FATHERING COMES NATURALLY TO GOD.
The rest of us can use some pointers. Who better to provide them than the Father who truly knows best?
In our world where men easily slide into ready-made molds, the nobility of fatherhood has steadily faded. Macho men, remote mousy geeks, or even “fun dads” pinch-hit for one of the most sobering assignments in life. Effective fatherhood is often skewed by faulty role models or misinformation, and no help at all is available for many. Our twenty-first century has quietly demoted fatherhood to a low priority with caricatures of a quasi-comic house house servant whose job is to ensure mom and the kids are well fed, well dressed and sufficiently entertained.
What is a father’s function? When a man marries a wife and children are born to them, what does God expect? Fatherhood may be a do-it-yourself pursuit, lived uniquely in each family, but God the Father has carefully modeled basic principles for that determinative role.
In Fathering Like the Father, father-and-son authors Kenn and Jeff Gangel explore God’s ways of forgiving, communicating with, disciplining, and loving his children. Each chapter is packed with amusing anecdotes and personal vignettes that illustrate how fathers can model Godly character for their children.
Beginning Saturday June 15 we will start reading Fathering Like the Father by Kenneth and Jeffrey Gangel. We will meet at 6:15am at Adventure Park. You can get the paperback copy on Amazon for about $12. The delivery on this book takes about a week, and it seems like quantities are limited. Alternatively there is a kindle version as well. Barnes & Noble is another option. We should read the first chapter by June 15, so try and get the book soon. If you cannot afford the book, please reach out to me (Sparky) and I will get you a copy.
I would like Celery Fields to also track with us HIM at Adventure Park. If this topic is relevant and important to you, then please step up and help lead a few guys on Saturday mornings at Celery Fields. If you would rather meet at an alternative time or location, then that is great too! I will help by providing my reading notes and publishing the backblasts. Please let me know if you are interested.
Even if you are not a father of young children or if you are an empty-nester, there will still be plenty to learn and share with other fathers. I am looking forward to growing stronger spiritually and learning to become better fathers with all of you!