It was a challenging negotiation. Who would accept? What would the return be? Was it a smart business deal? Would it pay off in the end? Who would blink first?
Like two hardened businessmen, we each had our best interests in mind. But we were able to find common ground, and a massive deal was struck.
I'd trade him AJ Brown, D'Andre Swift, and Draft Pick 4 and 7 for Amon-Ra St. Brown and Draft Pick 2.
Yes, this high-stakes deal was a fantasy football trade with a good friend of mine. It looks like he cleaned my clock on paper, but I have a feeling it will be good for both of us when the season starts and the draft picks are actual players.
After we completed the deal over the phone call, we started chatting, and my friend told me about a new ministry he had started at his church. He started a program to mentor younger men who didn't have fathers.
I was so happy to hear he had launched this program. I knew it had been on his heart for a few years, and he was so excited that it was finally starting.
As we talked, he said to me something that blew my mind. He said he couldn't believe that the Assemblies of God doesn't have any kind of program or outreach specifically designed for mentoring fatherless boys.
As I thought about it, I realized he was right. A huge part of society was not being reached.
According to the 2022 US Census, approximately 18.3 million children live without a father in the home, comprising about one out of four US children.
This surprisingly high number doesn't account for the number of men who grew up with a father physically residing in the house but nowhere present in their lives or the men whose fathers abused or mistreated them.
Fatherless children are one of the most significant epidemics facing the church and the world today. Single moms are raising their sons to the best of their ability, yet no matter how hard they work and how amazing they are as a mother, they can't be a father and meet that need in their sons. It isn't their fault. It is just what it is.
Men in the churches need to man up and help out. We have a generation of boys who long for a man to step up and help them, to teach them what it means to be a man. When the church men don't fill the gap, the boys learn how to live ungodly lives from unsaved men.
As it says in Titus 2:6-8, “Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.” (ESV)
It's time to follow my friend's example and step up in action. We need to help them grow in their walk with God. We must demonstrate to them what it means to follow God as a man and live godly. We need them to be the next generation of godly men who replace us.
We can teach these young men so much about being a godly man.
We can show them the importance of Bible reading.
We can teach them to pray.
We can demonstrate to them and instruct them in the basic actions and attitudes of a man of God, how to serve, be generous, share their faith, and stand for what they believe. The list is endless.
This is a huge calling. I am proud of my friend who started this program at his church. I want to see men all across the country adopt this same heart to become spiritual fathers to the fatherless, training them in the ways of God.
It is something you can do: invest your time and attention into a hurting boy's life. Be an example of godliness to them. It's our greatest calling. It's a huge part of what we do.
Bibliography:
Brewer, Jack . "ISSUE BRIEF: Fatherlessness and Its Effects on American Society." America First Policy Institue, 15 May 2023, americafirstpolicy.com/latest/issue-brief-fatherlessness-and-its-effects-on-american-society. Accessed 23 Aug. 2023.
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