Author Gary Rogers speaks with Kirk Hunt about his book, Unlocking The Power Of Fatherhood, and the need for effective men’s ministry in churches.

Kirk Hunt for PneumaReview.com: Who or what inspired you to write Unlocking The Power Of Fatherhood?

Gary Rogers: It started at 4:30am on a Saturday morning. I got up, made my coffee, went upstairs to my office, and asked the Lord what he had to say.  I spent about 2 hours with the Lord as he explained a few things to me. So that you understand the rest of the story, I need to introduce you to my dad.  As a young boy, he contracted polio that left him with a paralyzed right leg. It also left him with a compromised immune system that failed him again, with finality, at the age of 53. The child that the doctor said would never crawl, much less walk, learned to walk without a cane, crutch, or brace.  The child that was destined to become an invalid became a man that everyone turned to in the time of their greatest need. Every day in the life of my youth I got a lesson in Character and Courage. I learned what it was to be a man, and I learned what it was to be a father. I grew up seeing an example of how to overcome the impossible. Through his example, I learned how to take on the challenges of life meant to turn me into a victim and come out the other side as a sovereign. On that Saturday morning, I was inspired to share his life story.

Kirk Hunt: What was the most positive aspect of the process of creating Unlocking?

Gary Rogers: I think it was the journey to discovery surrounding the purpose of the hard times that we all seem to endure. For, it is in the hard times where we are transformed into the people we need to be, to accomplish the purpose for which we were created. That was an epiphany for me, as I had previously seen those times in my life through the lens of failure. More importantly, I think that this revelation has the potential to help many overcome the scourge of victimization that weighs heavily upon them. Seeing the difficult season in a positive transformational light has the potential to set us free to walk into the high purpose of God’s plan for us.

Kirk Hunt: What was your most significant challenge while writing Unlocking?

Gary Rogers: Basically, I had no idea what I was doing, as I am not a professional writer. Everything I wrote was from my own experience without the benefit of research. All I had was a preliminary list of potential chapter headings. I would literally sit down to begin a chapter with only one or two sentences in my head. Things would just flow from there. After 9 or 10 pages of handwritten text, I would come to the end of the chapter and not remember everything I had written. I would go back and review it wondering where all that had come from. I see this entire work as a grace gift from the Lord.

Kirk Hunt: How has your experience with Unlocking informed or influenced your writing?

Gary Rogers: After writing the book I have come to realize the great need for building up men. I have been somewhat surprised by the positive responses I have received from people who have read the book. My passion is growing for making a positive impact on others and empowering them to live life to its fullest.

Unlocking The Power Of Fatherhood (Unlocking) starts with the courageous story of Billy Ray and his parents as they confronted the diagnosis of his polio infection. Their decision to raise Billy Ray without concession to his polio-induced impairment (referred to frequently as his “bum leg”) indeed showed significant foresight and courage. All the more exceptional when you consider the era and locale. Billy Ray’s story of living life fully and victoriously, are used to illustrate many points within the book.

Despite its title, Unlocking is primarily a primer on living a structured, disciplined and principled life. Even in the first chapter, Sovereignty of Choice, much credit is given to Billy Ray’s mother for her character and courage. Author Gary Rogers is describing his own grandmother, with much warmth and affection, but not exclusively a father. The title points to fathers, but the contents are about living as “men (and women) of honor.”

I agree whole-heartedly with Unlocking’s eleven chapters; Sovereignty of Choice, Dark Night on Striker Creek; Standards; In Search of Destiny; The Measure of a Man; Protection, Provision, Perseverance; Transformation in the Storm; The Value of Failure; Culture of Honor; Foundational Pillars of Honor; End of Our Tale. The book is full of classic wisdom and traditional values, especially regarding personal integrity. Each chapter starts with an apropos quote from a significant artist or thinker. Still, I struggle with the lack of an explicit moral or religious structure or system to support Rogers’ assertions of truth or right living.

Knowing the right thing to do or say is important. Knowing why (or how) what right thing you do or say is critical beyond measure. While I came across gem after gem regarding integrity and personal responsibility, I failed to see any objective structure or system that makes the pattern plain or repeatable. Even the chapter review questions did not help me see the author’s pattern.

An astute listener will want to know how they can evaluate what they are hearing through critical thinking and reasoning. Unlocking does not provide the structure or framework needed for such analysis. If the structure were there, a reader could glean wisdom and encouragement from each re-reading of this text, even if they missed it in the first perusal.

As I read, I wondered about the author, his moral system and his motivation. Clearly, he loves his parents and grandparents. Is the author an atheist ethicist? A principled secularist? Is he a Christian attempting to (stealthily) mainstream Biblical values? I could not come to understand Roger’s intention through his work. I found these questions became a distraction for me as a reader.

After discovering the book was not what I thought it would be, I could not discover a reason to trust the reasoning of the author. I want to trust this author, but there is no discernable structure or system that allows me to anticipate his beliefs or evaluate his statements. I suspect that Mr. Rogers and I have a similar worldview, but I am not sure we have a common framework for that view.

Given the emphasis on personal integrity and honorable living, I can (only) guess that this work is intended for those at risk of, or recovering from, personal failures. Without a structure or system to support his comments, such an audience can only accept his words on blind faith. Blind faith may be part of the reason why they are such an audience.

Based on just the title of this book, I wanted to like it. I could have overlooked a miss-match between the content and the cover. I am disappointed that so much strong content does not add up to a good book. I am prayerful that the author will have a chance to edit up this work to match the potential I suspect is here.

Reviewed by Kirk Hunt

Author’s companion website: https://rethinkingfatherhood.com/