The Philosophy of the Knights

The Knights of the 21^st Century Program has been designed to help males of any age learn to appreciate and be confident in achieving their manhood.

The message presented is one of hope and optimism to confront the years of cultural negativity toward men and lack of good role models and a way presented for a man to both understand and respect the Creator and His creation.

Males need men to challenge each other to higher levels of manhood performance and the Knights of the 21^st Century Program does so in several ways.

1. It presents a new manhood language in order to make men work at grasping this view of life. When men discover and use new words, their internal dialogue changes and eventually their actions.
2. It encourages a view of men that describes their complexity in terms of the knight metaphor. Men are initially attracted by the nobility and positive nature of this manhood description and willing to delve more deeply into who they really are internally.
3. The challenging nature of the study material leads the men to deeper understanding of themselves, as they progress along in the program, and the excitement of self-discovery becomes itself a powerful motivation.
4. Men increase their level of participation and grow when they begin to understand more fully: how their past history affects their present, how their natural defensiveness fits within their nature, how their emotional worlds can be felt and utilized, how their relationships can be improved, how their potential can be further developed, how their thinking can be sharpened, and how their life purpose can be clarified.
5. It includes a live or DVD presentation of the Knights study material and optional suggestions for movie clips to further illustrate the lesson material.
6. Campfire or discussion groups follow each program lesson where men are given the opportunity to wrestle with, internalize and apply the presented material. The practical support of a campfire group encourages the application of these new language principles and concepts.

The Challenge

We believe that not only are men extremely valuable, but they also love metaphors and stories. Because of the tendency to remember concepts portrayed this way, it often makes application more likely. These avenues of presenting ideas combine thinking with feeling and often lead to a level of insight that is necessary for personal change.

Some men are more naturally bent toward appreciating this style of expression, while others are not. We realize that for some individuals, we may overplay a metaphor or choose one that may not meet their personal taste. However, we do believe men learning in this way or from this form of instruction — as with all the Knights of the 21^st Century material — increase their emotional IQ’s, and therefore we are willing to create some discomfort if it leads to a greater good for the men.

Continue your tour: Learn how you can impact others through the Knights of the 21^st Century Ministry for Men.