Act Like Men: Becoming an Intentional Father

4 Alarming Statistics & 4 Quotes That Will Make You a Better Father Today

I recently read the book The Intentional Father by Jon Tyson.  It’s a practical guide to raising sons of courage and character.  I’ve read dozens of books on fathering, and I would put this one at the very top of the list.

The book is timely because there is an epidemic in our culture with dads who struggle to know how to raise up boys to men.  And young men who are lost and don’t know what it means to be a Godly man.  This book absolutely nails it on helping dads & sons understand Biblical manhood.

4 Alarming Statistics all Fathers Should be Aware of:

1. 89% of men do not have one close friend in a time of crisis
2. 2 hours of porn on average per week
3. 77% of suicides are men
4. 44 hours in front of a screen vs. 30 minutes with their dad each week

4 quotes from the book that have a profound impact on me & my fathering mindset. 

1. Raising a son is real work, but we have to get this right, because if we don’t teach our sons, the world will. If we don’t teach our sons about women, pornography will.  If we don’t teach our sons about friendship, they’ll live a life of loneliness.  If we don’t teach our sons about leadership, they’ll be followers all of their lives.
2. What is a man? A man is an image bearer and son of God entrusted with power and the responsibility to create, cultivate, care, and defend, for God’s glory and the good of others
3. The Five Shifts to Manhood:
   1. A shift from ease to difficulty: Men do hard things
   2. A shift from self to others: Men serve others
   3. A shift from whole story to part of the story: Men understand their place in God’s story
   4. A shift from control to surrender: Men seek to follow God’s will
   5. A shift from the temporary to the eternal: Men have an eternal perspective
4. The typical young person is exposed to 3,000 hours of formative content year, and only 150 hours of explicitly Christian content in that same time. Who do you think is winning that war?  Who do you think is having the largest formative influence?

If you are interested in going deeper, we are gathering 50 dads to do a 6-week book study on The Intentional Father starting on January 4 at Westside Church of the Nazarene located at 8610 W 10^th Street from 6:00-8:00pm each Wednesday.

Please click here if you are interested in signing up and we will buy you a free copy of the book when you attend the first week.

Scott Lingle
Co-Founder of Remodel Health
A Man IN Action