The Fatherhood Initiative - Part 1

Like many conservative evangelicals, I am always wary when government - whether it is conservative or liberal in its ideology - puts forth a program that is focused on curing those societal ills that have adverse effects on millions. Many of us recall Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" campaign in the 1980s that took aim at illegal drug use. Despite its positive sloganeering, it was a program that had - as such programs are wont to do - limited effectiveness. The problem with "Just Say No" and others like it is that these programs bypass the main issue, the depravity of the human heart. They cut down the weeds but leave the roots in the ground to re-grow the pernicious plant. Only the Gospel can transform the human heart. Because the state is not the church, "Just Say No" dealt with drugs at the level of Law and not Gospel. The failure does not surprise us.

More recently, President Barack Obama articulated his National Fatherhood Initiative, a program that actually originated in 1994. The initiative is designed to challenge men to be "responsible, committed fathers." Obama, who grew up with an AWOL dad, said his own personal history has made him keenly aware of the devastation that is often wrought when fathers are nowhere to be found:  

In many ways, I came to understand the importance of fatherhood through its absence-both in my life and in the lives of others. I came to understand that the hole a man leaves when he abandons his responsibility to his children is one that no government can fill. We can do everything possible to provide good jobs and good schools and safe streets for our kids, but it will never be enough to fully make up the difference. That is why we need fathers to step up, to realize that their job does not end at conception; that what makes you a man is not the ability to have a child but the courage to raise one.

I couldn't agree more. Real men don't get a woman pregnant and then check out. They lovingly and sacrificially raise their children to the glory of God. They lead, provide for and protect their wives and children. The problem is, men in America increasingly abdicate this most solemn of callings, and the Fatherhood Initiative's website provides a scoreboard counting the deadly fallout of such abdication. "When dad doesn't get involved, his children are two to three times more likely to: engage in drugs, alcohol, violent crimes, and other harmful behaviors; drop out of school; live in poverty; face teenage pregnancy and struggle with depression and even commit suicide." These are devastating results, but these numbers capture only the socioeconomic fallout. Worse still are the spiritual/eternal casualties that result when dad goes MIA.

The National Fatherhood Initiative includes a number of programs designed to encourage "24/7 dads."  The website sells products for fathers, including the "Why Knot Marriage Readiness Program for Men," "DadVentures" (a book of games for dad to play with preschool children), and even a "24/7 Dad" kit for Christian organizations.

Among the things the president recommends for fathers is writing "have a good day" notes for their children each morning before leaving for work, starting rituals such as reading a story at bedtime and being affectionate.

Though I would argue that many of the other initiatives the president supports (examples: abortion on demand, so-called "same-sex marriage," and feminist-driven lobbies such as NOW) actually undermine and discourage substantive (biblical) fatherhood, I am encouraged that the president wants to see fathers taking their place as leaders of the family. It a good start, but it is only a start. It seems unavoidable that the aforementioned initiatives, by their very nature, will devour the fatherhood push, but I will leave critique for tomorrow's post. I'd also like to build on this theme and discuss a more robust, Gospel-driven fatherhood initiative that should be implemented, not by government, but by the local church.