You Are What You Consume
The power of the senses in driving our identity and character
In 1995, Cedarmont Kids published the song “Oh be careful, little eyes”. Most of you probably remember it:
“O be careful little eyes what you see
O be careful little eyes what you see
For the Father up above
Is looking down in love
So, be careful little eyes what you seeO be careful little ears what you hear
O be careful little ears what you hear
For the Father up above
Is looking down in love
So, be careful little ears what you hear”
Oh how true this is. Below is a short overview of how what we consume shapes who we are and a few of the books and people we’ve come across on our journey in Treign Up that have shaped our views on biblical manhood and how to train up boys in the way they should go.
The Power of the Senses
It is true that much of who we are is a byproduct of our experiences. They shape and form us. The environment is powerful in this process. Not all-powerful, but incredibly influential. Many of you probably remember the Elijah House ministry that was very popular in the 90’s and 00’s. Much of its work was heling the person by helping them understand and address root causes of emotional, relational, and spiritual issues through prayer ministry and biblical teachings. Their approach emphasizes inner healing, reconciliation, and transformation, drawing on principles of forgiveness, repentance, and the power of God’s Word to bring about lasting change in people’s lives. Most of these issues stem from what happened to us as children. Divorce, sexual abuse, rejection, death, etc… so many experiences that can deeply wound us. Other programs recently have come along such as Therapeutic Prayer Ministry (TPM) or some of the work by Adam Young who talks a lot about scars (emotional deep wounding) and scripts (new narratives about life) that we form at early ages.
You can see these experiences as information that our minds perceive and then give meaning to. It is both of these steps (experience + perception) that are of almost equal power in crafting our identities.
The Military Decision-Making Process & SUDAA Loop
As an Army PSYOP officer, I am very familiar with the Military Decision-Making Process (MDMP).
The Military Decision Making Process (MDMP) is a structured, sequential methodology used by the U.S. Army for planning and decision-making in both combat and non-combat situations. It involves a comprehensive seven-step process that includes defining the mission, analyzing courses of action, comparing them, making a decision, and developing plans or orders, ensuring thoroughness and effectiveness in military operations.
What I want to point out for this newsletter is the VITAL importance of step 2. This is where much of intelligence is briefed and analyzed. This input, if off, even in the slightest, can drastically affect the rest of the planning. Intelligence is all about sensing the environment to understand what is true (objective reality) so that our decision-makers can optimize their decision-making.
Bad Sensors = Bad Information
Bad Information = Bad Decision-making
In fact, a new model has recently made its way into military doctrine known as the SUDAA Loop:
SENSE
Understand
Decide
Act
Assess
We realize that sense-making is everything. What we consume and how we process that information has immense implications for how we make decisions and think about the world.
One of the primary principles of information warfare and military deception is to try and affect the enemy’s sense-making capabilities.
If you can destroy their sensors or feed their sensors false information, you can have a great advantage in battle.
Summary
So, as a summary for the above -
We are immensely influenced by what we consume
The information we consume through our senses makes its way to our minds and spirits; affecting our thoughts and decisions
What’s this all mean?
Be VERY careful about what your son consumes.
As a PSYOP officer, I can tell you from experience, most movies, television shows, games and social media are created with nefarious purposes to win the heart and mind of your son.
Treign Wreck
Some of the greatest creators of all time were highly influenced by books and people that they surrounded themselves with and consumed. Elon Musk started many of his recent ventures because of the book “Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy”. John Piaget was influenced by Montessori’s work, Carl Jung from Freud, Alexander the Great from Aristotle.
We’ve also been influenced by many books and ideas around manhood that we want to share with you.
In a previous article entitled, “Mapping the Masculinity Marketplace”, dated October 15, 2023, we discussed other organizations that are committed to helping boys navigate the road to manhood. In addition, we would like to add some of the reference material we have found helpful in building our research for Treign Up.
Just a couple of personal notes on this material:
Richard Rohr is a bit of an ancient in his writing; almost monkish. But, his thoughts on the rites of passage are insightful.
Tyson’s book is current. It offers the five types of fathers and he co-authored with George Barna. So, his research is good and very specific to the book. Barna’s book on Transforming Children to be Spiritual Champions is a must-read for anyone in children’s ministry.
The podcasts and writings of Jordan Peterson are resonating well with men and for good reason. His recurring call back to responsibility is a huge siren in this conversation. I love his material.
The Boy Crisis by Farrell and Gray is very comprehensive and wide ranging. They are both PHDs so their writing is academic. I found Parts 1-3 most useful.
