Like Father Like Son by Pete Alwinson

Call it machismo, masculinity, or manliness---it can never anchor a man's life, shape his identity, or repair what is broken in his relationship with his earthly father. Key Life men's ministry expert Pete Alwinson shows convincingly how a growing relationship with our heavenly Father gives a man real purpose as a son, father, brother, or friend.

If you don't know what it means to be a "real man," there are approximately 2,341 books that will tell you how. But Like Father, Like Son is a refreshing message of grace amongst the voices encouraging men to "just do it" or pull themselves up by their bootstraps. By focusing men on their biblical, core identity---being sons of the Father by grace---Like Father, Like Son channels the thirst for adventure and freedom into a radical exploration of grace. Filled with stories collected from the author's forty years of men's ministry, Like Father, Like Son is sure to connect with and encourage men where they really live.


My review:
   As someone who used to struggle a lot to believe God loved me, and still have a little difficulty with viewing God as my father; I was looking forward to reading this book. The author did a great job on writing a book about God being a father to we men.

 The chapters cover the character traits of God as a father. Traits such as God as the welcoming father, the identity-building father, the guiding father, and several others. This is the author's first book, and is is definitely one worth reading on this topic. I not only found it interesting and easy to read, but I also was helped and encouraged by it to view God more as a loving father instead of a demanding tyrant as I used to. He uses examples through the book to make some of his points that make the book even more interesting,

 Each chapter ends with a "take it to heart" section that has six questions for further thought and introspection.

  This book is definitely written for men, and I highly recommend it to any guy whether or not he has trouble viewing God as a Father.

About the author:

Pete Alwinson is Vice President of Leadership and Men for Key Life Network and has pastored in a variety of settings for 30 years. He has also served as an adjunct professor at Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, teaching communication and theology of ministry, and has written and spoken nationally for Man in the Mirror and Key Life. He has been married to Caron for 36 years and has two married sons and one college-aged daughter.


Thanks to Litfuse for the review copy.