Making Men: Five Steps to Growing Up by Chuck Holton

Making Men: Five Steps to Growing Up Reviews

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  Luke

  I really dig this book. Holton's premise is that so much of what we consider "manliness" is just males searching for a way to tell the world that he's a man. Holton goes about defining a simple, teachable system for describing a man, rooted in integrity and Scripture. Honestly in today's day and age, which is full of what CS Lewis described as "men without chests", we need more men and boys who have read this book. Get a copy for yourself and one for your son/brother/uncle/neighbor.
  
  Thanks for taking the time to read this review.
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  Taylor Rollo

  It was a decent book, but definitely not the best book on manhood I have read. One thing that is striking is that the author says he spent years studying manhood in Scripture, but he uses surprisingly little scripture in his arguments except for a few verses here and there that are generally interpreted properly in their context but probably over-interpreted for the subject matter. The book was more anecdotal than biblical. But, because of God's grace working in his life, probably, he still produced a pretty good representation of biblical manhood. Maybe all that time spent in Scripture did not impact him exegetically but it certainly did spiritually.
  His emphasis on submission to the lordship of Christ and the rejection of passivity is key to biblical manhood. Furthermore, his contention that we were not placed on this Earth for our own happiness but to serve others in submission to our Lord is at the heart of biblical manhood. So, he did do a pretty good job.
  One concern I would have for the book is that all of his stories could potentially leave one with the impression that if we are not taking huge risks we are not being men. The author does not say this, but his background and rather extreme story might suggest that to the undiscerning reader.
  All in all, would I suggest this book for someone to read? Yes, but it would be perhaps 3rd or 4th on my list of books to read on biblical manhood.
• 
  2GMALR9

  Wonderful handbook to help raise spiritually healthy boys and to help girls learn how to recognize the right man instead of going after the wrong guy.
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  Bill Garrison

  MAKING MEN by Chuck Holton is the kind of book that dads and men need to read every so often. You can do a great job being a father,and a husband, and a man, but sometimes you just need a refresher. You need to be reminded about what the Bible says about being a man and being a leader. This book is perfect for that.
  
  Holton's acronym for being a man is SHAPE. A chapter is devoted to each of these letters. You'll get chapters titled: Submit, Assess and Improve, Perish and Provide, and Engage. Holton uses plenty of scripture to reinforce the Bible's view of what a man should be, and he includes several stories.
  
  This book isn't directly a book on being a father to your boys, but it can help with that. It is more about being a man that is Godly and capable of leading his family, or others. This is a short, easy, read that should help and encourage any man that reads it.
  
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  Doug Dale

  When starting this book (given to me as a gift), I thought it would primarily be about parenting boys. However it is just as much, if not more, about what kind of man a father should be. In other words, it's about manhood primarily, and that translates into strategies for parenting boys. When you read of the authors background Army Ranger and successful stockbroker (among many other things), you think it is going to be one of *those* kinds of books, but he starts by identifying the ways we can falsely seek manhood in things like that. Overall, this is a very good book on manhood. The author's definition of honor is particularly helpful.
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  Michael Brown

  great book well worth reading
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  Darrell

  This extremely insightful book needs to be read by anyone who wants to raise their boys to be great men. Please read this.
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  Travyce Varnum

  Great book for "guys" who desire to be Men. There are plenty of Bible references. Don't write it off as "preachy", however. The wisdom is universal.
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  Becky

  A good book for every dad to read!