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No Man Fails on Purpose
Pat Morley, David Delk, and Brett Clemmer
Volume 188
July 10, 2006
NOTE: In conjunction with the release of our new book about men's discipleship ministry, No Man Left Behind, we are going to publish 12 excerpts to give you a taste of the book. This one is from the beginning of Chapter 2.
Chapter 2:
NO MAN FAILS ON PURPOSE
Before you can get the right answer, you have to ask the right question. What is the state of men in America today? And what difference does it make? When we see and understand the ramifications of men who are failing, we'll understand that starting with men is the systemic solution to the problems of our churches and the world.
Many, if not most, of our cultural problems - divorce, abortion, juvenile crime, fatherlessness - can be traced back to the failure of a man. Ironically, a man who got up in the morning hoping to succeed.
The signs are all around us. We live in a country where every third child is born out of wedlock; where 24 million kids don't live with their biological father; where about half of all marriages end in divorce. |
You can read these statistics and just blow by them. Or you can consider what this means for our country and our churches. Wouldn't you agree that there is something systemically wrong with a culture that allows these things to happen?
Fatherlessness is a rampant and well-documented problem in our society. Only a third of all children in America will live with both of their biological parents through the age of 18. |
- 72,000,000 children under 18. Tonight, 33% of them will go to bed in a home without a biological father.
- 40% of first marriages end in divorce affecting 1,000,000 children each year. Divorce rates for second and third marriages are higher.
- 33% of all children are born out of wedlock.
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Half of all children in broken homes have not seen their father in over a year. Children who come from fatherless homes are five times more likely to live in poverty, have emotional problems, and repeat a grade.
Yet, these are all symptoms of deeper systemic issues. Treating symptoms is necessary and good, but you can't cure a disease by treating the symptoms. So while there are many sociological and psychological studies to explain why we have so many problems, the "root" problem-the systemic problem-is that we have not properly discipled our men. The only way to solve systemic problems is with systemic solutions. |
For the glory of Christ and no other reason,
Pat Morley
Click here to learn more about our new book No Man Left Behind.
Each week, Pat shares biblical insight and encouragement on leading issues impacting men on Man2Man Express with Brian Doyle and David Beguerie. Click here to listen to Pat's latest broadcast.
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