Missional Dads: What Say You?

The history of mankind is a story of good versus evil.  It is one of epic proportion that continues to this day.  Few would argue against the fact that man is hard-wired with some sense of morality.  He knows right from wrong.  As Christians, we realize that God made us to love Him and to love others.  We were made for a mission much larger than ourselves.  No where is this mission more evident than within our own homes.

Charles H. Spurgeon, a prolific pastor of old, made the statement, "Every Christian is either a missionary or an impostor."  Some 2000 years before Spurgeon made this statement, Christ made a similar one when He told His disciples, "...and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:9).  As Christian fathers, our number one mission field is found within the relationships of our home.  It starts here in our own Jerusalem, and by God's Grace goes out from there.

While it is quite easy for a man to become a father to a child, it is another thing for a man to be a father to that child.   Fatherhood is not defined by a single biological act. Being a father to a child is a life-long missional pursuit.  True fatherhood carries with it the reality that a life is now physically, emotionally and spiritually linked to it.  As a man, fatherhood is one of life's toughest jobs.  At the same time, it is one of life's most rewarding.  I've never met an elderly man that would say he loved his kids too much, or that he poured too much of God's Word into their lives.

To be missional dads is to see the relationships within our homes as our greatest mission field.  While our role as a father will change over time, the goal will always remain the same: To live and share Jesus Christ to our children.

Last year I was involved in making a Father's Day video that touched upon our missional calling as dads.  Several missional statements stand out in this video:

• Fatherhood is not about us.
• Everything we are and need as fathers was accomplished at the cross.
• Our past does not define us - Christ does.
• Our greatest teaching tool to our children will be bound within the lives we live before them.
• We live in a manner that says, "Follow me, as I follow Christ."

                             (Used by permission, mineeo.com)

"Fathers...Bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord."  Ephesians 6:4

I'm reminded of a scene from Lord of the Rings, where Aragorn is calling upon his men to engage the battle and regain their honor.  He knows their past.  He knows that these men took the easy way out and let go of their missional calling.  Yet, Aragon knew that without these men the battle would be lost.  The scene ends with Aragon asking  the men, "What say you?"

I can't help but think we are in a battle for our families.   As fathers, we need to recapture our missional calling and once again see our homes as our primary mission fields.  Our wives and our kids need us.  For me, this has meant saying "no" to many good things to ensure that I take care of the most important things.  I've also realized that being intentional within my household disciple-making pursuits greatly increases the fruit of those efforts.  If I want to make sure some weekly devotional time happens, I better schedule it and then spend some time planning it.

Yet, at the heart of my missional calling as a dad is just the simple premise of spending time with my children.  Where I can then say to them, "Follow me, as I follow Christ."  The most powerful teaching tool is to experience it first-hand.  Even the times I mess up, I can still display to them a contrite heart in need of God's forgiveness and grace.   We have a saying in our family, "Mess up, 'fess up."  As dads, we don't need to be perfect.  We just need to relentlessly pursue the only Man that was.

What say you?