Reflecting on Fatherlessness

• 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes - 5x the average.
• 85% of all children who show behavior disorders come from father homes - 20x the avg.
• 80% of rapist with anger problems come from fatherless homes - 14x the avg.
• 71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes - 9x the avg.
• 75% of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers com from fatherless homes - 10x the avg.
• 70% of youths in state-operated institutions come from fatherless homes - 9x the avg.
• 85% of all youths in prison come from fatherless homes - 20x the avg.

*taken from "To Own A Dragon"

Fathers make a difference...for good. Fatherlessness is a quiet killer wounding the souls of young men day after day. Who better to know than Don Miller, popular bohemian Christian author and himself the product of a fatherless home. Due to his mom's influence, his church and some other great men in his life Don has a good story to tell...and his recent book "To own a Dragon: Reflections on Growing Up Without a Father" is chock full of fatherly wisdom bubbling up from a Son. I have a Dad and I am a Dad...but Don's witty, honest and sagely words taught me a thing or two.

Don writes in a conversational style and tells more stories and asks more questions than you typical self-help or Christian self-help read. The first chapter had me laughing out loud it was so funny! Whether you are wondering how to be father your son or are struggling to deal with issues related to your own imperfect father, this book will frame some questions that are helpful to consider. He's not afraid to open up his soul with statements like "I realized I was operating out of a feeling of inferiority. Deep inside, I believed life was for other people."

I liked his analogy on page 27, as he shared what he needed from a Father: People assume when you are swimming in a river you are supposed to kow which way you are going, and I guess some of the time that is true, but there are certain currents that are very strong, and it's when we are in those currents we need somebody to come along, pull us out, and guide us in a safer direction.

Manhood or what Miller refers to as "the knowing" is something deep within boys that is awakened by fathers. "The knowing" connects the dots for their identity, spirituality, decision making, work ethic, sexuality, integrity, etc. The good news, and Miller concurs, is that what our earthly fathers messed up our heavenly father can set right. Let's work on those statistics and call men to be fathers by being fathers.