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'We have such a problem with our boys,' ..is a common refrain in many churches. The probability, though, is that boys are not actually the problem, rather our attitude to them; our ideas of what a boy really is and what he needs in order to connect with God.
Over the last few years, boys have been perceived to have been under-achieving at school, a problem in our society, and disengaged from our churches. It is Carolyn Edwards' heartfelt conviction that this is because we are not meeting boys' spiritual needs. Her experience is that boys are willing to engage in the struggle to make themselves heard and seen as they really are: full of energy, fun, feeling and spirituality.
In this intensely creative and practical book, Carolyn provides ten ways that boys would willingly connect with God, given the opportunity. Prompts and practical ideas help readers apply her findings to the boys they know and work with.
A spiritual spectrum? 17
Ways of listening 30
Part Two: Ten spiritual connections
1. our Father
Relationship 43
2. Muscles and mayhem
Play 56
3. once upon a time
Story 69
4. Make it go away
Pain and loss 83
5. Poo, bum, willy
Humour 93
6. rock and paper and scissors
Music and creativity 99
7. Pauses and ponderings
Thinking 108
8. The eleventh commandment
Service 121
9. Thrills and spills
Risk 131
10. I game, therefore I am
Technology 142
Part Three
Go and do likewise 159
Appendix 1: Statistics on boys' childhood
experiences 163
Appendix 2: The creation of the spiritual
connections list 164
Appendix 3: The research project 167
Appendix 4: Michael Anthony's Four
Perspectives of Children's Ministry 176
notes 181