“I underestimated how incredibly complex, nuanced, hard that fathering actually is.
“A present, proactive dad is a tailwind in the life of his kids.”
“Some of the best dads that I know either had absentee fathers or dads who just didn’t do their job and something in them said, ‘My kids will never have to know that pain.’”
“The first gift my dad gave me is really relationship. And I think leadership 101 says I can’t really influence someone that I’m not in relationship with.”
“What stands out in my mind much larger than my dad’s mistakes are his apologies…I have vivid images of Dad coming to our school, coat and tie, taking us out of the classroom, looking us in our eyes and saying, ‘I’m sorry I yelled at you.’”
“I think it’s time to practice what we preach. You know, we preach about grace. We need to receive grace.”
“We talk about confession and repentance. Maybe your pathway to change, if your kids are still in the home, is to just begin right there and to lean into the Spirit of God to just do things differently.”
“I just think everyone aches to be led like Jesus…My mom is more alive now than she’s ever been in her life, and it’s because of the way my father has led her in the way of Jesus.”
“I do think a formula to create an environment conducive to rebellious kids are dads who talk one way about God but live a completely different way. I think that is a main ingredient.”
“[My dad] took me into a room in the house…and it’s just stacks and stacks of his prayer journals…and Dad just with tears in his eyes, just goes, ‘Hey, I want you to know there’s never been a day in your life when I haven’t prayed for you.’”
“One of the things that that my dad advised me on, if at all possible, is to not do any evening meetings, if I could, or to really limit evening meetings. That was really, really helpful for me. I know not every pastor, especially if you’re a pastor in a new church, you kind of have to go with the rhythms that are already established. But if you can, try to hold that dinner table hour sacred.”
