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Act Like Men: 40 Days to Biblical Manhood
Man up; it’s the best thing you can do for others—and yourself Men are so busy doing so many different things; when not working, their free time is often full of the trivial or sinful. But what society and church so desperately need are men who embrace all that God created them to be, who long to follow God without limits and meet the needs of those around them without hesitation. To get there, we need what Pastor James MacDonald calls “radical surgery”—a deep, probing exploration and reparation of all that it means to be a man.
In his definitive, bold voice, MacDonald calls men to be watchful, firm in their faith, strong, and loving. This isn’t a call for bravado and bluster. It’s a call for men to mix tender and tough, to be humble, to follow Jesus. It is a call to be leaders, men of God, husbands who are present and caring and strong. It is straight talk—no posturing or posing or beating around the bush—inviting men to redemption and restoration in their manhood. Read Act Like Men and take bold steps toward being all that God designed you to be.
In his definitive, bold voice, MacDonald calls men to be watchful, firm in their faith, strong, and loving. This isn’t a call for bravado and bluster. It’s a call for men to mix tender and tough, to be humble, to follow Jesus. It is a call to be leaders, men of God, husbands who are present and caring and strong. It is straight talk—no posturing or posing or beating around the bush—inviting men to redemption and restoration in their manhood. Read Act Like Men and take bold steps toward being all that God designed you to be.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
About the author
James MacDonald
266 books107 followersJames MacDonald (D. Min. Phoenix Seminary) is married to his high school sweetheart, Kathy, and both are from Ontario, Canada. He is the father of three grown children, a daughter-in-law, a son-in-law, and grandfather to four amazing grandsons. James’ ministry focuses on the unapologetic proclamation of God’s Word. In 1988, along with a small group of ministry partners, James and Kathy planted Harvest Bible Chapel which has grown to 13,000 people each weekend, meeting in six locations.
In 1997, a Bible-teaching broadcast ministry called Walk in the Word was established, now reaching more than three million people weekly. In 2002, a church planting ministry called Harvest Bible Fellowship was born and has established more than 70 churches across North America and around the world. James’ vision is that God will use him to help plant 1,000 churches in his lifetime.
James’ extensive ministry also includes a training center for pastors, a year-round camp, a biblical counseling center, a disaster recovery organization, and a Christian school—all used to reach more people with the life-changing message of the Gospel.
Now impacting millions of lives annually, God’s favor upon these ministries has been described by James as “abundantly baffling.” The MacDonalds’ view their ministry as proof that God still uses broken vessels to pour out His grace.
In 1997, a Bible-teaching broadcast ministry called Walk in the Word was established, now reaching more than three million people weekly. In 2002, a church planting ministry called Harvest Bible Fellowship was born and has established more than 70 churches across North America and around the world. James’ vision is that God will use him to help plant 1,000 churches in his lifetime.
James’ extensive ministry also includes a training center for pastors, a year-round camp, a biblical counseling center, a disaster recovery organization, and a Christian school—all used to reach more people with the life-changing message of the Gospel.
Now impacting millions of lives annually, God’s favor upon these ministries has been described by James as “abundantly baffling.” The MacDonalds’ view their ministry as proof that God still uses broken vessels to pour out His grace.
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January 8, 2018
I went through this, two chapters a week, with some guys at my church.
There are 40 short chapters, each of which is a quick read and come across as kind of glib to me. However, each chapter has 3 to 5 discussion questions at the end that are insanely deep. Recommended only if:
(1) If you have a group of church guys willing to read it regularly and then really think about the questions together. My group tried, but we still didn't get very deep because only some people were willing to open up. But, that's not the book's fault. And it sparked a lot of good discussions, and did make us better friends.
(2) If you don't have a group of friends to go over it with, but can think deeply and are a good journaler. Then you'll still get good value out of the discussion questions if you read them, look at yourself and your shortcomings at least somewhat honestly, and then write down what you've learned about yourself and what you're hoping you and God will do about fixing it.
(3) If you want something for a group Bible study or 40 extensive (say, 1 hour or longer) personal Bible studies. MacDonald cites 8-15 or so Bible verses per chapter, some within the text, some only in the back of the book. So you can just go through all of those for a chapter and generate your own fairly in-depth themed Bible study out of it, either by yourself or for a group. My group really didn't do that though, except when certain people were leading. (Just different leadership styles.)
(4) If you are a working man who doesn't have time for more than a quick devotional read at the beginning of the day, and would like some daily help before you head out the door. This would probably be great for you.
For the author's intended audience, I think this book may very well help. It also may help newer Christian men or shallow Christian men who have trouble expressing their thoughts or their feelings. (But, in both cases I'm skeptical that someone like that is going to be on Goodreads reading this review in the first place. If anything, it's far more likely to be a concerned family member or spouse reading this review. ...and they're probably trying to get that man to "shape up" in some way through a self-help book like this and just want to know if the book will help. To such a person say, you can try, but a "manly man" like that is probably not going to read this book unless it was his idea all along. Especially if he thinks he's doing just fine already. You and I both know he probably isn't, but you're going to have to wait for God to knock some sense into someone like that first. Usually it takes a metaphorical freight train. And even then this book is "just ok" for that, if you ask me.)
However, for someone not in one of those categories, I don't think I recommend the book. The rest this review will be about why I think that, and then at the end I'll list some other resources that helped me out more than this book.
My take on the author is that he is not a detail person. He's stereotypical American to a fault and thinks all men are like him: natural leaders, simple, direct, like hunting, like sports, have more ego than is healthy, don't read the directions, get bored easily, are lazy, like risk, like charging off after a problem, like clear black-and-white answers to everything, prideful, avoid dealing with problems, don't get relationships, like meat and taters, ...and you're probably getting the picture by now. I know the type, but I'm not ...most of that, so that was a barrier to me both in being able to relate to the author and being able to do anything with the advice being given.
