goal, he states, is to prepare your son “to take his place in this world as a trophy of God’s grace and as an agent of God’s values and priorities in this upcoming generation.” Pastor Mike then, with extremely helpful practicality, unpacks how we can do this — from teaching a well-rounded view of God, to creating chore charts, to instilling restaurant manners, to giving boys ample exercise… and much more. 

What I like about it: Though my 4 children are ALL girls, I still very much enjoyed Raising Men Not Boys.  What Pastor Mike calls “spiritual common sense” permeated this book, and much of it applied to daughters also. Even that which didn’t, I found useful to think through (to relate to my friends with sons, and to understand my future grandsons!).

With our culture displaying so much confusion about the topic of masculinity, this is a timely topic — and a worthwhile read (or you can listen to it on audible!)!

You can find it here as Paperback, Kindle, or Audiobook: