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99 Things Every Guy Should Know

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What does it take to become a real man? You'll find the best answer to that question when you follow God's roadmap—a journey that will lead you toward authentic manhood. Jeffrey, Mike, and Matty have teamed up to offer some sharp advice on transitioning from the teen years to adulthood. They'll guide you through eight essential topics, including finances, dating & sex, spiritual growth & disciplines, and identity. You'll hear about their victories and successes—plus their regrets and mistakes. These three guys are all dads who want their sons to experience a meaningful life by following and honoring God—and they want that for you, too. 99 Things Every Guy Should Know will help you become a man whose life is filled with honesty, strength, and courage. JEFFREY WALLACE has served in local youth ministry for over a decade and brings a fresh and relevant approach to effective and healthy Purpose-Driven urban youth ministry. He is the President & CEO of Front Line Urban Resources, Inc., which focuses on training and mentoring other urban youth pastors and leaders and providing life-changing youth ministry resources. He also serves pastor of youth development at Peace Baptist Church in Decatur, Georgia. MIKE HAMMER is passionate about leadership, ministry, and people growing in who God has called them to be. With over a decade in ministry, he is currently a youth pastor for middle and high school ministries, as well as a writer and occasional speaker. He lives with his wife, Megan, and their sons, Logan and Parker—both named after superheroes. (Seriously, how awesome is that?) MATTY MCCAGE convinced Joyce to marry him and a church to hire him. Matty has spent nearly 20 years in youth ministry, teaching the proper wedgie technique and regularly pontificating on MinistryRamblings.com. He and Joyce are living happily ever after with their three offspring: Aeden, Warren, and Emmalicious.

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Page 1: 99 Things Every Guy Should Know

What does it take to become a real man?

You’ll find the best answer to that question when you follow God’s roadmap—a journey that will lead you toward authentic manhood.

Jeffrey, Mike, and Matty have teamed up to offer some sharp advice on transitioning from the teen years to adulthood. They’ll guide you through eight essential topics, including finances, dating & sex, spiritual growth & disciplines, and identity. You’ll hear about their victories and successes—plus their regrets and mistakes.

These three guys are all dads who want their sons to experience a meaningful life by following and honoring God—and they want that for you, too.

99 Things Every Guy Should Know will help you become a man whose life is filled with honesty, strength, and courage.

Printed in the U.S.A.

ISBN 978-0-7644-9136-8

Religion/Christian Ministry/Youth

JEFFREY WALLACE has served in local youth ministry for over a decade and brings a fresh and relevant approach to effective and healthy Purpose-Driven urban youth ministry. He is the President & CEO of Front Line Urban Resources, Inc., which focuses on training and mentoring other urban youth pastors and leaders and providing life-changing youth ministry resources. He also serves pastor of youth development at Peace Baptist Church in Decatur, Georgia.

MATTY MCCAGE convinced Joyce to marry him and a church to hire him. Matty has spent nearly 20 years in youth ministry, teaching the proper wedgie technique and regularly pontificating on MinistryRamblings.com. He and Joyce are living happily ever after with their three offspring: Aeden, Warren, and Emmalicious.

9 780764 491368

MIKE HAMMER is passionate about leadership, ministry, and people growing in who God has called them to be. With over a decade in ministry, he is currently a youth pastor for middle and high school ministries, as well as a writer and occasional speaker. He lives with his wife, Megan, and their sons, Logan and Parker—both named after superheroes. (Seriously, how awesome is that?)

99 things every guy should know

wallace, ham

mer, and m

ccage

Page 2: 99 Things Every Guy Should Know

1

Page 3: 99 Things Every Guy Should Know

99 Things Every Guy Should KnowNavigating Relationships, Success, and Life’s Other Big Stuff

© 2013 Jeffrey Wallace, Mike Hammer, & Matty McCage

group.comsimplyyouthministry.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher, except where noted in the text and in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, visit group.com/customer-support/permissions.

CreditsAuthors: Jeffrey Wallace, Mike Hammer, & Matty McCageExecutive Developer: Nadim NajmChief Creative Offi cer: Joani SchultzEditor: Rob CunninghamCover Art and Production: Veronica Preston

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scriture quotations marked NIV are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

ISBN 978-0-7644-9136-8

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13

Printed in the United States of America.

Page 4: 99 Things Every Guy Should Know

TABLE of contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i

Chapter 1: Relat ionships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Chapter 2: Finances .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Chapter 3: Dating & Sex .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Chapter 4: Spir i tual Growth &

Discipl ines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Chapter 5: Leadership .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Chapter 6: Identi ty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Chapter 7: Legacy .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Chapter 8: Acceptance... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

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INTRODUCTION

Writ ing this book brought back so many

memories of l i fe as a teenager. Pimples, crazy

hairstyles, reversible sweatshirts, overhaul

shorts—those were some good t imes! The

three of us grew up in a dif ferent era from

you, and every now and then, our fr iends and

family members pul l out awkward photos and

tel l embarrassing stor ies from those days.

(Don’t laugh too hard—this wi l l happen to

you someday, too!) And though the context of

our teenage years dif fers from yours, we st i l l

struggled with the same issues of l i fe as you

do. I t ’s part of being a guy!

We real ly hope you enjoy the book, laugh at

our stupidity, and take some of i t to heart.

