{Review} Searching for Tom Sawyer by Tim Wright

ISBN #: 978-1449786205

Page Count: 158

Copyright: March 12, 2013

Publisher: WestBow Press

Book Summary:

(Taken from Amazon)

The Story of Boys - Lost in the Twenty-first Century:

• 70% of all Ds and Fs go to boys
• 85% of stimulant-addressing medications prescribed in the world are prescribed to US boys
• Boys are falling behind girls in virtually every area of life
• 70-90% of boys will leave the church in their teens and early twenties

Searching for Tom Sawyer offers parents and church leaders a compelling vision and practical principles for how, together, they can change that storyline by forging boys into heroic men.

Mandy's Review:

I was surprised by how much I wound up enjoying this book. When it first began I was thinking, "What about the girls?" After finishing the book, which is an extremely quick read, I better understood the author's point of view.

Think about the church services and Sunday school classes you've sat in. Weren't most of the songs singing about the love of Jesus, chasing after Him, yearning for him, etc? What about Sunday school classes? Most of the classes consist of reading or sitting and listening quietly to the lesson. All of these things cater to how little girls (and women) think, but not to little boys. Little boys are full of testosterone, which means they are active and learn better when busy. It's understandable, then, why there is an exodus of boys/men out of the church into the world searching for something and/or someone to show them how to be a man. 

It also doesn't help that the majority of our society no longer actively participate in rites of passage for little boys. Rites of passage are important because they usually consist of a challenge the boy must accomplish. Once the challenge has been met and defeated, a ceremony or celebration happens giving the boy a definitive rite of passage from boyhood to manhood. Without the rites of passage, we risk our little boys never growing up into men. We risk them forever being little boys in grown men bodies. No woman wants to marry a little boy.

Along with the insight into little boys and their spiritual needs, Searching for Tom Sawyer provides various resources church leaders can check out to begin learning how to correct the female-centered services. The author also graciously provides some sample lessons that can be used to entice boys into learning about Jesus.

I know this book isn't for everyone out there. However, if you're a Sunday School teacher of third grade boys or above, or a pastor of a church, then I would recommend reading this book. There is a lot of knowledge, truth, information, and some radical ideas, packed into these few pages. I believe this is a timely book as this world is in need of strong men who have a heart and passion for following Jesus and becoming leaders in their home, church, and community.

*A physical copy of this book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.