I would say the author has written this for about one fourth of the stereotypical male population in America. Still, that's not to say people who don't fit the traditional 1950's Christian man can't get something out of it. (A bit of a side note: Possibly less than that amount because the impression I have is that for millennials, gen X, and gen Z, society has relentlessly made so much effort to convince us that (a) natural masculine traits are somehow bad, (b) there is somehow no difference of any kind between male and female, biological or otherwise, and (c) being androgynous or getting a sex change is somehow the way to go. Anyway.)
In addition, the book also comes across as pretty glib in parts to me. For example, the author tells a lot of short stories to set up his points. Usually he gets details about the setting or similar wrong in his story. (Such as a story about wolves being reintroduced to Yellowstone.) Another is a rambling defense of infamous pastor Mark Driscoll (seems to have been written before Driscoll's megachurch imploded after Driscoll was forced to step down.) The factual looseness really bothered some people in the group but was not an issue for me, because the point, what matters, the takeaway was the reason for his story. And usually that was fine, if sometimes trite. But if minor inconsistencies like that bother you, be aware.
My biggest issue with the book is that the author is good at pointing out problems pretty much all Christian men face today, but his solutions were unhelpful and vague. For example, the first third or so of the book keeps hammering home the point that (paraphrased) "we need clarity", "Biblical men need clarity," and so on. My group did eventually run into a sentence or two later where he mentioned what he meant by "clarity", but my group was never really sure what he meant by that, even after we found that. So, after going through the whole book none of us have "clarity", at least not this book's brand.
Similarly, MacDonald correctly identifies that lust, sexual problems, and an inability to relate with women deeply are the hot-button issue the majority of Christian men are failing at today in America. No surprise there. But, MacDonald doesn't really seem to know how to solve it, especially the lust and sex problem. He talks about it at great length and cites a lot of verses if you want to try your luck, but after the study I felt stuck in the same places I've always been stuck. I will say he does have a few minor practical tips, not really Biblical, just a few personal rules he has like never riding alone in a car with a woman he's not related to and putting his wife in charge of all his electronic passwords. They could be helpful. But he doesn't explain how he can keep those rules. It's "just do it" I guess. Which for most Christian men is the whole part that doesn't work. So yeah.
By way of closing, most of the time, the most blue collar guy in our group was bored out of his mind by the book and all of our discussions of the questions. In fairness, one chapter did hit him pretty hard. So, that's the guy who I think this book is for, and he was 1 or 2 out of 40. Swing and a miss. The rest of my group were a baby boomer manager/former developer with kids in college, a gen X businessman/manager, a couple software developers fresh out of college, an unhappy engineer who had only been out of college for a couple years, and me, who kind of has one foot in the arts world, one foot in software developer, one hand in sports, the other hand in video games, and head full of too much theology. We were pretty much all easygoing introverts who tried the best we could to get something out of the book. I would say it was more misses than hits. Our best discussions would be started by the questions and then, fortunately, we had one guy who was good at asking insightful follow-up questions that kept the real talk going. Even more fortunately, he didn't get tired of carrying the load for us.
I would predict that if you're going to get anything useful or inspirational out of the book, it's probably going to be in *spite of* the author, not because of him. But I'm guessing the author would be ok with God using him in spite of his own personal weaknesses, at least. So hopefully that's a no harm, no foul.
Some other resources for Christian men I'd recommend looking into:
- The Men's Fraternity program. It's much more in-depth and requires a lot more commitment (weekly videos/sermons; you'll have to find a local chapter), and it's still got some "meat and taters" man stuff, but it's got a lot more to offer.
- xxxChurch. If you have porn issues or other marriage/sex issues, this is almost the only place. Also check out Shellie R. Warren's blog series on xxxChurch called "Weak in the Knees" that goes through every couple in the Bible. It was far more helpful to me, anyway.
- Paul Washer's sermons on Youtube about Biblical manhood. Be warned they will hit you like a truck. But don't take them in a legalistic way and they will be good medicine.
- Mark Gungor's relationship comedy videos on Youtube.
- Rich Mullins' interviews on Youtube
- Jordan B Peterson's lectures on youtube (not a Christian, but understands original sin), particularly anything about personal responsibility or suffering.
- Any sort of serious study on the life of David would probably also do the trick, like the 1 and 2 Samuel Life Change group Bible study book from Navpress.
- Tim Keller sermons
- Matt Chandler sermons
- T.D. Jakes sermons
There are 40 short chapters, each of which is a quick read and come across as kind of glib to me. However, each chapter has 3 to 5 discussion questions at the end that are insanely deep. Recommended only if:
(1) If you have a group of church guys willing to read it regularly and then really think about the questions together. My group tried, but we still didn't get very deep because only some people were willing to open up. But, that's not the book's fault. And it sparked a lot of good discussions, and did make us better friends.
(2) If you don't have a group of friends to go over it with, but can think deeply and are a good journaler. Then you'll still get good value out of the discussion questions if you read them, look at yourself and your shortcomings at least somewhat honestly, and then write down what you've learned about yourself and what you're hoping you and God will do about fixing it.
(3) If you want something for a group Bible study or 40 extensive (say, 1 hour or longer) personal Bible studies. MacDonald cites 8-15 or so Bible verses per chapter, some within the text, some only in the back of the book. So you can just go through all of those for a chapter and generate your own fairly in-depth themed Bible study out of it, either by yourself or for a group. My group really didn't do that though, except when certain people were leading. (Just different leadership styles.)
(4) If you are a working man who doesn't have time for more than a quick devotional read at the beginning of the day, and would like some daily help before you head out the door. This would probably be great for you.
