Intentional fathering: Fathers' positive influence on the relational spiritual formation of their children

This study addressed the question, How can fathers have a positive influence in the relational spiritual formation of their children? Several subsidiary questions framed the study. In chapter 2 the questions were, How do parents influence the spiritual formation of their children? and, To what degree are fathers involved in and how do they influence the spiritual formation of their children? In chapter 3 the question was, What guidance does the Bible give to fathers concerning the spiritual instruction and nurture of their children? These questions informed practical implications that answered the main question in chapter 4.;Though parents and mothers have been the predominant agents discussed in child development, especially with respect to religion, lately some researchers have focused on children's spirituality, father-child relationships, and external religiosity of the father-child dyad. More research needed to be done pertaining to father-child relational spirituality. This, then, was a study of theoretical and empirical research exploring two main domains---the relational spiritual formation of children and paternal intentional involvement---through in-depth review of theory, theorists, and salient empirical studies on these domains.;Theory and empirical studies pertaining to the first domain included issues of children's spiritual nature and development, attachment theory, children's God concepts, parental spiritual maturity, ecological theory and community dynamics, social dynamic theory of cognitive development, children's preparedness in dealing with complex spiritual issues, and intentional use of symbols. Pertaining to the second domain were studies and theory addressing paternal involvement, intentionality, generative fathering, paternal religiosity, authoritative and loving parenting styles, paternal motivation and skill perception, and spousal and familial harmony.;With the empirical research in mind, paternal leadership was also looked at from both a brief biblical Old Testament and New Testament theological survey and a more focused study of Ephesians 5:21--6:4 directly addressing paternal involvement in spiritual formation within the home and broader context of the faith community. Lastly, integrating these theological principles and empirical findings, numerous practical implications were presented for Protestant Evangelical fathers to provide better fathering competencies and intentional involvement in their children's spiritual formation. Implications were also provided for single mothers and church leaders.