A community of men, women, and families pursuing intentional lives of intimate apprenticeship with Jesus. Together, we are learning what it is to be fathered sons and daughters and what it is to then offer the gift of a good father's heart…a good mother's heart…to our children, our families, and our communities.
From the Guided Apprenticeship orientation
So what is The Intentional Dad? We are a community of men, women, and families pursuing intentional lives of intimate apprenticeship with Jesus. That is a lot of ideas, so let me take a minute to break it down a little bit.
First of all, we are a community. You’re not alone, nor is this something you are going to want to do alone.
So community. A community of what? Men, women, and families. With a name like The Intentional Dad, I do understand that it might leave the impression that this is a ministry and community for men and men only. It is not only for men.
So what’s with the name? It is a name that is meant to be a double meaning. First, The Intentional Dad is a reference to my fatherhood story with my family, that story from which this ministry and the book I wrote came. It is also, however, a reference to our Intentional Dad, our heavenly Father, and learning what it is to be fathered by him.
So then comes the idea of pursuing intentionally, the key idea there being intentionally. See, to get where we would like to be, to become whole and free, to find healing, and to become the kind of people who love well, that’s not just something that happens by accident.
There’s always a trap when you talk about intentionality, and something that may seem subtle but is actually really important to understand, and that is the difference between effort and earning. But like anything worthwhile, the journey ahead will take effort, intentionality. Earning, however, is an idea we will be unlearning along the way.
That leads us to intimate apprenticeship, two very important words. Intimate. A father-son, father-daughter relationship is, above all, meant to be a deeply intimate relationship. And sonship, daughterhood, is exactly the kind of intimate experience we’re pursuing with Jesus.
So finally, that leaves us with those last two words: with Jesus. See, Guided Apprenticeship isn’t about what, but who. A person. And it is in that person that we will find the wholeness and the healing, the abundant life that we long for.
Aric is an author, teacher, coach, and pastoral counselor who is passionate about shepherding fellow travelers on the journey toward God's promises of healing, transformation, and freedom.
What he offers comes from "a fatherhood journey born out of failure and brokenness": years of ministry driven by performance, until "my life of mountain climbing finally failed me", and then a long, honest road of learning to be a fathered son. From that, he and Mary Jo walked their three children through a ten-year journey of initiation into adulthood.
"It doesn't mean we have all the answers… No, it's how we show up."
Aric, Episode 33
Master's degree in Theological Studies · taught elementary-age kids for five years · married to his best friend, Mary Jo, for 32 years · lives in Michigan.
Get in touchThe name has a double meaning: my own fatherhood story, and our intentional Dad, our Father in heaven. This is a ministry for men and women, married and single, families and friends. Whatever season you're in, you belong here.
Founder
I'm Mary Jo's husband, and we've been married for 32 years. I'm a father of three and an apprentice of Jesus who learned the hard way. My life of mountain climbing finally failed me. The Intentional Dad is just a name for the story I'm living, the sonship story I'm living with Jesus. Like you, I'm still learning, still being fathered. I'm so glad you're here.
Host of The Intentional Dad podcast
Aric's oldest son, married to his wife Rachel for 2 years.
For those who are looking for a little more...
We believe the Bible to be the inspired, authoritative Word of God: a unified story of a Father seeking his children, leading to the person of Jesus Christ.
We believe in the One True God, the sovereign, eternal Creator of all that exists, both seen and unseen. God is eternally existent in three persons, yet one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, an eternal communion of love into which we are invited.
We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in his virgin birth, his sinless life, his miracles, his vicarious and atoning death through his shed blood, his bodily resurrection, his ascension to the right hand of the Father, and his personal return in power and glory. In Jesus we see the Father as he truly is.
We believe God created humanity in his image. Adam and Eve, the first human beings, chose to rebel against God and go their own way. As a result, all of humanity became separated from God; the image of God in us was distorted; we became subject to the power of the devil; and the sinful nature was passed on to all their offspring.
We believe we are lost, estranged from our true home and the loving arms of a Father who has never stopped pursuing his beloved sons and daughters. It is that relentless love that has and will go to any length, embodied in Jesus the Son, who seeks us, finds us, and Fathers us back home. Our trust in his redemptive work and unconditional love is our only true hope for healing, wholeness, freedom, and purpose.
We believe that when we trust in Jesus, his true heart, his character, and his work, we pass out of spiritual death into spiritual life and from the old creation into the new: a new nature and a new heart, alive to the love of the Father and to our deepest and truest identity as his beloved son or beloved daughter. Justified freely by grace, we are accepted before the Father as Christ, his Son, is accepted, and loved as Christ is loved, our place and portion linked to Christ and one with Christ, forever.
We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, the very life of God himself living in those whose hearts cry "Abba." Through his work of counseling, comforting, and guiding, he ushers us into the healing and transformation that restores the original glory of our humanity and our original relational design for oneness with God and harmony with each other.
We believe in the spiritual unity of all who belong to Jesus: one family of beloved sons and daughters, learning together what it is to be Fathered and to share that gift with the world around us.
The Intentional Dad is a board-governed not-for-profit entity through the State of Michigan and a 501(c)(3) charitable organization with the IRS.
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