Well, we had the rite of passage for Josh this past Friday. It is over, and I still can’t decide what to call it. It has been called a manhood ceremony, a transition from childhood, a milestone, a rite of passage. Mostly, I have just called it the event.

We had ten guys take time from their families on a Friday night to show up and encourage Josh towards adulthood. My dad and cousin were there. The youth pastor for the youth group that Josh goes to, and seven guys from church, including the pastor and most of the leadership team. Most of these guys have kids of their own; they all are married; and, they all care enough about Josh to show up, encourage him, give him advice, and pray for him. As Josh’s dad, I thought it was amazing as I sat and listened as each of the guys spoke to Josh about how proud they were of him, and gave him a little advice for the coming teenage years.

In the days leading up to the event, I decided that we needed some sort of symbol that would remind Josh of the significance of the event, and the fact that he has transitioned out of childhood. I struggled to find the right symbol; it had to be something that he would like, but also something with meaning. In the end, I found a necklace with a military style dog tag and a cross. I had the dog tag engraved with Josh’s initials on the front, and with the scripture reference 1 Cor. 13:11 on the back.

At the end of the evening, after everyone had spoken, and after we had prayed for Josh, I asked him two last questions: “Josh, are you a child?” “No, I don’t think I am.” “Josh, do you pledge to take on the responsibilities of manhood?” “With God’s help, I do.” At that point, I presented Josh with the necklace and explained it to him.

With the event over, it was time to have some fun. The guys had desert and some of us played on the XBox 360, that we had brought out. Since Josh, was no longer a child, I let him play a new game, that had always been too old for him.

After it was over and everyone was gone, Josh admitted that he had been a little nervous beforehand. He had been given a lot of ribbing about being left in the middle of nowhere, or being tied to a tree, or being given a tattoo. But, he said that he was really glad that we had done, and that he loved the necklace.

We stayed up late telling his Mom what had transpired. I figured the event was a total success.

Last night, I asked Josh to blog about his views on the event. Maybe it wasn’t a success after all. His post seems to miss the point. I think he is just using his sarcastic wit to have some fun. I hope so. I hope that the event really does mark a milestone for him and the beginning of his move toward adulthood, not just a chance to play a new video game.