“Tell me about your Dad?” Those 5 words always prompt a myriad of emotions and responses. Some men get a glassy look in their eyes as they share in their words something like, “I know my Dad was a good man. He worked hard for our family, but he never told me he loved me when I was growing up.” Others smile warmly, sharing fond memories of backyard ball games and Dad coaching their sports teams. Many men get a somber look when they describe how their Dad was “never really there for me.” Yet, it is the Dad’s who inflicted physical and emotional harm on these men who left the deepest wounds. Of all the responses I have heard to that simple, yet provocative question, none has caught me more by surprise than when a new member of an IMPACT Players Cohort said, “Michael Landon was my Father.”

If you lived through the 80’s there is little doubt that you know who Michael Landon is. Not only did Michael Landon play a starring role on the Television Shows Bonanza and Highway to Heaven, but he also famously played the wise and caring Father of the Ingle family in the wholesome series, Little House On The Prairie. When my new friend gave his answer, I responded, “Michael Landon from Little House On The Prairie was your father? Please explain!” He went on to share how he was a “latchkey kid;” his Dad was gone, and his Mom was constantly at work, so he was raised by the characters on his tv screen after school. He said, “everything I learned about being a man and a father, I learned from watching Michael Landon.” Though his answer to my question was unique, the reality of the Father Wound he had experienced as a child was ubiquitous. Far too many men have experience some level of wounding from their fathers or father figures.

The number of young men growing up without a loving, present, and God-honoring father is staggering. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 1 in 4 children (about 18.4 million) grow up without a father in the home. Of those who do grow up with a father at home, a 2019 study showed that 50% of those men feel emotionally distant or disconnected from their father. What’s worse, without deep healing of those father wounds, the cycle of wounding is bound to repeat itself. Research indicates that father wounds often perpetuate across generations. Men who have experienced distant or abusive fathers are more likely to carry those patterns into their own fatherhood. If men don’t deal with the wounds of their fathers, they will more than likely pass the pain to their own sons and daughters.

The FATHER /// WOUND cohort study is for every man no matter what his relationship with his father may have been like. It runs deeper than flesh and blood, personal trauma, or relational brokenness. At the very core of the FATHER /// WOUND study is a spiritual reality that belies a deeper story that no man can outrun. Every man has been inflicted by the wounds of a father named Adam. Every man has wounded the heart of a prodigal father. Every man has the capacity to wound the ones he loves. Every man has an opportunity to experience healing of even the deepest of wounds. As we understand this deeper story as men, we can be catalysts of a new cycle, which blesses many generations to come. Not only for our own children and progeny, but for many others who are looking for a man to speak the words, “I love you and I am proud of you.”

FATHER /// WOUND: Hurt - Healing – Hope invites men to…

• Confront the hurts they have collected and caused in their relationships.
• Receive the healing that the Heavenly Father offers to all men who offer their hearts to Him.
• Share the hope that only a wounded healer can offer a world in pain.

Father /// Wound is a new IMPACT Cohort study for men who want to become healthy men thriving in their relationships. When a man is willing to acknowledge the hurt, experience the healing, and share the hope that comes from the Father /// Wound study, he will become a better husband, father, and leader. Step forward with courage here.