Hey Friends, as I get things set up for a new year and season of ministry, I wanted to update the Irreplaceable: Recovering God’s Heart for Dads‘ book description to better address questions I’ve been hearing recently. I welcome any of your feedback or insights on the below.
Also, if you have a recent pic of you or your family, I’d love to see it. In that spirit, the featured pic above was taken last week during my son Tim’s and my annual trip to Princeton. This year, we were excited to have my son, Matt, and son-in-law, Josh, join us. The picture below is of my better half, Pam, and my daughter, Emily, and was also taken last week.
And now to the new description:
In our Handmaid’s Tale era which is bent on eradicating patriarchy and leaning into equality, many have lost a healthy sense of the unique and irreplaceable role of dads. On the one hand, some have emphasized “biblical manhood and womanhood” in unhelpful ways that have feminized the Beatitudes or deemphasized our shared humanity. On the other, some have completely ignored differences between the sexes, pushing equality toward androgyny. For most of us, sameness is off the table but where do we go from here? How do we chart a course that celebrates both moms and dads, and yet stay clear of toxic expressions of masculinity?
In a rigorous, yet accessible way, Irreplaceable: Recovering God’s Heart for Dads tackles these questions and others such as:
- How can anyone know or find God, let alone feel His love?
- Where does the fire come from to be the best parents we can be? That is, where do the foundational desires, drive, and motivation come from to give our kids our best and help them succeed?
- What if we’ve been wounded or our father was absent? How do we heal from our pain and not pass it on?
Although Irreplaceable’s primary focus is fathers, this in-depth and vulnerable exploration really is about recovering God’s heart for everyone. As the great George MacDonald put it: “The Father has sent us all into the outer world that we may go back into the inner world of his own heart.”
Through careful exegesis and thoughtful research—including insights from cultural icons like Cormac McCarthy, Jane Fonda, Michael Jackson, Linda Cameron, Mike Tyson, Julian Lennon, Gordon Lightfoot, Leonard Cohen, and others, Irreplaceable will help you wrestle with some of the toughest issues of our times.
For some, that will mean climbing out of the swamp of fundamentalism with a renewed and more accurate biblical and historical perspective. For others, it will mean returning to God’s ancient paths with a fresh appreciation for His ways. For all, this book will inspire and heal, helping you not only make better sense of your journey and the world we live in, but also find joy as you pass on an irreplaceable legacy.
As you’ll see in the table of contents below, the book is divided into three sections: Part 1, Essential Foundations, Part 2: Culture Shifts and Challenges, and Part 3: Your Irreplaceable Legacy. By way of analogy, you might think of the divisions like building a house (essential foundations) that will not only withstand hurricane-force winds and floods (culture shifts and challenges) but remain a thing of shelter and beauty for the next generation (your irreplaceable legacy).
Introduction: The Fire in Our Stories
Definitions and Devastations
Part One: Essential Foundations
- Chapter One: Epistemology and IPAs
- Chapter Two: James Bond and the Trinity
- Chapter Three: Knowing God as Father
- Chapter Four: The “Our Father” Prayer
- Chapter Five: The Mother of All Fatherhood Passages
Part Two: Culture Shifts and Challenges
- Chapter Six: Irreplaceable Moms and Marriage
- Chapter Seven: A Brief History of Dads’ Changing Roles
- Chapter Eight: Patriarchy, the Nuclear Family, and the LGBTQ Movement
Part Three: Your Irreplaceable Legacy
- Chapter Nine: All “I”s on Hero-Dads, Part 1
- Chapter Ten: All “I”s on Hero-Dads, Part 2
- Chapter Eleven: Building Strength in Our Families
- Chapter Twelve: Dads and Daughters
- Chapter Thirteen: The Wound is Where the Light Shines Through
And Irreplaceable even comes with a bonus track that includes an Irreplaceable playlist!