Father's Day

On December 6, 1907, a massive explosion decimated a coal mine in Monongah, West Virginia. Three hundred and sixty-two miners were killed, making this the worst mining disaster in U.S. history. The tragedy devastated the small town and led eventually to the establishment of the U.S. Bureau of Mines. 

The Monongah mine disaster also marked another beginning. Several months after the explosion, a local church held a special service in honor of the 362 miners, most of whom had left behind wives and children. This is the first event on record in the United States set aside specifically to honor dads.

When we honor our fathers this weekend, one-fourth of the children in the US will have little reason to celebrate. They don’t live with their fathers.

“We have a generation of men who are not in the home,” pastor and author Tony Evans said. “They are like the abominable snowman—their footprints are all around, but they can’t be found.”

John Sowers, author of Fatherless Generation, noted that almost forty Bible verses show God’s concern for the fatherless. Another author, David Blankenhorn, called fatherlessness “our most urgent social problem.”

This Father’s Day, one of the greatest gifts we can give our children (and grandchildren) is a personal biblical foundation that demonstrates complete trust in God, protection and comfort, commitment to emotional health, and great generosity. Not only will they see us grow in these areas, but they will experience it through us, and eventually, prayerfully, it will also become a part of them. That, in my opinion, is a legacy worth leaving.

In an interview with Christian Headlines, Dr. Bob Reccord talks about the lasting effects of "father wounds."

This Father's day, if you can, give the gift of time to your father.

We are in desperate need of genuine leadership—broken, humble men—men who are not afraid to admit that they need God; men who are more worried about prayer than about status and recognition; men who petition God rather than position themselves.

We are all too aware of the disheartening statistics about fatherlessness here in the U.S. According to the Census Bureau, more than 1 in 4 children live without a father in the home. The National Fatherhood Initiative has studied the impact of that absence and discovered that it’s a primary factor in nearly all of the societal ills facing our nation.

In an op-ed for The Biblical Recorder, Milton A. Hollifield Jr. said fathers should look to the story of Joshua for inspiration in leading their own homes.

With Father's Day coming up, let’s reflect on the barest of necessities: kids having a dad in their lives.

It’s good that women are finally beginning to share the pain of their past abortions. But the fathers of those lost children need to be heard—and helped—as well.