Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to his death. Proverbs 19:18

Every child needs a father, yet nationwide it is estimated that more than 35% of today’s children have no father in their lives. According Chuck Colson and Prison Fellowship, more than 60 percent of prisoners grew up in households without a father, and 70 percent of juveniles in state-operated institutions come from fatherless homes. And this doesn’t even cover the numbers of women in our prisons who were abused by their fathers. Where are the godly, courageous fathers and grandfathers today?

My wife and I went to see the film Courageous currently playing in theaters across the nation. If you have not yet seen this film, I urge you to go see it while it is still in theater in your area. There are more than enough skeptics, mostly men, who enjoy mocking this film as “corny…and borderline creepy”. They find the idea of men who weep over their families and create a corps of accountability creepy. I wonder what kind of father they think a family needs?

The research makes it clear that many of the ills of our society relate directly to fatherless homes. Even in homes where fathers are physically present, many have abdicated their responsibility and role as a father. And that goes for grandfathers too. Proverbs 19 describes the value of discipline (to instruct, correct, and chasten) as a way to establish hope in a child’s life. Abandoning that responsibility we become willing participants in our child or grandchild’s death—the death of their spirit and, ultimately, their soul as hope and love are extinguished.

Grandfathers, the opportunity to step to the plate and fill a void left by missing fathers in your own families or other families is great. It is a critical time to think about how you might link arms with your own sons and sons-in-law to plan and work together to cultivate a model of godly fathering as a powerful legacy for the next generation of fathers. I recently did a retreat with my son-in-law and grandson exploring God’s process of becoming a man and charting a course to journey that path together. It was a great time that I hope set the stage for ongoing dialogue and mentoring. Perhaps a retreat for fathers and grandfathers to explore what it means to be effective, godly fathers and grandfathers would be beneficial as well.

Grandfathers, I hope you will do something for the sake of your children and grandchildren. If nothing else, go see Courageous. And take your son or grandson with you. It could lead to something transformational in your life, your family’s life and the generations that follow.

GRANDPAUSE: All our activity is sowing; and so is our inactivity. John Blanchard