The World Needs Fathers! by Dave Geisler

In the time when Jesus walked the earth, many Jews believed that a man could divorce his wife for any reason. By contrast, Jesus affirmed the creation bond of marriage and told men that they needed to be committed to their wives and children (See Matt. 5:31-32). As Christianity spread in the days of the Roman Empire, Christian teachings about the role of fathers and husbands radically improved family relationships. Each Christian father was discipled to nurture and love his wife and children. As a result, early Christians in Rome were known for opposing abortion and infanticide, which were common practices among pagans. Tertullian, a second century Christian church leader, said, "In our case murder being once and for all forbidden, we may not destroy even the fetus in the womb. To hinder birth is merely a speedier way of man-killing." Christians were also noted for providing for widows and orphans, a counter-cultural act in a society where the strong survived and the weak perished.

There have been many that believe in the principles set out by Jesus. In American colonial days, the Christian Puritans believed the family was the cornerstone of society. They understood that if the family failed, the civilization would fail as well. They believed that God established the family from creation to be led by the father and mother together for establishing Jesus' glorious kingdom in their home. In 1969, secular anthropologist Dr. Margaret Mead, who had studied a great many different cultures , stated that nurturing fathers were essential to society. In her book, Male and Female: A Study of The Sexes in a Changing World, she wrote, "The human family depends on social inventions that will make each generation of males want to nurture women and children. Moreover, every known human society rests firmly on the learned nurturing behavior of men. In all societies each new generation of young males needs to learn appropriate nurturing behavior... When the family breaks down as it does during slavery...in periods of extreme social unrest during wars, revolutions, famines and epidemics, or periods of adjustment from one economy to another, this delicate line of transmission is broken and men may flounder badly."

Unfortunately, in the last three decades, the media have convinced many Westerners that fathers are unnecessary. But the evidence clearly tells us otherwise. According to a December, 1995 article in the Washington Times, the single parent family model headed by a woman is not working. In such American families, 85 percent of fatherless youths get involved with criminal activity, 78 percent become high school dropouts, and 82 percent of girls who get pregnant as teenagers come from families where there is no father present. Fatherlessness is the number one predictor of adult poverty according to the National Fatherhood Initiative. Yet the United States continues in it's destructive trend towards single-parent families.

Fatherlessness As a Worldwide Problem
A Cable News Network broadcast concluded that fathers around the world are not taking responsibility for their families. Divorce rates are skyrocketing. This can create spiritual vacuums in the lives of children. It can make them harder to reach with the gospel because they can't relate to a good image of any father, much less a Heavenly Father. Among unreached peoples, some of whom have no word for love, the image of God as father is obscured. Fathers go unchallenged when they commit evil activities like wife and child beating, infanticide, and forcing their wives to have abortions. In many Muslim cultures, women are regarded as property. In some Hindu cultures, women come as a property package known as a dowry. In Tibetan Buddhism the Dalai Lama is seen as a surrogate father figure. Women, on the other hand, are often seen as a spiritual stumbling block on the road to enlightenment. Such attitudes don't help create an atmosphere where men can be good husbands and fathers.

Without belief in Christ and the redemptive work of the Holy Spirit, men are left to their own violent, sinful, fleshly natures. This leads to war, pain, and suffering. Jesus offers the key to helping men develop into the loving leaders that God intends them to be. Only Christianity presents men and women as joint heirs in God's grace and affirms the dignity of both.

In the 10/40 Window, people from unreached people groups often don't know the difference between Western culture and living Christianity. Because of the deterioration of families in "Christian" Western cultures, they think that Christianity has nothing to offer. Unless Christians go back to their roots of having strong homes with men as spiritual fathers and leaders, Christians are going to lose their ability to show the world the better way that Christ offers.

What Are Christians Doing About It?
Last February, Christian leaders gathered in southern California for a World Christian Conference to discuss ideas that will affect evangelism in the new millennium. Among the ideas were evangelizing every home or habitat for Christ with homes being viewed as lighthouses of prayer and ministry at the neighborhood or block level. Some of the delegates proposed that Christian families should spend devotional time together with fathers being the spiritual leaders in their homes. The growing Lighthouse Movement is promoting these ideas.

One man who participated in the conference said, "Prayer intercessors have had it right for years. They just haven't realized it. The prayer warriors who have been praying and ministering to the needs of their neighbors are what the future church needs to look like. Fathers are absolutely essential as intercessors."

One of the great hopes for the future of fathering and restoring Christian families is the Promise Keepers movement. This organization encourages fathers to love, nurture, and remain committed to their wives and children in practical ways. Their seventh promise is a commitment to help fulfill the Great Commission. Could you imagine what a powerful force it would be if Christian fathers actually modeled this before a dying world?

In his 1995 book entitled "Fatherless America," historian David Blankenhorn, writes, "A good society celebrates the ideal of a man who puts his family first." This kind of self-sacrifice for the sake of the family usually doesn't happen in a society when men put themselves first and go with "gusto" for all the material possessions they can get. Only with the example of Jesus and in the power of His Spirit can we find the model of self-sacrifice that it takes for men to be good husbands and fathers. The Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists need this message too!

• Pray that Christian men will take their role as spiritual heads of their households and become the loving committed fathers that God intended them to be.
• Pray that Christians will practice the family values taught by Jesus so that Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists will be drawn to the Heavenly Father.