Stacy Long
AFA Journal staff writer
Above, Jim Shempert and Kenley
February 2016 – Building up strong, godly families and working to protect them against the onslaughts of secular culture have always been central to the mission of AFA. For AFA staffer Jim Shempert, that mission became personal when he became a father for the first time in July 2013. Looking at his daughter, he realized the responsibility and privilege he has to guide her into becoming a woman of God.
“Being a young father, I realize more every day what a finite amount of time I have in my daughter’s life,” Shempert told AFA Journal. “I am the bar by which she will measure the men in her life. The example that I set for her now will be the standard she selects a husband by. How her mother and I respond to each other shows her how to respond to a spouse. The job I do as a father will influence how she raises her children.”
It also hit home that there are many who do not have an example of a godly father, and many more do not know what it looks like to be a godly man and good father. Waking to that need and inspired with passion for the subject, Shempert stepped forward to supervise and redirect One Million Dads, an online project of AFA.
An epidemic of fatherlessness
One Million Dads previously had been structured as an activist arm of AFA to complement the work of One Million Moms (onemillionmoms.com), but with a focus on male membership. In time, however, it became apparent that dads in AFA’s audience were already involved and responsive to the efforts of One Million Moms, which was sufficient to do the activist work of monitoring and keeping entertainment media accountable.
Furthermore, AFA saw an even more fundamental need among fathers: the need to practice being a good father, and before that, to receive mentorship from a spiritual “father.” A lack of men acting as godly leaders has wreaked devastating damage to families and American culture.
“Twenty-four million – that’s the number of children in the U.S. who live in a fatherless home,” Shempert said. “That’s 40% of students in grades 1-12. Those children are four times more likely to live in poverty, and 71% will drop out of high school. Among pregnant teens, 71% don’t have a father in the home. And those are just a few of the numbers.”
With these heartbreaking statistics in mind, not to mention countless real life instances close at hand, AFA relaunched One Million Dads with a new format and refined purpose. The call to action remains with the 1MD slogan – “Lead or others will” – but the emphasis is on biblical instruction and discipleship for men, providing a place where they can learn and grow together.
“There is an epidemic of men in America who call themselves Christians but who have no idea what that means in terms of how they live,” Shempert said. “Some grew up without their dads, some had no influence of Christianity in their homes, and some outright rejected God. Then there are others, whether fathers or not, who feel burdened to train the next generation to live in a manner that glorifies Christ.”
Where men grow
1MD exists as a place where that training can begin, both for those who have words of wisdom to share and those who are hungry to learn. Men on AFA’s staff contribute writing meant for men of all ages and all stages of adulthood so they can get mentoring and biblical teaching they don’t get elsewhere and can be surrounded by Christian brothers and fathers who will stand with them against the attacks of the world.
The 1MD website reads: “Our hope is to wake up the fearsome wonder that is the mighty man of God and restore him to his role as leader, teacher, counselor, and then thereby change the world we live in for the better.”
That goal is primarily accomplished through 1MD’s published articles, which focus on fatherhood, Scripture, Christian living, and the righteous husband. The voices of those speaking out on 1MD range from lighthearted to weighty, from practical to reflective, but all present serious challenges.
1MD’s most popular article, “The damage done by fatherlessness” by Durick Hayden, AFA VP for human resources, sums up the 1MD mission:
We fathers must provide for our families. Scripture makes that very plain. However our priorities must be to put God first, and our wives and children next in line. If we put a career, leisure, even church work over either of these we risk becoming absent in our own homes.
We cannot abdicate our responsibility to anyone else. We are specifically told that it is our task to be spiritual leaders in our homes. We cannot allow the fact that we have sinned, or made mistakes in our past to keep us from being the leaders Christ has called us to be in our homes.
We must stop the destruction by becoming men as defined by God. We must stop allowing the world to define who we are. A godly man is one who loves God with his heart, soul, and mind. He is one who loves his wife as Christ loved the church and gave His life for it. He loves his children even more than he loves himself and would be willing to give up his life to protect those he loves. … It just takes one man at a time willing to forego the world and become the man God has called him to be.
In addition to the website, 1MD has an active Facebook presence, presenting biblical teachings, responding to breaking events, and showcasing the wisdom of Christian leaders. Since its relaunch in January 2015, the community of 1MD has grown faster than expected and promises to one day be one million strong indeed.
“The perfect vision for 1MD is for Christian men to stand together committed to leading their families, communities, and churches to the glory of Christ,” Shempert said. “We can either let the world continue its rapid descent into destruction while sitting on the sidelines and doing nothing, or we can stand like Ephesians 6 compels us to – putting on the full armor of God. America desperately needs a great awakening. It can begin with Christian fathers.” 
Not good old boys club
1MD is not just for men. About 30% of its readership is female. Women also need to consider what makes a godly man in order to better seek, recognize, and lovingly encourage men in their lives to lead well.
For single mothers, 1MD provides a starting point for women looking for a way for their sons to be discipled. Beyond that, 1MD encourages Christian men to step forward in their extended families, churches, and communities and be a mentor for children growing up without a strong father figure.
Find these 1MD resources at afastore.net or 877-927-4917:
▶ Books by Dr. James Dobson
Parenting Isn’t for Cowards
Bringing Up Boys
Bringing Up Girls
▶ DVDs
Father to Son
Courageous
Fireproof
