Father's Day ...

Father's Day is always an event on the calendar for the 3rd Sunday in June. Hopefully it is more than a calendar event. I am blessed because of my Father, actually my Dad. Father just seems way too formal for our family. I was, and am, blessed because my Dad is one of the great ones. He is a true man of God whose testimony is strong. He loved my Mom immensely for the 41 years they were married and mourned greatly when Mom died way too young. He loves my step-Mom and has embraced her family as his own. He was always there for me, to listen, to cheer, to discipline (I didn't appreciate that one at the time), to lead and most importantly to love.

Too often I watch dads who are passive in their spiritual life, passive in their marriage and generally passive in their parenting. Given the example I had in my Dad I don't get it when I see these guys coasting through such an important role. Knowing what the Bible says about Dads and Husbands and their responsibility I really don't get these passive guys. It has been a very sore spot for me for a long time and I try to influence that by my example (flawed it can be at times), by my teaching and by my leadership. One thing that we have begun at our church is bringing a little life back to our Father's Day worship. We will be having our 2nd Annual Manly Barbeque following worship today. The guys will be grilling burgers and dogs, serving baked beans and chips for the meal. We will have a Dad's only tug-o-war, then a male only tug-o-war and then an everyone tug-o-war. We will have a log toss competition for everyone and a bunch of other outdoor games. The idea is to make the church a destination place for celebrating Father's Day. For years I watched as Mother's Day was a big Sunday and Father's Day was pitiful. People seemed to think that to honor Mom they should go to church because she would want that and to honor Dad they should go anywhere but church. The fault lies with the men and what they have communicated is important to them. So we are on a campaign to change the view of honoring Dad to include honoring God. Not to diminish the Mother's Day celebration but to raise the level of the Father's Day celebration.

Here's to Fathers everywhere, le't raise our games to match the importance of our roles. Here's to your celebration today, I hope it is God-honoring and fun. Here's to my Dad, my hero and role model. Happy Father's Day!