Being a father is the most fulfilling job a man can have. As Christian parents, we have the unique opportunity to make an eternal investment in the lives of our children.

Jesus often referred to God as “Father.” God the Father gives unconditional love, leadership, and guidance. He protects and allows us to learn by His words. God has entrusted us with His sacred title: Father.

In the last few decades, society has strayed away from the importance that fatherhood holds. We have seen the family redefined so much that, in many cases, the father is not even present. The traditional family is fading away, and, with it, we are losing God’s blessing and missing the mark.

Becoming a good father is not automatic—it takes time and effort. We must be willing to invest in this job—our most important, second to being a husband—as any other career we might pursue. A father should present the fundamental qualities of leadership, responsibility, and accountability, as well as the capabilities of planning, disciplining, and loving. Fathering is a full-time job. As men, we must train, develop, and learn to be that which God intended for our families.

In his book, The Fatherhood Principle, Dr. Myles Munroe provides a fresh look at time- tested principles for men to measure their effectiveness as fathers in our modern society.

Dr. Munroe teaches how the role, vision, relationship, management, and communication skills of the father within the family structure apply to societies everywhere and at all levels. His fatherhood tips in each chapter challenge me to apply their principles.

In a time when there are classes, books, and workshops for every skill and hobby, I would challenge every father to take time to invest in his most important role—fatherhood. A good father is priceless, as are the children they lead and invest in. We need more good fathers, and this book is an invaluable tool that will indeed help meet that need.

—Dr. John C. Maxwell

Author and Speaker Founder, The INJOY Group

Preface

Dad is destiny.” The words sprang from the page in U.S. News & World Report1 and

exploded in my mind like an atom bomb. I could not believe what I was reading. Even more surprising was the source of those words—seemingly taken right from the heart of one of my old seminar sessions. For over twenty-five years, I have lectured, taught, and counseled thousands of individuals on the subjects of relationships, family development, and marriage. One of the greatest concerns I have carried over these years is the male crisis facing most of our communities. I have repeatedly stated and emphatically declared that the key to the restoration and preservation of a sane and healthy society is the salvaging of the male, especially as a responsible father. But to find those words on the pages of one of our most popular news magazines was cause for great encouragement and excitement.

I am a trainer in human and leadership development and founded one of the most dynamic churches in Nassau, Bahamas. Therefore, it was a source of enormous comfort and relief to see that contemporary behavioral scientists, psychologists, and government bodies were finally agreeing on a conclusion that many of us who deal with social and spiritual matters have known all along.

The statement “Dad is destiny” embodies both the problem and the solution for the majority of our societies’ ills. In it lies the key to the salvation and restoration of mankind. About twenty-five hundred years ago, the biblical prophet Malachi spoke of the work and purpose of the coming Messiah by declaring, “He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers” (Malachi 4:6). The implication is that the divine assessment of man’s fundamental problem is that it is a fatherless problem.

U.S.News & World Report stated that “more than virtually any other factor, a biological father’s presence in the family will determine a child’s success and happiness.” Without a doubt, this secular article read like a Sunday morning sermon taken from the books of the Bible. It was a refreshing reminder that no matter how far we as a society may stray, it is impossible to effectively ignore, deny, or improve on the ancient wisdom and fundamental truth and principles embedded in the biblical records. The Bible establishes in its very first chapters the critical and pivotal role of the male, as well as his fatherhood responsibility.

Let’s take a brief reality check on the status of our modern-day society and its impact on this and future generations:

Rich or poor, white or black, the children of divorce and those born outside marriage struggle through life at a measurable disadvantage, according to a growing chorus of social thinkers….

[Many social scientists and behavioral experts] challenge the view that external forces like street crime, lousy schools and economic stress lie behind the crisis in families. The revised thinking is that it’s the breakdown in families that feeds social ills..2

The National Fatherhood Initiative compiles information from a variety of sources on the effects of fatherlessness on many social problems, including poverty, maternal and child

health, incarceration, crime, teen pregnancy, child abuse, drug and alcohol abuse, education, and childhood obesity. Here is some of the disturbing data they have collected:

• Children in father-absent homes are five times more likely to be poor.
• Infant mortality rates are 1.8 times higher for infants of unmarried mothers

  than for married mothers.

• Youths in father-absent households still had significantly higher odds of incarceration than those in mother-father families.
• Youths are more at risk of first substance use without a highly involved father.
• Being raised by a single mother raises the risk of teen pregnancy.
• Fatherless children are twice as likely to drop out of school.

  Compared to living with both parents, living in a single-parent home doubles the risk that a child will suffer physical, emotional, or educational neglect.3

  An absent father can have an effect on a person’s economic prospects beyond childhood. According to a report by the U.S. Department of Labor, today’s fatherlessness

  …may bode ill for tomorrow’s labor force, at least if the predictions of economic theory are correct. In Becker’s (1981) model, for example, children raised in families with fewer resources tend to have lower human capital. Thus economic theory would predict that, all else equal, the next generation of workers will enter the labor market with less human capital than the last. 4