The Intentional Father

Develop a list and design experiences to help mark these moments in the life of your son. Is there a whimsical moment you can go ahead and do today? Master Moments List for Your Son What is the moment? Why does it matter? How will you mark it? Included below are some example moments you may want to think through and plan for your son.

In almost every other culture, there is a codified, intentional, intense pathway to develop adolescents into adults. But in Western, U.S. culture, there’s almost nothing.

Far too often, this is how we interact with the next generation of young people. We’re on the sidelines telling them to keep going, telling them they can do it, and they’re out there in the middle of their crazy lives thinking, I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to keep going. This is why I decided to shift my vision of Christian manhood awa

On the other hand, most men don’t have a clue who they are or who they’re supposed to be. Which means our sons don’t know how to become who they’re supposed to be, and that leads to a huge area of confusion. You can help eliminate this confusion for your son by walking through this chapter of self-discovery with him. Nate and I began this part of t

A good man—what comes to mind when you think of a that? Often it’s someone in baggy khaki pants and unpolished shoes with a tucked-in polo shirt that doesn’t fit properly. He spends his life wrestling with insecurities and trying not to do bad things.

The intentional father is deeply invested in discovering who his children are and how he can help them reach their redemptive potential. He seeks to understand the children God has given him and wants to form them into young persons who can fulfill their purpose. He sees parenting as central to his call before God and does it with all of his might.

There’s a line from The Power of Moments that resonated with me so much, and it’s this: “Beware the soul-sucking voice of reasonableness.”1 These moments I’m talking about have the power to change our lives forever, but they won’t be as powerful if we try to be just reasonable. We have to be unreasonable in the way we mark these moments.

IMAGINE A FARMER walked down a backcountry road and saw another farmer repairing a fence. His young sons were helping him. “Why are you letting your sons help you?” the first farmer asked. “It’s going to take five times as long. You should just do it yourself.” “Oh, but you’ve made a mistake,” the second farmer said. “You think I’m repairing a fenc

Here’s one example of something we did: when we were talking about the beauty and strength of man, we’d watch one episode of Band of Brothers each week and then we’d eat at a different barbecue restaurant around New York City. Band of Brothers and barbecue.