Equipped for Impact
A podcast designed to equip parents to disciple the next generation to stand firm in their faith and influence the world for Christ. Each episode explores practical questions and cultural issues through a Biblical worldview, providing the wisdom and tools needed to guide children toward a Christ-centered life.
Presented by: Wayne Christian School- A Christ-centered community school whose mission is to assist parents and churches in the education of their children from a biblical worldview to impact their world for Christ.
Equipped for Impact
Father’s Day Special: The High Call of Biblical Fatherhood
Dads have a God-given calling to raise godly children in a broken world, and they need encouragement to embrace this important role in their families.
• Children are a heritage from the Lord, not a burden but a legacy
• Fathers are the spiritual thermostats for their homes, setting the temperature for the family
• Nearly one in four American children live without a father in the home
• When a father becomes a Christian first, there's a 93% chance the entire family will follow
• Biblical examples of godly fatherhood include Joseph (Jesus's earthly father) and the patriarchs
• Practical ways to be a godly father: lead spiritually, be present, speak life-giving words, model integrity
• Surround yourself with other Christian men who can mentor you and help you grow as a father
Share this episode with another dad who might find it helpful and encouraging this Father's Day weekend, and subscribe so you don't miss our next episode where we'll give you some summer reading recommendations.
Send any questions you want answered to podcast@waynechristian.org
This podcast is presented by Wayne Christian School- A Christ-centered community school whose mission is to assist parents and churches in the education of their children from a biblical worldview to impact their world for Christ. You can learn more at waynechristian.org
Welcome to Equipped for Impact, the podcast designed to assist Christian parents, leaders and educators to raise up the next generation to stand firm in their faith and influence the world for Christ. We're your hosts. I'm Nate and I'm Lewis, so let's get started. Today we have a special episode because this weekend everybody is Father's Day. That's right. We had a special Mother's Day episode for the weekend before Mother's Day. So now, dads, it is your day. Happy Father's Day to all the fathers listening, and so we're going to be talking about the important role that, in the most important role that any man has ever had, and that is being a dad, we want to challenge and encourage every father listening to embrace this God given calling to raise godly children in the broken world that we live in. So happy Father's Day, dads. This one's for you. Happy Father's Day, lewis. Yeah, so happy Father's Day, dads. This one's for you. Happy Father's Day, lewis.
Luis:Yeah, happy Father's Day, Nate.
Nate:Well, thank you, and so I guess you know where are we going to start today, as we talk about Father's Day and dads.
Luis:Well, I would say, if you're listening to this and you're not a father, make sure you get your father a good Father's Day present. That's right. Black stone grills are always really nice.
Nate:Okay. Do you have a black stone grill? I do not have a black stone grill.
Luis:Ooh, we got to talk to your wife and children.
Nate:Okay, because that would be a really good father's day.
Luis:Put it on my father's day list Every father should have a black stone grill, a black stone, okay. But seriously, we want to talk about God's design for fatherhood. And when we talk about going to start with the foundation and the foundation is always the word of God, that's right. Psalm 127, verses three through five, says behold, children are a heritage from the Lord. And then it concludes by saying, like arrows in the hand of a warrior, are the children of one's youth. And so, dad, if you, if you're a dad, if you have children, that's your calling. Right, you are a warrior and your children are not a burden. They are your legacy, right? And I don't know that I always understood that as a dad. I was guilty early on in probably my time as a dad, where I would talk about babysitting my kids. Right, you don't babysit your own children.
Nate:You don't babysit your own children?
Luis:right, because Brandy was the stay-at-home mom and I was the one that worked outside of the home, and so when she would leave me with the girls, right, I was taking care of or babysitting my girls. No, I was just being a dad. And when you look at this passage the word heritage here it means an inheritance, it means a reward, and so, in other words, what this is saying is that God is entrust children to us as dads, as a blessing. We are the stewards. Right, it's stewardship, and I really like what Paul says in Ephesians 6, 4, where he gives us marching orders. Right, he says fathers, dads, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. And so God isn't outsourcing the role. What he's saying here is that he's putting the responsibility as dads squarely on our shoulders.
Nate:Yeah, I love that Psalm and the word picture of the arrows in the hands of a mighty man like a warrior. And you just think of this dad who's a soldier in a medieval army and he's there on top of a hill getting ready for battle and he's got his quiver completely full. It even says that there in Psalm 127, blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. And so you've got your quiver full of arrows and you're ready to fight.
