Fathering Our Future

When should we forgive our children? No one enjoys being wronged, and no one easily forgets the injustices committed against them. We tend to hold on to those acts, especially when they are committed by the ones closest to us, and even more so when they come from our children. Should we wait until we feel they understand our pain? Should we hold off because we think we need to teach them a lesson?...

Would it shock you to know that an accurate reading of Revelation 3 and the moral of KungFu Panda could help you understand the right way for you to do fatherhood? It sounds crazy, but it is true. So many of us fall into this category of people who just want to know what to do. We do not have a desire to guess or to make mistakes. We want someone to tell us exactly the best way to go about whateve...

Some people like to keep a tight leash on there kids, metaphorically and sometimes literally, but is that the right way to go about parenting? Should we be so protective that we chart out every step our children will take, ultimately controlling what they do? Of course the motivation for this is good intention, but does that make control, sheltering, and being over-protective acceptable? A friend...

In our world today, love may be one of the most abused terms. It is taken to justify things it would never stand for. It is used as reasons for things it would never partake in. Love is misunderstood and misused.   After a month of interviews focusing on love, I wanted to recap some requirements, or demands, of love so that we understand what love is and what love is not. If what we call love fail...

Our kids mean the world to us, and we love them with all of our heart, but as they grow, sometimes we have to modify the way we express our love to them.   I’m joined today by Pastor Johnny Hargrove to discuss ways that we can love our children so that we can have a lasting relationship with them. Johnny shares things he did and continues to do in order to nurture his relationship with his childre...

Our marriage is the greatest example we have for our kids. We model so much that they need simply by loving our wife. However, sometimes we struggle with what that really means. I am joined by Adam and Karissa King, founders of Dear Young Married Couple, to learn more about what it means for a husband to love his wife. We discuss Ephesians 5:25 and what it means, as well as practical tips for husb...

If you are anything like the rest of us, you have looked at yourself in the mirror and struggled to accept who you are. You know it’s important to love yourself but sometimes you’re just not sure how.   I am delighted to be joined by Bishop D.G. Hargrove. As a pastor and counselor, D.G. provides a systematic approach to loving ourselves, as well as giving us clarity on what it actually means for u...

Love is something we do not question because we assume we know what it means. Sadly, this assumption leads to love being abused and misused regularly.   As we start the month of February, I want to make sure we understand love. To start it off, we are going to focus on what it means to love God, because if we do not have that right, we will not be able to properly love ourselves and others.   As b...

As Christian dads, we cannot just focus on communicating with our kids, we have to focus and pay attention to how we speak to our kids. The truth is, our children need to hear our words. Our children need affirmation from us. Joining me to talk about affirmation and its impact, is Dr. Eugene Wilson. Eugene is an expert in leadership shares how we, as leaders in our home, can use our voice to build...

In Matthew 25, we read about servants who stewarded what was given to them with diligence and wisdom. They were later described as good and faithful servants. As dads, we have been entrusted with priceless gifts and I believe we should also strive to be good, faithful, and servants. Being good can be subjective but I’ll give you a definition and question to constantly ask yourself to make sure wha...

Reflecting on the iconic speech of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I was inspired to craft my own version for dads. I have a dream for Christian dads because I believe we have a divine calling with this identity we are blessed to bear.   I believe dads make a difference. The stronger we are, the more committed we are, the more knowledgeable we are, and the more connected we are, the greater the differ...

The topic of discipline is one parents are uneasy about. Just think about how many times you’ve seen a parent pull their kid close or off to the side and whisper in their ear and immediately the demeanor of the child changed. You know they whispered something along the lines of, “when we get home (fill in the blank).” And you know that because you have probably done something similar. Usually one...

As we start the New Year, we set resolutions for ourselves to improve ourselves. However, before we pursue growth or attempt to build ourselves into better men, husbands, and fathers, it is crucial that we actually know who we are. I want to share a test with you so you can check yourself and see if you are truly the man you claim to be. Without an understanding of your identity, all resolutions f...

