David Arms is a Catholic Deacon in the Archdiocese of San Francisco and a coauthor of the book, 'Milestone to Manhood'. David invented the Rite of Passage weekend to create an opportunity for fathers to affirm their son’s masculine identity by bestowing the title of “man” upon him. Steven Arms lives in Portland, Oregon, with his wife, Emily, and is the proud father of two young children. In 'Milestone to Manhood', Steven shares his firsthand experience of his Rite of Passage weekend and reflects on how it shaped him into the man that he is today.
Milestones to Manhood is a way for fathers to help connect with their sons through a Christian right of passage. The book is a blueprint that specifically instructs a dad in how to do this for their 13-year-old sons. The idea is for the boy to look back at that point in time where he became a man. The book outlines the steps to take and how to do the specific events and can also be modified for any family.
The book outlines specific steps that help make a father and son relationship stronger as well as giving the son other men in the family or mentors to look up to. There is a beautiful element of surprise for the son in this right of passage that will take him out of his comfort zone. This can be done for sons of single moms as well by trusted mentors and men in the church. It’s important that these sons also have mentors to look up to and go to for advice. There are 4 ways that separate men from women. 1. Physical Strength 2. Authority Figure 3. Men are called to be natural leaders, the head of household 4. Provider and Protector.
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