Luis:And that's a really manly description and depiction which actually we won't get into it today. But it runs counterculture when you think about it. Biblical manhood is normal, right, like this idea of being a man, being being macho, like those aren't necessarily bad things.
Nate:Now, some it can be right and our culture can take to extremes, which we do.
Luis:That a lot, yes and our culture has has co-opted that. But like there's nothing wrong with this idea of the of the dad being the warrior, being the hero right.
Nate:Yeah, and then you just think of like, um, you know there's so many like word pictures you can pull out of that. You know the whole idea of you've got to. You've got to. You know, straighten the arrow, you've got to stabilize it with the feathers and, like the comparison to discipleship with your children, you know, straighten them out in some ways and then giving them that stability, but then ultimately the the, you know pulling back and releasing like an arrow you know, and it's got to go a long way off.
Nate:It's not going to stay close to home and it's going to do some damage once it goes down range. But it won't do that if you don't let them go. You know there's so many word pictures there. I just I love that. And then even that Ephesians 6, you know that you brought up fathers provoke not your children to wrath. You know you bring them up. You don't let the church bring them up, you don't let the school bring them up. It's you as a dad. Bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, which I guess an important thing. On Father's Day, when it says provoke not your children to wrath I'm just quoting it in King James because that's how I memorized it Does telling dad jokes count as provoking them to wrath?
Luis:No, I think it says more about their heart actually Because if they get angry at a dad joke, it says more about them than it does about the dad. Okay, that's important.
Nate:Dads, you heard it here. Mark that down. Mark that, okay, that's important, dads, you heard it here.
Luis:Yes, mark that down, mark that down.
Nate:That is not provoking by telling dad jokes.
Luis:And children. If you're listening to this with your dad and you get mad or you roll your eyes at your dad when they tell a dad joke, god's watching. That's right. That's right.
Nate:Oh, my goodness, but get us back on track. Like guys, like dads, you are the spiritual thermostat for your home, right? You're going to set that temperature, you're going to lead the way, and that's biblical, you know, we see it just in these two passages, but it's all over the Bible and I think, lewis, the research that has been coming out recently kind of supports that. What kind of research would back this idea up?
Luis:Yeah, you know when we talk about reality, when we talk about 2025, and you consider what the research says, it's sobering and it's scary, right? So according to the US Census Bureau, nearly one in four children in America live without a father in the home. Wow, so that means that 25% of kids today are growing up without a dad, and when you compare that to our national population, you're talking about almost 20 million kids that don't have a father figure in the home, and I can tell you it makes a huge impact. I mean, I've shared a part of my story and my relationship with my dad in previous podcasts and maybe we can dig into that in a different podcast, but I mean it makes a big difference when there's not a dad in the picture.
Nate:Yeah, and there's other research that kind of supports this. I mean, I think you just look around, you can see it. You don't need research to tell you that, but the National Fatherhood Initiative came out with some stats Children without involved fathers are four times more likely to live in poverty, seven times more likely to become pregnant as a teen for young ladies growing up without a father in the home, and they're twice as likely to drop out of high school. Wow, and that's just, of course they're doing this research across the board of all American homes. My hope is that the church would not reflect that, but sometimes I mean the church because we're all sinners whether we're in the church or out of the church. We still see these effects from the families that don't have fathers.
Luis:And you know, nate. I think it's important to note here that the National Fatherhood Initiative it's not a faith-based organization.
Nate:No, it's not.
Luis:And so they're not even doing this research because they think of the biblical boards. They're doing it because, from a secular perspective, even they recognize that there's a void in the role. From a secular perspective, even they recognize that there's a void in the role. And so the stats that they're sharing are coming not from a heart of a Christian organization, but just of a heart of caring about the role of dads. And so we could probably even get into the topic of the difference between a Christian dad versus a non-Christian dad, right? And the impact that has Because here's what we do know, right Is we know that studies have been conducted over and over that show that if a child's father is the first in the family to become a Christian, that there's a 93% chance that the whole family will follow.
Nate:Yeah, you get the dad, you'll get the whole family.
Luis:That's right, I mean because you're making that kind of influence.
