One of the most delightful aspects of this whole let’s-encourage-dads-ministry-thing (LEDMT) is making connections with like-minded people all over the place. It’s just been about eight weeks, and the Facebook and Twitter connections keep on growing, the exploding cat book reviews keep pouring in (click this), and little by little the hits to the website go up. Getting traction for things like this is never easy, and (in the words of Malcolm Gladwell), I haven’t reached the “tipping point” yet, but I’m hopeful and expectant nonetheless. I’m not a “glass half full” kind of person—I always assume the glass isn’t big enough to contain all the possibilities. And this exuberance isn’t because my circumstances are always pleasant, for they are most certainly not, but rather because I’m constantly overwhelmed by the love and grace of God. There’s no other way to live.

One of the connections I made pretty quickly was with a Texas father named John Finch. John is the founder of a ministry called The Father Effect.

From the website:

“John seeks to break down the barriers that prevent men and women from addressing deep rooted anger and hurt from the wounds they have suffered in this life by candidly and openly sharing his story, his failings, and his path to a new way of life.  John’s mission is to educate, encourage and equip men to become the fathers they were created to be, and to help men walk in daily awareness of their significant and lifelong influence as fathers.”

After trading tweets, PMs, and a couple of emails, I called John one evening. The conversation was extremely awkward…for about the first five seconds. We traded personal stories and ministry hopes and social media tips and prayers for about an hour, and it felt like a happy conversation with an old friend. I’d found a kindred spirit. I thought I had a burden to encourage fathers—but after I hung up the phone with John I felt like I was going to have to run hard just to keep up.

I write all this because I want you to go to John’s website and see the wonderful thing he’s doing. He’s created a 14-minute short film and is almost finished with a full-length movie. Although my social media influence at this early stage is minimal (shoot, I barely have 400 Twitter followers), I want to be supportive and help get the word out. And yes, he’s still accepting donations to help finish the movie (shameless plug).

You will find the short film below, and there’s a lot more on The Father Effect YouTube channel.