Father's Day – For Real Men

Father’s Day is many things. But I will address it as a great reminder. Remembering the right things allows Father’s Day to make us better. And that includes:

• Dads
• Moms
• Those whose father is living
• Hurting hearts that grieve the death of a father
• People who had/have a great relationship with their father
• Those who barely/never knew their father
• Step-fathers, pastors, uncles, mentors, coaches and others who filled the father role

Father’s Day – Historical Wisdom

This reminder may surprise you. But the insight is valuable. We know Scripture teaches us to honor our father and mother. That is the fifth of God’s Ten Commandments. Modern wisdom tells us the first four commandments teach us how to relate to God while the remaining six deal with human relationships. That isn’t necessarily wrong. But it is different than the view held by the ancient Jewish community. They divided the Commandments into two groups of five. The implications are huge!
Learning to relate properly to one’s parents is a vital step in learning to relate properly to God. That places a staggering expectation and responsibility on the shoulders of parents. And that is ONE reason I say Father’s Day is for real men!

Father’s Day – Honoring Dad

I am very blessed. My father is a godly man who has taught me, guided me, prayed for me, and encouraged me. He still does all that! But there’s more…

My wife has a father who has done, and still does, all that for her. What a blessing to have men like these in our lives. They are real men who didn’t run from God’s expectation of fathers. We got an idea what God is like by watching our dads. That doesn’t mean our fathers are perfect men. And that reality makes Godly fathering all the more difficult because that’s true for every Dad. But my blessings continue…
We have five children. And we have tried, and still try, to do for them what our fathers have done for us. And now we get to encourage them as they provide an example to their kids.
We are told to be mindful of, and thankful for, the blessings God has given. So Father’s Day is one reminder to thank God for His gift we call, Dad. But what about those who didn’t know their father? And what about those who had a poor relationship with their father? What reminders does this day bring to them, or us?

Father’s Day – Men, Boys, Orphans

How many of have been influenced by Godly men who were not our fathers? That’s probably true for most of us. We have been blessed by real men who were:

• Teachers
• Coaches
• Mentors
• Step-dads
• Uncles
• Grandfathers raising grandchildren

Real men know it is NOT enough to quote Psalm 68:5 and go on their merry way. Why? Because God’s work is being a Father to the fatherless. His mission is always people. But people are also God’s method. So when we make ourselves available to the fatherless we are literally joining our Heavenly Father in His work!
One of my blessings has been to coach, teach, and mentor boys who had no Dad in their lives. I’ve known many men who stepped up to provide a Godly example of manhood to children who were not their own. Some of them raised their nieces and/or nephews. Others became Dad to the children of the woman they married. Still others became a father to an orphan. And I want to talk about one such man.

Father’s Day – Jodie, Today’s Real Man

You can read previous posts about Jodie on these links. I bring him up on Father’s Day because he has stepped up to be Dad to more than his son and daughter. As Director of the Amanas Amigas Orphanage in Barahona, Dominican Republic, Jodie has a huge task. He is providing an example of Godly manhood to about 30 boys. It won’t take much reading for anyone to learn that I asked Jodie to fill that job. But I didn’t do that without an expectation of helping him! And I can’t do that without some other real men behind me.
There are some needs that need to be addressed at the orphanage. We have a team headed there next week. We need to do some work on the orphanage structure and do some other things with and for the boys. But we have a hurdle to cross.

Father’s Day – Helping Hands

Everything we do requires resources. Our job is to be onsite, at the front lines, helping in person. We get to be the tip of the spear. But a tip isn’t much good without a long, heavy shaft! Think about it. That ‘shaft’ is the host of others who see the need to join our Father in what He is doing. There are four things you can do that will help immensely…
First, pray for this team and the needs I am sharing here. That includes praying for Jodie, Pastor Pedro, and all the mission volunteers who makes themselves available to help.
Second, hit the donate tab at the top of this page and contribute. No one has to give a huge sum if all give some!

Third, you can donate through the Mission: Hope (formerly  ROW) website. You’ll need to use the OPTIONAL comment box at the bottom of the form. Type the following in that box: Keith Burnett – DR mission, June 2017.
Fourth, if you’re one who prefers to write a check make it payable to Mission: Hope and send it to

• Keith Burnett Ministries
• PO 803
• Scottsboro, AL 35768

Father’s Day – BONUS ITEM

Thank as many of your Dad’s as possible. Start with your own Dad if you can. Then thank all those other men in your life that God has used to make you who you are. It is a good thing to give thanks!

Soli Deo Gloria!