Nine Character Traits: Separating the Men from the Boys : How Men Grow Up and Why They Sometimes Don't

Boys will be boys. And men will be boys. That's a fact. But is this continuing boyishness really just a normal "guy thing"?

What would happen if someone like Dave Barry and someone like Oswald Chambers got together and wrote a book about men? It's not as absurd a question as it seems. In Nine Character Traits Separating the Men from the Boys, storyteller Nate Adams combines the humor of everyday guy antics with more serious discussion of how they mature in character - and why they sometimes don't.

The stories Nate tells are likely to make you laugh out loud. But in-between laughs you'll find an insightful look at the tug between the "boy in us" and the "man in us." It's a healthy tug between the boy who says to listen to our heart and the man who wants us to listen to our head, between the boy who wants to make sure we keep our lives simple, trusting, and passionate and the man who wants to make sure we're taking life seriously and responsibly. The boy in us urges us to "lighten up," while the man in us urges us to "grow up." Both are voices we need to hear.

Christian character or its lack is displayed every day in the "arenas" that form our lives, arenas like work and play, decisions, discipline, communications, relationships, priorities, motives, values, and overall life perspective. These nine arenas call for nine key character traits, and they are delivered thoughtfully and sometimes hilariously in t

Nate Adams was born in Kentucky and transplanted to the Chicago area just in time for high school. By the time suburban adolescence had chewed him up and spit him out, Nate admits to having embraced things like sports, straight A's, and success more than the faith values of his roots.

Currently, he is the Vice President of Marketing for Christianity Today, Inc. in Carol Stream, Illinois. His expertise in marketing and maintaining Cti's million-plus name subscriber base is frequently solicited by both Christian and secular organizations. He has led seminars and written articles on magazine circulation management, and used this topic as his thesis while completing a Master's Degree in Management and Development of Human Resources.

In 1993, Nate was formally ordained to the gospel ministry in order to better serve the small churches in his area who can't afford full-time staff. Finding his way from "family faith" to personal faith and from disdain for the church to a passion for its mission has given Nate a practical and refreshing perspective on the Christian life. It's a perspective that finds expression in his writing, which consistently carries a tone of warmth, humor, and matter-of-fact practicality. Whether in his "Eutychus" columns in Christianity Today, his "For Men Only" section of Marriage Partnership, or his recent youth devotional book Energizers, you read in Nate's writing a lighthearted but serious-minded desire for faith to be real in the day-to-day challenges of living.

The recent "men's movement" points to the fact that guys are asking more questions about their inner selves, about their roles, about their relationships to women, about what's really important in life and in eternity. Is "boys will be boys" a frustratingly real cliché or a charming opportunity for self-discovery? Nate Adams examines that question in Nine Character Traits Separating the Men from the Boys. Filled with shoulder-to-shoulder guy talk for men (and the women who love them) who'd like some practical encouragement for growing up...at least a little.

size : 5.3 x 8.3