Hi Friends, I hope your summer is going well. Pam and I are in St. John on vacation and I wanted to share an update with you. Care Net: Care Net’s pace has not let up this year and, on this side of the pandemic, I have been doing a lot of speaking and traveling. Most recently I have done … Read More
Why Call God Father and Not Mother or Parent?
The answer to this question may be partly cultural and due to “Israel’s temptation to follow after fertility Gods.”[1] Missiologist and Fuller Theological Seminary professor Scott Sunquist also notes: “Why not Mother?” The simple answer is that we are not given “Mother” as a name for God. The deeper reason may be that “mother’ or “mother earth” were designations for … Read More
Carrying the Fire
Hey Friends, The book is almost finished! I appreciate your prayers regarding the logistics of pulling everything together in the next few weeks. Here’s a peek at the Introduction: I wasn’t into zombies or The Walking Dead franchise as much as my kids were, but I have enjoyed other post-apocalyptic expressions like The Terminator, The Hunger Games, and Cormac McCarthy’s … Read More
How Parenting Teaches Us About God’s Heart
To all the fathers out there, Happy Father’s Day! In the Bible, what is said about God often makes use of what theologians have traditionally called anthropomorphic language; that is, language that speaks of God in human terms. For example, we might talk about “the eyes of the Lord” or “the long arm of the Lord.” Other places in Scripture … Read More
Hero-dads are Inadequate to Provide for All of Their Kid’s Needs
It was the morning of July 19, 2014—the day after my oldest son’s wedding—and I was lost in thought. Just the night before, at the glorious end of a full day of celebration, Pam and I had watched as he, his beautiful bride, and many friends danced with all their hearts to Coldplay’s “Sky Full of Stars.” Standing there, watching … Read More
Hero-dads grow in competence to influence
Dads who come out of their caves learn to care about their communities. They are like the dad connected to the virtuous woman in Prov. 31: “Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land” (23, ESV). To sit by the city gates was to sit among the civic leaders: listening, discussing problems, … Read More
Hero-Dads Avoid Isolation
“I knew he loved me… but he would lock himself away.” I’ve heard many versions of this in my pastoral ministry over the years and it’s a real problem. Batman may do some of his best work in his cave, but hero-dads need to think through the healthy and unhealthy parts of isolation– including our legitimate need for solitude, quietness, … Read More
Snapshots of Father Involvement
“These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes … Read More
EXCLUSIVE PRAYER & MINISTRY UPDATE- 042822
“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin…” Zechariah 4:10, NLT Hi All! Happy Spring to each one of you and here’s our latest: Care Net: The pace at Care Net continues to be challenging, although rewarding. I now lead a six-person team (four full-time and two part-time), with two more full-time positions … Read More
Cohabitation vs. Marriage in Historical Context
Although the primary culture shift that took dads out of the home dates back to 1760 and the Industrial Revolution, in North America, changes in attitudes toward marriage are more recent, dating back to the 1960s. During this time, our culture began to aggressively delink sex from marriage and parenting. Further, even the sacred ties between marriage and parenting began … Read More