First off—thank you. Thank you for showing up, for doing your best, and for carrying more weight than most people will ever see. Fatherhood is no small assignment. It’s not just a role you play—it’s a legacy you’re writing.

On this Father’s Day, I want to speak straight to your heart—not just to the provider for the family, but to the warrior, the worshipper, and the Kingdom man inside of you. The world may measure your success by how much you make, but heaven measures it by your impact—what you give of your heart, your presence, your leadership, your love. The things that last generations.

You’re not just here to bring home the bacon (although hey, we’ve got that covered on the grill Sunday). You were made to bring heaven into your home. Your family needs more than your wallet—they need your wisdom, your worship, and your willingness to walk closely with God.

As one of the foremost experts on restoring fatherhood wrote: “The greatest battle a man will ever fight is the one to reclaim his identity and purpose as a son of God.”

So let me remind you how you win as a father:

We win by walking in our true identity as Sons of God.

Romans 8:15 declares “You have received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’”

You’re not striving to become a man of God—you already are a son of God. And out of that sonship flows everything else. When you know who you are, your kids will know who they are. Just as you would be appalled by your children trying to approach you as slaves, so too do slaves of fear have no way to connect with a Father’s heart. We must leave the old behind and be transformed by the renewing of our mind. Embrace the sonship that gives us access to a perfect Father that leads and models fatherhood perfectly in everything He does.

In the book, The Uprising, author Kris Vallotton shares “The absence of identity leads to the abuse of authority. Know who you are before you try to lead others.” When our children grow up with just RULES from a workaholic father that barely has time to invest in parenting them well, it goes off the rails so easy. But when our children are led into all truth and the paths of righteousness by a Son of God who invests in them because we LOVE them and are FOR them…that’s a whole other thing.

Your family doesn’t need a perfect dad. They need a dad who knows he’s loved and leads from that place.

We win by living courageously in the face of culture.

One of father’s greatest roles is to model and teach their family in how to overcome fear, not just avoid it.

Joshua 1:9 says it best, “Be strong and courageous… for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

We live in a time when masculinity is under pressure, and biblical fatherhood is misunderstood or minimized. But you don’t have to conform. You’re called to confront culture—not with anger, but with truth and love. Your courage becomes a covering. Your faithfulness becomes a framework for your children to build their lives upon. Where so many rely on external rules and moral codes and political frameworks, the Lord builds strength and resiliency into our very DNA as His Sons.

A quote that has impacted me greatly in this mindset is “You don’t reproduce what you teach. You reproduce who you are.” It’s hard to be courageous in ideologies and political views in the face of so much intolerance these days, but it’s amazing how resilient we can be when we walk in the truth of who God created us to be, when we stand firm on the foundation of our God. The one who goes before us and prepares a way for us, the one who makes a way where there seems like there is none, the one who is SO FOR US – who can be against us?

We win by fighting for the spiritual health of our family.

Nehemiah 4:14 – “Fight for your families, your sons and your daughters…”

We aren’t designed and called to fight WITH our families, we are called to fight FOR our families. Our fight is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual powers and principalities. You are the spiritual gatekeeper of your home. That doesn’t mean being controlling—it means being present, prayerful, and protective. It means providing coverage for your wife and children. Fight for your family in the Spirit. Declare the promises of God over them. Break off generational curses. Speak life when the world speaks confusion. Generational curses can last for a few generations, but when we partner with the Lord to turn them into generational blessings they can last for 1,000 generations!

You’re not just raising sons—you’re raising priests and kings. When we speak life over our children, it’s not just “you’re beautiful” or “your great at sports”. We have the opportunity to speak the blessings of the Lord into their lives, calling them up into the divine purpose that the Lord has for them.

We win by leading with love, not just rules.

1 Corinthians 13:1 – “If I have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.”

Have you ever felt like when you talk to your children, you’re just making noise and nobody is paying attention? Rules without relationship breeds rebellion and indifference. Your kids may forget your lectures—but they’ll remember your laughter, your hugs, your quiet presence when they needed you most. I’ve talked to a number of fathers with grown children that don’t come to them for anything anymore, only now realizing that when their children were young and came to them with what seemed important got brushed off as unimportant to their busy fathers. What are the opportunities for you to love your children that you can take advantage of now, that will invest in the future of your family? What are things that your father instilled over the course of years in you that you have simplified into a rule for your children to follow without ever understanding why?

You don’t have to be perfect. Just be present. Just be real. Invest love into your family.

We win by dreaming generationally.

Proverbs 13:22 – “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children…”

You’re not just raising kids—you’re building a Kingdom legacy. Financial provision is important—but far more powerful is the spiritual inheritance you leave. Speak identity over your children. Speak purpose. Call out the gold in them. Build a home where faith is normal, forgiveness is frequent, and love is never in question.

What would it look like for us to model “it stops with us”? How can we train our children to walk with the Lord in the family business of restoration? When transformation and refreshing are the standard not the miraculous. When the legacy you leave is building up and empowering those around you to experience the Lord and step into the fullness of their calling, and giftings, and purpose. What a legacy! What is your legacy?

“Legacy is not what you leave to your children—it’s what you leave in them.” – Uprising

Dad, your worth isn’t found in your performance—it’s found in your presence. Your family doesn’t need a superhero—they need a man who knows who he is in Christ. Someone who is fully loved, and can fully love.

This Father’s Day, don’t simply measure success by how perfect your parenting is—measure it by how present, purposeful, and passionate you are in pursuing your God-given identity as a father. You’re not just raising kids—you’re raising kingdom leaders. Stand strong in what God has designed you to do. Not because you’ve done it all right, but because you’re choosing to follow His example, show up, fight well, and speak life over your family and your circumstances.

We honor and believe in YOU!