Man to Man

From the Publisher:

A healthy relationship between fathers and sons is crucial to every facet of a man's personal growth. And with Henslin's expert guidance, you will learn how to achieve the blessings of this positive, emotionally-connected relationship.

Through a mixture of biblical examples and heart-touching personal anecdotes, this book reveals

How you can become a strong positive role model, friend and mentor to your father, son and others ... first by healing your own brokenness.
The precise steps to take to nurture healthy emotional growth for a lifetime
Why a healthy father-son relationship is essential for true success in marriage, career, family, church and community
How to overcome any negative feelings you might have had toward your father or other men ... so you can become a nurturer to others

Man to Man challenges you to reconnect with your innermost feelings so you can activate deep, satisfying relationships with others.

From HA:
Dr. Earl Henslin, a Christian psychologist, states, "...I believe that the key to activating masculine growth lies first within a man's relationship with his father and second within his relationships with other men" (p. 2). " There are no perfect fathers and no perfect sons. Consequently, sons are wounded" (p. 4).

With these premises, Dr. Henslin proceeds to set forth how this wounding occurs (p.4-31) noting, "Sexual abuse from the father creates confusion in the boy's sexual orientation. The father's abuse makes all men appear to be dangerous, but simultaneously creates a deep attraction for close relationships with other men -- a result of the boy's hunger for his father's true affection. It is not uncommon for a boy who has been sexually abused to become a homosexual" (p. 24). He then lays out the impact of the father-son wound on society as a whole (p. 32-46), on a man's family life (p. 47-63), career (p. 64-78) and spiritual life (p. 79-92). These chapters contain valuable material to help you as you try to understand your own father.

Having laid this foundation, Dr. Henslin discusses healing the father-son wound. "It takes integrity for a man to admit woundedness. It takes great courage for a man to face the pain of the father-son wound and deal with the deep, unresolved issues in his life. It takes tremendous strength..." (p. 93). "Masculine growth is an intimidating process. The good new is that it is not supposed to happen overnight, does not happen as the result of one event, and is never complete. It is intended to be a lifelong process. Most important, it is a process that must be nurtured through relationships with other men" (p. 126, emphasis his).

He discusses the importance of getting in touch with one's feelings (p. 94-96), reaching out too other men's for help (p. 97-105), building bridges of healing between father and son (from either side of the chasm -- p. 106-125), initiation into the world of men (p. 126-140), mentoring relationships (p. 141-159), male friendships (p. 160-187), and the role of the church as a healing community for men (p. 188-202). He concludes with a discussion of men's groups which may help a man in the healing process (p. 203-216).

He warns, "Most men are experts at maintaining superficial relationships .... Few men today are blessed with the treasure of a true friend" (p. 160-161). It need not, must not, be that way for all men.

This book uses excellent biblical, personal, and contemporary sources to illustrate its points and is full of practical wisdom in each area it discusses. We recommend it heartily!