Nate:And so, dads, when you think about your role in the home, if you are a Christian dad and you're raising your children from a Christian, biblical worldview, like you're changing an entire trajectory of a family, yep, and I think it's important to pause here for a second, because you know we talked a couple episodes ago about the split home and if there isn't a father in the picture, you only have the kids, part-time, something like that.
Nate:And so go back and listen to that. The weekend discipleship that was episode 15 that we talked about that. So we acknowledge maybe you didn't have any control over this. If you might be in one of those situations without the father figure present, right, but but you know you can make the most of the situation. So go back and listen to episode 15. And if you are a dad and you're listening, or the dad is in the home, like this is just an encouragement to you to see like the enemy knows your value dads, um, and that's why dads are targeted so frequently by these spiritual attacks right, because he knows Satan knows that if he can remove or weaken the father figure in the home, he can destabilize the family. And so it's just important for dads, for you, to stand firm and stand for the truth, because that really can change everything.
Luis:And when you think about fathers, I think if you want to get an example of what it's like to be a good father, just turn to the Bible. Right, the Bible is full of examples. The first one that comes to mind of a really good picture of godly fatherhood is Joseph, and I mean, like Joseph and Mary, right, the earthly father of Jesus. Yep, you'll notice that the Bible doesn't tell us much about Joseph's life. In fact, I don't know that he even says an entire word in any of the Gospels. I was trying to wrap my mind to think if he ever actually says anything, I think it's implied there's some implications.
Luis:But I mean he doesn't have some sort. Mary has Mary's song right. You hear the different moments in the birth narrative of the Gospels.
Nate:There's dialogue between Mary and the angel, I think with Joseph's. The angel's appearance to Joseph. It just tells us he was thinking these things, and so here comes the angel.
Luis:So I mean there's not a lot that happens in Joseph that we get this insight, but we see the actions right and so it shows us a man who obeyed God, who protected his family and who provided in faithfulness. And I think I've preached several messages around Christmastime on Joseph and his role in the Christmas story and it's powerful. Like dads, I would encourage you go and read the gospel narratives of Jesus's birth that have Joseph's story in there and I mean you'll see a picture of a father that obeyed God, that protected his family and that provided in faithfulness.
Nate:Yeah, and then I mean Old Testament examples you think of, like the patriarchs. You've got Abraham, who was very flawed. Like you read through the book of Genesis. If you think your family's messed up, like, read through the book of Genesis. Like the, the.
Nate:Israelite patriarchs were a messed up family, but at the end of the day, you've got Abraham, who believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness. You know, he, he was willing to obey God no matter what. Um he followed God's call. He passed down the faith to Isaac and Jacob and it really is just, you know, a precursor of what we see Moses write out in Deuteronomy 6. You know, he tells the father specifically, you know, to teach their children, and that's our verse we keep coming back to. You know, every day, when you sit down, when you rise up, when you walk, when you. You know, all of these times, it's the everyday discipleship that we see. Yeah, and that's how the faith got passed down. Yeah, and we can even move out of the Bible into history. You know, I think we did that with our Mother's.
Luis:Day episode. We did, yeah, yeah.
Nate:And so you can think of, like John Wesley.
Luis:Who is actually the husband of who we talked about in the Mother's Day episode?
Nate:That's exactly right. We.
Luis:Should do a pop quiz to see if somebody can remember who that was Email us at podcast at waynechristianorg Right.
Nate:But so John Wesley, john and Charles, he's. You know. John said of his father Samuel, I learned more about the character of God from watching my father than from any sermon he ever preached. Wow, and so you think about that like your life is your loudest sermon. Wow, it just it's. Again we see that you know, more is caught than taught, yeah, and so just being that example every day for your kids can really make a big difference in their lives.
Luis:You know I've shared before that I had been a pastor for years, right, and it wasn't until I had to step out of the role.
Luis:You know God called me to pause my pastoral ministry in a church that I really saw the importance of making quiet times and discipling and devotion a priority as a dad, and sometimes I wonder if God used that moment like, hey, you're doing a great job pastoring, but right now I need you to pastor your children. And so, dad, you may not be a pastor right, so you may be listening to this and thinking like hold on, nate and Lewis, you guys, you guys have been pastors. You guys, you guys are ordained, you work in education. I can't compare to you. Well, you can, because there's nothing special.
Nate:No, there's not at all.
