Monday, May 30, 2005
King Me: What every son wants and needs from his father
I bought Steve Farrar's King Me today and couldn't put it down until I've finished it. I've posted two Bible verses that struck me the most, throughout today.
Steve Farrar has written numerous books on manhood and being an example husband and father, like Point Man and Finishing Strong. King Me is powerful because he details what went wrong with his sons and how he worked with them to re-establish ties with them. He gives various examples of father-son relations gone both right and wrong in the Bible. He details David, Solomon and Rehoboam, the 3 successive generations of kings. He briefly goes over pre-kings Eli and Samuel and how they BOTH failed as fathers. And even though the Bible clearly points out (Deut 6) the need for fathers to take active roles in the teaching and leading of sons, too many examples are of passive fathers (starting with Adam, unfortunately).
I love how Farrar starts the whole book with a great example of a successful minister who was in high demand as a speaker but when his wife called, during his business trip, that their teenage son was being rebellious, he came right back, cancelled 4 years worth of speaking schedule and sold their home and became a paster of a smaller church in another state. All to mentor his son for 2 years before sending him off to college. The pastor never recovered his speaking career and, hence, paid a great price.
The son, however, went on and started a ministry called Focus on the Family. His name is Dr. James Dobson, Jr.
And the book reaffirms my desire to see my sons raised into manhood. However, my sons are going to need more than just me teaching them -- I really believe in John Donne's "no man is an island" and the need for other godly men and their sons to be part of our lives (my sons and I). Which is why I want to see other men join me in raising their sons! The real biter is: am I willing to change my career to make more time at home so that I can raise my sons into men?
Steve Farrar has written numerous books on manhood and being an example husband and father, like Point Man and Finishing Strong. King Me is powerful because he details what went wrong with his sons and how he worked with them to re-establish ties with them. He gives various examples of father-son relations gone both right and wrong in the Bible. He details David, Solomon and Rehoboam, the 3 successive generations of kings. He briefly goes over pre-kings Eli and Samuel and how they BOTH failed as fathers. And even though the Bible clearly points out (Deut 6) the need for fathers to take active roles in the teaching and leading of sons, too many examples are of passive fathers (starting with Adam, unfortunately).
I love how Farrar starts the whole book with a great example of a successful minister who was in high demand as a speaker but when his wife called, during his business trip, that their teenage son was being rebellious, he came right back, cancelled 4 years worth of speaking schedule and sold their home and became a paster of a smaller church in another state. All to mentor his son for 2 years before sending him off to college. The pastor never recovered his speaking career and, hence, paid a great price.
The son, however, went on and started a ministry called Focus on the Family. His name is Dr. James Dobson, Jr.
And the book reaffirms my desire to see my sons raised into manhood. However, my sons are going to need more than just me teaching them -- I really believe in John Donne's "no man is an island" and the need for other godly men and their sons to be part of our lives (my sons and I). Which is why I want to see other men join me in raising their sons! The real biter is: am I willing to change my career to make more time at home so that I can raise my sons into men?
