Father Absence

Fathers find themselves increasingly in a social crisis, the fatherhood dilemma, and are misrepresented in various studies and theories intended to shed light on the relationship between mothers and children. Fathers were once considered the pillar of the family, but, over time, society has begun to grapple with father absence as a family issue. This issue has caused a decline in the role and status of fathers. The decline in active fatherhood is a major driving force and one of many issues in society alongside social ills such as crime, violence and poverty. Research has showed that absent fathers affect the development of masculinity in boys and femininity in girls. Families and faith-based communities are directly challenged by father absence. The absence of fathers is a destructive phenomenon and tendency that society has to deal with globally. The role of the father has been devalued and degraded because of father absence. The purpose of this article was to minimise the effects of absent fathers through mentoring which can be a valuable platform for fathers, and it has a biblical nature to solve family issues. Furthermore, mentoring results in a relationship of trust and meaningful commitment, and it provides a helpful and supportive approach to helping fathers who grapple with fatherhood issues. The literature review as a methodology in this article, provided significant knowledge and rich insights to help and support fathers who grapple with fatherhood issues. In addition, the mentoring principles discussed in this study are useful and part of the solution for fathers with fatherhood issues. Mentoring and its process in the paradigm of pastoral theology can be a workable and a possible solution in the confines of households to restore relationships within broken families. This conceptualised from a biblical viewpoint as a solution for Christian fathers. In conclusion, mentoring is a decisive necessity for fathers who grapple with family issues. Relationships are an attribute of families, and mentoring is about relationships. Fathers can be mentored to become great assets to family and society.
Contribution: The fatherhood issue is a serious problem in the South African context and no fatherly presence is a negative and devastating trend in many South African homes. Consequently, mentoring as an approach can be a significant contribution to fathers who grapple with fatherhood issues.
Keywords: mentoring; fatherhood; fathers; family issues; fatherhood issues; faith-based; pastoral-theological.

The farming communities in the Christiana district with a population of close to 21 000
residents struggled with issues including poverty, unemployment, financial problems,
alcoholism, occultism and Satanism and family issues such as father absence, fatherlessness
and single parenting. An intervention that included training and equipping of fathers,
who were farm workers from the local faith community, was necessary and crucial. Farm
workers (faith communities) responded to the need for a biblical fatherhood programme.
Human fatherhood should be recognised and given serious consideration because it gave
an anticipation of who God the Father is. If human fatherhood did not exist, then all truth
and knowledge about God the Father would be void and insignificant. Fatherhood today
is an element of broken families and perhaps the most threatened element in the world.
The aim of this article was to lessen the social issue of father absence through the
implementation of the Biblical Fatherhood Programme. The programme has a biblical
nature to solve social ills within communities. The programme was developed from a
practical-theological study on fatherhood, with the primary reason to train and equip
participants with fatherhood knowledge. This article presents a reflective and community
engagement strategy, based on the author’s reflection of items that arose when a biblical
fatherhood programme was presented to farm workers in the Christiana district of South
Africa. Reflection as a methodology enabled researchers and practitioners to theorise from
their own practice, improving and developing their work. Reflection was a turning back
onto ‘a self’ where the researcher was the observer of the scenario. Reflection was also a
significant and mental activity for researchers to use in their work with participants. The
results and this article presented the reflective, rather than empirical findings of the
programme implementation. The training intervention was presented in a narrative form
and based on research about the essence of fatherhood. This was conceptualised from
biblical truth and perspective. Participants showed immense interest in the programme
and the Bible. Their theological views concerning the Bible for answers were crucial to
their problems and situations. Participants’ spiritual life was pivotal to enjoy healthy
relationships with God.
Contribution: The programme contributed monumentally to the lives of participants. It was
impossible for participants to live their lives without the Bible. The Bible is not just an
authoritative source of teaching, but it speaks of human fatherhood and serves as a guideline
to enunciate the care of God the Father.
Keywords: Biblical Fatherhood Programme; fatherhood; father absence; faith communities;
reflective; community engagement.

