LifeDate Fall 2026 – Preach Life
by Deaconess Amanda Nicks, Volunteer Relations
“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).
Welcoming a newborn baby into the world is exciting but can be overwhelming, especially when it’s your first time. Memorial Lutheran Life Team in Houston, Texas, gathered advice and words of encouragement from fathers in the congregation and compiled them into a gift book for new dads: Lutheran Advice and Encouragement for First-Time Dads.
The project started when the Life Team’s pastor, Rev. Ned Moerbe, approached Robert Burmeister (a father of two grown daughters) with the idea. He wanted a project sponsored by the Life Team that would support fathers and suggested passing around a journal to the fathers in the congregation to write down advice and encouragement for first time fathers.
Initially, it was thought that a journal would be passed around for the fathers to write down advice and words of encouragement. This seemed a bit cumbersome, so Robert had the idea of collecting the writings through email. First, he had Pastor Moerbe write an entry to serve as an example. Then, he contacted a few trusted fathers from the congregation that he knew would be willing to participate. Once Robert had a few meaningful and thoughtful entries, he emailed every father in the congregation and requested they submit any advice to be compiled into the book. Several follow-ups, email reminders, and in-person reminders ensured that many entries were gathered between September and November of 2025.
In total, they received 150 entries from 40 fathers who are all members of Memorial Lutheran Church in Houston. Robert worked with Jess Rosenwinkel during December to format the book and did an initial printing. Jess owns a design company and was able to use her expertise to design and format the entries into the book. It’s just over 50 pages long and is sized at about 4 x 7 inches. The layout includes the father’s name, the names and ages of his children, and then the advice and encouragement he wrote. Its grand arrival was Christmas Day in 2025.
Whenever there is a new dad in the congregation, Memorial Lutheran Life Team plans to present the new dad with a free copy of the book at a social event. Robert said, “The rationale for having official ‘presentation events’ is to get the men of the congregation, especially the fathers, to meet each other, if this has not happened already.” When giving the books to new fathers, the goal is to present it about one or two months before the baby is born and have a small event with the men of the congregation. These events for the new fathers and men help to create a community. The new fathers know that these men are there to support and guide them as they raise their children. It is a good way to reinforce that caring for your children is a masculine thing. What a wonderful way to build a community of fathers and create a support system for the new ones.
Here are some examples of the advice from Lutheran Advice and Encouragement for First-Time Dads:
“Those early years of bringing little ones into the pew can feel exhausting, but don’t underestimate how important they are. Even in the frustrating moments, understand you are planting roots of faith your children will carry for a lifetime. Stay patient, stay present, and continue leading them; these small struggles are shaping their future in Christ.”
“Never feel like you can’t ask for help or advice. The men of the church are there to help each other.”
“Your words as a father are very powerful. Be very careful in choosing them. Once you ‘cast’ the words out, they are almost impossible to ‘reel’ back in.”