The Resolution for Men

The Resolution for Men
by Stephen and Alex Kendrick
with Randy Alcorn
Edited by Lawrence Kimbrough
B&H Publishing Group
Paperback, $36.50
272 pages
ISBN: 978-1-4336-7122-7

Book Review by Kam Williams

“This book is an unapologetic call for men to live courageously for their faith and their families... We believe there is a rising movement of men who are disgusted by their own mediocrity and dissatisfied with the weak standards of our dark culture… Men who want to make the most of the rest of their days…
Throughout history, men who lived incredible lives and left great legacies did it intentionally. They knew that men do not stumble upon integrity… God’s word is calling us to man up... It’s time to make some serious decisions.”
-Excerpted from the Introduction (pgs. 1-3)

I don’t need to cite all the incarceration, dropout, and out-of-wedlock birth rate statistics to prove that the family unit has by and large broken down in the black community where about 85% of the children are now being raised by single-moms. The more important question is whether the self-destructive spiral is simply destined to continue or if there is any hope of reversing the unfortunate trend.
Offering a viable path to salvation is The Resolution for Men, an Evangelical opus which encourages wayward males to get out of their comfort zone by refocusing their lives on fatherhood, family and God. This in your face, how-to tome is the result of a collective effort by members of a creative team spearheaded by Pastor Alex Kendrick of Sherwood Baptist Church out of Albany, Georgia.
This Christian-themed workbook might best be thought of as a companion piece to Courageous, the latest, wholesome, homespun feature film from the good folks at Sherwood Pictures. Just like what transpires for the picture’s protagonists, this timely treatise culminates with a challenge posed to sign a document as evidence of one’s dedication to a spiritual transformation.
Foremost among the ideals you’re asked to embrace are leadership of, love for and fidelity to one’s wife and children. It also elicits a promise to fight for justice, to maintain your integrity and to leave a legacy.
The authors make a persuasive case for their cause by pointing out how males in this society tend “to remain boys as long as possible” nowadays, thereby “forcing girls to become women long before they are ready.” For the sake of the next generation, let’s just pray that many a manchild opts to sign on the dotted line.
Highly recommended as a Born Again literary equivalent of the Million Man March imploring immature males to heed the scriptural message of 1 Corinthians 13:11: “When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.”