Our mission as dads is to make disciples of our children. When we look at Jesus, our example, we see that he constantly told stories to teach His followers. We need to do the same with our kids. I may not be an expert but I have learned a thing or two through telling my kids stories. I have four tips I want to share with you to help you with becoming a great storyteller for your children. You are...

When caught in the hustle of life, we miss all of the incredible things happening around us and right in front of us. We end days feeling tired, unfulfilled, and like our life is lacking in so many ways. The issue is not a lack in our lives. The issue is we are not present enough to catch all of the wonderful moments. Randy Hain, executive coach, leadership consultant, and author of the book "Bein...

There is a high probability that you have heard someone say, "you are in control of your life," or "you control the outcome." They may mean well when they say those things, but those expressions are not true. As Christian men, it is so important that we have correct understanding when it comes to the control of our lives. I want to help you see the biblical perspective on this topic and how you sh...

I’m not sure I’ve ever met anyone who enjoys being called out. That usually implies a mistake was made in secret and then exposed publicly. Most people generally don’t approve of this gesture, especially when it comes from one of their kids. Should we tolerate that from our kids? While I’ve seen plenty of mouths popped for calling a parent out (and I’m not talking about disrespectful back talk), I...

As dads of faith, we are on a mission. It is not an easy mission and it requires a lot of work. Thankfully, there are tools that we can grab to help us succeed. Kent Evans, co-founder of Manhood Journey, joins me today to talk about his book, “Bring Your Hammer - 28 tools you can grab from the book of Nehemiah.” You’ll get an inside look at the book as we discuss topics like prayer, community, and...

There is a good chance you say “thank you” a lot. If you are honest with yourself, you probably say it a lot out of obligation or just to be polite to someone. Sadly, it is very easy for us to do this with our kids instead of expressing genuine gratitude. I want to help you be genuinely thankful for your kids by giving you a formula on how to actually tell them you are thankful for them. If you wi...

While it is never the desired outcome, families get broken by divorce. Brokenness is a huge challenge but it is not the end.  I am joined by Ryan Shorthill, founder of Dads Organization. Ryan devotes himself to bringing dads together and to creating groups dads can join to talk about fatherhood. Ryan is divorced and on the journey of co-parenting, but this week he shares his experience and insight...

There are a lot of opinionated people of social media platforms. You can ask a question or seek help, and end up reading why you’re a horrible person. Luckily, those who follow Fathering Our Future are true gems. I asked my Facebook community for their best advice for dads and received a number of great responses. I condensed the answers down to nine main tips and discuss them on this week’s episo...

Life is not perfect and we all have things we can complain or gripe about. While that remains true, our daily response should be to rejoice. In the book of Philippians, the apostle Paul repeatedly encourages the reader to rejoice. Paul wrote this instruction while rejoicing himself from prison. I have four reasons why you should rejoice each and every day regardless of what you are going through....

One of the most overlooked components of the Christian faith is scripture memorization. Biblically we are instructed to know, meditate on, talk about, and study the scriptures. As disciples raising other disciples, we should be engaging in the scriptures with our kids and helping them memorize the scriptures as well. Brian Mullins, the executive director of the Nation Bible Bee, joins me to talk a...

In Luke 15, Jesus told a story about a son who lost his way; the prodigal son. We commonly read this story and make the mistake of thinking it is about the lost son when in reality it’s mainly about his dad. There are several things we can learn from this dad but I want you to focus on three things this week. 1. His willingness to let go and allow his son to leave. 2. His commitment to his son tha...

The greatest fear a father, or mother, has is enduring the death of their child. It is a thought we keep far from us because it should never happen. Unfortunately, for some, it does happen. I am joined this week by AJ Holloway, evangelist and cohost of Miqra Podcast. He and his wife lost their firstborn, at the age of 2, in a house fire. This event had the potential to rip his marriage apart and t...