Slugs and snails and puppy dogs' tails

‘We have such a problem with our boys,’..is a common refrain in many churches. The probability, though, is that boys are not actually the problem, rather our attitude to them; our ideas of what a boy really is and what he needs in order to connect with God.

Over the last few years, boys have been perceived to have been under-achieving at school, a problem in our society, and disengaged from our churches. It is Carolyn Edwards’ heartfelt conviction that this is because we are not meeting boys’ spiritual needs. Her experience is that boys are willing to engage in the struggle to make themselves heard and seen as they really are: full of energy, fun, feeling and spirituality.

In this intensely creative and practical book, Carolyn provides ten ways that boys would willingly connect with God, given the opportunity. Prompts and practical ideas help readers apply her findings to the boys they know and work with.

Commendations:

'Men often dismiss Church as irrelevant because we fail to connect with them. To correct this trend we need to start by looking at boys who grow up to be men. Boys are spiritual beings - but much of organised Christianity fails to understand what makes them tick. Carolyn Edwards has undertaken some thoughtful research and come up with insightful and practical suggestions of ways to reconnect with boys. She is a practitioner and that shows as throughout the book as ideas come across as tested and tried. As the parents of four lively boys who are now grown men, we commend this book as extremely helpful and packed with good suggestions. As teachers involved in training people for leadership, we commend it as essential reading for any who are serious about engaging in the Mission of God.'Ian and Ruth Coffey

‘An important contribution to the issue of boys spirituality, taking it from theoretical research, which she is well qualified to offer, to well grounded practical application, based on her many years of experience as a children’s worker. Boys especially need their advocates at the present time. Carolyn Edwards offers them another supporting voice.’Ian White, Programme Leader; Children’s and Youth Ministry courses, Cliff College