For the author's intended audience, I think this book may very well help. It also may help newer Christian men or shallow Christian men who have trouble expressing their thoughts or their feelings. (But, in both cases I'm skeptical that someone like that is going to be on Goodreads reading this review in the first place. If anything, it's far more likely to be a concerned family member or spouse reading this review. ...and they're probably trying to get that man to "shape up" in some way through a self-help book like this and just want to know if the book will help. To such a person say, you can try, but a "manly man" like that is probably not going to read this book unless it was his idea all along. Especially if he thinks he's doing just fine already. You and I both know he probably isn't, but you're going to have to wait for God to knock some sense into someone like that first. Usually it takes a metaphorical freight train. And even then this book is "just ok" for that, if you ask me.)
However, for someone not in one of those categories, I don't think I recommend the book. The rest this review will be about why I think that, and then at the end I'll list some other resources that helped me out more than this book.
My take on the author is that he is not a detail person. He's stereotypical American to a fault and thinks all men are like him: natural leaders, simple, direct, like hunting, like sports, have more ego than is healthy, don't read the directions, get bored easily, are lazy, like risk, like charging off after a problem, like clear black-and-white answers to everything, prideful, avoid dealing with problems, don't get relationships, like meat and taters, ...and you're probably getting the picture by now. I know the type, but I'm not ...most of that, so that was a barrier to me both in being able to relate to the author and being able to do anything with the advice being given.
I would say the author has written this for about one fourth of the stereotypical male population in America. Still, that's not to say people who don't fit the traditional 1950's Christian man can't get something out of it. (A bit of a side note: Possibly less than that amount because the impression I have is that for millennials, gen X, and gen Z, society has relentlessly made so much effort to convince us that (a) natural masculine traits are somehow bad, (b) there is somehow no difference of any kind between male and female, biological or otherwise, and (c) being androgynous or getting a sex change is somehow the way to go. Anyway.)
In addition, the book also comes across as pretty glib in parts to me. For example, the author tells a lot of short stories to set up his points. Usually he gets details about the setting or similar wrong in his story. (Such as a story about wolves being reintroduced to Yellowstone.) Another is a rambling defense of infamous pastor Mark Driscoll (seems to have been written before Driscoll's megachurch imploded after Driscoll was forced to step down.) The factual looseness really bothered some people in the group but was not an issue for me, because the point, what matters, the takeaway was the reason for his story. And usually that was fine, if sometimes trite. But if minor inconsistencies like that bother you, be aware.
My biggest issue with the book is that the author is good at pointing out problems pretty much all Christian men face today, but his solutions were unhelpful and vague. For example, the first third or so of the book keeps hammering home the point that (paraphrased) "we need clarity", "Biblical men need clarity," and so on. My group did eventually run into a sentence or two later where he mentioned what he meant by "clarity", but my group was never really sure what he meant by that, even after we found that. So, after going through the whole book none of us have "clarity", at least not this book's brand.
Similarly, MacDonald correctly identifies that lust, sexual problems, and an inability to relate with women deeply are the hot-button issue the majority of Christian men are failing at today in America. No surprise there. But, MacDonald doesn't really seem to know how to solve it, especially the lust and sex problem. He talks about it at great length and cites a lot of verses if you want to try your luck, but after the study I felt stuck in the same places I've always been stuck. I will say he does have a few minor practical tips, not really Biblical, just a few personal rules he has like never riding alone in a car with a woman he's not related to and putting his wife in charge of all his electronic passwords. They could be helpful. But he doesn't explain how he can keep those rules. It's "just do it" I guess. Which for most Christian men is the whole part that doesn't work. So yeah.
By way of closing, most of the time, the most blue collar guy in our group was bored out of his mind by the book and all of our discussions of the questions. In fairness, one chapter did hit him pretty hard. So, that's the guy who I think this book is for, and he was 1 or 2 out of 40. Swing and a miss. The rest of my group were a baby boomer manager/former developer with kids in college, a gen X businessman/manager, a couple software developers fresh out of college, an unhappy engineer who had only been out of college for a couple years, and me, who kind of has one foot in the arts world, one foot in software developer, one hand in sports, the other hand in video games, and head full of too much theology. We were pretty much all easygoing introverts who tried the best we could to get something out of the book. I would say it was more misses than hits. Our best discussions would be started by the questions and then, fortunately, we had one guy who was good at asking insightful follow-up questions that kept the real talk going. Even more fortunately, he didn't get tired of carrying the load for us.
I would predict that if you're going to get anything useful or inspirational out of the book, it's probably going to be in *spite of* the author, not because of him. But I'm guessing the author would be ok with God using him in spite of his own personal weaknesses, at least. So hopefully that's a no harm, no foul.
Some other resources for Christian men I'd recommend looking into:
- The Men's Fraternity program. It's much more in-depth and requires a lot more commitment (weekly videos/sermons; you'll have to find a local chapter), and it's still got some "meat and taters" man stuff, but it's got a lot more to offer.
- xxxChurch. If you have porn issues or other marriage/sex issues, this is almost the only place. Also check out Shellie R. Warren's blog series on xxxChurch called "Weak in the Knees" that goes through every couple in the Bible. It was far more helpful to me, anyway.
- Paul Washer's sermons on Youtube about Biblical manhood. Be warned they will hit you like a truck. But don't take them in a legalistic way and they will be good medicine.
- Mark Gungor's relationship comedy videos on Youtube.
- Rich Mullins' interviews on Youtube
- Jordan B Peterson's lectures on youtube (not a Christian, but understands original sin), particularly anything about personal responsibility or suffering.
- Any sort of serious study on the life of David would probably also do the trick, like the 1 and 2 Samuel Life Change group Bible study book from Navpress.
- Tim Keller sermons
- Matt Chandler sermons
- T.D. Jakes sermons
August 20, 2018
It was a good book in the sense that it was sanctifying and provoked good conversation among brothers. However, as a piece of writing itself, it was poorly written and very repetitive.
Each chapter got it's point across but many of them were disorganized and even contained unrelated subsections that were completely unrelated.
