Roger E. Olsen has been been asked by a friend who is a youth pastor to speak with the boys of his Christian youth group.

Here, in outline, is what he plans to say:-

1. It’s good to be a boy.  Just like girls and women, boys and men should be proud of what God has made them to be.
2. A boy or a man may need to reign in the tendency towards testosterone-driven aggression.
3. Ignore the popular sterotypes, such as, ‘men don’t cry’.
4. Choose your heroes carefully, and base your choice on character, rather than prowess in sport or war.
5. Put down the computer games and read.
6. Find a trustworthy adult outside the family you can confide in.
7. Resist peer pressure that tries to make you into someone other than who you really are.
8. Avoid spending time on the internet in private.
9. Talk openly with your parents.
10. Pray and read your Bible every day – especially when you don’t feel like it!

This is for an American audience.  But there’s food for thought for other settings too.