Stephen Arterburn - Every Young Man, Gods Man. Confident, Courageous, and Completely His

Every Young Man, Gods Man pulls no punches in challenging young men to declare their loyalty to Jesus Christ early and not waver in a lifelong pursuit of His ways and plans. All important issues are explored with refreshing candorfrom personal holiness to sexual purity to spiritual warfare and more. Every young man eager to make his life count will gain huge benefits from this book.

J OSH M c D OWELL , author and speaker

Every Young Man, Gods Man does more than just warn young men of the dangers that lurk in the shadows of adolescence. It gives them hope that they can overcome and conquer their fears. Every chapter is filled with the kind of practical, down-to-earth advice that will arm young men against the assaults of sexual temptation, peer pressure, and isolation. No overly simplistic solutions found here; just solid scriptural principles that create godly young men. My sons will read this bookvery soon!

R OSS P ARSLEY , associate pastor of New Life Church

Kenny Luck has a brave and raw style that grabs you by the throat and, at the same time, gently moves you to want to change. He is able to talk about the dark, secret, and tough places that most guys would prefer to keep secret. He says things that others only think of saying with the clear intent to help guys experience Gods love and power for their lives.

D OUG F IELDS , pastor to students at Saddleback Church,
author, speaker, and president of Simply Youth Ministry

E VERY Y OUNG M AN , G ODS M AN
P UBLISHED BY W ATERBROOK P RESS
12265 Oracle Boulevard, Suite 200
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80921

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked ( MSG ) are taken from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson. Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked ( NASB ) are taken from the New American Standard Bible. Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org). Scripture quotations marked ( NCV ) are taken from the New Century Version. Copyright 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked ( NKJV ) are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (NLT ) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189.
All rights reserved.

Italics in Scripture quotations reflect the authors added emphasis.

Details in some anecdotes and stories have been changed to protect the identities of the persons involved.

eISBN: 978-0-307-55143-6

Copyright 2005 by Kenny Luck and Stephen Arterburn

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published in the United States by WaterBrook Multnomah, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House Inc., New York.

W ATER B ROOK and its deer colophon are registered trademarks of Random House Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Arterburn, Stephen, 1953

Every young man, Gods man : confident, courageous, and completely His / Stephen Arterburn and Kenny Luck, with Mike Yorkey

p. cm. (Spiritual integrity)

1. Young menReligious life. 2. Christian life. I. Luck, Kenneth L., 1964 II. Yorkey, Mike. III. Title. IV. Series.

BV4541.3.A77 2005

248.842dc22

2004024720

v3.1

This book is dedicated to Ryan Luckmy warrior friend and son.

It is also devoted to the great-great-grandsons
of the young men in this generation who choose
to be loyal to Christ above all.

This book is the result of having the opportunity to be taught and mentored by strong godly men. At UCLA these men were Matt Booker and J. P. Jones. In my family, special thanks goes to my father-in-law and stalwart brother, Don Watson. In ministry, Rick Warren, Josh McDowell, Steve Arterburn, and Lance Witt have shaped my ministry by their very lives, words, and commitment to their Lord. At Every Man Ministries, Chris Hite, Phil Deol, Scott Plail, Tom Chapin, Chris Duncan, Chris Luck, Jim Waterhouse, and Danny Wallen have all sacrificed and fought for the worthy cause of reaching men for Christ. At Saddleback, my battalion of brothers answers the call with me in mens ministry and provides leadership for our church. God has used all of you to inspire, challenge, sharpen, and stretch my faith over the years so that His purpose for my life goes forward.

Special thanks to the CRAVE guys at Saddleback for letting me ask you some tough questions and for providing real answers so that your brothers around the world can better connect with the truth of Gods Word.

The twenty-one-gun salute goes to Chrissythanks for all your sacrifices and support that allow me the freedom to pursue this ministry to men around the world.

Lastly, thanks to Cara, Ryan, and Jenna for loaning their dad to God on many nights and over many weekends so that men can come to know the God who made them and loves them as sons.

I always wanted to be the father of a sonsomeone like you. No matter what you may have done or the trouble you have been into or the way you look or act, I would love being a father of a great young man like you.

One day I picked up a little boy named Carter who had been crying after he fell down. He looked at me after I hugged him and said, You remind me of my dad. It was a great feeling to know that for a few moments I felt like a father to a little boy.

If you were my son, there are some things Id want you to have: a bike and a skateboard and, when the time came, a car. I would want you to own all the cool stuff that cool guys have, including a surfboard, because if you were my son, you would be living right next to the ocean. I would want you to have great teachers, fun guy friends, and nice girlfriends you could be really proud of. I would want you to have a lot of things I did not have when I was growing up, and I would work hard to provide them for you.

Of all the things I would want you to have, though, one stands above the rest. If you had it, your life would be easier to manage. It would also make your life count. That one thing is character. To me character means believing in what is good and right and being able to live according to what you believe. A young man with character is consistent in what he does in public and private. He is one of the rare people who is more interested in what he gives than what he takes. People are better after being with him rather than feeling hurt or angry. The young man with character knows why he is on this earth and is working toward fulfilling his God-given mission. He knows he is called to be Gods man and is doing whatever it takes to become Gods man. He has a sense of direction and purpose that will not be sidelined by some selfish temptation to do or be less than he can be.