The book overall is nicely divided into 5 sections based on the theme verse. I like that he gave a consistent overall organization of chapters and of each section. The problem came within an individual chapter, it was just poorly written and seemingly written to a stereotypical man portrayed as "Joe the Plummer." However, stereotypical men don't read books, so you shouldn't be writing some some caveman character who just watches sports and hunts on a motorcycle all day. You should at LEAST be writing to men who read books and are generally educated about more than beer and sports. You didn't exactly hit your targeted audience being that we are reading your book..
There were decent questions with each chapter and the writing did well at provoking comical relief in our book study group. Overall shallow on each topic. Mis-represents some Biblical characters to make his point.
Each chapter got it's point across but many of them were disorganized and even contained unrelated subsections that were completely unrelated.
The book overall is nicely divided into 5 sections based on the theme verse. I like that he gave a consistent overall organization of chapters and of each section. The problem came within an individual chapter, it was just poorly written and seemingly written to a stereotypical man portrayed as "Joe the Plummer." However, stereotypical men don't read books, so you shouldn't be writing some some caveman character who just watches sports and hunts on a motorcycle all day. You should at LEAST be writing to men who read books and are generally educated about more than beer and sports. You didn't exactly hit your targeted audience being that we are reading your book..
There were decent questions with each chapter and the writing did well at provoking comical relief in our book study group. Overall shallow on each topic. Mis-represents some Biblical characters to make his point.
November 28, 2017
[Note: This book was provided free of charge by Moody Publishers. All thoughts and opinions are my own.]
This book is full of ironies, as it was written by someone who complains about how little men read but brags a lot about the books he has written, none of which I have apparently read before. The author writes about building up men but spends a lot of time tearing down men, including the late and great A.W. Tozer [1], who the writer seems to suggest was a bad husband and father. This book cannot seem to define whether it is written for men and wanting to encourage them to read more through bluntspoken truth or whether it is being written about men to women who might want to better understand men but who are likely to think rather harshly about them. Given the fact that so many more women than men read, it seems at least highly possible given the tone and approach of the author to the subject of manhood that the author is writing this book aimed at women encouraging them to nag their man to be a better man. I'm a bit dubious about it working, because the tonal inconsistency means that this book is not as good as it could have been.
Like quite a few books, this book is written as a 40 day self-help guide [1], and it is organized very schematically. The book discusses five concepts: acting like men, being watchful, standing firm in the faith, being strong, and doing everything in love--but a manly love, not a weak and girly love. Each of these five concepts is discussed in eight parts: text focus, summary word, a failure from the Old Testament, Paul's example, Satan's lie, and three chapters that look at the topic from one of the beings in the supposed Trinity. A great deal of this book, by design, is highly negative, under the belief that men will be encouraged to act like men by reading about failures--failures that include the struggles faced by the author and other members of his illustrious family as well as numerous other Christian leaders, to say nothing of the worldly and the biblical examples that he uses like David, Saul, and Samson. The author seems to be of the belief that the best way to motivate men to act better is to hit them continually with the fear of failure.
Ultimately, I think this approach is a mistake. Given the massive amount of failures in manhood that are shown all around us, and the immensely demanding standards that the author has for being godly men in personal conduct, in faith towards God, as well as in one's family life, this is a book that could use a lot more positivity. The author himself even seems a bit defensive about the approach he takes, seeing that he could be judged as being immensely negative in this book. This book is an example of a book that takes a worthwhile subject of considerable importance and spends a great deal of time working on the graphical design and the structure of the book to make it short enough (at just over 250 pages) to make it easy to read for men or for the women who want to "encourage" them but without paying attention to the need to have a tone that is uplifting and edifying. The point is not to tear down men for not being all that they could be--that is done often enough that the author hardly needs to pile on when so many men are under such consistent attack--but rather to encourage men to be the best that they can be by giving good models for success. Although it has a great deal of insight, this book also has a lot of missed potential.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...
[2] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2013...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2013...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
This book is full of ironies, as it was written by someone who complains about how little men read but brags a lot about the books he has written, none of which I have apparently read before. The author writes about building up men but spends a lot of time tearing down men, including the late and great A.W. Tozer [1], who the writer seems to suggest was a bad husband and father. This book cannot seem to define whether it is written for men and wanting to encourage them to read more through bluntspoken truth or whether it is being written about men to women who might want to better understand men but who are likely to think rather harshly about them. Given the fact that so many more women than men read, it seems at least highly possible given the tone and approach of the author to the subject of manhood that the author is writing this book aimed at women encouraging them to nag their man to be a better man. I'm a bit dubious about it working, because the tonal inconsistency means that this book is not as good as it could have been.
Like quite a few books, this book is written as a 40 day self-help guide [1], and it is organized very schematically. The book discusses five concepts: acting like men, being watchful, standing firm in the faith, being strong, and doing everything in love--but a manly love, not a weak and girly love. Each of these five concepts is discussed in eight parts: text focus, summary word, a failure from the Old Testament, Paul's example, Satan's lie, and three chapters that look at the topic from one of the beings in the supposed Trinity. A great deal of this book, by design, is highly negative, under the belief that men will be encouraged to act like men by reading about failures--failures that include the struggles faced by the author and other members of his illustrious family as well as numerous other Christian leaders, to say nothing of the worldly and the biblical examples that he uses like David, Saul, and Samson. The author seems to be of the belief that the best way to motivate men to act better is to hit them continually with the fear of failure.
Ultimately, I think this approach is a mistake. Given the massive amount of failures in manhood that are shown all around us, and the immensely demanding standards that the author has for being godly men in personal conduct, in faith towards God, as well as in one's family life, this is a book that could use a lot more positivity. The author himself even seems a bit defensive about the approach he takes, seeing that he could be judged as being immensely negative in this book. This book is an example of a book that takes a worthwhile subject of considerable importance and spends a great deal of time working on the graphical design and the structure of the book to make it short enough (at just over 250 pages) to make it easy to read for men or for the women who want to "encourage" them but without paying attention to the need to have a tone that is uplifting and edifying. The point is not to tear down men for not being all that they could be--that is done often enough that the author hardly needs to pile on when so many men are under such consistent attack--but rather to encourage men to be the best that they can be by giving good models for success. Although it has a great deal of insight, this book also has a lot of missed potential.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...
