Welcome to Breakpoint, a daily look at an ever-changing culture through the lens of unchanging truth. For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street. Last month on his Substack, Dr. Anthony Bradley shared some newsworthy stories. Not too often when young men attract media attention, it's usually for all the wrong reasons, unless it involves sports or music, maybe.
These young men, however, earn this attention through courage. As Bradley put it, and I quote, the headlines have become a liturgy of bad news about young men. They're disengaged, addicted, angry, aimless. The concern is real. And there are many institutions working on these issues, but this is not the whole story.
Lots of young men are thriving and selflessly changing lives in their local communities. In my book, this is Bradley still speaking, called Heroic Fraternities, I frame masculinity as, and I quote, using your power, presence, creativity, and strength for the benefit of others. There are countless stories of young men doing just that. But those stories are drowned out by stories of the opposite. End quote.
Well, telling better stories of young men is a passion project for Dr. Bradley. In a world where masculinity is regularly derided as simply being toxic, these stories extol male virtue and remind us that masculinity, when rightly ordered, is in fact good. And if we want young men to be good, they'll need to know that that kind of goodness is in fact possible. In the headline photo of the article by Dr.
Bradley are three young men, Cameron Swan, age 15, Kervon Johnson, 14, and Kessian Wilson, 14, who saved the life of a child who was drowning. Among the other stories was of a teenage boy named Anthony Killinger who kept his stepfather alive long enough with CPR so that paramedics could arrive. The EMTs credited Anthony with saving the man's life. And another story told about a 12-year-old running through his burning house rescuing his one and two-year-old siblings while guiding his grandmother to safety. Just a few weeks ago, 17-year-old named Jaheem Warner managed to stop a rolling pickup truck, break through the back window, and stabilize the woman who was inside having a seizure.
On June 9th, two thirteen year olds named Gunnar Skidmore and Cohen Chick saw an older woman lying hurt in her yard. Before they came to her rescue, she had been stranded there for some 16 hours. As Bradley explained, these are stories that provide a sharp contrast to so many stereotypes. Quote, they didn't sit around passively capturing the crisis in front of them on their phones to post on social media, which has to be the height of cowardice. Instead, they put their phones down and risked their lives because someone else was in need.
We need to capture those stories and celebrate them. We need to share them. Boys need to grow up hearing them over and over again. These stories are aspirational. These are the kinds of young men all parents should want their sons to be.
Yes, stories like this are inspirational. But as Bradley put it, they should also be aspirational. Back in 2020, a six-year-old Wyoming boy heroically protected his little sister from an attacking dog. And Bridger Walker not only earned those scars that day, he reminded all of us that it's far better to be a hero than a celebrity.
So it's good when boys play soldier and firemen and policemen. These are instincts that should be encouraged and cultivated, not suppressed. And if we want healthy young men who know that their strength is there in order to serve others, we'll have to point them to these kinds of heroes. Stories that they can admire and follow. Thankfully, as Dr.
Bradley reminds us, heroes aren't just in the make-believe stories. For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street with Breakpoint. Today's Breakpoint was co-authored with Dr. Timothy Padgett. If you're a fan of Breakpoint, leave us a review wherever you download podcasts.
And for more resources or to share this commentary with others, go to breakpoint.org. The eighth annual Great Lakes Symposium is happening August 6th, 2026 in Bay Harbor, Michigan. This year, we'll explore what it means to stay human in the age of AI. As AI continues to advance, it presents a temptation to surrender our minds, creativity, relationships, and work on the altar of efficiency. But to do so is to surrender our very humanity.
John Stone Street will be joined by Abdu Murray, Gretchen Heizinga, and John Lennox to help us explore how Christians can live out our God-given humanity in an increasingly AI-driven world. This event is free, but space is limited. Sign up today at greatlakesymposium.org. That's greatlakesymposium.org.
