Real Men – Flying on a Wing and a Prayer with Thankful Hearts

“A real man is one who: rejects passivity, accepts responsibility, leads courageously and accepts the greater reward.” These are the wise words of Robert Lewis, author of Raising a Modern-Day Knight.

These were the words I quoted when I spoke at a Men’s Breakfast at Living Grace in Liverpool, Sydney and also in Berry, on the past two Saturday mornings. I asked the men to share the deepest part of their journey with each other. The mornings were not without tears or laughter.

The laughter part of the equation is very important. We need to laugh to stay strong. Our smiles in the video below tell the story.

I told the men at the breakfast how I met with Brigadier Jim Wallace, former head of the SAS, when I was constructing the Good to Great Fathering Course. I told him I wanted to construct the hardest fatherhood training course in the world.

So, I asked Jim how they train the fighting men of the Australian SAS Regiment. The SAS is widely regarded as one of the best special forces groups in the world.

He looked at me with a poker face and said, “If I told you, I would have to kill you.” I gulped and quickly said, “What can you tell me about training soldiers for the SAS without having to kill me?”

“That’s easy, Warwick,” Jim said, “The one thing I can reveal is that no one can join the SAS unless they first have a sense of humour and can laugh at themselves and their situation.”

I naively asked, “Why is that?” Jim answered matter-of-factly, “Combat experience has shown that the only men who survive in very life-threatening combat situations are those with a sense of humour and those who can laugh when the chips are down.”

Only a matter of a few weeks ago, I did not feel like laughing. You see, Dads4Kids is in transition to the next generation of Dads. Nathaniel, my son, has put up his hand up to take on the arduous task of running Dads4Kids. I say arduous, because the last 21 years have been pretty tough.

We celebrated the achievements of Dads4Kids over the last 21 years in a recent video, but those achievements have not come without cost. For 21 years, my wife and I have not received a wage from Dads4Kids. This cannot continue for a young man with 5 children, who need feeding, with rent to pay and bills to also attend to.

Furthermore, our fundraising plans this year were hampered by a silly federal government that wants to create a nightmare for children of divorcing fathers through their horrific Family Law Amendment Bill 2023.

Should we listen to our heads and drop being a voice for the children of Australia, and so do a better job of our end-of-year fundraising campaign? Or do we listen to our hearts and get the Dads4Kids 27-page submission to the government as a voice for our children, and trust Providence and our donors with our fundraising campaign?

We listened to our hearts, and we were not disappointed. Providence more than provided. We needed to dramatically exceed our target so that we can facilitate a smooth transition in Dads4Kids to the next generation of Australian Dads. This has happened, and we are truly humbled by your support.

Huge appreciation goes to all our many donors, supporters, volunteers, and those who pray for us. Huge thanks also to our dear friend indigenous leader Ps James Dargin, who prayed for miraculous release of provision through your giving during the Dads4Kids Daring Dads Webinar.

See James in action here.

It is fascinating to think that the very genesis of Dads4Kids was because of indigenous elder Ps Ronnie Williams. We continue today because of the goodwill and prayers of our many Indigenous friends like James Dargin and Will Dumas.

All of us, whether we admit it or not, stand on the shoulders of men who are far greater than us. All of us fly at times ‘on a wing and a prayer.’ Providence is a great pilot!

As I said in the thank you video, the team at Dads4Kids wants to transform our nation. The best way to transform a nation is to help Dads be transformed.

If we can transform one Dad, we can transform a family and the children within that family.

If we transform a family, we transform a community, one family at a time.

Never forget! A transformed nation is made up of many transformed communities.

Nat and I, and the Dads4Kids Board, are truly humbled by your gracious support. What more can we say but thank you!