Don’t treat i t l ike a textbook. Feel free to

bounce around and focus on the areas that are

most important to you r ight now. Sometimes

you’ l l see that one of us is sharing a personal

story; other t imes we’ve put our brains together

to offer some col lect ive wisdom and advice.

Page 6: 99 Things Every Guy Should Know

But before we cut you loose, there’s one ult imate

thought we want you to walk away with.

No matter where you are in your spir i tual

journey, there is a Creator who desires more

than anything to be your Father. We understand

that not everyone who reads this book has a

great father/son relat ionship. Some of you can’t

wait to see your dad today, some are dreading

when he’ l l walk through the door, and others

of you have never met your dad. Regardless of

your si tuat ion, please know that God’s greatest

longing for you is to move from being his

creation to being his chi ld . In God’s arms you’ l l

f ind love, encouragement, wisdom, heal ing, and

l i fe. That’s the greatest and most basic thought

you ought to know.

Know that you’re loved and prayed for !

Jeffrey, Mike, and Matty

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Chapter 1

RELATIONSHIPS

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2

3 THOUGHTS ABOUT FAMILY

1. Maintain realistic expectations

I (Matty) was raised by imperfect parents. There

were t imes I fel t they grew angry too quickly,

yel led too loudly, and punished too harshly.

While we can debate whether my memories of

those si tuat ions are accurate or not, a couple of

things are certain: I pushed my parents to the l imit, and they loved me more than I ’ l l ever know.

One day my chi ldren wi l l tel l their fr iends how

I snapped to conclusions, yel led to the point

where I went hoarse, and threatened to throw

away every toy they owned. They wi l l recal l how

imperfect I was (and am). But one thing they wi l l

know for sure is that I loved them more than I

could ful ly show them.

Parenting isn’t easy, and parents make mistakes.

Trust me when I say, “We know when we blow i t ,

and we’re not happy about i t ei ther.”

RELATIONSHIPS

Page 9: 99 Things Every Guy Should Know

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2. Family is what you make of it

Last night, my wife, Joyce, and I (Matty)

watched our kids eat dinner at the table. They

were ful l of smiles, laughter, and happiness. I

was amazed at how much they not only loved

each other but also loved to be together. I asked

Joyce i f she had similar memories from her

chi ldhood, and she did.

I don’t have many memories of my sisters and

me gett ing along that wel l . I t ’s not that we didn’t

love each other; we just didn’t know how to

get along. Famil ies aren’t void of confl ict but

overcome confl ict together. Famil ies aren’t ful ly

put together but require a lot of assembly (you’ l l

hate that term when you become a dad).

Your family is just that: your family. I t is what

you make of i t . Take ownership and choose

to make great memories ful l of love and

excitement.

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3. Family love is a vague love

Every person has a way they feel love. Some

people respond wel l when someone says

something nice and nurturing to them, and

others respond better i f something is done for

them. In his book The Five Love Languages ,

author Gary Chapman identi f ies f ive “languages”

or ways of communicat ing love: words of aff i rmation, physical touch, receiving gif ts, qual i ty t ime, and acts of service.

Before concluding that your family doesn’t

love you, f i rst decide which language you

respond to best. Then write down each one

of your immediate family members and their

love language next to their name. Chances

are they’re showing they love you in the same

method they respond to best.

Remember, love can be a very confusing thing

for people to show. Most parents simply ref lect

the way they were raised and were shown love.

Love not only requires us to have an open heart

but an open mind as wel l .

RELATIONSHIPS

Page 11: 99 Things Every Guy Should Know

What does it take to become a real man?

You’ll find the best answer to that question when you follow God’s roadmap—a journey that will lead you toward authentic manhood.

Jeffrey, Mike, and Matty have teamed up to offer some sharp advice on transitioning from the teen years to adulthood. They’ll guide you through eight essential topics, including finances, dating & sex, spiritual growth & disciplines, and identity. You’ll hear about their victories and successes—plus their regrets and mistakes.

These three guys are all dads who want their sons to experience a meaningful life by following and honoring God—and they want that for you, too.

99 Things Every Guy Should Know will help you become a man whose life is filled with honesty, strength, and courage.

Printed in the U.S.A.

ISBN 978-0-7644-9136-8

Religion/Christian Ministry/Youth

JEFFREY WALLACE has served in local youth ministry for over a decade and brings a fresh and relevant approach to effective and healthy Purpose-Driven urban youth ministry. He is the President & CEO of Front Line Urban Resources, Inc., which focuses on training and mentoring other urban youth pastors and leaders and providing life-changing youth ministry resources. He also serves pastor of youth development at Peace Baptist Church in Decatur, Georgia.

MATTY MCCAGE convinced Joyce to marry him and a church to hire him. Matty has spent nearly 20 years in youth ministry, teaching the proper wedgie technique and regularly pontificating on MinistryRamblings.com. He and Joyce are living happily ever after with their three offspring: Aeden, Warren, and Emmalicious.

9 780764 491368

MIKE HAMMER is passionate about leadership, ministry, and people growing in who God has called them to be. With over a decade in ministry, he is currently a youth pastor for middle and high school ministries, as well as a writer and occasional speaker. He lives with his wife, Megan, and their sons, Logan and Parker—both named after superheroes. (Seriously, how awesome is that?)

99 things every guy should know

wallace, ham

mer, and m

ccage