Man Maker Project: Boys are Born. Men are Made.

by Chris Bruno, Dan B. Allender (Foreword)

Father is a verb, and fathering is the highest calling of God on men. Man Maker Project is a guide for fathers to intentionally usher their sons into godly manhood. Now more than ever, the reality of unfinished men confronts us at every turn. Without intentional fathering, a boy's core question--Am I a man?--forever echoes in his soul. Every boy needs to hear his father's clear "yes" in response. While many fathers know they should do something for their maturing sons, they have little idea how to create such an initiatory process. Man Maker Project offers a practical roadmap that equips fathers to create a unique, modern-day masculine initiation experience for their sons. Rather than a single event or ceremony, fathers can guide their boys through a yearlong process, with the support of a cadre of hand-selected men. This book also challenges fathers to investigate their own stories, as God's mutually redemptive design is for us to be fathered ourselves as we father our sons. Through this modern-day rites of passage process, fathers fulfill their calling, sons find their footing, and society receives solid men ready to strongly and kindly restore the world.

Genres: Parenting, Leadership, Christian

248 pages, Paperback

First published February 23, 2015

About the author

Chris Bruno is the Co-Founder and CEO of Restoration Project and Founder and CEO of ReStory® Counseling, devoting his life to helping people come alive. He is the author of Sage: A Man's Guide Into His Second Passage, Man Maker Project: A Father's Guide to Initiating His Son to Manhood and Brotherhood Primer: A Journey Into Genuine Masculine Friendships, and a licensed professional counselor. He has decades of experience helping men recover their hearts. After graduating from Northwestern University in 1995 with both a Bachelor's in Communication and a Master’s in Speech, he and his wife spent close to ten years as missionaries in the Middle East. Upon returning to the U.S., he completed a Master's in Counseling Psychology at The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology, while also serving on staff at the seminary alongside Dan Allender as a facilitator and curator of restorative experiences.

Now living in Colorado, Chris leads two teams of story-sherpas: at Restoration Project, developing experiences and resources designed to "contend for men to reclaim who they are" specifically in the realms of fatherhood, brotherhood, and sonship; and at ReStory® Counseling with a story-informed team of therapists, spiritual directors, and Storywork counselors. Chris also offers ReStory® Intensives, 3-5 day experiences for individuals, couples, and groups.

Married for 27 years to his wife, Beth, they have three mostly adult children and enjoy adventures in the Colorado mountains or overseas whenever possible. He loves Jeeps, streams, whiskey, Scotland, and everything Celtic.

Reviews

[David King · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the idea behind the book. Being very deliberate about developing manhood/biblical masculinity in my son resonated at the beginning of the book and only grew deeper and stronger as I read. MMP is a bit uneven in its value. Alarm bells began clanging when Bruno referred so often to Richard Rohr. While Rohr’s thoughts were pretty easy to sift out, it kept my guard up high for the entirety of the book. Some of the definitions (ie. integrity, kingdom focus) need to be overhauled while others were quite good. Bruno effectively points toward the responsibility to nurture a young man’s sense of protecting and leading, among others, but I was quite surprised that he gave scant attention to a man building, creating, constructing worthy things. In a world that values consumerism and encourages young men to play video games, Christian men need to craft a healthy sense of production in our young men. All in all, this book is a good blueprint, but I need to do some extensive revising before I implement it as fits my son.

[Cliff Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book for fathers who want to grow there sons into kingdom men

Chris Bruno has laid out a clear plan of action for fathers to move them boys to manhood. In a society of entitlement this book will help change the future of how men should be living. Lead or be led. Well done Chris.

[Dm · Rating 5 out of 5]

How to Fix What is Broken

This book and the project that springs from it are the foundation of the cultural change thar must happen if America is to survive as both a free democracy and a nation that takes its understanding of what that means from Christ.

[JM Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent guide to gathering our sons

Great field manual on how to usher our sons well into manhood. Beauty work with great research, experience and Biblical foundation.

[Liahsmom · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've ever read and desperately needed today! Every parent should read this book.