Raising a Modern-Day Knight was probably the first book I read on this subject. It is still relevant and helpful in casting vision for the ‘dam’ problem.
And here is our bibliography for our book coming out this year. This bibliography is certainly not comprehensive. It is meant to give you selected books, podcasts, and other resources besides organizations that might be of help to you in raising up your boys or the boys in your community to become men.
At Treign Up, all “Hands on deck” just means more fingers to help plug the holes in the dam until we can get to the foundations of this thing and start over.
Barna, George. Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions: Why Children Should be Your Church’s #1 Priority. Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2003.
Blankenhorn, David. Fatherless America. New York, NY: Harper Perennial, 1996.
Britton, Lisa. “America Has a Boy Crisis.” Eviemagazine.com, 6 Mar. 2022, www.eviemagazine.com/post/america-has-a-boy-crisis.
Chapman, Gary, and Ross Campbell. The Five Love Languages of Children. Chicago, IL: Northfield Publishing, 1997.
Dobson, James. Bringing Up Boys. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001.
Eldredge, John. Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man’s Soul. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2001.
Farrell, Warren, and John Gray. The Boy Crisis. Dallas, TX: BenBella Books, 2018.
Gurian, Michael. Boys and Girls Learn Differently: A Guide for Teachers and Parents. Hoboken, NJ: Jossey-Bass, 2010.
Gurian, Michael. Saving Our Sons: A New Path for Raising Healthy and Resilient Boys. Chandler, AZ: Gurian Institute, 2017.
Gurian, Michael. The Mind of Boys: Saving our Sons from Falling Behind in School and Life. Hoboken, NJ: Jossey-Bass, 2007.
Gurian, Michael, and Gregory Jantz. Raising Boys by Design: What the Bible and Brain Science Reveal About What Your Son Needs to Thrive. Colorado Springs, CO: Waterbrook Press, 2013.
Gurian, Michael. The Purpose of Boys: Helping Our Boys Find Meaning, Significance, and Direction in their Lives. Hoboken, NJ: Jossey-Bass, 2009.
Habeeb, Lee. "Meet the Man Leading the Charge on America's Boy Crisis." Newsweek, 9 Feb. 2022, www.newsweek.com/meet-Man-leading-charge-americas-boy-crisis-opinion-15 17782.
Hipp, Earl. Man Making: Men Helping Boys On Their Journey to Manhood 2 Ed.. Minneapolis, MN: HRD Press, 2012.
Huddleston, Brad. Digital Cocaine: A Journey Toward iBalance. Vero Beach, FL: Christian Art Publishers, 2016.
James, Stephen, and David Thomas. Wild Things; The Art of Nurturing Boys. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2009.
Lewis, Robert. Raising a Modern-Day Knight: A Father’s Role in Guiding His Son to Authentic Manhood. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1997.
Peterson, Jordan B. 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos. Random House Canada, 2018.
Popenoe, David. Families Without Fathers. Oxfordshire, England: Routledge, 2009.
Rohr, Richard. Adam’s Return. The Five Promises of Male Initiation. New York, NY: Crossroad Publishing Company, 2004.
Smith, Jeff. Generation to Generation: A Storyteller’s Guide to Passing on your Faith. Richmond, VA: Salt and Light, 2006.
Smith, Jeff. Imagine That! Creative and Interactive Ideas for Teaching Kids the Bible. Kansas City, MO: Lillenas Publishing, 2001.
Smith, Jeff. Points 4 Praise: Putting Kids on the Path to Praise. Richmond, VA: Salt and Light, 2007.
Smith, Jeff. Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys. Richmond, VA: Salt and Light, 2021.
Smith, Jeff. RIVET: Making Your Message Stick!. Richmond, VA: Salt and Light, 2020.
Smith, Jeff. The Funnel: Framing Your Life in View of Eternity. Richmond, VA: Salt and Light, 2021.
Sommers, Christina Hoff. The War Against Boys: How Misguided Policies Are Harming Our Young Men. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2000.
Thompson, Michael. Loving and Leading in a Wounded World. Raleigh, NC: Zoeweh Ministries, 2023.
Thompson, Michael. Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys. New York, NY: Ballantine Books, 2000.
Tyson, Jon. The Intentional Father. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2021.
Webber, Stu. Tender Warrior: God’s Intention for a Man. Sisters, OR: Multnomah Books, 1993.
Willard, Dallas. The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God. HarperOne, 1997.
Wilson, Douglas. Future Men: Raising Boys to Fight Giants. Moscow, ID: Cannon Press, 2001.
Train. Encourage. Disciple.