A Guide to Biblical Manhood

by Randy Stinson, Dan Dumas

How to serve your wife, how to mold men through baseball, how to make men in the church and more practical theology for cultivating men of God who are doers of the Word for the sake of the Gospel.

Genres: Christian, Christian Living, Theology, Nonfiction, Parenting, Family, Marriage

112 pages, Paperback

First published March 27, 2011

About the author

Randy Stinson (PhD, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is dean of the School of Church Ministries at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville and serves as president of the Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.

Reviews

[Ken Haak · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great little book on Biblical Manhood. I have taken 2 people through this book and both have benefitted from it. Biblically based and very practical. Highly recommend if you’re 20 or of you’re 50. It will be a benefit to you.

[Caleb Nakhla · Rating 3 out of 5]

read for discipleship group

pretty generic, not necessarily bad content but just nothing too insightful

[Addison · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read overall, but fairly generic. Worthy of a skim. There are several lists in the second and third sections that could be useful and practical for husbands and fathers.

[Brenden Wentworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great primer on the essential truths surrounding biblical manhood in light of our ultimate example, Jesus Christ. Loved it just as much the second time through!
Books on Christian manhood and biblical masculinity tend to fall into focusing almost exclusively on how its meant to be modeled as a father/husband. But this book adds a helpful element of being applicable to single men as well, largely by focusing half of the book on men from The Bible and who they were/what they did.
As such the book left me wanting more, not simply a small guidebook. In short, I wished it was larger and fleshed out more practical applications of their key points. Regardless, the content is fantastic!

[Corey · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite book on Biblical manhood to date. I've read quite few and skimmed many more but this one is short, concise, packs a punch without devolving into machismo. Yet it's Christ-centered, practical, and well...manly. Taking some students and staff men through this book and will refer back to it often. Plus, it's only $4. What's not to love? Go get a copy - and read it.

[Nolan Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book portrays Biblical manhood and its characteristics as displayed by multiple people in the Bible. From Adam's leadership (or lack thereof) to Paul's grit for the Gospel, we see multiple examples of these characteristics that should be prominent in biblical masculinity. One common theme across these chapters is that there are gaps in their portrayal of just that (in other words these men are broken and imperfect and cannot give us a full picture of what authentic biblical manhood, or even just one of its characteristics, should look like). Then we get to the chapter about Jesus and how His life redeems every aspect of true biblical masculinity that was missing from the other men. Without Christ, any book attempting to discuss biblical manhood is in vain, and as this book puts it, He is indeed the crux of biblical manhood.

The remaining chapters of the book bring these traits of biblical masculinity into three major areas of any God-fearing man's life: marriage, fatherhood, and pastoral leadership. These chapters are dense with Scripture to help support claims made, and there are many practical steps and lists that help intensify this call to action for the men reading.

I gave this book four stars as I think it does a tremendous job of pointing to Christ as the ultimate model for biblical manhood. The examples mentioned help illustrate that every other example we have falls short in some capacity, and the only One who can fill in the holes and erase all imperfections is Christ alone. The main reasons I refrained from giving this book 5 stars were the areas where it seemed to get more practical and less biblical (which I thought were very few), mainly the points made about fatherhood in relation to baseball. I thought that most/all of the points made in this section could have applied to a number of other sports and this seemed to be the main area where the two authors biases overtook the meaning of the chapter. Nevertheless, I enjoyed many of the illustrations made here and I appreciated the insight that was brought by the two authors.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to explore deeper meaning to authentic biblical manhood and how to find it in Jesus.

[Eric Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Almost strictly behavioral using examples in the bible; but very little on the necessary heart behind the behavior. Very little about how the gospel shapes manhood and applies to manhood.

[Tim Goldsmith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, sharp & thoughtful.
I'd have been more inclined to give this book 4 stars if it weren't so American focussed. I'd say this is also a book one ought to read with a grain of salt. In the current political climate, the temptation would be to throw the book out if it says anything that you disagree with. There were certainly some moments when I thought the authors were reflecting American culture more than they were biblical culture, but I didn't let that stop me from being encouraged and challenged by what they had to say.
Definitely worth a skim-read, and maybe even a slower, more methodical look!

