The Men's Movement

US society is filled with "special interest" movements. On one hand, there is a place for them. In the case of ethnic minorities, the reality is that sometimes minority groups are quashed by the majority either out of malice or out of ignorance. It is only when a "special interest" group makes some noise does the issue get addressed. The Civil Rights movement is a prime example.

However, the problem with special interest groups is that often times they become motivated by grievance only or even hatred of "other groups."

The feminist movement is probably one of the strongest "special interest" groups out there. And indeed, when they are fighting to protect abused women and other injustices like that, they serve society well. However, there is clearly an aspect of the movement that is anti-male a la "a woman needs a man as much as a fish needs a bicycle." Also, there is a train of thought that denies that there are differences between the sexes i.e. men and women are the same except for plumbing.

In the last decade or so there has been a small cottage industry of books for a kind of "Men's movement" where there is an effort to define masculinity and how to recover a sense of identity that has been lost.

Can't say I am familiar with the history and ideas propagated by the movement. However, I know that Robert Bly is one of the noted personalities. Also, a few years back, the group, Promise Keepers made a huge splash with large rallies that called men to renew themselves in renewing their commitments to their wives, children and families and ultimately to God.

Here is a good summation by Ray Bohlin of two books in the Christian Men's movement.
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Excerpts:

Over the last fifteen years numerous books have been written from both secular and Christian authors to help men find their way. In this article we're going to spend some time with two of them. Stu Weber, a pastor in Oregon wrote the hugely influential Tender Warrior in 1993. Tender Warrior is full of stories and illustrations that irresistibly pull you along to Stu's appointed end: a vision of manhood mined from God's original intention for a man wrapped up in the New Testament vision of the Ultimate Tender Warrior, Jesus Christ.

At the core of Weber's vision is what he calls the four pillars of a man's heart: the Heart of a King, the Heart of a Warrior, the Heart of a Mentor, and the Heart of a Friend. I first read Tender Warrior in the mid 90s, and I was immediately caught up in his four-part description. I knew I didn't exemplify all of these characteristics as Weber describes them, but I knew I wanted to.
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In the continuing parade of books from Christian authors for men comes a book that has taken the evangelical community by storm. Counselor and writer John Eldredge claims that men are wild at heart and desperately need to recapture this essential part of maleness. In his book, Wild at Heart, Eldredge claims that every man needs a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to rescue.

Eldredge's triumvirate lines up quite well with Weber's four pillars, the Heart of the King, Warrior, Mentor, and Friend. Both Weber and Eldredge assert that a man needs a cause outside himself to fully live out the image of God in him. They just use different terminology.
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I recently had the chance to read Wild at Heart and recommend it with a few caveats. Books by nature are a reflection of the author's experiences and biases. The writer of Wild at Heart is clearly a strong physical specimen! He draws from his life experiences as an outdoorsman and mountain climber.

As someone who makes my living in a medical research laboratory those kinds of rugged outdoorsy stories are inspiring but are outside my experience and probably outside of many men's life stories. Interestingly, Bohlin in his analysis that I linked to above makes this point also. Nonetheless, Bohlin and I agree that Eldredge's point is well taken that lurking within a man's heart is a spirit of adventure... to be tested and stretched. And if that part of him is not active, his passion for life dies.

Because of Elredge's emphasis on the physically vigorous, I would recommend all men to read Henri Nouwen's The Return of the Prodigal Son to balance the picture. Here the author is writing later in life when he is losing his physical vitality and the end of life is closer than the beginning. Nouwen recognized that his spirituality no longer could be defined by vigorous activity because it was simply no longer possible. Yet, our life of spiritual passion and vitality exists even beyond the loss of our youth. And if it exists later in life, then it should exist and be cultivated now while we still have our youthful vigor. Nouwen, in this incredible book, traces his life in parallel with the great Bible story of the Prodigal Son and through the imagery of Rembrandt's painting that hangs in St. Petersburgh Hermitage museum. He describes his identification with the Prodigal younger son, the dutiful older son and his realization that he needs to move toward the identity of the Father figure in the story.

John Eldredge also seems to take some veiled swipes at the Promise Keeper movement in saying that modern American Christianity is producing "bored nice guys." Again, I recognize as an author, he is being an advocate of a position so I accept the provocative nature of those kinds of statements. But in fairness to the encouragement of "nice guys" of the PK movement, let's be real. If we are starting from husbands who don't care about their wives and abandon their children then getting to dutiful nice guys is a huge step up! And so Eldredge's push for men to recapture passion and a sense of adventure is well taken *after* men reach a willingness to renew their commitment. For in the final analysis, duty will carry us only so far. A sense of duty plus a passion for life is a powerful combination.