[2] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2013...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2013...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
June 16, 2016
**Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this
review.
I needed this book. As a Christian man, this one hits some deep truths and hits them hard. The whole forty-day journey is based around, and continually points back to, two verses in Scripture that sum up what a man should strive to do and to be: “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 (ESV). By focusing the central messages around these five points, Dr. MacDonald delivers a practical, easy-to-remember set of principles for every man to live his life by.
The early entries are laced with humor, the type of jokes and situations that every man can relate to on some level. I felt like the first ten or so entries really did a great job of welcoming all men into the study, breaking down any walls or barriers they might have to hold them back from plunging into the heart of the material. But once it hits the heart, oh man, does it hit home. Men in general do not like to admit they need help, guidance, direction. But Dr. MacDonald cuts to the core of what men truly need to grow in their biblical manhood, pointing out those stubborn habits that usually hold us back from accomplishing those objectives. The importance of deep, meaningful friendships with other men comes in the closing chapters. It is a topic important enough that, had he devoted the entire 40 days to that it wouldn’t have covered the topic enough to emphasize its importance. It is an area that I need to continue to grow in, surrounding myself with the right men and praying with/for them and having a deeper fellowship with.
Looking back I wish I had been graced with time to approach this in the intended manner: as a 40-day devotional where one chapter is tackled each day. I plan to keep this one on my shelf and, in a year or two, pull it back out and revisit it in that manner with a group of men. Because there are questions at the end of each day, along with a prayer, that really drive things home and I know that diving in and answering those questions (and discussing those answers with other men) would enhance the experience to its fullest potential. But even for those who approach it as I did, as a book to read and absorb the biblical principles, this one stands tall among the crowd of books geared toward men.
The ten podcasts at actlikemen.com add an additional level of depth and really drove home some of the points being made in the pages of the book. I would highly recommend listening to those, as well, during the 40-day journey to biblical manhood. All in all, I don’t know that there is a single man out there who couldn’t gain some great benefit from studying this book alongside other men. If you are looking for a book to help you in your own walk to biblical manhood, or are looking for something to study in your men’s group or with a group of men, this is the first one I would recommend.
review.
I needed this book. As a Christian man, this one hits some deep truths and hits them hard. The whole forty-day journey is based around, and continually points back to, two verses in Scripture that sum up what a man should strive to do and to be: “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 (ESV). By focusing the central messages around these five points, Dr. MacDonald delivers a practical, easy-to-remember set of principles for every man to live his life by.
The early entries are laced with humor, the type of jokes and situations that every man can relate to on some level. I felt like the first ten or so entries really did a great job of welcoming all men into the study, breaking down any walls or barriers they might have to hold them back from plunging into the heart of the material. But once it hits the heart, oh man, does it hit home. Men in general do not like to admit they need help, guidance, direction. But Dr. MacDonald cuts to the core of what men truly need to grow in their biblical manhood, pointing out those stubborn habits that usually hold us back from accomplishing those objectives. The importance of deep, meaningful friendships with other men comes in the closing chapters. It is a topic important enough that, had he devoted the entire 40 days to that it wouldn’t have covered the topic enough to emphasize its importance. It is an area that I need to continue to grow in, surrounding myself with the right men and praying with/for them and having a deeper fellowship with.
Looking back I wish I had been graced with time to approach this in the intended manner: as a 40-day devotional where one chapter is tackled each day. I plan to keep this one on my shelf and, in a year or two, pull it back out and revisit it in that manner with a group of men. Because there are questions at the end of each day, along with a prayer, that really drive things home and I know that diving in and answering those questions (and discussing those answers with other men) would enhance the experience to its fullest potential. But even for those who approach it as I did, as a book to read and absorb the biblical principles, this one stands tall among the crowd of books geared toward men.
The ten podcasts at actlikemen.com add an additional level of depth and really drove home some of the points being made in the pages of the book. I would highly recommend listening to those, as well, during the 40-day journey to biblical manhood. All in all, I don’t know that there is a single man out there who couldn’t gain some great benefit from studying this book alongside other men. If you are looking for a book to help you in your own walk to biblical manhood, or are looking for something to study in your men’s group or with a group of men, this is the first one I would recommend.
February 4, 2023
First of all, if you are on the fence about reading this book because of the controversy surrounding the Author, James MacDonald, former Pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel in the Chicago area; I want you to personally put it all aside. I don't know the man, never met him, and probably never will. I went to a Men's Conference at his church shortly before he was ousted, where his main speaker that weekend was Ravi Zacharias, who had controversies of his own -- dying under the shadow of scandal. I remember finding a Sunday morning bulletin stuffed in a chair that showed MacDonald's church financial status was over $2M in the hole. Trust me, I had reservations about this book. But the truth is -- James MacDonald needs to read his book now more than ever. It is a fine work, and one that he needs to read; not as the author -- but as a man reading it for the first time.
With that said, this is an excellent book for men, for teens through the elderly. I chose to go through it myself, and frankly took me much longer than the 40 days. Can it be done in 40? Sure. But it is filled with such deep and profound information that I wanted to soak it in. I wrote all over it, highlighted it, and personally made it my own. I implore you: get a paperback copy, mark it up, take lots of notes, add personal things of your own; because I'm sure you will frequent it more often than you'll like to admit.
The book starts off kind of slow at first, talking about the need for biblical manhood. Nothing we don't know. But as I moved through the book it gained speed, I was taking more notes, and really diving in headlong. By the time I got towards the end, I was broken. I had so many aha moments that I was finding myself journaling. In the end there are two things men need the most: community (true biblical fellowship) and everything to be done in love.