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read, one of the top five books on biblical manhood that I’ve ever read. The author addresses everything from the spiritual apathy of men in the church to the outline and command of scripture to lead, protect and cultivate our families. If you’re a follower of Christ who is a single man, a husband, a father or a spiritual leader, this book is a valuable resource.

[Albert Hehr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall excellent. A bit difficult to read due to the format and sheer density of words on a page, but super solid. I believe I would actually push to use this as a reference book for when you enter different phases of life. Including being a husband and a father.

Overall great. Stick with it and take notes. I should have taken more

[Velma Bagby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! My husband & I both enjoyed it.

[JT Stead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this book and recommend it to students al the time. My wife even loved this book. short, sweet, and packs a punch.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great reference book for Christ-following men. I found this book to be well written, challenging, and inspiring.

[Nehemiah R. Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Succinct. Wise. 100 pages. Ideal book.

[DJ Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was given to me as a gift from my mom while in college. Finished it within a few days and greatly influenced my decision making going forward.

[Dustin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent book. I enjoyed the practical application along with theological insight. It’s written for every man to read, with easy to understand language. I look forward to reading more of the SBTS Guide Book Series.

[Mark A Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

What does it mean to be a man? The Bible’s answer is found here. There is a lot of information packed into this book (in a small font, to boot) and perhaps could have warranted either a larger format or tighter editing. But it’s hard to be nit-picky when presented with a resource that so intentionally seeks to give men a proper balance of right understanding and right application of truth in their roles as men.

[Patrick Hamblin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book looks at examples of biblical manhood from the bible. Best sections were the ending sections addressed to husbands, fathers, and church leaders.

Having heard Randy Stinson preach (2010 and 2011 Connecting Church and Family Conferences) I know his love for baseball. I really appreciated his section on how sports, particularly baseball, reveals character.

[Allen Tsai · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book's strength is also it's weakness. It focuses a lot on the practical side of what it means to be a biblical man. In my opinion, the latter half of the book (especially the chapter on being a servant husband) is better than the first half's character profile. This book would be helpful if it's in addition to another book that provides more depth for the basis of biblical manhood.

[Will Pareja · Rating 3 out of 5]

This man's guide will serve a Christian man, pastor or men's ministry well. Easy to grasp ideas. Indeed, inspiring.
However, a poorly formatted and edited book that is quite distracting.
Read it. Grab all the good ideas and give it away to someone who would be less offended by the editing and typesetting.

[Dwain Minor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe this book to be a great resource for Christian men. It is a good mixture of the theological and how that works out practically. So, it answers the question of what biblical manhood is, as well as how is manhood exhibited in the different spheres of life.

[Richard Mendell · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is instructions and a challenge to be the best man that you can. Interesting reading even though these are biblical myths and stories. It could easily be "A Guide to Manhood" if they dropped the references to God, Jesus, being a Christian, etc.

[Don Gale]

Every man should read this. Excellent. Short. Practical.

[Todd Miles · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short book, written from a complementarian perspective, that is easy to read, but full of helpful ideas. Definitely worth the short time and small cost that you will invest.

[Jeff Strickland · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a booklet than a book, but still very practical and helpful. We need more of such literature in this area.

[J.A. Medders · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible. We use it in our Men's Discipleship Program. Get it.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, short intro to masculinity.

[Dominic · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE GOOD: Very practical. First section examines Godly men in the Bible. Second section is for husbands. Third section is for fathers. And fourth section is for pastors.

THE BAD: Too short.

THE UGLY: May be hard to find a copy of this book.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heavy on practical advice and not as much on Gospel motivation. But, the wisdom is very helpful.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some parts of this were spectacular. Other parts were just ok. Overall, though, really good resource to keep around. Good stuff.