Migration trends and the global increase in the number of displaced refugee fathers have raised urgent and serious concerns, such as the air of hopelessness amongst foreigners, the disruption of family lives because of the absence of fathers and problematic fatherhood. Migration trends are foregrounding issues such as national identity and civil connectivity, and the How to cite: Freeks, F.E., 2020, 'A life beyond iron bars: Creating a space of dignity and hope for the displaced father in prison', in A.R. Brunsdon (ed.), The human dilemma of displacement: Towards a practical theology and ecclesiology of home, pp. 151-170, AOSIS, Cape Town.

The birth of a child is a commonplace event, yet for the two individuals who become parents it is nothing short of miraculous. This transition to parenthood is a major life event, and both the new mother and father have to adapt to the changes brought about by the responsibility of raising a child. For men and women the challenges of parenthood will differ, and the new parents’ relationship will undergo change as the demands of their new roles become apparent (Belsky and Pensky 1988, Roosa 1988). In consequence, becoming a parent, although largely viewed as a positive event, can place huge strains on both a couple’s relationship and on individual functioning within that relationship. Having a baby can be extremely stressful, and as with any major life change, entails some degree of risk, with the challenge of raising children causing new problems or highlighting existing vulnerabilities for both parents (Cowan and Cowan 1995). Parenthood has, therefore, the potential to change both men and women’s feelings about themselves and their relationships as they take on the important role of nurturing their children from birth into adulthood.

In South Africa, the youth face immense challenges and problems. Farming communities in Christiana grapple with problems such as unemployment, poverty, occultism, Satanism, alcoholism and violence. The challenges for this specific community are widespread, because they encounter one problem after another, on the one hand, and increasing statistics of social ills such as prostitution, child-trafficking, substance use and abuse, violence and rape, on the other. As a consequence, numerous young people's lives are being destroyed. My current study focuses on the youth of the Christiana District in South Africa as target for a holistic missional outreach programme. The purpose of the study is to give hope, build resilience, and improve or enhance the lives of young people through the TOTAL LIFE programme, despite the challenges they are facing daily. This missional and biblical tool is designed in a constructive, creative-critical way, from a missio Dei perspective.

Father absence is a trend that has been on the surge globally and locally, and its effects can be felt in children's lives up to adulthood. This study sought to explore how father absence mediates sexual partner preference amongst women who would have grown without their biological fathers. This was achieved by comparing the sexual partner preferences of women who grew up without fathers against those who grew up with their fathers. A quantitative approach was taken, particularly employing an ex post facto research design. A one-stage cluster sampling strategy was used to select 392 women, who participated in this study. Of the 392 participants, 168 were women who had grown up in father-absent homes, whereas the remaining 224 had grown up with a resident father. A standardised instrument, the mate preference questionnaire, was used to collect data. This study revealed that father absence influences the preference of a sexual partner, particularly the age gap with the preferred romantic partner, physical aspects of the sexual partner and values about chastity. Women who grew up in fatherless homes showed a preference for good looks and masculinity in a romantic over issues such as good financial prospect and ambitiousness and industriousness. The most preferred characteristic expressed by women who emerged from father-absent homes was that the romantic partner should be a father figure. This study recommends that voluntary organisations that promote fatherhood programs should be set up to raise awareness on the importance of fathering. Moreover, future research should explore the impact of father absence amongst married women so as to ascertain if father absence affects relationships within a marriage.

The leadership role of the man in context of family and church is indeed a sensitive topic. The leadership role of the man has significant impact on the wellbeing of the family and church, which in turn has a significant impact on society. This article encompasses data analysis of the quantitative research (questionnaires) that were conducted within five selected evangelical churches in Johannesburg, South Africa. The question that this study endeavours to answer is: Which factors have contributed to men not functioning effectively in their role as spiritual leaders in context of family and church? The article describes the important leadership role that the man fulfils in the context of the family and church and the role that the church has in equipping men for leadership in the two contexts. The article provides a description of the research process related to the quantitative data analysis and its results. This article comes from a chapter in a larger study from a PhD dissertation: The leadership role of the man in context of the family and church: A Pastoral-Theological study.