Wild at Heart - Chapter 8 - Week of June 29, 2008

Reading Assignment - Chapter 8 - A Battle to Fight: The Enemy


Discussion Questions

1. What have you considered your role in the "Great Battle" up to this point?



2. What does it mean to you to awaken the "fierce quality" within a man?



3. What do you think Eldredge means when he urges men to "let their strength show" or let other "feel the weight of you?" Why does he believe this is so important?



4. Discuss any other topics in this chapter that caught your attention.

Wild at Heart - Chapter 7 - Week of June 22, 2008

Read Chapter 7 - Healing the Wound

Discussion Questions

We are going to start with Question 2 from last week - If you were to write down three things that God "has been up to with you," over the past 3 years, what would they be?

1. What "doorways" did God use to bring his light to your wound (examples include anger, anxiety, addiction, relationships)? In what way did that get your attention?
2. What is your understanding of the healing God has brought to your life as part of your Christian life? How would you explain it to others seeking God's healing in their life?
3. Discuss any other insights from this week's chapter

This Week's Memory Verses - Eph 1:3-9

Wild at Heart - Chapter 6 - Week of June 15, 2008

Read Chapter 6 - The Father's Voice
Discussion Questions:

1. Over the course of your Christian life, how would you classify your knowledge of God...and of yourself?
2. If you were to write down three things that God "has been up to with you," over the past 3 years, what would they be?
3. What is your "wonder boy" (see book explanation of the movie, the Natural), that one thing other than God that you can fall back on to make everything all right? Are you being asked to let go of something that's meant the world to you?

Homework assignment (as applicable): Ask your woman - "What could I do - or stop doing - that would feel like a great relief to you in our relationship?"

Bonus Question (if we have time) - Eldredge speaks of a "life mission," when you made a personal decision to commit your life or recommit your life to Christ, did you sense that God gave you a life mission? Why or why not?

Wild at Heart - Chapter 5 - Week of June 8

Read Chapter 5 - The Battle for a Man's Heart
Discussion Questions

Start with Question from Chapter 4
- Do you agree with the idea that masculinity (i.e. Who a man is and what he's got) is bestowed? How would you assess your receipt of this gift from your father or other men in your life?

Chapter 5 Questions

1. What have your wounds prevented you from doing in life?
2. Where is the battle for your heart most evident in your life? Why do you think that is?
3. What role has the pursuit of women played in your sense of masculinity? What impact has that had on you?

Wild at Heart - Chapter 4 - Week of June 1

Reading Assignment - Chapter 4 - The Wound
Discussion Questions

1. What are some of your favorite memories together with your dad? What makes them special to you?
2. How would you sum up your father's life lesson to you? (e.g. Work hard and you'll get ahead, look out for #1, you can't really trust anyone...)
3. Do you agree with the idea that masculinity (i.e. Who a man is and what he's got) is bestowed? How would you assess your receipt of this gift?
4. This chapter comes down pretty hard on fathers, in terms of their inadequacy in "bestowing" masculinity. Do you think it is a fair portrayal? Can you identify with taking "an arrow" in your place of strength or being "wounded?" Do any of you feel like your "injury" is do to an absent father? - see Psalm 109-21-22 and consider Bly's quote "Not receiving any blessing from your father is an injury...."

Additional Thoughts:

The following is an excerpt from the field manual that may help with understanding what Eldredge means by "wound" - "I need to clarify two things when it comes to finding our "wound": First, it is not necessarily one clear wound, given on an unforgettable day your remember in detail. Many men can recall the day they received a soul-wound from their father that somehow defined the rest of their relationship with him. But for others, it is an accumulation of subtle wounds and messages, given over time. Second, I believe that every man carries a wound. No matter how good a man your father was, and may still be, he is not Jesus Christ. Every father is a son of Adam, and every father himself grew up in a world far from Eden. Given these two biblical truths, be very , very cautious to come to the conclusion that your somehow escaped the father-wound. Your father may have repented deeply of his own false self as a young man, and been substantially healed of his own wound before he fathered you. But that is a rare, rare case.