Fifteen men were assigned to our Anger Management program!
Immediately we knew that there are going to be some moments as deep hurts were triggered and old excuses invalidated.
The first session begins by considering the insight given to us in Proverbs 29:11 - “A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.” A confronting verse that leads to robust discussion, and where step by step we find men admitting, that at various times, ‘I have all been the fool’. A humbling but truthful first step.
These fifteen men all had a variety of experiences of anger and revealed various perspectives of rights, regrets, and remorse. As the program continued what was redrawn each day on the whiteboard is a line with three points. One the left the Foolish Man, in the middle the Wise Man, and on the right the Man of Peace. Day by day we built the vision, the self-reflection, and the tools to move towards the opportunity and value in the Man of Peace.
We are building the vision of the Man of Peace on Matthew 5:9 - “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called sons of God”.
Providing tools that control anger is limited in scope, we must rebirth a new vision of male identity that sits well outside anger and violence as valid forms of expression. Rebuilding a strong vision gives permission for deep healing and the reframing of identity. Twelve words uttered in the Sermon on the Mount provide the call to all men to find a new place of contribution, influence, and blessing.
This week another thirty men will begin their participation in the trial of this new treatment approach. We are combining all of what we know of what works in the treatment of anger management of Pacific men, and establishing that within a wider treatment framework that has a Christ-centred calling and vision.
Already both men and women in Nanuku have been asking for help in this area so our goal is to also take this new material into the community beginning in 2023. We believe it will help address the need for effective community-based treatment for domestic violence.