Not many fathers

Coming home from Thailand today – where we’ve been debriefing and discipling World Racers.

“There are a lot of people around who can’t wait to tell you
what you’ve done wrong, but there aren’t many fathers willing to take the time
and effort to help you grow up.” –1 Cor.
4:15

June 18 ’07

Time Magazine article on fathers cites these
stats:

Worldwide, 10% to 40% of children grow up in households
with no father at all. In the U.S.,
more than half of divorced fathers lose contact with their kids within a few
years. By the end of 10 years, as many as two-thirds of them have drifted out
of their children’s lives.

According to a 1994 study by the Children’s Defense
Fund, men are more likely to default on a child support payment (49%) than a
used-car payment (3%). Even fathers in intact families spend a lot less time
focused on their kids than they think: in the U.S. fathers average less than an
hour a day (up from 20 minutes a few decades ago), usually squeezed in after
the workday.

“There aren’t many fathers.”
This verse is so true. How many
spiritual fathers have you had in your life?
Once God whispered to me as I was speaking to a group of young people,
He said, “This is a fatherless generation.”

It brought tears to my eyes.
Where are all the spiritual fathers?
They’re out doing stuff – making money, watching TV, fixing cars.

We need more fathers.
We need guys who aspire to be fathers.
A fatherless generation is crying out for dads.