Luis:Like if, if, if we pulled back the curtain on our life. There's things in our lives as dads and husbands that we're not proud of, right, but know that you are making a big impact in the life of your children.
Nate:That's exactly right. So let's get practical. Like, uh, how do we actually do this in real life? Um, I think we can give you a couple couple of ideas. And and again, if you've been listening, for the last, uh, 17, 16 episodes. This is episode 17. So the last 16 episodes? Um, you know, we know we get practical. You've heard these things before, maybe not on last week's episode about teen slang.
Luis:Oh, that's a good one that was a good one.
Nate:If you missed that one, go check that one out.
Luis:It always gets hard for me because, like we record these, right, yeah, and then we release them, and so then when I go back and I'm like which one did we do?
Nate:last week.
Nate:But yes, the teen slang, that's actually a great one to do before Father's Day, and in fact, when I was talking to some people right after we finished, they were like, oh well, what did you do? And they named some slang and I was like, oh, we forgot them. So anyway, we will have changed. But okay, back to fathers. So some practical things you can do. So number one just lead spiritually. Like we said, you are that thermostat. So if the dad is the one reading the Bible with your kids, praying with them, showing them faith in action, you're going to be that example and taking the lead. Moms are wonderful, Moms are necessary, but if the dad really takes the lead as the leader in the home, like God designed the family to operate, then your kids really will catch that and they'll see that your faith is important to you and so it's going to be important to them.
Luis:Yeah, and you know, connecting back to a couple of episodes ago when we talked about the split homes, right? Yeah, dad, you may be listening to this and you may be from a split home, and so connect the two, right? So maybe you can't lead in your home every day because your children aren't living with you, but make time to prioritize it, whether it's a phone call, whether it's a text message, finding a way to do that. Um, and that goes to number two, right, just be present, yeah, just be there, show up. Quality time is great, but quantity time matters too, right, and and sometimes, sometimes, you may not be able to devote quality 90 minutes or or an entire day, because because of just the, the, the nature of your job, yeah, maybe because you're in a split home, maybe just because of the busyness of the season right, you can do more than you think you can yes, yes.
Luis:So just put the phone away. Just put the phone away.
Nate:Oh, that's so, unless you're listening to this podcast. Yes, and then use anyway, sidetrack, but but just be there yeah. Yeah, just show up, just be there. Have you ever seen any of those videos of like the kids at like their plays or programs and like they're walking on the stage onto the risers or whatever and they're like searching the?
Nate:audience for their parents and like their face lights up Like cutest videos ever. And that just I mean it's just a little snippet of a picture for what it means to show up Like that means a whole lot to your kids, and here's a simple way to do it.
Luis:This is we've talked about being a sports family, right? So, nate, you know we're big into sports. I love football, I love coaching football and I coached football for several years. Cheap plug won a state championship.
Nate:Your ring is we're in your office, and the state championship ring is right up in the corner.
Luis:And so it's a proud moment. But I had to step away from that because I have daughters and my daughters don't play football, and so I had to go and learn how to coach soccer. I've never played soccer in my life. Well, I'll take that back. I played it when I was like a little boy, but nothing serious right. And so, like YouTube, youtube taught me how to coach soccer. And then I have a girl. I have another daughter that plays basketball and softball. So guess what? I've had to learn Basketball and softball.
Luis:Basketball, right, and so dads just be present. And it might mean, depending on the stage of your kid's life if your kid is into sports, maybe you're the coach. Maybe you sign up to be the coach of your child's youth sports team. Maybe you sign up to be an assistant coach. If your kid is into drama and you sign them up to do the junior theater productions, maybe that means, dad, that you're signing up to be one of the stagehands.
Nate:That's exactly right.
Luis:Or if your kid's into dance or swim or whatever they're into, just sign up to be a part of it. Right?
Nate:Don't be on the sidelines Be present and don't hijack it for yourself right.
Nate:Like some of these we see and we had a whole episode about the busyness you know, and sometimes, especially with youth sports, but really all of these things can go that direction of like the parents turn it into being about them, yes, and it's like they're trying to live vicariously, yeah. It's like it's not about the scholarship your kid might get, it's not about winning you know, it's just get out there and you know, have fun, yeah, and be social and enjoy time together and that's just a vehicle for you to do that. It doesn't have to have like the time itself can be the end, not some future goal, absolutely.
Luis:I've never met a man who says I regret the amount of time I spent with my kid Yep, Yep.
