It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. It just depended on who you were talking to … Charles Francis Adams was a prominent political figure during the mid-nineteenth century. Politics was in his bloodline—he was, after all, the grandson of President John Adams. But it was also his passion. Armed with a Puritan’s work ethic and sense of duty, Charles believed his time and energy should be devoted to public service and government. His resume speaks to his devotion—Massachusetts state representative, state senator, vice presidential nominee, congressman, and U.S. ambassador to Britain during the Lincoln Administration. Charles was the father of four sons, but given his preoccupation with work, he was not around his family that much.

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Zondervan’s Inspire Blog recently has featured The Expeditionary Man. Here are links to the entries:

• “Wherever you are, be all there”. Read »
• God designed the soul of a man for adventure. Read »

If I were to throw out the question “How are you discipling your kids?” to a men’s group at my church, the typical answers in response would be something like We hold a weekly Bible study, I lead a family prayer time, or I take my kids out weekly to talk. Men are problem solvers after all. So we tend to look at discipling as a set of tasks that we can work into our calendar. Family devotions, one-on-one talks, and prayer times are great activities, but they will usually prove ineffective if they stand on their own. The pitfall of an activity-based approach to family discipleship is that a man ends up segregating “discipleship” from “normal life.” To kids, discipleship becomes That Thing That Dad Leads at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesdays, just before they get to watch Lost.

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