Mission Statement

THE CAMPFIRE

(Our Mission Statement)

Campfires.  We’ve all been there.  It’s an American family tradition, not to mention a way of life for our Original Americans.  Then there’s that wonderful ad.  You know, the beer drinkers next to the lake around the campfire, beers in hand...”It don’t get no better than this.”

The campfire is the cowboy’s Starbucks on a cattle drive.  Long, very long, days.  Sun’s setting, time to build the fire, fill the coffee and bean pots. Then we talk. And talk.  No TV.  No book lights. And we talk about the meaning of life, about God, about our mission in life.

So here we are circled around the fire to talk about the mission of this site.  Like why all the trouble of maintaining a site and the posts and personal correspondence?  It’s ‘cause we think we’ve struck on something that God likes.  More accurately, He put us up to it.

We, Matt and Gary, can’t take the gift of our relationship casually.  We’re stewards of it.  And, not just to “our” children but to other fathers who may be longing to hear fresh perspectives, maybe alternatives to the solo-fathering common to our culture's independent style.

OK, so here’s what you needed to know about this roundup before we break camp and saddle up.

ACTION, INTERACTION

• Authors Matt and Gary make regular blog-like commentary
• Trail mates can join up and post articles and commentary
• Bulletin board replies by Joined Up members in DISCUSSION
• Questions (content issues). Answers by Matt, Gary, member repliers
• Prayer.  Yes, prayer.  Stuff will come up.  Parenting and father to son relationship challenges. We’d like to encourage prayer on this hard trail

CONTENT:  What this site is all about

• Gary and Matt write their book on these pages
• Fathering, fathers, parenting, parents, of course
• Co-fathering, heritage and legacy
• Fathering by God, growing, mentoring, modeling and teaching the faith
• Complications with step-fathering and in-law father/sons
• Relational breakthroughs, mending the past for the future
• Therapeutic stories, overview, mostly by family therapist Matt
• Interviews, particularly that bring us generational perspectives
• Generational cultures are distinct and play out in our lives, mostly without our realizing their impact
• Resources: books, sites, blogs, organizations, specialists.  Even music, mostly range-riding cowboy stuff.
• Photos of our gang and yours.
• Prayer.  Hearing struggles, sad pasts, relational challenges and knowing what to do about it.  A special private prayer section.