Leading for generations to come

I love to borrow (i.e., steal) ideas from All Pro Dad. Anything Tony Dungy endorses - let alone supports and contributes to - is probably good and beneficial. A friend recommended it to me several months ago, and I get daily e-mails from them. I know many times these sorts of things become a nuisance, but not this one. Most are geared directly towards being a dad, but many still have great application towards what it is we're trying to do here at Harding Football.

Here is a posting from the website from yesterday:

Princeton scholar Benjamin Warfield has charted the 1,394 known descendents of the famous American theologian Jonathan Edwards. There were 13 college presidents, 65 college professors, 30 judges, 100 lawyers, 60 physicians, 75 military officers, 100 pastors, 60 prominent authors, 3 United States senators, 80 public servants including governors and ministers to foreign countries, and one vice-president of the United States. The story of Jonathan Edwards is an example of what some sociologists call the "five-generation rule." How a parent raises their child – the love they give, the values they teach, the emotional environment they offer, the education they provide – influences not only their child but at least four generations to follow.

But the five-generation rule works both ways. If we fail to work at being good fathers, our neglect can plague generations. Consider the case of Max Jukes, a contemporary of Edwards. As an adult, Jukes had a drinking problem that kept him from holding a steady job. It also kept him from showing much concern for his wife and children. He would disappear sometimes for days and return drunk. He made little time for loving and instructing his children.

Benjamin Warfield has also charted Jukes' descendents. What he found further supports the five-generation rule. Warfield was able to trace 540 of Jukes' ancestors. They offer a stunning contrast to the Edwards' legacy. Of Jukes' known descendents, 310 died as paupers, at least 150 were criminals (including 7 murderers), more than 100 were drunkards and half of his female descendents ended up as prostitutes.

Of course this doesn't mean that people are simply a product of their parenting and that who they are is determined entirely by their ancestry. There have been many who descended from men like Jukes and overcame great obstacles to succeed. Others have come from loving homes like Edwards' only to descend into a troubled adulthood. But these are the exceptions, not the rule.

The stories of Jonathan Edwards and Max Jukes offer powerful lessons about the legacy we will leave as fathers. Five generations from now, it is likely that our professional accomplishments will be forgotten. In fact, our descendents may know little about us or our lives. But the way we parent today will directly affect not only our children, but also our grandchildren, our great-grandchildren and the generations that follow.