If you are reading this, James -- I hope you take to heart the things you wrote; that you are not isolating yourself, you seek communion with other Christian men, and love others deeply -- even, at least in your heart forgiving those who hurt you. Because as you wrote, "The greatest failure in human existence is the failure of Christ-followers to "love one another earnestly from a pure heart and to heed to words of Christ: "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." We all stumble in many ways, the only way forward in loving community with one another is forgiveness." Because as you said, it is the only way to act like men. Pastor McDonald, in my humble estimation, please read, "Absolute Surrender" by Andrew Murray.
With that said, this is an excellent book for men, for teens through the elderly. I chose to go through it myself, and frankly took me much longer than the 40 days. Can it be done in 40? Sure. But it is filled with such deep and profound information that I wanted to soak it in. I wrote all over it, highlighted it, and personally made it my own. I implore you: get a paperback copy, mark it up, take lots of notes, add personal things of your own; because I'm sure you will frequent it more often than you'll like to admit.
The book starts off kind of slow at first, talking about the need for biblical manhood. Nothing we don't know. But as I moved through the book it gained speed, I was taking more notes, and really diving in headlong. By the time I got towards the end, I was broken. I had so many aha moments that I was finding myself journaling. In the end there are two things men need the most: community (true biblical fellowship) and everything to be done in love.
If you are reading this, James -- I hope you take to heart the things you wrote; that you are not isolating yourself, you seek communion with other Christian men, and love others deeply -- even, at least in your heart forgiving those who hurt you. Because as you wrote, "The greatest failure in human existence is the failure of Christ-followers to "love one another earnestly from a pure heart and to heed to words of Christ: "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." We all stumble in many ways, the only way forward in loving community with one another is forgiveness." Because as you said, it is the only way to act like men. Pastor McDonald, in my humble estimation, please read, "Absolute Surrender" by Andrew Murray.
February 13, 2019
fear and anger are both instances of self protection we use to insulate ourselves from hurt, one by pulling back the other by striking out. We need to face and forgive.
everyday is precious , every day is a gift from god . Man a cold to live with and bring clarity , applying ourselves to what matters and last .
today I would no more trade my fellowship with Jesus for a moment of last then you would trade a family member for a piece of liquorice.
Jesus doesn't give us strength, he is the strength.
David refused to admit guilt even if it caused moss in. Were making the failure in our life worse as we tried to cover it up. We refuse to admit guilt even if it leads to more sin.
Jesus' strength, no one takes it from me I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again.
repentance is active when you suffer grief over sin, repulsion over your sin, restitution towards others, revival towards God and move forward.
absolute total commitment. I want you to know that I'm committed to you. You'll never knowingly suffer at my hands. I will never say anything or do anything knowingly to hurt you, even if you hurt me. I will always, in every circumstance, seek to help and support you. If you're down and I can lift you, I'll do that. If you need something and I have it, I'll share it with you. If need be, I'll give it to you. No matter what I find out about you, no matter what happens in the future, good or bad, my commitment to you will never change and there's nothing you can do about that. You don't have to respond to what I'm saying. I love you and that's what it means. I'm absolutely totally committed to you.
everyday is precious , every day is a gift from god . Man a cold to live with and bring clarity , applying ourselves to what matters and last .
today I would no more trade my fellowship with Jesus for a moment of last then you would trade a family member for a piece of liquorice.
Jesus doesn't give us strength, he is the strength.
David refused to admit guilt even if it caused moss in. Were making the failure in our life worse as we tried to cover it up. We refuse to admit guilt even if it leads to more sin.
Jesus' strength, no one takes it from me I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again.
repentance is active when you suffer grief over sin, repulsion over your sin, restitution towards others, revival towards God and move forward.
absolute total commitment. I want you to know that I'm committed to you. You'll never knowingly suffer at my hands. I will never say anything or do anything knowingly to hurt you, even if you hurt me. I will always, in every circumstance, seek to help and support you. If you're down and I can lift you, I'll do that. If you need something and I have it, I'll share it with you. If need be, I'll give it to you. No matter what I find out about you, no matter what happens in the future, good or bad, my commitment to you will never change and there's nothing you can do about that. You don't have to respond to what I'm saying. I love you and that's what it means. I'm absolutely totally committed to you.
May 28, 2017
First off, obviously, I'm not the target demographic for this book. But I love psychology and reading books out of my demographic, I find it fascinating. That said, I also love James MacDonald's teaching.
Now, I don't want to go into to much review because I feel coming from a women it might be taken like, "yes, men need to change, man up. Men are the problem."...you know? Yes, men need to start acting like men...But, women also need to start acting like ladies. Both biblical standards. With that said;
James MacDonald does a great job at getting the point across, "keeping it simple". With 5 sections, 40 chapters (a 40 day devotional, the chapters are short (but not stupid short)) and at the end of each chapter are questions for reflection followed by a prayer.
In closing, using humor and situations (I think) every man can relate to, Act Like Men, will guide you towards biblical manhood. An excellent read, both on your own or in a small group...I hope to get my dad, brothers and (God willing) husband to read this book.
I received this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Now, I don't want to go into to much review because I feel coming from a women it might be taken like, "yes, men need to change, man up. Men are the problem."...you know? Yes, men need to start acting like men...But, women also need to start acting like ladies. Both biblical standards. With that said;
James MacDonald does a great job at getting the point across, "keeping it simple". With 5 sections, 40 chapters (a 40 day devotional, the chapters are short (but not stupid short)) and at the end of each chapter are questions for reflection followed by a prayer.
In closing, using humor and situations (I think) every man can relate to, Act Like Men, will guide you towards biblical manhood. An excellent read, both on your own or in a small group...I hope to get my dad, brothers and (God willing) husband to read this book.
