What does it mean to be a real man? How can we cultivate biblical manhood? On the weeked edition of Live the Promise Susie welcomes back New York Times bestselling author Stephen Mansfield, author of the books Healing Your Church Hurt, The Faith of George W. Bush, The Faith of Barack Obamaand Lincoln’s Battle With God. We unpack the virtues, disciplines, duties, and actions of well-known men of honor who have gone before us.

In his newest book, Mansfield’s Book of Manly Men, Stephen takes the cultural views of manhood to task. “I believe something fairly radical – true manhood comes from doing manly deeds. It is a mastery of a body of behaviors. By words like ‘manly’ and ‘manhood’ I don’t mean the kind of behavior we see in the fake masculinity that surround us today. There’s nothing manly about a guy downing booze until he throws up in the street. There’s nothing manly about cruising for women like some predatory beast and then devouring them for pleasure before casting them aside. There’s nothing manly about making a child and then running like a coward before that child is born. There’s nothing manly about dominating a woman or treating  her like a servant or leaving her with burdens that aren’t rightly hers.”

What does it mean to be a real man? Look at Christ. Stephen and Susie point to His strong sense of identity, His willingness to take on responsibilities, His love of truth and righteousness and His desire to protect those who are weak or vulnerable. Stephen says, we don’t need a caricature of manhood – we need the perfect picture of the real thing. “He was physical, we see Him being righteously angry about some things… He’s not John Wayne, He’s not Patton, that’s not what we need to do with Him; we just need to see Him as He actually is in Scripture.”

Key Scriptures: 1 Kings 2:2; Ephesians 5:25-32; Matthew 21:12-13

Theme Song: Revolution by Kirk Franklin

Highlight : The art of manhood

The art of manhood

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