It was not your usual group of men waiting in the lobby of Boise Oral Surgery and Dental Implant Center. It was 5:30 p.m. on a Wednesday afternoon last spring. Those gathered in the circle of rearranged lobby furniture were all contemplating the same question: “When did I become a man?”
This is not an easy question to answer. It can be even harder for those fathers who want to raise their sons to become men of God. Scott Bobst had a vision to start a ministry for fathers using the book and materials from Raising A Modern-day Knight by Robert Lewis, of Focus on the Family. Lewis defines his tenants of manhood: reject passivity, accept responsibility and anticipate the greater reward at the end.
Seven weeks later, the nine men and their sons were gathered near the Boise River for the first ceremony in their journey to becoming a man of God. The fathers who had gathered near the water were not asking for a pledge from their boys. This was a time for each dad to stand before their son and make a commitment to raising their child with dedication to a code of conduct that would give their boys every advantage to someday recognize they had grown from adolescence to authentic manhood.
The Cloverdale Church is blessed to have this reoccurring ministry for fathers and their sons. One day, when this generation of boys will be asked the same question — “when did you become a man” — their answer will be clear, their love strong, and their fathers' guidance a living example and cherished memory.
Troy Haagenson, Cloverdale Church pastor