I received this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
January 24, 2018
There were some good passages in the book that I found personally beneficial, and I'm always glad to find a Christian book or devotional with scripture and that isn't Osteenified. However, I did have several issues with this one. The author directs the book to "Joe Screwdriver" (yes, that's actually in the book), a generalization of man that watches football, likes to work on cars, and has seen every mafia movie ever made. He often stretches his stories to make them fit somehow with the messages and sometimes even likes to namedrop. Maybe I'm missing the point of this devo altogether, but I found it was not for me. It probably is a good book for Joe Screwdriver or a baby believer who happens to also be middle aged, but that's a narrow niche.
January 23, 2019
Great central thrust, great emphases. MacDonald
brings a lot of wisdom and common sense to the project
of exhorting men to act like men. Untainted by worldly calls
for men to tone down their masculinity. Right on.
Written almost like it was dictated
into a recorder when he was excited, or perhaps from sermons, so
not the most polished. But gets the job done. My biggest
quibble is that the back-cover synopsis says, "I believe men want
to be challenged and stretched, tested to the limits of who we are,"
which made we want to see more of this in the book. But after reading it,
I think he just meant that the book as a whole was meant to stretch men.
Would have liked more on that theme.
brings a lot of wisdom and common sense to the project
of exhorting men to act like men. Untainted by worldly calls
for men to tone down their masculinity. Right on.
Written almost like it was dictated
into a recorder when he was excited, or perhaps from sermons, so
not the most polished. But gets the job done. My biggest
quibble is that the back-cover synopsis says, "I believe men want
to be challenged and stretched, tested to the limits of who we are,"
which made we want to see more of this in the book. But after reading it,
I think he just meant that the book as a whole was meant to stretch men.
Would have liked more on that theme.
December 24, 2018
Writing with clarity and a frankness for which James MacDonald is known, Act Like Men is more than just a companion devotional to be used with the Bible Study by the same name. Although it is that, it is so much more. It is a clarion call to men to live out the faith that God has saved them for. Better yet, it is a call to surrender and allow God to live that faith through them. Using small chapters and straight to the point, in your face comments, James MacDonald calls men to be men in Christ. A must read for any and all desiring to live for God.
March 25, 2026
I almost quit reading after the stereotype of dudes was evident from the intro. As I read on I stopped judging and started learning. I became to feel worse about my conviction than when I started. I finished it feeling good but after doing some research on James, I'm sad to hear his story. It's unfortunate the very thing he talks about fearing for his ministry, happened. He lost a lot of credibility it seems.
June 1, 2019
This is definitely an action book and requires a commitment from the reader who wants to mature in faith and "act like men." As the title suggests, this book is best utilized with a group of men who want to become more biblically authentic in their lives. The actions in this book involve self reflection, building relationships, and accountability.
October 5, 2018
As always seems to be the case with books for men, the differences between men and women are overly stereotypical. That one issue aside, this book was thoroughly convicting and equally helpful. Highly recommended.
February 7, 2019
Fantastic book to read individually or with a group
We have a very diverse (in many ways, including non-believers and men with very fruitful walks with Jesus) small group of men and we ALL truly enjoyed and grew through this book.
We have a very diverse (in many ways, including non-believers and men with very fruitful walks with Jesus) small group of men and we ALL truly enjoyed and grew through this book.
August 7, 2019
Very insightful book. The book challenges the social norms of men and replacing those patterns with Biblical truths. The book itself is Biblical and has a solid theology around it. Even if a non-Christian read it, they can still apply the truth within the book.
September 8, 2019
I didn’t read every page, but bought it as a reference book for counseling. It has a good setup, and is written more as a men’s group study. Each chapter is only a few pages long with a list of discussion questions.
July 22, 2017
Thank God for a Pastor who challenges me to act like a man of God and is aware of guys real and daily life struggles! Makes a lot more sense why we are in need of small groups and community.
January 30, 2018
I almost quit reading when the intro stereotyped men as allergic to reading, but I'm glad I stuck with it because there were some good bits. Especially the last section on love.
April 13, 2018
great c by allenge to authentic godly living
April 29, 2018
An indispensable resource for men.
February 22, 2019
Great book. Very easy to read if you read one lesson every day. Very inspiring and is full of eye opening relevance that doesn't sugar-coat our shortcomings.
June 2, 2019
Worked well as a men's study guide/discussion book which is what I did for the first half but did not hold up as a stand alone read which is what I did for the second half.
Read
December 31, 2020Audible Audiobook
September 6, 2023
Listened to it via Audible+.
Good, practical, clear help.
Good, practical, clear help.
November 6, 2024
Simple and good
Be watchful
Stand firm in the faith
Act like men
Be strong
Let all that you do be done in love
Be watchful
Stand firm in the faith
Act like men
Be strong
Let all that you do be done in love
March 31, 2016
In Act Like Men, James MacDonald has written this devotional to guide men in becoming the men of God they are called to be. He has written this book for the regular guys and he commonly refers to this guy called Joe Screwdriver. Joe works a job he isn’t fulfilled at and he is married with kids. But he is still longing for something more and doing something great. He also has written this book for single guys and he has a straight call to encouraging them to begin pursuing the single women that are available. MacDonald shared the harsh truth that men are in trouble with struggling with sin and temptation and they aren’t growing spiritually. One of the main verses of the book is 1 Corinthians 6:13-14 and it talks about standing firm in your faith, acting like men, and living and walking in love.
One of my favorite chapters was entitled, “A Quality Man”. This chapter discussed the importance of not living in fear. Many men are afraid of failing at their job, fears rejection, fears being cheated, fears being alone, and being like his father who wasn’t a good example of being a dad. MacDonald strongly suggested that we confess our sin of fear and put our trust in our Creator. The chapter also looked at the topic of being angry and how deadly this emotion can affect our lives. The power of forgiveness will greatly change your life if you forgive the person who has hurt you.
