The year was 1976. I was sitting in high school history class at the all-boys Catholic high school I attended in Toledo, Ohio. On most days, I may have been daydreaming about playing football. But the lesson on this particular day was the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision. I was all ears. You see, I was the only black kid in the class, so you can imagine things got a little awkward… for me and for the teacher who was giving... Read more
Years ago, I read a Christianity Today article that featured an interview with pastor and author John Piper, giving his thoughts about the importance of reconciliation. This interview provided some excellent insights into one of the 6 things good dads do. At the end of the interview, he talked about how his son walked away from the Christian faith at 19-years-old. He said: “I was pursuing him constantly…emailing every day almost, taking him to lunch every time he came back... Read more
Number 4 – Good Dads are Spiritually Involved Recently, I was reading about the increase in the number of people who want to climb Mount Everest. Apparently, this has become a very big business as thrill-seekers, young and old, experienced and novice, covet the opportunity to put their bodies and minds to the ultimate test. After all, Mount Everest, which is located in the Himalayas on the border between China and Nepal, is the earth’s highest mountain with its peak... Read more
Number 3 – Good Dads are Emotionally Available Be honest, when you think of the word “nurture” in the context of parenting, who comes to mind? If you are like most people the answer is “mom.” That’s understandable because the origin of the word nurture is “to feed or provide nourishment,” which, of course, brings to mind the image of a mother breastfeeding her newborn. Also, most of the time when people talk about nurturing it’s in the... Read more
Number 2 – Good Dads Are Physically Present Most fathers that I speak with understand that they need to financially provide for their children. Providing is such a well-understood aspect of fathering that often dads are just referred to as a “provider.” In fact, I often tell people that the only way that the government tends to think about dads is in this way. Alas, while there are a plethora of programs for women focused on maternal health and child... Read more
Number 1 – Good Dads Know the Power of Affirmation Several years ago, I was preparing to speak about fatherhood at a men’s prayer breakfast and I wasn’t quite sure what to say. I needed a fresh word from God. So, I started thumbing through my Bible and came across Matthew 3:13-17 through 4:1. Check out what it said below: Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him,... Read more
A colleague of mine recently told me about an incident that happened in her daughter’s college classroom. The professor of a public speaking class, who had made it very clear that he is anti-Christian and pro-choice when it comes to unborn babies in the womb, decided to do an “experiment” in class. He asked the class to stand on one side of the room if they believe that women’s rights are human rights. Of course, everyone in the class went... Read more
As I write this, our nation faces a time of great social unrest and political division. We are challenged to state publicly with our words and on social media what matters. But for too many, a person’s hashtag has become the litmus test for determining the value of their perspective and worth as a person. My heart breaks when I consider family ties, long-standing friendships, and even church congregations frayed and divided over three words. For some, these words are... Read more
Many years ago, when my wife and I were new parents, we went to visit a couple that had two sons that were a bit older than ours. After a brief introduction to their boys, they took them to their play area in an adjacent room, so that we could talk without being interrupted. Well, it was not long after they closed the playroom door that these boys started going after each other. It sounded a bit like an Ultimate... Read more
My good friend Vince DiCaro, Chief Outreach Officer for Care Net, offered the below insight about parenting. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ My son was sitting in his car seat as we drove home from daycare at the end of a long day. He was holding his lunch bag in his hand. He always has to have something in this hand… Then, something about the lunch bag suddenly annoyed him, so he frantically threw it down, it landed on his legs, and he kicked... Read more
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