A cartoon showed a little

girl asking her mother, "Mommy, if the stork brings

babies, if Santa Claus brings toys, if God gives us our

daily bread, and the government sends us our social

security, then why do we keep daddy around?"

Maybe it's

to provide that strong, masculine image that is necessary

for our kids to turn out all right. I'm glad to learn

that fathers are not taken for granted anymore. In fact,

fathers have been under the microscope in a big way for

the past decade.

Fatherhood

institutes, books and rallies continue to call men to get

in touch with their significant fatherhood role and to

give leadership to the home. Good fathers are affirmed

and highly esteemed. Bad fathers (deadbeat dads) are

looked down upon. Absentee fathers (four out of ten

children don't live with their biological fathers) are

rebuked.

Just a few years ago, the

Kansas-based National Center for Fathering commissioned

Gallup pollsters to survey almost 800 men and women about

raising kids, relating to their fathers and juggling work

and family. Most surveyed had a rosier view of their own

lives than of fatherhood in general.

For instance, fewer than

half agreed that most fathers know what's going on in

their children's lives. Yet more than nine out of ten

dads say they have a good handle on their

own children's changing needs.

What is it kids really want

from their dads? Some fathers have a poor answer to that

question. When baseball player Pete Rose was caught up in

the fracas surrounding his accusations of illegal

gambling, a reporter following the developments

interviewed his daughter.

She said she chose to live

with her mother because Pete was a crummy father.

"He is the worst father in all the world. I will

never understand why he never had time for any of us. We

didn't really expect anything from him; we just wanted

him to like us. Even if I wanted to call my dad, I

couldn't. He won't even give me his phone number. I have

to call his agent and wait for him to return my

call."

When asked about her

statement, Pete responded, "What's she mean I'm a

`crummy father'? I'm a great father. Why, just last week,

I bought her a brand new Mercedes."

In contrast to that

approach to fatherhood, Dale Murphy, the outstanding

former outfielder of the Atlanta Braves, was once asked

what contribution his dad made to his career. He replied,

"The great thing my dad provided me was

himself."

In many cases, a father's

love and concern for the kids are measured by interest

shown, encouragement given, and simply being there.

Giving time is more important than giving things.

In his book "Burden of

A Secret," Dr. Jimmy Allen reflects on the amount of

time that pastoral ministry and speaking engagements took

away from his family. He writes, "Once, when the

boys were young, we had planned to enjoy a long weekend

at the family's summer house on Lake Brownwood. As it

often happened, I had a speaking engagement to fulfill,

so I told Wanda to take the kids and go on to the lake

ahead of me. I would come directly to the lake as soon as

I was done.

"Wanda loaded

five-month-old Scott, three-year-old Skip, and

five-year-old Mike into our old station wagon and hit the

road. Along the way, Wanda stopped to get something to

eat at our usual place, a truck stop called Jake and

Dorothy's . Wanda organized the troupe for their

journey from the car to the caf�. She carried the baby.

Mike carried the baby food. Skip dragged the diaper bag.

As they entered the crowded restaurant, Skip complained

at the top of his voice, "What this family needs is

a DADDY!"

Allen continued in

retrospect, that was true. His family needed more time

and attention than they had received from him.

Along with time, Dad's also

need to give a positive influence. Several years ago,

after a great performance in the World Series,

then-Dodger pitcher Orel Hershiser was asked by a Wall

Street Journal reporter, "What is the secret for

your success?"

Herschiser replied, "I

give my credit to my personal submission to Jesus Christ.

Everytime I assess my major league career, I ask myself

these questions: 1) Am I still married? 2) Are my

children happy and do they know I love their mother? When

I'm finished with my baseball career, my most successful

goal is not to make the hall of fame, but to see my

family a success as a result of my influence in their

lives."

A careful man I want to be,

A little fellow follows me;

I do not dare to go astray,

for fear he'll go the very same way.

I cannot once escape his

eyes, whatever he sees me do he tries.

Like ME he says he's going

to be, that little chap who follows me.

I must remember as I go,

through summer suns and winter snows,

I am building for the years

to be that little chap who follows me.

Dr. David L. Chancey is

pastor, McDonough Road Baptist Church .