What I've been working on for the last few months

While Pete's been working on his sabbatical writing this semester, I've taken the opportunity to do some research and development on a project as well (not nearly as academic or high-level as Pete's endeavors, of course).

Almost a decade ago, my mom and I started brainstorming about an idea, which we christened "GateWay," and now, at last, with Pete's help, we have finally gotten it all on paper!

GateWay is designed as a program for boys, ages 11-14, to teach them and train them in becoming a Man.  We've realized that our culture, unlike so many others in the world, does not have a real "rite of passage" for kids these days;  there is not an official time when they are pronounced a man or a woman.

So for one, intensive year, the GateWay program takes these young boys, who are old enough to really grasp the meaning of manhood, but are still young enough to be eager to learn and listen to the adults around them, and presents them with opportunities to both learn important skills and develop character traits that are needed in men these days.

Through sessions with "experts" who will expose them to a variety of manly skills and activities  (things like fishing, camping, knot-tying, woodworking, etc), and a series of "challenges" designed to help them grow in 10 different character areas, we're hoping that the boys will gain a vision for what it means to be a true man.  We think of it as a condensed Boy Scouting experience, combined with serious spiritual development.

At the end of the year, the plan is to have a big ceremony that will mark the rite of passage for each boy.  At this point they will not be officially called "men" yet -- since in our culture, 12-14 year olds are not ready for all of that responsibility -- but they will be given a new name.  No longer will they be just boys or children.  Now they will be "journeymen."

(There is more to the whole plan...  follow-ups to the initial program a few years later.... but basically the end result, we hope, will be a final ceremony around age 18 or 19, in which the boy will finally be called a MAN.  We hope this will help dispel a lot of the confusion that it seems many of the younger generations have had in our country.)

It's been a great exercise for us, going through all the various character traits and thinking through how the boys can demonstrate them through challenges, etc.  We've ended up with a book over 30 pages long full of resources, ideas, and a plan for the year.

Now we're just having some trouble finding families who actually want to do it with us....  It may be a small pilot program this year!  But I'm excited to see what God will continue to do with it anyway....

(And soon we'll have to start working on a girl/woman version!)