Nate:That's exactly right. So just kind of some other things to wrap us up here with practical ideas. I mean, think about the way you speak to your children, right, and how you can encourage them and build them up. Proverbs 18, 21 says life and death are in the power of the tongue, right? So when you affirm your children, even when you're correcting them, you can do that in a way that is building up, that's edifying, it doesn't tear them down. So the way you speak, like dads, we tend to have a harshness about us, which is I think it's the way God designed us, right Of the two, the man and the woman, the mom and the dad the dads are going to be a little bit more gruff typically, and so you've got to watch out for that. But if you're doing that in a way that builds up your child and affirms them, that can go a long way. So watch the way you speak to your children.
Luis:And I think the next one flows right out of that right Model integrity. Dad, they don't need you to be perfect, they just need you to be authentic. They need you to be consistent. Yep, and look, when you mess up, say you're sorry, right? There's been many times in the life of my children where I have had to go back and apologize to them because of the way I responded to a situation or maybe even the way I talked to their mother, right, like if maybe I was short with my wife or maybe I had an attitude or I responded in anger. I've had to go back and apologize to my wife, but also to my kids, so that they see that there's this old cliche saying, right, that daddies grow up to I'm sorry, daughters grow up to marry boys that are like their daddies right.
Luis:And so in the back of my mind I remember hearing that and I've always had it like set the bar high. Yeah, like, if you're a father of girls, set the bar high, make sure that you model integrity in a way that when they find the guy that God has created for them to marry, that they're like man. That bar has to be high. And if you're raising sons, raise them to be the type of man that you would want your daughter to marry and so model integrity.
Nate:I think that's a whole episode we could do sometime down the line. You know it's the whole the cliche of the dad with the shotgun and, like you know, getting ready to protect from the boy.
Luis:That's coming up to date his daughter.
Nate:But if you raise your daughter right like that, boy won't even be getting close to the house. You know she's going to tell him off before you need to go get the shotgun.
Luis:We should do a whole episode on dating Cause I think you and I probably have some interesting ideas.
Nate:Yeah, that's right, that's right.
Luis:And here's the for another episode for another episode, so so so stay tuned. Uh, don't try to do it alone. Yeah, surround yourself with other godly men, right? My hope is that you're listening to this and you're connected to a church and that in that church there's a men's group, um, and so lean into your church, ask older dads to pour into you.
Luis:Titus 2 is very clear, right we've we've we've talked about that there is this idea of a spiritual father in our communities, right, and so maybe you are fathering, or being fathered by a mentor in your church, yeah, that's right.
Nate:And then those other men in the church, right, the church community can be those father figures for your children, whether you're a dad who has your children in the church or whether you're listening to this and it's a home where the father's not present, right, the other men in the church can step in and fill that role. Or you can step in and fill that role for another family, which is great. You know that was what? Episode three, I think two something like that where it's a callback.
Nate:I can't believe we're that many episodes into it. We are. We are 17 episodes in, but as we wrap up, episode 17,. Lewis, you got any final, you know? Encouragements or challenges to dads as we roll into Father's Day weekend.
Luis:Dads, let me encourage you with this you are not replaceable, you are not background noise in the story of your child. You are a primary voice, and God has called you to stand firm. He's called you to love your children boldly, he's called you to lead your family with humility, and he's called you to disciple them with purpose. And so remember this you are a shepherd, you are a warrior, you are a builder of legacy. So happy Father's Day to all of the dads listening.
Luis:Stay faithful, even when this crazy world that we live in is falling apart, because your faithfulness could be the anchor that holds your family firm.
Nate:That's right. So thanks for joining us today. Dads, happy Father's Day. Go fire up that Blackstone Grill and if it's after 1030, make sure you're not cooking bacon and eggs. So thanks for joining us today. Dads, happy Father's Day. Go fire up that Blackstone Grill and if it's after 1030, make sure you're not cooking bacon and eggs, because Louis will find you because you are having breakfast after 1030. But I hope you enjoyed this episode. Please share it with another dad who might find it helpful and encouraging this weekend for Father's Day. Weekend for Father's Day. And be sure to subscribe so you don't miss our next episode, where we're going to give you some summer reads as we get into the summer season. Thanks for joining us today. Until next time, keep leading the next generation to stand firm in their faith and influence their world for Christ.
