My favorite fatherhood/parenting book is still Bad Dads of the Bible by Roland Warren. It was one of the first books I bought and read after my son was born. It’s the book that inspired me to start a fathers group at my church and the first book we studied in the group. The book examines these pillars of the Christian faith, men who are mostly looked at as heroes…and takes a look at a mistake they made as fathers. This isn’t to tear them down, but rather highlight where it seemed they went wrong and how we as dads can avoid the same thing. Each chapter starts with a real life example related to the story about the “bad dad”.

My favorite chapter, and one that I really try to take to heart is about King David. For those unfamiliar with David, he is the boy who slayed the giant Goliath and throughout his life was considered “a man after God’s own heart” (1st Samuel 13:14). This story focuses on David and his sons however. The author offers that David allowed his own past mistakes to prevent him from properly disciplining and helping to correct the courses of his sons. This ultimately leads to betrayal and tragic loss. Instead we as dads should use our past mistakes to help our children learn and avoid the same traps. I think he sums it up well when he says: “Indeed, a blind man who receives his sight and helps others avoid a dangerous ditch that he once stumbled into is not a hypocrite. He’s a hero. So too is the father who protects his children from repeating mistakes he made in the past.” (Page 29)

This is a book I highly recommend for all dads. I hope you’ll check it out and add it to your parenting library.

This is fatherhood…