I would recommend this awesome book for men to every single man. I liked how James MacDonald wrote this devotional and related to the average man. He knows typically men don’t like to read as much as women do. He was very real in how he shared about the different struggles he has dealt with. One of the struggles, he opened up about was lusting at Playboy magazines at a young age. He also shared how this progressed throughout his life and how he was able to get free and stay free. He set up strong boundaries in his marriage to protect himself against temptations. This book taught me a lot about how to live a life that is pleasing to God and how to stand firm and act like a man!
"I received this book free from the publisher through the Moody Publishers book review bloggers program."
One of my favorite chapters was entitled, “A Quality Man”. This chapter discussed the importance of not living in fear. Many men are afraid of failing at their job, fears rejection, fears being cheated, fears being alone, and being like his father who wasn’t a good example of being a dad. MacDonald strongly suggested that we confess our sin of fear and put our trust in our Creator. The chapter also looked at the topic of being angry and how deadly this emotion can affect our lives. The power of forgiveness will greatly change your life if you forgive the person who has hurt you.
I would recommend this awesome book for men to every single man. I liked how James MacDonald wrote this devotional and related to the average man. He knows typically men don’t like to read as much as women do. He was very real in how he shared about the different struggles he has dealt with. One of the struggles, he opened up about was lusting at Playboy magazines at a young age. He also shared how this progressed throughout his life and how he was able to get free and stay free. He set up strong boundaries in his marriage to protect himself against temptations. This book taught me a lot about how to live a life that is pleasing to God and how to stand firm and act like a man!
"I received this book free from the publisher through the Moody Publishers book review bloggers program."
August 10, 2014
√ Solid Teaching, Dull, Preachy
This book has a very wide focus. It covers a LOT of different issues that men face. ACT LIKE MEN provides excellent, biblical advice for each of them. The broad focus comes at a cost, however. It is difficult to read this book and clearly recall the key points--there are just so many ideas, all over the map.
Although ACT LIKE MEN is solid teaching, it does not make for captivating reading. Maybe because we are in a culture of ultra short attention spans. We watch "24" on television, where a new terrorist act happens ever 2 minutes. I found the writing style overly wordy and overly preachy. I admit it--I don't really want to be preached at.
Some of the stories are tales in the life of a young pastor. Nothing at all wrong with that, but those stories seem unlikely to really grab at the heart of the reader.
The fact that there needs to be a detailed section, "How to Get the Most from Act Like Men" illustrates the problem. How can a narrative make an impact if it's not clear how to even read the book?
Rev MacDonald points out that men simply don't read much, and so the author is "writing this book with the wild goal that men who can't remember the last book they opened and don't plan to read in the future, would take the time to read this." I think the author's point is true, but honestly, I don't think this book till help to alleviate that.
√ There are lots of excellent points in this book. Alas, I don't think many men will see them.
This book has a very wide focus. It covers a LOT of different issues that men face. ACT LIKE MEN provides excellent, biblical advice for each of them. The broad focus comes at a cost, however. It is difficult to read this book and clearly recall the key points--there are just so many ideas, all over the map.
Although ACT LIKE MEN is solid teaching, it does not make for captivating reading. Maybe because we are in a culture of ultra short attention spans. We watch "24" on television, where a new terrorist act happens ever 2 minutes. I found the writing style overly wordy and overly preachy. I admit it--I don't really want to be preached at.
Some of the stories are tales in the life of a young pastor. Nothing at all wrong with that, but those stories seem unlikely to really grab at the heart of the reader.
The fact that there needs to be a detailed section, "How to Get the Most from Act Like Men" illustrates the problem. How can a narrative make an impact if it's not clear how to even read the book?
Rev MacDonald points out that men simply don't read much, and so the author is "writing this book with the wild goal that men who can't remember the last book they opened and don't plan to read in the future, would take the time to read this." I think the author's point is true, but honestly, I don't think this book till help to alleviate that.
√ There are lots of excellent points in this book. Alas, I don't think many men will see them.
November 12, 2016
This book is truly awesome. As a young man who aspires to lead his family not only financially but through the word of God this book is upfront and to to the point. Mr. Macdonald explains everything in simple yet direct terms. He wants men to be accountable for their actions and quit making excuses of why they are not leading their families as Christian men. He understands that in a world that is ever changing we need solid Christian men who will be honesty with themselves and confess to God that they need help. Love, accountability, honesty, and repentance are only a few ideas that he stresses throughout his book. Lastly, he understands that as Christian men we seek other Christian men to grow in our strength after we place God first. He uses Biblical scripture to back up his rationale throughout the book. I highly recommend the book if you are serious about understanding of what it means to Act Like Men!
April 1, 2016
MacDonald writes in a style that connects with men. This is a very readable book, and helpful. MacDonald lays out a clear plan of action at the beginning of the book to exposit 1 Corinthians 16:13-14. It is a good plan and I like his approach, but there were chapters in the book where the execution was a little less clear, and there were places where I thought his interpretations were bent to make his thought "work." An example of this would be chapter 35 on isolation (see esp. 228-229). An irritating feature of the book is that he often does not give Scripture references with the passages he cites, he footnotes them and you have to flip to the back of the book to look 'em up.
The chapters are short, the writing style and tone is designed to appeal to men, it's readable and humorous. Classic James MacDonald.
The chapters are short, the writing style and tone is designed to appeal to men, it's readable and humorous. Classic James MacDonald.
November 7, 2017
While there were some worthy passages throughout the book that I highlighted for reference, I wasn't crazy about MacDonald's style. He prefaced the book by saying it was written for "Joe Screwdriver", but I had to re-read probably 75% of the paragraphs to try and figure out the point he was conveying. I see another review below calls it dull. I hadn't thought of that until now, but that's probably descriptive because I *did* keep catching myself turning ahead in each section to see how much more I had to trudge through.
One thing I truly enjoyed was the prayer at the end of each section. Without those, this would be a 3-star book, but I'm bumping it up because a few of those really reached out to me.
One thing I truly enjoyed was the prayer at the end of each section. Without those, this would be a 3-star book, but I'm bumping it up because a few of those really reached out to me.
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