Rite of Passage Pt. 1
I have been trying to post this for a few days now. I finally have a moment, if not alone, at least away from responsibilities.
Most people would consider 13 yrs old to be a rather special birthday, and we are like most people. In addition, Shari and I believe that one of the things missing in our culture are rites of passage - special moments commemorating a change in a child's status. A bar mitzvah is a more well known rite of passage, but most cultures have some sort in a child's life, if not multiple ones. Our American (dare I say, Western?) culture has seen fit, over the generations, to allow our rites of passage to fade away. So, Shari and I have decided to celebrate different passages with special rites. When it's time for us to talk about sexual purity with our boys, we take a special retreat away. When our boys become 13, they'll have another special rite, then again at 18, and probably when they're married. Now, seeing as we only have one who's made it to 13, most of these ideas are still in the "figuring this out" stage. However, for more information about this idea, at least for boys, I highly recommend, "Raising A Modern Day Knight" by Robert Lewis.
As I said above, 13 years old is a special time of leaving childhood and entering into training to be a man. In our family, the goal of becoming a Godly man. Unfortunately, our oldest son had his 13th birthday at a time when we couldn't afford to perform a rite properly. Last weekend, we were finally able to do so.
The evening consisted of five men, plus myself, speaking into Michael's life about different areas that I believe are imperative to being a Godly man: A Brotherhood of Friends, an Adventure to Live, a Women to Love (or, until marriage, learning how to respect women), a Battle to Fight (primarily in a spiritual sense), and knowing his identity in Christ, and all that means, especially in regards to pursuing spiritual gifts. Shari's dad was here from Illinois, so he was able to take part in this process, as was my dad, Michael's first youth pastor, his current one, and a great pastor friend in Lolo. All these men spoke into his life, and each person (except for Pastor Don, who had to call from Lolo) had a special place in town they chose, or I did, that went along with his theme. I especially like the youth pastors' spots: a fire dept., and a cemetery.
After that, we arrived at a friend's house for pizza, pop, and a special presentation. It's here that I gave Michael a special, symbolic gift. Stay tuned for what and why.
Most people would consider 13 yrs old to be a rather special birthday, and we are like most people. In addition, Shari and I believe that one of the things missing in our culture are rites of passage - special moments commemorating a change in a child's status. A bar mitzvah is a more well known rite of passage, but most cultures have some sort in a child's life, if not multiple ones. Our American (dare I say, Western?) culture has seen fit, over the generations, to allow our rites of passage to fade away. So, Shari and I have decided to celebrate different passages with special rites. When it's time for us to talk about sexual purity with our boys, we take a special retreat away. When our boys become 13, they'll have another special rite, then again at 18, and probably when they're married. Now, seeing as we only have one who's made it to 13, most of these ideas are still in the "figuring this out" stage. However, for more information about this idea, at least for boys, I highly recommend, "Raising A Modern Day Knight" by Robert Lewis.
As I said above, 13 years old is a special time of leaving childhood and entering into training to be a man. In our family, the goal of becoming a Godly man. Unfortunately, our oldest son had his 13th birthday at a time when we couldn't afford to perform a rite properly. Last weekend, we were finally able to do so.
The evening consisted of five men, plus myself, speaking into Michael's life about different areas that I believe are imperative to being a Godly man: A Brotherhood of Friends, an Adventure to Live, a Women to Love (or, until marriage, learning how to respect women), a Battle to Fight (primarily in a spiritual sense), and knowing his identity in Christ, and all that means, especially in regards to pursuing spiritual gifts. Shari's dad was here from Illinois, so he was able to take part in this process, as was my dad, Michael's first youth pastor, his current one, and a great pastor friend in Lolo. All these men spoke into his life, and each person (except for Pastor Don, who had to call from Lolo) had a special place in town they chose, or I did, that went along with his theme. I especially like the youth pastors' spots: a fire dept., and a cemetery.
After that, we arrived at a friend's house for pizza, pop, and a special presentation. It's here that I gave Michael a special, symbolic gift. Stay tuned for what and why.
posted by Pastor Paul at
7:18 PM
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