Rite of Passage

This is a very broad topic, and I may well end up with many many posts on it.

 A couple of close friends are processing the idea of a rite of passage that can be offered to those men (of any age) who feel they would like to mark their passage to manhood with a distinct rite of passage. 

I have processed this idea a bit for my two sons as well. They're obviously too young now to understand any of that, but in time, they will be ready. As their father, and as the leader of their family, I need to be the one to call them to the rite of passage. That led me to this thought:


There are always 2 people involved in any rite of passage. First, the young man who is ready to go through this ritual. Second, the one who stands in a role of authority over this young man. This leader, father, chief, king, etc, has but one criteria he must have fulfilled to sit in this position of authority. He must have already completed the ritual. If there is no one present who has completed the ritual, the young man attempting the rite has no guidance, no inspiration, no challenge. The rite of passage simply cannot happen without both of these people in place. 

Perhaps this can be viewed as somewhat of an indictment on men in Western society in general. Books like Eldredge's Wild At Heart and others eschew the fact that men have been largely neutered by the pressures of western society. How men are portrayed in film, in the media, in general, is not often very glorifying. One wonders if many men in today's age have not really truly undergone a rite of passage because they have not had a leader standing on the other side of the bed of burning coals, arms crossed with a viking expression on their faces, challenging them to pass the ritual because they have already done so, as their fathers before them did. 

For my part, I want to be that father to my boys. More importantly, I want them to know that God desires for them to go through a holy rite of passage in their journey to become the men He wants them to be. 


I will see my sons grow up to be mighty men of God. To do that, they need a rite of passage. They must slay the dragon, win the maiden, and walk across the bed of coals. Then they will be able to look their sons' in their eyes and issue the challenge to them.