Act Like a Man: 9 Ways to Punch Life in the Mouth

by Mark Driscoll

There aren’t a lot of places or people in this world that are here to help men. There’s a group called the National Organization for Women but no National Organization for Men. You can get a degree in Women’s Studies, but the hairy pitted, non-binary pronoun police professors do not also offer a degree in Men’s Studies. There’s no class on how to be a man. The strip club will take your money and put your hepatitis shot to work. The sports bar will feed you wings, pour you a beer, and let you yell but doesn’t have a lot of wisdom to offer. Most churches are run by men who might die if shot with a Nerf gun. But who is there to help? That’s the goal of this book.

Genres: Faith

210 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 22, 2024

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Mark A. Driscoll is the founder and teaching pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington, as well as the co-founder of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network where he also served as President for a short period. Driscoll continues to serve on the board of Acts 29. He has contributed to the "Faith and Values" section of the Seattle Times and the "On Faith" section of the Washington Post.

Reviews

[Cory Jew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Felt like it was a long rant about the two sides of Manhood being about a Lion and a Lamb. Plenty of great scripture references and examples of manhood but I’d say it doesn’t quite stack up to books from John Eldridge or maybe Mark Batterson. Not bad, just maybe a bit underwhelming.

[Johnny Rusnak · Rating 1 out of 5]

Review: Act Like a Man

I felt that Act Like a Man was pretty bad. The scripture references were at times taken out of context, and the overall tone sounded more like a complainer—which is the antithesis of “acting like a man.” The book leaned heavily on the lion and lamb imagery. While I understand the metaphor, it felt overbearing on the lion side, giving the impression of aggression without the balance of grace.

If the author wants to critique the church, I’m actually fine with that. The church should be its own harshest critic. Jesus himself was extremely direct with the Jewish leaders of his day, but toward those outside the faith he showed grace, reason, and a measured urgency. This book, however, showed little of that grace for the lost.

I had no idea who Mark Driscoll was before reading this. As I went through the book, I found myself thinking: “This guy seems pretty aggressive.” Out of curiosity, I looked him up and discovered he was a pastor with a checkered past and other very lets just say "creative" writing—uh oh. Then I read more about Mars Hill, and suddenly the tone of the book made complete sense. I’m not one to go hunting for controversies in people. However, when it comes to spiritual authors, it is critical to know who you’ve decided to read and be influenced by.

By contrast, I’ve been reading Tim Keller. My reaction was the exact opposite. His writing struck me as thoughtful and measured, so I looked him up and wasn't surprised when I found that he lived a measured and Godly life through and through. His literature I can wholeheartedly recommend.

Bottom line: This book fails to model the kind of servant-hearted strength men—particularly those in marriage or considering marriage—are called to. It reads more like frustration than formation. If you want a biblically faithful, grace-filled picture of manhood, skip this book and reach for Keller instead.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and the way it challenged me on multiple levels. I didn’t just read Act Like a Man. I listened to the sermons, prayed through each chapter, and intentionally tried to live out what was taught. That process made the content stick. Everything is grounded in Scripture, which gave the challenges weight and authority beyond personal opinion.

What I appreciated most is how practical the book is. It addresses real areas of life where men often drift or stay passive and calls that out clearly. It pushed me to take responsibility for my faith, my choices, and the way I lead at home and elsewhere. Reading it prayerfully helped turn conviction into action instead of just motivation.

The sermons reinforced the message and added clarity, especially when it came to application. Together, the book and teaching encouraged consistency, discipline, and accountability. This wasn’t a quick or comfortable read, but it was a worthwhile one. Act Like a Man helped sharpen my focus and strengthen my commitment to live out my faith in a more intentional way.

I would recommend this book to men who want to grow, not just feel inspired for a moment. It works best when you slow down, pray through the chapters, and take the teaching seriously. If you are willing to be honest with yourself and follow through on what Scripture calls you to do, this book can have a lasting impact.

[Erik Koster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I was gonna write something pithy like "This book promised me 9 ways to punch life in the mouth, and in reality I feel like it was only 6.5 ways to punch life in the mouth." Good thing I didn't do that. Whew!
Anyways, people won't just be picking this book up out of nowhere. If you already like Driscoll (and all of his baggage) then there's not much here that you're going to disagree with, if anything at all. If you dislike Driscoll, you're going to hear his voice throughout this thing of course. I don't feel much about it one way or the other, but I tried to separate the author from the book as best I could given all the publicity over the past umpteen many years.
There's a lot of good advice here and again the folks reading this aren't going to disagree with anything said in it. Really minus one star just because especially the first few chapters kept making the same points over, and over (and over and over). But by the back half of the book that was corrected.

[Lance · Rating 1 out of 5]

While titled "Act Like The Man," this book has an incessant amount of whining, with a touch of contradiction. It clams that big-manly-men fight to protect our country and our communities, but they don't go into churches. Churches are decorated by the womenfolk and run by the sissies, and it is too scary for the big-man! When I discussed this part of the book with a correctional officer who runs worship and the active U.S. Marine who drums in his local praise band, we all had a good laugh. But the book goes on repetitive angry tirades about everything being a threat to "real men," but makes that term feel more and more fragile and brittle along the way.

[Philip Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is good if you take it for what it is. It's not nuanced, it speaks in generalisations, it doesn't make some distinctions that could have been helpful, it was occasionally unnecessarily dismissive. Take it as advice from an uncle who doesn't want you to be a loser and not as from a scholar. Once you get your head around that, it's honestly pretty good. If every male bought into the message of this book it would be a net positive for the world. As a father of 5 (my fifth is due in April), this had some timely words for the season I'm in.

[JUAN MARTE · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, could not pit it down!

Pastor Mark is a genius! My son started reading this book, and I just happened to pick it up and WOW! I bought my own and told my son to keep reading yours, and we will create a study together! Amazing book! There is so much amazing bible based teaching and information. This should be a must-read for any male 13 and up. Thank you, Pastor Mark, God Bless.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was great, the audiobook quality was not perfect, but it was self-produced.

Mark tells it how it is.

You might not like his style, but tell me where is not biblically accurate.

Men need to step it up and Mark points the way.

[samantha holloway · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF… I tried so hard to finish this, I really did…

[Judah Dehnert · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most influential books I have ever read.

[Ryan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Using the church as an excuse for men to drive a truck and drink beer and calling it divinity. There is a reason he had to self publish this book and force his kid to read it. If your interested, find a way to pirate it and don't give the man any money.