What a joy to have a son pray, recounting to God what he has
learned of his heavenly Father from his earthly father. Fathers have a
tremendous privilege, opportunity, and responsibility to share life
experiences and the good works of God with their children. It has
been my great personal joy to witness my son seeing the working of
the Lord in his life and on his behalf.
But not every boy has the benefit of spiritual, fatherly instruction.
The next generation of men is growing up in homes that have fallen
apart or where parents are struggling. This is where a mentoring effort
can effectively come alongside the family and provide needed support
and guidance.
The TALKS mentoring approach provides a tested, satisfying way
to connect men and boys. Here are the systematic steps that make it
work:
- Assess the situation.
- Understand the levels of mentoring involvement.
- Take a personal inventory.
STEP1. ASSESS THESITUATION
The first strategy for turning boys into men is to assess the situation.
That is, the mentor needs to ask, what’s going on (where the boy is
now) and what’s about to happen (where the boy is headed). Proverbs
21:16 states, “The man that wandereth out of the way of understand-
ing shall remain in the congregation of the dead” (KJV). Many youth
today have veered from the narrow way of understanding onto the
wide road that leads to destruction. If they continue in that direction
it will land them in the congregation of the dead. There is a mass men-
tality at work among them. They are running in a pack, swarming
together in the wrong direction like the stampeding swine in Luke
8:33: “... and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake,
and were choked” (KJV).
Not one of the pigs stopped, looked around, or changed direction.
While it is unwise to get in front of a herd of anything, it is possible to
run alongside, grab one every now and then, and change that individ-
ual’s course and direction. This is our objective as we commit our-
174 BUILDINGSTRONGFAMILIES